The Daily Mississippian - Sept. 29, 2016

Homecoming game preview inside THE DAILY

MISSISSIPPIAN

Friday, September 30, 2016

Volume 105, No. 29

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

IN OPINION ...

Fewer than 40 days until election: are you ready?

SEE OPINION PAGE 2

Visit theDMonline.com

@thedm_news

New hires plan homecoming week Game day crime rates rising this season MORGAN WALKER

thedmnews@gmail.com

IN NEWS...

Find the best parking space before you cheer on the Rebs!

SEE NEWS PAGE 4

IN LIFESTYLES...

Word on the Street: Everybody’s Formal edition SEE NEWS PAGE 7 Have you met MK Phillips? Get to know your 2016 homecoming queen SEE NEWS PAGE 8 Have your best homecoming ever in a few quick steps SEE NEWS PAGE 10

PHOTOS BY: TAYLAR TEEL

TOP: Cole Putman places MK Phillips’ crown on her head while students met the homecoming court Thursday. BOTTOM: Students sit on the Union steps during Union Unplugged on Tuesday.

This year, the Student Activ- that I am allowed to exercise has MIA SIMS ities Association created co-di- made my job both enjoyable and masims@go.olemiss.edu rector positions that focus solely rewarding,” Maye said. “We bearticipation in home- on homecoming to accommo- gan planning for the week last spring, and I feel as though this coming week has date student growth.

Kay P. Maye, a senior English opportunity has made me grow grown so much that planning it has become education major, said he thinks as a leader. Many of the events a full-time job. Two full time his position as co-director is were original ideas from our unique. jobs, actually.

SEE HOMECOMING PAGE 5 “The amount of autonomy

P

Bing-Dukes steps up for the Landshark defense SEE SPORTS PAGE 11

See the full gallery of this week’s homecoming activities at THEDMONLINE.COM

SEE PARKING PAGE 4

Ole Miss Cardinal club makes a comeback SAMANTHA WHITTLE

smwhittl@go.olemiss.edu

IN SPORTS...

In the 2015 Ole Miss football season, the University Police Department filed a combined total of 409 crime reports solely on game days. Of these reports filed, the vast majority consisted of either alcohol-related calls or ambulance transports. In the 2015 season alone, ambulances were called 73 times.

There are approximately 90 police officers allotted for every home football game. Twenty are directly from UPD, while 70 of those officers are contracted out from other departments through temporary employment.

UPD Chief of Police Tim Potts said heat and alcohol are the two largest factors his officers face on game days because both have the potential to result in ambulance calls.

Three games into the 2016 football season, there has been a total of 187 crime reports filed. Of those reports, 58 resulted in ambulance transports and 23 of those occurred during the Alabama game.

“The biggest challenge for us this year, I would say, has been the heat emergencies that we have had,” Potts said.

According to Potts, the number

The Cardinal Club has dated back to Ole Miss history since the 1930s and has been on and off campus, but new members are trying to foster school spirit.

The club is a branch of the Associated Student Body that allows students to become more involved with different sports and promote school spirit at the university.

Current President Payton Klatt said he took over this school year because he wanted to improve the connection between the student body and lesser-known sports.

“I think it is important to have mediation between the athletic office and the student body,” Klatt said.

Rather than hosting events, members of the club will be recruited by the athletic office to staff sporting events.

Klatt is trying to plan a Rebel Road Trip to the football game against Vanderbilt University on Nov. 19 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The trip will give availability to students who would not normally go to away games.

“A lot of people hesitate to go to away games for multiple reasons,

SEE CARDINAL CLUB PAGE 6

PHOTO CAPTION.

PHOTO BY: NAME

OPINION

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 2

COLUMN

Make your voice heard this November by registering

PATRICK WATERS

thedmopinion@gmail.com

It might be hard to believe, but we are fewer than 40 days from Election Day. Some might want to celebrate that fact, but for people who work or are involved in politics, this is like the

buildup to Christmas morning.

While Americans still have more than a month to make their decisions on whom they want to vote for in the presidential and other races, time to register to vote is running out quickly. You can probably tell by the constant online advertisements and presidential candidates mentioning it every time they can get in front of a television camera.

In Mississippi, the registration deadline is Oct. 8, which means it is imperative that you register to vote as soon as possible. Other states have varying deadlines, but most are in October.

Voting is a civic duty and a privilege of living in our free

EDITORIAL STAFF:

CLARA TURNAGE

editor-in-chief dmeditor@gmail.com

LANA FERGUSON managing editor dmmanaging@gmail.com

LYNDY BERRYHILL ALEXIS NEELY news editors thedmnews@gmail.com

MCKENNA WIERMAN ZOE MCDONALD lifestyles editors thedmfeatures@gmail.com

MORGAN WALKER assistant news editor thedmnews@gmail.com PATRICK WATERS opinion editor thedmopinion@gmail.com ARIEL COBBERT CAMERON BROOKS photography editors thedmphotos@gmail.com

DEVNA BOSE assistant features editor BRIAN SCOTT RIPPEE sports editor thedmsports@gmail.com CODY THOMASON assistant sports editor MAGGIE MARTIN copy chief thedmcopy@gmail.com

republic. People have protested, fought and even died for the very right of casting your ballot.

Make your beliefs heard and make your vote count this November, from the presidential ticket to the smallest local office. Learn about the candidates and what they believe in and how it measures up to your own personal values.

