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Should the Patriots be banned?

Men’s basketball rights ship

Nik Ripken speaks at MSU

against Mizzou

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TUESDAY JANUARY 30, 2018

133rd YEAR ISSUE 29

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

Alumni Delegates serve past, present and future bulldogs EMMA BRASWELL STAFF WRITER

The Alumni Delegates of Mississippi State University are a group of individuals who work together to preserve the past and pave the way for future Bulldogs.

Andrew Martin, senior communication major and president of Alumni Delegates, said Alumni Delegates is a unique organization, because it combines a group of about 40 students who are different.

“We come from all walks of life, but we are united in our passion for maroon and

white,” Martin said.

This passion allows them to come together to form a collective leadership team through service, as they work towards a common goal: to volunteer time and effort for the Alumni of MSU. Libba Andrews, the associate director for the Alumni Association, said Alumni Delegates is atypical in terms of other university organizations.

“It’s truly something that I have yet to see mimicked anywhere else on campus,” Andrews said. “It’s hard to truly and accurately describe the bond of those of us in this organization,

other than to say that it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

The Alumni Delegates serve at multiple events throughout the year for the Alumni Association, shedding light on all the great aspects of MSU. These people are sacrificing their time in order to “serve as a link between students and alumni,” which is what the organization strives to do, said Andrews.

They achieve this through many ways, like working the free hospitality tent for the Alumni Association or by passing out basketball posters at games.

DELEGATES, 2

Courtesy Photo | Alumni Delegates

A group of Alumni Delegates, clad in their traditional maroon blazers, stand outside of Davis Wade Stadium while helping at the alumni tent.

MSU scans the attendance scam DYLAN BUFKIN

Code, and violations of the honor code can lead to punishment from the MSU Honor Code Council.

This is compounded by the Freshman Academic Policy dictating three unexcused absences in a course automatically drops a letter grade.

Rodney Pearson, director of the Center for Student Success, examines absentee data for a living, along with teaching.

Pearson explains his thoughts on scanning and leaving.

“I teach a large auditorium class, and I have in my syllabus and talk about it the very first day that I think that is dishonest, and I think it is academic misconduct,” Pearson said. “Once we do that, we have very, very few students who want to be dishonest.”

When asked about ways the administration attempts to tackle academic fraud, Pearson described a couple of ATTENDANCE, 2 examples.

STAFF WRITER

Katie Poe | The Reflector

Pitches for funding were made to the ECAB meeting by William Burks and Madison Grant of jitterbeans, and Vicki Jordan, Tyler Anthony and Thomas White of DueT Technology.

ECAB hears ideas for clipper, card and coffee ECAB is a monthly entrepreneurship program allows students and faculty the opportunity to present their ideas for initial funding.

KATIE POE

STAFF WRITER

The Entrepreneurship Center Advisory Board (ECAB) held its first meeting of 2018 on Friday, where it heard pitches for funding from three business startup teams.

ECAB is a step in the VentureCatalyst Program, where individuals present their startups to a board of about a dozen professors, CEOs and businessmen and women. The board can decide to grant the entrepreneurs up to $2,000.

Similar to the show “Shark Tank,” the event provides an option for MSU students and staff to get their business ideas off the ground.

The board heard from Vicki Jordan, Thomas

White and Tyler Anthony first. The first two of the group are graduates, Jordan in psychology and White in engineering, and Anthony is a senior computer engineering major.

Since White is a barber “on the side,” he came across a big problem in the industry—a hair clippers overheating quickly, usually after the second haircut.

This issue forces beginning barbers to purchase several sets of the tool, so they can switch it out when it gets too hot.

The group’s proposition is a product called DueT Technology, a clipper with a built-in fan. The name stems from co-founders White and Anthony’s first names—Thomas and Tyler—and they claim the barber and clipper can work

in “perfect harmony.”

