Monday, January 30, 2017 Volume 101 Issue 31
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Former SGA president runs for city council ‘I believe in the future of our city.’
LUKE SMITH
printz reporter
Southern Miss graduate student and two-term Student Government Association President Jeffrey George announced his candidacy for the Hattiesburg City Council Jan. 23. George, 23, will run as a Republican candidate in Ward 1, which includes The University of Southern Mississippi and the Lake Terrace Convention Center. “I am running for City Council because I believe in the future of our city,” George said. “At a time when we are in great need of a different way forward, I plan to bring a different perspective and new energy to the city council. We have a lot of potential and all the assets necessary to be a great city, but I think we need new leadership and some fresh ideas brought to the
table to get us moving forward in the right direction.” George is currently a graduate student in the Trent Lott National Center at Southern Miss, where he is researching economic development and workforce trends. Originally from Covington, La., George moved to Hattiesburg in 2012 to attend Southern Miss and served as SGA president from 2014 - 2016. “[I] absolutely fell in love with this city,” George said. “The people, the culture we have here. All the different unique things that make Hattiesburg what it is. It’s the place I want to build a life and be here for the long term.” In August, Kim Bradley, who was in his third term as city councilman for Ward 1 and served as president of the council, announced he would be stepping down. George said his time serving at
Southern Miss has prepared him to step up and lead Hattiesburg. “Me serving as SGA president and having the opportunity to represent the 15,000 students that call Southern Miss home has given me a unique perspective on things,” George said. “It’s given me the ability to be innovative in the way that I reach out to people and to talk to different groups of people.” While at Southern Miss, George also served on University President Rodney Bennett’s executive cabinet, where he helped make decisions that would affect the entire university. George also had the opportunity to go before the Mississippi legislature to lobby for more funding for higher education. “Those experiences have really set me up to understand how our government works and what we need
to do to work together,” George said. “It’s going to take a lot of different parts and a lot of different people working together to get our city on the right track.” George said his goal is to make the council more transparent and work with the people to strategically plan for Hattiesburg’s future. “I want to bring a fresh voice to advocate for people that feel they aren’t represented,” George said. “I want to improve the communication and transparency that’s coming from the council. Those little things will help our council be more accountable and the citizens more informed about what’s going on.” George graduated from Southern Miss in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in marketing. He was inducted into the Southern Miss Student Hall of Fame
Courtesy Photo | Jeffery George Class of 2016. The City Council primaries will be held May 2, and the general election will take place June 6. To vote in the primaries, residents must be registered to vote by the April 1 deadline.
Mass Comm. Dept wins summer concert series for ‘Burgers DAISY STUTTS
photo editor
The Levitt AMP Your City Music Series chose Hattiesburg as a winner of a more than $25,000 grant to host 10 weeks of free music events at Chain Park during the summer of 2017. These weekly concerts will feature both local and out-of-state artists and will of no cost to the public in an effort to promote underused venues. The goal of this series is to give recognition to underground artists. Other winners of the grant include cities across the entire United States; 15 cities total were chosen for the concert series. The Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation funds The Levitt AMP Your City Music Series. The foundation focuses on smaller cities to host events that would not normally be financially feasible. These effort aids the venue, artists and the community. Cities with a population of 400,000 residents or fewer were eligible to apply, making Hattiesburg a prime candidate. The Southern Miss Department of Mass Communications entered Hattiesburg in the contest and had students in the department write the proposal necessary to enter. These efforts were headed by John Pluskota,
a professor in the department of Mass Communications, and several of his students. “If we receive this grant it will be one of the largest and longest concert series around, highlighting the talent, community and people of this region, and by hosting it in Chain Park we enrich the lives of local residents and draw positive attention to the diversity, origins and roots of Hattiesburg,” Pluskota told WDAM during the application process. “The goal of the grant is to improve the social fabric of the community through music and an underused park,” Pluskota said. “We really wanted to highlight Mississippi music, and what better place than the Hub City?” Local artists and Hub City residents couldn’t agree more now that Hattiesburg has been chosen. This event will allow students at USM to get involved, especially students in the music production area of study. “A lot of people don’t know how much work goes into events like this,” Pluskota said. “Not only will it benefit the arts and the university, but it will benefit the students also. We have opportunity for students to deal with applications for artists, event planning and all of the other parts of making
something like this happen.” Pluskota said Levitt provides the funding for the series, and there are rules that musicians cannot participate for free. “We are choosing the artists based on the community and what we think
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will bring us together,” Pluskota said. “We want regional acts, our goal is to have very diverse music that really represents the culture in Mississippi. We also want the event to be family friendly and just something that everyone would be able to come to
and enjoy.” The series will begin toward the end of June. More information about the lineup will be released over the next few months, giving music lovers in the Hub City something to look forward to, according to Pluskota.
