The Daily Mississippian September 21, 2023

Can’t find a parking spot? Here’s why.

Ole Miss player sues Kiffin, UM

that some lots were not being fully utilized.

The University of Mississippi has sold almost 3,000 more parking passes than there are spaces available for students to park in. There are 14,960 total parking spaces available for students and faculty, including residential spaces, and 17,701 parking passes sold so far this year.

Hal Robinson, assistant director of parking and transportation systems, explained that this is by design — and further, that UM decreased the ratio of permits to spaces between this year and last.

“In fiscal year 2023 (last school year), we sold Commuter Blue permits at a ratio of 2.1 to 1, meaning we sold 2.1 parking permits per parking space,” Robinson said.

In the 2021-22 school year, the department sold passes at a 2 to 1 ratio and observed

“Higher enrollment resulted in a much higher usage in fiscal year 2023 than anticipated, and the 2.1 to 1 ratio that year resulted in some excessive demand in some areas. This year, fiscal year 2024, we returned to a 2 to 1 ratio, which is the common standard rate for this type of parking zone,” Robinson said.

In 2022, UM welcomed the largest freshman class in university history on campus. That occurred again in 2023. According to students, these unprecedented enrollment numbers have exacerbated issues with finding parking spaces.

“It’s been so bad compared to last year that some people will park in areas that aren’t even parking spots. They’re not in the way of traffic, but they aren’t parked where they’re supposed to be,” Matthew Hearn, a senior computer engineering major, said.

Reduce, reuse, recycle with RebelTHON

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As football season kicks off, Ole Miss fans are not the only things packing The Grove. Blue and red trash cans are a familiar sight on game days, an effort to contain the hundreds of pounds of trash generated by tailgaters.

Where others see trash, some see an opportunity to raise money and help others.

RebelTHON, a service organization at the University of Mississippi, is ramping up its mission to support Children’s of Mississippi in Jackson, the only children’s hospital in the

state. The organization normally fundraises by hosting a yearly dance marathon, but this year, RebelTHON has found an additional way to raise money for the hospital.

Byron Swetman, a junior computer science major and director of outreach for RebelTHON, outlined the new plan.

“I was searching for service projects that RebelTHON could do for more support.

I learned that the Office of Sustainability and the Environment at the University of Iowa had a for-profit recycling program,” Swetman said. “They recycled cans and bottles for monetary means. So I thought that I had something to work with.”

Swetman reached out to Kendall McDonald, a UM alumnus and former public policy leadership major who currently works for the Office of Sustainability at the University of Mississippi. After some research, Kendall found that the state of Mississippi cannot publicly recycle cans and bottles for profitable means.

“They usually get tickets, but they don’t care because there’s not anywhere else to park.”

Hearn is far from alone. Libby Claire Jones, a junior math education major, laments purchasing one of the most expensive parking permits because she cannot find a space when she needs one.

“I have Commuter Blue. I feel like it’s a waste of money because there’s so many students on campus this year,” Jones said. “I could have just ridden the bus for free and gotten closer to some of my classes because most of the Blue spots are filled, and I have to park in the farthest ones.”

Aside from various residential parking designations, there are three parking pass options available for students living off-campus: Commuter Blue for $250, Commuter

SEE PARKING PAGE 3

PIER CUMMINGS

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Ole Miss football player DeSanto Rollins is suing Head Coach Lane Kiffin and the University of Mississippi, citing negligence, racial discrimination and sexual discrimination. The suit was filed on Sept. 14 in the Oxford Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. He is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages from Kiffin, defendants and the university and $30 million in punitive damages from Kiffin alone.

According to the lawsuit, Rollins is alleging that he was subject to a hostile educational environment for requesting and taking a mental health break, which culminated in Rollins being kicked off the team after missing consecutive practices amid a battle with his mental health.

QUACKS

Newly opened restaurant Quacks is bringing hot dogs and good times to the Oxford Square.

SEE PAGE 5

Rollins, formerly a backup defensive lineman, has suffered many injuries throughout his career. After injuring his Achilles tendon in the summer of 2022, he claims to have “suffered severe depression, anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, humiliation, a loss of sleep and loss of appetite” as a result of his accumulated injuries.

In August of that same year, he aggravated an LCL injury in his knee, which Rollins claims exacerbated his depression.

After a February 2023 meeting with Kiffin, Rollins alleges that he was demoted from defensive tackle to offensive tackle on the scout team.

DART

Jaxson Dart proved many people wrong this offseason. His improvement has spilled over into this season, as he has excelled in the first three games of the year.

SEE PAGE 9

Rollins questioned whether this move was “a choice or a command.”

According to the lawsuit, Kiffin replied, “If you don’t like it, then you can quit.” After this, Rollins told Kiffin that he would be taking

PHOTO: JULIA GRAVES / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Lane Kiffin watches Rebels on the side line in Vaught Hemingway Stadium on Sept. 2.

JOHN MATTHEWS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

ASB prioritizes transparency, passes bill

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Members of the Associated Student Body introduced a new bill, new student opinion forms and new faces as they held a formal senate meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the student union.

A main topic of conversation among senators was SB 23-9, which would clarify the selection process of Who’s Who honorees and Hall of Fame recipients.

Presented by Sen. Madison Waldrop, a sophomore integrated marketing communications major, the bill revises the code that defines the selection process and aims to make the selection criteria more transparent to students.

“The main goal of this legislation is to update the code to reflect the current process of Who’s Who and Hall of Fame selections,” Waldrop said. “Since ASB doesn’t have a direct hand in the process, it’s gotten easily outdated, so this will simply change the code to reflect what’s already going on. There’s nothing that’s being changed about the current process.”

ASB Vice President Mason Greenwald, a senior political sci-

PARKING

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Red for $100 and a space in the pavilion parking garage for $550.

