The Daily Mississippian March 28, 2024

Daily

MISSISSIPPIAN

Senate committee passes its Medicaid plan

DENTON JENKINS thedmnews@gmail.com

The Mississippi Legislature’s Senate Medicaid Committee voted Wednesday to pass its version of a Medicaid expansion bill. The legislation will now head to a floor vote in the full Senate.

The legislation is the Senate’s take on House Bill 1725, which passed in the House on Feb. 28 with broad bipartisan support. The Senate’s version

of the bill limits the House’s original Medicaid expansion coverage, while also increasing a much-contested work requirement for entry into the program. Under the rules of the Affordable Care Act, the Senate’s bill does not qualify as Medicaid expansion and will miss out on federal dollars as a result.

The Senate allowed its original Medicaid expansion bill to expire on the floor on Thursday, March 14. The failed Senate bill, which consisted pri-

marily of regulatory procedures but not a concrete plan for expansion, was not brought to a vote. Instead, Senate leadership has proposed lengthy amendments to the bill’s counterpart from the House of Representatives. Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, a Republican, told Mississippi Today that he was using a “strike-all clause” on the House’s bill that will allow him to enforce a work requirement clause already present within

ASB

NOAH WALTERS KHARLEY REDMON

The election for the top two Associated Student Body executive positions, president and vice president, will head into a runoff today. The results for other executive positions and most senate positions were announced Tuesday, March 26.

The two candidates in the runoff for president are junior public policy leadership major Jackson Scruggs, who received 36.5% of the votes in Tuesday’s election, and Hannah Watts, also a junior public policy leadership major, who received 24.4% of the vote.

“I am feeling very grateful going into the runoffs,” Watts said. “The community here at UM is unlike any other, so I am incredibly honored to be in this position.”

Scruggs gave his perspective.

“I’m just honored to even be in the runoff to begin with,” Scruggs said. “I feel confident that whoever wins tomorrow will be able to properly lead

the House bill’s original text. The work requirement would restrict Medicaid access to unemployed Mississippians. Republican Sen. Nicole Akins Boyd, who represents District 9, where Oxford is located, says she is pleased with the version of the bill that has made its way through the Senate. The content of the Senate’s new version of the bill had not been finalized at the time of interview.

SEE MEDICAID PAGE 3

PROBLEMS AT THE POLLS

Despite results from this year’s Associated Student Body elections being announced on Tuesday, March 26, with a runoff to take place today — Thursday, March 28 — the election was not without problems. Issues ranged from students struggling to cast votes, technical difficulties and one candidate being left off the ballot at the start of the morning.

The ASB Department of Justice and Judicial Council have been conducting Elections Review Board hearings, ASB President Sara Austin Welch said. Title V Subtitle D Rule 7 Number 11 of the ASB Constitution and Code mandates that the results of such hearings be publicly disclosed after the completion of the election

SEE POLLS PAGE 2

senators elected, races for VP and president go to runoff

this campus in the right direction.”

The candidates for the vice president runoff are sophomore economics major Jack Jones, who received 37.1% of Tuesday’s votes, and junior international studies major Jacks Mitchell, who received 25.83% of the votes cast.

“I saw that I was in the runoff, and I was obviously very relieved,” Mitchell said. “... I was like, okay, so there’s a lot more work to be done.”

Mitchell is currently studying abroad in Malta, an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, and he thanked his team for running his campaign.

“(Running) from a different continent has been very difficult, but I’m very grateful for my team,” Mitchell said. “They have been amazing at tabling every single day, giving me updates, printing out stickers when I need it.”

Jones said he feels confident.

“I think we have put a great team together and have put in a whole lot of work,” Jones said. “I think the results tomorrow will reflect that.”

The other three races for executive positions — treasurer, secretary and

attorney general — were decisive.

Junior accounting major Eva Reynolds will serve as next year’s treasurer. In the secretary race, Braxton Dagg, a sophomore integrated marketing communications major, won. Alex Kipping, a junior public policy leadership major, won the race for attorney general.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the student body as secretary. I cannot wait to serve every single student on this campus,” Dagg said. “I’m looking forward to getting the ball rolling with expanding our community service and connecting with students from all paths of life and making sure that change is happening within ASB for the better.”

Reynolds echoed Dagg’s sentiment.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity,” Reynolds said. “I really worked hard for this, and I’m so excited for what’s to come. This has been amazing.”

In addition to executive positions, all 50 senate seats were up for election.

Caleb Ball, a junior political science major, retained his position as a College of Liberal Arts senator.

“I’m really excited,” Ball said. “In the past, there have been elections where I haven’t been contested. This year, you know, going into it, we knew that I was going to be running against people, and there’s going to be someone that didn’t win that category. I didn’t want to be confident; I wanted to make sure I was still campaigning and reaching out to people, and we did that, and I’m really excited about it.”

Now that Ball has seen his hard work pay off, he has his sights set on how he can continue the work he has begun.

“There is a rollback on (diversity, equity and inclusion) on campus, and I want to make sure that on our campus we are continuing to be an inclusive space and university for all communities and backgrounds,” Ball said.

Senior class officers were also announced last night on ASB’s Instagram. Jack Walker, a senior public policy leadership major, was elected president, Phoebe Gremaud, a senior engineering major, was elected vice president and Kam Holt, a senior forensic chemistry major, was elected secretary and treasurer.

Alex Kipping changes “for” to “is” after winning the attorney general election on March 26.

SANJAY PATEL / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

FAFSA changes challenge first-gen, minority students

HANNAH IVEY thedmnews@gmail.com

While recent changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid have kept all students from receiving their financial aid packages on time, some — like minority and first-generation college students — may feel the impacts of those delays more than others.

The FAFSA Simplification Act, which passed in 2020 and was updated in 2022, was intended to improve the process of applying for financial aid, but students are struggling with complications associated with the changes implemented for the 2024-25 school year.

The FAFSA is usually released on Oct. 1, but in 2023, it was delayed until Dec. 30 — nearly three months. The U.S. Department of Education is still working to resolve a host of issues with the form.

This may have a greater impact on minority students, who depend more on financial aid for college. According to data from the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, “White undergraduates who received federal student aid received on average $8,800. Compared to them, Black undergraduates and undergraduates of two or more races received higher amounts on average.”

Jack Facio, a sophomore

POLLS

continued from page 1

cycle. ASB President Sara Austin Welch and Interim Attorney General Sydni Davis declined to comment on Elections Review Board proceedings.

“It is necessary to adhere to the requirements of the code to protect our candidates’ privacy and wait until the conclusion of the complete election season, which encompasses the runoffs on March 28th,” ASB President Sara Austin Welch said. “The Department of Justice and Judicial Council have been diligently conducting consecutive hearings that have extended into the late hours of the night and early morning. Our aim is to complete this task within the upcoming week, taking into consideration the upcoming holidays of Good Friday and Easter.”

When election results were announced on March 26, the results of many of the senate races were left out, including the seats for National Panhellenic Council, Student Governance, Special Interest, School of Law, School of Pharmacy and School of Nursing.

Welch said that many of these winners were not announced due to technical issues that restricted ASB’s access to the ballot on MyOleMiss. ASB was still attempting to get access to these results the following morning.

“We went in to look at the write-ins, as well as senior class (elections), last night,” Welch

majoring in Arabic and international studies, shed light onto FAFSA challenges faced by students with undocumented parents, a group that has been particularly affected by the issues with the form.

“When your parents are in an uncommon situation like being undocumented, it delays your process further,” Facio said. “Let’s say the original delay for students with U.S. citizen parents of parents with proper documentation is a month. For those without proper documentation, it’s double.”

The changes have posed other challenges. Many students, particularly those with parents who lack social security numbers, were unable to complete the form due to a glitch in the system. Students have the option of filling out a paper FAFSA form, but many say that waiting for the digital form is still the better option due to the paper forms taking longer to process.

“When FAFSA is the main stressor for applying to most universities, and the FAFSA application won’t even make it easier for those who need it most, it’s very discouraging,” Facio said. “When it asks for a social security number and the answer is no, it’s like congratulations, you’re finished with the FAFSA. It doesn’t even give students a chance to see if they’re qualified for this allegedly very important financial aid. They

said. “We weren’t able to see them. Since 8 a.m. this morning, we were working with them (IT) to actually get the ballot.”

The Daily Mississippian reached out to the University of Mississippi IT Department for comment, but they did not respond by the time of publication. In addition to certifying elections and accounting for all write-in candidates, Welch said that ASB is looking into the accuracy of the results and is considering redoing the senator election.

“We’re looking into, like, if we think there has been anything, like if they’re (the results) wrong,” Welch said. “We’re looking into saying, ‘Okay, we’re not opposed to doing a rerun, especially for our writein candidates,’” Welch said.

Some newly elected senators expressed concern that multidisciplinary studies and freshman studies students were not able to cast online ballots in the senate races, while they could in the executive board races.

