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131st YEAR ISSUE 33
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Students write to the ‘Other Side of the Fence’ by Kristina Norman Staff Writer
Finding hope may seem challenging, but one Mississippi State University instructor’s new writing prompt shows students they do not have to feel alone in their search. The prompt, “Dear Other Side of the Fence,” asks students to write a message to someone on the opposite side of their fence about what they would like to say or know. It also encourages students to consider things they could do to make a better, safer world. Antoinette Hayden, an MSU English composition instructor, came up with the idea for the prompt. She said she wants students to gain a better understanding of how others feel as well as how they feel by participating in the prompt. “Our goal is to give a healthier forum,” Hayden said, “and the whole purpose of this is to cause reflection and encourage writing, and show that you can talk, you can write without having high stakes or backlash.” Hayden understands, given the current atmosphere, many students feel uncomfortable sharing their thoughts especially when those thoughts
Dear Other Side of the Fence, Jenn McFadden, The Reflector
concern politics. Because students write anonymously, they do not have to worry about fear of retribution, judgement or being ostracized. What Hayden said she does not want the project to become, is a forum for harassment and bullying. She discourages students from writing inflammatory, violently provocative or targeted messages. In her classroom,
Hayden encourages a welcoming, learning environment for students, and tries her best to keep the environment from getting too political. However, that does not keep students from attempting to provoke Hayden from her neutral classroom stance. Many of Hayden’s students responses surprised her. Some wrote about others not needing
to be a jerk all the time. Others wrote about angry people needing to smile and relax more. Not all students who responded to Hayden’s writing prompt wrote about politics. Some chose topics like gender and being a different person. One of Hayden’s students, Jayla Dorse, a freshman biochemistry major, said when the prompt was presented
to the class, it shifted discussion away from the president to a discussion on equality. The class discussed the question concerning equality of how whites and blacks are treated differently in society. Some of the responses Dorse’s classmates gave surprised her. Many of Dorse’s white classmates showed empathy on how having a
different skin tone would result in them receiving different treatment. For many students Hayden teaches, college is the first time in their lives their parent’s influence does not play a central role in their lives. “We want people to think outside their largest influence,” Hayden said. Growing up, Hayden said her parents did not instill a certain way of thinking on her which allowed her to develop her own thoughts. Now, Hayden’s parents will ask her what she thinks about something to which she responds back, “what do you think?” Jy McNair, an undeclared freshman, said the prompt was somewhat difficult for him to respond to because he did not really have an opinion on either side. He said he is neutral on politics and did not vote in the last election. McNair said he wrote his prompt about unity. McNair said what prompted him to write about unity, is the world’s current state. With the prompt McNair took an individualistic approach because a better world starts, he said, with making yourself a better person. Division will continue, he said, as long as there are people in the world who think their opinion is greater than someone else. PROMPT, 2
Depths unknown: Ballard speaks on discovering the Titanic by John Lee Staff Writer
JM, The Reflector
Discoveries by Robert Ballard: • RMS Titanic German battleship Bismark • The lost fleet of Guadalcanal
• U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown • John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 • Passenger liner Lusitania
Ballard has conducted more than 120 undersea expeditions.
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On Feb. 7, students, faculty and Starkville community members filled Bettersworth Auditorium to the brim to listen to Dr. Robert Ballard as part of the Global Lecture Series hosted by the Mississippi State University’s Student Association. Participants of the event were able to hear about Ballard’s many explorations, such as finding the Titanic and other ancient shipwrecks. Ballard kept the audience intrigued by telling stories of how he got into his field of study and what he accomplished throughout the years. “As a child, I read the book ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’,” Ballard said. “It captivated me, and when my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be Captain Nemo.” Ballard, along with the description of his childhood, described what he had to do to find the
Titanic. He first found the U.S.S Scorpion and the U.S.S Thresher, as was requested by the United States Navy; it was not until then that he found the remains of the Titanic, slowly decaying on the ocean floor. After uncovering the Titanic, he searched for more shipwrecks, searching for ways to prove theories wrong. Even though he was not able to find whole ships, he found empty wine bottles in the Black Sea, evidence that ships had sailed through that area on trade routes, dating back hundreds of years. Jay Curtis, junior marketing major and SA cabinet member, said he thinks attendees learned a lot from Ballard’s talk. “I was really happy with how everything turned out,” Curtis said. “Dr. Ballard was engaging, witty, and quite brilliant throughout his presentation.” Curtis said the importance of oceans should not be ignored. “The darkness of the ocean depths is often
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Olivia Zeringue | The Reflector
Robert Ballard passionately explains the depths of his journey through underwater archeology during his evening lecture on Feb. 7.
ignored in favor of the brightness of the stars, but both have a huge impact on our planet,” Curtis said. Curtis said his favorite part of the night was when Ballard encouraged the audience to make their own discoveries. Along with his
FORECAST: Today will see sunny skies and warmer temperatures. Saturday will be cloudy and showers will be seen Sunday. Have a great weekend, Bulldogs!
interesting presentation, Dr. Ballard kept the audience laughing with his witty personality, jokes, and hints of sarcasm. Dr. Ballard ended his speech with encouragement to “get in the game” and learn about a program called the Core
of Exploration, which is inspired by Lewis and Clark’s Core of Discovery. Ballard is an Explorerin-Residence for National Geographic. To learn more about him, visit w w w. n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c . com/explorers/bios/robertballard/.
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