Volume 99 Issue 44
Thursday, March 19, 2015
www.studentprintz.com PAGE THREE
PAGE FOUR
NEWS Big Event
Students to participate in community service Saturday.
PAGE SEVEN
PAGE FIVE
F E AT U R E
OPINION
S P O RT S
Former contestant, student to record EP album.
New facility near completion for the College of Business.
McNelis, Lady Eagles prepare for first round of WNIT.
‘The Voice’
Scianna Hall
Basketball
The Pride wins major awards in Ireland
Courtesy Photo
The Pride of Mississippi enjoyed a successful trip to Ireland over spring break, as they were awarded the title of Best Overall Band at Limerick International Band Championship Sunday. The parade featured 1,100 musicians from Europe and the U.S. The following Tuesday, the Pride was awarded Best Adult Band at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin.
Alan Rawls
Managing Editor Of the 24 bands that performed in the Limerick International Band Championship in Ireland on Sunday, The University of Southern Mississippi’s marching band The Pride of Mississippi was awarded the title of Best Overall Band. The parade featured over 1,100 musicians from Ireland, Europe and the U.S., about 130 of whom were from Southern Miss. The victory came as no surprise to Steve Moser, the dean of the College of Arts and
Letters at USM. “The Pride was outstanding today,” Moser said on Sunday. “(They) excited the crowds in Limerick and were the great ambassadors for The University of Southern Mississippi and the state of Mississippi we all know them to be.” Only two days later, The Pride of Mississippi won the award for Best Adult Band at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin. Each year about 500,000 spectators line the streets of Dublin to see the parade, and it is broadcasted via webcast throughout the world. According to James Standland,
the director of the Pride, it was not the band’s first time performing there. The Pride also marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the late 1990s. “Needless to say there is an excitement with our students that I have never seen,” Standland said. “These students rehearsed and prepared for the performances and are very deserving of this unique international achievement.” The Pride performed music familiar to any Southern Miss fan, including the university’s fight song as well as the band’s rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Standland also noted
that the band was extended an invitation by Guinness to perform at the brewery following the parade Tuesday. Doug Morin, a graduate assistant with the Department of Bands and the Pride, said the parades were unlike anything he had experienced before. “Even the pageant —as the Irish refer to them— ahead of us turned around because they were impressed by what they heard,” Morin said. “It was really awesome to hear them cheering for us and a lot of times people would cheer and yell ‘Go Mississippi’ to us,” said Mallory Jennings, a sophomore
math licensure major and a drum major for the Pride. Abbe Adent, a junior interdisciplinary studies major who plays the piccolo, explained that the Pride originally did not know they were competing Sunday. “In the Limerick parade we thought we were an exhibition band,” Adent said. “Being unaware that we were competing meant that we were just focused on having fun making music, and I think that helped the performance a lot.” “This trip is something that every single student will remember for a lifetime,” Standland said. “It was that special.”