“Every student under multidisciplinary studies, freshman studies and a whole general studies umbrella didn’t have access to the online ballot for the senate because, technically, we’re not classified under schools,” Troy Christian, an incoming campus equity and advocacy senator, said. “So, in order for us to vote, we have to go into the office physically in the student union, and that can be very inconvenient. Personally, if I was in an apartment complex, and I didn’t have class today, I wouldn’t have come and voted.”

kind of just stripped that chance away from a lot of students.”

The changes have also caused difficulties for first-generation college students and students whose parents have little to no experience with the FAFSA. According to data from the Center for First-Generation Student Success, 65% of first-generation students utilize financial aid services compared to the 49% of continuing-generation students who use it.

“We do not have the fortune of parents who know how to work around this form,” Edward Hunter, a sophomore political science major and vice president of the First-Generation Student Network, said. “We are learning just as they are with this process.”

Many students are worried that final award offerings might not come in before college decision deadlines. Reporting from Mississippi Today said that experts are also concerned that students will be forced to choose a school without knowledge of how much financial aid they will be receiving, or they must postpone attending college.

The updates meant to make the process of applying for financial aid less complicated have left students struggling with the repercussions of technological issues and anxiety caused by the delay in receiving financial aid.

“I believe it has made it more

Incoming cultural/multicultural senator Eli Keel shared an anecdote from a friend, highlighting the inconvenience that general studies students faced in casting votes.

“I had a friend who wanted me to send him the link to go to www.myolemiss.edu and vote, so I sent it to him,” Keel said. “He’s in freshman studies, so he said it’s not working. Well, this was a bad time (for him to vote in person). He told me that it was five o’clock, and he wasn’t going to go.”

Welch said that students encountering this issue received a message on MyOleMiss telling them to call or email the union office or visit https:// www.olemissasb.org/ and that ASB was actively working to assist those students.

According to Welch, there have been technical issues with past elections, but numerous ASB members stepping down from their positions to run was a learning curve this year.

“This year we had a lot of people step down (to run),” Welch said. “I don’t believe that them stepping down was a problem. I think it’s better they stepped down because obviously — conflict of interest. I do believe there’s always a learning curve.”

In addition to technical issues, Tyren Boyd, a candidate for liberal arts senator, was scrambling early on Tuesday morning to get his name back on the ballot.

This was in response to him receiving notification from Davis that he was in violation of the ASB Code for going over budget on his campaign and

challenging, especially with there being much more uncertainty,” Hunter said. “I remember receiving an email from the financial aid office that detailed that they do not know when the financial aid will be delivered to them. This caused me to get scared because I rely so heavily on financial aid.”

Hunter also said that attempting to fill out the form with his mother caused a lot of frustration, as according to his mother, it seemed designed to “mess people up.”

“In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if it was asking for my student loan information or my

was being called to an Election Review Board hearing. Despite not being disqualified, his name was not on the ballot at 7 a.m. when polls opened.

Boyd’s name was missing from the ballot for over an hour. Davis confirmed to Boyd at 8:07 a.m. via text message that his name had been added to the ballot. In the end, Boyd lost by three votes according to numerical results obtained by The Daily Mississippian.

“I think that hour that was lost could have possibly changed the results,” Boyd said. “However, it’ll be all okay.

If they say that’s what it is, then of course, we’re going to go by based on what we’re told.”

For now, Boyd is not contesting the results.

“At this time, I’m not going to move forward,” Boyd said. “If something was done wrong in this election, those parties will pay for that…I just know that I ran a very clean election. The results are in and it just didn’t fall in my favor.”

When asked, both Davis and Welch declined to comment on Boyd being left off of the ballot, or his ERB hearing.

Boyd received an email on the evening Monday, March 25 from Davis stating that he was in violation of Title V.c Section 123 (H) 1-2 of the ASB Code.

V.c Section 123 (H) 1 reads as follows: “If the overspent amount is found to be blatantly and grossly in excess of the spending limit (defined as 10% or more over the spending limit) the candidate shall be disqualified.”

According to V.c Section 123 A

student information,” Hunter’s mother, Pauline Wright, said. “I was confused on how to apply income statements. It was difficult to answer without having actual documents in front of me. The FAFSA of previous years was easier because it didn’t include all the financial information of the parent.”

The University of Mississippi does not impose decision deadlines and hopes to begin awarding aid packages sometime in April. The school also has extended the deadlines for select scholarships for the 2024-25 school year.

of the ASB code, candidates for senate are allotted $100 dollars for their campaign. Boyd spent more than that, as he was under the impression that donations did not count towards the total.

Boyd said that he was allowed to remain on the ballot by turning in campaign materials like stickers and t-shirts to ASB. According to Boyd, this acts as a liquidation of assets and keeps him under budget.

“I had t-shirts that I had to void and the rest of my stickers and when they took all that, it brought me under the $100 limit in order to be qualified to run and be in compliance with the budget,” Boyd said.

This method of resolution is not in the ASB Code or Constitution.

When asked if she thinks Tuesday’s elections were free and fair, Welch gave the following response.

“From the bottom of my heart, I think that is what we always worry about,” Welch said. “A lot of times (ASB is) kind of the same people and you see people who are very, very willing and ready to help each other. It is hard to look at somebody that you love and adore and you believe in and say you broke the rules and you’re done.”

She applauded those running elections for putting the election’s integrity above their personal bias.

“I have been amazed by people’s strength and ability to just put their thoughts and feelings on the back burner,” Welch said.

Noah Walters contributed reporting.

GRAPHIC: ASHLYNN PAYNE / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

BRYNN BATES thedmnews@gmail.com

It is no secret that the University of Mississippi has a large Greek life presence. UM Fraternity and Sorority Life reported that more than 7,900 students are members of Greek organizations, and this number grows every year as each freshman class breaks the record for the largest at UM.

According to statistics provided by Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jess Turuc, as of spring 2024, 53.9% of fulltime, undergraduate women are affiliated with either a College Panhellenic or National Panhellenic Council sorority, and 40.7% of full-time, undergraduate men are affiliated with either a Interfraternity Council or NPHC fraternity.

For most people, the social aspect of Greek life is the first thing that comes to mind. And at a cost of $2,000 to $4,000 a semester, each student is paying a pretty penny to be involved.

However, some argue that Greek life can open more opportunities for students than just friends and parties.

IMC Connect, sponsored by the School of Journalism and New Media, held a panel discussion on Monday, March 25, entitled, “Greek Life Beyond Campus: The Return on Investment on Greek Involvement and Strategies to Maximize Your Greek Experience.” The goal was to give students information about how to draw more from their experience than just listing “Greek member” on their resume.

MEDICAID

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“Mississippi has many hardworking people who would benefit from better access to health care,” Boyd said. “The Senate is taking action to address the lack of health insurance for up to 80,000 working Mississippians.”

The original bill from the House called for an expansion of Medicaid coverage to more than 200,000 Mississippi residents who fall below 138% of the federal poverty level, meaning any individual whose annual income falls below $20,738 according to Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines.

The bill, which passed the

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Is Greek life worth your money?

The panel was led by Instructional Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication Chris Sparks. Speaking on the panel were various professionals — some are in the marketing world, others are professors at universities — who were associated with Greek life at their schools.

“You never know when the relationships from Greek life could actually help,” Amanda Bradshaw, assistant professor of IMC and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi while she attended the University of Alabama, said. “I think people underestimate the power of these connections.”

The group shed light on their experiences to discuss the many ways that Greek affiliation can be beneficial for students in the professional world. The high turnout conveyed the popularity of this topic among students, as the Overby Auditorium was filled with students eager to hear advice on how to make their sorority and fraternity dues worth it.

Jeffrey Young is vice president of marketing and communications at the National Hot Rod Association, drag racing’s sanctioning body, and a Sigma Nu while at UM. He said Greek Life helps students gain confidence through socialization.

“How do you convey your message and develop friends? What goes a long way is the confidence you get when you go into the workplace,” Young said.

Others gave examples of how relationships formed in Greek life have helped them throughout their careers.

Senate Medicaid Committee on March 27, limits coverage to only individuals who fall below 99% of the federal poverty level, the equivalent of $15,060 in annual income. Compared to the House bill, the Senate’s version excludes 49,000 Mississippi residents from eligibility.

This is why the Senate bill does not count as Medicaid expansion under the rules of the Affordable Care Act. As a result, the federal government will be funding its regular match rate of 77% of Mississippi’s Medicaid expenses — less than the 90% match rate the state would receive under the true expansion bill proposed by the House.

According to Boyd, expanding Medicaid beyond the Senate’s proposed 99% plan would force those already re-

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“My fraternity brothers, who I remain really close friends with today, all have incredible careers, and I’m able to draw from their expertise and connect my students and other friends with them,” Brett Robertson, journalism and communications professor at the University of South Carolina and a member of Delta Tau Delta at Chapman University, said.

“(Greek life) is a powerful tool of connectivity. … It’s not just a commitment for four or five years of college. It truly is for life,” Phillis George, chair of UM’s Department of Higher Education, said.

