The Daily Mississippian - November 20, 2014

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THE DAILY

MISSISSIPPIAN

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Volume 103, No. 61

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

opinion

lifestyles

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Cartoon: Low man on the totem pole

Mystic art of Tibet

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sports

Ole Miss basketball set to play Southern Page 7

Tricycles to be available for departmental use on campus MIA SIMS

masims@go.olemiss.edu

The University of Mississippi is proud to announce its incorporation of tricycles as an alternative to the golf carts used by various departments. The tricycles will not only aid in mobility around campus but also aid in health and wellness. Being a non-motor bike, the tricycles will provide an outlet for exercise. The wellness aspect of the tricycles, or trikes, is what creates significance in their incorporation. Wendy Carmean of human resources expressed the basis of the program and how it is beneficial to the Ole Miss community. “Our hope is the bikes and trikes will offer an alternative to the golf cart for quick and timely travel for cross-campus errands,” Carmean said. “Zipping across campus on a bike rather than a golf cart is a great way to get the juices flowing. It’s a fact that we perform better and feel better when we add physical activity, even in short increments, to our schedule throughout the day.” The idea of the tricycles emerged when RebelWell, the university’s wellness program was awarded a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of MS Foundation. “One of the initiatives in the grant was to build a departmental bike program that

PHOTO BY: ZOE MCDONALD

New departmental tricycles are seen at the Ole Miss Bike Shop on Monday. could be used by faculty and staff to move about the campus in a timely manner,” Carmean said. “Many departments currently have access to golf carts, but we wanted another option that was more wellness oriented. We actually plan to introduce a new fleet of bikes

and trikes in the next couple of months.” The trikes will be outfitted with Ole Miss logos and special tags. The trikes are red, have large rear baskets and, before distribution to various departments, will have handle bar bells.

The tricycles are only for departmental use opposed to student use. Andrea Jekabsons, also an employee of the human resource department, asserted that in addition to trikes, the Department of Parking and Transportation is also provid-

ing 50 two-wheeled, logo-covered bikes for student use. The new departmental bike program is planned to kick off with a trike race at 10 a.m. Dec. 1. Five teams will race in a relay format from the University Avenue/Grove Loop intersection around the Circle and back.

Oxford School District reinstates pledge policy

SPECIAL TO THE DM

AMANDA LOPEZ

amlopez1@go.olemiss.edu

GRAPHIC BY: THOMAS GRANING

The Oxford School District recently reinstated a pledge policy and is giving students and faculty the option to opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a standard morning activity in U.S. public schools. Public schools cannot force students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, though schools may allow time to recite the pledge at the beginning of the school day. Mississippi State Code

37-13-6 states the boards of trustees of Mississippi public schools require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once every school month. The code also states any student or teacher who objects shall be excused without penalty. The Oxford School District Pledge Policy was reinstated the week of Oct. 26, involving students reciting the pledge every morning. The Oxford School District administration has also educated students on their options during the recitation of the pledge. Oxford School District Communications Coordinator

Kelly Graeber said the high school administration wanted to give students the option to participate or not. Students are given the freedom to choose, and if their choice is to opt out, they know they are not allowed to be disrespectful or disruptive during the Pledge of Allegiance. Graeber said giving students the option to choose is part of preparing decision-makers for society. “We want them to be confident in the decisions they make, and they can start thinking, ‘Is this important to

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