The Daily Mississippian - March 7, 2019

THE DAILY

F R I DAY, M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 9 | VO LU M E 1 07, N O. 8 2

MISSISSIPPIAN

T H E S T U DE 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

EVEN IN A SMALL TOWN, SPAFFORD ROCKS WITH BIG-TIME ENERGY

REBELS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON WITH MUST-WIN MIZZOU GAME

The jam band Spafford have played huge concerts at Red Rocks and Bonnaroo. But, when they played the small bar Proud Larry’s last week, they still brought it.

With NCAA Tournament hopes dwindling after each loss, Ole Miss faces a mustwin game against Missouri before the SEC Tournament begins next week.

Saturday’s tip is set for 2:30 p.m.

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 6

Sparks speaks, yet questions remain HADLEY HITSON DANIEL PAYNE

THEDMNEWS@GMAIL.COM

The faculty senate unanimously voted to relocate the Confederate memorial from the Circle to the Confederate cemetery, making it the third out of four campus government

organizations to do so.

The faculty senate unanimously joined the call to relocate the Confederate monument from the Circle to the Confederate cemetery on campus by passing a resolution on Thursday, but the debate over who has the jurisdiction to move the statue continues.

“The Mississippi Board of

PHOTO: DEVNA BOSE

Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) is the governing authority for all public universities in Mississippi, including the University of Mississippi,” Caron Blanton, the Communications Director for Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said.

That designation as the governing body would give the

IHL the ability to decide on the relocation of the monument.

Stacey Lantagne, Vice Chair of the faculty senate and assistant law professor called this assertion into question before the vote on Thursday.

“I personally think there’s a decent argument to be made that (the governing body) is all of us,” she said.

“The IHL doesn’t make that

decision. The courts make that decision.”

The debate over authority originates from another state law which says a “governing body” has the power to move Confederate memorials, but the code does not clearly define what constitutes a governing body.

In an email statement

SEE STATUE PAGE 3

PHOTO: CHRISTIAN JOHNSON

PHOTO: DANIEL PAYNE

PHOTO: KATHERINE BUTLER

The Ole Miss faculty senate voted unanimously on Thursday night to pass another proposition to move the Confederate monument to the cemetery on campus. They are the third university governing body to pass such a resolution, sending the ultimate decision on to Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks and the state IHL board.

Chucky Mullins reopens, Gertrude Ford closes MAKAYLA STEEDE

THEDMNEWS@GMAIL.COM

Gertrude Ford Boulevard will close for the month of July while the university builds a retaining wall on the west side of the roadway, and in a meeting on March 5, the Board of Aldermen elected to request the university to reopen Chucky Mullins Drive and All American Drive.

“I have made clear that the only way that we would consider this was if Chucky Mullins and All American were open for the duration of the project,” Mayor Robyn Tannehill said. “Also, this summer, we should note that we will have a lot of other construction projects that are going on.”

All American, which runs from in front of the Pavilion up behind Coulter Hall to the

Grove, will open for the duration of the Gertrude Ford project, and Chucky Mullins will remain open even after construction is complete.

Some of the aldermen questioned the necessity of closing the entirety of Gertrude Ford since the retaining wall will only be being built on one side of the road.

“In my opinion, and y’all can do what you want, but I

don’t think it’s necessary,” alderman Janice Antonow said. “I think they can go to their original plan where they close one lane as needed.”

The university originally planned for Gertrude Ford to be closed in August as well, but the aldermen stipulated that the construction schedule must be altered so that construction will not interfere with school opening on Aug. 6.

“The problem I have with this is a couple of things,” Antonow said. “First of all, anytime we close a road it has repercussions all over town.”

Antonow was one of the aldermen who strongly advocated to reopen the road on Aug. 1.

City engineer Reanna Mayoral expressed the university’s concerns with leav-

SEE ROADS PAGE 3

OPINION

PAGE 2 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN EDITORIAL STAFF:

SLADE RAND editor-in-chief

dmeditor@gmail.com

DEVNA BOSE managing editor

dmmanaging@gmail.com

MEGAN SWARTZFAGER copy chief thedmcopy@gmail.com

TAYLOR VANCE news editor HADLEY HITSON GRIFFIN NEAL assistant news editors

thedmnews@gmail.com

JUSTIN DIAL sports editor JOSHUA CLAYTON assistant sports editor

thedmsports@gmail.com

CHRISTIAN JOHNSON photography editor KATHERINE BUTLER assistant photography editor thedmphotos@gmail.com

LIAM NIEMAN arts & culture editor ELIZA NOE assistant arts & culture editor thedmfeatures@gmail.com

