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Reflector

131st YEAR ISSUE 10

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

International student soars at MSU

by Kristina Norman Staff Writer

Engineering is a field heavily dominated by men but for one Mississippi State University student, gender does not limit how high her dreams can fly; it ignites them.

Lamiae Taoudi is a shining example of a woman in the engineering field. At the young age of 23, Taoudi already has her master’s degree in aeronautics and aerospace and is now working on her Ph.D. in computational engineering.

Something else people may be surprised to learn about Taoudi is that she is African and light-skinned. Taoudi is from Azrou, Morocco, in North Africa, located where the High Atlas Mountains meet the Middle Atlas Mountains.

Women who reach the heights Taoudi has achieved are rare.

Findings from the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2016 reports women earn 57 percent of all undergraduate degrees, 66 percent of master’s degrees and 50 percent of doctoral degrees.

Still, the number of women who pursue engineering undergrad degrees is “flat” compared to other degree fields, the report said. Enrollment for women in master’s engineering programs stands at just 24 percent.

The report also finds in

both engineering master’s and doctoral degree programs, the ratio of men to women are three to one.

In aerospace engineering master’s and doctoral programs, the ratios were even higher with women being represented less than five to one and six to one for every man.

Despite such numbers against her, Taoudi is succeeding beyond measure.

Earning a master’s degree is an accomplishment for any student, let alone a student who speaks English as a third language. Taoudi admitted it was not easy.

Hectic does not even begin to describe her schedule last year. Taoudi said she worked practically the whole day beginning as early as 7 a.m. and ending as late as 1 a.m.

Her day began with going to class and then working at the High Performance Computing Lab, located at the university’s research park. There she would work until five or six in the evening before coming home for a short nap. After taking a nap and getting something to eat, she would go back to the High Performance Computing Lab to work until the early hours of the morning.

Taoudi said the work she does at the lab is very time consuming. It involves running different case codes, seeing how they work and what their results are.

Taoudi’s fascination and love of aeronautics and aerospace began at a young age. As a child, she was fascinated by airplanes,

Lamiae Taoudi | Courtesy Photo

MSU student Lamiae Taoudi came from Azrou, Mocrocco, and she is excelling in the engineering program at MSU. birds, butterflies and how it is possible for them to fly.

“It’s more the fact of flying,” Taoudi said. “I want to know how can you get something to fly.”

Taoudi said she does not prefer the skies over the stars.

“It’s everything,” Taoudi said. “I love the sky, and I love the stars.”

Taoudi said she would love to explore space. She said one of her childhood dreams was to become an astronaut until a harsh reality hit her.

“I started by hoping to be an astronaut,” Taoudi said. “Then I was like, no, no, no. You need to be more realistic. There are no astronauts in Morocco.”

After her dreams of being an astronaut were brought down, Taoudi began thinking seriously about becoming a

pilot.

“So, okay. I can be a pilot, right?” Taoudi said.

“We have a lot of pilots in Morocco.”

However, Taoudi’s dreams of being a pilot would not last. Around the time she was getting her baccalaureate, an Air France flight crashed near Rio de Janeiro. Because Lamiae’s family watches a lot of French television, its disappearance was constantly on their TV screen. As a result, Lamiae began to think of other options.

After the Air France crash, Taoudi said she decided against becoming a pilot.

Her dreams of working with aircrafts, though, have not waned. She said she still wants to work near aircraft, possibly designing them.

“I want to be close with airplanes,” Taoudi said.

as Anne Howell and is the daughter of MSU basketball legend Bailey Howell. Under Stricklin, MSU has overseen huge success in athletics as MSU baseball was the national runner-up in 2013 as well as being the SEC regular season champions last season In 2014 MSU football had one of their best seasons, wining 10 games and being the No. 1 team in the country for five weeks. Last spring he was named AD of the year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

He also presided over the recent expansion of DavisWade Stadium as well as leading the planning for the new Dudy-Noble expansion that is expected to break ground next year. He also hired women’s basketball Vic Schaefer, who has led MSU to one of their two sweet sixteen appearances.

He also made the hire of Ben Howland for the men’s team, who has also brought in multiple top-tier recruiting classes.

Taylor Rayburn, Staff Writer

TAOUDI, 2

App refreshes campus

Scott Stricklin to leave MSU? Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin is a hot topic on the rumor mill as he has been reportedly offered the same job at the University of Florida, according to an initial report from Footballscoop.com.

Stricklin, who is 45, has been the subject of conflicting reports about the offer.

According to the ClarionLedger, he has been offered the job multiple times, including an offer of $1 million, which would double his current salary. However, Brett McMurphy of ESPN reports that he has not been offered the job but did say he was leader for the job.

The Florida job opened after AD Jeremy Foley announced he was retiring this summer. Foley has been the AD at Florida for 25 years, and his retirement will take effect Oct. 1.

Stricklin graduated from MSU in 1992 and has been AD at MSU since 2010 after taking over for Greg Byrne, who left for Arizona. He is married to Anne Stricklin, who was formally known

“[I want to] be as close as possible to airplanes, aircrafts [and] anything that can fly.”

Being 4,600 miles from home can be tough for any student. However, this semester home has come to Starkville for Taoudi.

Taoudi’s brother, Amine Taoudi, is starting his first year at MSU studying for his masters in aeronautics and aerospace as his sister did before him.

Both Taoudis came to America through the collaboration that exists between MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering and the Université Internationale de Rabat.

The program allows students to attain a bachelor’s from their home university and a master’s degree from MSU. In Morocco, a typical

bachelor degree takes five years to complete. With the universities agreement, students can eliminate the time it takes to complete a bachelor’s and master’s.

However, the agreement between the two universities was not always guaranteed.

