DailyMississippian The
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
thedmonline.com
Vol. 100 No. 216
Friends remind everyone ‘they won’t be forgotten’ BY JACOB BATTE thedmnews@gmail.com
ALEX EDWARDS | The Daily Mississippian
Students gathered this past Sunday night to honor the three Kappa Alpha members who died in a car accident.
For the second time within a span of a month, the University of Mississippi is mourning. Following the death of graduate student Kevser Ermin, three more young lives were taken from the community. Sam Clayton Kelly, Mason Wilbanks and Walker Kelly died in a single-car accident just north of Jackson, heading back to a university they knew existed for years, but had just gotten to know more intimately within the past three months as freshmen. Dean of Students Sparky Reardon helped arrange for buses to pick up students who attended high school with the young men, shared a residence hall with them or were part of the Sally McDonald Barksdale Honors College with Sam Kelly. Tuesday night, the Associated Student Body passed resolution 11-26, honoring the three students. The resolution, brought forth by Sen. Haley Kesterson, says Ole Miss is a family, and each student lost was a valuable
contribution to the community. The three young men were inseparable, according to their friends. They attended Madison Central High School together and Ole Miss, and they were all new members of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. Neal McMillin, a sophomore Southern studies major, was one grade ahead of them in high school. “I went to Madison Central with the guys,” McMillin said. “I’ve known Mason all throughout high school. I dated a girl a year younger, and we were in the same friend group.” McMillin, a member of KA, said the three men came up for a spring party before they enrolled. “I realized they were some of my Madison Central guys, and I started really watching out after them and getting to know them better,” he said. “They came up to Ole Miss, and I started doing the regular rush thing –– asking them over to the house, talking to them about Biology 160.” Trey Carroll, a junior English major, is close to the family of
Sam Kelly. “I grew up with Sam,” he said. “A big part of my childhood memories are from going over to his house.” Carroll said he dated Sam Kelly’s sister in junior high. “I was literally over (at Sam’s house) all of the time,” he said. “I got to know Sam really well; I got to know his family even better, which makes this even harder because I know how awesome they are and how much they loved him.” Carroll said he lost touch with Sam after high school, but when he came up to Ole Miss, he was the same guy Carroll remembered. As for Mason and Walker, Carroll said he did not get to know them until they pledged KA. Carroll served as one of their pledge trainers. “Getting to know Mason and Walker was kind of hard, especially in only four weeks with 85 guys around them,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to know (them) near as much as I would See NOT FORGOTTEN, PAGE 6
Miller Hall renovations add beds to crowded campus BY DEVIN HASLOB devin.haslob@gmail.com
It’s not hard to see construction has been taking place on the University of Mississippi’s campus. One such building under construction is the former dormitory Miller Hall, which is in the process of becoming two new dormitory buildings. Miller Hall, a 122-bedroom dormitory built in 1960, was used to house student-athletes. “It was old; it was tired,” said Ian Banner, director of facilities planning. “It was architecturally not significant, and it was on a site that, as you can see, could yield 850 beds rather than 120.” Banner said it made sense to put the site to more efficient use
inside
than what Miller was capable of. “The Miller Hall building was nearing the end of its useful life,” he said. “The complete renovation of Miller Hall just didn’t seem as efficient in a sensible way of spending the money.” The project is currently on schedule and moving toward its August 2012 completion date. The new housing arrangements have an expected total cost of $39,314,500 and will provide 856 beds between the three new dorms. Each four-story dormitory will have two-bedroom dorms. The new halls will contain amenities, including kitchens and study rooms. The five-story west building will be home to the housing department’s administrative offices, classrooms and even a pizza restaurant. The university’s decision to in-
Sleep depravation in college may result in long-lasting effects P. 4
TYLER JACKSON | The Daily Mississippian
Miller Hall, which began renovations in July, will open Aug. 2012. Miller Hall is improving from 122 to 856 beds.
clude the dorms in the campus’ master plan was likely spurred by the increased need for housing to accommodate incoming students. The dormitory buildings will each provide 428 places to sleep
and contain a study room on each level, a compromise made to provide the maximum amount of resources and space for residents. Banner said the new complex’s architecture should reflect the
In Review: ‘The Rum Diary’ P. 7
buildings directly opposite of the Johnson Commons. Aesthetic features, like its windows, will resemble the Faulkner and Longstreet See MILLER, PAGE 5
Lockett hitting his stride after ‘his best game of the year’ P. 12