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University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. It also operates the University of Mississippi Field Station in Abbeville.

University of Mississippi Rankings in 2010

University of Mississippi Rankings in 2011

University of Mississippi Tuition and Fees

Enrollment Status: Undergraduate
Resident Status: Resident

$241.25 per semester

Fall 2011/Spring 2012

Enrollment Status: Undergraduate
Resident Status: Non-Resident

$616.50 per semester

Schools and Colleges of University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi News

  • What is world religion? - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    Theater junior Lavada Johnston volunteered to speak at World Religion Day on the Ole Miss campus when her religion professor, Caleb Simmons, asked for interested students. Her religion of choice: Wicca.

    “I’m a witch,” she said. “That’s the best way I can describe it. I’m kind of a witchy tree-hugger. I don’t worship Satan or ride on brooms. I like cats alive.”

    But when Johnston showed up for the event, she was told she couldn’t speak to the middle school students about Wicca.

    Johnston said she informed Simmons of her religion when she volunteered, and he approved it. Following up, he sent an email to the student panel, Mary Thurlkill, the religion professor coordinating the event with Oxford Middle School, and Ellen Douglas, an OMS teacher. However, not everyone got the notification.

    “I guess the information of who was coming never made it back to (OMS) until I introduced Lavada,” Simmons said.

    Thurlkill said she was interested to see a Wicca representative on the student panel but later realized a problem when Douglas approached her with concerns about the topic.

    “Mrs. Douglas came to me and said, ‘I think that if she speaks, we could potentially have a lot of questions and concerns raised by both parents and some of the students because they know nothing about this religion tradition; we haven’t studied it,’” Thurlkill said.

    When she was asked not to speak, Johnston said neither Thurkill nor Douglas were rude but the situation as a whole still felt rude to her.

    “They said that even though it was announced that I would be speaking, they still felt uncomfortable with me speaking about my religion,” she said. “It’s my religion. I’m just conversing about my religion, I’m not trying to convert anyone.”

    Thurlkill took responsibility for the difficult situation.

    “The problem was really my fault,” she said.

    Thurlkill said her error was in thinking like a college professor and allowing a more diverse panel to be represented.

    “In seventh grade, the students learn about world history from the pre-historic era to the Age of Enlightenment,” Douglas said. “Unfortunately, I could not find a way to incorporate Wicca into the discussion, since it’s a more modern religious movement.”

    World Religion Day, an event designed for middle school students, featured Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. Simmons said the middle school has an approved curriculum from the State Board of Education regarding what can be taught within the context of world religion for seventh grade. Douglas said the Mississippi Department of Education details the framework to which the public school systems must adhere.

    “Whenever I was eliciting people to talk, I was taking a different interpretation of what world religion means, more going with the religions of the world as opposed to whatever the State Board (of Education) was using as their definition,” Simmons said.

    Douglas explained to Johnston that Wicca was “not included in the state standards for the subject area and grade level.”

    “I also told her that, in my experience, religion is very personal, and sometimes, (a) sensitive topic,” she said. “Therefore, regardless of my own personal feelings, I felt I could not justify the discussion of a religion that was not included in my course description without any consultation with parents and school officials from the community that I represent.”

    Johnston said even though she felt insulted, she walked away to “keep things quiet, to keep things neutral.”

    “(Johnston) was incredibly gracious about it,” Thurlkill said.

    Johnston said the panel and audience missed out on an opportunity to hear about her topic.

    “Personally, I would like an apology because I took time out of my busy schedule to raise awareness about it,” she said. “I would’ve liked for them to get a chance to know of someone who practices (Wicca).”

    World Religion Day was created this year with specific goals in mind.

    “One was to cooperate with the Oxford Middle School and enhance their curriculum, which is world history, and to supplement some of the things that they’re doing in their classroom,” Thurlkill said. “The second goal was to work with the (Ole Miss) education school. A lot of the student workers were social studies and secondary ed students who were actually in their student-teaching semester.”

    Thurlkill said that the pertinent part of the issue is the learning environment.

    “The religious traditions that can be discussed on a college campus where academic freedom is first and foremost is one thing, but talking about religious traditions in a public school system where material is approved in a curriculum guide, which is set by the state, is another thing.”