HAYDEN BENGE MACKENZIE LINNEEN MEAGAN TAPE design editors

thedmdesign@gmail.com

ETHEL MWEDZIWENDIRA opinion and design editor thedmopinion@gmail.com

SARAH HENDERSON multimedia editor ANNIE SHARP online editor

thedmonlineeditor@gmail.com

IVANA NGUYEN social media editor

thedmsocialmedia@gmail.com

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

Rebecca Brown dmads@olemiss.edu

SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Cameron Collins Sam Dethrow Isaiah Pugh Michael Rackers Morgan Stone

S. GALE DENLEY STUDENT MEDIA CENTER PATRICIA THOMPSON

Assistant Dean/Student Media

GREG BROCK

Daily Mississippian Editorial Adviser

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

THE DM NEWS TWITTER

@thedm_news

THE DM SPORTS TWITTER

@thedm_sports

THE DM A&C TWITTER

@thedm_AandC

THE DM DESIGN TWITTER

@thedm_visuals

THE DM INSTAGRAM

@thedailymississippian

THE DM SNAPCHAT

@thedm_news

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The student body has not spoken

SHADE SMITH

THEDMOPINION@GMAIL.COM

Most students have recently heard for the first time about Resolution 19-4 being voted on and “unanimously” passed by the ASB senators. What all the news articles and social media posts have in common is the idea that “the student body has spoken.” That notion has a fundamental flaw.

The “student body” did not speak, for it has no voice.

Most ASB senators are not

put in power by merit or through effort of their own, but they are placed there by the massive amount of “yes” votes that stem from their respective Greek organizations.

What the vote proves is that a group of senators who do not represent the student body believe the resolution should pass. They believed so strongly in the righteous foundation from which their argument is that they announced the vote and passed the resolution before anyone with a dissenting

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN S. Gale Denley Student Media Center

201 Bishop Hall, P.O. Box 1848 University, MS 38677-1848

Main Number: 662.915.5503 Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

ISSN 1077-8667

opinion could organize or raise their voice in response.

No debate was heard. Aside from the shady proceedings that surround the resolution, one must ask what exactly moving the statue accomplishes?

We, the student body, are told that the statue stands for slavery and that anyone who says otherwise is a racist bigot. When did the ASB get the power to tell me what I think and believe? Most white Confederates of the Civil War did not own slaves and only fought because

The Daily Mississippian is published Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in print during the academic year, on days when classes are scheduled. New content is published online seven days a week.

Columns do not represent the official opinions of The University of Mississippi or The Daily Mississippian unless specifically indicated.

The Daily Mississippian welcomes letters to the editor.

Letters should be e-mailed to dmletters@olemiss.edu.

Letters should be typed, double-spaced and no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for clarity, space or libel.

Third-party letters and those bearing pseudonyms, pen names or “name withheld” will not be published. Publication is limited to one letter per individual per calendar month.

Letters should include phone and email contact information so that editors can verify authenticity. Letters from students should include grade classification and major; letters from faculty and staff should include title and the college, school or department where the person is employed.

Northerners invaded their homeland. It is them for whom I am proud.

So, when I see that statue, I don’t reminisce about days over a century old, I see a memorial to men who fought for their homes and lost.

The movement of the statue represents another step in the fight to destroy our campus identity and to make us the perfect liberal bastion.

Shade Smith is a sophomore biology major.

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019 | PAGE 3

STATUE

continued from page 1 on Thursday, Sparks made his first comments since neo-Confederate groups rallied around the Confederate statue on campus 13 days ago, but he did not say whether he supported relocating the monument.

Sparks said in order to move the statue, he would have to submit the proposition as an agenda item to the IHL Board of Trustees for final approval.

The deadline for the chancellor to submit items for consideration at this month’s meeting has already passed, so the earliest IHL could possibly consider the relocation is April, which remains contingent on Sparks submitting the proposal.

“We appreciate the thoughtful and deliberate consideration that the student groups have given to formulating, debating, and passing their resolutions recommending relocation

ROADS

continued from page 1 ing one lane of Gertrude Ford open during construction.

Mayoral said that university Director of Facilities Planning Ian Banner was hoping to avoid a gas line that is located in the area of construction as much as possible.

Several aldermen maintain concerns about the construction concluding on schedule because of the university’s recent track record with projects going over schedule.

“That’s what worries me about the time frame,” alderman Rick Addy said.

“The last two road closures they’ve done, they have not been completed within the time frame at all.”

The stretch of Chucky Mullins Drive from Highway 6 to Old Taylor Road has been closed since April 2018. When

of the monument,” Sparks’s statement read.

Because the monument is considered a state landmark, the university must obtain a permit from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to move the statue to the cemetery before submitting the request to the state college board.