Their presentation to the board started as an acted-out scenario between White and Anthony. White approached Anthony as a new barber looking to purchase some startup hair tools. Anthony said the young barber would need two or three of the same clippers to get started, because each one would overheat after a few haircuts. White asked why the clipper manufacturer does not simply make a product which does not overheat. Anthony quickly hushed him.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Anthony said. “That’s how we make money.”

White had a similar situation as a barber, which inspired DueT Technology. Anthony said this overheating obstacle is an “overwhelming problem in the industry.”

The group’s members claimed there is not a

product currently on the market like theirs, so their goal is to create brand loyalty. While there are ceramic clippers produced, which promise the blades will stay cool, White said the motor overheats.

The team established a fairly popular social media presence through an account called Barber Style Directory, where they upload and share haircut tutorials. Over the past eight months, they have gained nearly 8,000 Instagram followers, 14,000 YouTube subscribers and more than one million views. They also have a five-star rating on Facebook with more than 100 reviews.

The group told the board DueT Technology’s market is primarily millennial barbers, and their cooling system is patentable.

They asked the board for $2,000 in funding to build 10 more prototypes.

HI: 46 LO: 28 SKY: Sunny

HI: 60 LO: 45 SKY: Partly cloudy

HI: 64 LO: 28 SKY: Rainy

FORECAST: Much cooler today with a wind from the north bringing temperatures down into the mid-40s.

Tomorrow we warm up into the 60s ahead of a cold front that will bring rain our way on Thursday. Behind the cold front, temperatures will cool again into the 40s to finish the week.

POP: 0%

POP: 20%

POP: 70%

Alec Mau, Campus Connect Meteorologist

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

ECAB, 2

Mississippi State University stresses the importance of its students’ attendance, especially the attendance of its freshman class.

This focus on attendance led to MSU’s implementation of electronic scanners across campus, to better record absence records in classrooms.

This way of recording absences does have a major loophole, which some students choose to exploit. Due to the large nature of some lecture hall classrooms, most professors are unable to adequately learn every student’s face and name, which can lead to problems in recording attendance.

The possibility exists to scan-in to a class and leave, or have another student scan-in to a class for you.

Both actions are classified as “Academic Fraud” under the MSU Honor

-0.2 GPA

DIFFERENCE

for every absence in a class.

So scan in,Folks!

JM, TR

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THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018

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ATTENDANCE The first is to simply have students scan-in at the beginning and end of class periods, which Pearson said MSU has used before. The second involves a teacher scanning their own ID after a student leaves when scanningin.

Every electronic scanner keeps a log of when an ID is scanned and whose ID was scanned. Due to this, a teacher who sees a student leave prematurely, must scan and review the log to find the

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student directly prior, which solves the problem teachers face when not knowing names or faces in large lecture halls.

However, Pearson tempers this by assuring, “I don’t think that overall it is a gigantic problem.”

Graduation Positioning System, or GPS, is a program used by the Center for Student Success to track different data collected from around campus. One of its main features is examining the relationship absences have

to GPA. Examining a total of 5,368 courses and 78,919 students, GPS found there is a -0.2 GPA difference for every absence in a class.

The Freshman Pathfinders exist to try to instill good attendance behavior early in a student’s career, in hopes to avoid GPS’s data coming to fruition.

If a freshman is beginning to miss class, a Pathfinder appears to help understand or correct the situation. This position, along with SI tutors,

DELEGATE Rather than simply being the connection between current students of MSU and Alumni, this organization also interacts with future students through an annual scholarship.

“We have also started our own tradition with our semesterly tuition drawing, which has already provided $30,000 in free tuition over the last 8 semesters,” Martin said.

The organization is run by students, and it teaches them about interacting with many different people, as this is the main part of their jobs said Alumni Delegate Quinlan X. Gray is a junior music education major.

“Delegates has taught me that as a human, we should have compassionate, loving and serving hearts,”

is under Pearson’s office.