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INTRODUCTION MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
Meet the Staff Fall 2016 Cam Bonelli
Executive Editor
catherine.bonelli@usm.edu
Jack Hammett
Managing Editor
jesse.hammett@usm.edu
Kaitlyn Watkins News Editor
kaitlyn.watkins@usm.edu
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Hiba Tahir
Entertainment Editor
hiba.tahir@usm.edu
Julius Kizzee Sports Editor
southernprintz@gmail.com
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.
Daisy Stutts
Photo Editor
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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.
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NEWS MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
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Shubin to lecture at University Forum HIBA TAHIR
entertainment editor On Tuesday, Feb. 7, University Forum will host “Your Inner Fish,” an evolutionary biology lecture by paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin. Forum organizer Andrew Haley said the decision to invite Shubin came from the Department of Biological Sciences and Donald Yee, who runs the annual Darwin Day celebration. “Despite the large scientific consensus on issues of animal evolution, all aspects of evolution remain controversial,” said Haley. “Forum is the ideal place to showcase those controversies and we hope that by highlighting issues related to evolution we can spark a conversation on campus and within the broader southern Mississippi community.” Shubin is the Robert R. Bensley Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago and Provost of the Field Museum of Natural History. According to information presented by Forum, In 2004, Shubin and a team of scientists discovered the 375-million-year-old fossilized remains of Tiktaalik in the Canadian
Courtesy Photo | Arctic. “Nicknamed ‘Fishapod,’ the discovery is the earliest and clearest evidence that life on land evolved from fishes,” Haley said. “The technical aspects are complicated,
but fishapod has jointed fins that served as legs and a rib cage that allowed it to survive under the pressures of gravity, all evidence that it moved on land.” “One of the great joys of finding a
new species is that you get to name it,” said Shubin in a 2006 University of Chicago interview. “In this case, once we knew we had something new, we asked a council of elders i n the Nunavut territory of Canada
to offer suggestions for the name. And they came up with a name, ’Tiktaalik,’ which in the Inuktitut language means ‘large, freshwater fish.’ How perfect!” Shubin’s resulting book, “Your Inner Fish,” as well as the Shubinhosted PBS series inspired by it, have received many awards, including the National Academies’ book award in 2009, the Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2014 and the 2015 Communication Award for Film/Radio/TV from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. “Shubin is an adventurer, a scientist and an educator and those rewards reflect that amazing combination,” said Haley. “[He] is one of the most distinguished scientists working in America today. Equally important, through his work with PBS and the Field Museum, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to educating the next generation of scientists. We expect this to be a remarkable event.” Shubin’s 6:30 p.m. lecture in the Thad Cochran ballrooms will be preceded by a reception and book signing on the third floor of the Thad Cochran building at 5:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
Acclaimed author talks ‘electric, sexy’ education LORA LAVIGNE
printz reporter
“People travel from all over the world to come to our school and watch,” said author and educator Ron Clark. “We’re trying to create a revolution. I want our profession to be young, fun, electric, sexy and hot. Teaching is not exciting anymore, and that is going to be a detriment to society.” Clark’s teaching curriculum includes singing, dancing, rapping, games and more. At the Ron Clark Academy, he uses a variety of styles to help students obtain and retain information. His new teaching methods attract nearly 40,000 visiting educators a year and have improved test scores from fifth to eighth grade. On Jan. 26, The University of Southern Mississippi’s Luckyday Scholarship Program welcomed Clark as a keynote speaker to address the Hattiesburg community in the Thad Cochran Center. Coordinators said they were glad Clark came to Southern Miss’s campus to speak about the keys to education. “Ron is truly an amazing motivational speaker,” said program coordinator Jason Quigley. Clark has worked with disadvantaged students around the country and has appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” He was the
Shradda Bhatta/Printz Ron Clark lectures to Hattiesburg community at the Thad Cochran Center on Jan. 26, 2017. subject of a 2006 made-for-television film titled “The Ron Clark Story.” The Ron Clark Academy was founded in 2007 with what some may consider to be a unique curriculum. During his visit to Southern Miss, he spoke about his very creative way of teaching and his journey of becoming the educator he is today. “RCA is like my dream job,” said Jariel Davis, junior education studies
major. “Ron Clark is everything I want to be in a teacher, and his academy is definitely a place I can see myself instructing at.” Clark said he encourages students to follow their hearts in life and to chase opportunities. “The journey of life is like a bus,” Clark said. “You have your runners, chasing after what they want. You have your joggers, doing whatever
it is to get by. Then you have your riders, just there for the ride. Be a runner. Be the best you that you can be.” This analogy is further explored in “Move Your Bus,” Clark’s latest book, which explores achieving success through work. “It was honestly one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I will never forget it,” said sophomore
music education major Elisha Dailey. “He spoke on some real stuff and helped me to see more of what I want to do for myself. He made me realize that who I am is exactly who I need to be.” Clark signed and sold copies of his latest book after the program. For more information about the Ron Clark Academy or “Move Your Bus,” visit ronclarkacademy.com.