Since the weekend of the rally supporting Confederate iconography on campus, two student government organizations passed resolutions calling for the relocation of the university’s divisive monument.

The Graduate Student Council Senate was the first campus government group to pass a resolution on Monday.

The Associated Student Body Senate passed its resolution unanimously on Tuesday after circulating a draft within the student body the week before.

“In a shared governance model utilized on most university campuses, the student body, represented by the Associated Student Body at the University of Mississippi, has a voice on issues impacting the campus, along with other mem-

bers of the campus community, including faculty and staff,” Blanton said. “The institutional executive officer makes the determination on whether to submit an item for approval by the Board of Trustees.”

The faculty senate resolution is very similar to that passed by the ASB Senate, which was supported by various student and faculty groups including the entire history department.

Last night, former members of the nowdisbanded Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context (CACHC) released a statement endorsing the ASB resolution and explaining that they were explicitly prevented from making recommendations regarding the removal or relocation of the Confederate monument during their time as a committee.

“It is plain to us that the Confederate monument does not represent the values espoused in the university’s creed. Its prominent location at the entrance to our campus, moreover, suggests that

we continue to embrace Confederate ideology,” the statement read. “And it serves, as the events of the past weeks have demonstrated, as a beacon for neo-Confederate organizations.”

Noonan said the faculty’s resolution is largely based on the original language and research put forth by ASB. “I think the faculty have spoken in overwhelming support of this, in support of the resolutions passed by the students, and it’s something the faculty have been discussing for years,” he said. “They respected the chancellor’s call to respect the process of the contextualization committee, but there was still a lot of dissatisfaction after that process was over.

We’re moving forward.”

Following the faculty senate’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday night, the Senate Executive Committee decided to vote on the legislation this week. That committee also authored the resolution.

While faculty senate met at 6 p.m. to consider its resolution, Staff Council members voted electronically. Pres-

Highlighted area of the map represents the portion of Gertrude Ford Boulevard that will be closed in July.

ILLUSTRATION: HAYDEN BENGE

the road was initially closed, it was expected to reopen sometime in January, but the

road remains closed.

Chucky Mullins Drive was closed to allow the

construction on the South Campus Recreation and Transportation Hub to

ident Gazel Giles sent out ballots to the Staff Council via email yesterday afternoon, and the official vote count should be finalized today.

“It’s essentially already been passed,” Giles said. “On March 6, the majority of Staff Council members voted to be in favor of a resolution that supported the relocation of the Confederate statue.”

The Staff Council drafted its resolution following this initial vote to gauge opinion.

Giles said she and several other Staff Council members met with Sparks at 2:30 p.m. last Friday to discuss the relocation of the statue.

“We are very passionate about this issue,” Giles said.

“We just took more time to discuss it and understand the thoughts of the entire staff because the council does represent over 2,000 people on this campus.”

The Staff Council serves as an advisory group to the chancellor in issues that affect university progress, and its executive board meets with the chancellor monthly.

commence, but the university has made no indication that the project is nearing completion. Similar to the January plan to reopen Chucky Mullins, the university also planned on opening the recreation center in early 2019.

The delays in opening follow a recent trend in university facilities management of missed deadlines and extensions.

Renovations to the student union were expected to be complete by the beginning of the 2019 spring semester.

However, in a press release sent out in February, director of the student union Bradley Baker notified the public that it will not be complete until the end of the school year.

Construction on the Ole Miss Student Union began in July of 2015 and will have taken nearly four years if completed on the current timeline.

32078

PAGE 4 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019

First Mississippi gig embodies Spafford’s energy SLADE RAND

DMEDITOR@GMAIL.COM

The green room below the Proud Larry’s stage is a humble one. Low ceilings and fraying couches greet artists who walk past the restaurant’s storage shelves. Touring bands won’t find champagne on ice or a red carpet down there, but that didn’t matter to Spafford. Larry’s is the club of these guys’ dreams.

Around 5 p.m. last Thursday, the green room’s wooden ceiling creaked with the footsteps of crew members loading the Arizona quartet’s equipment into the venue’s small corner stage.

“I walked in today and I was like, ‘Oh, hell yeah. Like, let’s do this,’” lead guitarist Brian Moss said before the show. “It’s on, you know, because you’re so close to the people.”

Spafford, a jam-funk band made up of Moss on guitar, Andrew “Red” Johnson on keys, Jordan Fairless on bass and Cameron Laforest on drums, had finally arrived in Oxford.

The Larry’s show was the band’s 20th show in the 28 days since their 2019 winter tour began and their first show ever in Mississippi. They were more than happy to be there.

“There’s one place to start in Oxford, and that’s Proud Larry’s, right?” Moss said. “So if we never played Proud Larry’s, then we wouldn’t have, you know, the crest from you guys.”