  • Bjork brings confidence to Ole Miss - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    Recently named athletics director Ross Bjork hasn’t even been on the job for three weeks, but he is already working tirelessly to change the culture of the Ole Miss athletic department and implement his plan to achieve his goal to “compete for and win championships.”

    Bjork hit the ground running on his first day, meeting with different people, and he even paid a visit to those in charge of maintenance.

    “The first thing I did is I went to the maintenance shed and took those guys donuts and milk,” Bjork said. “Since then, it’s been mainly dealing with people because I just haven’t been in the office that much.”

    That is because Bjork and new head football coach Hugh Freeze toured the state last week for the first-ever Rebel Road Trip.

    The plans for the trip were designed to showcase Freeze to the Ole Miss faithful all around the state, but when Bjork was named the new athletics director, he knew he had to be a part of it.

    “I thought it was great,” Bjork said of the Rebel Road Trip. “It fits my philosophy. I’ve done it at other programs. Everywhere I’ve gone, we had a similar-type format of a road trip or caravan or whatever you want to call it. So it fits my philosophy of getting out. I tweeted out that I love geography, which I do, so it was a great way of getting out around the state and meeting people.”

    The Rebel Road Trip opened Bjork’s eyes to what could be achieved in Oxford.

    “People are hungry,” he said. “They’re hungry to support this program, they’re hungry to get behind our student-athletes and coaches. They love this university. That’s the biggest asset that we have — people care about athletics here, which means you have a chance. If people care about something, you have a chance to be successful.”

    Bjork said the key to reaching an elite level in each sport is to embrace Ole Miss’ position in the Southeastern Conference.

    “We’ve got to embrace excellence across the board,” he said. “I believe it’s just speaking and building confidence and building resources to match and compete within our conference.

    “We want to compete for and win championships. We have to get people to believe that we can do that. Then, we’ve got to get people and ask them to help us get there.”

    One thing that will help Ole Miss take a step forward in the big scheme of things is facilities. The Forward Together campaign has raised over $63 million, and Bjork said some big donations could be on the horizon. 

    “I think we need to secure some key gifts this summer and early fall to be able to break ground on the new arena and be able to accelerate some football components,” Bjork said. “I’m impressed with where we are at, but now, we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and really get after it on the fundraising side and be aggressive in the next four months going into football season.

    “We’re going to try to capture as much momentum as we can really by Sept. 1 to be able to break ground on some of these projects we want to start.” 

    Another impression Bjork has made on Rebel nation is his engagement with fans. Yesterday, in fact, he made an appearance at an ASB town hall meeting in the Student Union.

    “We have to engage our students daily,” Bjork said. “I think it’s the same thing. Everybody has to believe in what we are doing and speak to that. They have to have confidence in what we’re doing. And confidence is building relationships. That’s going out to right field, which I did during the Arkansas series. We’ve just got to get people to believe in what we are doing and build confidence.”

    Another challenge is the marketing rivalry with Mississippi State’s “This is our State” campaign, but Bjork has a plan to deal with that.

    “I think our message has to be ‘We are The University of Mississippi,’” Bjork said. “We’re the flagship university of the state. The university has a role in this state in a large way. Our spirit in athletics is Ole Miss. That’s our brand. So we’ve got to build that confidence in our brand. And we know that takes winning. Winning cures most everything, if not everything.

    “We’ve got to be who we are and promote the fact that we’re a great institution that loves athletics. Our job is to capture the hearts and minds of our fans through a lot of interaction and help them be confident in the process.”

    Bjork believes Ole Miss has a bright future, and in the next five to 10 years, he sees a lot of change in the athletic department.

    “Where I see us is competing for and winning championships,” he said. “I’m going to be consistent with that theme. I see us growing our budget hopefully each and every year because that’s something that’s going to be required as we move forward.

    “I see our fans becoming engaged every day in what we do. I see us packing our stadiums and really just building the confidence in what is Ole Miss all about. It’s about excellence.”

  • Letter to the Editor: In Response to 'What is world religion?' - Sat, 05 May 2012

    To the editor:

    I am writing in reference to this morning’s final edition of The Daily Mississippian and your choice to run an inflammatory piece on the first Oxford Middle School – OleMiss World Religions Day.