The extra $150 on the Commuter Blue price tag is justified by access to lots in closer proximity to buildings and classes on campus. Even those with Commuter Red parking passes, though, are feeling cramped.

“I have Commuter Red. It sucks sometimes, because last year, it was much easier. You might’ve had to park in the farthest spots, but at least you could find a spot in the first place,” Hearn said. “Now, I’m sometimes late to class because I have to wait for people to leave their parking spots so I can park.”

Robinson explained that the recent strain on parking has led the department to lower the permitto-space ratio by 0.1% and that the department may consider lowering the rate even further next year.

“Fiscal year 2025 may see a further reduction of the rate based on what we are seeing this year so far,” he said.

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ence and economics major, also commented on the bill’s agenda.

“We want the code to accurately reflect what goes on, so students can have a strong grasp on how things happen,” Greenwald said. “We’d like transparency. And what we did tonight was just update the code to accurately reflect what actually happens.”

Annual Who’s Who and Hall of Fame nominations and selections currently are coordinated by the university’s division of student affairs.

The bill passed with a unanimous vote.

ASB saw several difficulties with implementation of the student opinion form last year, and with the form now being functional and present on social media, ASB aims to use it to the fullest to maximize student connection.

Greenwald emphasized that students’ opinions are a top priority this year.

“(Last year’s student opinion form problem) was egregious because that’s one of our direct lines of communication with students to fix issues, but it’s working now,” Greenwald said. “It’s on the (ASB) website, on the front page of the website on In-

Some parking pass holders are experiencing the strain more intensely than others. The Commuter Blue lots, which have a ratio of 2 to 1, are far above capacity, with 5,478 sales for 2,745 spaces. Commuter Red has no limiting ratio for how many passes can be sold, and there were 4,023 sales for 3,995 available spaces.

Additionally, the number of spaces sold for Commuter Red and Commuter Blue parking between the 2022-2023 school year and 2023-2024 changed significantly. The number of Commuter Blue parking passes sold decreased by 825, while sales for Commuter Red passes increased by 1,416.

Many of the Commuter Red spaces used to be considered Park-N-Ride spaces and are situated a significant distance from classes. University OUT buses still run between these routes.

For instance, according to Google Maps, the walk from the Commuter Red lot at the Jackson Avenue Center to Holman Hall, where the School of Business is located, is 23 minutes. The walk to George Peabody Hall is 26 minutes.

Another Commuter Red parking lot is located at the South Ox-

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stagram, and it’s getting used.”

Greenwald shared his hopes that students would begin turning to ASB to fix problems rather than using social media as an outlet.

“I want a cultural shift where no longer if you have a problem on campus, you open up Yik Yak or open up Twitter and start going crazy on what your problem is,” Greenwald said. “You can come to ASB because we’re here, and we work hard to fix student problems.”

In addition to Bill SB 23-9 and student complaints, the meeting included the inauguration of the new legislative aides, including Olivia Claire Williford, Emma Scruggs, Jack Turrentine, Kieffer Schwartz, Reid Overstreet, Shayne Carson, Adam Maatallah, Hannah Broders and Lillian Prather.

Each legislative aide is assigned as a secretary to standing committees, where they engage in research and development to gain more legislative experience and work closely with senators.

Freshman Hannah Broders, an international studies major, is one of the nine members inducted and is both excited and committed to fulfilling her role.

“As a freshman, it’s an amazing

ford Center at 2301 South Lamar Boulevard. A walk from the SOC to Holman Hall takes 50 minutes and crosses U.S. Highway 27. To George Peabody Hall, the walk takes 45 minutes, and to Guyton Hall, it is a 57-minute walk.

“It’s not reasonable to call that a commuter lot. I think there’s a problem with the labeling,” Ross Cohen, a junior accounting and public policy leadership major, said. “If the university wants to call it a commuter lot, they need to do more to make sure the buses are running efficiently on their routes.”

Kadi Van, a freshman biochemistry major, lives off campus and takes the bus to school.

“The buses are almost never on time. They are 2 to 3 minutes late on a good day, and 10 to 15 minutes on a bad day,” Van said. “The longest I’ve had to wait is 25 minutes.”

Ethan Wilchynski, a sophomore civil engineering major, shares Van’s experience.

“I usually wait 25 minutes for the bus,” he said. However, improvements to the bus system may be in the works.

“It should hopefully be getting a little better, though. My bus driver told me that they should

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way to get involved in ASB, which I really wanted to do,” Broders said. “I honestly just hope to continue serving through ASB, and I can’t wait to see what will come from that.”

Greenwald believes the position can help first-time members feel more prepared for future senate opportunities.

“They learn how the sen-

ate works, and a lot of legislative aides end up becoming senators and growing in the legislative branch,” Greenwald said. “Some realize that ASB is not for them at all and switch out, but it’s an opportunity to work really closely with senators as a freshman and a first-year student and get a hang of the legislative branch.”

be adding another bus to the green line soon,” Wilchinsky said. Similarly, the parking department is seeking to expand available parking. According to Robinson, though, these plans are limited by cost and land availability.

“Our department is always looking for options to develop more parking. Space is very limited though, and parking garages are extremely expensive,” Robinson said. “On average, it costs in excess of $30,000/space to build a garage versus less than $5,000/ space to build a surface lot.”

However, Robinson guaranteed that a parking area will be built in conjunction with new dormitory buildings.

“Right now, we are in the planning stages to construct a

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new residential (parking) facility to accommodate expected demand created by the new housing facilities being built at the Kincannon Hall site,” he said.

The future of commuter lots lies in the number of students enrolled in UM. If the university continues to break admittance records, then faculty, staff and off-campus students could have another parking lot at their disposal.

“Additional parking options will be considered, but surface lot utilization at some of the outer lots (like the South Lot and the JAC) does not warrant the major expense of a new parking structure immediately for commuters and staff,” Robinson said. “That may change quickly depending on enrollment.”

THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN EDITORIAL staff

New legislative aides sworn into their positions on Sept. 19.

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“I have Commuter Blue. I feel like it’s a waste of money .”

- Libby Claire Jones Junior

The author of nine novels, four volumes of poetry, four short fiction collections, a biography of Chinese poet Li Bai and a book of essays, Ha Jin is a prolific Chinese American writer whose work places Chinese stories at the forefront of the Western literary sphere.

Ha Jin is a highly acclaimed author, having been awarded the National Book Award, the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the PEN/ Faulkner Award for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, in addition to being a twotime Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Ha Jin’s upcoming novel, “The Woman Back from Moscow,” entails the life and career of Sun Weishi, a female Chinese stage director successful in the 1950s, and analyzes the history of the Chinese Communist Party through Sun’s story.

Ha Jin is the first of this year’s John and Renee Grisham Visiting Writers. During a panel discussion Sept. 13 in the Johnson Commons East Ballroom, Ha Jin read from a section of his novel detailing Sun’s adaptation of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and its subsequent effects on the perception of the U.S. within China.

Some attendees noted the

Arts&Culture Author Ha Jin unveils novel

‘The Woman Back from Moscow’

reading was particularly sharp due to the excerpt’s content examining Chinese perceptions of racism in the U.S. and its straightforward prose sprinkled with occasional dry wit.

One audience member, English doctoral student Diego Fleitas, said he was struck by the sting of Ha Jin’s writing.

“Ha Jin’s material is very dense, and (the adaptation featured within the excerpt) confronted a lot of the specters of America’s past with racism and civil rights,” Fleitas said. “It was very poignant.”

The apparent bite of Ha Jin’s writing was partly owed to the contrast between the novel’s somber subject matter and wry prose and Ha Jin’s reserved demeanor, according to Assistant Professor of English and panel host Michael Wang.

“(Ha Jin) is soft spoken … but that just makes his sarcasm even sharper. And his reading itself, a historical fiction account of the translated play of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ for Chinese Communist propaganda, was a shocking kind of reading in many parts,” Wang said. “I think his work and the way he reads, which is so soft and non-threatening, has somehow made the moment even sharper.”

Fleitas shared a similar opinion, noting how the

writer’s demeanor made him more interested in his work.

“I wasn’t (familiar with Ha Jin’s work beforehand), but I was excited to hear him speak,” Fleitas said. “I honestly did have a fascination with (the reading and panel), and I think a lot of it is because I saw him speak. He is very presentable, soft spoken with a very clear conscience. Likewise, (he is) suffused with a very deep degree of humor.”

While taking questions from audience members after his reading and interview, Ha Jin also commented on the process of writing in general, remarking that it is hard to become a writer but even harder to continue to be a writer.

Wang shared his hopes that the commentary as well as the opportunity to hear Ha Jin speak at the panel would be beneficial to writers within the university’s community, particularly Asian- American students.

“We have several Asian students in the (MFA in creative writing) program,” Wang said. “And I think it’s really important for them to hear one of the most, if not the most, influential Chinese writers who is alive today.”

“The Woman Back from Moscow” by Ha Jin is set to be released on Nov. 14.

Award-winning author Ha Jin ahead of his new book’s release.

PHOTO COURTESY: DOROTHY GRECO

STEM students revive academic journal club

So, it’s a time for people to learn more about these other sections in our department,” Craze said.

Journal club meetings are a common practice in higher scientific institutions and are for reviewing and discussing recent scientific publications. The BioMolecular Sciences Student Advocates, a graduate student organization at the University of Mississippi, resumed their journal club meetings Sept. 14 after the organization took a short hiatus.

Currently, the journal club meetings have a particular focus — studying scientific publications from non-UM scholars.

BioMolecular Sciences Student Advocates President Amelia Craze is a fourth year doctoral candidate in environmental toxicology under the School of Pharmacy. She believes that including the perspectives of a variety of researchers is beneficial to the journal club.

“This (journal club meeting) is a peer reviewed study. We’re presenting on what their research is before they come, so that students can be more engaged with our speakers,” Craze said.

Craze also explains that journal club meetings are an opportunity for students to hear from other fields.

“Journal club is a time for students to talk about current literature. Our department is made up of four different organizations.

For the first journal club meeting of the semester, Tareq Saquib, a second year research assistant in the Department of Pharmacology, presented a publication titled “Spatiotemporal Control of Noradrenaline-Dependent Synaptic Transmission in Mouse Dorsal Raphe Serotonin Neurons” by Professor Stephanie C. Gantz.

While preparing for this presentation and discussion among peers, Saquib was able to learn and understand all the scientific processes in this publication from someone else’s perspective.

“After reading this article, and when I prepared this presentation, I got to know about the methods which are pretty common in neuroscience and in other fields of research, mostly in life science,” Saquib said. “And then I also learned about the experimental design and how the professor approached it and why they did it, how they developed the hypotheses and how they executed an experiment.”

Even though journal club meetings are an opportunity to discuss current scientific publications, they also are an opportunity to improve one’s own research process and thinking.

“It’s important because a lot of times you get caught up in your

own topic area,” Shayla Victoria, a third year doctoral student in environmental toxicology and the journal club chair, said. “There are things you learn from neuroscience, even if you’re not a neuroscientist, that can help you in your own research. And so it’s important that we all see a diverse range of research. Also, continu-

ing to discuss scientific principles altogether is really important.”

The BioMolecular Sciences Student Advocates have activities other than journal club meetings. They also provide social events, skills workshops and service projects, all to build a community for a diverse group of students. Although it is common for graduate students to

Quacks puts dogs in forefront

Hot dogs, speedy service and a casual vibe: these are the cornerstones of new Square restaurant Quacks. Situated between Ajax Diner and Van Atkins Jewelers, it is locally owned and aims to appeal to the budgets of college students.

Co-owner Joe Bittick was a collaborator in deciding this format was right for Quacks.

