Volume 100 Issue 35
Monday, February 15, 2016
www.studentprintz.com
RecSports hosts Burnin’ Love 5K Elizabeth Lee Printz Reporter
On Saturday, The University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Recreational Sports hosted the 19th annual Burnin’ Love Color Run. Runners of all ages participated in the race, and since the run was near Valentine’s Day, couples could sign up at a discounted rate. Throughout the course, which was around Southern Miss’ campus, volunteers splashed runners with colored powder by volunteers from the Hattiesburg Fire Department, leaving many covered in colors from head to toe. In addition to those wearing white shirts, many runners dressed for event with rainbow and Valentine’s Day-themed flair. Although a stopwatch was set for runners to keep track of their own paces, the race did not have bib numbers or winners because it was non-competitive; runners found glory in getting covered in the most colors possible. “The turnout was great,” said Emily Glen, student and public relations intern for Southern Miss Recreational Sports. “The fire department was there helping throw color at the finish line. They were having the most fun out of anyone.
ON CAMPUS
Fadi Shahin/Assistant Photo Editor Participants of the Burnn’ Love 5k throw color powder into the air after the race finished on Feb. 13. More photos are available at studentprintz.com
Overall, it was a successful event for Southern Miss and the Hattiesburg community.” Sophomore kinesiotherapy major Shelby Presnell participated as a runner in the
5K. She previously participated in a color run and enjoyed this one. “It was a blast,” Presnell said. “Everyone was so nice, and the men from the fire department were really involved and excited,
which made me excited about it too. I’m definitely doing it next year and bringing all of my friends.” Merit Health Wesley, formerly the Wesley Medical Center, and
the Hattiesburg Fire Department sponsored Burnin’ Love. The fire department’s benevolence fund received a portion of the proceeds from race entry fees, according to the event’s page on Facebook.
USM policy allows theft of student identities Joshua D Starr News Editor
As University of Southern Missississippi freshman Darius Griffin discovered during the course of a Student Printz investigation, a current USM policy has left new USM students on the Hattiesburg campus vulnerable to identity theft. Griffin, a transfer criminal justice major from Jackson State, allowed The Printz to use his identity to test this policy during the university’s Jan. 14 orientation session. Requiring only Griffin’s student number printed on a card, Printz News Editor Joshua D Starr acquired Griffin’s identity in less than two minutes without saying a word. “I don’t want anybody to just come and take my identity,” Griffin said. “You can — you just did. You can use it anywhere for
jobs as an ID. People can use that to do bad stuff with my name, and I wouldn’t like that.” Griffin said he was awed by how easily his identity could be stolen. “It took like a minute if not less,” he said. “I was definitely surprised, shocked really. It seemed crazy to me that you could actually do that.” Student IDs serve a variety of purposes on and off campus in the state of Mississippi. On campus, students can use their identification cards for everything from purchasing meals to receiving medical care. Off campus, student IDs are accepted on I-9s as valid forms of identification for employment. With the exception of USM’s Hattiesburg campus and the Mississippi University for Women, every public university in the state of Mississippi follows protocols to confirm
Joshua D Starr/Printz Printz Editor Joshua D Starr is featured in student IDs attached to seperate identitites.
