Thursday, April 20, 2017 Volume 101 Issue 50
student printz SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927
www.studentprintz.com
Bryant announces new Regions Bank facility in Hattiesburg
ANNIE JOHNSON printz reporter Gov. Phil Bryant visited Hattiesburg’s Lake Terrace Convention Center on April 18 make an economic development announcement. The Area Development Partnership along with Congressman Steven Palazzo, Mayor Johnny Dupree and members of the Mississippi Legislature came together for Bryant’s announcement. “Regions Bank will locate their new operation center right here in Hattiesburg,” Bryant said. “There I was, a 19-year-old kid, and I went to one of the most prestigious banks in Mississippi [Regions], and they gave me a loan to go to USM, and here we are today.” Regions currently has locations in 15 different states. “They could have gone to any other state,” Bryant said. “This was our opportunity to tell Regions, ‘Mississippi believes in you, and we want you to be our bank.’” The new 75,000 square-foot operation center will employ more than 400 Mississippians. “I’m sure the 400 employees that will be there will be a lot of students from Southern Miss and Alumni,” Bryant said. “They will be able to work at home near their families.” Bryant said Regions’ decision will make a significant impact in the Hattiesburg community. “This means so much to Mississippi,” Bryant said. “I can assure you that there are other governors who will get the message and be disappointed [that Regions picked Hattiesburg], but good.” Governor Bryant ended his speech by acknowledging Mississippi’s past and looking toward the future. “We understand the trials and tribulations that this state has gone through, but we also understand the future more than this past,” Bryant said. “This is so important not only for today, but how Mississippians looks at themselves and how the rest of the nation looks at Mississippi as a financial leader.” Chad Newell, the Area
Annie Johnson | Printz Gov. Phil Bryant announces Regions Bank’s new facility in Hattiesburg at the Lake Terrace Convention Center on April 18, 2017. Development Partnership representative, thanked Bryant and introduced Palazzo. “I’m really just here to just say thank you,” Palazzo said. “Thanks to everybody in this room.” Palazzo said he felt the community would be involved in Regions’ decision. “Politics is a team sport,” Palazzo said. “We’ve mentioned a lot about the big players, but it’s a lot about the community as well. We’re all coming together for a single purpose and that’s to improve the
quality of life here. “I’m also pretty certain that the officers who made this decision instinctively knew that the Pine Belt would be a great place for this operation.” Regions Bank currently operates in Downtown Hattiesburg through three entities including the Regions Mortgage Programs, but was looking for a new location due to expansion. Greg Garraway, the President of Regions Bank in the South Mississippi said this was a great
day for Hattiesburg. “We employ more people in Hattiesburg than any other bank here in Hattiesburg – talk about home banking,” Garraway said. “We couldn’t have done this without Governor Phil Bryant, the Area Development Partnership and Mayor Johnny Dupree. We’re very proud to be a part of this great city.” New team leader at the future facility Morgan McCarty said Regions is here for the long term. “This is my home,” McCarty said. “I’ve never wanted to live anywhere
else. We’re very excited about the Regions Mortgage future and the future of Hattiesburg.” Dupree said there were two winners here today. “There’s two winners: Lamar County and the city of Hattiesburg,” Dupree said. “All this happened because of the community. It’s built on relationships. It’s a great place to live in Hattiesburg, Miss.” “This area came together like never before and sent a message to this great bank that we are your home,” Bryant said.
2
INTRODUCTION THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
MEET THE STAFF SPRING 2017 Daisy Stutts
Cam Bonelli
Photo Editor
Executive Editor
daisy.stutts@usm.edu
cambonelli93@gmail.com
Jhaimee Bullock
Jack Hammett
Design Editor
Managing Editor
jhaimee.bullock@usm.edu
jackhammett92@gmail.com
Sarah Anne Schloemer
Kaitlyn Watkins
Web Master
News Editor
sarah.schloemer@usm.edu
kaitlyn.watkins@usm.edu
Nan Beauti
Hiba Tahir
Copy Editor
Entertainment Editor
afnan.beauti@usm.edu
hiba.tahir@usm.edu
Julius Kizzee Sports Editor
southernprintz@gmail.com
studentprintz.com
Chuck Cook
Amber Cobbins
chuck.cook@usm.edu
amber.cobbins@usm.edu
Printz Advisor
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.