“It’s good and something that’ll fill you up for $10 to $15. It’s about having that price available while on the Square, with cheap liquor and quick service with a smile,” Bittick said.

Luke McKey, co-owner of Quacks, has played tag with Oxford throughout the years. He has ultimately made his way back to Oxford with Quacks as his focus.

“I’m from the Jackson area, went to school here (in Oxford), but I actually moved back here from Seattle, Wash.,” McKey said.

McKey attended the Univer-

sity of Mississippi for college and relocated to Seattle following graduation. After a career in real estate, he returned with his family to Oxford. Bittick, on the other hand, is originally from Memphis.

Thanks to a love of casual dining and Bittick’s experience in the restaurant business, McKey and Bittick had the idea to open Quacks.

“Hot dogs are one of the most served foods in the entire country and, with Joe’s background, we thought he could get real creative with them,” McKey said.

Bittick continued McKey’s sentiment.

“Hot dogs are a blank canvas, you can put anything on them,” Bittick said.

While building the restaurant, the owners decided to take to social media and request pictures of dogs to incorporate into their bar. They have over 1,500 pictures in their finished bar with plans to add more.

“Everyone loves dogs. It was a lot of fun soliciting all these photos: dogs, people with their dogs, we got

one guy with his lawn mower, some with horses, and it’s entertaining. People like to come and find their spot and show off their picture to their friends,” McKey said. Quacks got its name through a leaf on McKey’s family tree.

“My son went out for the soccer team and the coach goes, ‘Oh, you’re the new kid from Seattle, we’re gonna name you Quacks, you know, for the University of Oregon Ducks?’” McKey said. “It doesn’t make any sense cause Seattle is in Washington, and that’s why it stuck.”

Bittick, being the chef at Quacks, claims his inspiration for the different dogs comes from family members and pop culture.

“The PJ’s Poboy is from my mama. She’s an author who writes romance books and her pen name is PJ,” Bittick said. “Buffalo chicken dip–who doesn’t like buffalo chicken dip?–put it on a hot dog and call it ‘Buffy The Chick Slayer,’ cause ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ is a great show.”

Since the opening of Quacks earlier in the year, business has been successful. They are looking to continue their success into the football season and the rest of the semester.

“It has been great. Consistently, the biggest challenge is getting

participate, Craze encourages undergraduates to participate in this organization if they are interested.

“Even though we are technically a graduate student organization, any undergraduate students who might be interested in pursuing a graduate degree are more than welcome to come to our events,” Craze said.

through summer, but now that college is back and football is in town, things are looking great. We had our record weekend this past weekend which, hopefully, we’ll continue to surpass again and again,” McKey said.

Left to right: Journal Club Chairr Shayla Victoria and BioMolecular Sciences Student Advocates President Amelia Craze participate in journal club meeting.

ALIZA WARNER / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Quacks, located on the Square.

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Indie trio Üni takes Oxford’s music scene by storm

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It is well known that Oxford has a rich history of nurturing artistic talent, from literary geniuses like William Faulkner to blues legends like R.L. Burnside. Among the latest crop of Oxford-born talent sits new alternative rock band Üni.

This band’s lineup features a talented ensemble of young local artists, including lead guitarist and Coffeeville, Miss., native Dalton Burney, Oxford local Carson Gentry on drums and fellow Oxonian Joe Hogue as vocalist.

Burney described their sound as alternative rock with a hint of indie and blues. Inspired by a wide range of artists, from Flip Turn to Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band performs rock and indie covers, but they are hoping to release their own EP by the end of the semester.

While Üni may be the band’s current name, their journey began under different names. These included Thacker, after the Thacker Mountain Fire Tower — where they spend much of their time hanging out and making music — and The Sips, after their shared Mississippi roots.

The decision to rebrand

themselves as Üni was not taken lightly, but it marked a pivotal turning point in their musical journey. On a summer trip to the United Kingdom, Hogue had a breakthrough that would change the course of the band forever.

“It came to me because I always heard Europeans and British people call their universities ‘uni,’ and then I decided to add little Motley Crüe dots above the ‘U’ to make it pop,” Hogue said. “And that was it. I texted them in the group chat that day.”

Üni tested the waters of Oxford’s music scene at Proud Larry’s on Aug. 26 by opening for indie groups Hotel Fiction and Trash Panda.

“We saw them before we even knew we were going to open for them, which was really cool,” Hogue said. “The turnout was awesome. We met the right people at the right time.”

Like many aspiring musicians, Üni also faces the daily struggles of managing school and work commitments while pursuing their dream as a band.

Hogue balances studying marketing at UM with work and the band, while Burney is completing his last year of high school. Gentry, who works at The Library, says their biggest challenge is scheduling practice

with three different schedules.

“We’re banking everything,” Burney said. “So it’s more than a full-time job. It’s every day, every second.”

Üni has played other gigs

at bars, parties and open mics, and they are hoping to branch out and secure their own shows in the Oxford music scene. They are opening for indie group Easy Honey and Thistle Ridge

at Proud Larry’s on Sept. 27.

“This little idea that we came up with either goes No. 1 on the charts or is unheard of forever,” Gentry said. “Either way, it’s really exciting.”

Community shines at Punk Flea Market Matinee

Rockers and artists of all ages gathered at The Powerhouse on Sunday evening in the spirit of counterculture.

Hosted by the Southern Punk Archive, the Punk Flea Market Matinee gave local craftspeople a space to showcase and sell their art to the community, accompanied by performances from Secret Shame, Waxed and Punks in Drag in addition to a screening of the film “Big Clown: Mississippi Creates” by Christina Huff.

Featured artworks included handmade jewelry and clothing, collage art, zines and stickers. Because accessibility is a central idea of the punk movement, most sellers kept their prices low and in some cases gave away their work for free.