the identities of individuals issued IDs. Most of these universities require students provide a government issued ID before being issued student IDs. Others confirm students’ identities with internal information, such as Mississippi State, which requires a student provide a unique orientation number issued to that student and
corroborates that identity by asking for personal information already held in its system. University of Mississippi ID Center supervisor Kathy Tidwell said UM has a number of measures in place to protect student identities. Typically, UM ID services require students mail a copy of their state-issued IDs or bring or bring the originals to the ID Center order to receive IDs. However, if students fail to bring their IDs to orientation, they can be verbally tested by staff on detailed personal information kept in the department’s records. “I think it’s important that a person not be carrying around a card with a picture on it that is not them,” Tidwell said. Since Mississippi’s voter ID law was implemented, Student IDs from Mississippi’s accredited public universities and community and junior
colleges can be used as identification to vote. Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said when they were developing regulations for acceptable IDs, staffers from his office contacted the state’s various universities to ensure they had acceptable policies in place. “In the end of all that, we were satisfied that their issuance satisfied all the necessary requirements for voter ID,” Hosemann said. Tidwell said she remembers being contacted by the Secretary of State’s office. “They had called us a couple of years ago and asked similar questions to what [The Printz is] asking,” she said. Jacob Cochran, USM’s associate director of procurement and contract services over photo services, IDENTITY CONT. ON PG. 3
INFORMATION
Page 2 | Monday, February 15, 2016
MEET THE STAFF SPRING 2016 Ardan Thornhill
Julius Kizzee
ardan.thornhill@eagles.usm.edu
julius.kizzee@eagles.usm.edu
Jack Hammett
Hunt Mercier
jesse.hammett@eagles.usm.edu
patrick.mercier@eagles.usm.edu
Executive Editor
Managing Editor
Joshua D Starr
Sports Editor
Photo Editor
Fadi Shahin
News Editor
Assistant Photo Editor
sprintznews@gmail.com
fadi.shahin@eagles.usm.edu
Nan Beauti
Jules Peralta
afnan.beauti@eagles.usm.edu
jules.peralta@eagles.usm.edu
Jonathan Urbina
Chuck Cook
jonathan.urbina@eagles.usm.edu
chuck.cook@usm.edu
Copy Editor
Entertainment Editor
Aubrey Sanders
Web Editor
Printz Adviser
Katherine Frye
Design Editor
Advertising Designer
aubrey.sanders@eagles.usm.edu
katherine.frye@eagles.usm.edu
Hanna Schloemer
Lesley Sanders-Wood
hanna.schloemer@eagles.usm.edu
lesley.sanders@usm.edu
Jhaimee Bullock
Advertising e-mail
Assistant Design Editor
Designer
Advertising Manager
printzad@usm.edu
jhaimee.bullock@eagles.usm.edu
EDITORIAL POLICY The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not necessarily represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submissions must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.
OPINIONS Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.
DIRTY BIRDS • On Thursday, Feb. 11, theft was reported at the Payne Center around 10:18 p.m. The case remains open. • On Wednesday, Feb. 10, harassment was reported off campus around 9:27 a.m. The case remains open.
POLICE CONTACT INFORMATION • When reporting, the following information should be provided: • Nature of the crime or emergency • Name, address and phone number of the caller • Location of incident • Description of the scene and suspects • Description of any vehicles involved, especially license plate numbers
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NEWS
GULF PARK
Monday, February 15, 2016 | Page 3
USM lab advances alternative fuel sources Mary Alice Weeks Printz Reporter
Researchers at USM continue to advance alternative energy sources one vial of marine phytoplankton at a time. Integral to a larger research project involving institutes from around the world, including Duke University and the University of Hawaii, is marine science professor Don Redalje. Redalje conducts research on local strains of marine algae at the marine science laboratory located at the Stennis Space Center and has been involved with phytoplankton research for over three decades. Redalje and his team study two types of marine organisms — chlorophytes and diatoms. Redalje said these are the origins of the fossil fuels we use today. The research team uses these organisms to produce biofuels that will eventually replace petroleum and other fossil fuels. “As a people, we’ve gotten so dependent on fossil fuels for everything from plastics, fuels [and] the chemical industry,” Redalje said. “We have to overcome the addiction that the planet has for oil.” Marine algae supply a uniquely ideal source of energy. These organisms grow and thrive in both sea and brackish water and require no use of land or freshwater, which, like fossil fuel, is a dwindling resource. “We’re not competing for land that could be used for growing, and we’re not having to augment with huge amounts of chemical
ON CAMPUS
fertilizers,” Redalje said. “It makes this the most viable pathway for us to be exploring.” Redalje thinks he has found an especially unique strain that is optimally functional. “I’ve particularly isolated one chlorophyte that is the best candidate in the world. It has the perfect fatty acid chain for making biofuels,” he said.