Back in Morocco, Amine Taoudi recalled a test he took that determined whether he would come or not. On the day of the test, the administers encouraged everyone to do well, telling them if they passed there was a chance they could continue their educations in the United States.

“We were all excited,” Taoudi said. “When we took a break from the test, nobody was discussing the test. Everybody was like, oh, we’re going to go to the United States go finish our studies over there.”

Taoudi said he considers his sister a “pioneer’” because she is one of the first Moroccan students to participate in the program.

“Lamiae is one year ahead of me, so she got to experience this before me,” Taoudi said. “I was there with her when she was doing her paperwork, doing all the stuff to go. Discussing, what is this? Why should I go?

Why should I not go?”

Growing up, Taoudi said he and his sister did everything together, whether it was vacationing, studying or playing. Because of their one year age difference, they did not think of themselves as older and younger siblings; they thought of themselves as twins.

by Emmalyne Kwasny News Editor

Courtesy Photo | Office of Public Affairs

Scott Stricklin has been athletic director at Missisissippi State University since 2010.

“Scott Stricklin has earned national recognition as one of the nation’s best and most innovative athletic directors. Therefore, it’s not at all surprising that his name would be associated with searches to fill vacancies in elite universities. Beyond that, any additional comment at this time would be premature.”

-President Mark Keenum

Mississippi State University senior, Terence Williams, released his iPhone app called Bully Walk in January. This app is very beneficial to those desiring to become more connected to MSU campus.

Bully Walk has multiple features, including a GPS route to every building on campus while giving estimation on how far away the destination is, either by driving or on foot, a realtime bus route locater and a parking lot finder. It also has links to all MSU social outlets and all athletic event schedules with an option to purchase tickets.

It also includes the student myState portal for students to be able to log into their account in the app.

Williams said he also sends out weekly push notifications to alert users about campus events, games and updates.

Team Bully Walk consists of Williams and his graphic designer Jeffrey Daniel, a senior graphic design major. Daniel has worked with Williams since the summer and said

he does whatever he can do to make the design of the app look the best.

“My hope for the future is to continue to help Terrence build his brand and be there to help him when he needs it towards his future,” Daniel said.

Daniel said he respected Williams passion for his app.

“I have learned that Terrence is very passionate about what he puts his mind to,” Daniel said. “He is always thinking of new ways not only to better the Bully Walk app, but to come up with apps that are more convenient to people in general.”

Williams said Team Bully Walk is currently working on two new features to change the way you experience campus that will be released in two weeks. These updates include an addition of a calendar tab including a schedule of events and important dates around campus and a new profile feature to help students keep up with their student information.

“When developing Bully Walk, my goal was to simply help students, and that continues to be the driving force behind every update released,” Williams said.

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

TAOUDI “She’s a really, really important part of my life,” Taoudi said. “She’s my best friend.”

Taoudi said anyone who is a friend to his sister considers her a good friend.

Her agreeable personality makes it hard for anyone to dislike her.

“She’s really likable,” Taoudi said. “I haven’t met someone who hates her yet or doesn’t care about her.”

Taoudi said he played with her more than his school friends. His parents thought maybe it was not a bad thing for him to play with his sister all the time. They encouraged him to branch out and go play soccer with other boys. He disagreed, saying he was already playing games with his sister.

Games they played included house, where she would make him sit down and serve him tea. They also played sports, like soccer.

Taoudi said when they were kids, he would take revenge on his sister for the girly games she made him play by making her play boy’s games, like airplanes and trucks. Those games he used to take revenge on his sister would help serve as a catalyst for her future career trajectory.

Asked to describe his sister, Taoudi said she is very friendly, likes to meet new people and is caring toward others. She easily empathizes with others, but sometimes her ability to empathize can be too overwhelming as she takes on the problems of her friends too heavily.

Taoudi says the knowledge and memory his sister possess astonishes him. He likens her to an information bank or reference book.

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Whenever Taoudi is in need of assistance for an exercise or homework, he seeks help from her. Taoudi said his sister can readily remember the things she has read or studied.

personality dynamic.

“She is a beauty with [a] brain and a good heart,” Jha said.

Taoudi said there are really no challenges being a woman in engineering.

“She [Lamiae Taoudi] is a beauty with [a] brain and a good heart.”

- Prabhat Ranjan Jha, graduate student in mechanical engineering “She’s really smart,” Taoudi said. “Sometimes I’m just surprised. How did you come up with this?”

Prabhat Ranjan Jha, a MSU graduate student in mechanical engineering and former classmate of Lamiae Taoudi, describes her as down to earth and very sweet and kind.

Although Taoudi and Jha both work in the High Performance Computing Lab, their interaction with one another can be limited, mainly because he works in one wing and she in another.

Outside of work, they hang out whenever their schedules will permit.

In a class Jha took with Taoudi, Jha said she always sat in the first row and never used her phone while in class. Her focus was solely on class.

“She works super hard,” Jha said. “She is driven.”

Jha said Taoudi’s good looks and intellect combined with her character makes her

Being a woman in a male dominated field can have its drawbacks, though, such as men not being able to relate as easily on topics pertinent to women.

“It’s the fact [of] like you know being a girl and still want to put on nail polish [and] change it every two to three days,” Taoudi said. “[Or] be complaining with your girlfriends about your hair. Oh, my god, humidity.”

Although Taoudi has never experienced any real sexism, there have been instances where she has been discounted because of her gender.

One of the first courses she took upon arriving at MSU was extremely difficult. She had never had anything like it before. In fact, everyone in the class struggled. Many of her male classmates thought the class would be harder for her because she was female, but Taoudi proved her classmates wrong and earned their respect in the

process.

“It was like the inverse;” Taoudi said. “They didn’t understand, and I got to explain things for them.”

Sexism she experienced in Morocco was very different and far more common.