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.
Printz Designer
FIND US ON THE WEB The Student Printz @studentprintz studentprintz.com
NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
3
History panelists discuss extrajudicial violence CAM BONELLI executive editor The Department of History and the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society partnered with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to present “Reckonings History, Memory and Extrajudicial Violence in Global Perspective” on April 18 in the LAB. The panelists discussed the persecution of Civil Rights workers in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era, gay men in Nazi Germany and Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War. Assistant Professor in the Department of History Rebecca Tuuri presented “Community Complicity in Extrajudicial Violence Against Civil Rights Workers in Mississippi” which focused on the persecution of unknown Civil Rights activists who died through violent means. Tuuri said many people have heard of the non-activist murder of Emmett Till. “Even now, we are talking about Emmett Till’s death,” Tuuri said. “Far fewer have heard of non-activist and activist men and women killed in the Deep South. I’m skipping the wellknown activists and speaking of the ones we don’t hear about. Tonight I want to point out the cost civil rights activists in Mississippi faced.” Reverend George Lee a 52-year-old printing shop owner from Belzoni, Miss. was killed in the spring of 1955 after the
passage of Brown vs. Board of Education which ruled that segregation was unconstitutional, according to Tuuri. Lamar Smith, a 63-year-old farmer who encouraged black individuals to vote, was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of the Brookhaven Courthouse. “No one admitted to seeing anything in court, and the case was dropped,” Tuuri said. “Herbert Lee was killed by [state representative] E.H. Hurst in a fight by a cotton gin. Hurst said Lee threatened him with a tire-iron.” Vernon Dahmer from Historic Kelly Settlement North of Hattiesburg and a member of the Forrest County NAACP, encouraged black individuals to vote and would offer to pay poll taxes. “On Jan. 6, 1966 Vernon’s house was firebombed by the Klu Klux Klan,” Turri said. “He and his family were able to escape out of a window. Vernon died later that night due to smoke inhalation.” Associate Professor in the Department of History and Dale Center Fellow Heather Marie Stur spoke on “Atrocities on All Sides: Extrajudicial Violence in the Vietnam War” and the multifaceted nature of violence against Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War. Stur said all sides committed atrocities toward civilians. “All took part in extrajudicial violence in the Vietnam War, including the American military,” Stur said. “There was no judicial process to see if they were
actually enemies of the government. It was often suspected political opponents, not necessarily proven. The numbers of political prisoners was in the tens of thousands. Prisoners reported a wide variety of torture.” Stur said Vietnamese civilians were besieged on all sides by violence or being threatened by violence. Civilians were constantly under harassment by factions related to the Saigon government. Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Campus Outreach Program Officer Jake Newsome presented “Violence and the Burden of Memory for Gay Holocaust Survivors” which explored the persecution of gay men by Nazi Germany. “How many of you learned about in school that gays and lesbians were also victims of the Nazi regime,” Newsome said. “Everytime I ask that question, I get more and more hands – which is good. I studied the Holocaust for four years, and I didn’t learn about it until I was in grad school.” Newsome said it began in 1871 before the Nazi Germany era when Section 175 was passed into law. “In 1871 there was a law that criminalized male deviant sexual behavior in Weimar Germany,” Newsome said. “Women were not put into this law. It doesn’t criminalize being gay, it criminalizes a set of particular
Courtesy Photo | behaviors and certain acts. People in Weimar Germany didn’t think that you could be gay or that you could be born gay. Homosexual behavior was just that – it was a sort of behavior you could fall into – it wasn’t seen as an identity rather a vice like drinking or gambling. Newsome said part of the Nazis’ campaign was to clean up what they saw as moral decay and according to the Nazis, homosexuality was on the rise in Weimar Germany. He said the Nazis were not homophobic for religious reasons. “How do you recreate or produce a master race,” Newsome said. “Through sex and sexuality. The Nazis were obsessed with understanding and controlling human sexuality for political reasons. It posed a racial threat. This was something all of the major leaders were thinking about.”