Other speakers on the panel, including Lisa Houghton, noted that Greek life is an opportunity to build leadership skills.

“Whether it’s just a small committee, president of your sorority or fraternity or it’s within a volunteer group, it’s really how you are leading people,” Houghton said. “You’ll be leading people for your entire career in one way or another, formally or informally, and this is an opportunity to really start that.”

The panel emphasized how students can effectively include their Greek affiliation on a resume.

“If students are actually getting leadership experience, doing the fundraising or doing these different things, highlighting that on a resume is really key. … None of that is reflected when it just says ‘Greek life member,’” Bradshaw said.

The panel also discussed how it is important for students to explain what they did in their role in their fraternity or sorority instead of simply listing it on the

ceiving coverage through the Federal Marketplace Exchange Plan, also called the exchange, to switch to Medicaid. The Federal Market already affords health care coverage to those within 100-400% of the federal poverty level.

“Currently, 140,000 people in (the 100-138%) income range get affordable private health insurance through the Federal Marketplace,” Boyd said.

“This marketplace offers federal government subsidies to help lower the cost. When most states expanded Medicaid, the exchange was not so heavily subsidized, so they did not necessarily have the option to keep citizens with access to the exchange on it and allow others to receive Medicaid coverage.”

Boyd considers the Feder-

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resume for it to be overlooked.

“Just listing 100 things on a resume is like, ‘Great, you were busy, but where did you grow?’” Tiffannie Hedin, corporate communications manager at Toyota Mississippi, said.

Additionally, the panel members mentioned the importance of having a well-organized and thoughtful LinkedIn profile and maintaining connectionsfromGreekaffiliations.

“One of the things that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has enabled me to do is expand my network into other professional organizations,” George said. “I was able to tap into many other existing organizations because of my affiliation and active engagement with my organization.”

So, are students really getting the bang for their buck? It seems that it is up to the individual.

al Marketplace program more beneficial to those falling within the 100-138% brackets.

“Under the House’s plan, it would kick those 140,000 Mississippians off the exchange and place them on Medicaid,” Boyd said. “On average, the federal exchange plans pay to providers on average of 42% higher than Medicaid insurance and better reimbursement leads to more providers taking the exchange plans. Thus, the House plan could potentially reduce access to care for those 140,000.”

Boyd also explained why she believes the Senate bill actually saves revenue for Mississippi.

“Why (would) the state pick up 10% of the cost for 140,000 people when the federal government is subsidizing almost

“I pay about four grand a semester,” Owen Land, sophomore IMC major and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity, said. “I think it’s worth it because it brought me close to people I wouldn’t have ever met, especially being out of state. And even if my employer isn’t a Sigma Pi, I feel like they would recognize the value of being a part of and contributing to something bigger than myself.”

Caris Miller, sophomore IMC major and member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, related to Young’s comments about confidence.

“Being a part of the Greek life community has definitely had its benefits when looking toward my professional career,” Miller said. “I have made a lot of bonds with people solely from having that Pi Phi connection, and there are a lot of opportunities to grow in the professional world because of all the experiences you get out of it.”

all the cost of (the Federal Marketplace) plans for people in the coverage gap between 100% to 138%?” Boyd said. “The Senate plan offers the best options for both those under 100% and those between 100% and 138%.”

The proposed bill from the House already included a built-in requirement that recipients be employed at least 20 hours per week or be enrolled as a full-time student in a secondary, postsecondary or work-training program.

The Senate Medicaid Committee has extended this work requirement to 30 hours per week, a change some students at the University of Mississippi agree with.

Panelists discuss how membership in Greek organizations can be beneficial at IMC Connect on March 25.

PHOTO COURTESY: CARLEIGH HOLT HARBIN

The weight of demand: navigating the rise and shortage

MARY EVANS thedmnews@gmail.com

It is no secret that the University of Mississippi has a large Greek life presence. UM Fraternity and Sorority Life reported that more than 7,900 students are members of Greek organizations, and this number grows every year as each freshman class breaks the record for the largest at UM.

According to statistics provided by Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jess Turuc, as of spring 2024, 53.9% of full-time, undergraduate women are affiliated with either a College Panhellenic or National Panhellenic Council sorority, and 40.7% of full-time, undergraduate men are affiliated with either a Interfraternity Council or NPHC fraternity.

For most people, the social aspect of Greek life is the first thing that comes to mind. And at a cost of $2,000 to $4,000 a semes -

ter, each student is paying a pretty penny to be involved.

However, some argue that Greek life can open more opportunities for students than just friends and parties.

IMC Connect, sponsored by the School of Journalism and New Media, held a panel discussion on Monday, March 25, entitled, “Greek Life Beyond Campus: The Return on Investment on Greek Involvement and Strategies to Maximize Your Greek Experience.”

The goal was to give students information about how to draw more from their experience than just listing “Greek member” on their resume.

The panel was led by Instructional Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication Chris Sparks. Speaking on the panel were various professionals — some are in the marketing world, others are professors at universities — who were associated with Greek life at their schools.

“You never know when the relationships from Greek life could actually help,” Amanda Bradshaw, assistant professor of IMC and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi while she attended the University of Alabama, said. “I think people underestimate the power of these connections.”

The group shed light on their experiences to discuss the many ways that Greek affiliation can be beneficial for students in the professional world. The high turnout conveyed the popularity of this topic among students, as the Overby Auditorium was filled with students eager to hear advice on how to make their sorority and fraternity dues worth it.

Jeffrey Young is vice president of marketing and communications at the National Hot Rod Association, drag racing’s sanctioning body, and a Sigma Nu while at UM. He said Greek Life helps students gain confidence through socialization.

“How do you convey your message and develop friends? What goes a long way is the confidence you get when you go into the workplace,” Young said.

Others gave examples of how relationships formed in Greek life have helped them throughout their careers.

“My fraternity brothers, who I remain really close friends with today, all have incredible careers, and I’m able to draw from their expertise and connect my students and other friends with them,” Brett Robertson, journalism and communications professor at the University of South Carolina and a member of Delta Tau Delta at Chapman University, said.

“(Greek life) is a powerful tool of connectivity. … It’s not just a commitment for four or five years of college. It truly is for life,” Phillis George, chair of UM’s Department of Higher Education, said.

Other speakers on the panel, including Lisa Houghton, noted that Greek life is an opportunity to build leadership skills.

“Whether it’s just a small committee, president of your sorority or fraternity or it’s within a volunteer group,

it’s really how you are leading people,” Houghton said. “You’ll be leading people for your entire career in one way or another, formally or informally, and this is an opportunity to really start that.”

The panel emphasized how students can effectively include their Greek affiliation on a resume.

“If students are actually getting leadership experience, doing the fundraising or doing these different things, highlighting that on a resume is really key. … None of that is reflected when it just says ‘Greek life member,’” Bradshaw said.

The panel also discussed how it is important for students to explain what they did in their role in their fraternity or sorority instead of simply listing it on the resume for it to be overlooked.

“Just listing 100 things on a resume is like, ‘Great, you were busy, but where did you grow?’”

Tiffannie

Hedin, corporate

communications manager at Toyota Mississippi, said.

Additionally, the panel members mentioned the importance of having a well-organized and thoughtful LinkedIn profile and maintaining connections from Greek affiliations.

“One of the things that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has enabled me to do is expand my network into other professional organizations,” George said. “I was able to tap into many other existing organizations because of my affiliation and active engagement with my organization.”

So, are students really getting the bang for their buck? It seems that it is up to the individual.

“I pay about four grand a semester,” Owen Land, sophomore IMC major and a member of Sigma Pi fraternity, said. “I think it’s worth it because it brought me close to people I wouldn’t have ever met, especially being out of state. And even if my employer isn’t a Sigma Pi, I feel like they would recognize the value of being a part of and contributing to something bigger than myself.”

Caris Miller, sophomore IMC major and member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, related to Young’s comments about confidence.

“Being a part of the Greek life community has definitely had its benefits when looking toward my professional career,” Miller said. “I have made a lot of bonds with people solely from having that Pi Phi connection, and there are a lot of opportunities to grow in the professional world because of all the experiences you get out of it.”

GRAPHIC: MILO GILDEA / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

This week, the arts and culture section of The Daily Mississippian is hosting our first-ever team-up week. Each writer was paired with another by the arts and culture editors to produce a story. Our hope was that this exercise would further skills in collaboration and task delegation. There is so much to learn from one another, and we wanted to give the arts and culture staff writers an opportunity to see how their peers execute articles.

Farmstead Florals: growing a passion

JANE DUNN GRACEY MASSENGILL thedmfeatures@gmail.com

Farmstead Florals, which began as a passion project of founder Katherine Webb, has blossomed into a thriving agricultural business. Webb and her team of college student employees are on the brink of harvest season, preparing to distribute to the farm’s multiple florist and grocery store clients.

Farmstead Florals is in its ninth season of production. The business is located on the outskirts of Oxford on a piece of the Webb family’s property known as The Farmstead.