    Instead of a piece that highlighted all of the good things done by Dr. Thurlkill, Dr. Simmons, and Mrs. Douglas; you ran an article that focused on one tiny portion of the day. 

    I was with Dr. Thurlkill and Mrs. Douglas when they approached Ms. Johnston about the reservations that would arise if she were to speak.  I heard both of their sincere apologies.  I could see the hurt in Ms. Johnston’s face, but she accepted our apologies and said she understood the situation.  Mrs. Johnston said she had family that still did not understand or appreciate her religious preference.

    What your article left out was that local seventh graders were introduced to sacred music, sacred architecture, sacred food, sandpainting, and yoga.  Seniors from the UM-School of Education and volunteers from the Department of Religion and Philosophy created presentations that helped to break down barriers which is crucial to understanding those with different beliefs. 

    The day also provided the UM-SOE student teachers with valuable experience in understanding the importance of hands-on, relevant teaching/learning activities in the secondary classroom.  They also came to appreciate the importance of a balanced presentation of belief systems in the social studies curriculum.

    While Ms. Johnston was not able to join the conversation this year, both Dr. Thurlkill and Mrs. Douglas expressed their desire to include more religions in the future.  I sincerely hope that the work that Thurlkill and Douglas have done over the past five years to help middle schoolers and college students learn more about the “other” and build a more inclusive community is stronger than the damage your hostile piece will do in a day.

    I was honored that Thurlkill and Douglas asked the UM-SOE social studies student teachers to participate in the first World Religions Day.  If we are allowed to organize the event again, perhaps the DM will show more balanced coverage regarding the teaching of diverse religious perspectives and how the university is building relationships with the broader community and investing in the lives of a truly multicultural and tolerant Mississippi.

     

    Sincerely,

    Ellen J. Foster, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor

    Dept of Curriculum & Instruction

  • Time to be alumni, graduates - Fri, 04 May 2012

    I bet all you graduating seniors and Ole Miss new alumni still don’t know one thing even after learning just about everything your brain can hold – that being how easy and cheap it is to obtain official alumni status.

    It costs only $40 a year to be a member of the Ole Miss Alumni Association, which is less than 11 cents a day in case you were wondering, and that isn’t even the best part.

    Let me tell you about the benefits you can get for just a small annual fee of $40. I am speaking based on being a member of the Student Alumni Association and getting to reap these benefits already.

    First of all when you join, you get the senior gift pack with the official Ole Miss Alumni Association auto decal, an automatic subscription to the Ole Miss Alumni Review and Rebel Insider, annual wall calendar, travel opportunities with fellow Rebels around the world, discounts at the Ole Miss Bookstore, priority mailings for special Ole Miss events, and last but not least, access to the “Members Only” area in the Triplett Alumni Center on home football game days. 

    Lets say it is a rainy game day, freezing outside or scorching hot – you are going to wish you had that “Members Only” access.  Inside the Triplett Alumni Center on these days members are served pizza, popcorn and drinks. Televisions inside are set to other football games going so you can keep up with all the other games while you eat. Also there are fans, stickers (everyone loves those stickers) and pom poms. This is also a kid-friendly environment and the Rebelettes often come with face stickers for the kids.

    So not only will you enjoy the benefits on campus, but they also have lots to offer wherever you are. Lets say you move to New York City. Did you know that there is an Ole Miss Rebels Alumni Club in NYC? They meet up to watch all the football games in local bars or restaurants. They even have Rebel tailgates and travel to away games.

    All you have to do when you move to a new city is call the Alumni Office and they will update your information and contact the president of the club nearest you to get you connected with other alumni in your area.

    Being part of this is not only great for the reasons above, but it also gives you the opportunity to make business and social connections you might not otherwise have.

    Lets say you aren’t a senior, but think that this sounds like something you are interested in.  You can apply to join Student Alumni Council and meet very successful alumni who can mentor you to be successful in whatever field you are interested in and make connections.  This is a great leadership and community service opportunity.