During the past few years, Spafford has experienced an exponential boom in national attention, crowd sizes and, as Moss puts it, everything. They still enjoy playing smaller clubs, but larger venues like Red Rocks or Bonnaroo have begun to creep into their schedules alongside all the bars and pizza joints.

The band’s lineup has also evolved since Moss and Fairless began playing music together in 2009, welcoming Red on keys in 2011 and Laforest to the drum kit in 2017.

“Playing the small clubs is awesome,” Red said. “It

reminds me of that energy you felt, like when you’re a small band, and you play a show in front of like 100 people, and it’s the greatest thing that ever happened. Whereas playing giant festivals like Bonnaroo, I mean that’s pretty special, too.

It’s just two completely different beasts. I don’t see any cons about any of it though.”

Moss, Red, Fairless and Laforest slunk in a line through the hooping and hollering crowd up to the Larry’s stage as Digital Underground’s “The Humpty Dance” bumped through the speakers just after 9 p.m. on Thursday. In front of a room packed with happy fans, the band spoke no words and Moss led them into an original song called “Plans.”

“I always have a fun time playing ‘Plans,’” Moss said before the show.

That opening song grew into a 14-minute-long demonstration of exactly what Spafford is. They brought the tempo down and the multicolored strobe lights joined them there, sending the excitable crowd into a funky, bass-driven dance groove before Moss drug the song back into its recognizable chorus.

The audience might not have known it then, but the band from Prescott, Arizona, had come to play a special show. Their pre-written setlist only included three songs in the hour-long first set, signaling the type of show fans of the band’s sprawling jams have come to cherish.

“Bringing joy to other people is something that you can’t explain what that feels like on this mass level,” Moss said. “It’s really empowering and it’s really special, and it takes one to kind of really embrace it too, because there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with it.”

After the “Plans” opener, Red took to the keys and vocals to lead the band through another original, “Slip and Squander.” Midway into the first set, the band began the frenetic opening riff to a fan favorite they had only played thrice

PHOTO: SLADE RAND

Arizona-based band Spafford plays their first show in Mississippi at Proud Larry’s last Thursday. Spafford has been touring and playing funk-influenced jams since 2014. before Larry’s, “Dirtbath.”

Spafford took this new (first played Feb. 9) instrumental for a 25-minute-long jam that featured a few key changes and segues that the attentive crowd danced along with.

Following the three-song Spafford showcase and having reached the end of their planned setlist, the band took a pause onstage to discuss their next move. Out came a cover of Johnny Russell’s “Catfish John,” appropriate for the quartet’s Mississippi debut. After a straightforward run through of the song laced with references to the “Delta dawn,” magnolia blossoms and the city of Vicksburg, Spafford warned the crowd to not go anywhere and headed back to the green room for a setbreak.

“How can you not be a fan of (the blues), especially the

old blues and Mississippi Delta area?” Red said. “All of the roots music that came out of this area — it’s freaking legendary.”

The remainder of Spafford’s show at Proud Larry’s maintained the palpable energy of the first set and gave the crowd more of what it had come to expect. A roaring 26-minute rendition of the band’s “Ain’t That Wrong” grooved into a cover of JJ Grey and Mofro’s “On Fire” before Fairless sang and led the band in a 17-minute version of “Lonely.” They closed set two with one of their earliest tunes, “Electric Taco Stand.”

“It’s music, it’s fun. It’s a game, you’ve just got to know how to play it,” Moss said.

Shows like last week’s at Proud Larry’s remind the Spafford guys of their early days when they couldn’t pull off a tour like this 40-show,

cross-country run through February and March because of other jobs or relationships.

The band was born in tight-knit rooms like Larry’s, but they know that bigger things are on the horizon.

“All the feels are still there, it’s like the fans are bringing it, it’s bigger stages, it’s bigger stuff like that, but it still feels homey,” Moss said.

While the band admits things have changed over the last few years, they hold firm that their core mission of making people happy hasn’t.

“We had an old motto back in the day. It was ‘Changing lives, one show at a time,’” Moss said. “Basically it was you just trying to get one fan, one fan, didn’t matter where we were. Get one fan that like really liked us, and we’ll still hold on to that.”

Senior presents original dance piece this weekend NANCY JACKSON

THEDMFEATURES@GMAIL.COM

Ole Miss will host the American College Dance Association South Conference this weekend. This year’s competition, themed “It’s Happening!,” will feature senior journalism major Tucker Robbins, who began dancing and choreographing only two years ago.

Robbins’s piece “Our Time” blends a variety of dance styles such as ballet, hip-hop and contemporary with a spoken poem by Kurt Schroder that explores the concept of how time is always moving forward in life and rules all things.