We want to take advantage of all these markets so as to offset the cost with the high value of those products. Don Redalje The project will begin its third round of research and development, this time funded largely by the Department of Energy. According to the Department of Energy website, “[The department seeks] to increase the yields and lower the costs of algal biofuels by working with partners to develop new technologies, to integrate technologies at commerciallyrelevant scales and conduct cross-cutting analyses to understand the potential and challenges of an algal biofuel industry that is capable of annually producing billions of gallons of renewable diesel, gasoline and jet fuels.” Redalje said the main goal of this period will be establishing methods to
efficiently industrialize and commercialize the products in a cost-effective manner. “We have to demonstrate in a convincing way that we can offset cost by being able to produce other coproducts,” Redalje said. Coproducts are another crucial feature characteristic of these organisms that will play a significant role in establishing biofuel as a realistic alternative. Marine algae contain lipids, which are chains of hydrocarbons that are burned in fuels to produce energy. The same organisms contain proteins that can be used in products like animal feed and pigments, as well as antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and even compounds that are anti-cancer agents. Redalje said these high value products have a lucrative place in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. “We want to take advantage of all these markets so as to offset the cost with the high value of those products,” he said. “We need to be able to convince the Department of Energy to open up their thought process to include coproducts as part of the research.” Joseph Malandro, a marine sciences graduate student who worked with Redalje at Stennis, said these coproducts are key to getting biofuels commercialized. “There’s so much potential and so much money in tandem with biofuels that could really lower the cost,” Malandro said. Another advantage of industrializing the process of producing fuel from marine
algae is the direct effect it would have on the present atmosphere. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Mississippi’s transportation sector added 22 million metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere in 2011 alone. Marine algae are photosynthesizers, meaning they take carbon dioxide from the air, use it as a food source and release oxygen into the atmosphere as a byproduct. Redalje said setting up a biofuel commercialization plant next to a traditional power plant emitting carbon dioxide would make way for substantial reduction of greenhouse gases. In addition, the biofuel plant would make no additional contributions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Biofuels and other alternative fuel sources are able to perform the same functions as traditional fuels with the same efficiency, according to Redalje. “It’s a chain of hydrocarbons either way,” Redalje said. “It doesn’t matter where they came from — petroleum or algal lipids.” Redalje and Malandro believe the commercialization of biofuels is imminent and that persisting in research and development is essential. “Whether we get there as a leader or whether we’re dragged there kicking and screaming, that’s definitely where we’re going,” Malandro said. “Renewable energy is global, and I feel like we would want to be first in the door.”
USM groups combat illiteracy with book sale Hiba Tahir Printz Reporter
On Feb. 11, the Council on Community Reading and Literacy and the Library Science Student Association hosted a children and young adult book sale from 9 a.m to 4 p.m in the Thad Cochran Center. The event was a joint project from the organizations in order to raise money for literacypromoting endeavors. Faced with dire literacy statistics, many organizations across the nation pursue similar goals. One such organization is the Literacy Project Foundation based in California’s Orange and Los Angeles counties and the Coachella Valley. TLP, founded in 2009, seeks “to enable at-risk and disadvantaged youth to increase their reading skill levels and to become self-sufficient, productive and contributing members of our society.” According to their statistics, the U.S. ranks 12th in a study of literacy among 20 “highincome” countries and 50 percent of adults cannot read a
book written at an eighth-grade level. Additionally, 45 million American adults are functionally illiterate and read below a fifth grade level, 44 percent do not read a book in a year and six out of 10 households do not buy a single book in a year. The impact on society is likewise alarming. According to TLP, 85 percent of juvenile offenders have problems reading, and some states base the projection of future required prison beds on how well current elementary students are performing on reading tests. Catharine Bomhold, associate professor of Children’s Literature in the School of Library and Information Science, hopes to combat such statistics by encouraging a love for books. “We’ve done parades where we hand out books and things like that,” Bomhold said. “We’re trying to make Hattiesburg a city that reads, and that’s where all the money is going to go.” Bomhold, who helped organize the book sale, has been teaching in the USM School of Library and Information Science for 13
Hunt Mercier/Photo Editor Junior Rebecca Applewhite from Purvis, Mississippi shops for books for her kids at the Council on Community Reading and Literacy fair on Jan. 11.
years. She has gathered many books during that time. “An embarrassing amount of these came from my home,” she said, gesturing to the tables laden with picture and chapter books. “But the response has been really good. We’ve been very pleased.” Several passerby expressed their interest in additional sale days and places. Bomhold was eager to meet with their needs. “I’ve had a couple people ask me to set up in other places, so
I’ll move around to where the audience is,” she said. Bomhold said this was the first time in ten years that they’ve hosted such a sale. Michael Oden, president of USM’s chapter of the Library and Information Science Student Association, and several assistants, including her young son and some students who had signed up through the online nonprofit giving platform, “GiveGab,” joined Bomhold throughout the day.