Seeing as MSU is a publicly-funded university, Pearson believes every student at MSU has a duty. Pearson explained students are essentially wasting taxpayer’s money when they skip classes.

“I believe we have an obligation to [the taxpayers] to go to school. I just really sincerely believe that, and I think that, as a teacher, I have an obligation to give a student a reason to go to class,” Pearson said.

CONTINUED FROM 1

Gray said. “We should love to help those around us and make ourselves expendable to their needs.”

Delegate William Johnson, a senior industrial engineering major, said because the organization is so keen on serving others and putting smiles on different people’s faces, they are truly one of a kind.

specifically noteworthy is the amount of effort they put into keeping many various MSU traditions alive.

The importance of traditions plays a key role in this organization because traditions connect Bulldogs through generations, giving people something to remember and something that will always be there.

“It is an organization centered around people. Family is definitely a word that comes to mind,” -Melanie Brumfield, Alumni Delegate “I get to be the smiling face that greets alumni when they come to visit,” Johnson said.

While the delegates do many great things, something

“We promote the purchase of the alumni ring and helped create the Bulldog Bucket List which is a list of 78 (university was founded in 1878) things that

a student should do before graduating,” Johnson said.

While tradition is a significant aspect of this, most importantly is being people-centric said Delegate Melanie Brumfield.

“It is an organization centered around people.

Family is definitely a word that comes to mind,” Brumfield said.

Because of this organization, past MSU students are welcomed back with open arms and new ones are encouraged to come.

“I believe what Delegates do, how they act and the way they make students, alumni and friends of the University feel has a lasting and rippling effect on the future success of Mississippi State,” Andrews said.

BAD DAWGS Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018 2:37 p.m. Employee reported his computer in Hand Chemical Lab was hacked.

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2018 1:36 a.m. Officer reported a broken light globe on Stone Blvd.

4:39 a.m. Student was arrested in McKee Hall for burglary and possession of paraphernalia. Referral issued.

6:09 a.m. Resident of City/County reported fallen in McKee Hall. Subject was transported to OCH by ambulance.

9:54 a.m. Student was arrested in McKee hall for possession of controlled substance.

10:20 p.m. Student was issued an arrest citation and referral for possession of marijuana on Blackjack Road.

Sunday, Jan. 27, 2018 Student reported her bicycle stolen from bike rack at Rice Hall.

Notable traffic violations: Justice Court citation issued for speeding 42/20 on Stone Blvd.

Two MSU citations were issued for obstructing traffic devices on Sorority Row. Justice Court citation issued for improper equipment on Blackjack Road.

Justice Court citation issued for disregard of traffic device on Hardy Road.

MSU citation issued for speeding 38/20 on Bailey Howell.

ECAB The next presenter was Marshall Davis, a mechanical engineering student, who proposed a credit card-sized multi-tool card. While the product is in the product design stage, so far it has 12 different tools on it. These tools include: a ruler, saw, protractor, can-opener, compass, bottle opener, small blade, Phillips head, flat head, eyeglass screwdriver, letter opener and wrenches.

“My goal is to put a tool

CONTINUED FROM 1

bag in the wallet of every college fan, college student and alumni,” Davis said.

“The problem I’m trying to solve is, every day you face a problem or an obstacle where you could use a tool, but in most situations, you don’t have it on you, like if you’re at the office, you’re on campus or you’re at home and you can’t find it.”

Davis said his goal is to create this card and put a college logo on it. He

said the market is mainly geared toward mechanical engineering students, but can be used by everyone. His recent survey concluded the favorite tool among college students was the bottle opener.

Competition for the product includes Wallet Ninja and Pocket Monkey, but the protractor and compass tools are unique to Bullycard.

Board member Paul Luckett asked why Davis

should make his own card when he can buy licensing from another company and simply print a college logo on the card. Davis answered the profit margin would be less.