According to Newsome, the Nazis arrested 100,000 men and more than 50,000 of those men were convicted. “The men had to wear a pink triangle to denote their alleged crime,” Newsome said. “Official policy for those accused of gay sexuality was conversion or education so that they could become functioning members in German society.” Assistant Professor in the Department of History Andrew Ross who coordinated the event with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum said he hopes this is the first of many events in conjunction with the museum. “We hope that putting these different historical events in context will not only foster ongoing dialog about injustice but will also be the beginning of future collaboration with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
USM senior chosen to represent Delta Gamma sorority KAITLYN WATKINS news editor University of Southern Mississippi senior pyschology major Hannah Haulsee was recently chosen from a competitive pool of applicants to serve on the 2017 - 2018 Collegiate Development Consultant (CDC) team for Delta Gamma Sorority. According to USM’s website, Greek life at USM makes up 24 percent of the campus with 26 various chapters represented, including Delta Gamma. Greek organizations at USM seek to provide students with leadership skills and an inclination to serve the community. Collegiate Development Consultants spend one academic year traveling to approximately 35 universities in North America with Delta Gamma chapters. During the visits that last from four to seven days, the CDCs meet with the chapter management team members and help with calendar planning, team building, risk management, recruitment preparation, mentorship and more, according to Delta Gamma. Each Delta Gamma chapter will host at least one CDC per year. This year, 23 Collegiate Development Consultants were selected to support four recently
founded chapters in addition to 150 established chapters at universities across North America. Two members of the current consultant team will be continuing for a second year. According to Director of Extension and Consultants Lorie Hunter Holt, Haulsee stood out during the interview process because she is “an independent and thoughtful decision make who would be adaptable on the road, and a team member who would relate well to the women she would be working with.” A team reviewed each candidate’s leadership experience and essays to determine whether the applicants demonstrated skills that they were looking for in consultants. In the interview, potential CDCs were tested on their critical thinking, communication, problem solving and strategic thinking. Holt said the interview team noticed Haulsee’s upbeat personality and energy. “I was initially very hesitant to apply to be a CDC. Serving as the Panhellenic President during the 2016 - 2017 school year was an experience that shaped my love for and belief in the sorority experience,” Haulsee said. Haulsee joined the Delta Pi chapter of Delta Gamma in 2013 as a freshman.
As president of the College Panhellenic Council, Haulsee headed the governing body that is over the eight USM chapters in the National Panhellenic Conference. She said she was able to advocate for all Panhellenic members in different settings and look for ways to serve Greek life and the campus community. “I served alongside some incredible women in various organizations and those women taught me so much about leading, expressing my passion and challenging myself to be empathic towards the needs of our community,” Haulsee said. Haulsee said her experience in Delta Gamma helped her to form some of her strongest friendships. Her desire to assist college women in their leadership and personal development is what led her to apply for CDC. She was inspired by the Panhellenic women that she called “strong, courageous and integrity-driven” to spend the next year helping collegiate women in Delta Gamma chapters across North America to further develop their character. “I feel more than humbled to be selected to represent our Panhellenic community and Delta Gamma at Southern Miss on the road next year as a Collegiate Development Consultant,” Haulsee said.
Courtesy Photo | Hannah Haulsee was selected to represent Southern Miss on the ’17-’18 Delta Gamma Fraternity Collegiate Development Consultant Team.