    So now hopefully you are dying to join so let me tell you how easy it is. All you have to do is contact the Alumni Office! You can register online in less than 10 minutes at www.olemissalumni.com or call the office at 662-915-7375, or even shoot them an e-mail at alumni@olemiss.edu.

    Hotty Toddy!

  • More physicians needed in the state of Mississippi - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    As one of the most medically underserved states in the country, Mississippi has 8.3 doctors per 10,000 residents, compared to the national average of 12.8 physicians per 10,000 residents. It must add 1,330 primary care physicians to its health care system to meet the national average of doctor count per capita. 

    House Public Health Chair Sam C. Mims V recently authored House Bill 317, which will create a program to retain more primary care physicians in Mississippi. The bill will allow rural Mississippians to have more local, primary care physicians, so they will not have to travel to larger cities for medical needs. Mims worked closely with Mississippi physicians and Dr. Luke Lampton, chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Health, on the legislation. 

    Last Tuesday, Phil Bryant signed House Bill 317 into law. The new law seeks to establish the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce within the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) for the purpose of increasing the family pediatrician workforce within Mississippi.

    According to studies conducted by UMMC, 50 percent of its graduates who leave Mississippi for residency never return to the state to practice; however, 75 to 80 percent of those who stay at UMMC for their residency go on to practice in Mississippi. Mims stated that the new legislature will create more residency programs in rural Mississippi. 

    The state financial support will be used to fund hospitals that will host the new family medicine residency programs in Mississippi. The bill says there will be 42 state financial rewards to 43 new primary residence programs. 

    Mims believe that the new legislation will not only make physicians more accessible, it will bring “dozens of jobs and millions in revenue” to the rural areas. Gov. Bryant echoes Mims’ enthusiasm on the House Bill 317. 

    “I signed legislation that furthers my health care initiatives,” Gov. Bryant says, “In my inaugural address, I explained the need for Mississippi to add 1,000 physicians to its workforce by the year 2025. Expanding our state’s medical residency programs will directly increase the number of physicians who remain in Mississippi to practice. We know that new doctors generate about $2 million in economic impact in their communities, and more doctors means better health care for our citizens.” 

    The new Office of Physician Workforce will be established at UMMC. It should be in operation within 2013 or 2014 at the latest. The office’s purposes will be overseeing the physician workforce development in the state and administrating state financial support to the hospitals hosting the residency training programs. 

    “Our state continues to trail the rest of the nation in the numbers of physicians per capita,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs and vice dean of the School of Medicine. “At UMMC we are working hard to produce more highly trained physicians for Mississippi, and this office will be an asset in helping us to better understand our physician workforce needs and ultimately to get doctors where they are most needed in our state.” 

    Nicholas Boullard, sophomore pre-med student, plans on practicing primary health care within Mississippi. He is a recipient of the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship (MRPS), which is a program created in 2007 that helps aspiring college students practice medicine within their local towns in Mississippi. It was created to address the challenge of Mississippi’s health care crisis. 

    Boullard feels that Mississippi is in a need of local physicians. 

    “I think more residence practice in Mississippi is necessary because there are certain counties in this state that have no health professionals at all,” Boullard said. “In fact, some parents have to drive their kids nearly two hours just to get medicine for flu or a cold.” 

    Mims said the new health care law could add to the well-being of Mississippi; not only will rural citizens have access to local doctors, the doctors can bring revenue to their towns. 

    “This is an important step in improving Mississippi’s health,” Mims said. “And bottom line, it is truly a win-win.”

  • New location of the Baptist Memorial Hospital set - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    Baptist Memorial Hospital will soon be relocated just west of its present location. 

    The new location was chosen from 15 potential sites. The site that was ultimately chosen will be located South of Highway 6, west of South Lamar Boulevard and east of Old Taylor Road. Baptist officials said that the main reason for the relocation is for the expansion of the hospital and its staff.

    “Baptist has transformed the hospital into a regional referral center, offering open-heart surgery and a wealth of other high-level services,” said Ashley Compton, senior public relations coordinator with Baptist Memorial. “Baptist North Mississippi has outgrown its current facility due to the growth of Oxford, Lafayette County and the surrounding areas.”