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FEATURE MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
#SadersAgainstNaders: USM welcomes WCU KAITLYN WATKINS
news editor
William Carey University, The University of Southern Mississippi’s sister school, was devastated in the tornado that struck on Jan. 21. After the storm damage had been assessed, Southern Miss President Rodney Bennett offered the uses of USM resources to displaced students. Now, 225 William Carey international and out-of-state students are being housed in nine residence halls on the Hattiesburg campus. Additional accommodations are being made to make empty rooms available for Carey students in need of housing. WCU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and the physical therapy program will continue their classes on USM’s campus. Various buildings on campus including Jones Hall, Cook Library, Joseph Greene Hall
and Hickman Hall will host William Carey lectures. William Carey students were also granted access to the Payne Center, the game rooms in R.C. Cook Student Union and library resources. Furthermore, student-athletes are using Southern Miss facilities for sports teams to practice in until William Carey can recover. The Southern Miss Baptist Student Union extended an offer to William Carey students to attend worship night and free lunch in the week after the tornado. Many students used faith to support one another after their stormrelated experiences. A Bible verse, Psalm 46:1, has become a rallying cry for the William Carey community after an undisturbed Bible in the Bass Chapel was found open to the passage, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” A Carey Strong service was held at Temple Baptist Church Jan. 27, where
WE HEARD YOU!
LATE NITE DINING ON CAMPUS
several students including Emily Ennis, Austin Eitel and Branden Walker presented. “The last thing we wanted to do last Saturday was leave each other and go home and go our separate ways,” said William Carey student Abby Ham about the service. “Just being together and being in the same place will help with a lot of emotional healing.” Mikaela Green, a sophomore at William Carey, posted a song on YouTube that she wrote and produced alongside Spencer Hollingsworth, a William Carey graduate, entitled “Carey Strong” in which she sings the line, “15 seconds broke our hearts.” William Carey students have resumed classes, with some classes moved online and across USM’s campus. WCU students are preparing for finals as the end of their winter trimester approaches. Concerned professors checked on their students’ safety immediately following the storm, posting on discussion boards. However, even in the midst of the destruction on campus, William Carey students have maintained their sense of humor and their friendships. Jennifer Walker, a music therapy major, coined the hashtag #SadersAgainstNaders to embody some of the resilient William Carey spirit. Many students wrote about what they went through in the early morning hours when the tornado hit.
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WCU student Ella Kate Rose posted a recollection of events from before and after the storm to Facebook. “I look around and see an overflowing hallway of familiar and frightening faces,” she said. “Everyone still bracing. It is only then that I realize what is happening, or rather, what has already happened. I gradually begin to hear the soft murmur of the tornado siren above the noise of my racing pulse.” WCU student Xandra Phillips posted to her blog how she felt on Jan. 21. “I am thankful,” she said. “I am thankful because I am okay. I am thankful because my friends are alive. I am thankful because I attend a school where the faculty and staff have been there since the very first moments, protecting us, loving us, praying for us and fighting for us.” “That’s the great thing about
Hattiesburg,” said WCU President Tommy King. “They come to anyone’s aid when they’re needed, and we’ve found that true again.” USM President Rodney Bennett released a statement about the efforts to help WCU after the storm. “Let me be clear that USM is not seeking to establish new avenues for William Carey students to transfer,” he said. “Instead, we are committed to doing all that we can to provide the resources their students need while preserving their experience and identity as William Carey students as much as possible.” Bennett expressed his pride and appreciation for being a part of a university and community that showed resilience during the hardship.“Let’s get to work,” he said.