John Rash, founder of the

Southern Punk Archive and assistant professor of film production and Southern studies, shared that the Punk Flea Market Matinee and other Southern Punk Archive events create a unique space for a diverse, multigenerational group of people.

“I’ve had quite a number of high school students find me and comment to me that they live here in Oxford, and that this is the only event that happens in town that they actually are interested in attending and that they’re very thankful that this event has been happening,” Rash said. “That has been a true inspiration for me to keep it going because I was that person. At one point in my life, I was looking for underground culture, underground music, and it was very hard to find where I grew up.”

Vendor and artist John Stack echoed Rash, expressing the impor-

tance of events like the Punk Flea Market to the Oxford community.

“It lets everyone know that they have a place, regardless of age. People can come here and express themselves, and we can express ourselves,” Stack said.

This archive is one of the many projects deriving from the Southern Documentary Project.

The Southern Documentary Project was started by professor Andy Harper at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, an institute that focuses on documenting the stories of the American South through film, photography and audio documentary.

Rash focuses specifically on punk in the South.

“We’re simultaneously documenting contemporary culture and the sound while also gathering archival materials that go to live at the library permanently. It truly

is an archival project, in the sense that there’s physical items at the library that people could visit,” Rash said. “This includes photographs, records and the videos that are curated by myself and then housed by the library. The other side of it is the films and videos that I’m making as part of my collaboration with the Southern Documentary Project.”

The Punk Flea Market will return in December for the holidays and in the spring before the Double Decker Arts Festival with “Punker Decker,” an event that serves as an alternative for those who may be more interested in underground music that is absent from Double Decker’s lineup.

Üni lead singer Joe Hogue, lead guitarist Dalton Burney (standing) and drummer Carson Gentry (sitting).

PHOTO COURTESY: ELI BROWN / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

“It lets everyone know that they have a place, regardless of age. People can come here and express themselves, and we can express ourselves.”

- John Stack artist at the Punk Flea Market

What is in store for Ole Miss versus Alabama?

In a wild start for the SEC West, undefeated Ole Miss travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on 2-1 Alabama, who has had an unusually shaky start to its season.

Last week, Alabama struggled in its 17-3 road win at unranked South Florida. The weekend prior, the Crimson Tide’s home winning streak ended when Texas QB Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns defeated the Tide 34-24 at Bryant-Denny in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season.

After being benched following the loss to Texas, sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe will start against Ole Miss. Alabama held auditions for former Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner and returning backup QB Ty Simpson against USF, but Saban saw all he needed to in a horrendous offensive performance.

The Rebels’ offense has fans feeling confident going into this weekend. After recent standout performances from QB Jaxson Dart, running backs Quinshon Judkins and Ulysses Bentley IV and WR Jordan Watkins, Ole Miss’ offense has the potential to overpower a weaker-than-usual Alabama defense.

After last year’s notably disappointing performance from the Rebels’ defense, Ole Miss Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding, new this season, has helped with the slow improvement of the defense. The addition of numerous playmakers via the transfer portal, mixed with elite returning talent, raises the bar much higher for the defensive unit than in previous years.

While Alabama still has a strong and powerful offense, its defense might prove to be the main problem stopping Ole Miss from completing an upset. Bama,

as usual, is loaded down with fivestar talents at almost every position, and if Defensive Coordinator Kevin Steele can get the wheels turning, it could spell trouble for Dart and the Ole Miss offense

Road games typically come as a struggle for the Rebels, and Bryant-Denny Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in the country. However, if the Ole Miss defense takes advantage of Alabama’s weak QB room and stops its run game early, Kiffin and the Rebs can make a statement this weekend.

On the offensive side of play, Dart must take advantage of his strengths as a runner and passer

If Ole Miss can make something happen early, either on offense or defense, it could lead to a Rebel upset. This is as vulnerable as Bama has been in the last two decades, so Ole Miss has a golden opportunity to steal one on the road against a top-ranked team.

Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

For the past year, the term conference realignment has defined college athletics. It started with Texas and Oklahoma deciding to leave the Big 12 in favor of the SEC back in late 2022, but it has since spread to each Power 5 conference and many more Group of 5 conferences.

As is custom for many discussions about NCAA sports, football stood at the center of these realignment negotiations. With sports talk shows speculating how Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA will fare against the already stacked Big Ten football lineup, many people have forgotten that sports other than football exist.

The new age of conference realignment pays no attention to geography, seeing as Stanford, which is in California, will be in the same conference as the University of Miami in Florida. This is not inherently a problem for football, but are major concerns for tennis, golf, volleyball, softball, track and field and many

other smaller sports about travel, players’ mental health and the overall logistics of realignment.

The effects of realignment are going to hit every conference, however big or small those repercussions may be. Some conferences, like the SEC, will only have to travel marginally farther distances to play away games, but other conferences, like the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten, are spread over three to four time zones. Do smaller sports have enough money to pay for all of this travel? How much class time will student athletes miss because of the travel required for cross-country matchups? From the outside, realignment seems like a good thing, but what do coaches and players think about this change?

In May, Missouri Head Football Coach Eliah Drinkwitz said, “Look, my question is, did we count the costs? I’m not talking about a financial cost. I’m talking about did we count the cost for the student athletes involved in this decision? What cost is it to those student athletes?” He continued, “We’re talking about a football

decision (that) they based off football, but what about softball and baseball, who have to travel cross-country? Did we ask about the cost of them?”

Football has always been the biggest money-maker for college athletics, and it seems as though realignment solidified that. It is no secret that these conference switches will make for some very entertaining and competitive college football seasons, but at what cost to the rest of the college sports?

Drinkwitz said, “Do we know what the number one indicator of symptom or cause of mental health is? It’s lack of rest and sleep. Traveling in those baseball (and) softball games, you know, those people, they travel commercial, they get done playing at 4 o’clock, they come back, it’s 3 or 4 in the morning, they have to go to class,” he said. “I mean, did we ask any of them?”

