SOFTBALL PLAYERS TAKE ACTION TO STRIKE OUT CANCER
Reflector The
FRIDAY APRIL 19, 2013
REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM 125TH YEAR | ISSUE 49
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Sociology professor named new arts and sciences dean
Informed organ donors increase saved lives BY AMBER ALEXANDER Staff Writer
BY QUINTEN SMITH Staff Writer
Mississippi State University’s longtime sociology professor has been named the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The university announced last week that Greg Dunaway was elected to the new position. Prior to becoming dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dunaway was head of the Department of Sociology and served as the interim dean. Hannah Humphrey, senior English and foreign language major, said Dunaway will fit in easily and it will be a great transition for him. “I think he will fit in really well because he already knows the position coming from interim, and he knows the students,” Humphrey said. Even though Dunaway has been selected, the search for the new dean was not an easy one. Kristen Moore, senior mathematics major, said a search committee of 30 representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences read every letter and application submitted by each candidate.
SEE DEAN, 2
Greg Dunaway
BY ZACK ORSBORN Multimedia Editor
Editor’s Note: The four individuals named Michelle, Jonathan, Mark and Tyler wished to remain anonymous.
Michelle said she always had a feeling in high school she was a lesbian, but due to her strict, conservative family, she knew her sexuality would not be welcomed. In third grade, Jonathan noticed something was different
COURTESY PHOTO | BEN HESTER
Will McLellan (right) and his father, Ernie McLellan (left), spent time at a lacrosse tournament in Jackson in October, 2011.
FORMER STUDENT, LACROSSE PLAYER REMEMBERED BY ANNA WOLFE News Editor
Will McLellan, Mississippi State University lacrosse player, passed away Monday morning in Starkville. McLellan experienced a ruptured aorta, according to an email from his mother. She said doctors told her he died instantly. McLellan would have celebrated his 24th birthday Friday. One of his close friends, Ben Leiker, 23, said he and McLellan’s roommates found McLellan in his bedroom of his apartment Monday afternoon. McLellan graduated from State in 2011 with a business administration degree. Leiker said he had known McLellan since his freshman year, and he was one of his favorite people at MSU. “He was my brother. He was my best friend up here, and he lived for his friends. He lived to make them smile, and he lived for everybody’s happiness,” Leiker said.
when he found a fascination with popular artist and brand, Lisa Frank, and in the ninth grade, he came to terms with being gay. Mark, a bisexual, finds himself isolated by both the heterosexual and homosexual communities shunning his sexuality. From a young age, Tyler never understood why everyone thought he was a girl. Although he was born biologically a wom-
Leiker said McLellan had a great sense of humor and cared deeply about the well being of his friends and family. Leiker said McLellan characteristically laughed harder whenever he made someone close to him laugh. He also said McLellan went out of his way for people he did not know, always willing to help. “He wouldn’t take any of us sitting around for too long with-out getting us to do something exciting or fun,” he said. “He was happiest when he was making others happy.” Leiker said his nickname, Ernest Will “Ernesto” McLellan, demonstrated his humor, while holding true to his family legacy as the fifth Ernest McLellan in his family. His family members, Leiker said, were the most important people in his life. “He took his job as an uncle extremely seriously important, and what drove his passion in life was setting good examples for those kids,” he said.
Leiker also said McLellan was active in the MSU community. “He was passionate about everything Mississippi State. He was passionate about the people he met here. No matter if they left or not, he was passionate about this Bulldog family,” Leiker said. Leiker said McLellan was an active member of Baptist Student Union and a man of faith, which was a prominent factor in the way he lived. Ben Hester, MSU lacrosse team captain, said McLellan was an active and valuable member on the team. McLellan’s team remembers him as funny, carefree, a friend and team player. On Tuesday, Hester notified the team about the death of their teammate. Hester said McLellan was hardworking, and it showed when he stepped out onto the lacrosse field. He said McLellan started playing lacrosse for the first time at MSU and was instrumental to building the program. SEE MCLELLAN, 3
an, he felt like a boy. Alfred Kinsey, renowned sexologist, said sexuality does not represent two discrete populations of heterosexual and homosexual. “The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects,” he said in his research “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” in 1948.