ON CAMPUS
University proposes parking plan, transit system Lindsey Kelley Printz Reporter
On Monday, Chief Financial Officer Douglas Vinzant proposed a new plan to the Student Government Association for parking that would completely overhaul the current decal system for both the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses. Vinzant said many
installations should be made, such as installing blue emergency poles, traffic signage or handicapped accessible sidewalks. However, there is currently not enough money in the decal system to pay for all the improvements needed. “We have too few people that were trying to use the revenue for what they pay with parking decals to pay for a whole lot of things that everyone can benefit
from, “ he said. According to Vinzant’s figures, there were 14,739 students enrolled for the 20142015 academic year but only 8,667 parking decals sold. This discrepancy in numbers creates a lack of funding for each year and, if allowed to continue, would result in parking decals costing $153 in fiscal year 2016. “This still wouldn’t be enough,” Vinzant said. “To make up the
discrepancy, each decal would need to be $200.” His proposal, University Access and Transit Service, would create a transit system for the university with the ability to use the student ID as a bus pass. Along with the added public transit, the goal would be to pave all gravel lots on campus, such as the Hillcrest and Montague lots. In this system, all students
in both Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses would share an overall fee for parking and capital improvements, generated to SOAR accounts. This would pay for the new transit system plus all improvements made to parking lots and sidewalks. This fee would not be in addition to the current decal, but completely replace the decal fee. The fee would also
see PARKING, page 3
INFORMATION
Page 2 | Thursday, March 19, 2015
MEET THE STAFF OF SPRING 2015
EDITORS & STAFF Kathryn Miller
Alan Rawls
Mary Sergeant
kathryn.miller@eagles.usm.edu
gregory.rawls@eagles.usm.edu
mary.sergeant@eagles.usm.edu
Parker Brewer
Cody Bass
parker.brewer@eagles.usm.edu
cody.bass@eagles.usm.edu
Executive Editor
Design Editor
Yolanda Cruz Copy Editor
yolanda.cruz@eagles.usm.edu
Managing Editor
Social Media Editor
Julie Gore
Hayley Howard
Nikki Smith
Joshua Campbell
hayley.howard@eagles.usm.edu
ashly.smith@eagles.usm.edu
joshua.campbell@eagles.usm.edu
Web Editor
News Editor
Susan Broadbridge
Kara Davidson
susan.braodbridge@eagles.usm.edu
kara.davidson@eagles.usm.edu
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designer
Photo Editor
Chuck Cook
Katherine Frye
Lesley Sanders-Wood
chuck.cook@usm.edu
katherine.frye@eagles.usm.edu
Printz Adviser
julia.gore@eagles.usm.edu
Ad Designer
Sports Editor
Assistant Photo Editor
Advertising Manager lesley.sanders@usm.edu
Advertising e-mail printzad@usm.edu
Judicial Board Parking Tip
“The Polymer Science parking lot is a 24-hour reserved lot and is not open to student parking even at night or during the weekend. Jumping the curb to get to this lot is ILLEGAL, and you will be ticketed for doing so.”
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Across
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Down
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33. On certain occasions, it may
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35. On the Mediterranean, say (4)
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36. Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis,
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peach (3)
for one (4)
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30. Came down with (3)
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37. Rowling’s The Leaky Cauldron
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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.
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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. Friday. 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.
NEWS
LOCAL
Thursday, March 19, 2015 | Page 3
Students to serve in Big Event Saturday Lindsey Kelley Printz Reporter
The Student Government Association will gear up for volunteer project “The Big Event” on Saturday at 8 a.m. to contribute their time to service in the Hattiesburg area. “The Big Event is a day to celebrate the city of Hattiesburg through service,” said Matt Balcer, SGA executive director of events. “We currently have over 800 students signed up to serve (across the city).” According to WDAM, The Big Event began at Texas A&M University and spread across the nation, first coming to Southern Miss five years ago. “It’s one event, but you want (students) to get this thing in their head that says, you know, I want to go back there, I want to serve
GREEK LIFE
in a different way, I want to be able to go back and make a long-term investment,” Associate Dean of Students Wynde Fitts said. There are over 20 organizations involved, with service locations being varied from Southern Pines Animal Shelter, The DREAM of Hattiesburg and Wesley Manor to Venture Church and Parkway Heights. “There has to be at least one representative from each student organization on campus,” Balcer said. “The team has been working very hard on (The Big Event). Director Elena Lofton and assistant directors Blake Dunaway and Gabrielle Munn have been working on this since last semester, so we’re all very excited to see it finally happening.” Registration for the event is currently closed.
Sophomore Kaitlyn LeBlanc and senior Kelly Liles clean up around Black Creek at the Big Event in 2014.
