THE DAILY
MISSISSIPPIAN
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Volume 104, No. 100
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
lifestyles
Page 8
@thedm_news
sports
Large voter turnout in Mississippi primary Page 5
This week’s playlist: Girl power
Visit theDMonline.com
Rebels defeat Redhawks 10-2 Page 12
Hillary, Trump win state primary UM perspectives on sexual assault HILLARY CLINTON AND DONALD TRUMP WON LAFAYETTE COUNTY’S 18 PRECINCTS. MORE THAN ONE THIRD OF THE COUNTY’S REGISTERED VOTERS VOTED IN THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS.
SEE STORY ON PAGE 5
DREW JANSEN
ajjansen@go.olemiss.edu
Hillary Clinton: 64.15 percent of Lafayette county votes
Donald Trump: 36 percent of Lafayette county votes GRAPHIC BY: CAROLINE CALLAWAY
ASB addresses state lawmakers JENNIFER LOTT
jelott@go.olemiss.edu
The Associated Student Body Senate adopted a joint-resolution between all eight of Mississippi’s public universities urging legislators to address the current state flag Tuesday night. The resolution will be signed by all of the universities’ governing bodies. It calls for the State Legislature to address the opposition to the current design of the Mississippi flag during the 2016-2017 legislative session. With a vote of 28-8, the resolution was adopted. Mississippi State University and Delta State University have both adopted the resolution as well. Bella Gonzalez, author of the
resolution, said she believes it’s time for students’ voices to be heard. “I knew [the resolution] was going to pass,” Gonzalez said. “I knew the majority would be on board with this. The only moment when I was concerned was when the effectiveness of the resolution was questioned. But, it’s now or never. This took too many months of planning and frustration for our voices not to be heard, whether they are recognized [by legislators] or not.” ASB President Rod Bridges addressed Governor Phil Bryant in a letter explaining the goals of the resolution. “It simply asks that the legislature address it,” Bridges said. “I wish it were more fine-tuned. I’m afraid we missed the deadline for [the resolution] to have any effect. Had this been done in the fall, January, or even last
More than one in nine students said they experienced some form of nonconsensual sexual contact during their college years, according to a recent national study by the American Association of Universities. At the University of Mississippi, that would mean more than 2,430 students. As the University continues to change and grow, so do the ways its community handles the issue of sexual assault. Two University leaders who play key roles in dealing with sexual assault are relatively new on campus. Jeffrey Vitter became chancellor in January, and former Oxford lawyer Honey Ussery assumed the role of the University’s Title IX coordinator in October. Vitter was acting provost at the University of Kansas in September 2014 when students protested the handling of sexual assault cases on their campus. Bernadette Gray-Little, chancellor at KU, assembled a task force of campus faculty and staff to assess how the university prevented and responded to sexual assaults. The task force submitted 27 recommendations to Gray-Little and Vitter for review in May 2015. The suggestions covered the university’s policy and processes,
prevention practices, support and advocacy for victims and its Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. By September of that year, the KU leadership had begun implementing 22 of the recommendations. Some of the recommendations included a central prevention and education center and a memorandum of understanding with key community partners. KU announced two plans in October 2015 in direct response to those suggestions. “Our whole focus was on trying to do the right thing and move forward,” Vitter said. Vitter said the problems at KU were not exceptional and the matter needs to be a national priority. “It’s a really important issue, and it kind of just came to a head nationally. First and foremost, we have to be responsive and treat incidents with utmost care and concern,” Vitter said. “But also, we have to do everything we can in terms of education and prevention, so that those situations never arise.” The University Police Department received reports of 10 forcible sex offenses between 2012 and 2014, including four instances of rape in 2014. Of the 10 offenses, 8 occurred in campus residential
SEE SEXUAL ASSAULT PAGE 4
month, it would be a different story.” In opposition of the resolution, Senator Blake Hembree said the reservation he has toward the bill is that the whole student body is not represented in it. “Instead of whining like babies let’s put our big boy pants on and do this in Congress,” Hembree said on the floor during debate. Hembree said when he makes a point in debate, he wants to make the senators think. “I am for the change of the flag. I hope this does make change,” Hembree said. “What I want senators to know is that we may piss [legislators] off.” This is the first social issue joint-resolution with total participation from all public universities in the state. GRAPHIC BY: CAROLINE CALLAWAY