4
FEATURE THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
‘Burg trolley helps prevent drunk driving KENDRA PARKS printz reporter The Hattiesburg Trolley is run by Grove Transit and goes by Brewsky’s, the Keg and Barrel, the End Zone, the Porter, the Thirsty Hippo, Mahogany Bar, Glory Bound and multiple campus spots including Fraternity and Sorority Row. The idea for the Hattiesburg Trolley began as a grassroots project created by local neighborhood sponsors and State Representative Toby Barker. These sponsors came together two to three times a year for events such as New Year’s Eve to provide safe ways to get home for Hattiesburg residents going out to downtown and midtown. The Trolley is a non-profit organization that runs on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Grove Transit is one of the top non-emergency transit companies in the area with offices scattered around Mississippi. The sponsors reached out to Dan Reid, President and managing member of Grove Transit, to use their vans. After this idea, the Downtown Association came together with the sponsors and Grove Transit to propose a way to have free ongoing
transportation around Hattiesburg for Fridays and Saturdays. Shortly after, Grove Transit bought a van equipped with leather bed booths, a television and neon lights, for a safe and cool weekend transportation for Hattiesburg residents on the town. The group came together to buy the van to run initially and then went around to different restaurants and bars to promote sponsorship for the trolley. On the Hattiesburg Trolley, there is a television that displays local events going on around from music at local bars, like the Thirsty Hippo, to crawfish boils going on. The trolley even offers early transportation for Live at Five, so students and Hattiesburg residents have the opportunity to get Downtown for the event with safe transportation home. “I thought the community would benefit from the bus. The city’s transportation doesn’t run at night.” Reid said, “So, we feel this is something to offer to the citizens of Hattiesburg to support the sponsors, because they are the blood of the trolley, as we are. I would encourage everyone to utilize it whether it be from USM to midtown.” For trolley users reassurance, the trolley has a tracker on the website to
Courtesy Photo | locate which stop the trolley is and how far it is from you. The tracker enables riders to time their departures and arrivals of the route that loops around to pick people back up. “The party bus was super cool,” entertainment industry management major Randy Riley said. “The guy driving (Brendan) is very chill and down for whatever. He lets you pick your own music and will take you basically anywhere downtown. [The
Trolley]even offered to drive us through Taco Bell. He’s a local comedian so he told us jokes and all the weird stuff he’s seen go down driving people around at odd hours. It’s pretty cool seeing the city do something like that.” Students Zach Gosnell, Sukhjeaven Kaur, Jae Cavalier, Whitney Mohon and Nicholas Lepkowski joined in an integrated marketing communications class joined together to spread the social media presence and student awareness
of the Hattiesburg Trolley. “They are just trying to promote the safety of not drinking and driving. This is a convenient way of not doing putting yourself and others in harm,” Lepkowski said. “More people need to know about the Hattiesburg Trolley to boost partnerships and awareness of them. They’re generating business for them and on social media they’re promoting businesses for them.”
Office of Sustainability to host Earth Week KELLY BRAHMBHATT printz reporter Earth Day is approaching and the Office of Sustainability invited students to participate in a week of events to celebrate Earth Week from April 17 - 22. According to the Facebook event page, Earth Week is a weeklong set of programming and events coordinated by the Office of Sustainability to celebrate sustainability and educate students and faculty of its importance. These
events are open to all members of the university and Hattiesburg communities. Earth Week is a concentrated week of educational programming that focuses on environmental issues, according to the page. The Office of Sustainability has hosted Earth Week on USM’s campus since April 2009. Haley McMinn, Assistant Director of Sustainability, said Earth Week provides an opportunity for students to learn about sustanability on campus.
“The Office of Sustainability’s primary task is to help guide the university in a direction toward climate neutrality, or having no impact on the environment,” McMinn said. “One of the methods we try to accomplish this is through outreach and education. It’s important for us to do these large events like Earth Week because an engaged campus is a powerful campus. We need an engaged campus to invoke the changes necessary to reach climate neutrality.”
McMinn said students can benefit from learning how to be more sustainable in their personal lives as well as help their university home do the same. The events scheduled for this week: Monday, April 17, Edward Hafer, associate professor of music history, hosted a beekeeping lecture from 12 - 1 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center Room 214 by. His presentation will recount his personal experiences of raising bees and why owning hives can benefit the environment. Tuesday, April 18, at Shoemaker Square the Office of Sustainability set up a “Junk Mail Booth” from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. to learn how to quickly and efficiently remove yourself from mailing lists. T-Bones hosted an Earth Poetry Night from 8 - 10 p.m. There was environmentallythemed poetry, food and coffee. Wednesday, April 19, Shoemaker Square the office hosted an Earth Fair from 10 a.m. - 1p.m. Many organizations from campus and the surrounding community shared their environmental messages and sustainable ideas. Thursday, April 20, the City of Hattiesburg will host the Hattiesburg Earth Fair from 3 6 p.m. in conjunction with the downtown Farmer’s Market. There will be booths representing local organizations, as well as live music and local food. Friday, April 21, there will be a field trip to Lake Thoreau from 11a.m. - 1 p.m. Wildflower Walk and
Pollinator Talk gives participants an opportunity to learn about various native species of Mississippi’s flowers and the connections between those species and their pollinators. The event is also free and transportation will be provided. If you are interested in attending, email mellisa.convinton@usm.edu to reserve a spot. Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day. The City of Hattiesburg and other local and regional entities will sponsor a free collection of household hazardous material known as “Right Way to Throw Away” from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. The event will be held at Bobby L. Chain Airport and the Lamar County Multi-Purpose Center. This is a great opportunity to properly dispose of items like paint, lawn chemicals, household cleaners, and other hazordous materials. Electronics are also accepted, students are encouraged to gather up unused gadgets to dispose of them appropriately. Earth Week is set from April 17 22 with events set up both on campus and in the Hattiesburg area. For those that would like to be involved, the Office of Sustainability is always looking for ideas and feedback from the campus population. McMinn said the programs they run every year are generated through conversations with students and faculty on campus. For more information on the events you can visit usm.edu/green/eventschedule.