Hunt Mercier/Printz Archives
Fraternity wins national NATIONAL bill targets award, donates to charity Senate sexual assault on campus J.D. Rimann Printz Reporter
Within the past two weeks, the Southern Miss Gamma chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, known as Sig Ep, has not only donated over $9,000 to local charity Extra Table, but has also won a third consecutive Excelsior Cup. To win the Excelsior Cup, a national award for Sig Ep chapters, three years in a row is an impressive and rare feat. This year’s Excelsior Cup was awarded for excellence, in standards and accountability and in “supporting a culture where all members live in accordance with the values and expectations of the fraternity and their university,” according to the official press release. Greek Life officials at Southern Miss praised the fraternity. “Sig Ep is consistently one of the leaders in our Interfraternity Council,” said Southern Miss Director of Greek Life Charles Childress. “Their continued recognition through their National Office proves they are a leader regionally amongst their peer chapters. We in Greek Life are proud of their past and current accomplishments and what the future holds.” Members of Sig Ep were also proud of the accomplishment.
Chris Lee
Printz Reporter
“It feels great to win this prestigious award three years in a row,” said Dylan Copeland, a Sig Ep member and junior construction engineering major. “Every year we try to improve in every aspect, and it is very encouraging to see our hard work pay off.” Additionally, the men of Sig Ep were able to raise over $9,000 at their annual Chili Cook-Off last semester for their philanthropy, Extra Table. Extra Table is a non-profit with a goal of ending hunger and malnourishment in the region by providing food pantries and soup kitchens with new and healthy food. This is Sig Ep’s first year working with Extra Table. Brandon Dunnam, a junior sports management major who also serves as the chapter chaplain, explained why they chose Extra Table as the
continued
PARKING be lower than the current decal rate, which currently stands at $144 for the Hattiesburg campus. With the new system in place, this fee would be lowered to $120 and provide over $4.7 million in additional revenue. This is an idea being processed and reviewed not only by SGA, but by the Faculty Senate, President Rodney Bennett and the Executive Cabinet. There is no current confirmation whether this program will be used in 2015-2016 year. Jeffrey George, SGA president, voiced his
Courtesy Photo
fraternity’s philanthropy. “We made the switch to Extra Table because we felt like we could make more of an impact (locally) and generate significant support for them and what they are trying to accomplish because they help many people who are hungry or malnourished here (in) the Pine Belt.” All of the money donated to Extra Table goes directly toward food purchases. Across the nation fraternities and sororities engage in philanthropies that have more of an impact both locally and globally than the uninitiated observer might realize at first glance. In fact, according to James Madison University, fraternities and sororities raise over $7 million for charities every year, as well as totaling over 850,000 hours of community service annually.
support for the idea. “The purpose that it’s meant for is very beneficial,” George said. “What we want to do is make sure we hear from students and see what their thoughts are, because this will affect all students.” This idea will continue to be reviewed and evaluated. “It’s definitely something we want to see happen,” Vinzant said. “If were people were overwhelmingly opposed to it, we’d take a step back and see if things weren’t making sense. However, people are going to benefit from this (change).”
A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators have introduced a new bill called the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. The bill aimed to regulate the way that universities handle on-campus sexual assault. The newest version of this bill requires that university personnel who are involved in disciplinary actions meet specific training requirement along with a new set of standards for all personnel involved in the handling of sexual assault incidents. The bill would also require universities to complete a climate survey every two years. The legislation would create uniform standards for universities when handling sexual assault incidents. Universities who do not comply with the standards would be fined for their lack of compliance. Deena Crawford is the director of student counseling services at The University of Southern Mississippi. She is writing a grant proposal for funds to support a coordinated campus and community team to provide oversight on USM’s prevention programs, training and services for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. She emphasized the importance of clear and consistent policies regarding sexual assault. “Advocacy and support for victims is a must,” Crawford said. “Universities also need to have prevention and education activities that inform students, faculty and staff of issues surround sexual misconduct. Having well-trained counselors, victim advocates, police and medical staff is important as well.”