Take a hike with Outdoor Adventure Club KAITLYN WATKINS
Fresh Food Late Nite
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news editor
The Southern Miss Outdoor Adventure Center offers students, faculty and staff the opportunity to get outside, seek challenge and adventure – even if they have never seen themselves as athletic or adventurous. All activities are led by knowledgeable staff and range from backpacking trips and canoe trips to educational clinics. Recently, the Outdoor Adventure Center began offering outdoor equipment rentals every Friday and Monday 2 - 5 p.m. Rental items include tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, cooking sets, external and internal frame backpacks and head lamps. On the first Friday of every month, Southern Miss Outdoor Adventures holds a free outdoor clinic. All participants are entered into a drawing for a free CamelBak water bottle courtesy of Outdoor Nation. Additionally, the Outdoor Center offers team-building exercises for all groups including sororities, fraternities and church groups. According to its website, Outdoor Nation is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to reconnecting millennials with the outdoors. The organization host summits around the country as well as awards grants for outstanding project ideas, leads outdoor outings, works with youth and connects with others. A few
Southern Miss students involved in Outdoor Adventures are ambassadors for Outdoor Nation, which has awarded the Outdoor Adventure Center grants in the past to help fund trips. The Outdoor Adventure Center works to make sure that the trips are affordable for all people interested in exploring the outdoors. Any fees charged include transport, accommodations and the cost of any gear used. Trips in the past include a Red Bluff visit, a kayaking trip with manatees and a backpacking adventure along the Walls of Jericho on the Alabama-Tennessee border. OAC trip veterans Addy Falgoust shared her experiences. “For a lot of students, this is their first experience going on a nature trip,” Falgoust said. “Going on these trips allows them to open up, get involved and do things that they never would have considered before.” The rock wall in the Payne Center is operated alongside the Outdoor Adventure Center and is open Monday through Thursday 4 - 8 p.m. and Fridays from 4 - 6:30 p.m. Weekend use is by reservation only. The Payne Center also hosts birthday parties as well as offers group rental options for the rock wall. Free belay clinics will be given through February for students and Payne Center members. The Southern Miss Outdoor Adventure Center and SMAC are hosting S’mores and More in front of
the Payne Center Tuesday to offer more information on its upcoming programs.
SPRING SEMESTER SCHEDULE: February 4
Black Creek Wilderness Day Hike
February 24-28
Snow Board/Snow Skiing in Boone, NC
March 10-15
Spring Break Rock Climbing/ Hiking at Sand Rock and Little River Canyon, AL
March 24-26
Zip Line/Day Hike on Appalachian Trail (Desoto Falls Recreation Area and Lanier Islands, GA)
April 8-9
Canoe the Sipsey Fork River, AL
Outdoor Clinic Schedule: February 3 | Camping 101 March 3 | Bike Repair April 7 | Canoeing 101 May 5 | Outdoor Yoga
FEATURE MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
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Photo Story: Becoming a boxing legend
KENYATTA ROSS
printz reporter
The story is centered around the young men who decided to try something other than football or basketball. Many people think boxing is easy, but many of the
young men say otherwise. I think my main focus was centered around tyring to visualize something much more. This was a very hard project to feather together but through help and other styles of my classmates, I was able to get
pointers about my story. I believe that everyone is great at something, and photography is something I’m determined to get better at so one day, a student can idolize me like I idolize Gordon Parks.