    “The current location is 11 acres, and they are going for 100+ acres,” Mayor George “Pat” Patterson said. “They needed to build up the hospital but did not have space.”

    The new hospital will have a number of advantages compared to the old building. 

    “The new facility will have larger, private patient rooms that will be more comfortable for patients and their families,” Compton said. 

    “Way-finding signage inside and outside of the hospital will be more efficient. Parking will be more convenient. Several departments in the hospital will have close proximity to other departments. For example, the emergency department will be closer to surgery or the intensive care unit.” 

    Compton said the relocation of the hospital has been a long process, with Baptist having worked with the Oxford Board of Aldermen and the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors for the past two years on getting a new hospital built. 

    “Much effort has gone into the decision of where to build the new hospital,” Compton said. “We believe we have found a location that will best meet the community’s needs.”

    Patterson said he thinks the new location is a good choice. 

    “It is going to be near current medical center with all doctors’ offices and smaller business,” he said. “The location was an excellent pick.”

    The new facility will cost $250 million. Patterson said he anticipates the construction to be completed within 2-3 years. It is still unknown what will happen to the current location after the hospital moves.   

  • Campus to undergo many changes this summer - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    The University of Mississippi is known nationally for its beautiful campus. Currently, there are projects expanding the campus and more are set to begin this summer.

    One noticeable addition to campus are the new residence halls that are being built between 

    Kincannon Hall and Guess Hall. At the moment, there have been no names given to the three new residence halls, so they are being called Ridge North, South and West.

    The new buildings will bring 860 new bed spaces. Construction will be complete by the end of the summer and ready for students to move in for fall semester 2012. 

    The new buildings are designed to be living-learning communities and house freshman interest groups, according to Jennifer McClure, assistant director of marketing for the Department of Student Housing and Residence Life. 

    The freshman interest groups take students who have the same extracurricular interests. There’s The Well, which brings students together who are into physical fitness, healthy lifestyles and similar outdoor activities. Foundations is another group for students who are interested in developing leadership skills and doing community service. 

    “This will be the beginning of a movement to convert all of our residence halls to living-learning communities,” said Linda Krhut, director of Student Housing and Residence Life. “That’s exciting for us to think that we will be having faculty and staff interaction with our students in our residence halls, much like the Residential College.” 

    The living-learning communities will bring students with the same academic interests together. Groups such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Global Perspectives, along with groups for Fast Track and honors college students will be available for students to join.

    The residence halls will have separate male and female wings. There will also be a Papa John’s available at the new residential halls.

    The buildings will be similar in some ways to the Residential College that is already on campus. 

    “They will be similar to the Residential College in that they have a contemporary design. What we call contemporary is when the room has an in-room bathroom,” McClure said. “They will also be similar to the Residential College in that students will have extra study room, and activities for them will go on in their residence halls.”

    A few differences, though, will be that there will not be a dining facility or a fitness center, and they will not have their own library like the Residential Colleges do.  

    During this summer, however, there will be more renovations to the older residence halls. At Kincannon Hall, there will be renovations made to the lobby area, and there is a big construction project planned for Martin and Stockard that will begin later this year and will run through the 2012-2013 academic year. 

    The construction will consist of removing the bricks on the outside and replacing them. 

    Students living in Stockard and Martin may have to walk a different route to class, and the building could lose some parking spots during the renovations. 

    Along with the construction and renovation to residence halls, the Union and Johnson Commons will receive some renovations. 

    Additions to the Union include a “Pinkberry,” which is a frozen yogurt outlet, and a new POD Express, which will also be in the new residence halls. The additions will be completed in August 2012 before the fall semester starts. 

    Johnson Commons West will receive a complete interior renovation. The Johnson Commons East Ballroom will be transformed into a temporary dining area that will have a Bistro feel to it.

    The renovations to Johnson Commons West will begin in June and will last throughout the entire 2012-2013 academic year. Renovations are expected to be complete by August 2013. During this time, Johnson Commons East will be open for service, beginning in August 2012. 

  • Fare thee well, sort of - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    At the beginning of the semester, Chancellor Dan Jones challenged me to enjoy the ride. What he meant was that in an overly busy life that is being lived out in the public where you will get your fair share of criticism, sometimes it is easy to get so stressed out that you don’t enjoy the experience.