While the legislation would create new standards for universities policies regarding sexual assault, universities would be able to maintain policies that extend beyond the standards. Rebecca Malley, who is the title IX coordinator at Southern Miss, said there is a need for a balance between government requirements and universities’ freedom to create their own set of policies. “It is my opinion that a balance of the two is optimal,” Malley said. “Clearly stated expectations by the federal government regarding what the ‘must have’ elements of sexual assault allegation reviews must include, with flexibility of an institution to meet those requirements in a manner most appropriate for that particular college or university.” Malley also said that the current policies and procedures at Southern Miss call for internal investigations to determine whether or not an individual has violated the university’s sexual misconduct policy. “USM’s sexual misconduct policy and procedures outline the process by which the university conducts internal reviews of sexual assault allegations,” Malley said. “The internal process, as you will surmise from a review of it, is not a criminal proceeding and does not use a guiltor-innocence standard. Rather, the goal is to determine whether or not it is more likely than not that the university’s sexual misconduct policy has been violated.” Opponents of the bill believe that sexual assault is too difficult of an issue to create a one-sizefits-all solution and suggest that the creators of the bill believe that universities do not want to do the right thing in cases of sexual assault.
FEATURE
Page 4 | Thursday, March 19, 2015
NATIONAL
Student competes in ‘The Voice,’ pursues music career Mary Sergeant Social Media Editor
The University of Southern Mississippi is home to yet another student who has been nationally recognized for her talent. Briar Jonee Blakley ended her career on season eight of “The Voice” this week; but Blakley has high hopes for what is to come next in her music career. Blakley first appeared on “The Voice” during her blind audition. “Getting to the blind auditions was a very difficult process there were so many auditions leading up to that point only to have a 50/50 chance to actually audition,” she said. “I went on day four and there were only a few spots left after I went.” According to Billboard’s website, Blakley had both Blake Shelton and Pharrell wanting her to be on their team. The Shuqualak, Mississippi, native chose to be a member of Pharrell’s team. “I chose Pharrell because I admired him as a producer,” Blakley said. “It is my dream to produce for a major artist and I feel like he has done a phenomenal job in that field.” Monday, she competed against Caitlin Caporale on the third night of “The Voice” 2015 battle round. The two were challenged to both sing Alicia Keys’ hit “Fallin.” After the battle, Pharrell chose Caporale to continue on the show. Though Blakley did not win “The Voice,” she said the experience has changed her life. “I’ve gained exposure on a national scale, which is the
ultimate goal,” she said. “And I feel that I can use this experience to further my personal career.” Her most memorable experience throughout her time on “The Voice” was being able to perform in front of a large crowd. This experience helped her to find her own comfort zone. “I’ve learned so much from the show as far as performance is concerned,” Blakley said. “I really appreciate the casting team for seeing something special in me.” Currently, Blakley is working with long-time friend Jawan Hopson on a EP release. Hopson is a communications studies major with a minor in arts and entertainment management at Pace University. The two became friends when they both attended the Mississippi School of the Arts. Hopson and Blakley were both vocal majors and eventually graduated together. “I was so happy about her being on the show because the world was finally going to see the talent I’ve been mesmerized by since we first met,” Hopson said. “Her success inspired me to be even more fearless in chasing my own dreams.” On the status of her EP release, Hopson was quite secretive. “I’m not really at liberty to discuss all those details,” he said. “But definitely stay tuned.” As of right now, Blakley said she has taken time away from school. But she does plan to return to Southern Miss one day to pursue a music degree. When asked to give advice to other students wishing to pursue music, Blakley gave advice well beyond her years.
Courtesy Photo
“The advice I would give to anyone who wants to pursue something such as “The Voice” is to stay true to the type of
NEW DONORS
EARN
music that you want to pursue,” she said. “Also make sure that you are willing to endure hardships and stick in there.
ON CAMPUS
Make sure that you gain the most out of the experience, have confidence and be the best you possible.”
New health clinic opens in CP South
$150
FOR YOUR FIRST 4 DONATIONS! (Donations must occur within a 21 day period.)
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY 8:30AM-4:00PM TUESDAY & THURDAY 8:30AM-6:00PM
Kelley Joe Brumfield/Printz
www.immunotek.com
Located on the first floor of Scott Hall, the new and spacious waiting room in the Moffitt Health Clinic provides a comfortable environment for the campus community. According to a press release, the clinic increases the square footage of a the student clinic by 30 percent. This provides space for laboratory and X-ray activity, bigger health care provider work areas and a more accessible pharmacy and dental care area. There will also be an addition of 15 private exam rooms to increase patient confidentiality and efficiency and separate sick visit and well visit waiting rooms.