When someone knocks on your door to talk about the candidate they are supporting, listen to them. If someone calls you on the phone about a candidate, engage with them. Challenge yourself to learn more about the political process and get involved with the system.

If you are disillusioned by our political process, work to

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change it. Nothing will improve if people do not care enough to be active in politics. Democracy was not meant to be about bystanders.

Below are the ways to register to vote in Mississippi, and also a general guideline on how to register an absentee vote in other states.

In Mississippi: Print out the Mississippi registration application or find it in person at your county election office.

Fill out the form with your address, name and other information.

Send the form back to your local county election office and confirm with them that you are registered to vote.

PATRICIA THOMPSON

Assistant Dean, Student Media and Daily Mississippian Faculty Adviser S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 201 Bishop Hall, P.O. Box 1848 University, MS 38677-1848 Main Number: 662.915.5503 Business Hours: M onday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

In other states, contact your county election office. They can direct you to registration as well as provide an absentee ballot for those away at school.

No matter who you support, this election will make a massive impact on our futures. Issues like immigration, economic growth, tax rates and college debt will all be problems that current students will have to face. We can either be passive and accept whatever comes of the political arena, or we can be active participants and work to make our country a better place. Go vote!

Patrick Waters is a sophomore accounting major from St. Louis, Missouri.

The Daily Mississippian is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, on days when classes are scheduled.

Contents 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.

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

During the first presidential debate this past Monday, the phrase “registrar para votarse” reached more than 100,000 searches on Google. If that scares you, it’s because you don’t know your neighbor.

You do not know the man who built your house, the woman who cooked your last meal or even the person who drove you home from the bars last night. I do not either.

This is called implicit bias, and it does not mean you are a bigot or a deliberate racist. All it means is that you have a limbic system. When you see someone with a different skin color, or someone who speaks a different language, or someone who believes in a different deity, there is a hunk of gray matter that screams, “Run!” Evolutionarily, this makes plenty of sense, but it holds us back today. Ten thousand years ago, the “other” was a wooly mammoth. Now, it is your fellow man. America is almost hopelessly divided, and it is because of these implicit biases.

The hate and vitriol that define our political dis-

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course is unprecedented in modern times. We are witnessing the total civic collapse of American society.

There is only one thing that can really unite us: money. The pursuit of the cold, hard cash that leads to a life of prosperity will lead us out of our animalistic biases.

America was built on godless capitalism, and godless capitalism will save her.

Why godless? Because it is about time that someone else’s belief or lack thereof in your favorite 2,000-yearold fairy tale stops dictating whether or not you respect them.

Black, white or brown, 4K HD looks better. Male or female, that new iPhone looks better. Christian, Muslim or Atheist, Egyptian cotton sheets still feel better, and an Audi still drives better.

Call me materialistic, but America worships only one real god. He is green and covered in the faces of dead white men. Out of many, money.

Caleb Pracht is a junior public policy leadership major from Nashville, Tennessee.

As a recent graduate of Ole Miss, I have still noticed that religious adherence to “The Creed” by the UM administration warrants an article of faith.

The trappings of doctrine are apparent: Chancellor Vitter serves as high priest, with the Office of Student Life chiefly in charge of its sacraments.

A majority of the campus, I would venture, stands largely agnostic to its truth claims.

However, perhaps the faithless can be inspired by acts of devotion—those who occupied the Lyceum were disciples, as the chancellor noted, “respectful and civil in our discourse, as called for in The Creed.”

Or as another on the scene moralized, all should come to faith and “preach constantly about the importance of our creed and upholding it.” In times of crisis, the chancellor always falls back on that oldtime religion, usually followed by email directives from the magisterium on how to best apply its teachings to our daily lives.

I have no problem with what the Creed states: It is honestly a repackaging of some of the most palatable

facets of the moral laws of the great world religions.

I also do no object to the sincerity of its practitioners—I do question whether it has the institutional power to truly redeem men’s souls. There is no need for definite redemption in “the Creed.” Unless, of course, one has violated the “the Creed.”

In times past, conduct may have been controlled by a common grace: decency or manners. In our brave new world, students should count their blessings to have the power and authority of this faith to shape lives.

And if this letter were further lacking in subtlety, take heed to those who critique or stray from this orthodoxy, as you may be branded a heretic.

OPINION

Hillary promises free college. Free college would cost taxpayers $350 billion over 10 years and increase our national debt. Same scam as Obamacare. Hillary would give the federal government control over our higher education and ruin it, too.

Obama established federal government control over businesses, banks and investment firms through bailouts. Next, the government took control over our healthcare. Next, they took control over our energy sector through EPA and regulations.

Hillary wants to control everything (like State Department. e-mails) so she can control our country’s wealth and power. We need change with control going back to the PEOPLE. Vote Trump.

Pat Ellis is a resident of Greenwood and a 1999 graduate of Ole Miss.

Garret Wilkerson is a 2016 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law

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NEWS

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 4

Variety of game day parking, transportation options KIARA MANNING

thedmnews@gmail.com

Although this game against the undefeated Memphis Tigers has been highly anticipated, many fans are not looking forward to the heavy traffic and parking issues Saturday.

On regular school days, parking on campus is already an issue with the growing number of students and the limited number of parking spots. Many students have resorted to making their own parking spots or parking in restricted areas. On game weekends, parking is even more complicated with the added number of people in town.

Oxford Parking Director Matt Davis said options for parking are abundant in Oxford.