Davis asked the board for $1,000 to fund prototyping, and $1,000 to fund market research.

The last presentation was given by Madison Grant, a junior business administration major. Her idea is to have a coffee truck

or trailer where anyone can get a beverage “on the go.”

She proposed jitterbeans, an authentic coffee shop experience without the long wait.

With the truck, Grant wants to “follow the masses,” and set up at places like hospitals, schools and sporting events.

Grant claimed there are no coffee trucks in Starkville, so she wants to cater to a large market of adult coffee

drinkers, not only students.

Her plan is to start off in a small trailer and eventually purchase a truck.

Grant asked the board for $2,000 in funding to mainly purchase coffee supplies, such as an espresso machine.

At the meeting, the board did not release its decision on whether or not they would fund these startups. The next ECAB meeting is 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 23 in McCool 339.

THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018 @REFLECTORONLINE

LIFE & ENTERTAINMENT

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Nik Ripken shares his story with the Starkville community EMMA KING

STAFF WRITER

Nik Ripken, author of “The Insanity of God,” presented a talk to students about his personal life in missionary work Thursday in the Bettersworth Auditorium.

First Baptist Ministry at Mississippi State University sponsored the event.

Lisa Ziegler, a senior economics major, First Baptist Church member and volunteer, welcomed guests with free copies of Ripken’s book.

“I’m volunteering because it’s a cool opportunity to learn more about fellowship,” Ziegler said.

The event was open to everyone, but targeted college students specifically.

Nathan Taylor, University and Missions Minister at First Baptist Church, said he believes college students can make a major impact on the world.

Taylor opened the presentation by telling attendees the effect “The Insanity of God” had on his own life. Gifted to him by a friend, Taylor said he shelved the book for several weeks. When he

Lindsay Pace| The Reflector

Nik Ripken and his wife, Ruth Ripken, shared stories of triumph and heartbreak from their 30 years of missionary work with an audience at Bettersworth Auditorium on Thursday.

finally picked it up again, he finished the novel in three days.

After being introduced

by Taylor, Ripken and his wife, Ruth, took the stage. The couple told

stories of their 30 years of missionary work alongside their three children.

The Ripkens said when journeying throughout the horn of Africa, they met many believers who were

persecuted for their faith.

While living in Somalia, the Ripken’s 16-year-old son died of an asthma attack on Easter Sunday.

He was buried at the school where the other two sons

An in-class distraction

SUDOKU

Cumulus On-Air Job Fair

Need a job? Need an employee? Check out the Cumulus On-Air Job Fair where you can post a help wanted ad for free to be advertised on air or look through our help wanted ads and apply for a job!

Keep up with us online!

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @reflectoronline, and check out our new life, sports and opinion podcasts at https://soundcloud.com/user-706502143 CLASSIFIEDS P R I V A T E COLLECTIONS SALE: Thousands of WWII military items.

No guns. Pez Candy dispensers, political button collection, Elvis Presley collectibles, Slits Beer Can Bank and much more. Cash only. By appointment only. Call 901-626-2763.

Sardis, MS. Well worth the drive!

Starkvegas FLEA MARKET. Join us from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Coco Center, 13608 MS Hwy 182 E, Starkville.

Clothes, shoes, jewelry and more. Get warm, gooey cinnamon rolls and

To be a vendor, email starkvegasfleamarket@ gmail.com or call Julie at 662-769-6180.

Are you an artist or an aspiring business person?

Are you interested in selling your designs and work? If so, you should check out the Starkvegas Flea Market to rent a booth. Email starkvegasfleamarket@ gmail.com or call Julie at 662-769-6180.

The Mississippi State University’s Collegiate FFA chapter is selling Mississippi Ag T-shirts!

They are $15. Any orders over an XL size shirt is $2 extra, making them $17. Make sure

graduated.

Nik Ripken said when his third son graduated, he offered to get his youngest child anything as a graduation gift. The son’s request was to go on a

mission trip with his father.