FEATURE
Thursday, March 19, 2015 | Page 5
ON CAMPUS
Scianna Hall to feature latest technology Colin Cameron Printz Reporter
After breaking ground in 2012, The University of Southern Mississippi’s future home for the College of Business, Scianna Hall, is nearing completion. Expectations for USM’s newest addition are high as the building is expected to yield several positive attributions for business students and the university as a whole. According to Joel Lucero, associate director for campus projects and development, Scianna Hall will incorporate a long list of special features and technologies to better aid students’ academic endeavors and overall experience while attending the university. Some of the features that Lucero highlighted included everything from easily modified classroom interiors to allow for group “breakout sessions” and group efforts to group study rooms that contain certain technologies to help students engage in interactive discussions. “Part of the master plan is to provide a place where students can learn together and exchange ideas,” Lucero said. “It creates a ‘reallife’ atmosphere to give business students the best advantage for what is out there in the real market.” Lucero said the building will include a complete gathering area on the second floor for students to interact with each other and professors on a regular basis, as compared to some of the other buildings on campus that are simply long corridors. “It is another one of our goals to essentially add to the college experience and I think these additions will help accomplish that,” Lucero said. In addition to the educationally designed student gathering areas, classrooms and lecture halls are expected to introduce a variety of new technology into the
Kelley Joe Brumfield/Printz
After two years of construction, Scianna Hall is finally near completion. The building will even feature a “financial center” on the second floor with a constant stream of stock market activity.
academic environment. “Over the past eight years, technology on campus has constantly evolved,” Lucero said. “Every time we build a building we try to construct it to the most current standard of technology so that the technology is not obsolete by the time we install it.” Lucero said the technology is purchased at the end of the construction process, so that Scianna Hall will be equipped with the latest technology possible. He added that having the capabilities of the new technologies in Scianna
Hall will not only benefit students in the College of Business, but will benefit the expansion of campus as well. J.T. Tisdale, director of external relations for the College of Business, said the technology that will be available in Scianna Hall is one of the essential factors that will ultimately post USM’s College of Business on par with business schools worldwide and he echoed Lucero’s statement that these advancements in technology will benefit the university as a whole. “Students will now be able to
Kelley Joe Brumfield/Printz
Classrooms in Scianna Hall are tiered with modesty tables. Lecture halls are equipped with new multimedia components and technology to allow for interactive teaching sessions.
engage with people internationally, nationally and locally, and will also be able to interact with Fortune 500 companies,” Tisdale said. “These innovations are definitely pushing technology to the next level for the College of Business and Southern Miss.” Lucero explained Scianna Hall will potentially include lecture halls equipped with a variety of multimedia components such as several running simultaneously for different aspects of interactive sessions. Also, the building will have what Lucero loosely referred to as a “financial center” located on the second floor. This area will have a constant stream of stock market activity on display. Lucero and Tisdale both explained that having these technologies would allow for the introduction academic features known as “Lecture Capture” and “Distance Learning.” Lecture Capture would essentially provide a way for students to access professors’ lectures online and gather necessary information. Distance Learning would potentially enable classes from the university’s Gulf Park campus to join in on lectures taking place in Scianna Hall. These students would not only be able to stream the lecture, but would be able to actively participate in lectures. While the new building is expected to yield such academic benefits, Lucero said it is the building’s overall efficiency that makes it unique. “For almost eight years we’ve
been promoting new technologies and ideas on campus to save energy,” Lucero said. “Some of the buildings on campus such as College Hall have a few of these energy saving technologies but Scianna Hall is the first building to have a lot of it incorporated i nto one building.” Lucero explained that some of these technologies include LED automatic lighting, which are expected to yield an energy saving of about 30 percent in regards to lighting, more thermostat control and more specific control of energy in the building as a whole. “The best comment I heard was when we were in front of the (university) president, the architect stood up and said that the we not only met but surpassed the state’s requirement for energy efficiency,” Lucero said. According to an article in Southern Miss Now, the opening of Scianna Hall will increase the square footage dedicated to the College of Business by 50 percent. Furthermore, Tisdale added the new facility would likely contribute to a sustainable growth of the College of Business and enrollment of business students at the university, in which now the college represents about 13.9 percent of the student population, according to the most recent annual report. “The building is of high quality and I think it will start setting new standards for us on campus,” Lucero said. “It’s a well appointed building; simple in its taste, but stately.”