    Did I enjoy the experience? Overall, yes, but that’s not to say it was easy. I deliberately disobeyed studies that suggest you need to get a certain amount of sleep every night. I also spent way too many hours on campus — I often forgot where I parked because I would arrive at campus before 8 a.m. and not leave until after midnight. To add to that, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen the morning custodian crew come in — they arrive at around 3 a.m.

    And then there were the classes and all the stuff I put my professors through this year and even last spring when I was training for the job. I earned my first B here last spring, added some more to my transcript in the fall, and this semester I have a class in which I’d be happy to escape with a C. Thanks to all of the professors who put up with me and my endless excuses and also thanks to all of those who did not. You certainly pushed me to new extremes, and it has made me a better person.

    Then there is the job itself. There is a lot of stress in putting words in print and sending out 14,000 copies per day. If there is a slip of a finger and the word “Mississippi” gets misspelled and is sent out to the campus and community, well, those people will not be laughing with you. If you accidentally get a time wrong, you can ruin someone’s event. If you get some facts wrong, you open yourself up to looking pretty stupid. And then there is making decisions on the fly. I can’t remember any nights where something did not go according to plan, and the plan then has to change. Sometimes that something was minor, but often it was something major, where we’d have to scramble to make plan B or even plan C something that was worth a reader’s time. And then there were the many nights when someone on my staff was sick or had a prior engagement, and I was stuck doing my job as well as the job of the absent section editor. Sometimes it even worked out where I got to do three or four jobs in one night. Thankfully, coffee with extra shots of espresso was a short walk away at the J.D. Williams Library.

    That said, I made it through it all, and I am definitely a stronger person and journalist than I was before. There were many times where I would be rushing to class or to print off my homework last minute, and I would see someone enjoying a copy of The DM. Sometimes I would hear people talking about topics that our columnists or news stories brought up. During class, I even witnessed people stop to admire a photo on their way to the Sudoku. Knowing that we helped inform people, helped set the tone for conversation on campus or even gave people a quick laugh through the cartoon genius known only as Josh Clark, well, it makes all the work worth it.

    Putting together a newspaper around classes is a lot of work. It is probably akin to writing a research paper every night as an extracurricular activity before you do your real homework, but it is also a lot more fun and rewarding than writing a research paper every night. Because of it, I’m not going to graduate when I thought I would. I’m coming back for a victory lap, or more truthfully, to take all of those classes that I dropped this year. And I still could not force myself to break free, as I’ll be serving as next year’s photo editor.

    I’d like to thank this year’s managing editors, Emily Roland and Lauren Smith, for putting up with my craziness and helping to keep me sane. If I taught you two anything, it was new, creative uses for four-letter words when something went wrong after 11 p.m.

    I’d like to than our adviser, Pat Thompson: first, for believing in me to do this job, and also for always being available whenever I needed advice, even if that advice had nothing to do with the newspaper.

    To the rest of my staff: Jon Haywood for the random jokes that made me laugh; Kelsey Dockery for putting up with all of us and being a refreshing, positive force in an often cynical newsroom; Mallory Simerville for being weird and funny in all of the best ways; Jacob Batte for always having cold beer and knowing when it is necessary; Austin Miller for making the sports section something I never had to worry about; Petre Thomas for giving it everything you had and then some; Heather Applewhite for stepping up big when it was needed; Austin McAfee for being willing to take photos of everything this year and stepping in to help out; and of course Norman Seawright for having the finest taste in everything. 

    And I’d be in trouble if I did not thank my girlfriend, Danielle Thornton. I’ll never know how you put up with me this whole year, but thanks for everything you’ve done. I’d probably be somewhere dead in a ditch if you had not been there.

    Lastly, thank you to all of the readers who have made it this far with me, through the year and through this mini-novella of mine. I really can’t thank you enough. Without you, I wouldn’t have had this job and this chance to enjoy the ride. Yes, chancellor, it was never easy, but looking back, I’m glad I had this opportunity, and even though I’m going to enjoy having free time to do homework and play video games, I’m really going to miss it. Good luck to the new staff (including myself) and the new chief, Emily Roland:  May your year be just as awesome of an experience as mine has been.