All-American University of Oregon softball player Terra McGowan said on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Has anybody thought about the repercussions that con-

ference realignments have on student athletes’ quality of life?” McGowan wrote. “You’re asking them to travel across the country every other weekend while balancing school and a social life??? This needs to be talked about more.”

Since McGowan posted this, more and more people are becoming aware of the negative sides of conference realignment; however, the damage is done, and college athletics may never return to its former state.

The NCAA claims to fight for

the well-being and success of its athletes, but it may have missed the mark in protecting said athletes from conference realignment. Morgan Scott, one of McGowan’s former teammates said, “(Is) anyone going to talk about all the other sports that play multiple games in a weekend?” Scott wrote. “What happened to (the) mental health of student athletes being important? The balance of practice, travel, school, and having a social life is already hard enough. Why add even more stress?”

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart scrambles and prepares to pass to running back Quinshon Judkins as he is tackled by a Mississippi State defender during the Egg Bowl on Nov. 24, 2022.

PHOTO COURTESY: HG BIGGS

GRAPHIC: SEDLEY NORMAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

a mental health break. Rollins frequently met with the university’s Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Psychology Josie Nicholson during his break, who Rollins alleges encouraged him to talk to UM Athletic Trainer Pat Jernigan about stepping back from football to take care of his mental health.

Rollins is also requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions reinstating him to the UM football team on the defensive line.

On March 7, Nicholson informed Rollins that Kiffin wanted to meet with him again, but Rollins voiced that he was not yet ready to meet with him.

The meeting eventually happened on March 21, and Rollins recorded the conversation without Kiffin’s knowledge. A copy of the transcript has been included in the lawsuit.

The transcript allegedly shows Kiffin telling Rollins, “We can kick you off the team for not showing up” and repeatedly using expletives.

According to the lawsuit, Rollins is suing on the grounds that the defendants violated Title IX and Title VI, the Americans with Disabil-

ities Act, the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and four other state and federal laws.

The lawsuit argues that the university allowed athletes who were white women to take time off and receive mental health support, while Rollins alleges that he did

not receive the same treatment. As a black male, he believes that action was not taken due to his race.

The plaintiff states that a tort claims demand letter was sent to the defendants in May 2023. In June of this year, news broke that Ole Miss Football was the first

college program to become completely mental health certified.

Kiffin declined to comment on the matter after the Georgia Tech game last weekend.

Rollins is set to graduate in December with a degree in business. He has only played in three games

coming into the 2023 season and has yet to appear this season. In a statement to ESPN, Rollins said, “I love Ole Miss, but they do not love me.”

Around SEC: Can Ole Miss upset Alabama?

We have all heard what the mass media thinks about this Ole Miss versus Alabama matchup this Saturday. Major sports personalities continue to weigh in on this top-15 matchup, but all of these predictions and analyses are made from a distance. What do student journalists think about the matchup between the Rebs and the Tide? They are, after all, the ones who report wholly on Alabama athletics.

Alabama versus Ole Miss has a storied history — one packed full of all-time great quarterback showdowns. Recent matchups like Bryce Young versus Matt Corral and Jalen Hurts versus Chad Kelly have produced thrillers.

This year, we have Jaxson Dart versus Jalen Milroe.

Milroe, who was benched against South Florida in Week 3, regained the starting job in the

days leading up to this game. It is no secret that he did not perform spectacularly in Bama’s loss to Texas, but he looks like the best available option for the Tide. Fans have to wonder, however, where Milroe’s head is at during this QB competition.

Abby McCreary, the sports editor for the University of Alabama’s Crimson White student newspaper, said, “Of course not starting will have an impact on a player’s mentality, but I think Milroe will handle it in a really positive way.”

McCreary maintains an optimistic outlook on Milroe’s performance.

“During the USF game, he still played an active role in being a leader and supporting his team, so I think we’ll see a greater sense of leadership and confidence in his team this weekend,” she said.

For some teams in college football, a 2-1 record through three games is successful. This is not

the case for Head Coach Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide. A loss to Texas and a nail-biter against South Florida certainly has fans worried and wondering what the rest of the season will hold.

McCreary said, “Everyone’s obviously disappointed. Texas was brutal, and USF was just really surprising. I think we’re trying to stay positive for this upcoming weekend, but we all just want to see Alabama football at its normal level of competition.”

Each team has its strengths and weaknesses, but the key to this matchup, and what will probably determine the victor, is which team can exploit the most weaknesses more often.

There are a lot of on-field issues with Alabama, more than there have been during Saban’s tenure, but one underrated aspect of this game could come back to bite the Tide: Alabama has dominated the season series against

the Rebels as of late, which could lead the Crimson Tide to maybe feel overconfident about this game, especially since it is at home.

McCreary said, “I think Alabama needs to focus on not getting too confident at home. It’s easy to look at the history and the fact that we rank higher, but Alabama was upset by Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa in 2015.”

This would be a vital, resume-building win for either team. Alabama needs this win to prove it is still one of the top dogs

in the country; Ole Miss needs it to jump into the conversation of top-tier football programs.

“For Alabama, I think it would restore a lot of faith in the program. We’re coming off two rough games, so the Crimson Tide needs a win at home, especially over Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding, just to show we’re right on track,” McCreary said. “For Ole Miss, I think a 4-0 start to the season, especially if that fourth win is an upset win on the road, would be the first step to a potentially big season.”

Ole Miss Football Head Coach Lane Kiffin confronts an official during the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Dec. 28, 2022.

PHOTO COURTESY: HG BIGGS

No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 13 Alabama (Ian Sparks)

Final Score Prediction: Ole Miss 28, Bama 24

In a matchup that has massive implications for the SEC West crown, Ole Miss travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Crimson Tide.