Most women do not pursue education past a bachelor’s degree. By 23, most women are married and already having children.

After graduating high school and taking her college entrance exam, Taoudi had two career options: finance and engineering. The school for finance was public and cost nothing to attend while the engineering school was private and expensive–about $7,000. She said her parents were like, should we do this?

“If you go there, you’re going to succeed and everything,” Taoudi said.

Taoudi said many of her parent’s friends called into question their decision to pay for her education. Her parent’s friends thought the money would better be served spending it on her brother. “[They said] oh, she’s a girl,” Taoudi said. “Why should [she] need to go and be studying about airplanes, engineering and be paying for it as well?”

After Taoudi graduates from MSU with her PhD., she said she wants to teach.

She loves being able to help others understand things.

“I like discovering new things,” Taoudi said.

“Knowing about people, cultures and everything. I really like explaining.”

Taoudi said she is interested in teaching. Both of Taoudi’s parents are educators in Morocco. Her father, who is now retired, taught Arabic and French, while her mother taught history and geography.

Whatever Lamiae Taoudi chooses in life, she will likely hit her mark., even if it is way up in the sky.

Wednesday September 21, 2016 10:20 a.m. An employee reported missing computers while doing inventory at the HPC Center.

4:24 p.m. A student reported being harassed via text message by another student.

4:53 p.m. A student had a seizure at the Colvard Student Union.

The subject was transported to OCH via ambulance.

8:20 p.m. A student reported being harassed via text message from an unknown person.

10:22 p.m. EMTs were called for medical assistance in Deavenport Hall. The subject refused transport to OCH. Thursday September 22, 2016 12:23 a.m. A student was arrested on Sorority Row for public drunkeness and possession of a fake ID. A student referral was issued.

APP

Williams said he started Bully Walk very simple and has expanded it ever since. He said he knew people got lost around campus constantly and wanted to help people avoid that problem, whether they were freshmen, parents or transfer students.

“It is user friendly, it is from a student’s perspective, so it is not something just thrown out by the university or by some big company,” Williams said. “As a student, I actually know what the students want and what they use.”

Williams said he has received a lot of positive feedback from users of Bully Walk. He appreciates the support he has received from the university, especially the College of Business, the College of Engineering and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach.

“It’s been an amazing journey here at MSU,” Williams said. “It’s a great learning environment and full of awesome resources for student.”

Bully Walk is Williams’ ninth app. He became interested in creating apps after taking a MSU freshman year experience class called iPhone Programing in the fall of 2011 taught by Rodney Pearson.

Pearson, professor of management and information systems,

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encourages students to explore the possibilities in creating apps.

“It is computer programming, so it is hard, but it can unleash the creativity that you have built up inside you,” Pearson said.

“For someone like Terence, if he can dream something, he can create it.”

Williams said Bully Walk has been used nearly 75,000 times within its eight months of availability in the Apple App Store. It is currently ranked as the No. 1 campus app for MSU and made the “Popular Apps” list on Apple’s analytics. Bully Walk was selected in June by Apple to be included in their annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco.

Williams said he would love for local businesses to advertise in his app.

He believes a relationship between his app and small businesses would profit both the businesses and student users.

Williams would provide users with a direct link and route to their store, as well as their website and special offers they have.

“I see Bully Walk continuing to grow into a great asset for the university, and I’m humbled to be able to share this experience with my Bulldog family,” Willams said.

To contact Williams, email him at www.nobilitytech. com.

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OPINION THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Police brutality demands personal response

by Holly Travis Staff Writer

In May 2015, only a week after I sat in my residence hall watching riots unfold on the news, I began interning at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Riots had ignited the city of Baltimore and sparked debate across Mississippi State University’s campus over the issue of police brutality following Freddie Gray’s death in police custody.

Merely a week later, I found myself sitting in a D.C. office facing a bulletin board with Freddie Gray’s records pinned to it. Within a short time frame, I was exposed to two very different worlds in terms of how police brutality is discussed and understood.

I grew up in a white middle class family where more than one relative served in the police force. Growing up, I saw police as the “good guys” who wanted to protect us and helped catch the “bad guys,” like on on Law and Order.

For many individuals I know, this is the only kind of interaction or perception of police they have ever held or encountered. However, that summer, as I began my work as an intern investigator in D.C., it became clear that the

debate over police brutality was far more complex than I could have imagined while sitting on my bed in Hathorn Hall.

What it is like to be on the receiving end of police brutality became more than a topic on a syllabus. I watched videos of a client whose face was bloodied by officers for no reason. I spent days in a low-income neighborhood of D.C. collecting video footage from neighbors who recorded the harsh physical interaction between officers and a client.

I met a man who lost his home and job following his arrest by an officer who failed to consider the presence of probable cause. After this man spent time in jail for charges that were eventually dropped, I watched as he attempted to rebuild his life after losing everything.

My experience that summer forever altered my side of discussions on the issue of policing. Now, over a year later, I find myself again sitting on my bed in Starkville watching news of riots unfolding—this time in Charlotte, North Carolina but in response to the same issue.

I know that for some, this topic invokes the urge to share a quick reminder that the acts of a few officers do not define the majority, and I concede this point.

2008 statistics released by the Justice Department show only 1.4 percent of individuals who had recent contact with police were threatened or experienced the use of force.

This demonstrates that actions performed in a discriminatory and abusive manner are not the norm but rather the exception.

However, there is a danger in this response. The danger lies in the logic that

brutality carries with it the need to address racial disparities in how our nation’s criminal justice system functions. In 2006 the ACLU found that blacks make up only 15 percent of the nation’s drug users, yet they make up 37 percent of those arrested and an astonishing 74 percent of drug offenders sentenced to prison.

