DailyMississippian The
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
thedmonline.com
Vol. 100 No. 273
Groups working to reduce nation’s student loan debt
news report
Scruggs seeks dismissal of conviction
BY Kaitie Harrison kaitieharrison@gmail.com
As the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act nears its expiration date in July, advocates are working hard to campaign against rising student loan interest rates. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act lowered student loan interest rates from 6.8 percent fixed to 3.4 percent fixed, in attempts to help keep interest rates for student loans lower. As the summer months are coming up, a new student loan relief campaign aims to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling. Rebuild the Dream, an organization promoting an economic agenda to protect and expand America’s middle class, has launched a campaign to prevent the interest rate on student loans from doubling this July. Molly Katchpole, Rebuild the Dream leader and member, said this is a not a good time to increase interest rates See DEBT, PAGE 4
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CAIN MADDEN | The Daily Mississippian
An ex-lawyer who worked with imprisoned former attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has testified that the friend of a Hinds County judge was recruited to relay information to the jurist who was presiding over a civil lawsuit over legal fees. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that the testimony for Joey Langston came Tuesday in federal court in Oxford. Scruggs is currently serving a seven-year sentence. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of depriving the citizens of Mississippi of honest services from Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter. Prosecutors insist Scruggs broke the law when he promised to recommend DeLaughter for a federal judgeship. Scruggs said it was protected political speech.
New study finds correlation between getting blackout drunk and hospital visits BY OKSANA DEMCHENKO odemchen@olemiss.edu
Frequent blackout sufferers visit emergency rooms 70 percent more often than those who don’t, a new study shows. Student drinking has been a serious public health concern for years. Blacking out, or amnesia, is a frequent consequence of heavy alcohol consumption. More than 50 percent of students who drink report blackouts, according to the recent study conducted at the University of Wisconsin by Marlon Mundt and Larissa Zakletskaja. During the trial period, one in eight emergency room visits by study participants was associated with blackout drinking. The students suffered injuries ranging from broken bones to head and brain injuries requiring computer tomography. “Very little research has been
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made in the area of blackouts before,” said Marlon Mundt, assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin. “We established the connection between blackout drinking and visiting emergency departments. It will help to raise awareness about the dangers of heavy drinking.” Research indicates that in addition to the amount of alcohol consumed, other factors, like environmental and genetic predispositions, may contribute to blackout probability. “In my freshman year, I had one experience with ‘brownout,’ the stage before blacking out,” linguistics junior Carley Rodgers said. “After that I have been very careful with the amount of alcohol I consume.” Rodgers said students should be aware of what to do when someone is blacking out. “Whether you know the person or not, you could save their life just by taking them to
Photo Essay: An evening with Christopher Durang P. 6
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NORMAN SEAWRIGHT | The Daily Mississippian
Students who drink to excess are more likely to sustain serious injuries resulting in emergency room visits, especially when they blackout.
the hospital,” she said. “I have done this for a friend while I was underage, and I can say that you do not need to worry about getting in trouble. They will overlook that fact.” In a 2011 Health Center Poll, 68 percent of Ole Miss
students reported drinking in the last 30 days and 48 percent among them had a drink in the past one to nine days, according to Ole Miss health educator T. Davis. “This problem is very actual, I hear about it all the
Freeze disappointed with yesterday’s practice P. 12
time,” she said. “All freshmen and transfers are required to take online alcohol education course. Also, some organizations and sororities ask us to come and raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol. We always respond and help.”
No. 16 Diamond Rebels shut out Jackson State
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