Robbins said that this ultimately creates an elegant and sophisticated dance piece that can be enjoyed by those with a

history in dance or those with a simple appreciation for the art form.

“You can watch my piece without knowing what you’re getting into, and from the beginning you can understand what’s going on,” Robbins said. “If I’m going to put something out there for people to see I don’t want a select crowd to just see it. I want it to be received by as many people as possible but still be appreciated by the dance community.”

Elementary education major Genevieve Rishel, one of the dancers in “Our Time,” said her favorite aspect of the piece is the spoken poem and the larger message it leaves the audience.

“The words shape the movements and it all comes together as a piece that forces

the audience to reflect on themselves and their lives and how they are spending it,” Rishel said. “It brings up things about time that I had never considered, and it really digs into the true impact that time has on all of us.”

Jennifer Mizenko, ACDA South Conference director and artistic director of Mississippi: The Dance Company, selected Robbins’s dance piece.

“Each year I select (one) student work from the Ole Miss Student Dance Concert I think is worthy of being adjudicated,” Mizenko said. “I work closely with the student choreographer to help them improve their piece and expand their choreography skills.”

The adjudication process examines the choreographer’s choices and how well the dancers execute them.

The judges will analyze how choreographers choose to represent their dance pieces through specific decisions such as staging, music choice and movements in relation to the music.

Judges will then select 12 pieces to be performed at the weekend’s culminating formal event, the Gala Concert, where two pieces are selected to perform at the National Conference. Robbins said getting into the Gala would be a major accomplishment.

“I would be over the top proud of myself if my piece made it to the Gala because I would feel like I have accomplished something that a lot of people can’t do without having grown up and gone through the training,” Robbins said.

In addition to the competition, dancers who registered

for the conference can take master classes, participate in workshops and view concerts over the weekend. Rishel said that the camaraderie that ACDA brings is one of her favorite aspects of the event.

“Every year I make a point to go to at least one class that will bring me out of my comfort zone, and I always end up leaving with at least some new knowledge or skill,” Rishel said. “This helps me grow as a dancer and as an individual.”

The Ford Center will host three “adjudication concerts” at 7:30 p.m. on March 10, 1:15 p.m. on March 11, and 7:30 p.m. on March 11. The conference’s Gala Concert will be at 7:30 p.m. on March 12, and tickets are available at the Ford Center box office and website.

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019 | PAGE 5

Crime author sees his work in ‘screwball’ tradition ELLIE GREENBERGER

THEDMFEATURES@GMAIL.COM

Pornography may not be the first thing that comes to mind in a conversation about a book, but it came up as crime writers William Boyle and Ace Atkins discussed Boyle’s new book, “A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself,” on Tuesday at Off Square Books.

Set in Boyle’s hometown of Brooklyn, New York, “A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself” follows three women, Rena, Lucia and Lacey Wolfstein, as they head out on a road trip after Rena believes that she has murdered her neighbor.

Boyle said that Wolfstein’s character was based on porn star Lisa De Leeuw, an actress during the 1980’s “Golden Age of Porn.” In the time since she left the industry, De Leeuw has been reported dead from AIDS multiple times, although stigma around pornography has kept her true identity and whereabouts hidden.

“I was really fascinated with Lisa De Leeuw — not from watching but with her story,” Boyle said.

Boyle said when he was creating Wolfstein’s character, he wanted to imagine a life or a new existence for somebody by pulling characters from other people he has encountered in his life. Enzo, an old man in the story, attempts to entice Rena

by bringing her flowers, offering her wine and cookies and turning on pornography.

“He did it,” Boyle said. “He put on porn as his move.”

Much of Boyle’s work stems from things that he has experienced in his life. When asked about the role that growing up Catholic played in his novels, Boyle said the denomination impacts almost all of his work.

“I think everything I write is informed by it in some way,” Boyle said. “It’s Catholic haunted … I always write about the things that haunt me. I think it’s one of the main things that haunt me in good and bad ways.”

Throughout their conversation, both Boyle and Atkins drew laughter from the people gathered at Off Square Books.

They danced around the major points in the story but still had a conversation about all the details critics enjoyed about his book.

“Comic crime capers are fun.

Comic crime capers starring women are even more fun,” Marilyn Stasio wrote in a recent New York Times article. The piece, “From Drug Cartels to the Mafia, Crime Runs in the Family,” reviewed Boyle’s book and similar crime-driven novels.

Though labeled crime fiction, Boyle said he wanted to make sure there was comedy.

He described his vision as almost a “Huck Finn adventure.”