IDENTITY CONTINUED said he does not recall being contacted. He said his department learned of the USM policy loopwhole as a result of the Printz investigation. “We weren’t really aware that a student could come get their ID number [and ID] without showing their actual driver’s license at any point during the orientation process,” he said. Cochran said requiring only student ID number for first ID issuance has been a longstanding policy at the university. “[Photo services has] functioned pretty much the same dynamic for as long as I can remember,” he said. “I don’t know how long that department’s even been here.” Cochran said his department is working with the university administration and the university police department to develop policy that would require students to provide state-issued IDs before receiving their student IDs. “It will actually be implemented the upcoming orientation sessions, starting with the presidential scholars this spring,” Cochran said. Last week, this policy had yet to be drafted. According to Griffin, UPD’s response to the issue was more immediate. After receiving his legitimate student ID, Griffin was still on campus for orientation when UPD called. He said his experience with UPD made him hesitant to be interviewed. “They found my name and number in the system, they called me and told me to come down and they told me to make a statement and then not to do it again,” he said. Griffin said during this meeting, UPD told him not to talk to the press. “They told me not to talk to [The Printz] because you shouldn’t have went about it that way -that’s what they said,” Griffin said. Despite multiple attempts this semester, UPD Police Chief Bob Hopkins could not be reached for comment. Griffin said he thinks the university’s plan to change the policy is a good one. “They should have already had that,” he said. Cochran said he plans to communicate with the USM Gulf Park campus on the new policy. “I don’t really have oversight over them,” he said. “They’ve kind of taken over their own photo ID department, but they should mirror what we do here.” According to USM events specialist Eunice Scott, who head ID services on the Gulf Park campus, said since photo services was moved to her department, providing a government-issued ID has been a requisite for being issued a student ID. “That’s how we’ve always done it, and I think we’ve been doing it now probably eight or nine years,” she said. Euince said the reason for this policy is simple. “It could be someone else,” she said. “You want to make sure that it’s the person that it really is.”
FEATURE SMAC develops ideas for new student theater Page 4 | Monday, February 15, 2016
ON CAMPUS
Nicolas Kubicki Printz Reporter
Nicolas Kubicki/Printz The Joe Paul Student Theater remains unfinished in the Thad Cochran Center.
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When USM students hear their school is screening a movie, the first thing that comes to mind is likely images of crowds stretched out on blankets and a giant screen hoisted high in the air above a green lawn. Students at Florida State University, however, enjoy movies in their own Student Life Theater. Interim director of Union programs Sid Gonsoulin and members of SMAC took a trip Feb. 2 to FSU to tour their facility and learn how the theater operates in order to apply similar ideas at USM. According to the FSU website, the university’s Student Life Cinema program is one of the leading campus movie programs in the nation. The program elects a committee composed entirely of students to vote on and choose movies to show. The committee screens the selections five to six nights a week. Occasionally they show newly released movies. However, they also feature indie films, foreign films, documentaries and classics. “For students at FSU, admission is free,” Gonsoulin
STATE
said. “Their admission is included in the cost of their student fees. They allow non-student members of the community to pay a small ticket price as well.” SMAC aims to enact a similar program at USM in the school’s Joe Paul Student Theater, an unfurnished and unfinished theater space in the Thad Cochran Center. Due to a lack of funding, USM discontinued the theater’s construction after the union was built. “Most people don’t know that we have the capability or space for a theater,” said Jeff Taylor, assistant director of technologies and facilities for the Union programs department. “The same thing happened with the post office on the bottom floor as well. For a while, the space was empty because we simply didn’t have the funding for it.” The theater’s namesake, Joe Paul, is the former vice president for Student Affairs. Paul served USM in various capacities for over 35 years. Jeffery George, SGA president, said the theater is specifically called a “student theater” because of the way it has gained the needed funding.
“Things like this are what the capital improvement fees are for,” George said. “We want people to know that we’re proud of the fact that this theater will have been funded by students.” George said that things such as the chairs in the theater and the stage will be available for donors to “buy” a space for their name, and the donations will go to scholarships for students. According to the FSU website for the theater, Student Life Cinema Program has hosted guests such as Nick Offerman, Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and director Edgar Wright. “At FSU, they show movies, but they also have guest speakers, comedians and other small acts perform in their theater,” Gonsoulin said. “Our intention is to have the theater here be primarily for movies, but we also want to have the ability to host other small acts. There is no intention of ever using the space as a classroom.” Sarah Newton, project architect, said their priority would be showing movies. “While we may host other things, we primarily want to keep this as its intended purpose: a movie theater,” Newton said.