Justice Department records show,“black drivers are 31 percent more likely

“I will never be able to fully understand the heartbreak expressed by those who have personally experienced police brutality and injustice, I believe it is my responsibility to listen and take part in the solution.” condemning police brutality is equated with being generally “anti-police.” We must be careful not to view this as a dichotomy.

It is possible to support the work of police officers while simultaneously holding these same officers to a standard that castigates those who abuse this power.

The second danger in this response is its ability to swiftly disparage the importance of the injustice movements such as Black Lives Matter aim to address.

The issue of police

to be pulled over than white drivers.” Not only are racial disparities seen in arrest rates and likelihood of being pulled over, but it is evident in an analysis by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

The analysis found prison sentences for “black men were nearly 20 percent longer than those of white men for similar crimes.”

Most unsettling of all is The Sentencing Project’s report that “1 in every 3 black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in

their life.” So when we discuss the issue of police brutality, it is imperative that we recognize these as not merely isolated incidents but as a symptom of our nation’s skewed incarceration-related state.

During my time working on cases in D.C., I was exposed to circumstances that I remained clueless to while growing up. I learned that even though you may not witness a particular reality, it does not mean it is not true for others.

While I will never be able to fully understand the heartbreak expressed by those who have personally experienced police brutality and injustice, I believe it is my responsibility to listen and take part in the solution.

If you are like me and do not have a personal experience with the issue of police brutality or have never experienced over-policing in your neighborhoods, this is what I ask: before you rush to condemn the violence occurring in Charlotte in response to the killing of Keith Lamont Scott by police, listen to what the cries demanding justice are saying. Before you revert to a never-ending debate over the intricacies of each case involving an officer’s use of lethal force,

I ask you to contemplate why race remains a factor in the number of fatalities for which police are responsible.

Why, even when controlling for the racial gap in arrest rates, the Center for Policing Equity still found that force is more likely to be used against blacks than whites?

I ask that you take the time to try and understand why there are riots in the street.

Then, I ask you to do something about it. Visit websites like joincampaignzero.org, where they have laid out tangible policy changes that are proven effective at addressing these issues.

You can speak with your legislators on how these can be implemented.

However, at the end of these efforts, as an individual who believes in the transformative ability of effective policy reform, I find these efforts are still not enough. This is an issue that requires us all to reflect on what a criminal justice system that systematically oppresses a particular race means for the character of our society. Because as attorney Bryan Stevenson so eloquently stated, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated and the condemned.”

Getting Real

Refugees deserve sympathy Please pardon Snowden suffering caused by the refugee crisis needs to be taken into account by liberals and conservatives alike. While I understand the concern over national security, we cannot ignore the need for humanity. Politicians and civilians alike have made dehumanizing comments and assumptions about these displaced peoples.

Somehow we have forgotten that the U.S. was built and founded by immigrants. We have forgotten that our food, clothing and culture were all developed from the contributions of

slip through and hurt our country.

According to the article, Trump Jr. received a heavy amount of back lash from social media users who used the iconic, and heartbreaking photo of a 5-year-old boy, Omran Daqneesh, from Aleppo, covered in blood and dirt next to a bowl of Skittles.

Sarah Brister Trump’s comparison of is a junior majoring in public blood-covered children to relations. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu. a potentially bad batch of Skittles belittles these peoThe recent influx of refuple that are so desperate to gees into America has caused get somewhere safe. While an uproar between liberals there are a few evil people and conservatives and that emerge from is raising the question Middle“Somehow we have forgotten these on national security.

Eastern areas, we However, the way we that the U.S. was built by are seeming to are treating this crisis forget that evil regarding refugees, immigrants.” people are everyimmigrants and other where, America “non-Americans” is included. detrimental to the health and people who were originally According to CNN, progression of the United non-Americans. So why do President Barack Obama States. we ignore them? Why have stated, “This crisis is a test USA Today shared an arti- we convinced ourselves that of our common humanity. cle announcing that world these people do not deserve Whether we give into susleaders who gathered at the refuge with us after all earli- picion and fear and build a refugee summit on Tuesday er immigrants have given to wall, or whether we see ourtook a pledge to give 4.5 bil- our nation? If it were not for selves in one another.” lion dollars in refugee aid and immigrants, America would According to the article, announced they wanted to try not exist.

President Obama stated that to double the amount of refuThe New York Times it is “unacceptable” that 4.8 gee settlement. featured an article remind- million people displaced According to the arti- ing America that Donald from Syria. He emphasized cle, this new commitment Trump’s son, Donald Trump that as a nation, we are not is an effort to cope with the Jr., tweeted out an image on as unified on this issue as we modern refugee crisis that Monday night in which he should be. has displaced more people compared refugees to a bowl What drives refugees is than were displaced during of Skittles sprinkled with a desperation—desperation World War II. Due to con- few “that would kill you.” for the safety of their chilflict in Syria, Afghanistan Trump, who is a top advi- dren; for a better future; and Somalia, the number of sor in his father’s campaign, for treatment that is in the refuges is now at a shock- suggested that our nation least humane. As long as we ing 65.3 million and rising, accepts refugees with a ignore the injustice at the according to the U.N. High blind selection process in heart of the refugee crisis, we Commission for Refugees. which he claimed potential- will be a country that consisThe amount of human ly poisonous people could tently and constantly fails.

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one breaking the law by spying on us, then how did Contributing Writer the narrative get twisted to make Snowden the enemy?

Snowden swore an oath, not Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” to the NSA or the president, hit theaters on Friday Sept., but to the Constitution and, 16, and has been met with arguably, the American mixed reviews, but more people. importantly, brought the Here is a man that had a events that took place in 2013 comfortable life and was back into the public sphere, employed by the most thus prompting debate on powerful entity on the what should happen with planet, and he gave that all National Security A gency up to inform the American whistleblower Edward people that our rights were Snowden. being violated and laws were In 2006 he was employed being broken. If this is the by the CIA and later resigned kind of national security we in 2009. Upon need in the world resignation from of technology, then the CIA, Snowden “Snowden risked his life to show give me dangerous found employment with Dell and us that we must take power gov- liberty instead.