5
FEATURE THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
Women’s March to take place Saturday HIBA TAHIR entertainment editor The Forrest Lamar Federation of Democratic Women will host a “Women’s March for Progress” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 at the Hattiesburg City Hall. The event was originally scheduled to take place on January 21 to coincide with the Women’s March on Washington, a national protest that sparked similar worldwide events. However, organizers in Hattiesburg were forced to reschedule after an overnight tornado left much of the town devastated. “We still want our voice heard concerning women’s issues,” said President of the Forrest Lamar Federation of Democratic Women Sherry Dryden. “We as an organization decided that Earth Day [would work as an alternative], and since there was a planned March on Washington for Science on April 22nd, [we decided that] would be a great day for us to have a rally.” According to Dryden, Saturday’s event will feature speakers form the original march as well as scientists from Southern Miss and other universities in the area.
Courtesy Photo | “We as a group would like to make a difference locally,” said Dryden. “If we want changes, we need to start locally.” “I hope and believe that this March will serve as a platform for our community to have a collective
voice around women’s rights, immigrant rights, and environmental protections,” Participant Kathryn Rehner said. According to the event’s Facebook page, the Hattiesburg Women’s March
for Progress hopes to allow supporters of women’s rights, immigrant rights, climate change and the EPA a chance to “stand together” in the face of current issues, many of which are also faced by the scientific community.
“The Women’s March for Progress will stand in solidarity with the March for Science [in] believing that science is everywhere and affects everyone, specifically in the lives of women,” reads a statement on the page.
Young Americans for Liberty host “Ax the Tax” CAM BONELLI printz reporter The Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) hosted “Ax the Tax” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center at The University of Southern Mississippi on April 19, 2017. YAL’s purpose of “Ax the Tax” was to educate Southern Miss students about personal freedoms and the role of the economy in their lives. At the event, the group discussed the effectiveness of the current U.S. Tax code, which is 75,000 pages, and how they believed it should be reduced to accommodate all American citizens. Junior anthropology and history major Hunter Richardson said at the event the group held a demonstration of “axing the tax.” “We had 20,000 pieces of paper to represent the tax code stacked on a table and allowed students to hit it with a foam axe,” Richardson said. “Many students seemed interested in reducing the amount of tax code.” According to YAL’s website, the mission of the event was to identify, educate, train and mobilize youth activists committed to “winning on principle. Richardson said “winning of principle” is the training of leaders who stand by their principles and do not abandon them. Former YAL State Chair and graduate student of mathematics Tavish Kelly said any law so long
and complicated that even the government doesn’t understand it is inherently arbitrary,” Kelly said. “The current tax code should be replaced with clear and concise legislation that the average American can understand.” According to YAL’s website, chapters are encouraged to schedule their own #AxTheTax event to take place during tax season. “In 1913, our whole tax law was 27 pages,” the website wrote. “It’s now more than 4 million words and 9,000 bloated pages. From 2001 - 2012 alone, there were 4,600 changes – more than one a day.” YAL has hosted several events, including the “Free speech Ball Roll.” YAL invited students to write anything they wanted on a ball and rolled it outside of the Free Speech zone on campus. Another event the organization hosted was Your Life, Your Right, a dodgeball game where one side represented “law abiding citizens” who had no dodge balls and the other side represented criminals who had dodgeballs. YAL wants to host future events including a “Trump Bake Sale” which demonstrates the effects of tariffs on foreign and domestic goods, “The Wheel of Liberty” which is a trivia game regarding policies, rights, myths and laws. According to YAL’s website, the organization maintains 900 chapters with more than 300,000 members on college campuses nationwide. Students interested in learning
more about YAL at Southern Miss can visit the Thad Cochran Center or the LAB on Wednesdays from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. at their tabling events or visit the national organization’s website at yaliberty.org. Southern
Miss YAL hosts meetings every Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Petra Cafe.