For Alabama, its issues lie with who is under center. Jalen Milroe started the season and will get the nod against Ole Miss, despite being benched for transfer Tyler Buchner in Week 3. The Tide will no doubt be ready to play after “scraping” by against the South Florida Bulls a week ago, but they will need Milroe to step up big-time against Pete Golding’s defense.

For Ole Miss, the main emphasis is health and offensive line play. Both Tre Harris and transfer tight-end Caleb Prieskorn have practiced in the build-up to the game, but neither are guaranteed to play. If Ole Miss has a chance, Kiffin will need his best playmakers available. Quarterback Jaxon Dart will need a big day to see the Rebels edge the Tide.

Ole Miss will take this one, in my opinion. In what would be the biggest win of Kiffin’s tenure at Ole Miss, the force of Dart — with a little help from running back Quinshon Judkins — is

Week 4 College Football pick’em

enough to knock off Alabama.

No 22. UCLA at No. 11 Utah (Cameron Larkin)

Final Score Prediction: Utah 31, UCLA 27

UCLA versus Utah, which is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. CST, will miss out on the coveted Pac12 after dark kickoff, but the game will still be entertaining. Any double-ranked matchup promises top-level competition. The Pac-12 is as wide open as it has been in its history, with eight ranked teams, and every game matters for resume purposes.

Neither team has had an exceptionally good start to the season. Utah has scraped by against Florida, Baylor and Weber State without star quarterback Cam Rising. UCLA, on the other hand, has been more successful in beating down inferior opponents.

This game will come down to whether Rising suits up for the Utes, and Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said that would be a game time decision.

No 6. Ohio State at No 9. Notre Dame (Griffin Ray)

Final Score Prediction: Ohio State 35, Notre Dame 24

The Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to Notre Dame to

take on the Fighting Irish in a top-10 showdown. Expect a high caliber shootout on Saturday, where two elite offenses will face off against each other at the 6:30 p.m. kickoff time.

The Irish have had a strong start to their year, winning their first four contests convincingly, but the Buckeyes will be their toughest opponent yet. OSU quarterback Kyle McCord has had a solid start for the Buckeyes, tallying six touchdowns and only one interception, while star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. already has over

300 yards and three touchdowns.

It will be a close game throughout, but I think the Buckeyes’ defense will contain the Irish just enough to give them the edge.

No. 19 Colorado at No. 10 Oregon (Tanner Shapiro)

Final Score Prediction: Oregon 31, Colorado 20

Colorado heads to Oregon this weekend to play a high-powered Oregon offense led by Heisman hopeful QB Bo Nix.

Colorado barely escaped Colo rado State in a close overtime win last weekend. Star Colorado player Travis Hunter, who plays both sides of the ball, is out for this game with a lacerated liver, which hurts the Buffaloes’ chances.

QB Shedeur Sanders is looking to get the ball to his other elite playmakers like RB Dylan Edwards, who is off to a great start to his season. Colorado is not very good at defending the pass nor the run, whereas Oregon’s front seven is very talented and will cause havoc. Oregon will take with ease here.

Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

TANNER SHAPIRO

thedmsports@gmail.com

Jaxson Dart, the former University of Southern California quarterback and current Ole Miss starter, came into this season with a lack of trust from the Ole Miss football fanbase. When Head

Coach Lane Kiffin brought in Spencer Sanders from Oklahoma State, many people automatically thought Dart was going to be second on the depth chart behind him. He proved many people wrong this offseason, and his improvement has spilled over into the season as he has excelled

in the first three games of the year. He is a top-15 QB in Quarterback Rating in the Power 5 conferences, and he has been an excellent leader for the Rebels.

Dart started off the year with a great game against Mercer to start this season. He threw for over 330 yards and had four passing touchdowns as well. He played tremendously in the starting role, and he has left no question in fans’ minds of who the No.1 QB on the team is.

The Utah native has proven that he can be extremely clutch as well, something he has made great strides in since last year. Late in the Tulane game two weeks ago, Dart dodged a defensive lineman and threw a touchdown pass to Michael Trigg to seal the game, putting the

Rebels up by 10 on a key fourth down play. Although he was good last season, Dart could not have pulled off that fourth down play.

With Ole Miss’ offensive line struggling through the first three games of this season, Dart has been able to use his pocket presence and his ability to run up and down the field to his advantage for the Rebels.

He is the leading rusher for the Rebels, tallying 213 yards in three games to go along with two rushing touchdowns on the season. He is averaging 6.7 yards per carry and has been electric making plays with his legs when the pocket breaks down.

Dart and new WR Tre Harris have been a great connection for this football team as they have connected for five touch-

downs and have been huge on down field throws as well. Dart’s deep pass accuracy has looked much better than last year.

Another thing that Dart has improved on is his ability to stand in the pocket and be willing to take hits to complete throws. Last year, he would often either force a turnover or take a sack, but this year, he looks way more calm in the pocket.

Ole Miss began this season with three potential starting quarterbacks, and those three would be starters at almost any other school, but Dart’s light has shined brighter than the others. He, in turn, has won over the fanbase.

He has improved in nearly every statistical category and metric, which is a testament to his willingness to put in the work for his team and coaches.

/ THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

OPINION

Casual drug use runs rampant across campus

JUSTICE

ROSE thedmopinion@gmail.com

“Raise your hand if you or anybody you know vapes,” my professor told the classroom, waning in attendance due to mid-semester weekend endeavors. Every hand shot up. Some chuckles and snickers scattered around the room. As our professor began nagging us about e-cigarette use, I saw feet tapping, palms itching and overall frustration. Nobody really wanted to hear how unhealthy their lifestyle was at a 9 a.m. lecture. Besides, many of these kids maintain a mild smoking addiction and still manage to carry on with everyday life.

University officials and parents alike can reason why students gravitate towards vape products. It offers a pleasant aroma, unlike some of other substances meant to be burned and inhaled. There isn’t anything that quite screams college like the blast of a blue raspberry fragrance hitting your nostrils during a lecture.