The last thing I later Booz Allen would like to say is Hamilton, both of ernment back into our hands.” this: pardon Edward which were under Snowden.

The contract with the NSA, until 2013 when he what users do on the internet. US is a country built on a decided to go to the press You may be wondering, how foundation of a government with the information he had. does the NSA spy on world of the people, and on the When talking about leaders? Well, it is exactly premise that government the information Snowden how it sounds. They track cannot be trusted when the released to the public, one has their movements, listen in power is not in the hands to realize that we are talking on their phone calls and of the people. Snowden about extremely complex use any other method they proved to us that the power technological programs that deem appropriate. The is not in our hands and that the government uses in their latter offense is fairly self- the government cannot explanatory. What you do on be trusted because they intelligence programs.

My friends and family can the internet, no matter who have used their power to all attest to the fact that I you are, can be accessed and violate the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. am not a tech-savvy guy, far tracked.

I do not know about you, Snowden risked his life to from it actually. Technology but the idea of our governshow us that we must take is one of those subjects which give me great confu- ment having access to who government power back sion. However, after much we call, what we search for into our hands. It is time to time spent on the internet, I online and who we friended decide whether to boldly and believe I have come to under- on Facebook yesterday con- loudly take back the power stand what these documents cerns me. Not only that, but that once belonged to us, or released by Snowden mean that type of infringement on fall victim to an Orwellian and can explain them in a privacy is illegal according nightmare. The time has to the Fourth Amendment come to pick a side, and I do simple manner. not know about you, but I am For the sake of space, I will to the Constitution.

If the government is the ready for the fight. only touch on a few pieces of

by Jonathan BainJona

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor should be sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to editor@reflector.msstate.edu.

Letters must include name and telephone number for verification purposes. The editor reserves the right to edit or refuse to publish a letter.

The

information that Snowden released, the first of which is the mass collecting of phone records by the NSA. This is the first major story that was reported by The Guardian, and it is regarding the secret FISA court order that forced Verizon to provide the NSA with essentially all of their user’s phone records. It was later revealed that the NSA was getting similar information from AT&T and Sprint.

Some other offenses made by the NSA include spying on world leaders and also being able to access and track

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The Reflector staff strives to maintain the integrity of this paper through accurate and honest reporting. If we publish an error we will correct it. To report an error, call 325-7905.

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BULLETIN BOARD

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

CLASSIFIEDS POLICY The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m.

Thursday; the deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifieds are $5 per issue. Student and staff ads are $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found: found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed for standard ad cost.

HELP WANTED Help wanted for a bartender a the Starkville Country Club. Must be 21 years of age and able to work weekends. For more information, contact Scott at 662-323-1733 CLUB INFO The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; deadline

for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday.

MSU student organizations may place free announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to club_info@ reflector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Reflector office in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Reflector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability.

MSU YOGA MOVES MSU Yoga Moves promotes meditation,

movement and relaxation.

Beginners are welcome.

Please email Laura Terry at let181@msstate.edu for more information. Be sure to bring a friend!

FREETHINKERS, ATHEISTS AND AGNOSTICS OF MSU FAAMSU invites all frethinkers to come join our weekly discussions on life without religion in the South in the Union, room 227, on Thursdays at 6 p.m.

R E L I G O U S D I V E R S I T Y ORGANIZATION. Celebrate being #BetterTogether with open-minded students having educational duscussion on various religous and cultural current events.

Freaky Friday

One thing I can’t get out of my head recently is the idea of lizardpeople. You didn’t misread that; I’m talking about lizardpeople.

Buckle up.

Let me clarify immediately that I’m not keen on the idea that lizardpeople actually exist.

It’s a terrifying notion, and one I take great shame in entertaining.

However, shame aside, I frequently find myself coming back to the idea of lizardpeople. I find myself red in the face from frustration by the notion that the human race is having the wool pulled over our eyes by reptilians.

But what if they’re out there? Cue the X-Files theme, but what if there’s an entire order of lizardpeople among us and not among us at the same time. Let’s just hop on this rollercoaster of thought for a moment.

Chameleons are a real thing that objectively exists. They blend PuzzleJunction.com into their environment in a simple yet strikingly eloquent way. If a highly evolved species of lizards 12 13 did exist, perhaps they’re equipped with a more advanced type of camouflage, akin to the chameleon.

Perhaps these masters of disguise

300 reindeer were killed last week by a lightning strike in Norway. Reindeer stand close to each other in bad

An In-Class Distraction

e Reflector 9/23/16 Crossword

Across 1 5 10 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 24 26 28 31 32 33 35 39 40 41 42 44 46 47 48 51 55 58 59 60 61 62 63

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Musings from the other side

15 16 14 Porgy and bass Kind of sole 18 19 17 Civil wrong 22 20 21 Choir member Mystiques 23 24 25 Creative spark Razor-sharp 26 27 28 29 30 Deceptive 31 32 33 34 Advocate Discovers 35 36 37 38 Golden Triangle country 40 41 39 Empty 42 43 44 45 Rocks Rathskellers 46 47 Card game start Wise guys 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 One ___ time 58 56 57 Unethical lawyer 55 Bag thickness 60 61 59 To no ___ (fruitlessly) 63 64 62 Village green Copyright ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com Boston Harbor, e.g.

64 Fender blemish 12 Rip apart 37 The Bard’s river Waldorf salad 13 After dog and 38 Conciliated ingredient Down name 43 Docket Pool member 19 From the top 44 Nom de guerre Type of pads 1 Mountebank 21 Thai river 45 Part of a price Supporter of the 2 Holly 24 Breakfast item 47 Swedish money arts?