Courtesy Photo | Former Young Americans for Liberty State Chair Tabish Kelly axes the 20,000 papers containing the U.S. tax code at YAL’s event.
6
ENTERTAINMENT THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
HIBA TAHIR
entertainment editor You may have noticed there was no Swipe Right last week. I was recovering from bronchitis and walking pneumonia and figured no one would want to read engrossing reviews of prescription medications and chicken noodle soup (Campbell’s, which tastes like how I imagine asphalt to taste, wins by a long shot, and cough syrup is still the worst thing on earth.) So what did I do with my time off from school? Entangle myself in more challenges? Troll frat boys on Tinder? Contemplate the worth of my often extraneous existence?
No, no and only sometimes. Instead, I spent the vast majority of my time Netflixing a popular early 2000s drama called “One Tree Hill” –
“mindless” entertainment that proved to be about as mindless as astrophysics. Needless to say, I have quite a few questions that I’d like
to pose to you all this week. I’m only on the third season, but a lot has happened so read with some caution. There are lots and lots of
spoilers ahead. (Then again, if you still run the risk of having an early 2000s drama spoiled, maybe it’s just what you need.)
1. Why does everyone barge into each other’s rooms like they own the place?
In every other scene, you see characters suddenly appearing in each other’s rooms. These people do not live together. And yet, no one is ever fazed. Do you know what would happen if the people in my life suddenly adopted this practice? I don’t even keep my door closed at home, and I’m 100 percent sure I’d have a heart attack 100 percent of the time.
2. What’s up with Peyton’s webcam?
Speaking of things that shouldn’t happen in bedrooms, why is everyone so chill about the fact that Peyton has a silent camera broadcasting her every move to the world? Is this a thing people did in the early 2000s? Was murder and kidnapping obsolete from 2000 - 2005? And also – why? What do people get from watching Peyton so constantly? I get that she’s an attractive person and all, but watching even attractive people drawing pictures at their desk for hours at a time sounds like it would get pretty old pretty fast.
3. Are we just going to pretend those 10 minutes in Charleston didn’t happen?
Remember that time Lucas and Keith packed up all their belongings, caused as much damage as they possibly could and then skipped town to tearful goodbyes? To the average person, this part was just as bewildering as the rest of the show’s unsolved mysteries. To me, however, it was hilariously (read: painfully) relatable. I moved around a lot growing up and would often say my goodbyes and make peace with leaving only to learn that I’d be staying. One time, I thought I was going to move all the way to Maine. That didn’t happen. I thought I was going to move to California. That also didn’t happen. And then I thought I was going to move to Mississippi, and I wished that wouldn’t have happened, but here I am now.
4. Dan Scott. Just Dan Scott.
Can we talk about how relentlessly awful this man is? The only thing more unnerving than his constant need to manipulate and destroy everyone within breathing distance is his postheart attack niceties. Literally all anyone talks about is how much they hate him and what a terrible person he is – so why does anyone put up with him?
5. Deb Scott.
Speaking of people who put up with Dan, Deb Scott is. . . Geez. Deb Scott. I guess I should’ve expected anyone who’d put up with Dan for so long to be just as bad as he is (if not worse), but I loved Deb at first. Now, though, I’m wondering if she’s competing with Dan to be the worst person on the show.