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“There are various options for people,” said Davis. “We have paid lots. We have free long term parking in certain areas. We have three-hour paid parking in metered spots on the square and there are shuttle locations that have free parking with a paid shuttle. There is also a free Double Decker shuttle that runs from the Square to the Grove.”

The Oxford Park Commission offers parking spaces in a few lots near their facilities for $20 on game days. These lots are near the Oxford Activity Center, the Oxford Stone Center and the Oxford City Pool, according to Davis.

Oxford University United Methodist Church and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, as well as several other churches, sell parking spaces on game day weekends. Davis said no permits are needed for private parking as long as they operate on their own private property.

The first shuttle for the Ole Miss versus Memphis game will leave for Vaught-Hemingway stadium at noon and will run until two hours after the game has ended. The roundtrip cost of the shuttles are free for children ages 6 and under, $5 for ages 7 to 12 and $10 for ages 13 and older. The shuttle can be used by Oxford residents as well as people who are only in town for the game.

The shuttle from the Jackson Avenue Center will pick people up and drop people off in front of Paris-Yates Chapel.

Mike Harris, director of parking and transportation, said there are two different categories of people parking on campus during game days: The residential students who have an East, Central, West or South Residential parking permit and Ole Miss fans who have purchased permits from Athletics for game-day parking.

Harris said preparing for game day weekends on campus is a huge responsibility.

“Restricting campus and manning the lots is a big undertaking and requires hundreds of personnel,” Harris said. “Then you have all the signs that need to be put out along with coordinating loading and unloading for the grove. Then there is security and emergency personnel and monitoring of the grove, etc.

All this doesn’t even take into account what is needed at and in the stadium. All in all, it takes a lot of people who work long hours to manage such an event.”

NEWS

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 5

HOMECOMING

continued from page 1 committee, so it’s also nice to see their joy during the week.”

Maye said homecoming, to him, is embracing each part of campus.

“As current students, it is important to understand how attached we are to the institution,” Maye said. “This attachment should be celebrated in some fashion. Whether we know it or not, we have grown from our connections with this institution as the institution has grown from its connection to each of us.”

Brittany Watson, junior engineering major, is also a co-director and said she’s honored to have this opportunity.

“I feel really fortunate to be given this opportunity to be one of the first homecoming directors,” Watson said. “I really enjoy working with KP, who is the other co-director. I feel honored because I love Ole Miss, and I love being a part of the Ole Miss family. I’m happy to be able to help make Ole Miss homecoming what it is.

Watson said Ole Miss is her home away from home.

“I am the first one in my immediate family to actually go to Ole Miss,” Watson said. “It feels like my home away from home. I understand the connection people feel even after they leave because of what Ole Miss means to me. I’m excited that I get to work with all of the students.”

Over the past few years, the Student Activities Association has tried to ramp up homecoming activities to accommodate the increase in attendance for the game. The current student population is now a little more than 23,000, one of the highest in the state.

Jim Urbanek, assistant director for alumni communications, has been a part of the university his entire life. He said the university has changed tremendously since he was in enrolled as a student.

“We are so much larger now that it is hard to even compare us today to the university of the early ’60s,” Urbanek said. “The enrollment in the fall of 1963 for

example, the year after James Meredith enrolled, was just over 4,300.”

Urbanek graduated in 1997 and moved, but he returned to Oxford and started working for Alumni Affairs in 2002.

“Everyone seemed to know each other back then,” Urbanek said. “We’ve doubled in size again just since I was a student.

The closer we’ve come to present day, the more activities our students and alumni have available to them. Taking all that into consideration, I believe we are doing great with what we offer. We provide more opportunities and are certainly more inclusive.”

Penelope Jones, a 1990 graduate of Ole Miss, said she remembers homecoming week as an enjoyable time for students.

The homecoming activities keep her coming back each year.

“We always had homecoming dances, a pep rally, a Greek show and a concert in the grove,” Jones said.“My favorite PHOTO BY: TAYLAR TEEL part of homecoming week was Morgan Pennington’s & the Echo perfroms in Thursday’s Union Unplugged on the plaza. the Greek show ... It was always Bradley Baker, director of the Miss family is at the university. said. “Our two homecoming a lot of fun to see fraternities “Whether we are playing an co-directors have been working and sororities compete. Soror- Ole Miss Student Union, said ities and fraternities from oth- homecoming week is a signif- SEC team or a team from anoth- hard since the spring semeser schools would come, which icant part of being a student er conference, we always have a ter to reshape the mindset of made it a lot of fun because oth- because it serves as another re- great turnout for homecoming homecoming.” minder of how special the Ole events and festivities,” Baker er people were on campus.”

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NEWS

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 6

C O N G Freshman Maid R A T U L A T I O N We love you S

Caroline McLeod

Wofford

of reported ambulance calls relating to heat issues is typically smaller than the actual number of individuals taken to the hospital due to the limited number of ambulances available.

“The number of transports really doesn’t tell the total story because we only have two to three ambulances available,” Potts said. “If they’re already making a transport and if they’re busy, we’ve had people that have said ‘I’m going to get them to the hospital myself so they don’t have to wait’ and we understand that. It has been an issue this year.”

Potts said the number of ambulance calls is closely correlated with extreme heat conditions, especially this season.

“The heat-related stuff that we deal with at the stadium is going to be very high this time of year, but it’s almost safe to say that if it’s not heat-related, there’s a good probability that it is something alcohol

Game Day Crime Reports 2016

54

Reports Issued

Alabama

continued from page 1

related,” Potts said. “When you combine the two, alcohol makes you dehydrated and then you get out in the sun and you just can’t tolerate the heat. It’s not a very good couple.”