3 Aerobic bit 25 With (Fr.) 48 To be (Fr.) Settles fairly 4 Hawaiian city 26 18-wheelers 49 Uzbekistan’s ___ Passage 5 Anaglyphs 27 Dinette part Sea Hurting 6 Wrecks 28 Implied 50 Spinnaker, e.g.

Police action 7 Once, long ago 29 Kind of spray 51 Fishing locale Microscopic 8 Lassie portrayer 30 Cubic meter 52 Hefty volume Discharge 9 Compass pt.

31 Beaver’s work 53 Land o’ blarney Cinders of old 10 More orderly 32 Capture 54 Paving stone comics 11 Norse deity, ruler 34 Biblical boat 56 “___ show time!”

Take a powder of the Aesir 36 Dinner jacket parts 57 Gumshoe, briefly

Sept. 20 Crossword Solution Drop by the Reflector office and fill out a club info form to have your club in the paper!

have slipped into our society over the years, and now have agents gathering intel on us in several facets of life.

Members of their society could exist outside our knowing, lurking in places unfamiliar to the eyes of humanity. These coordinators could be highly intelligent, the brains of the entire operation. All the intel gathered by those in disguise could be collected by the coordinators for some purpose, devious or otherwise.

The lizards we see running around in the world could be the linking caste for the reptilian society, the couriers between those in disguise and those running it all. They scurry along free from suspicion, unhampered in their quest to deliver what they’ve learned. It’s a sweet gig; all the perks of living among us with none of the trials of espionage their brothers in disguise deal with daily.

Perhaps the lizardpeople are planning something devious; perhaps they’re more benevolent than any culture mankind has ever created.

More likely they’re just Friday musings from the other side.

Brad Robertson, Managing Editor

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

In 1806, Louis and Clark returned to St. Louis after exploring the Pacific Northwest. Their voyage disproved the notion of a northwest passage across the North American continent and paved the way for American settlers to go forth into the frontier.

courtesy of onthisday.com

SUDOKU

Sept. 20 SUDOKU Solution

5 LIFE & ENTERTAINMENT

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Honors College to put on production of ‘Phaedra’

by Georgeann Kenney Staff Writer

Tuesday afternoon, the Griffis courtyard was swarming with bare and sandal-footed students as they rehearsed for this years Shackhouls Honors College fall production, “Phaedra.”

The Roman tragedy is centered around a woman named Phaedra who fi nds herself in a love triangle with her husband and step-son. This is the fi rst time the Honors College has done a Roman tragedy for its Classical Week production.

With the play approaching in less than a week, it’s crunch time for the actors and actresses.

Leah Boyd, freshman from Huntsville, Alabama, will be playing Phaedra. She said she was very involved in her high school theatre program as well as community theatre in Huntsville, and while rewarding, the work has been difficult at times.

“I’ve never been in a Roman play before, so it’s defi nitely been a challenge to think about

the historical aspect of this play and tie it in to my character. Also, there’s a lot of lines,” Boyd said with a laugh. “But I’m very excited to see it all come together next week.”

Nate Gentry, freshman biological sciences major from Memphis, has his work cut out for him.

He is playing two main characters, Hippolytus and Theseus. Gentry was also involved in theatre in high school but said this is his fi rst time to play two major roles.

“The hardest thing about my roles is the duality of the characters,” Gentry said. “Hippolytus is a young, spry woodsman, whereas Theseus is older and has more command.

He’s also in a constant state of confusion. It’s difficult, but it has been a very interesting experience so far.”

This year, the play differs from those in the past for a couple reasons.

Firstly, the action this year will not just happen on the courtyard slab. There will be scenes in the grass and maybe even a little balcony action. Another difference is that this year,

the director, Dr. Donna Clevinger, put together a sound track for the production.

Thomas Paladino, sophomore chemical engineering major from Hazlegreen, Alabama, has been in the past two Honors College productions and will be playing the part of a messenger in “Phaedra.”

He said he thinks the added music is an improvement from years past.

“This is the fi rst year we’re going to have a proper sound track,” Paladino said. “Last year we had just intro music and outro music, but this year there will be selections used throughput the play.

I think it’s a great addition to the performance.”

The cast gathered on the Griffis courtyard slab as the sun went down, and Dr. Clevinger gave her closing remarks for the day. “Phaedra” will be performed in the Griffis courtyard at 6 p.m on Sept.

27 and 28. The audience is encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and snacks. T-shirts to support the theatre are available for purchase now.

by Natalie Bullock Kali Hicks | Courtesy Photograph

A Shackhouls Honors College Theatre student stands tall during rehearsal for ʻPhaedraʼ.

Kali Hicks | Courtesy Photograph

Two theatre students engage in a heated moment during rehearsal for the play.

Starkville Community Theatre ignites local interests

by Shelby Poindexter Staff Writer

Starkville Community Theatre is presenting its 39 season of various productions at the Playhouse on Main Street.

It is located at 108 E. Main Street between Moe’s BBQ and 929 Coffee Bar. The 2016-2017 season includes: “The Cemetery Club,” “Urinetown, the Musical,” “Silent Sky” and “Incorruptible.”

The Starkville Community Theatre website provides information and plot summaries for each of

these productions.

The season opened Thursday with “The Cemetery Club,” written by Ivan Menchell, a play about three Jewish women who get together once a month for tea before visiting the graves of their husbands.

It focuses on these women and a possible new romance that might bloom.

This production began will run through Sept. 24.

Following this production will be “Urinetown, the Musical,” with music composed by Mark Hollmann and lyrics written by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis. It is a three time Tony Award winning musical about a city that is under a major water

shortage due to a 20 year drought. The citizens must use the public amenities regulated by one company that requires the citizens to pay to use them. The town hero then steps in to strike a revolution in hopes of setting the town free.