Attorney General presents death penalty options Garrett Minta Printz Reporter
With the recent expiration of Mississippi’s lethal injection drugs, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood released a legislative agenda that could effectively nullify the logistical and ethical issues particular to the cocktails. In place of lethal injection drugs, which can be difficult to acquire and properly administer, Hood proposed three alternative execution methods for administering the death penalty in a press release on Jan. 27. If Hood’s agenda is realized, Mississippi’s 48 death row inmates could each face either the electric chair, a firing squad or nitrogen hypoxia. Mississippi previously used the electric chair during a period ending in 1952. Though Mississippi never employed firing squads, other states have, and it is still an accepted method of execution in Utah. Nitrogen hypoxia stands alone as Hood’s only untested proposed method. Oklahoma adopted use of Nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method in 2015 and, supported by a report by Michael Copeland, an associate professor of criminal justice at East Central University in Oklahoma. According to the report, “An execution protocol that induced hypoxia via nitrogen inhalation would be a humane method to carry out a death sentence.” The report based its argument
Courtesy Photo
on the work of right-to-die advocacy groups, such as the Final Exit Organization, which provides support and resources to the terminally ill considering suicide. Such groups commonly suggest inert gas hypoxia through “exit bags” as a preferred suicide method because it is considered humane and peaceful. To carry out a sentence through nitrogen hypoxia, a convict would breathe normally, inhaling the inert gas until losing consciousness and eventually succumbing to oxygen deprivation. USM associate professor of political science Robert Press said the issue of humane treatment extends well beyond method used to carry out the death penalty. “What I innately feel is a human rights abuse [is] to take another life,” Press said. “That’s not a religious point of view, it just simply seems inhumane.” According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the South has the highest murder
rate at 5.3 per 100,000. The South also holds the highest execution rate with over 1,145. Mississippi currently has 48 inmates on death row. Press said though people often feel anger toward death row convicts, the death penalty is simply unnecessary. “I understand the feeling of someone who’s had a victim in their family been killed — that there is this desire for ‘justice’ or even revenge,” Press said. “I fully understand that it’s very human, but it’s not an effective way to prevent that from happening again. And if one looks at the punishment of life imprisonment, sometimes without parole, that is punishment.” According to Blake Feldman, a Mississippi ACLU advocacy coordinator, the death penalty is not just a poor form of deterrence. It is also unconstitutional. “With civil liberties, the first thing you think of is the Bill of Rights and then incorporate it and how it applies to the states is the Fourteenth Amendment,” Feldman said. “A lot of death penalty issues get in through due process and the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.” Feldman said the inmates’ potential innocence also contributes to the troubling nature of capital punishment. There have been 4 exonerations in Mississippi and over 156 nationally since 1971, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
FEATURE
LOCAL
Monday, February 15, 2016 | Page 5
Photojournalism student opens first photography exhibit Kendra Parks-Smith Printz Reporter
After building a portfolio for the past three years, Courtland Wells hosted his first photography exhibit in Downtown Hattiesburg on Feb. 13. Wells showcased his portfolio inside the East Front Street building. Three years ago, Wells decided to come to The University of Southern Mississippi from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After enrolling at USM, Wells began pursuing photography and photojournalism. Wells is often seen atop tables and roofs taking pictures to capture moments and stories. From models to Mardi Gras, his photography documents Hattiesburg and its community. “The goal when taking a picture is to capture a story about what
is happening or what’s going to happen,” Wells said. “When I’m taking the picture, I like to keep the people wondering.” Wells particularly enjoys photographing motion. Previously an athlete himself, Wells photographs sports events such as football games in New Orleans and track events for USM. Kaila Wyatt, a student and model for the exhibit, works with Wells on occasion. Their first meeting was a photo shoot on the coast. “It is really refreshing working with Courtland,” Wyatt said. “He is not pushy and doesn’t demand anything from me. He really lets his models do their own thing.” Quavius Goss, a local Hattiesburg artist also known as Kway, is one of Wells’ most frequent models in his photography. Since the two are
best friends, they experience many spontaneous shoots together. “He is awesome and has an eye out for this world. So, good product is always expected on our excursions,” Goss said. “It is natural with Courtland. There are no awkward moments when I am not sure what to do with my hands, because he captures moments so well.” Due to the turnout at the art gallery, Wells may go even further and become a positive example for the Hattiesburg art and photography scene. Time Magazine and Dime entertainment featured Wells’ photography in previous publications. Following the photo exhibit, Wells plans to work on new projects immediately. More information on Wells’ work can be found at courtlandwells.com.