OPINION THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
7
Videos of criminal acts should not be shared ALYSSA BASS printz reporter On Easter Sunday, residents of Cleveland, Ohio, were advised to stay indoors due to an alleged serial killer on the loose. The man in question, Steve Stephens, recorded himself calling a friend, telling them that he had killed 13 people minutes before murdering 74-year-old Robert Godwin, Sr. on camera. Many were quick to (perhaps, wrongly) blame Facebook after hearing rumors of Stephens sharing videos – one admitting to the murder of 13 people, one of the actual shooting of Godwin, and the last confessing to the murder – via Facebook Live. Vice President of Global Operations for Facebook Justin Osofsky clarified Facebook’s role in the mass hysteria with the following statement: “In this case, we did not receive a report about the first video, and we only received a report about the second video – containing the shooting – more than an hour and 45 minutes after it was posted. We received reports about the third video, containing the man’s live confession, only after it had ended. We disabled the suspect’s account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report about the murder video, and
two hours after receiving a report of any kind. But we know we need to do better.” However, Godwin’s murder is not the first criminal act to be broadcasted on Facebook. This past March, a 15-year old girl in Chicago was gang raped on Facebook Live. Shockingly, with more than 40 viewers, no one reported the rape to police. That same month, teenager Naika Venant committed suicide on Facebook Live. A friend of Venant’s watching the stream managed to call authorities but was too late. The story of Godwin, the 15-year old rape victim and Venant remind us all that essentially it is on us, the Facebook friends and viewers, to report incidents like this not only to Facebook but also to local emergency contacts. However, to report tragic occurrences like those, we must first watch the videos. Many of us, myself included, have most likely never been online friends with someone who has committed a crime and shared it on camera. We find out about injustices after these videos have been shared thousands of times when it randomly pops up on our timelines. I learned of Godwin’s murder on Twitter after an anonymous account reposted Stephen’s video. Knowing the violence I was about to witness, I
contemplated exiting the page before pressing play. Somehow, I managed to watch, pausing the video for a few seconds right before watching Godwin die. Hearing the man’s voice as he pled for his life before it ended is what broke me. After watching, I felt sorry for those who are triggered by acts of violence like these. Moments later, I found myself more sorry for the victim’s family. Someone had retweeted a tweet from Godwin’s grandson Ryan Godwin. The tweet said, “Please please please stop retweeting that video and report anyone who has posted it! That is my grandfather show some respect #Cleveland.” Of course, I obliged. If any of us were in Ryan’s shoes, I am sure that we would not want the senseless death of our family member broadcasted on social media. To have the option of constantly reliving the murder would be emotionally damaging. While I am glad that I did not retweet the video, I am slightly ashamed that I did not report the account for posting it. I am sure that Twitter has removed it by now, but the process could have been faster if I, along with the other thousands of viewers, would have reported it. To blame unaware social media outlets and the executives who
Courtesy Photo | run those outlets for not immediately taking the videos down is lazy and unfair. Therefore, features like Facebook Live or normal video functions on Twitter and Facebook should not be removed. To have those options, which many use to express themselves, taken
away just because a few users decided to abuse them would be unfair to everyone else. However, it is on us, the people who use social media apps daily, to report misconduct. We as a society must be more vigilant about not exhibiting the bystander effect online or offline.
Snapchat CEO says the app “is only for rich people” TICHINA WILSON printz reporter An article from Insider.com said Snapchat has not lost any momentum since the adoption of Facebook and Instagram’s copycat features. According to Insider.com, 81 percent of teens in the U.S. say they use Snapchat every month compared to 79 percent for Instagram. Snapchat is attempting to attract older users. However, they may have recently lost connection with a particular group. The popular app’s CEO Evan Spiegel is under fire because of a recent comment regarding future expansion of the application. “I don’t want to expand into poor countries like India and Spain,” Spiegel allegedly said, according to a statement filed to the L.A. Superior Court. Snap Inc., the parent company of the photo messaging app, has an open lawsuit launched by Anthony Pompliano, a former Snapchat employee. Pompliano, who worked at the company for about three weeks, said that he raised these issues with senior managers, including Spiegel, who ignored him and later terminated his employment. Pompliano alleges that the company “misled investors