This production will run Nov. 10-13 and Nov. 15-19.

“Silent Sky,” a play by Lauren Gunderson, is the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, a female astronomer in the 19th century, who tries to discover women’s place in a scientific society, and she and a team work to seek scientific and social progress This production will run Feb. 9-12 and Feb. 14-18.

“Incorruptible,” written

by Michael Hollinger, is a comedy that takes place in Priseaux, France during the Dark Ages. When all seems lost, a minstrel teaches the monks crazy ways of paying old debts.

This production will run April 6-9 and April 11-15.

There will also be a production outside of the regular season. “Fools,” a play written by Neil Simon, about a town that has been cursed with chronic stupidity, and Leon Tolchinsky must come in to save the day.

The season extra will run May 23-27.

Gabe Smith, chief administrative officer, said there are also volunteer opportunities for those

wanting to help out at SCT. “There are many ways to volunteer outside of acting,” Smith said, “from helping backstage to construction and painting to hair and makeup to reading plays to decide what shows we’ll stage next year to collecting tickets at our door on show nights.”

Tickets can be bought at the box office, or reservations can be made over the phone at 662-3236855. The box office will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monday-Friday from now until Sept. 23. It will also be open an hour before each show.

Tickets are $50 for the season, $15 per show,and $10 for students.

Art in the Park conjures creativity in Starkville children

by Dalton Middleton Sports Editor

The second annual Art in the Park Children’s Art Festival takes place tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Starkville’s McKee Park.

The festival is designed to inspire creativity in elementary students and features over 17 free artistic activities, such as The Del Rendon Foundation and the MSU Open Figure Drawing Sessions, for kids to enjoy and participate in, including karaoke and a children’s dance off.

Laurie Burton, chair of the event, thought the inaugural event last year had a great turnout with around 500 attendees. She expects even more attendees for this year’s event and plans to continue to build on the idea of free art activities for children.

Burton would like for kids to try the many opportunities and activities, so they can spark their interest and inspire creativity. She feels this is a great opportunity for adults to learn more about the things that interest their children and to get ideas for art projects they can do at home.

“One of the things I enjoyed the most about last

Laurie Burton | Courtesy Photograph

Art in the Parkʼs previous years have included interactional demonstrations for children to learn new skills and find new interests.

year’s festival was watching the parents as they watched the children try new things,” Burton said. “So many of the parents were surprised and proud to see their kid’s try violin or guitar for the first time, paint or sing karaoke. It was really great to see.”

While the festival is geared toward children, there is an appeal for college students as well. Burton thinks it is a good way for college students to relate to the children and impact them in a positive way.

“It’s an opportunity to give back to the community and have fun at the same time,” Burton said. “Many

of the children can relate to young adults and will emulate them, so it’s a great chance for college kids to be a role model and have a positive impact on a young child. It’s also fun, all the activities are fun things that people of all ages like to do.”

The MSU Open Figure Drawing sessions, a student organization that holds free weekly life drawing sessions open to students, faculty and community members, is one of the organizations that will be at the festival. While oriented towards college students, president of the organization, Carly Melton,

Stridekick app makes debut on MSU’s campus

also agrees college students can benefit from the festival.

“The festival is oriented towards igniting a passion for the arts in children, unlocking appreciation for art through exploration in a variety of mediums and genres,” Melton said. “I would say that many adults need to be reminded of childlike creativity.”

The Del Rendon Foundation is partnered with Burton in making the festival happen this year, and Anthony Rendon is excited to see how they can improve from last year’s festival.

“The expectation for

the festival is that we have a good number of kids come out and enjoy the day while exploring different aspects of art and music,” Rendon said. “Most of the activities are designed to be interactive.

They include painting and drawing exercises, making beaded jewelry and stringed instruments and karaoke type activities. Most of the activities are geared towards children, but last year it seemed as if the adults were also having a good time interacting with their children as they participated in various activities.”

Being a Starkville Area Arts Council sponsored event, the event is an all volunteer effort, and anyone interested in volunteering should contact SAAC at 662-323-3080 or visit art@ starkvilearts.org.

The festival is a free event to everyone that attends. One of the goals in presenting Art in the Park is to provide artistic opportunities to all children, regardless of economic circumstance.

There are no food or drink booths, so attendees should bring water and snacks if they plan to attend the entire morning. Free popsicles will be handed out to the first 500 children under 12, courtesy of Chill Zone. Any children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult.

Staff Writer

With a campus as big as Mississippi State University, there is no short walk to class – especially if one has coliseum parking.

Students all over campus are walking thousands of miles a day collectively, so why not get something out of it (other than awesome calves)? MSU on the Move, a campus health resource, wants to reward students with all that hard work through the app, Stridekick.

According to Stridekick’s website, the app is focused on groupbased fitness challenges.

Stridekick is compatible with most devices, including a multitude of fitness trackers, and supplies insight into an individual’s fitness activity and what they can do to improve. The app supplies different challenges for students and friends to compete in depending on what suits their needs best.

MSU on the Move has created a challenge group on the app where students and faculty can compete with each other throughout the school year. The challenges for the group last between four to six weeks and will range between any of the app’s challenge modes.

Students who participate in the group have the chance to win prizes such as Fitbit Surges and HRs, Comfort Color t-shirts and S’well bottles.

To join, simply download the Stridekick app, create an account and link to the preferred activity tracker. Then, search for MSU and become a part of the challenge group.

As of now, according to the group dashboard in the app, the current challenge is halfway over. However, students should not let that discourage them from getting involved, challenging themselves and their classmates, and winning cool prizes.

Have a great weekend!