“Pain is weakness leaving the body”
“I can’t promise you that it will be easy but it will take time and dedication.” - Coach Rob
“I don’t promote boxing, I promote people. Boxing is a catalyst to bring people together.” -Don King
“I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing, and the shadow won.” -Muhammad Ali
“My brother who endure pain though this journey with me knows how it feels to be beaten by yourself.” Kenyatta S. Ross
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OPINION MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
Ticket price for film a ‘resident evil’ JENNIFER ROBINSON
printz reporter
“Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” was a “wastenado of the eight bucks-onsoon” I spent to see it. Instead of wasting your money, watch the previous films again and pretend this one doesn’t exist. Although the locations and graphics were beautiful, this movie wasn’t worth the time or effort of shovelin’ popcorn into your face. If the world ever does go apocalypse mode, I hope the aesthetic resembles the scenes created in this movie. The camera work and lighting worked well with all the fight scenes – if you enjoy the camera shaking and too many close ups. While the technical side of the movie was okay at best, the writing was garbage. The film was basically a rewrite of what we’ve previously seen, as well as stolen lines from other movies. I won’t give it away in case you want to guess which movies yourself, but think 80s action movies. On a positive note, this film does tie up loose ends from the previous installments. However, if you haven’t seen the previous five movies, prepare for esoteric references you won’t get. The fiveminute recap at the beginning
is not enough to catch you up on everything you have missed. I was excited going into the theater. I’ve seen the previous films, and after 15 years, I thought the story would come to a satisfying close. I was wrong. During the hour and a half I spent in my seat, I experienced deja vu. Since the sixth movie picks up exactly where the fifth left off, it’s almost like a part two. After the quick-paced televisionstyle expository recap, the film speeds through Alice’s time in Washington and then in Raccoon City, where the film series began. The film’s trailer gives away the entire plot: The heroin returns to Raccoon City and takes on the corporation responsible for the zombie apocalypse. While in the early 2000s Resident Evil was one of the biggest zombie apocalypse-themed movies of the mainstream, there have since been better films and shows in the genre. The ratings speak for themselves on this film. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 4.8/10. The IMDb rating is only slightly better at a 6.4/10. While I enjoyed the previous films, this one left something to be desired. If you must see it, wait until it hits Redbox or stream it online. Overall, the movie was not only a disappointment – I felt cheated.
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McDaniel’s stance on women’s rights irrelevant TICHINA WILSON
printz reporter
Unsurprisingly, a post from a Mississippi state senator’s Facebook page is accumulating thousands of outraged comments and has been shared more than 20,000 times. Sen. Chris McDaniel made a statement saying the women who chose to participate in the Women’s March in D.C. are “a group of unhappy women.” McDaniel ended the post by asking a question: “if they can afford all those piercings, tattoos, body paintings, signs, and plane tickets, then why do they want us to pay for their birth control (sic)?” Despite the opposition, comments, shares and dislikes, McDaniel continued his rant on the Women’s March. The conservative commentator defended his comments and had a message for anyone who felt differently. “Yell, curse, scream, threaten, and ridicule all you wish (sic),” McDaniel wrote. “I don’t care. It’s cute. But I’m not going anywhere.
The more you push, the more I will resist. Even if I have to stand alone.” McDaniel may not have foreseen the backlash he would receive after his many postings. In response to his post, a petition with more than 1,200 signatures has circulated, calling for the resignation of the Republican senator. According to the Clarion Ledger newspaper, McDaniel said there is “not a chance” that he will resign. In an effort to speak to McDaniel, half a dozen women went to the state capitol with a pink cake and their mission statement in hand. However, McDaniel never received the cake as he was not present. McDaniel admitted that his posts may have been controversial to some but said “the price we pay to live in a free society is to be offended sometimes.” “Discourse can be a positive thing,” he said. “Controversy can drive the conversation, and we can be better off in the long run. I think it’s better when people communicate, even when they disagree.” McDaniel, along with other politicians, should use their social media handles with more
discretion. Instead, McDaniel chose to use extreme right-wing rhetoric. One would say that in his mind, he can say whatever he pleases because of his “absolute free speech” pass. It may seem as though the Republican senator goes out of his way to be politically incorrect. But for most of us, we must measure what we say because of simply how it will be received. McDaniel chose to vent to social media about what he thinks women should do – which is rather funny, being that Mr. McDaniel is not a Mrs. Although the spotlight may have been on specifically McDaniel at the time, this adds another blemish to Mississippi’s pimply past. Once again the Magnolia state gets a slow clap for its inadequacies. It probably won’t hurt McDaniel – after all, he’s unapologetic. “Friends, you should read this,” he wrote less than an hour ago after a commenter posted his office phone number. “Evidently, I’ve offended the snowflakes. I apologize for their filthy language but that’s precisely what we should expect from liberals.”
