THE DAILY
MISSISSIPPIAN
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Volume 103, No. 91
T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S I S S I P P I S E R V I N G O L E M I S S A N D OX F O R D S I N C E 1 9 1 1
news
2015 Elsie M. Hood Award to be presented mid-April Page 4
lifestyles
Visit theDMonline.com
@thedm_news
sports
Oxford Film Festival kicks off tomorrow
Rebels look for revenge at home against Georgia Page 11
Page 6
Lafayette County under winter weather warning Mississippi
universities to charge activities fee this fall
SARA ROGERS
Sbrogers@go.olemiss.edu
semester,” Sharrar said.”When I leave after the semester is over, I can donate what I didn’t
Last Wednesday, the College Board approved four universities to begin charging student activity fees this fall. The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University will add $5-a-semester fees, and Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University will add $10-a-semester fees. Student government presidents first made requests for activity fees, with claims that student groups are in need of more money. There have not been student activity fees in Mississippi for 15 years, so several of these organizations have been underfunded since they have been founded. “I support the student activity fee,” said Pearce Crosland, Associated Student Body senator and junior integrated marketing communications major. “I think with such an increase in the amount of money available to student organizations, we will be able to better fund them, as well as help aspiring organizations form and become more established at Ole Miss.” These new funds will generate a significant amount of money to each of the four universities, ranging from $44,000 at Valley State to $201,000 annually at Ole Miss. The money will not be used to replace money currently being spent within the universities but to increase funding. ASB President Davis Rogers said the student activity fee is funded by students, controlled by students and used for student organization enhancement. “It gives the university the ability to strengthen our student groups and hopefully increase the productivity within our current organizations,” said Lauren Malone, junior nursing major and Ole Miss global ambassador. The ASB funds over 300 student organizations each year with an average of $40,000-$50,000, depending on the year. Rogers said these underfunded organiza-
SEE GARDEN PAGE 4
SEE FEE PAGE 5
PHOTO BY: THOMAS GRANING
Oxford Police Department Patrolmen Johnny Sneed, left, and Jason Brown construct a barricade on Molly Bar Road, Monday. A portion of the road was closed due to ice. The National Weather Service in Memphis issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow in Lafayette County, Tuesday. The warning is in effect from 6 a.m. today to midnight and 3 to 5 inches of snow are predicted.
Local garden strives for community involvement DREW JANSEN
ajjansen@go.olemiss.edu
The Oxford Community Garden Association’s annual members’ meeting was held Monday at the Stone Center. President Jason Hoeksema discussed the garden association’s calendar of events for 2015 and plans to make the garden a better-known and more integral part of the Oxford community. The plans for conversion of the nearby former National Guard Armory into a pavilion space creates potential exposure for the garden by proximity. “What it means for us is one step closer to keeping that space green,” garden manager Tiffany Bensen said. “If the community starts to really appreciate that space as a gathering space, we might become
more permanent there.” The garden began operation in 2010 with a roughly 1,000 square-foot plot and a $5,000 donation from the Oxford Park Commission. The garden’s harvest last year ranged from tomatoes and cabbage to luffa and ghost chili peppers. The garden consists of roughly 60 plots that vary in size and range in cost from $20 to $35 annually. Last year, the garden association included approximately 120 members and nearly 100 plot holders. Members receive updates on garden events and activities and support the operations via $10 donations. Plot holders grow crops of their choosing in their designated space and participate in periodic work sessions to help maintain the garden. Senior linguistics and Arabic
The Oxford Community Garden is seen Tuesday. major Robyn Sharrar attended the meeting as a new member. “I’m really excited that I’m going to be able to plant and grow some of my own food this
PHOTO BY: KAYLA BEATTY