According to UPD crime reports, alcohol played a consistent role in incidents for every single game in the 2015 season, with alcohol-related calls equaling 144.

Alcohol-related calls can include the following: intoxicated persons, public drunkenness, underage possession of alcohol and the possession of a fake ID. This season alone has resulted in 69 alcohol related incidents solely on game days.

“If you start from Friday evening to Sunday evening, the majority of the cases that the officers are involved in are going to be alcohol-related,” Potts said. “I would say it’s a fair representation that alcohol is one of the biggest issues we face and then the behaviors that are associated with someone who might have consumed too much alcohol also present issues as well.”

84

Reports Issued

Georgia

CRIME

49

Reports Issued

19

15

23

34

16

20

Ambulance Calls Alcohol Related Calls

Ambulance Calls Alcohol Related Calls

Ambulance Calls Alcohol Related Calls

GRAPHIC BY: MARISA MORRISSETTE

CARDINAL CLUB

continued from page 1 so we are trying to make it inclusive for them,” Klatt said. “It gives you a group of friends to go with, a place to stay, a way to get there and, of course, your ticket.”

Freshman accounting major Stephanie Green said the club offers ways to get more involved with both the student body and with Ole Miss athletics. Green said Cardinal Club gave her a chance to impact both groups in a positive way.

“In this club, I hope to help increase school support for all Ole Miss sports teams,” Green said. “[I hope] to just be a part of making all game days the best they can

be, whether that’s setting things up ahead of time or just bringing a little extra excitement to the event.”

Senior finance major Trenton O’Malley is a member of the club.

O’Malley had been a fan of the University of Alabama for the majority of his life but turned into a Rebel after enrolling at Ole Miss.

Due to his love of sports, O’Malley was automatically interested in joining the Cardinal Club.

“Our athletic program took me from being a casual fan of two schools to a dedicated, lifelong fanatic of the one school I can now call home,” O’Malley said. “I want to do something to help another student find a way to care as much about their new home as I do, and

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I think Cardinal Club is the best way for me to do that.”

The club is named from the first official colors of the university, true navy and cardinal red. In 1893, the team colors changed the football colors to the navy blue of Yale and the crimson of Harvard, colors that were later adopted overall by the university.

It has made its mark on students’ lives as well as university history.

The 1936-38 club members donated a lantern statue to the university, which sits near the circle and George Peabody building.

This lantern is a dedication to the university with a simple plaque listing the club members of that time.

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LIFESTYLES

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 7

Q:

“What’s up with Everybody’s Formal?”

MY

R O N E VA N S

J

“I probably won’t go just because I didn’t bring formal wear with me to school.”

Freshman computer science major from Jackson

LILA

B U RTO N

M AS

IN E S HEPARD

D MA

COMPILED BY: DEVNA BOSE

I S O N VA R N E R

“I’m not planning to go because it’s just a lot of people in one place and that’s really not my thing.”

Sophomore art major from Brandon

“I think it’s a great way to make everyone feel like they’re a part of this campus.”

Freshman biology major from Cleveland

B SA

YIUS BOGGAN

“I think that’s it’s a good idea for people who aren’t in fraternities or sororities. They get to experience the whole formal thing, too.”

“No, I’m not going because I’m going out of town. I definitely wish I could, though.

I feel like at campus events, I make so many great new friends, and I really don’t have other times that I can unless it’s an event ASB puts on. They’re always so much fun.”

Sophomore chemical engineering major from Jackson

Sophomore IMC major from Philadelphia

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LIFESTYLES

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 8

Meet Ole Miss Homecoming Queen: MK Phillips LEXI PURVIS

thedmfeatures@gmail.com

More than two weeks ago, the Ole Miss student body elected MK Phillips to represent the school as homecoming queen.

Phillips, a senior integrated marketing communications major, will grace the football field this Saturday bearing a crown fit for royalty. Outside of the tiara and sparkling dress, Phillips is deeply involved in the university and Oxford communities.

Born and raised in Memphis, Phillips comes from an Ole Miss-oriented family.

Her older brother attended Ole Miss as well as both of her parents. Phillips said she loves the way the University of Mississippi ties her family together, especially when

they attend football games to watch her take the field as a cheerleader. She has cheered for both the football and basketball teams all four years while enrolled here.

Outside of cheering on our Rebels, Phillips spent this summer helping bring in the new class of 2020 with open arms as an orientation leader.

“It was such a fun summer.

My favorite part of it was being able to welcome the new Rebels into the family. It was just a great experience,” she said.

Phillips is also involved in the Student Alumni Council.

The alumni association sets up mentors for students to provide advice and guidance as they pursue their degrees.

Her mentors and their personal experiences at Ole Miss inspired Phillips and have helped prepare her for the fu-

ture.

After being nominated by her sorority, Phillips decided to take the plunge and run for homecoming queen.

“Chi O put me up for homecoming queen at the very end of the summer before school started,” she said. “I was nominated, and it was such an honor to have the opportunity to represent our sorority.”

Phillips had support not only from Chi Omega but from students across campus during her campaign. She competed with three other girls for the title. The results of the voting led to a run-off election between Phillips and Caroline Burke. While it was a close race, Phillips eventually won 54 percent of the votes.