From, The Reflector

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Former standout Hunter Renfroe finally called up to San Diego Padres •

Crystal Springs native and former Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe was finally called up to the major leagues.

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Renfroe was part of the 2013 College World Series team for the Bulldogs. He is the sixth member of the team to reach the big leagues.

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Renfroe was the 13th pick of the 2013 MLB draft and selected by the Padres.

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This previous season, Renfroe hit .306 with 30 homeruns and 106 RBIs while being named the Pacific Coast League MVP.

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Since being drafted in 2013, Renfroe has hit .288 with 77 homerunns and 283 RBI.

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In his first Major League at-bat, Renfroe was intentionally walked and made his first career start Thursday night.

@REFLECTORONLINE

SPORTS

Dez Harris’ comeback

the ball from All-American running back Leonard Fournette which gave the Staff Writer team life and helped MSU go on a 17-0 run in the second half to give MSU a chance The ACL injury is one of the to win the game. Defensive most devastating injuries in coordinator Peter Sirmon, sports, and sometimes one is who is also the linebacker’s enough to end a career. coach, talked about Mississippi State linehow Harris had a special backer Dezmond night.

“Dez” Harris went “The way he played, through three and is the way he competed, making an impact on the way he handled the 2016 MSU defense. himself on the sideHarris, a junior out lines was great to see,” of Bessemer, Alabama, Sirmon said. “I haven’t had three ACL tears in been through all the his career. In a preseaadversity with him, but son jamboree during to have the resolve and his senior year of high to be able to continschool, he tore his right ue to battle back from ACL and missed the setback, after setback, entire season. In spite after setback. Then go of that, he was a three out in that environstar recruit, according ment in that situation to 247sports.com, and and pull the ball out secured a scholarship from him two time was to MSU. a special night for anyHe redshirted his body but to do it on top freshman year of colof the challenges he has lege, then, entering had while he has been his redshirt freshman here speaks to what year, played in six kind of kid he is.” games before tearing That was not the only the ACL in his left place Harris made plays knee against Auburn.

Saturday. As a special The following season, teams player, he recovhe tore the ACL in his Olivia Zeringue | The Reflector ered an onside kick late right knee again. This time he got in seven Dezmond Harris looks on during pregame for the Bulldogsʼ opening game against the South Alabama Jaguars. in the fourth quarter.,giving MSU the opporgames before tearing it tunity they needed to try and the injuries taught him how not keep going.” against Louisiana Tech. A lot Saturday against Louisiana win the game. Brown said he of players get scared and wor- quickly it can all go away. He ried about re-injuring their said he thought about quitting State University, Harris got expects much of the same knee, but Harris said he has but one of the main reasons he an opportunity to play when from Harris.

“He is playing really well,” was able to keep coming back senior linebacker Richie no such worries.

“I have tremendous faith was the support group around Brown briefly went down. Brown said. “He made some and trust in the doctors who him. One person in particu- Harris had five tackles but pretty big plays Saturday, operated on me so I don’t lar was his little sister, Keniya more importantly also forced and we expect to keep seeing really think about my knee Williams, who is 13-years-old. two fumbles, once pulling that out of him.”

by Taylor Rayburn

IMAGINE THE CAR OF THE FUTURE.

WE ARE.

Imagine a car that travels 100 miles using the equivalent of a single gallon of gas. Engineered to lead the way in energy independence. One that will inspire you to rethink how cars actually work. Imagine a lighter, greener hybrid that combines superior efficiency, sporty handling and technological features second to none. We are, at Mississippi State University, where we ring true. MSSTATE.EDU

anymore,” Harris said. “I might put the brace on but if it is not sore I don’t even wear the brace, it is not something I really worry about.”

For most people, three ACL tears are enough to make them quit football. Dez Harris is not like most people. He said

“I always told myself that when I walk off the football field I am going to walk off on my own accord and not from an injury,” Harris said. “Now my little sister is starting to get into sports and I can’t let her think that you can have one little injury and just quit and

Evie Singleton: Jill of all Trades

with the talent of playing volleyball, Singleton loves to sing, paint and draw Staff Writer when she is not dominating on the court.

“I love to sing,” Singleton said. “I am a singer. I took Evie Singleton, an outvoice lessons for four or side hitter on the volleyball five years, I sung opera and team, leads the Bulldog’s then after that I have not attack with a total of 1,107 done much lately. I love to attacks. sing every genre of music; Last season, she country and ranked sixth in the pop, you name SEC with 378 kills “I am a singer. I took voice lessons for it and I probaand an average of bly sing it.”

3.53 per set. She four or five years. I love to sing every From taking set a career high voice lessons with four total genre of music; country and pop, you to becomblocks and earned ing an excepAll-Tournament name it and i sing it.” tional volleyhonors in all four ball player, -Evie Singleton of Mississippi Singleton has State University’s proven that non-conference leyball player. She looks up with great work ethic and tournaments.

With such outstanding to Kerri Walsh Jennings determination, she can fulstats, it seems believable for inspiration because of fi ll her dreams and become anything she wants to that Singleton began play- her work ethic.

“She is 39-years-old become. ing volleyball while learnThe Bulldogs’ next ing to walk, but that is and still going strong,” Singleton said. “It says match will be tonight at 6 incorrect.

“I started playing vol- something about who she p.m. against the University leyball because my sister is as a person, and she is of Tennessee Volunteers actually made me start willing to continue to pur- in Knoxville, Tennessee.

It will be televised on the doing stuff at her tryout,” sue her dreams.”

Besides being gifted SEC Network.

Singleton said. “I was a

by Brianna Walker

basketball player and said that I was never going to play volleyball. Then when I was 13, I went to one of her tryouts and started messing around with a volleyball and then decided to play.”

Singleton’s work ethic and determination are two aspects that have been the root of her success as a vol-