“I wanted to write something in the tradition of the screwball crime movies and books I love,” Boyle said. “There’s so much humor in the stories and voices I grew up hearing, too — I wanted the book to be rooted in that.”

Atkins said the book achieves this, encompassing far more than just a story about crime.

“It’s a book about an aging porn star, a woman on the run

PHOTOS COURTESY: WILLIAM BOYLE

and a coming-of-age story… it is everything,” Atkins said.

Lily Copley, a sophomore public policy major and New York native, said she enjoyed listening to Boyle’s talk about their shared home state. She said that the conversational

approach to the event gave her new insights about the book.

“I have a better sense of what the book is about in a conversation compared to a book talk,” Copley said. “It was much more in-depth and actually made me want to read the book.”

39199

PAGE 6 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019

BASKETBALL

NCAA Tournament hopes hinge on final game JACK GENTRY

THEDMSPORTS@GMAIL.COM

Ole Miss men’s basketball, 19-11 (9-8), is gearing up for its final game of the regular season as the team travels to Columbia to face off with Missouri, 14-15 (5-12), on Saturday.

The Rebels are coming off a series of heartbreakers including the Tuesday night loss at home to Kentucky 80-76.

The game marked the third straight Ole Miss loss decided by 4 points or less.

It will be an emotional test to see if the Rebels can overcome the stress that comes with a series of such close losses.

With just one game standing between Ole Miss and the SEC tournament in Nashville, senior guard Terence Davis knows the matchup with Missouri is one they cannot let slip through their fingers.

“When we go into this game, we’ve got to win. I just feel like we are going on the road, we have lost three

straight – we’ve got to get a win right here,” Davis said.

Time is something that the Rebels lack with just one game and the conference tournament left on the schedule before Selection Sunday on March 17, when the NCAA Tournament field is announced.

This leaves few opportunities to impress the selection committee, who pick which 68 teams will be participating in March Madness. While beating Missouri is paramount, head coach Kermit Davis is holding off on labeling the contest as a must-win.

“Nothing is a must-win unless it’s an out game. I think these are all NCAA tournament play-in games,” Davis said. “Do I think we are an NCAA tournament team? You bet. I think everybody in our league thinks we are.”

The Rebels defended their home court in the first matchup against Missouri, claiming a 75-65 victory on Feb. 16.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY DOMINO’S

NOW HIRING DRIVERS

Classified ads must be prepaid. All major credit cards accepted. No refunds on classified ads once published.

32096

SOLUTION TO 3.7.2019 PUZZLE

The DM reserves the right to refuse ads that appear to offer unrealistic or questionable products or services.

To place your ad in The Daily Mississippian Classifieds section, visit: http:// www.thedmonline.com/classifieds.

APARTMENT FOR RENT

CONDO FOR RENT

WALK TO SQUARE 121 Price. Spacious 1bed 1bath apt. w/ study $515.

Parental guarantee required. Available June. 662-832-0117

TURNBERRY CONDO 3 BR, 2 BA, Gated/ Pool. With W/ D. Internet/ Cable. $1250. Available now. 901-2621855 LARGE 2 BEDROOM 2.5 bath townhouse for rent with washer/dryer included. Quiet atmosphere, no pets, close to campus. Deposit and 1 year lease required (662)234-0000 HIGHPOINT CONDO Large 2 bd / 2 ba No Smoking, Gated, next to pool.

W/ D, water/ garbage Available Summer $880 a month (901)262-1855

HOUSE FOR RENT

27 Ankle bones 28 Quickly, briefly 30 Minotaur’s home 31 Skirt stitching 33 Affirmatives 35 Scott of “Charles in Charge” 36 Coffee dispensers 37 Outer garment 38 Soft drink nut 41 Pinch 44 Study of diseases of the ear 46 Excellent, slangily

KJ Buffen each contributed 14 points while Devontae Shuler finished with 12 of his own.

Two Tigers finished in

The DEADLINE to place, correct or cancel an ad is 12 p.m. one business day in advance. The Daily Mississippian is published Monday through Friday.

Apply @ jobs.dominos.com OR in person!

Domino’s East 1920 University 662.236.3844 Domino’s West (Campus Store) 1603 W. Jackson Ave 662.236.3030 choosing a government 63 Diciembre follower 64 ___ Arabian Nights 65 Arduous journey 66 Outfit anew 67 Womanizer 68 Area of 4840 square yards 69 Analyze a metalic compound 70 ___ ‘acte 71 “Shane” star DOWN 1 Smooth tongued 2 Not e’en once 3 Mogul capital until 1658 4 Digits of the foot 5 External 6 Sound investment?