and advertisers about the app’s performance,” according to Fortune.com. The suit entails Pompliano’s claim that Snapchat was providing investors and advertisers with inflated metrics and false claims about the company’s month-tomonth user growth rate. The filing that was released revealed that there were multiple allegations, reports Variety.com. In the complaint, Pompliano said that Spiegel cut him off during a user growth meeting in 2015 to state that Snapchat “is only for rich people.” Spiefel made the comment after Pompliano apparently suggested to expand the app to places such as India and Spain. Snap contends that Pompliano, who the company has referred to as “a disgruntled employee fired for poor performance,” fabricated the allegations in the suit, according to Fortune.com. The company’s legal team said Pompliano and his lawyers were “just making things up,” according to Variety. The day following the news of Spiegel’s disinterest in expanding to “poor countries” like India, the rating for the popular app dropped to a single star from an apparent five star on the App Store, according to TimesNow.tv. According to the app info on App Store, the “Customer Ratings”
of the current version of the app was “single star” (based on 6,099 ratings) and all versions rating was “one and half star” (based on 9,527 ratings).The rating for the app on Android Play Store was “four star” (based on 11,932,996 ratings). Users did not appreciate the comment made by Spiegel. Dozens left scornful reviews of the app in Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Many took to social media to express their distaste for the CEO’s opinion and while app ratings dropped, the critics continued to lash out at Spiegel. “@Snapchat General knowledge is very important. Tell #Spiegel that India ranks third in most number
of billionairesafter USA and China,” @Aashkey tweeted. The app was also trolled on Twitter. #boycottsnapchat became the top-trending hashtag on Twitter overnight. “Dear #Spiegel, CEO, #snapchat. We can make Pierce #Brosnan sell our Gutkha and you are calling us poor. #uninstallsnapchat #boycottsnapchat,” @ imdrankitshah tweeted. “Dear #Spiegel the guy in picture spent 5 billion on his daughters wedding...in a poor country like India...so sorry you were not born here,” @UnRated_Indian tweeted. “Obviously Snapchat is for everyone. It’s available worldwide to
download for free,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Those words were written by a disgruntled former employee. We are grateful for our Snapchat community in India and around the world.” Snapchat has more than four million users in India. According to WorldBank.org in May 2016, 270 million Indians were deemed poor, which is 1 in 5. The poverty rate was 80 percent in rural areas. Although numbers show that India has poverty, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel could have been more respectful to those in India because less fortunate people exist everywhere.
8
SPORTS THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
Golden Eagles explode offensively against Nicholls State GRANT CHIGHIZOLA
printz reporter
Playing at MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss. for the first time this season, the 16th-ranked Golden Eagles relied on 20 hits and 16 runs to defeat the Nicholls State Colonels by a score of 16 - 8 on April 18.
A five-run first inning put the Golden Eagles on top early. Dylan Burdeaux scored first for the team, after Hunter Slater hit a single to right field. Mason Irby then scored when Matt Wallner hit a single to center field, followed by a Slater score off Jake Viaene’s single. Wallner score on a fielder’s
choice to round out scoring for the five-run inning. Nicholls State cut the Southern Miss lead to two runs in the top of the third inning with Ethan Valdez and Juan Givan scored off of an RBI double for the Colonels, coupled with a Chet Niehaus score later in the inning to make the
Julius Kizzee | Shortstop LeeMarcus Boyd swings at a pitch on April 9 at Pete Taylor Park against FIU.
score, 5 -3. The slim two-run lead did not hold for long as the Golden Eagles’ offense exploded to the tune of 10 runs in the third inning. Vianene and Bryant Bowen scored twice in the inning, along with Irby, Braley, Wallner, Burdeaux and Matthew Guidry, accounting for one run apiece to put the Golden Eagles ahead 15 - 3. Things quieted down for the Golden Eagles’ offense after the third inning. The Colonels continued to chip away at the USM lead by scoring three runs in the fourth, fifth and eighth inning. The Southern Miss lead was too
big for the Colonels to overcome. However, Bowen closed out the game for the team by scoring off LeeMarcus Boyd’s RBI groundout in the eighth inning, giving the team 16 runs and the win. Overall, 10 Golden Eagles totaled 20 hits against Nicholls State, with Burdeaux, Irby, Slater, Braley, Wallner, Bowen and Guidry each having multi-hit games. The Golden Eagles improved to 29 - 9 overall in the season. They will face off against former C-USA rivals Tulane on Wednesday. First pitch in New Orleans is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
With four convenient locations to serve you: 6524 US Hwy 98 West Hattiesburg, MS 39402
551 Eagle Day Avenue Columbia, MS 39429
5003 Hardy Street Suite 350 Hattiesburg, MS 39402
1242 Highway 29 North Ellisville, MS 39437
Services Include: ° ° ° ° ° ° °
Routine Examinations Birth Control Counseling and Management Premenstrual Syndrome Management Treatment for Painful Menstrual Cycles HPV Vaccinations STD Screening Cosmetic Services such as Skin Care & Skin Care Facial Peels ° CoolSculpting© (601) 268-9393 www.womenspavilionms.com