Hunt Mercier/Photo Editor Senior Courtland Wells hosts a photo exhibit of his photography Saturday night in Downtown Hattiesburg.
LOCAL
City continues recovery after 2013 tornado Nan Beauti Copy Editor
This year marked the third anniversary of a disaster, when an EF-4 tornado devastated Hattiesburg on Feb. 10, 2013. The storm tore through the area, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and injuring dozens of people. The storm hit hardest in midtown Hattiesburg, which includes the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi. Since 2013, the city and university have made significant progress to recovery. The tornado touched ground for over 22 miles. Students and faculty returned to campus. Classes resumed after the massive twister hit at 5:03 p.m. and made its way through Hattiesburg and Petal. President Barack Obama declared Mississippi a federal disaster area following the tornado. The storm rampaged through Hattiesburg’s main streets and neighborhoods, defaced homes, commercial buildings and USM campus structures. Businesses surrounding the university have advanced in restoration and reconstruction, and the university has continued in its efforts to recovery. The tornado even destroyed jobs, as it laid waste to some of Hattiesburg’s businesses. Jack Daniels, general manager of Papa John’s across from USM, said he personally laid eyes on a tornado. “We had delivery drivers out at the time, so we had to tell them to not come back,” Daniels said. “We all got in the freezer, and as everything blew away. It sounded like a bomb going off. ” Daniels worked at Papa John’s on Highway 49 at the time and said the disaster affected his employment. “When Papa John’s that was on Highway 49 blew away, I lost my job,” Daniels said. “I was unemployed for two weeks. My company relocated us to different stores. During the two weeks of
being unemployed, I helped my friends clean up and recover.” Chelsea Miller, a waitress at IHOP across from the university, was left unemployed for six months following the tornado. “My boyfriend also worked here, and he lost his job, so that put us both out of work, and we had two children,” Miller said. Building back businesses was not the only form of recovery for those who experienced the devastating twister. Hattiesburg residents and their loved ones are still recovering from the emotions and memories of that day. Miller reminisced about her experience the day of the tornado and like others, had to recover from
the emotional scarring. “I was scared because I had never been in an actual tornado or a big storm,” Miller said. “I was scared, crying and emotional. It took me forever to figure out what I was going to do with my unemployment [...] I was thankful for being alive, really.” Three years later, Miller said she watches the news so she can prepare for any storm. “It gets better every day,” Miller said. “I used to complain about doing this and that, but now that I get to come back, I thank God about having a job.” Bop’s Frozen Custard, previously located on Hardy Street, suffered
damage from the tornado. Bop’s relocated to the former Sports Laundry building behind Subway across from USM. Bop’s owner Chris Martin said although the building endured nearly $20,000 in damages, the business recovered soon after the tornado. “I have insurance, so it wasn’t that bad of a recovery effort,” Martin said. “We had more damage from the tornado than Katrina to the actual building.” His business’ speedy recovery was no comparison to the experiences of the staff. Martin said three of his employees and two customers crowded in a bathroom for
Cam Bonelli/Printz Before (above) and after (below) photographs of campus when the tornado struck Hattiesburg on Feb. 10, 2013.
protection as the tornado ripped its way through the area. “We opened back up five or six days after the storm, but there were two days the police wouldn’t even let us in the building,” Martin said. Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree said the city is improving every day. “Katrina was in 2005, and this was 2013, so I think we have done well dealing with the effects in an eight-year span of two devastating storms,” DuPree said. He said Hattiesburg recovered from the storm so quickly because city officials were prepared. Schools, including USM, remained closed until Feb. 14, 2013. When it reopened, USM moved classes that were previously held in the eight damaged buildings. “Almost all of the campus on the south side, the south half there along Hardy Street and of course, the corner of [Highway] 49, that was impacted by the tornado,” said Chris Crenshaw, associate vicepresident for facilities, planning and management at USM. “Hardy Street was blocked off for a week or so, you couldn’t even get down Hardy Street, the trees were everywhere.” The 170 mph tornado reached a near-one mile width during its path through Hattiesburg. As a result of the tornado, 192 homes were destroyed and 338 suffered major damage. The tornado injured 82 people and caused damage amounting to $38.525 million. “Everything was gone down through to Lake Byron and you could tell where the tornado had actually spun the rose garden, that’s one thing I did notice when I looked that it looked like a crop circle in the rose garden,” said Loren Erickson, superintendent of campus landscapes for Southern Miss. Erickson said at the time, she was trying to keep track of what was happening. “We did a little over $20 million worth of renovation and construction work,” Crenshaw said.