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OPINION MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
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Senators pass unnecessary hate crime bill ALYSSA BASS
printz reporter
On Thursday, Jan. 26, Mississippi senators passed the “Blue, Red and Med Lives Matter Act” in a vote of 37 13 to protect police officers and other first responders from being targeted by civilians. If a civilian attacks an officer, he or she will be charged with hate crime. Hattiesburg gained national praise in May of 2015 for honoring officers Liquori Tate and Benjamin Deen, who were killed during a traffic stop. The community’s ability to mourn together, quickly prosecute the perpetrators and make the statement that the lives of law enforcement matter was an act that caught the nation’s. At a time when police brutality and division was trending, we – a southern state – set an example of being protective of those responsible for protecting us. The Senate’s passing of this bill would have been predictable and seen as necessary in 2015, or even in 2016, after the death of five police officers in Dallas. For the Senate to pass the bill now feels untimely. According to the FBI’s statistics for officers killed in active duty in 2015, 86 officers died – 45 of those deaths were declared accidental. Out of the 41 remaining felonious deaths, 19 occurred in the south. According to a WDAM report in 2016, five of those fatalities belonged
to Mississippi officers. The news station later revealed that Mississippi is one of the deadliest states for law enforcement. WDAM interviewed University of Southern Mississippi Criminal Justice professor Alan Thompson in November about the alarming statistics. “Although we see a relatively low number of deaths in Mississippi, by comparison to those larger states when we look at those deaths based upon the population of the state or more accurately at the number of law enforcement officers in the state, we do see that the risk in the numbers are relatively high here in Mississippi compared to other states,” Thompson said. Despite this, I still do not believe this bill is necessary. The numbers of Mississippi law enforcement deaths are not high enough for me to believe that there is an active threat against law enforcement in Mississippi at this time. I do not believe that civilians – especially brown and black civilians – are foolish enough to target officers in 2017. Even if they were foolish enough, it is common knowledge that a lengthy prison sentence for killing, or attempting to kill, a police officer comes with committing the crime. This bill accomplishes stating the obvious while not offering any real protection for first responders. And as one can tell from the WDAM comments, the bill satisfies
Courtesy Photo | conservatives who believe there is a war on police started by the Black Lives Matter movement. Notably, these are the same people who do not believe that police brutality is an issue despite the amount of video evidence and resigned officers who have publicly admitted to targeting predominately black and brown neighborhoods. According to the Clarion Ledger, African- American senators wanted to be assured of law enforcement being held to the same standard as well
and rightfully so. Police suspected of discrimination or wrongful force usually receive paid leave or suspension. However, a motion by AfricanAmerican Senator Barbara Blackmon to add language that would hold law enforcement accountable for targeting civilians due to their race failed 1534 after Senate Judiciary Chairman Sean Tindell mentioning that the state’s current hate crime law does not exclude officers.
If the bill is passed by the House, it will be effective as law July 1. All law enforcement officers deserve to be protected; therefore, I do not have a strong issue with their profession being defended under the state hate crime law. However, “blue and red lives” do not seem to currently be in grave danger, but the lives of Muslim immigrants due to President Trump’s infamous executive order now are. And I wish that was something that all Mississippians could agree on.
International students celebrate Chinese New Year HIBA TAHIR
entertainment editor On Sat. Jan 28, The University of Southern Mississippi’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association hosted a Chinese New Year Gala in order to ring in the traditional Chinese New Year. According to history.com, Chinese New Year is the most important social and economic holiday in China and serves to honor household and heavenly deities, as well as ancestors. “Significantly, younger generation of Chinese now observe the holiday in a very different manner from their ancestors,” reads a statement on the site. “For some young people, the holiday has evolved from an opportunity to renew family ties to a chance for relaxation from work.” 2017 is the Year of the Fire Rooster. According to the Chinese zodiac, people born in Rooster years are extremely observant, hardworking, resourceful, courageous and talented. Although the organizers I encountered at the gala probably weren’t all roosters, I definitely saw
Shraddha Bhatta | Printz all those attributes in them. Several hundred people attended, but the home-cooked food was plentiful. Unfortunately, I’m not the best when it comes to food names, and by the time I made it to the front of the buffet line many of the dishes had been moved away from their labels. I ate various concoctions
Shraddha Bhatta |Printz of chicken and duck and beef and even my first slice of King Cake, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what dishes I tried. Nevertheless, I enjoyed everything I picked up and hardly had time to focus on any of it before I found myself enjoying scavenger hunt games, riveting
musical performances and even a karate display from local karate students. Although the vast majority of the crowd was Asian, I found myself at a table with people from Mississippi, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. All around me, international students talked in their own tongues and
smiled widely at one another. I was awestruck by the incredible diversity and reminded of just how fortunate we are to foster such worldly relationships at USM. All in all, it was most definitely a night to remember, and if it’s any indication of the year to come, we have much to look forward to.