7 Indian garment 8 Weary comment 9 Scoffed 10 Veda devotee 11 Concur 12 Lowly workers 13 Dadaist Max 21 Scarf 24 Low cards 25 ___ facto 26 Norwegian king

Bruce Stevens led the way for Ole Miss scoring 17 points off the bench, which tied his season high. Breein Tyree and

CLASSIFIEDS INFORMATION

at BOTH Oxford locations!

Make $12-$18 an hour!

ACROSS 1 Little pest 5 Greek peak 9 Silhouette 14 Building block brand 15 Four Corners state 16 Chad neighbor 17 Able was ___...

18 Semester 19 Noted bankruptcy of 2001 20 Restaurant 22 Paradises 23 Live and breathe 24 Most loyal 25 Bits 29 Earth tone 32 Marshy 34 African antelope 39 Room in a casa 40 Foe 42 Suffix with buck 43 Lay eggs 45 Of the backbone 47 Conical dwelling 49 Plantain lily 50 Los ___ 54 Sephia maker 56 Maritime 57 Processes for

PHOTO: REED JONES

Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree drives the ball down court on Senior Night against Kentucky on Tuesday. Tyree scored 21 points in the loss against the Wildcats.

48 Barely make 50 The end of ___ 51 Ways to the pins 52 States 53 “West Side Story” song 55 More frigid 57 Irish homeland 58 Diving bird 59 Romance lang.

60 Shamu, for one 61 Dweeb 62 Timetable, for short

SPACIOUS TOWNHOUSE DUPLEX 2 bedroom 2.5 bath. All appliances, granite counters, deck, balcony, many amenities. Available June. Parental guarantee required. $880 (662)8320117 2 BEDROOM 2 BATH with 2 studies. All appliances include: carport, storm shelter, garden tub, tile flooring throughout. $930 month available August. (662)832-0117

FULL-TIME PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA - Now hiring ALL POSITIONS. Apply at Careerspj. com

double figures in the last matchup. Jordan Geist led the team with 23 points followed

by Xavier Pinson, who had 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Missouri will hold its Senior Day festivities on Saturday, honoring two of their starters in Geist and Kevin Puryear. Geist is the offensive catalyst, averaging 14.1 points per game on a Missouri team that ranks last in the SEC in scoring with 67 points per game. Mark Smith (11.4) and Jeremiah Tilmon (10.4) round out the trio of Tigers scoring in double figures on the season.

Entering Saturday, the Rebels are deadlocked with Mississippi State and Florida in the SEC at 9-8. With Auburn and South Carolina each at 10-7, and Alabama sitting at 8-9 with a tiebreaker over Ole Miss, the Rebels could finish anywhere between the fourth seed and the ninth seed depending on how each team performs in their regular season finale.

The game tips off Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

SUDOKU©

Puzzles by KrazyDad HOW TO PLAY Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 with no repeats.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

TOUGH

Crossword puzzle provided by BestCrosswords.com (www.bestcrosswords.com). Used with permission.

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019 | PAGE 7

SOFTBALL

Rebels win six straight with Razorbacks looming JADE RICHARDSON

THEDMSPORTS@GMAIL.COM

The Rebel softball team, currently 14-6 on the season, will face its first SEC opponent in the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend in Oxford.

The Rebels are currently on a six-game win streak after sweeping Pittsburgh and Nicholls State at the Ole Miss Classic last weekend and securing a victory against Austin Peay on Wednesday afternoon.

The Rebel offense exploded early in the game against the Austin Peay Governors, scoring five runs in the first two innings.

Senior Kylan Becker, the current SEC Player of the Week, started off the first inning with a single, and sophomore Jessica Puk followed with her fifth homerun of the season to help the Rebels gain an early 2-0 lead. Junior Kaylee Horton singled to center field to plate another Rebel and increase the lead to three.

In the second inning, the Rebel offense was able to plate another runner and showed their skills on the bases by scoring on a passed ball to increase the lead to five. Over the course of the remaining innings, the Rebels tacked on two more to ultimately defeat the Governors 7-2.

One of the highlights of the

PHOTO: MEGAN SUTTLES

Ole Miss outfielder Kylan Becker bats against Pittsburg on March 2. The Rebels will face off against Arkansas in a series this weekend at home. final innings was Becker’s triple off the right center field wall, which marks her fourth triple of the season and the 11th of her career. Becker is currently tied for second for the single-season school record. The senior also extended her team-high

reached-base streak to 19 games and her hit streak to seven straight games.

Puk’s homerun in the first enabled her to remain the team’s homerun leader for the season thus far, and she is just one RBI away from sharing

the team RBI lead with sophomore Abbey Latham, who is currently at 17 runs driven in on the season.

In the circle, junior Molly Jacobsen earned her sixth win of the season, striking out six hitters in five innings of work

and only allowing one run on eight hits. Sophomore Ava Tillmann pitched the final two innings in relief and gave up just one run.