“Being able to run against three great girls was such an honor, and I was so thankful to be in that position,” Phillips said. “This whole experience just helped me learn and grow and I’d like to thank Chi O for the opportunity to run for homecoming queen.”

As homecoming queen, Phillips aims to represent Ole Miss and give back to the community. Phillips emphasizes the importance of bringing all Ole Miss students together as one family.

“I feel that Ole Miss has shaped me into the woman I am today because I’ve grown up coming here. I feel like this is my home. I just want every person on this campus and in

PHOTO BY: CAMERON BROOKS

MK Phillips, a senior integrated marketing communications major, was recently elected as Ole Miss homecoming queen. the community to feel comfortable and know that they matter here,” Phillips said.

Phillips will graduate this spring, and she hopes to pursue a career in public rela-

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“My goal after I graduate is to keep this happiness going for the next few years,” she said.

Look for Phillips this Saturday night at the homecoming football game against Memphis.

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Homecoming 2016

HOMECOMING

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 10

How to have the best homecoming game day ever down. However, you can still get dehydrated no matter what the weather is like, so start your day off right by drinking plenty of It’s homecoming, Rebs! This water. Besides, you’ll need your Saturday, the Rebels play their strength to have the best homefirst night game in the newly coming ever. renovated Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. But for any Rebel fan, 3. Start some drama: a 6 p.m. kick-off means there Brush your teeth after breakare a lot of empty hours to fill before locking the Vaught. Ah, fast, then go break up with your what to do with all that precious significant other. It’s the perfect way to kick off the weekend’s time? narrative with an unexpected twist. Plus, if there wasn’t some 1. Eat a delicious drama on homecoming breakfast: weekend, did homeNow that you won’t be rushcoming even realing to get to the Grove to start ly happen? If tailgating at the crack of dawn, you’ll have time to brew your coffee, scramble up some eggs and fry up some bacon. Hell, maybe even get fancy and poach an egg. Why not? You’ve got time.

MCKENNA WIERMAN

thedmfeatures@gmail.com

2. Drink you up a whole mess of water:

Staying hydrated is so important. These last few home games have been absolute scorchers, but thankfully this week the weather has finally cooled

you don’t have anyone to break up with, you can always send a risky text or get involved in someone’s else’s drama as a kind of hype man.

4. Visit your local park or walking trail with a buddy: Now that you’ve eaten a good breakfast and blindsided your loved ones, you’ll need to stretch out your muscles. So lace up your sneakers, grab a water bottle and a friend and get some exercise. Now that it’s beginning to feel like fall again here in Oxford, taking a

late-morning stroll is the perfect way to get some fresh air and enjoy the changing seasons.

5. Grab lunch with the gang: Walking is hungry work, so once you get done, go home and freshen up before you head to your favorite eatery in town. You and your friends are bound to have plenty to talk about with the busy day you’ll be them where to find you. When having! he or she comes sobbing back to you, tell them it was all a big 6. Take your time get- mistake and you just had some pre-homecoming jitters. Then ting Grove ready: ask him to be your homecoming Blast your favorite jams as date. When he says yes, celeyou get dressed and ready for brate by getting the attention of the Grove. Don’t forget to grab everyone around you and then any last-minute snacks or salt making a speech about the magfor your cooler (to keep the ice ic of homecoming and how it all from melting) before you head really brings out the best in all of out. Also text your now ex and us. Then throw your head back tell him you want to “talk.” More and laugh warmly, surrounddrama! ed by all your friends and loved ones.

7. Resolve your drama:

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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 11

Bing-Dukes makes the most of his first start with Rebels CODY THOMASON

thedmsports@gmail.com

Last year, Detric Bing-Dukes wasn’t sure he would ever play college football at a major program again. He had transferred from a Georgia team with a surplus of linebackers after his freshman season and had gone to Iowa Western Community College to continue his football career.

“I had to step off on faith, and that was the craziest thing,” Bing-Dukes said. “I didn’t know where I was going to end up but what I knew was that I wanted to work hard and I wanted to prove to myself that I could play this game at a high level.”

Originally, Bing-Dukes was set on going to Middle Tennessee State and finishing his final three years of college football eligibility there, but he narrowly missed out on the academic requirements to enroll there.

When his plans fell through, National Signing Day had already passed and it was unclear where Bing-Dukes would play the next season.

What was originally misfor-

Stay Tuned In

tune turned into a blessing for Bing-Dukes, as Ole Miss still had a hole to fill at linebacker after signing day and offered him a spot on the team.

Bing-Dukes joined the team in the summer, so his time to learn the Ole Miss defense was limited.

“It was a learning curve,” Bing-Dukes said. “When I went to JUCO at Iowa Western, we ran a similar defense, but the biggest thing that I had to get used to was playing out in space.”

After Alabama rushed for 334 yards against the Rebels, Head Coach Hugh Freeze and Defensive Coordinator Dave Wommack felt a change had to be made in the linebacker rotation to prepare for Georgia and their running attack.

“That Sunday, Coach Wommack told me I was going to run with the ones so I had time to get my mind right and to prepare,” Bing-Dukes said.

Bing-Dukes hadn’t seen much time in his first three games, but Wommack felt it was time for

SEE BING PAGE 14 Detric Bing-Dukes brings down a Georgia player during Ole Miss’ 45-14 win over the Bulldogs.

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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 12

Editor to editor:

Rebels vs. Tigers

The Daily Helmsmen editor Chip Williams and The Daily Mississippian sports editor Brian Scott Rippee answer the tough questions about Saturday’s game.