While some were there because of Ripken’s novel, others simply came to hear his story.

Audrey Claire Henderson, a freshman political science major, was one of the latter.

“I wanted to hear his testimony of what he’s been through and how the Lord has worked in his life,” Henderson said.

The First Baptist Church’s goal in inviting Ripken to speak to college students was to show students their ability to reach out across nations.

“As a college minister, I want to give students access to older, wiser followers of Jesus that have been obedient and faithful to the mission given to believers in the Bible,” Taylor said.

“Nik and Ruth fit that role well.”

The presentation concluded with a prayer from Ruth Ripken. When the talk was over, the Ripkens stayed to chat with the students and community members in attendance.

The First Baptist Church said it is currently planning another campus and community-based event early next fall.

16th, and if you have any questions, please contact Carla Jagger at cbj170@msstate.edu or contact Matthew Lee at 601-270-6102.

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

Thursday. The deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifieds are listed at $5 per issue.

Student and staff ads are listed at $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found items: Found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed at standard ad cost.

CLUB INFO The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m.

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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 The Reflector at 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.

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OPINION

Justice has finally been served to a monstrous man JESSICA LINDSEY

is a senior majoring in communication.

Contact her at opinion@reflector.msstate. edu.

Sexual assault is an issue which falls on deaf ears, and it should not. Surviving sexual assault or rape is something many silently suffer through.

You are suddenly afraid to trust anyone, even those closest to you. You jump out of your skin when there is a light tap on your shoulder.

Sometimes you are scared to even leave your house.

You can lose friends and hurt relationships, just from one action you did not do.

All these mundane events carry a heavy impact, an impact victims silently take on their own.

It takes tremendous bravery to admit you were sexually assaulted, and even more to publicly announce it. It is even more terrifying when your assaulter is a public figure everyone knows and trusts.

We see a lot of instances where powerful men are accused of these atrocious acts, yet they get away with it because they can afford lawyers who plead their cases well even if the woman is also famous. Throw a stone in Hollywood, and you will see what I mean.

Sexual assault is the only serious crime where the victim’s statement may not even matter.

According to the

National Sexual Violence Resource Center, research shows only two to 10 percent of reported sexual assaults are false, and the higher number from this percentage comes from a misunderstanding of what police departments define as sexual assault.

This means 90 to 98 percent of reported sexual assaults are not false, yet still a majority of the accused do not even make it into the prison system.

However, on Jan. 24, a collection of loud voices helped serve justice to a monstrous man who sexually assaulted over 100 women.

“Sexual assault is the only serious crime where the victim’s statement may not even matter.”

According to SB Nation’s James Dator, Larry Nassar, former doctor of the U.S. Gymnastics and Michigan State University’s gymnastic team was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for seven accounts of criminal sexual assault.

He will begin to serve these years after he completes an additional 60 years for child pornography.

Emily Singer for Mic tweeted Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s words to Nassar as she passed his sentence.

She is quoted saying, “It is my honor and privilege

to sentence you, because sir, you do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again.”

Justice was served.

While I am elated an absolutely despicable human being finally got what he had coming, he was able to accumulate a victim list of over 140 women within almost 30 years before he was stopped. He first assaulted a 12 year-old girl in 1992, yet this did not come to light until 2017.

It took a woman 25 years to speak out about a sexual assault that happened to her when she was just a girl. She finally found it in herself to speak about the unspeakable acts she survived as a child, but it took so long for her to finally gain the courage to do this.

This is not her failure; in fact, this is a victory for her.

This is a failure of our justice system and the way society views victims of sexual crimes. Everyone loves watching “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” but how many people in reality are actually likely to side with the victim? How many people are going to be Olivia Benson?

Most people who come forward about their assaults have a lot of the blame placed on them. This is not fair in any sense. Many are told they brought their assault onto themselves by what they were wearing, who they were or were not with, what they were doing at the time, and where they were.