“This is not what I thought I’d be doing. But at the same time, I have absolutely no idea what I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing this, and I love what I do and have every intention of doing it for the rest of my life,” Webb said.

Webb was both inspired and encouraged by her parents to give farming a try. As native Lousianianan vegetable farmers, Webb’s parents bought The Farmstead land with aspirations to incorporate their own agriculture on the property. The Farmstead is a distinct operation from Farmstead Florals, offering a range of activities and services.

Within the 128-acre estate is

a beautiful lake lined with privately owned cottages that often serve as lodging for vacationers. The property can also be utilized as a venue for social gatherings such as weddings, private parties and corporate events.

Webb was uninterested in crops, so she gravitated towards plants and spent the summer of her junior year in college at The University of the South experimenting with growing and selling flowers in Oxford. To her surprise, she fell in love with the gratification that comes with the physical labor required to run a flower farm.

Post-graduation, Webb decided to move to Oxford and pursue her flower-farming dream. Farmstead Florals started with three acres of land and has amassed a whopping seven. Webb said that from June to October, the farm will produce up to 10,000 zinnias — her favorite flowers — per week.

“Grow what you love, because if you don’t love it, then you’re not going to devote time and attention to it,” Webb said.

Webb’s flowers and floral arrangements can be found both locally and regionally. She acts as a provider for many different businesses, including Oxford Floral, among others in Memphis and Birmingham, Ala. She

also participates in the Oxford Community Market, which takes place every Tuesday afternoon.

“There’s no shortage of ways to be in the flower business. Find what sparks that joy,” Webb said.

Another way Webb showcases and sells her work is through self-service flower booths scattered around the Oxford Square and in the student union on campus. The booths were her father’s idea and took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the community to brighten up their homes without requiring in-person contact.

“Overwhelmingly, more people enjoy it than abuse it, and I think that’s a testament to Oxford,” Webb said.

She enjoys seeing the ways people decorate using her flowers, offering inspiration to her own innovative methods. This winter, Webb focused on repurposing wilting flowers into new creations, such as her dried flower wreaths and bouquets, which can be found at Chicory Market in Oxford.

Webb is always looking for new ways to provide the Oxford community with flowers and is happy with how her business has grown and where it is going.

“Who knows what the future holds?” Webb said. “But for now, we’re happy where we are.”

Oxford Film Fest returns for 21st celebration

PALEIF RASPBERRY JERIDIANE RAY thedmfeatures@gmail.com

Lights, camera, action!

Every year, innovative filmmakers from all over the world celebrate their cinematic creations at the Oxford Film Festival. The event took place at various locations around Oxford, including the Gertrude C. Ford Center and the Powerhouse, but mostly at Malco Cinema Grill.

The festival, which was held from March 21-24 this year, is a melting pot of filmmakers, film connoisseurs and film critics. These four days of film open doors for filmmakers to better understand how their work is received and to interact with other creators.

According to Matt Wymer, executive director of the festival, the event got its start with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and Ron Shaprio, Oxford’s late “cultural icon” and owner of the now-closed Hoka Theatre, “in order to recreate the unusual space that the Hoka occupied” to bring together people from different walks of life to “experience movies and other people’s stories from around the world that they would have never seen any other place but in that theater.”

To kick off the 21st annual Oxford Film Festival, The Yalobushwackers of Thacker Mountain Radio set the stage for high levels of energy, talent and passion with a performance. Following the Thack-

er Mountain Radio block, “Pinewood” and “Adam the First” were the first screened films of the event.

“Pinewood” director Martin Dean Lester Jr. said it was an honor to present the first film of the festival.

“This is the first one that I’d be pretty proud of, you know. We’ve done a lot of projects throughout school. This is the first serious thing I ever had to tackle, and I’m happy with how it worked,” Lester, an alum of the UM theater and film program, said.

After the excitement and energy of the first night, Ruth Leitman, filmmaker of “No One Asked You,” opened up about her expectations for the festival.

“It was really fun meeting other filmmakers and being here for opening night, the opening party and the red carpet. I’m excited for what’s happening the rest of the weekend. People are coming from all different places, bringing their work and sharing their work,” Leitman said.

“No One Asked You” follows Lizz Weinstead of “The Daily Show” and her organization Abortion Access Front as they travel to different states and push back on what they describe as the stigma surrounding abortion.

“We went to The Pink House (the Women’s Health Organization clinic) in Jackson, Miss. — one of the first places that we went to, and we returned month after month, year after year be-

cause we knew that things were really on the decline. They were really under attack, and we wanted to support what they were doing by documenting their strength and tenacity with everything that they did,” Weinstead said.

The second day of OFF began with a powerful, emotional film, “The Meaning of a Ritual,” created and directed by Natalie MacMahon. The film featured an all-female cast and themes of self-discovery, multi-generational understanding and magic.

“I’m thrilled to reach the amazing audience of the Oxford Film Festival and love how this story can resonate with people from different backgrounds,” MacMahon said. “The emotional core of the story is very human and can touch people from different ages and cultures in so many ways. It makes me happy to leave the audience with some inspiration on how to approach life and overcome difficult situations with the help of rituals and the power of nature.”

The visibility of disenfranchised communities was a prominent theme of the festival this year.

“When Unfettered,” a short film written and directed by Derek Franzese, presented scenes of disabled children accepting and playing with an ostracized AI humanoid. This meaningful scene displayed the openness that people with disabilities often possess but are not likely to be met with.

Franzese spoke of the importance of portraying groups who lack representation in mainstream media.

“That was one of the biggest things for me,” Franzese said. “We wrote this before COVID. There were very, very, very little roles for people who had any kind of disability. It’s gotten a little better. But that was a very important thing to do, to show people with any kind of disability.”

Franzese elaborated further on how he created a space for those he feels are not typically seen on the big screen.

“We tried to find anybody, whether it was autism, down syndrome or paraplegia. Every single person adds something to everything. It doesn’t matter. And so that was super important to me,” Franzese said.

Friday night culminated in an after-party at the Powerhouse for filmmakers and festival attendees. With a raffle to win prizes, live music performed by Steve Johnson and a bar serving cocktails featured in the locally produced film “(I’m Not) Your Negroni,” spirits were high.

Saturday came with more showings, the awards ceremony and a red carpet event where the awardees spoke about their works’ inspirations and processes.

explained the initiative behind the film and its trans-led set.

“The inspiration behind the film is an aspirational take on my creative partner’s wishes of how he and his wife would want to conceive, as well as needing a place to channel our energy when Roe v. Wade was overturned and seeing the lack of trans visibility and education about the trans experience in the film industry,” Raidt said.

Sunday rolled around, giving attendees a last chance to view films with encore screenings for the winners in each category and a rare showing of “Hello Dankness,” a satirical musical comedy film that can only be described as a masterclass in copyright infringement that was created by Australian creative duo Soda Jerk.

OFF jury member and Executive Director of Indie Memphis Kimel Fryer reflected on her time at the Oxford Film Festival.

“I’ve always had a great time in Oxford. The locals are here along with the filmmakers. And so for a few days, you have everyone kind of bonding together over films and networking and just talking with each other, so I really love that aspect. And I think that the Oxford Film Festival is amazing and does a great job of curating spaces so we can bond over film together,” Fryer said.

Raidt

“Lee Baby,”a film by Leah Raidt and Eli Sulkowski, is about the challenges that a transgender man and his wife face when deciding to start a family.

Katherine Webb of Farmstead Florals

PHOTO COURTESY: KATHERINE WEBB / FARMSTEAD FLORALS

CLAIRE REYNOLDS

LYDIA WATERS

thedmfeatures@gmail.com

As the population of Oxford expands, so does the food scene. While many University of Mississippi students are excited at the prospect of having more well-known franchises brought to the small Southern town, others are concerned about how chain restaurants will affect the future of Oxford’s food culture.

Among these new restaurants joining Oxford soon is Connie’s Chicken on Jackson Avenue, in addition to second helpings of Chick-fil-A and Chipotle.

“I think chains are definitely people’s easier options,” junior communication science and disorders major Haley Harris said.

But she believes Oxonians and students prefer the environments of non-chain restaurants.

“I think (people) definitely want to come to restaurants for the quality of food, the quality of customer service and the overall good environment, instead of just sitting in your car for a fast food restaurant,” Harris said. “It takes less than 10 minutes to get across the whole town. I don’t think we need another Chick-fil-A or Chipotle.”

Venice Kitchen General Manager Addie Brennan, a senior nursing major, thinks that the influx of chain restaurants could take away student employment opportunities.

“This is also a huge work pool for students. Our entire staff is students, so I feel like things would definitely change a lot if we were to get rid of sit-down restaurants or have fast food everywhere,” Brennan said.

Brennan believes Oxford’s local restaurants play a significant role in drawing tourists to the town.