OPINION
Page 6 | Monday, February 15, 2016
ENTERTAINMENT
‘Pablo’: The Internet’s Valentine Jonathan Urbina Entertainment Editor
During the latest episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Kanye West shocked fans by releasing his long awaited album, “The Life of Pablo.” The album release comes shortly after the artist and designer debuted his latest A/W 16 collection with Adidas, Yeezy Season 3, at Madison Square Garden. The fashion presentation not only drew the who’s who of the fashion industry, but also Ye fans who were treated to an exclusive listening session of his aforementioned record. Following West’s performance of “Ultra Light Beam” and “Highlights” off his new album, fans took to Twitter to express their excitement over the new music. One fan tweeted, “Pablo is my valentine.” “The Life of Pablo” was not entirely the record fans hoped for. Originally, West announced the title as “Swish,” then there was that infamous and weird Twitter confrontation with Wiz Khalifa about changing the name of the album to “Waves” — the title a featured song. So, where does “Pablo” come from? The Bible, of course. Yeezus is referred to Paul from the Bible. In the album
Courtesy Image of “The Life of Pablo”
context, he is Pablo and Pablo is the biblical Paul. Yes, it’s all very confusing. Flash forward to the morning
after the release of the album, West made headlines yet again through Twitter, his favorite pastime. He tweeted out a not so
cryptic cry for help from Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. The tweet read, “I write this to you my brothers while still 53
million dollars in personal debt ... Please pray we overcome ... This is my true heart.” West continued, “Mark Zuckerberg invest 1 billion dollars into Kanye West ideas.” Fans weren’t sure what to believe by the odd tweets and frankly many of them didn’t even care. Their main focus was on where to purchase the new music. Like Rihanna and Beyoncé, West’s music is a Tidal exclusive, meaning iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music are fresh out of “Pablo.” Needless to say, fans were not happy. Tidal, the brainchild of Jay-Z, comes with a membership price tag of $10 in addition to the cost to download the music. One fan tweeted, “Tidal can keep Pablo.” When West got wind of his fan’s frustration he tweeted, “Please for all music lovers. Please subscribe to tidal!!! I decided not to sell my album for another week. Please subscribe to tidal.” It looks like the options are slim: join Tidal or wait a week. Either way, it doesn’t look like West or his bizarre antics are going anywhere any time soon — that’s one thing even his fans can agree on. Perhaps this is a Yeezus world that we’re just living in? Or is it a Pablo world?
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SPORTS
BASKETBALL
Monday, February 15, 2016 | Page 7
USM drops two straight against UAB, MTSU Julius Kizzee Sports Editor
The Lady Eagles dropped back-to-back away games for the fifth straight time this season. USM is an undefeated 11-0 at home but are 1-10 in away contests. USM traveled to Birmingham to take on the UAB Blazers, falling 53-49 in a close contest. Three Lady Eagles finished in double figures, led by Brittanny Norris with 12 points on an inefficient 4-of-13 shooting and 4-of-8 from downtown. Both teams shot poorly
for the game with USM at 34 percent and UAB at 31 percent, respectively. Both teams also matched in three-point percentage at 32 percent. Southern Miss jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the contest in the first period. USM was not able to keep that lead for long as UAB climbed back to tie the game with 4:48 in the second quarter. At one point, Southern Miss missed 14 straight shots from the 9:47 mark in the second quarter to the 9:48 mark in the third quarter. That scoring drought allowed UAB to get
out to a 28-22 lead. That lead was not large though, and USM fought back to tie the game at 34 with 4:14 left in the third quarter. The rest of the third quarter was tightly contested as USM trailed only 40-37 at the end of the third period. Coach McNelis’ squad was able to keep the UAB lead within three, and USM held possession. Leading scorer Norris was able to get a shot off but missed with just 12 seconds left on the clock. UAB recovered the rebound, and the game
was over. Southern Miss looked to bounce back just two days later, traveling to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to take on the Blue Raiders. At the end of the first period, the game was tightly contested, but USM was down 16-10 to take on the Blue Raiders. The three turnovers and 11 missed shots in the quarter only gave way to 10 Southern Miss points. After the first quarter, the wheels fell off for the Lady Eagles. The Lady Eagles were blitzed by a 22-13 run by the Blue
Raiders, who jumped out to a 38-25 lead over coach McNelis and the Lady Eagles. USM finished the first half without a player scoring in double figures, and the group recorded 13 fouls in the same span. The third quarter did not do the Lady Eagles any better, as they fell behind by 16 points, 52-36. That lead swelled to 30 points by the final buzzer, and the Lady Eagles dropped yet another away game. USM looks to bounce back against UTEP on Feb. 18 at Reed Green Coliseum.