     

    Cain Madden is a journalism senior from Natchez. 

  • Begging the question - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    When I leave the University of Mississippi this month I will be taking a few things with me: a diploma, an aggregation of friends I hold close, and the experiences through which I learned to better understand and appreciate life.

    We all have stories. It doesn’t matter that most are familiarly constructed — what matters is that you are telling the story and that no one has ever existed exactly as you exist at this moment.  Every storytelling is its own event.

    Once I took a course that philosophically examined the relationship between religion and science. The professor hid his beliefs, instead offering the antithesis to our sentiments, which led to interesting discussion and digressions. 

    Occasionally we held class outside. I couldn’t help but see the intriguing looks that often lined the faces of those walking by that heard a class discussion out of proper context. “What was that professor talking to those students about?” a passing jogger asks another. “He was critiquing the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God,” the jogger replies.

    “Oh.”

    Moving on, I know of two pretty girls who work at the same restaurant in Oxford; one is a very hard worker, the other gets by. One night they are understaffed and the manager asks the two girls to roll silverware. The girl who gets by protests that she doesn’t know how and that she is unable. The girl who typically works hard has never rolled silverware either, but after fifteen seconds of trying she has the hang of it. Both are such pretty girls - which sounds more attractive?

    Another story involves a friend who is a hard determinist and compares our existence to that of machines — he believes we have no free will. This allows him better understand the motives of others and helps him to be a friend.

    We had a class together. One day he was to give a presentation but arrived as soon as class had been let out. Only the professor and I remained in the classroom. He arrived in a hurry and quickly plopped down in a seat, exasperated.

    As I was walking out I cheerfully explained to the professor that my friend had no choice but to have shown up at this exact moment — he has no free will! Later he told me that he had laid down that morning without setting an alarm and overslept. This was also the story he gave to the professor, who, I’m happy to report, elected to give him another chance. 

    Soon after we talked about free will. He reiterated his machine illustration, but said he “felt responsible” for missing the class. I found this interesting but not as interesting as the extent to which I agree with him about our free will.

    It’s amazing what we might end up saying to ourselves. I know a man who has been around so long that the first time we met he gave me a reason as to why he is still alive. “My children say I am not allowed to die,” he said, grinning. He reminds me what our minds are capable of. He wants to write his memoirs; perhaps that is what we have most in common.

    Speaking of memoirs, I recently read Brother to a Dragonfly by Will Campbell, former Ole Miss chaplain. Campbell reminded me of something I had shamefully forgotten: “Words are symbols and nothing more - ever.”

    The lines of demarcation that separate one from another -— race, religion — politics  are constructs. 

    I also realized via Campbell’s honesty that I had been supporting some of my favorite causes for most of the wrong reasons. I was in favor of ending marijuana prohibition and in favor of LGBT Civil Rights mainly because of a generic contrarian ideology: “Someone told us that we couldn’t do something, so let’s get out there and do that something big.”

    I ended that thought process. Now I argue that these things should be permissible because I truly believe that they promote happiness, joy and love. And if you believe in love, you tend to promote it. There is nothing wrong with love.

    Lastly, I’ve thought about my childhood a lot recently. When I was young I was very close to my mother, always paying attention to what she was thinking. She is a woman of science and very good at explaining things, but there were some things she couldn’t explain and did not even want to try and explain, especially when it came to her religious beliefs.

    At some point we get comfortable with what we believe and we stop asking questions, but I remember being raised to ask the right questions. I remember asking questions that my mother had long ago given up the desire to ask. I remember thinking of myself as a necessary evil, asking what she would be asking had she not given up asking this sort of question.

    Now, my time as a student and DM writer is at an end, but I have a final question to pose — to beg, really. With a world of knowledge at the fingertips here at Ole Miss — in the books, the professors, and your peers — what is it that keeps one from fulfilling his or her potential — from becoming a great teacher, social worker, immunologist, or whatever they desire?

    I am begging you to ask the questions. Demand to experience the phenomena for yourself - hearsay is heresy. 

    See you on the path.