“I definitely think that the food scene contributes to the tourism here. It is nice on the Square to have a bunch of different types of food,” Brennan said. “We’re an Italian restau-

Can local restaurants survive the fast food influx?

rant, then there is Bouré, which is more American, and then Ajax, which is Southern comfort. I think it gives us a variety and a lot of options, especially for students. I feel like having different options is great.”

Brennan noted the Oxford culinary scene can be a difficult and competitive market to enter.

“I would say there have been a couple of changes on the Square,” she said. “We had a bar across the way that (went) out of business, and now they’re Donut Distillery, which I think is super cool. I want to try it, but I have seen a lot of tables turn with places like that because it is hard to open a restaurant business here.”

Blu Bistro, an upscale bar and dining establishment, was open for roughly four months and restricted its service to customers 24 years and older. Donut Distillery subsequently occupied the building. The restaurant has several other locations in Tennessee and Texas, plus a new location coming to Arkansas.

Donut Distillery Assistant Manager Blake Stilwell worked at Blu Bistro before its closure.

“The owner just was ready to get out. He was tired of things and wanted to live a different life that did not involve Oxford,” Stilwell said. “The Square is kind of its own breed of things. Everything is busy on certain weekends, and when you have a new business on the Square, it is hard to get into it and get the name out there.”

Unlike Harris and Brennan, Stilwell welcomes the influx of franchises in Oxford.

“I would say chain restaurants coming into Oxford is a good thing,” Stilwell said. “You have Grillhouse and St. Leo, and they’re all higher end restaurants. We don’t really have that lower end ‘it is not super expensive to get a meal’ place.”

Both Brennan and Stilwell praised their establishments for contributing to the local economy by providing crucial employment opportunities for students.

“Oxford is growing at a really phenomenal rate right now, so I think all the new businesses that have opened up have been really good for the town,” Stilwell said. “I’d say 95% of our

staff are students. I couldn’t even think of one that we did have who wasn’t a student.”

Venice Kitchen.

ANTONELLA RESCINGO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Donut Distillery.

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

UM students dream up 10 spring date ideas

MARY EVANS RAEGAN SETTLE thedmfeatures@gmail.com

Spring is in full swing at the University of Mississippi. Tulips are blooming. Love and pollen are in the air. With no football games to attend, students are looking toward romance for weekend entertainment. Here is a list of local spring date ideas recommended by UM students.

Square Books and downtown stroll

Attention bookworms: Check out the Square’s intellectual scene and beautiful springtime landscaping. The winding shelves of Square Books offer the chance to show off thoughtfulness through gift-giving.

This is an ideal spring date for freshman public policy major Ella Grace Young.

“I would love to take a tulip walk around the Square,” Young said. “Also, I’m a big reader. I’ve always wanted to go on a book swap date. We could see the flowers, then go to Square Books and buy each other a book.”

Country cruising

Roll the windows down, turn up the music, have a deep conversation and enjoy the ride.

Spring is the superior season for long drives along the winding roads of rural Mississippi.

Junior psychology major Ryleigh Overby recommends sightseeing on state Highways 30 and 334, as well as backroads in the area.

“One of my favorite dates is driving down backroads in the evening,” Overby said. 0“In Mississippi, you think there’s not a lot to see, but the country roads are so pretty.”

Picnicking

Don’t take Oxford’s extensive green spaces for granted.

On an old-fashioned picnic, you can relish snacks, vitamin D and delightful company all at once.

Freshman business major Blair Burk suggested packing a blanket and a lunch to enjoy in Lamar Park or the Grove.

Sardis Lake

Nature lovers may appreciate a trip to Sardis Lake, located just 10 miles northwest of UM’s campus.

“Go do something your date enjoys, like a fishing date,” freshman integrated marketing communications student Ella Gilley said.“Maybe you won’t enjoy it, but do it for your partner.”

Dog walking

What better way is there to celebrate spring with your date than surrounded by cute animals?

Ella Foren, a freshman psychology major, described her ideal spring date as walking a dog from the Oxford Animal Rescue Center for a day.

“You can take a dog on a walk and basically rent a dog for the day so the dogs in the shelter get playtime,” Foren said. “I love animals, and I would love it if someone would do that with me.”

Horseback riding

There is something inherently romantic about riding horses, especially with your prince (or princess) charming. Whether you are a novice rider or an expert equestrian, exploring blossoming trails on a majestic steed fosters adventure and connection. Oak View Stables in Olive Branch, Miss., offers horseback riding lessons.

“I think dates can feel a little awkward because you have high expectations,” freshman public health major Emerald Nyambat said. “With horseback riding, it is so natural, and you are occupied. Also, seeing your guy riding a horse would be hilarious.”

Painting

Spring is the season of color. Why not capture its essence through brush strokes? Even if you are not an art major, painting allows couples to unleash their creativity and bond over a peaceful activity. Senior psychology major Daisy Nunez said she wants to paint with her date in a scenic location.

“It’s perfect for me because you are able to get distracted with what you are doing but also able to talk with your date so you are not awkwardly staring at them,” Nunez said.

Pickleball

Spice up your romance and bring out your date’s competitive side with a pickleball game. The ultimate mix of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, pickleball is more difficult than it appears.

Freshman secondary English education major Catherine Maitre said that playing pickleball with her boyfriend is her favor-

ite date. She describes herself as an intermediate-level player. However, Maitre does not recommend pickleball for a first outing.

“This is definitely a third or fourth date. If you’re not good at pickleball, it can be embarrassing,” Maitre said.

Drive-in movie theater

Take a trip down memory lane for a movie in the great outdoors. The soft glow of the screen and echo of crickets make drive-in movies a relaxing experience. The nearest drive-in theater is the Malco Summer-Drive-In in Memphis, Tenn.

Peyton Knope, a sophomore exercise science major, said drivein movie theaters are a great way to spend time with someone without worrying about carrying on a conversation.

Baseball games

Swing into spring with your crush at an Ole Miss Baseball game. Hotdogs, popcorn and beer

University of Mississippi to host 2024 Southern Literary Festival

showers are a classic recipe for romance — the Hotty Toddy way.

Teddy Bond, a freshman accounting major, said dates like baseball games help ease connection because they are casual and fun.

Coffee on the Croft porch

The lovely porch overlooking the Grove at the Croft Institute for International Studies is perfect for spring coffee dates.

“I’d love to take my girlfriend to the (J.D. Williams Library) Starbucks for her favorite white mocha, and we’d sit outside on the Croft porch and talk,” international studies major Sven Ise said. “I really don’t care what the date is, though. I just enjoy spending time with her.”

Perhaps location is not the most important part of a dream spring date, but rather who you are spending time with. Let these ideas keep stress at bay when planning your next romantic outing, but remember to focus on the person in front of you, not perfecting your itinerary.

NATE DONOHUE SYDNEY STEPP thedmfeatures@gmail.com

The University of Mississippi will host the 2024 Southern Literary Festival from April 4-6. The event is free to the general public.

Senior Lecturer in English Beth Spencer and Writing Enriched Curriculum Senior Lecturer Angela Green are this year’s faculty organizers. Spencer explained that the festival began in 1937 at Mississippi’s Blue Mountain College, now known as Blue Mountain Christian University, in Blue Mountain, Miss. 21 schools are involved, and UM is hosting the festival for the first time since 2014.

“The mission of the organization is to foster community between established Southern writers and young undergraduate writers,” Spencer said.

Victoria Hulbert, a graduate student in UM’s English department, is organizing the festival along with Spencer and Green.

Hulbert shed light on her involvement in planning the upcoming festivities.

“I’ve been working with the undergrads at Ole Miss who are interning at the festi-

val. I’m kind of like the leader of the interns,” Hulbert said.

Hulbert also stressed the importance and significance of the Southern Literary Festival in relation to Southern writers.

“This is the 85th year,” Hulbert said. “There are early writers attached to the festival, big names like Flannery O’Connor. It has a really cool history.”

In addition to its connection to Southern literary history, the festival helps to expand the already robust creative writing scene in Oxford.

“I think it’s an exciting time for creative writing on this campus because of the introduction of the (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in creative writing. This is the first year that the first cohort of undergraduate writers are going to (attend the festival),” Hulbert said.

While Oxford is known for its literary history, Hulbert expressed that Mississippi as a whole has a tendency to overlook the arts.

“It’s just really important, when we’re in a state where the arts and creative writing is not always prioritized, for this university to be taking a stand and being like, ‘It’s important to us,’” Hulbert said.

Spencer noted that this year’s

festival overlaps with the Oxford Conference for the Book, a literary gathering unique to the town — a rare treat for writers and literature lovers alike.

“There will be no end of choices, should you be interested in creative writing, wanting to meet authors or just enjoying different experiences with both of these conferences,” Spencer said.

Andre Dubus III, who has published nine novels, will serve as the Southern Literary Festival’s keynote speaker.

At the festival’s core is the undergraduate writing competition.

University-wide competitions are held at the member schools in the categories of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, formal essay and literary magazine. The top submissions in each genre advance to the regional competition, whose winners are asked to speak and share their work at the festival.