BASKETBALL
Golden Eagles fall in back-to-back contests at home Deantae Smith Sports Reporter
The Golden Eagles missed out on taking down one of the best teams in Conference USA. “It’s probably the toughest loss I’ve had to take,” said junior Khari Price. Southern Miss fell to UAB 80-77 in double overtime on Thursday night at Reed Green Coliseum. That was the fifth loss in the last seven games for the Golden Eagles. Time after time, Southern Miss fought back after falling behind once again finding the range from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles surpassed a previous season-high for 3-pointers in a game knocking down 16-of-38 from 3-point range. As the game went on, fatigue started to set in. The Golden Eagles made only one of their final 10 attempts from long range. “My legs, they were heavy, yeah,” Price said, who recorded his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 12 assists. Southern Miss came back from eight points down in the first half and again from 10 points down again in the subsequent half. USM was ahead 65-63 with 3:13 in the final period, hoping to take down the conference-leading UAB Blazers. Southern Miss was able to provide great defense
against the Blazer attack, but gave up a UAB slam with just 1:02 left in regulation. The Golden Eagles and the Blazers headed to overtime tied at 65-65 at the end of regulation. UAB took the first four points of the first overtime. Southern Miss stormed back to put the pressure on the Blazers to score the final basket of the extra period to send the game to a second overtime. UAB looked to take the goahead layup after Price slipped near the top of the key and lost the ball with 44 seconds left. But key reserve Michael O’Donnell met the Blazers guard at the rim for a blocked shot and scored on a lefthanded layup with 12.6 seconds to play after a dish from Price. UAB scored yet again on a driving layup, and senior Kourtlin Jackson’s shot off the left wing missed as the teams headed to a second overtime tied at 73. Ultimately after two overtimes, two final 3-point shots failed to find the mark at the end of the game. UAB survived an 80-77 double overtime dogfight. “We had so many chances,” Jackson said. “We definitely could have won it.” Jackson, who made five 3-pointers, finished with a gamehigh 21 points and seven of the team’s 12 steals. The Golden Eagles dropped its third consecutive game while losing to the Blazers for the fourth
time in a row. Coach Doc Sadler echoed Jackson’s remarks. “We had a couple shots at it, but there’s a reason they’re leading the conference,” Sadler said. “Obviously, I’m disappointed we didn’t win the basketball game, but I’m proud of them too.” Both teams had four players each score at least 13 points. Each team had one player post a double-double. The Golden Eagles ended the weekend facing Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night. Southern Miss was coming off Thursday’s grueling, doubleovertime loss to UAB. “Give them a lot of credit, but we [were] just wore out,” Sadler said. “We just could not go.” The Golden Eagles came out strong in the first half. Southern Miss held MTSU to only eight baskets in the first half for a total of 27 points. Michael Ramey’s 12 points on a 4-of-4 perfect shooting from three off the bench helped set the offensive tone, and Jackson’s 10 points also helped Southern Miss take a 37-32 lead into halftime. The Golden Eagles hit eight 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, shooting 53 percent from beyond the arc. The second half was a different story. “We played as good a firsthalf defense as we can,” Sadler
said. “Then, in the second half, offensively and defensively, we were in mud.” The Blue Raiders went on an 18-3 run to start the second half, opening up a 10-point lead, 45-35. MTSU made 17 of its first 22 shots to open the second half, including nine of 10 from 3-point land. The Golden Eagles struggled late getting no closer than seven points the rest of the game.
The Blue Raiders onslaught continued much of the second half, defeating Southern Miss 76-54. Southern Miss (7-16, 4-8 Conference USA) dropped its fourth consecutive game and lost by the largest margin since an 8757 loss on Jan. 2 at Louisiana Tech. Southern Miss will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they travel to El Paso to face UTEP on Feb. 18.
Fadi Shahin/Printz Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Khari Price jumps to the basket against the University of Alabama at Birmingham Thursday night.
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