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SPORTS MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2017
Southern Miss erupts in second half KYLE WILLIAMS
printz reporter
The Southern Miss Lady Eagles (12 - 8, 4 - 4 C-USA) hosted UAB (10 - 9, 3 - 5 C-USA) winning 64 - 59 on Kay James night, commemorating the legendary coach’s induction into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. “So many of times, legends are people you can not touch or talk too, you just read about them,” said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis. “We are blessed to have [Kay James] as a part of our program – with radio – coming to practice and giving advice to the players.” With the historic night at hand for the Lady Eagles, their play in the first half did not match the occasion. The Lady Eagles’ weakness was scoring in the first quarter as their opponent, UAB, shot 67 percent, including 3-of-8 from three-point range. Southern Miss’ numbers were far from poor, shooting 55 percent off of 6-of-11 shooting, but that did not reflect on the scoreboard. Southern Miss committed six turnovers, helping UAB finding their offensive rhythm. UAB finished the first period with an eight-point
lead, 24 - 16. Limiting UAB’s three-point shot for as they kept the Blazers under their average of seven threepointers a game to five in the entire night. Coming into the contest, UAB led C-USA in three-point shooting, shooting 38.2 percent from behind the three-point line this season. “Limiting their [UAB] three point touches is something we did execute throughout the whole game,” Lee-McNelis said. “The game would be really ugly if we would not have carried out this execution.” As Southern Miss found ways to limit the outside shot, UAB’s post game became more effective. UAB foward Katelynn Thomas finished the first half with nine points and shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor. Thomas’ efforts came off of the play of UAB guard Janeka Williams, who finished with 11 points and also shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including knocking down a threepointer. Both of their efforts would lead to UAB having a seven-point lead, 40-33. It took the Lady Eagles only two minutes of play into the second half to tie the game for the first
time. Southern Miss’ effort to rally momentum and tie the game would remain with them as they exited the third quarter with a four-point deficit, 51-47. “All of the things that went wrong for in the first three quarters, went right for us in the fourth quarter,” Lee-McNelis said. Southern Miss dominated the fourth quarter of play only allowing UAB to shoot 17 percent from the floor and forcing the Blazers into committing eight turnovers. The final minute of the game would be where Southern Miss’ bench showed their impact. With 19 clicks left on the clock, up 60-57, guard Keri Jewett-Giles stole the inbound pass from UAB, ran down court and converted an and-one layup. With a flagrant foul called on the play, Jewett-Giles stepped to the line and converted both free throws to extend the lead to five.. With Southern Miss getting possession back, Jewett-Giles converted with another basket, scoring six points in a span of 1.3 seconds. “Bring that spark off the bench,” Jewett-Giles said. “Just help bring that extra fuse and get us going.”
Adriana Garcia | Printz
Southern Miss racks win at season opener LUKE SMITH
printz reporter
The Southern Miss Women’s Tennis team started their spring season off with a 7 - 0 sweep of Jackson State on a chilly
Courtesy Photo |
Saturday afternoon in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss senior Carolin Drescher clinched a 6 - 4, 6 - 1 match win at number 1 singles for the Lady Eagles. Drescher and fellow senior Alex Kitchen also won their #1 doubles
set 6 - 4. Head coach Dominic Modise said he was impressed with his team’s performance on Saturday. “It was a good match,” Modise said. “We had a little nerves as expected, but overall
performance was great.” Kitchen easily won her singles match 6 - 2, 6 - 1 while sophomore Rikeetha Pereira won 6 - 3, 6 - 1. “We pulled it out and played well,” Modise said. “It was a good start of
the season. It was a good team we played against.” The Lady Eagles will be back in action Friday, Feb. 3, in Tampa to take on Florida Gulf Coast before facing South Florida the next day.