OPINION
Page 6 | Thursday, March 19, 2015
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor(s),
I am writing you concerning the article that was shared on your website involving four USM students during spring break. I do not believe that the public should see .03 percent of our students as a representation of our student body. The front page of your website showed a mug shot of one of our current students. I’m not so sure that we would like incoming students or future employees of our noble institution, that are looking for information, to see a student’s mug shot from Florida publicized everywhere. Three of the students mentioned only received MIPs, a common charge among
college students. While I understand that freedom of speech and press is open to anyone, I ask you to consider what was gained by sharing this article involving students who made youthful mistakes while on their first college spring break. I also understand that you received your information from a news source where the incident occurred, but you, the Student Printz, the newspaper that represents The University of Southern Mississippi’s students, chose to reveal to the world that they attend our beloved university. I cannot understand why a newspaper, that represents our university and should want to shed
positive light on our institution, would share an article about .03 percent of our students who made a mistake while not under our school’s supervision. Without your article, these individuals, who very well could be great people and students, have no association with us. You are the reason for our negative publicity. Finally, I would like to share some of the awesome stories I’ve heard from spring break and give shout outs to several groups who represented us with utmost class. None of these groups were publicized on your website at the time of their actions and all of them involved more than four students. Our women’s
IN RESPONSE: Like all newspapers, it is an instrument of public education and democracy, the source of information, which a community must have to wisely govern itself. It is a mirror and a lamp: it reflects the community to itself and to a larger public; it shines light on the good and evil its members do. It is a source of entertainment, a friend of culture and the arts. - an excerpt from The Student Printz Code of Ethics
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Healthcare marketing lecture on Affordable Care Act On Wednesday, March 4, the Healthcare Marketing department had the pleasure of hosting a dinner event where Steve Owen, chief operating officer of Medicus Innovation, came and gave an extensive lecture on the provider based (hospitals, healthcare networks, physicians, etc) side of the Affordable Care Act. Steve Owen has experience at the local, regional and national level of pharmaceutical sales, and he is able to provide a fresh perspective on innovative marketing/sales approaches for those in the healthcare industry. He is also the principal author of the Provider’s Guide to ValueBased Medicare Reimbursement and has been instrumental in the development of innovative database resources designed to assist healthcare organizations in developing plans to maximize quality and resources. Attendance for the event included approximately 50 percent of the Healthcare Marketing majors and some notable faculty such as Faye
Gilbert, Dean of the College of Business, Mike Wittmann, chair of the marketing and merchandising department, and Kelli King, professor of practice in marketing and J.T. Tisdale, director of external relations. The students were extended the unique opportunity to learn about a less publicized aspect of what is colloquially known as Obamacare—the providerbased area. The healthcare marketing department actively participates in not only traditional classroom education, but education through real world experiences and situations by recruiting and bringing in extremely qualified and highly respected guest lecturers who are either in the field currently or have extensive experience in the field. On top of bringing in top-notch guest lecturers, the department hosts meet-and-greets each semester. These events allow students the opportunity to have one-on-one interactions with local professionals in the pharmaceutical sales and
medical device sales area. These events also allow students huge opportunities to make connections with individuals in the field. The Healthcare Marketing department is a unique department because there are less than a handful of universities in the country that have this major, and USM’s department gives students a distinct advantage when it comes to job placement in the very competitive field of pharmaceuticals and device sales because of the background in anatomy and sales. Steve Owen was quite impressed with the USM’s Healthcare Marketing department stating, “The thing about this program is to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t another program like this. You really have a leg up in interviews because of the background in sales and human anatomy.” -Ross Bedenbaugh, senior healthcare marketing major