The Rebels will have their work cut out for them this weekend as they face their first SEC opponent of the season. The No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks are currently 18-3 on the season and have an eight-game win streak.

The winning streak is driven by the talent and depth of the Razorbacks’ pitchers.

Sophomore Marry Haff was a huge asset on the mound this past weekend. The pitcher put in over 22 innings of work and only walked one batter, which earned her the title of SEC Pitcher of the Week. Haff recorded 34 strikeouts in her five appearances last week for a cumulative 0.62 ERA. The Razorback pitching staff ranks third in SEC and eighth in Division I with an ERA of 1.38. Haff and teammates Autumn Storms and Lauren Graves have pieced together one of the nation’s best strikeout-to-walk ratios, averaging nearly 11 strikeouts for every walk allowed.

The first game between the Rebels and the Razorbacks is set for 4 p.m. Saturday. The two remaining games of the series will be played at 5 p.m. Sunday and at 6 p.m. Monday.

39184

PAGE 8 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 8 MARCH 2019

BASEBALL

Can pitchers, batters get in tune against Blazers?

JOHN MACON GILLESPIE

THEDMSPORTS@GMAIL.COM

Coming off a 3-2 loss against No. 14 East Carolina on Wednesday, Ole Miss baseball rounds up its ninegame homestand with a series this weekend against UAB. This bout with the Blazers is the Rebels’ last weekend series before beginning SEC play next weekend against Alabama. Mike Bianco’s squad will also travel to Louisville next week to take on the Cardinals for two midweek games in another ranked non-conference matchup.

The Rebels split their midweek action this week, picking up an 11-8 win over Little Rock on Tuesday and dropping the pitcher’s duel to the Pirates on Wednesday.

Ole Miss was hitless on Wednesday until two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when Thomas Dillard broke the drought with a single. The Rebels persisted to make things interesting with just one out to work with, as they pushed across two runs but left the bases loaded and failed to steal the win.

Ole Miss’s offense has cooled off somewhat in its last five games, going through dry spells against the Dirtbags from Long Beach State last weekend and almost

being hitless on Wednesday.

Still, the Rebels hold solid stats in the batting category with two players, Ryan Olenek and Thomas Dillard, batting over .400 on the season.

The Rebel batters will face a solid Blazer pitching staff this weekend as the staff has an ERA of 3.60. UAB pitchers have also given up a mere five home runs so far this season to combat the 16 home runs the Rebels have hit this season.

In weekend series thus far, and even in some midweek contests, Ole Miss’s struggle on the diamond has not been at the plate, but with starting pitching outside of Will Ethridge. Last weekend, the Rebels swept a then-winless Long Beach State behind a solid Friday performance from Will Ethridge and sufficient performances from starters Zack Phillips and Gunnar Hoglund in games two and three.

The Rebels’ weekend starting rotation remains in question heading into this series, but Ethridge, Phillips and Hoglund are expected to take the hill again in this series against the Blazers.

Although head coach Mike Bianco is still working out the kinks with his weekend rotation, the Rebels’ bull-

pen has been stout early on this season. While certain household names like Parker Caracci have struggled to find a rhythm in 2019, some lesser-known arms like Austin Miller, Max Cioffi and Taylor Broadway have found themselves playing a consistent role in the Rebel relief. Those three pitchers alone have combined for a 2.71 ERA on the young season.

UAB has had a successful season up to this point as they sit at 9-4 overall with two of those losses resulting from just one run less than SEC opponents Mississippi State and Alabama. The Blazers have two batters hitting over .400 as well in Zack Davis and Colton Schultz and have J. Paul Fullerton close behind at .395. These three batters have combined for five home runs, good for 71 percent of the team total.

As far as pitching is concerned, the Blazers are expected to toss Tanner Graham, Tanner Rusk and Graham Ashcraft in the starting roles this weekend. These three right-handers have a combined ERA of 1.85 and have not allowed a home run all season.

First pitch today is at 3 p.m. followed by a 1:30 p.m. start on both Saturday and Sunday.

PHOTO: CHRISTIAN JOHNSON

Ole Miss outfielder Ryan Olenek steals third base against Long Beach State on March 2. Olenek is batting .447 with 7 RBIs and five stolen bases so far this season.

Bridge Properties is a local, family owned business meeting all your Residential and Commercial Leasing needs since 1975.

All properties are within walking distance of The Square & University.

NOW LEASING FOR THE 2019-2020 TERM bridgepropertymgmt@gmail.com 662.234.3208

Go REBS! EXCITING NEW PROJECTS COMING IN THE 2019-2020 TERM 32021