1. This seems to be a popular question, but this new-look Memphis team seemingly 3. What’s a matchup on offense that Memphis could exploit and what is one that concerns you? hasn’t missed a beat. Are the Tigers as good as last year?

CW- Something I think Memphis needs to try to exploit is Ole Miss’ run defense. The Rebels are giving up nearly 240 yards per CW- The 2015 Memphis Tigers were arguably the best team in school history, so is this team as good as the best team in school history? Probably not, but they’re close. The defense is significantly improved from what it was a season ago, especially in the secondary, and the offense has a stable of weapons they can get the ball to. The biggest question heading into the season was how would Memphis replace Paxton Lynch, and while it’s never easy replacing a first round NFL Draft pick at quarterback, Riley Ferguson has done as good of a job as anyone could have realistically expected. Something that still remains to be seen is what kind of hit did Memphis take in losing Justin Fuente. So far, Mike Norvell has been terrific. He’s recruiting at an unprecedented level, and he’s blown out his first three opponents. But Memphis also hasn’t faced anyone close to the caliber of Ole Miss. We’ll find out this week where Norvell is as a game planner. Memphis lost, for my money, one of the 20 best coaches in the country when it comes to on-field coaching and game planning.

2. What’s your impression of Riley Ferguson so far?

CW- Riley Ferguson has been really good so far. Norvell runs a spread offense like Fuente did, but they’re different in their style and execution. You’ll see Ferguson swing the ball to running backs coming out of the backfield or quick passes to wide receivers in what Norvell calls ‘extended handoffs.’ Ferguson hasn’t pushed the ball down the field as much as Fuente let Lynch, but that’s not to say he’s not capable of doing it - he just hasn’t had to yet. Ferguson is averaging just over 30 pass attempts per game, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him throw 40 or more times against Ole Miss, depending on how successful the running game is early on.

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4. What’s a matchup defensively that Memphis has an advantage in and what is one that concerns you?

CW- Memphis’ secondary has been incredible this season. The Tigers are second in the nation in yards allowed per pass attempt, giving up just 4.4 yards per attempt, and opposing quarterbacks have thrown one touchdown and seven interceptions this season, which is the second most interceptions by a team that has only played three games. Chad Kelly is a really good quarterback, but I think the Tigers are well equipped to deal with a very talented Ole Miss passing attack. On the flip side, Ole Miss has struggled to run the ball this season, but I think there’s a chance they could have some success against Memphis. The Tigers aren’t very big upfront, and at times they’ve been susceptible to giving up a big run.

5. Memphis seems to have a pretty experienced and deep receiving corps. Who are some guys to be on the look out for?

CW- This is as deep and talented Memphis has ever been at both wide receiver and running back that I can ever remember. The first name you need to know is Anthony Miller. That kid is a stud. Last year against Ole Miss he had 10 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown, and in three games this season he’s already got 17 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He’s always a threat to turn a 5-yard catch into a 50-yard gain. Then there’s Phil Mayhue. He’s a bigger receiver– listed 6-3, 210– and he’s always a jumpball threat. Sam Craft is a player who will line up anywhere from the slot to the backfield. Expect him to take some handoffs as well as catch passes.

Prediction: Ole Miss 38, Memphis 24.

1. Ole Miss lost several high-profile players to the NFL last season. Is Hugh Freeze at the point where he just reloads, or is this viewed as somewhat of a rebuilding year?

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game on the ground on over 5 yards per carry, and if Memphis can have success running between the tackles or off tackle, it completely unlocks this offense and allows them to do whatever they want. Along those same lines, though, Memphis’ offensive line has struggled at times this season run blocking. Ole Miss always has good defensive linemen, and if they can prevent the Tigers from getting anything going on the ground, Memphis’ offense will become completely one-dimensional.

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BR- I think a little of both. Freeze reeled in the best recruiting class in school history last February, and a lot of them are playing immediately, especially on the defensive side of the football in the secondary. It’s been a learning process and they’ve had some tough tests. I can’t call this a rebuilding year because this team had and still has championship aspirations as well as the best quarterback in the SEC. It’s more of a reload.

2. The Rebels have already lost two games this season to a couple of very good teams. They held first-half leads in both of those games. Why haven’t they been able to finish off the job?

BR- They’ve managed the last few minutes of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half horribly in the two losses. That, coupled with the fact that the offense scores so quickly, leaves a young defense on the field a lot. I thought a key moment for this team was last week, when it tacked on another touchdown in the last two minutes of the first half against Georgia to go up 31-0. It didn’t leave the door open that time.

3. Do Ole Miss fans view this matchup as a rivalry? Why or why not?

BR- I think it depends on whom you ask. I’ve watched Memphis beat Ole Miss twice in my life and have more respect for their program than some might. The fact that they don’t play every year hinders it from being a true rivalry. But I still think it is to an extent, as it is Ole Miss’ most frequently scheduled opponent that isn’t in the SEC.

4. What’s a match up that Ole Miss could exploit and what is one that concerns you?

BR- I feel like I say this every week, but it is the receivers. That’s what makes this Ole Miss offense go. Their ability to win one-on-ones makes it easier on Kelly, and it’s why Ole Miss is so explosive. One that concerns me would be on the flip side of things: Memphis’ veteran receiving corps will provide another test for a young Ole Miss secondary that is still learning as they go. Riley Ferguson can sling it, and I think that will keep Memphis in the game.