This wide-spread consumption and use isn’t a new phenomenon, either. Vaping products have been popular since I was entering middle school and have existed before that. Beyond that, we’ve seen fad drug use define previous generations.

What is new is the variety of options offered to young people, especially in a booming college town like Oxford. What we see now more than ever is the availability of a wide range of drugs. Residential assistants don’t only have to worry about the odor of marijuana sweeping through their halls. Now, they need to pay special attention to just about everything if

they want to properly do their job of promoting the safety of students — which makes their responsibilities nearly impossible. Here are just a few prohibited items and substances that are thriving on campus.

Alcohol: Alcohol on college campuses is a tale as old as colleges themselves. By many accounts, alcohol consumption has decreased across the board over the years. This is likely due to the implementation of the 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act that mandated all sales of alcohol must be to individuals 21 years of age or older. Still, you will have no issue finding a can, bottle, funnel or jug in Oxford, especially during football season. Fans who frequent the Grove can attest to the beastly drinking culture here at the party in the ‘Sip.

Marijuana: Smoking weed is a rite of passage in some spaces in the student community — a classic, to the say the least. As legalization spreads through the nation, weed will only become more commonplace, too.

Tobacco: Rounding out our unholy trinity is the middle child of the bunch. Tobacco came underneath a lot of fire during the late 20th century, and rightfully so. It’s made an impressive comeback, evident by the vape usage of young people. I’ve even seen TikTok videos celebrating the use of Zyn and other tobacco chewing gums. Way to freshen up, guys.

Despite a recent Adderall drought, the drug is popular as ever amongst circles on campus, selling like hotcakes around exam time. With midterms creeping up, expect to see more zombified sorority girls marching back towards their houses inspired by a 20

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milligram study-buddy. Other, more infamous stimulants and amphetamines appear on campus, too — usually behind a closed door during a frat rave. Don’t shoot the messenger.

Opioids still are consumed across the country, but with much notoriety gained from the national opioid crisis, they are now admittedly less visible. From what I’ve gathered, these are much harder to access now compared to a decade or so ago. While doctors are under less scrutiny when it comes to writing prescriptions, the stigma still exists and will take many years to go away.

I could go into much more detail, but that’s reserved for a later date. I didn’t even mention psychedelics which have become a norm in some groups. This quick rundown is truly the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, that puts things into perspective.

The point is that even though many of these substances have been around for what feels like forever, they are especially accessible to students today through a variety of means.

My advice is to steer clear of any illegal substance, and I’m not just saying that for liability concerns, either. I don’t want to sound like that nagging professor, but many substances are directly linked with feelings of anxiety and depression. Seeing that September is Depression Awareness Month, it’s important to highlight realities like that to shed a light on culprits that are not called out often enough during discussions about mental health.

Justice Rose is the Opinion Editor. He is a junior journalism major from Madison, Miss.

HOW TO PLAY

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

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How an ATV wreck saved my life

Late at night on April 1 of this year, I woke up in the hospital with a bloodied face and a missing front tooth. I could see the bone in my foot. I do not remember what happened. Everything hurt except the parts of my body that I could not feel. This time in my life was a blur; maybe this was because of the drugs, maybe the concussion. My parents told me that I thought I hurt someone, that I had gotten into big trouble and that I kept asking the same questions over and over again.

Thankfully, no others were harmed, I learned. I was casually riding an ATV, hit a bump and flipped, impaling my foot and breaking several of its bones along with my left hand, pelvis and lower back.

I had two surgeries, was in a wheelchair for two months

and used crutches for another month and a half, and then I had to relearn how to walk.

It was the most pain I had ever felt physically, but more painful than that, I had to learn how to suffer.

My college experience has, on paper, been far from ideal. I got dropped from the rush process … twice. I had broken the same foot a few months earlier, and I also face-planted on my bike in front of the union and a large audience of students.

While I love the things I am involved with — including writing for “The Daily Mississippian” — no line would immediately catch any resumé reader’s eye.

You can imagine my reaction back home, unable to sit up, get dressed or bathe myself without help, when well-meaning people would tell me that I was lucky, that God was mer -

ciful towards me. If that was luck or God’s mercy, I did not want any part of it. My friends were the lucky ones, I thought. They were able-bodied frat guys with no noticeable failures and stacked resumés. I did not deserve my fate. I do not drink or cuss. I try to be nice. I go to church on Sundays. The people who get everything they want, who have never experienced true disappointment or hardship, are the people who deserved to be in the wheelchair, not me. Right?

I have done my time, I have learned my lesson, and now it is someone else’s turn to suffer. My mindset boiled down to one question: Why me? Still, I haven’t found a complete answer to that question. But, over time, this is what I have come to know to be true. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. I de -

serve much worse than a few broken bones; I deserve hell.

Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death.” God is sovereign; He is not a God of chance. All things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. This was for my good and God’s glory, and for that reason, I can rejoice in my sufferings.

I may never be able to play another family basketball game, play tag with my future kids or run to my future wife, but I am content. I am walking and breathing. If that is not mercy, I am not sure what is. My helmet was tight and secure for a reason, I landed the way I did for a reason, and I am living for a reason. Every step, every breath is a blessing.

I also cannot write this article without thanking the people who showed up for me when I

needed them most: Chancellor Glenn Boyce, my professors and the rest of the Ole Miss faculty, who helped me finish my work, were gracious towards me and who helped me transition back this fall. I also appreciate my friends, who called, texted and prayed for me and especially my parents and family, who took care of me.

I am not sure what is next; I do not know the future. But I look back at my college experience so far and would not change a single thing. My failures have made me better, and they have revealed my purpose and my Creator to me. Do not pity me; pity the ones who are made shallow and empty by endless success and high stature. They are unlucky.

Cass Rutledge is a junior majoring in public policy leadership from Madison, Miss.