“Truly, the heart of the festival is undergraduate writers and celebrating their work,” Spencer said.

The events kick off on Thursday night, April 4, with an Undergraduate Open Mic Night.

“I want to encourage students who are interested at all to come on Thursday night, es-

pecially,” Hulbert said. “It’s going to be a party, (and) it’s going to be an opening celebration.

The J.D. Williams Library’s Department of Archives and Special Collections has curated festival memorabilia dating back 80 years to prepare for the festival’s arrival. The exhibit includes previous years’ programs and schedules, information about past winners and promotional posters for past events.

“We are grateful for the work of Jennifer Ford and Sarah Catherine Glass, who did a wonderful job putting it together,” Spencer said. “They found a hand-written note from Mr. (William) Faulkner. Go check it out!”

The exhibit is now on display on the second floor of the J.D. Williams Library near the Blues Archive.

“We have events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and (the festival) invites a bunch of undergraduate writers that are excited about fiction, poetry and playwriting, and we have breakout sessions, so they can attend events,” Hulbert said.

UM faculty, including Tommy Franklin and Derrick Harriell, will lead sessions

and read some of their work.

Also with a significant role in the festival is K. Corley Taylor, a senior multidisciplinary studies major from Tupelo, Miss. Last year, Taylor won third place in the one-act play genre and was invited to emcee the open mic event for this year’s festival.

Taylor is very enthusiastic about this year’s festival.

“There are always opportunities to breathe new life into art in Mississippi,” Taylor said. “When I started writing in Oxford, I could feel something in the air, an energy. So we are getting to host an event that brings people in and lets them live in that energy, lets them experience it.”

Taylor hopes to continue to participate in the festival in the future. She believes Mississippi storytelling is founded on a sense of community and on older generations building up the younger generations.

“I think that any chance I have to bring up the Mississippi storyteller — to help them find their footing, to see them advance — I always want to be a part of that,” Taylor said. “If you aren’t changed by the end of the festival in some way, you didn’t come.”

Tableau photograph: Emma Grace Kesting and Camp Holder chat in the Grove on March 26.

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Magnifying some of UM’s smallest academic programs

With more than 75 academic programs to choose from, University of Mississippi students can grow professionally within their unique areas of interest.

While majors like integrated marketing communications, business and accounting have high enrollment and are increasingly popular, there are many programs with smaller student enrollment from which students can choose.

The classics major facilitates the study of the ancient Mediterranean world with an emphasis on exploring ancient languages, literature, history, art and archaeology. Students in this major can choose to have an emphasis in Latin, Greek or classic civilization.

Because the classics major generally has an enrollment of about 30 students, Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics Molly Pasco-Pranger said the students and faculty have cultivated a strong sense of community within the department.

“We all know one another, and we have all sorts of activities that sort of continue to build those connections,” Pasco-Pranger said.

One of the activities that facilitates connections is the opportunity to study abroad in Rome, Italy, at a reduced cost.

“We really encourage our students to study abroad. I think right now we’re up to about 65% of our majors who study abroad. We have a very generous endowment. It’s called the McDonnell endowment that supports study abroad, and since we don’t have a ton of classics majors, that money goes a long way,” Pasco-Pranger said.

Personal advising is one of the major benefits of being a classics major.

“Having a small major means you also get really good advising,” Pasco-Pranger said. “We just spend time individually with every single student. It’s me or one of the other tenured professors who is meeting with all of our majors. No-

body falls through the cracks.”

Many classics majors love the sense of connection between students and faculty that a smaller program offers.

“I like the fact that it’s so tight-knit … (Our professors) are always happy to talk to us about classics. Everything’s really interconnected,” junior classics major Greg Palculict said.

Although the close academic community is a positive to many students, some believe that the program would benefit from growth.

“I think it’d be good to try and show students that the classics do have a place in the modern world and that it’s not just a bunch of learning about old white guys,” Palculict said

One of UM’s newest majors, writing, rhetoric and speech communication, strives to help students become better writers and public speakers. Students are given a choice of a wide variety of speech, writing and rhetorical theory classes that examine communication in various contexts.

“Writing, rhetoric and speech communication is one of the newest majors at UM, and we are looking for students. Our major has grown almost 300% in the last two years, but we are still small,” Department Chair and Associate Professor of Rhetoric Stephen Monroe said.

Opportunities such as individualized advising, scholarships and study abroad opportunities make rhetoric a unique major with many perks.

“Students will get individual attention from brilliant faculty, practical lessons in communication, study abroad and internship opportunities and more. We also have great scholarships, like the new and substantial McCullouch-Greer Scholarship,” Monroe said.

According to the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s website, there are an average of 30 students pursuing a physics degree during any given semester. While physics is a smaller department, the program offers several courses covering diverse topics.

Senior physics and French double major Bryce Barrett gave insight into his academic experience.

“Despite being on the smaller side, the physics department offers an abundance of courses covering different topics. I have taken classes in optics, astrophysics, cosmology and even a graduate-level class about the physics of medical imaging,” Barrett said. “The curriculum for physics majors includes both classical physics courses, such as gravity, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics courses, such as quantum mechanics and particle physics.”

Barrett said that the UM physics department offers students unique opportunities for research.

“I’m a musician and have always been interested in acoustics. The National Center for Physical Acoustics is on the Ole Miss campus, and there are groundbreaking opportunities to study topics ranging from ultrasonics to underwater communications,” Barrett said. “For my honors capstone project, I’m evaluating the soundscape of the Grove by taking sound-level measurements in real time, as well as gathering people’s perceptions of sounds in different positions.”

Barrett said that while the subject can seem daunting at times, physics is both an enriching and highly applicable field to study.

“I think the most intimi-

dating part of physics for most people is the amount of math involved, but there is free tutoring available, and the professors are available and accommodating when you have questions,” Barrett said. “Probably the most rewarding aspect is learning that physics is related to so many parts of our daily lives, and its principles can be used to explore the origin of the universe or develop new life-saving medical technology … Physics teaches problem-solving skills that can be applied to all kinds of issues.”

Given the theater and film department’s large presence on campus, hosting many events and putting on several productions each semester, it might be surprising to find that there are less than 50 students pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater arts — and of the BFA students, there are only eight pursuing the design and theater production degree.

According to freshman design and theater production major Grae Goodlett, the design and theater production emphasis involves working and communicating with the theater department’s faculty and other students.

“As a design student, I work really closely with the faculty and students,” Goodlett said. “I specifically work very closely

with the costume department since I work in the costume shop every week for 12 hours. And once you take a certain class, you start designing for shows. I’m excited since I’ll be able to start designing for the fall.”

Goodlett also explained that the size of the program creates a closer classroom environment.

“Especially for freshmen, there are some larger classes that all theater majors have to take. But the courses specifically for the design emphasis are much, much smaller,” Goodlett said. “It’s a really nice environment because you get to work more directly with your professors.”

While studying theater design can be time-consuming, Goodlett emphasized the benefits of being involved with the theater community.

“You have to put in more than just classroom hours or homework, like working 12 hours a week in your field of study. And you’re also working on shows. Being on the crew of a show is probably four hours minimum each night you’re there, not to mention the design work that designers put into the show,” Goodlett said. “You have to put in all these hours, but you get to tell a beautiful story at the end of it, and that’s always what I’m looking forward to.”

CHLOE DOBBINS ISABELLE FROST thedmfeatures@gmail.com

Maxwell Glasser as Seymour and Jacob Heuer as Mr. Mushnik in the UM Theater production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ in April 2023.

HANNAH GRACE BIGGS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Ole Miss Esports to add College Football 25 to game catalog

tion of College Football 25, we could see another uptick in interest and level of play.

After an 11-year long hiatus and a lawsuit, EA Sports has finally rebooted its beloved college football video game series. College Football 25, the official name for the next game, is set to be released later this year.

This marks the first game since NCAA Football 14, one of the most revered sports video game. A key factor in the franchise’s return is the recent changes in NIL laws that allow players featured in the game to receive revenue from the use of their name, image and likeness.

Esports is an ever-growing facet of gaming, and Ole Miss has its own Esports team. John McDermott, the director of Ole Miss Esports, confirmed that the program will play College Football 25 competitively.

“The plan is for the Esports program to expand into College Football 25 when it is released,” McDermott said. “I am working with other leagues and conferences to get it added as (an) official competition.”

Aside from having the No. 3 League of Legends team in the country, Ole Miss Esports has quietly upped its emphasis on competitive sports games, and with the addi -

“I am excited for this to join our already competitive sports titles lineup (which includes) Madden, NBA2K and EAFC,” McDermott said.

Anticipation for the release of College Football 25 is palpable in and out of the program. The most recent installment, NCAA Football 14, sold approximately one million copies in summer 2013. If the air of excitement for the upcoming game is any indication, College Football 25 will shatter that number of copies sold.

“For a lot of people, the NCAA football franchise holds a special place in our heart(s), as it was a truly unique and fun experience to play through. I am excited for the newer generations of gamers to relive those moments,” McDermott added.