Prediction: I think the Tigers hang around for a half, but at the end of the day its defense succumbs to Kelly and the Ole Miss offense. Rebels win 38-17.

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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 13

From the sports desk: College football pick‘em week five COLUMN

MEMPHIS @ OLE MISS

NO. 3 LOUISVILLE @ NO. 5 CLEMSON

NO. 8 WISCONSIN @ NO. 4 MICHIGAN

Sports Editor Brian Scott Rippee: Memphis can score points, and that will keep them in the game for a half, but Ole Miss avenges last year’s loss.

BR: I like Lamar Jackson more and more every time I watch him play. Louisville makes another statement.

BR: No one wants to give the Badgers any love after wins over LSU and Michigan State. I will. Wisconsin picks up a big win on the road.

Assistant Sports Editor Cody Thomason: After last week’s performance, I have to take Ole Miss here.

Memphis looks explosive in their first three games, but after making it through maybe the toughest four-game stretch in the country, I think the Rebels will be ready for the Tigers.

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CT: My gut says Clemson, but I’m shamelessly jumping on the Lamar Jackson bandwagon. No disrespect to Deshaun Watson, but Jackson has emerged as the top dual-threat quarterback since Michael Vick and the Cardinals are hot right now.

UPD: CLEMSON. Everyone is praising Louisville and criticizing Clemson. So obviously, go with the Tigers.

CT: The Big Ten is honestly impressive this season.

Wisconsin looks formidable and has a few great wins on their resume, but I think Harbaugh has the Wolverines on the road to a playoff berth and won’t let Wisconsin get in their way.

UPD: MICHIGAN. Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh is crazy … crazy good!

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continued from page 11 him to get a shot, especially with it being against the Bulldogs.

“I knew it’d be a special game for him, and he had a good week of practice,” Wommack said.

“Been trying to get a bigger, more physical guy in there for situations, and this game dictated it.”

Bing-Dukes said he did think about playing against his former team but didn’t focus on it too much.

“It gave me the extra oomph that I needed when I stepped on the field, but other than that I was focused on the game plan and focused on finishing,” Bing-Dukes said.

On Ole Miss’ very first defensive play, Bing-Dukes was there to bring down the ball carrier. He finished second on the team with seven total tackles on the day.

“I was just preparing myself all throughout camp, just praying and waiting for my chance and I finally got it and I felt like I made the best of it,” Bing-Dukes said.

Wommack said that Bing-Dukes played well and commended how much he’d worked on his assignments and the other mental aspects of the game since arriving on campus.

“He’s really worked at it. He’s worked at the fundamentals of it, the knowledge of the game and gone out and improved his skill level,” Wommack said.

This weekend, Bing-Dukes will

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 14

face another challenge against the Memphis Tigers, who run a pass-heavy offense that is very different from the run-oriented offense he faced in his first start.

Bing-Dukes felt a few adjustments could help the linebacking corps succeed against the Tigers.

“Obviously we need to fit better, fit our gaps and communicate,” Bing-Dukes said.

“I feel like the more we communicate, the better we will be.”

YOUNGBLOOD

continued from page 16 after he scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery against Alabama. Instead, it was a point to the sky followed by one to his mother, sister, aunts and uncles in Section A of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. His mother didn’t see the gesture until she saw a replay as she was mobbed with embraces when it happened.

“When I saw that happen I immediately just started yelling ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,’ and just the way he ran into the end zone, I was just screaming at that point. We were just in ecstasy at that point, screaming and hugging and crying. Everyone around me went crazy, too,” Renee said.

More tears were shed. Phil has been gone for months, and John knows his mother and sister need him now more than ever. He calls his mom every day, fully aware of how empty their home in Trussville is now.

He feels the pain and loneliness and can only imagine his mother’s is magnified.

“I have to be more of a man than a young man now,” John said. “I have to be a lot more responsible. My mom and my sister are counting on me to be there for anything around the house or just to talk to them.”

He knows life is hard sometimes, but then again, so is football. John grew up wanting to play in the SEC, but the opportunity didn’t blossom initially.

Ole Miss offered him two nights before signing day after a slot opened. John had been admitted to UCF a week prior. He was sure he was going to be a Black Knight in Orlando until that phone call came.

“We knew he was a hard worker, but we also knew he was considered a level-two recruit. In the SEC we knew that maybe he was going to see the field some but possibly not as much,” Renee said. “He had this drive that he wanted to prove that he could play and was meant to be there, and he obviously made it. That’s what really touched home to both me

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John Youngblood returns a fumble forced by Marquis Haynes for a 44-yard touchdown. Youngblood’s touchdown put the Rebels up 24-3 early in the game before Alabama would come back to win 48-43. and my husband.”

He often felt overlooked and grew frustrated during the recruiting process. But the opportunity finally came, and after three years of work, he is now starting at defensive end for the Rebels.

“It’s thrilling, really thrilling to see him out there. It’s him living his dream,” Renee said.

That thrill has helped her.

Football has helped her.

“It helps a lot. It gives me something to do and to look forward to other than looking inside myself,” she said. “It gives me purpose to be there for him and gives me entertainment to watch him. It is helping.”

The sights, sounds and joy that come with college football, and seeing her son run onto the field boasting a number of so much significance, have temporarily helped fill the void of loneliness and pain.

It’s still hard though. John’s eyes are wet in pre-game warm ups. It’s bittersweet, but he knows his father is watching.