The reality of life is some people are awful

*Drops gavel.

Jennifer McFadden, The Reflector

and are going to commit horrible acts, because honestly, they are just screwed up. Most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. This was definitely the case with Nassar, as he was a trusted and world-renowned doctor recommended for these girls at Michigan State and the U.S. Gymnastics program. He abused his power, which is exactly what sexual crimes boil down to.

The attacker simply wants to assert their power over their victim.

As stated earlier, the number of false accusers is often low, and as far as reported crimes, one of the most under-reported crimes is sexual assault.

This can be viewed when

you look at officially reported crimes and selfreported crimes (crimes that went unreported, but data is still collected on).

The numbers almost double when you look at reported cases versus victims of sexually-based offenses the Uniform Crime Report versus the National Crime Victimization Survey.

According to the criminal justice statistics by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, even when sexual assaults are reported, “the vast majority of perpetrators will not go to jail or prison,” and they are less likely to serve time than any other crime. Keep in mind, this is only what is reported.

It should not have taken so long for these survivors to speak out, but there is

a stigma society has about being a victim. Sadly, there is the high chance your attacker will not even make it to jail, let alone prison. Survivors have been violated in the most inhumane way, yet they are pressured to keep silent while they suffer.

I am beyond elated and supportive of the brave women who came forward to take down Nassar. However, it is time we start believing victims and creating a support system for them instead of blaming them. It is crucial we support these victims, so we can stop serial rapists like Nassar before they go too far and hurt over 100 people in less than 30 years.

It is 2018. It is time to believe and support sexual assault victims.

Patriots should be banned from the Super Bowl DYLAN BUFKIN

is a freshman majoring in English. Contact him at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

The New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl again, demanding me to complain about the Patriots.

According to Daniel Rapaport with Sports Illustrated, the Patriots have been to the Super Bowl 10 times, eight of which were after 2001 with Tom Brady on the team.

Maxwell Strachan with The Huffington Post points out Brady has the most Super Bowl wins, five to be exact, of any quarterback in NFL history. There is no denying Brady is talented or that the Patriots deserve to go to the Super Bowl. I am just going to

deny that it is entertaining.

Like the SEC’s boredom with Alabama’s constant winning, it is just not fun to see the same team in the Super Bowl over and over again.

I get it. The Patriots are good. Brady is good.

They are good. It is not a surprise anymore, and part of the fun of football is the element of surprise.

One never knows what will happen in a Mississippi State University football game, which can be a bad thing. However, it keeps me watching. On the other hand, I know what is going to happen in an Alabama game, and I know what is going to happen in a Patriots versus whoever match-up.

For more context, SB Nation’s Jason Kirk found Brady by himself, has as much Super Bowl experience as the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster combined. Two of the Eagles players who contributed to this number, specifically LeGarrette Blount and Chris

Long, got their Super Bowl experience with the Patriots, alongside Brady. If you remove all former Patriots from the equation, the Eagles’ roster has only a combined four visits to the Super Bowl, so betting on a Patriots’ win is indeed a safe bet.

Here is my solution. Let us just suspend the Patriots from the Super Bowl for one year, two tops, and then, the Super Bowl can be enjoyable again.

If one wants to make the argument of it being unfair to bar a team from the Super Bowl, the obvious counterargument would be life is not fair, and Brady can go wear his five Super Bowl rings while he deflates more footballs.

This way, America can finally see an entertaining Super Bowl.

Some would say the Patriots’ huge Super Bowl game turn-around last year was entertaining, but I would beg to differ. I remember feeling more

Jennifer McFadden, The Reflector

depressed than anything.

Therefore, to prevent further heartbreak, the Patriots should just be benched. Patriots fans, of which there are officially five, would probably be upset, but I am willing to sacrifice for the needs of

Trivia Time!