EA Sports has announced that all 134 NCAA Division I teams will be in the game. Additionally, players who agreed to appear in the game will receive $600 and a free copy of the game. As of early March, they have reached more than 10,000 opt-ins.

“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t be a part of something like that,” Ole Miss

Home of the Ole Miss Esports teams, Yerby Conference Center.

wide receiver Jordan Watkins said after team practice earlier this month. “It’s not every day you get a chance to play as yourself in a video game.”

While the players have the

ability to opt in or out, coaches reportedly will be excluded from the upcoming game, despite coaches like Lane Kiffin’s willingness to be in it.

“I would let them do it

without any deal,” Kiffin said in an interview with On3. “What would help with recruiting? If you did pay me for it, I wouldn’t want it. I’d want to put it in our NIL.”

LUKE DUNAVANT / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Ole Miss Women’s Golf team finishes eighth at the Clemson Invitational

TAYLOR HILL thedmsports@gmail.com

The Lady Rebels Golf team competed in the Clemson Invitational Friday, March 22 through Saturday, March 24 in Sunset, S.C. The tournament had stiff competition, including five top-25 teams: reigning champions and No. 13 Ole Miss, 2023 runner-up and No. 5 LSU, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 20 Clemson and No. 23 Vanderbilt.

Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio State, Maryland, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Miami, Furman, Augusta and University of North Carolina Wilmington filled out the rest of the field.

The Lady Rebels closed out the opening day of the tournament in 10th place, shooting a 292 (+4). The Rebels had the most pars in the field and ranked second in par five shooting at The Re -

serve at Lake Keowee course.

Natacha Host Husted led the Rebels with two-under at the end of round one and ended the day tied for ninth place. She also led the field in par five shooting with a four-under as she continued to play the course.

Chipping into day two, the Lady Rebels shot a five-over 293 and moved up one spot on the overall team leaderboard to ninth place. The Rebels sat tied for ninth place after the second round, sitting at a nine-over (585) at the end of day two.

Nicole Gal came back from a rough opening day to shoot an even par. She was oneover through 11 holes and hit three straight birdies to excel in her second round.

Capping the Clemson Invitational for the end of the regular season, the Rebels finished in eighth after shooting a total of 874 (+10). Ole Miss ended the weekend with the most pars on

the field at 189 and finished in third place in par five scoring.

Host Husted boosted herself up to tie for fifth place in the individual scoreboard with a 212 (-4) over the threeday tournament. This marked the junior’s second consecutive top-five finish. Fellow junior Caitlyn Macnab ended the tournament tied for 40th place with a score of 221 (+5), capping off a successful first regular season as a Rebel.

Andrea Lignell came back from a tough second round, shooting a 72 (E), tying for 48th place with an overall of 222 (+6). The senior’s roundthree execution marks the 13th round this season in which she shot even or below par.

The youngest of the Lady Rebels, Sophie Linder and Gal ended the weekend separated by one stroke on the final leader board. Linder finished tied for 63rd place with a 226 (+10), while Gal scored a 227

Ole Miss Softball swept by Georgia in home series

The Ole Miss Softball team welcomed the Georgia Bulldogs to Oxford for their second home conference series this season that started on Saturday, March 23, and wrapped up on Sunday, March 24. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 5 in the country coming into the matchup, while Ole Miss was unranked. The power level difference was evident, as the Lady Bulldogs thoroughly defeated the Lady Rebels in all three games of the series.

Game one (lost 0-7)

Due to inclement weather on Friday night, Ole Miss moved the first game to Saturday, making it a doubleheader. March 23 was sunny, and the Rebels looked forward to starting their series.

Unfortunately, the Lady Rebels dropped their first game due to a lack of offense; they could not get their bats going to spark any kind of momentum. While it took until the fifth inning for the Bulldogs to score, they gave the Rebels a hard time by scoring in the remaining three innings.

Ole Miss had problems hitting, having only one, which did not occur until the bottom of the seventh inning from designated player Aynslie Furbush. The Rebels also had an error, which further hurt their chances of pulling off a win.

Game two (lost 10-7)

In game two of the weekend series, the Lady Rebels started with back-to-back home runs in the second inning from catchers Lexie Brady and Furbush, setting a much better offensive tempo than the previous match. Quickly, though, the Lady Bulldogs had the same idea, putting up three runs early.

Georgia continued to score in the fourth through sixth innings,

(+11) and tied for 70th place. Justine Fournand shot a three-round score of 218 (+2) and tied for 24th place when competing individually for the Rebels. The Rebels will now focus

their attention on postseason play, heading to Belleair, Fla., next for the SEC Championship held at the Pelican Golf Club. The tournament will be held April 12-16.

which put Ole Miss far behind at 7-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. However, the Rebels scored three runs in this inning, narrowing the gap to 7-5.

After scoring two clutch runs in the seventh inning to tie up the game, the Lady Rebels were unable to keep Georgia from firing back, as the Lady Bulldogs scored three runs at the top of the eighth inning. This proved to be too much for Ole Miss to overcome, and the Lady Rebels lost their second straight game.

Game three (lost 1-4):

Ole Miss started well with a 1-0 lead for the first two innings of game three. However, that would be the only run they would get

in this tough, defense-oriented game. The Lady Bulldogs tied the game in the top of the third inning, and they never looked back.

The game stayed tied for a while and looked like it could go into extra innings, but the Lady Rebels gave up three runs in the top of the seventh inning and could not answer back with their own bats, causing them to take a final loss and a series sweep.

What’s next?

Ole Miss will continue its stretch of home games with a three-game series against the University of South Carolina Gamecock from Friday, March 29 to Sunday, March 31. The first pitch is set for Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

LILY GREEN thedmsports@gmail.com

Natacha Host Husted competes in the 2021 SEC Championship.

PHOTO COURTESY: PETRE THOMAS / OLE MISS ATHLETICS

Ole Miss Softball vs ULL in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Oxford Regional at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford.

JOSH MCCOY / OLE MISS ATHLETICS

Ole Miss Baseball outshines

Austin Peay 13-9

LILY GREEN thedmsports@gmail.com

The Ole Miss Baseball team, coming off a series loss to the University of Tennessee Volunteers, welcomed the Austin Peay State University Governors for a midweek game on Tuesday, March 26. After a tumultuous beginning, which saw the Diamond Rebels go down 4-0 early, Ole Miss battled to win 13-9.

The Ole Miss Baseball team, which entered this game 17-8 overall and 3-3 in the SEC, faced the formidable Governors, who hold an overall record of 15-8 and a 4-2 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference, in a nine-inning dogfight that tested the pitching, hitting and overall gumption of the Rebel team.

Ole Miss won 13-9:

The Rebels struggled at the beginning, allowing back-toback home runs from Austin Peay’s first two batters. The Rebels also gave up two more runs, which resulted in a comfortable 4-0 lead for the Governors in the top of the first inning.

Ole Miss fired back in the bottom of the first inning, though. With the help of an error from Austin Peay, shortstop Luke Hill was able to get on second base as the leadoff batter for the Rebels. Then some hits from third baseman Andrew Fischer and first baseman Jackson Ross allowed Hill to score with no outs.

The Rebels ended up tying the game in the first inning, matching Austin Peay’s early energy.

After the back-and-forth nature of the opening inning, Ole Miss gave up a triple on the first batter in the top of the second inning. This allowed another runner to reach home when an Austin Peay outfielder singled to bring in outfielder Clayton Gray, making the score 5-4.

In an effort to halt further momentum, Ross made an impressive double play that helped the Rebels end the second inning.

Ole Miss tied the game once again when a wild pitch from

the Governors allowed second baseman Brayden Randle to score. After a quiet remainder of the second inning, the score stood at 5-5.

With the help of right-handed pitcher Mitch Murrell, the Rebels handed the Governors their first scoreless inning in the top of the third.

Ole Miss broke the tie and extended the gap to a wide margin. The Rebels had four runs in the bottom of the third inning, putting them in the lead for the first time at 9-5.

The Rebels held the Governors once again in the top of the fourth inning and added to their lead. Ole Miss only scored one run in this inning despite having many runners on base, also losing a run due to an interference call. However, Ole Miss

SUDOKU©

still led 10-5 after four innings.

Ole Miss continued the scoring party with a solo home run from Ethan Lege in the sixth inning and a triple for Hill, who scored on a wild pitch. This extended the lead to 12-5.

The Rebels allowed the top of the ninth inning to drag out far longer than anticipated, with four runs from the Governors. However, Ole Miss clinched the win, moving its season record to 18-8.

What’s next?

Ole Miss will continue this stretch of home games by welcoming the University of Kentucky Wildcats for a three-game series March 29-31. The first game will be on Friday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on SECNetwork+.