     

    Andrew Dickson is a senior religious studies major from Terry.

  • No. 24 Diamond Rebs look to make most of opportunity against No. 4 LSU - Fri, 04 May 2012

     

    No. 24 Ole Miss has dropped three of its last four Southeastern Conference series, all on the road, but that lone series win came at home where the Rebels are 21-6 this season. This weekend, Ole Miss (30-16, 10-11 SEC) will host No. 4 LSU (36-10, 14-7 SEC) from Oxford-University Field/Swayze Field to try improve its NCAA Regional hosting resume.

    “Certainly, it’s great to be at home,” head coach Mike Bianco said. “When you’ve got LSU, a team that’s leading the West and leading the (SEC) overall, it’s a huge opportunity for us to get back into it if we can play well. We need three great crowds. We’re going to get great weather. 

    “This is your chance. You’ve got nine games left in conference play and one non-conference game. So, 10 games left, and we’ve got a great opportunity on Friday night to get it started.” 

    This weekend will match two good pitching staffs and offenses going toe to toe. The Tigers are hitting .301 as a team and score an average of 6.7 runs per game. Ole Miss has a .307 team batting average and is averaging just over six runs per game. On the mound, LSU has a slight advantage with a 3.20 team earned run average compared to a 3.32 earned average for the Rebels. 

    The team matchups are good, but no matchup will be greater than LSU’s senior left fielder Raph Rhymes versus Ole Miss’ junior second baseman Alex Yarbrough.

    They are the top two hitters in the conference, and Rhymes leads the nation with a .503 batting average, along with three home runs and 46 RBI. Yarbrough, on the other hand, is hitting .417 with three home runs and 39 RBI. 

    “That’s unbelievable,” Bianco said of Rhymes’ average. “We’ve all watched Yarbs, and he’s hitting like 100 points higher. I can’t even fathom.”

    In tonight’s series opener, Ole Miss will send sophomore right-hander Bobby Wahl to the hill to face sophomore right-hander Kevin Gausman of LSU. Wahl is 5-1 on the year with a 2.09 earned run average in 60.1 innings this season, while Gausman is 7-1 with a 3.12 earned run average in 75.0 innings to go along with a league-leading 97 strikeouts.

    Last season, the Rebels’ only win against the Tigers came against Gausman. Ole Miss scored six runs against him in just 2.1 innings, but Bianco knows what the talented righty is capable of.

    “He’s a tremendous talent,” Bianco said. “He’s one of those great SEC Friday-night guys. He’s got a tremendous fastball with really good stuff. He’s got a great breaking ball, and he’s a guy that had a great year last year that really primed him for this year.” 

    Sophomore right-hander Mike Mayers will get the nod on Saturday for Ole Miss. Mayers is 4-2 with a 3.69 earned run average in 63.1 innings this season. His counterpart will be sophomore right-hander Ryan Eades, who is 5-2 with a 3.29 earned run average in 65.2 innings pitched. 

    LSU’s Sunday starter will be freshman right-hander Aaron Nola, who is also 5-2 with a 3.90 earned run average in 55.1 innings pitched. Just like the past couple of weeks, the Ole Miss starter for Sunday has yet to be announced.

    Tonight’s contest will begin at 6:30 p.m., with Saturday’s start time scheduled for 2 p.m. on SportSouth and Sunday’s series finale set to begin at 1:30 p.m.

    Newalu day-to-day 

    Senior shortstop Blake Newalu is day to day, according to Bianco, with shin splints. 

    Huber filling different role

    Junior right-hander Brett Huber pitched last Sunday against Mississippi State for the first time since the Georgia Series. 

    Huber was out for a while with a tender elbow, and during that time, senior right-hander R.J. Hively moved to the back end of the Ole Miss bullpen. With Hively’s success in recent weeks, Huber said he (Huber) probably won’t be the one closing out games. 

    “I’m pretty sure R.J. is going to be the closer from now on,” Huber said. 

    “I’m sure that if he goes a few innings, it will be me. We’ve already had that discussion, so I’m OK with that. If I have to go out in the sixth or seventh inning or if I have to go out there in a tie game or whatever it is, I just want to win and get as far as we can this year.”

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