basketball team played for a conference championship and lost a heart breaker in the last few seconds; my family was in attendance, you were not. The Pride of Mississippi placed first overall in the Limerick Parade in Ireland. Mission trips were taken by many of our campus organizations including a group from Venture Church to Haiti, Campus Crusades for Christ (CRU) to New York, and the Catholic Student Association to North Dakota. The Luckyday Scholars also took a trip to San Francisco. We also had students skiing, hiking the Appalachian Trail, teaching in Canada, on a cruise in the Caribbean, meeting Mickey Mouse at
Disney World, exploring India, visiting graduate schools and law schools and many other students who had successful trips to the beach. While posting articles in order to get website hits is important to media outlets, the effects they could have on people and our university could be detrimental. Let’s post this letter, share it on social media, and provide the public with positive publicity for The University of Southern Mississippi. Sincerely, Andy Burleson A Proud Student The University of Southern Mississippi
BASKETBALL
SPORTS
Thursday, March 19, 2015 | Page 7
Lady Eagles prepare for TexasSouthern in WNIT Jacob Kemp Sports Reporter
Courtesy Photo
Senior Tamara Jones shoots against Western Kentucky during the Conference USA Championship Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. The Lady Eagles lost, but are now participating in the WNIT Thursday in the Reed Green Coliseum.
The Southern Miss Lady Eagles face off against Texas Southern in the first round of the Women’s NIT Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum. USM is coming off a loss to Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship game 6057, but still punched their post season ticket for the second consecutive season. “We’re just excited to be here and hopefully we’ll get to host some more games than just this one,” said senior guard Brooke Rhodes. “But if not, we still want to win the tournament for the fans and just for the pride of Southern Miss.” The Lady Eagles lost in heart-breaking fashion and that may make their first round match up against Texas Southern the toughest test of the tournament. USM has to bounce back quickly after being only three points away from clinching a Conference USA championship for the second year in a row. It does not help that the Lady Eagles are facing an experienced Texas Southern team.
Texas Southern enters as an automatic qualifier like USM and similarly played in the 2014 WNIT where they lost to SMU, 84-78. The Lady Tigers only graduated one senior on last year’s squad and that experience will only help them. There are weaknesses that USM can exploit though. Firstly, the Lady Tigers shoot an abysmal 27 percent from the three point line, almost entirely relying on going to the paint to score, an area the Lady Eagles defend very well. Also, for a team that likes to drive to the paint and get easy buckets and layups, they tend to not convert on extra opportunities at the free throw line. Texas Southern shoots only 65 percent from the free throw line. If the Lady Eagles get desperate, they could turn to a “Hack-a-Shaq” philosophy and send Texas Southern to the charity stripe in hopes that they miss timely free throws. It is a flawed game plan and one the Lady Eagles surely hope they will not need, but it is a definite possibility. Texas Southern also plays an experienced and battle hardened Lady Eagles’ team. Southern Miss won their first round match up in the 2014 WNIT against Lamar, 75-60, before losing to Mississippi State in overtime in round two. USM has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in Conference USA and beaten nearly all of them, including Conference USA champ Western Kentucky. The best win Texas Southern has, is a 69-63 win over C-USA bottom dweller Rice. Normally, the Lady Eagles would dispatch Texas Southern without much problem, but a heart-breaking loss might creep in the minds of the Lady Eagles and they might be physically and mentally worn down. But head coach Joye LeeMcNelis has tried to tell her team that looking back at what could have been will only hurt them moving forward. “You can’t live with the whatifs,” Lee-McNelis said. “You got to go with what’s given to you and take the plan.” If they catch their second wind and play like USM is capable of, there is no reason they should not dominate Texas Southern and go deep into the WNIT. Tipoff is for 7 p.m. Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum.
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