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ACROSS

1- Hide;

5- Stench;

10- Require;

14- Gen. Robert ___;

15- Uruguayan friend;

16- Spicy stew;

17- Brio; 18- Silvery fish;

19- Manipulator;

20- Reducing enzyme;

22- Trail;

23- Mined mineral;

24- Hit the slopes;

25- Following;

29- Peter or Paul, but not Mary;

33- Bring about;

34- Woody’s son;

36- Frozen rain;

37- Faulkner’s “___ Lay Dying”;

38- Horse race venue in England;

39- “Silent” prez;

40- Spool;

42- Mormon state of western USA;

43- Designer Geoffrey;

45- Tidal river;

47- Premier player;

49- Peeples or Long; 50- Sot’s sound;

51- Bottom line;

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 with no repeats.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

CHALLENGING

54- Similarity of sounds; 60- ___ the crack of dawn; 61- Pay for; 62- Wanting; 63- ___ Ha’i; 64- Singes; 65- Collar type; 66- A Baldwin brother; 67- Actor Davis; 68- Electric fish; DOWN 1- Jury member; 2- Fashion mag; 3- Be in front; 4- Unsubstantial; 5- Attach firmly; 6- Austen novel; 7- Connections; 8- Eyeball; 9- Spoil; 10- Sustain with food; 11- Socialite Maxwell; 12- Util. bill; 13- Like some chocolate; 21- Manitoba native; 22- Ref’s decision; 24- Predicament; 25- Frighten; 26- Alleviates; 27- Silent; 28- Delicious; 29- Wahine’s welcome;

30- Be silent, musically; 31- Woody vine; 32- “Oklahoma!” aunt; 35- Nipper’s co.; 38- Charisma, atmosphere; 41- Insane person; 43- Russian pancake; 44- One on the run; 46- Feel unwell; 48- Fourth highest peak in the world;

51- Big brass; 52- Iridescent gemstone;

56- Dress often worn by Hindu women;

57- Brief letter, paper money; 58- Moderately cold; 59- Sea eagles; 61- General on Chinese menus;

53- Story, often rooted in folklore; 54- Greek war god; 55- Mariners can sail on seven of these;

Treyson Hughes slides to the base during a game against Iowa on March 1.

JOHN MATTHEWS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

DAVID RAMSEY thedmopinion@gmail.com

Oxford springs to life

After an unnatural winter consisting of an Oxford snow week, a surprisingly electric basketball season and an even more popular flu season, Oxford is beginning to wake up and show its true colors. Tulips, dogwood trees and daffodils have sprung into action, welcoming students to the beginning of the end of the school year. Springtime is unequivocally the best time to be a college student, especially here on one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States.

In these final weeks, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the mounting academic pressure professors impose on us. A slew of responsibilities beat down students’ spirits and contradict the carefree atmosphere of the season, with essays and research papers due, theses to be reviewed and presentations to be stumbled through. I’m sure we all have a friend or two who completes a fourth-quarter comeback to redeem their GPAs every year. Salute them for taking the more difficult route.

To combat all the stress attached to the arrival of spring, I’d like to share some of my favorite Oxford traditions to celebrate the end of a hard-fought school year.

Baseball season is an obvious favorite for students for many reasons: beer showers, awkward tan lines and Rebel wins, for starters. Baseball season is essential because it offers a way to relax and be with your friends without the craziness of the football season. Football season is exceptional, but after a football game, I feel like I need another day added to the weekend to wind down.

Baseball games, on the other hand, happen throughout the week and weekend and are all-around much more lowkey than football games.

The spring concert is a luxury given to students free of charge every year. In the past two years, the university has welcomed stars PartyNextDoor and Riley Green to headline the much-anticipated show. It is common knowledge that

Opinion Policies:

college students as a whole are not the most financially stable individuals. We gravitate toward free stuff, and there is nothing quite like a free concert from a big-name artist to occupy what would otherwise be an uneventful April weekend.

Currently, the student body is eagerly awaiting a headline artist announcement. Still, there is a strong chance that the Student Activities Association and the university will attempt to slide by without a dedicated spring concert this semester due to Morgan Wallen’s rescheduled performance on April 20.

Finally, to wrap up the semester and distract weary students from the impending doom of finals week, Double Decker Arts Festival will arrive in style in late April. With the entire Square blocked off from traffic, everyone and their mother comes out to enjoy the art, drinks, food and live music.

Bar covers will be astronomical, musical artists like (Emmy award winner) Kingfish, Flatland Cavalry and Charlie Mars will play their hearts out and students are having the time of their lives. Double Decker is the quintessential Southern festival experience that gets me through the academic grind of late April like none other.

Spring symbolizes revival, but for some students, it also signifies transition into adulthood. Internships, graduate school acceptance letters, job offers, graduation and new school schedules can all be wonderfully exciting, but they come with the weight of leaving behind the life you have known to some extent.

To the students who are afraid of what the end of this semester can mean, remember that all these problems will soon be gone, just like the beautiful Spring in Oxford. Similar to the cycle of the seasons, periods of examination and transition come and go, and the problems and fears that they invoke disappear, too. So weather the spring, because there are many more to come.

David Ramsey is a junior public policy leadership major from Madison, Miss.

Columns do not represent the views of The University of Mississippi or The Daily Mississippian.

The Daily Mississippian welcomes letters to the editor, which should be emailed to thedmopinion@ gmail.com. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. They may be edited for clarity, brevity and libel. Third-party letters and those with pseudonyms or no name will not be published. Letters are limited to one per individual per month. Letters should include contact information, including relationship to the university, if applicable.

Since 1970

• Former Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

• Former Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

• Still practicing at his privately owned law firm for over 50 consecutive - located at the same place, being the Oxford Square, Downtown, Oxford, Mississippi.

• Practiced at his privately owned law firm for 45 consecutive years - located at the same place, being the Oxford Square, Downtown, Oxford, Mississippi.

• Taught the Mississippi DUI Law and 5 different Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure courses each and every semester at the University of Mississippi for 29 consecutive years.

• Taught the Mississippi DUI Law and 5 different Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure courses each and every semester at the University of Mississippi for 29 consecutive years.

• A member of the Chancellor’s Trust at the University of Mississippi since 1981.

• A member of the Chancellor’s Trust at the University of Mississippi since 1981.

• Former Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Oxford, Mississippi for over 6 years.

• Former Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Oxford, Mississippi for over 6 years.

• Former Municipal Court Judge for the City of Oxford, Mississippi for 8 years.

• Former Municipal Court Judge for the City of Oxford, Mississippi for 8 years.

• Former Vice President and President of the Lafayette County Bar Association; member of the Mississippi Bar Association, etc.

• Former Vice President and President of the Lafayette County Bar Association; member of the Mississippi Bar Association, etc.

• Appointed by the Mississippi State Bar to the Mississippi Commission on Attorney Ethics and Attorney Violations of the Canon of Ethics and All Mandatory Rules concerning the Practice of Law. Occupied the positions of Vice Chairman and Chairman and served for 18 years.

• Appointed by the Mississippi State Bar to the Mississippi Commission on Attorney Ethics and Attorney Violations of the Canon of Ethics and All Mandatory Rules concerning the Practice of Law. Occupied the positions of Vice Chairman and Chairman, served for 18 years.

• A Founding Member of the National College for DUI Defense conducted at Harvard Law School.

• A Founding Member of the National College for DUI Defense conducted at Harvard Law School.

• Selected as one of the Top 50 DUI Attorneys in Mississippi by the National Advocacy for DUI Defense.

• Selected as one of the Top 50 DUI Attorneys in Mississippi by the National Advocacy for DUI Defense.

• Selected as one of the Top 10 Best Attorneys of Mississippi in for Client Satisfaction Award by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys.

• Selected as one of the Top 10 Best Attorneys of Mississippi in for Client Satisfaction Award by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys.

• Selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Organization.

• Selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Organization.

• Recipient of the DISTINGUISHED AWARD OF MERIT for 1989 from the Mississippi State Bar given to one Attorney in the State each year for outstanding contributions to the practice of law.

• Recipient of the DISTINGUISHED AWARD OF MERIT for 1989 from the Mississippi State Bar given to one Attorney in the State of Mississippi each year for outstanding contributions to the practice of law.

• Voted “Best Attorney in Oxford, Mississippi” in the Grove’s Choice Awards.

• Voted “Best Attorney in Oxford, Mississippi” in the Grove’s Choice Awards.

• Member of the American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys

• Member of the American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys

• Member of the National League of Renowned Attorneys - Top 1%

• Member of the National League of Renowned Attorneys - Top 1%

• Awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Distinction by RNCC.

• Awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Distinction by RNCC.

• Member of the American Jurist Institute - Top 10 DUI/DWI Attorney for Mississippi

• Member of the American Jurist Institute - Top 10 DUI/DWI Attorney for Mississippi

• Member of the American Society of Legal Advocates - Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in the State of Mississippi

• Member of the American Society of Legal Advocates - Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in the State of Mississippi

• Selected by the Attorney and Practice Magazine as one of Mississippi’s Top 10 Attorneys, et cetera.

• Selected by the Attorney and Practice Magazine as one of Mississippi’s Top 10 Attorneys, et cetera.

2023