“There’s always joy at the end of it. It’s always more joy than pain,” Youngblood said.

He isn’t alone. In Section A, his mothers eyes are flooded with tears, as well.

“It’s very emotional. I always have tears in my eyes. It is very humbling. I thank God that he was able to live his dream.

But I am also wishing that Phil could be there to experience it with me, too,” Renee said. “It is tough in that manner, because he is not there to see it, too, and enjoy it. Although I know he is watching, I would rather him be

there and us feel it together.”

John’s team needs him too.

He’s a captain. His mother describes him as a silent leader as people gravitate toward him based off action rather than words.

“He’s one of our captains, and you don’t get that by not modeling toughness, discipline and accountability,” Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. “He did it through hard work, determination and handling the tough times and adversity well.”

Eventually, the stadium will empty. The lights will go out and the season will end. There won’t be that escape for the family.

“I’ve just got to now find my life again and see what the future holds,” Renee said.

But she won’t do that alone.

The family won’t do it alone.

“This whole thing has brought us closer together. We have a lot more meaningful conversation,” John said.

Closure won’t come easily and the pain will linger. John knows he made Phil proud.

That day in the yard said it all.

He wants to continue to do so throughout his final season, knowing that there will come a time where he takes the number 38 off for good.

“I hope they look at me as a guy who never cheated a rep or go the easy way out of anything,” John said. “I hope they look at me as a guy that cared not just about football. I hope people see more than just a football player, but a great person, too.”

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 15

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THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 | PAGE 16

John Youngblood: success in the face of adversity BRIAN SCOTT RIPPEE thedmsports@gmail.com

One spring afternoon last April, Phil Youngblood mulled around the front lawn at his home in Trussville, Alabama, doing yard work. His neighbor Rodney Bates was doing the same and decided to drop what he was doing and walk over to him.

Two weeks earlier, Phil’s son, John, a senior defensive end at Ole Miss, had become the 26th recipient of the Chucky Mullins Award and would be wearing the number 38 for the duration of the 2016 season.

“He just went over there and said ‘I saw that John won the Chucky Mullins award. I wanted to let you know that I know a lot about the award and his incident and what not, and just wanted to let you know that I’m proud of him and I know you are. That’s a big honor,’” John recalled.

Phil stopped in his tracks, removed his sunglasses to find that tears began to roll down his face. In his lifetime, John never saw his father cry, and it wasn’t until two months later, in a far more fragile setting, that John would learn of this encounter.

At 2 a.m. on Labor Day morning, John woke up at his house in Oxford to his phone buzzing. It was his sister Amy. He didn’t think much of it and set the phone back down. But given the obscure hour, he picked up seconds later after he thought better of it.

It was the last thing he’d ever imagined.

“I could hear the panic in her voice, and she told me that an ambulance came to the house and took our dad away and that he was unresponsive at that point,” John said.

Phil Youngblood suffered a major heart attack in his sleep and was unresponsive. His wife Renee performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. Phil died minutes after. He was 61 years old.

“I was absolutely speechless.

I was crying my eyes out and pulled myself together about 10 minutes later and called my sister back, packed a bag really quick,” John said. “I told my girlfriend what happened and we got to Birmingham as soon as possible.”

John didn’t understand. A week earlier he and his father went hiking on family vacation. He was in great shape.

How could this be?

“I completely broke down, and I just didn’t understand what was going on at the moment,” John said.

“I couldn’t imagine life without my father and the possibility that now that might be real.”

Minutes after receiving the call, he found himself making the three-hour drive from Oxford to Birmingham in the middle of the night. He insisted on driving, hoping it would keep his mind away from the painful reality that was unfolding in the blink of an eye. He had to pull over several times to collect himself.

“It was the worst car ride of my life. It’s usually a good car ride home knowing that you’re going to see friends and family when you get there, but that car ride was just the worst. It was in the middle of the night and I just got told I no longer have a father here.”

He arrived at the hospital where he would lay eyes on his dad for one final time.

“It was just so weird. Sitting there seeing the guy who I look up to and want to be like most as a man when I grow up, and just know that he isn’t there and that I can’t talk to him about the things I used to could

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talk to him about, like the love of sports or how life is going and the next step in my life,” Youngblood said. “That’s what I was thinking about the most, the conversations I’m going to miss having and the moments I am going to miss spending with him.”

Later that day, Bates came over to give his condolences.

He told John of the encounter in the yard a couple months earlier.

“It kind of made me smile. It comforted me that I did make him proud. I know a lot of kids try to please their parents and

do right with them,” John said.

“That was more closure than anything, to know that I did make him proud.”

Renee remembers the moment he won the award, too.

She received a phone call at home and had

to sit down because she was so overcome with emotion. John called minutes after. Tears were shed. There have been a lot of tears lately.

A husband, father and friend was lost.

“If you listened to them talk, you would think that they were more so close friends than father son,” Renee said. “John would call him up any time of the day or night.”

He got his love for football from his father. From the early mornings of Phil driving his son to peewee games an hour away in Tuscaloosa. From watching the Packers play growing up. From calling his dad after games in college to talk both football and life.

“I know that I am going to miss my husband greatly when there are major decisions to help my son make,” Renee said.

“He would always call him with big decisions. He wanted to bounce them off of him.”

John couldn’t call his father PHOTO BY: CAMERON BROOKS

SEE YOUNGBLOOD PAGE 14

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