The month of April marks Organ Donation Month, looking to bring awareness to the effects of becoming an organ donor. Each day over 4,000 people are added to the national waiting list. At this moment, 105,000 people are in need of organs. Sarah Beth James, Miss Mississippi 2011, made her charity platform for Miss America organ donation. James said a close family friend’s need of an organ donation made her more passionate about bringing awareness to donating. “A few years ago a dear friend of mine, Ralph McDonald, received a liver transplant, which added several years to his life. The process of transplantation and the incredible effect it can have on recipients, donors and loved ones is miraculous. Along the way I have met numerous people who have been given a second chance at tomorrow, because a stranger chose to give the gift of life,” James said. James said at first AT THIS MOMENT... she just wanted to learn everything she 105,000 could so that she people in U.S. waiting for an organ could go out and speak to her gener4,000 ation, a generation who could save so added to the waiting list each day many lives. 6,500 “You can save up to eight lives with people die a year before they get an organ just one donor,” she said. “How many 1 chances do you have to save eight lives?” donor can save 8 lives Chuck Stinson, cmmunity outreach manager for the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA), spent 23 years in television and radio before coming to MORA. “We are basically the agency’s arm into the community doing marketing, public education and outreach. We handle health fairs, public speaking engagements, plan our marketing strategy and also special events,” Stinson said. Stinson worked with James during her reign as Miss Mississippi to bring organ donation to the forefront of issues in Mississippi. “We wanted people, but especially students, to learn that organ donation is a lifesaving act. A new person goes on the list every 10 minutes,” Stinson said. Stinson said the stories he hears from those who chose to donate organs are what gets him through the strenuous tasks of a day-to-day operation. “Recipients talk often about the second chance at life they have been given. And then to hear the stories of organ donors brings out a powerful energy in this business,” he said. “The things these recipients get to see, to celebrate because someone gave unselfishly of themselves.” James said he continues to push for organ donation in the state of Mississippi, but especially at Mississippi State University. “The biggest issue facing organ donation is lack of awareness. It’s so easy to register and it is something that brings an amazing impact which can save so many lives,” James said. Anyone who wishes to become an organ donor can visit msorg.org or do so during license renewal. For more information, follow MORA on Twitter at @DonateLifeMS.
Starkville murderer seeks new trial for 1992 deaths ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
BY HILLARY LAPLATNEY Staff Witer
Willie Jerome Manning, who was convicted of killing two Mississippi State University students in 1992, is requesting a new trial. Manning was tried for two counts of capital murder in July 1994. DJournal. com said the victims of the
murder, MSU students Jon Steckler, 19, and Tiffany Miller, 23, were shot to death Dec. 11, 1992. Manning v. the state of Mississippi, which can be found in full on FindLaw. com, said Manning was breaking into Miller’s car when he saw Steckler and Miller nearby. He proceeded to force them into the car at gunpoint and drive
away, later shooting them on Pat Station Road in Oktibbeha County and fleeing the scene. The students’ bodies were found stripped of all valuables, and Manning was arrested shortly after for attempting to sell jewelry and other goods belonging to the victims. During his trial, a former girlfriend of Manning’s said
Manning used to practice shooting his gun into trees at his mother’s house, according to FindLaw.com. Upon further inspection, the bullet shells found in the trees were found to be fired from the same weapon as the bullets found in Miller’s body at the crime scene. Manning was found guilty and received two death sentences. He was
initially scheduled for a Dec. 1994 execution by lethal injection. However, Manning challenged his death sentence, and the execution was delayed. In an article published Jan. 27, 1995 — just one month after the murder of Steckler and Miller — the Vicksburg Evening Post said two elderly women were murdered in Starkville. SEE MANNING, 2
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Jon Steckler (left) and Tiffany Miller (right)
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