1. The oldest parliament in the world belongs to what country?

2. What is the name for the branch of the French Army created for foreign recruits?

3. In what year was the Nintendo 64 officially released?

Answer: 1. Iceland, 2. French Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère), 3. 1996

CONTACT INFORMATION Editor in Chief/Emmalyne Kwasny 325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu

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Online Editor/Collin Smith multimedia_editor@reflector.msstate.edu Advertising Sales/Johnson Cooke

Opinion Editor/Jessica Lindsey

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Sports Editor/Taylor Rayburn sports@reflector.msstate.edu

another year of Brady and his merry Patriots win, and then, Brady gets the most Super Bowl rings in the history of the NFL, quarterback or otherwise.

I just pray the Eagles can swoop in to save us from the Tom-ination likely to come.

REFLECTIONS Jesse Owens

“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself-the invisible battles inside all of us-that’s where it’s at.”

Source: triviaq.fyi

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Life Editor/Will Wells

Managing Editor/Kristina Domitrovich News Editor/Josh Beck

many.

Of course, I do not actually think the Patriots should be suspended. It would be silly. However, I would be overjoyed if it happened.

Unfortunately, it is not how the world works.

I just have to watch

Circulation/Erin Blake circulation@reflector.msstate.edu

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.

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Reflector is the official student newspaper of Mississippi State University.

Content is determined solely by the student editorial staff. The contents of The Reflector have not been approved by Mississippi State University.

CORRECTIONS

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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THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018 @SPORTSREFLECTOR

SPORTS

Bulldogs on the road: men’s tennis, women’s tennis, women’s basketball

TAYLOR RAYBURN

a 69-49 victory.

The win was significant for the Bulldogs’ seniors for two reasons. First, it means they are 8-0 and undefeated against MSU’s arch-rival, as well as tied with the school’s record for victories in one class at 111. Senior Victoria Vivians was the star of the game, scoring 25 points on a .556 shooting percentage.

Women’s basketball will face another tough challenge as they travel to Colombia, Missouri, against the No. # University of Missouri Tigers. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Feb 4 and the SECNetwork will broadcast the game.

Stillwater, Oklahoma

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nis

Traveling away from home for the first time this season, No. 13 MSU (4-1) found themselves in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and were down once again after the doubles portion of a match, this time against the University of Wisconsin. Like they have all year, the team remained focus and pulled out a 4-1 victory over the Badgers.

In a top-15 matchup against host No. 14 Oklahoma State University, MSU struggled against their toughest competition they have faced all season long. The Bulldogs won the doubles point to take an early lead, but struggled in singles play, losing four of the six matches, with the other two being suspended

Berkeley, California

is

MEN’S TENNIS FINDS MIXED SUCCESS IN STILLWATER

ʼs Bask en

ball et

Many Mississippi State University teams travel all around the country throughout their season. MSU had multiple teams on the road this weekend, so here is a recap of the “Bulldogs on the Road.”

Information compiled from multiple MSU Communication’s press releases.

Wom

SPORTS EDITOR

WOMEN’S TENNIS STRUGGLES IN BERKELEY

Oxford, Mississippi

Jennifer McFadden, The Reflector

and fell 4-1.

MSU star and the third-ranked college tennis player in the country, Nuno Borges extended his streak without a loss to 10 over the weekend. Men’s tennis returns home for their next match against San Diego State University on Feb 9.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DOMINATES IN OXFORD No. 2 MSU women’s basketball (22-0, 8-0 SEC) traveled to Oxford to take on the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The Bulldogs dominated the Rebels to the tune of

MSU women’s tennis (2-2) traveled to Berkeley, California, to face their first real challenge after a season-opening blowout over Arkansas State University in a doubleheader.

They faced the University of Texas and UNLV. They dropped the first match against No. 12 Texas by a score of 1-4, but their match with UNLV was much closer. In the consolation game, UNLV edged out MSU 4-3. Women’s tennis returns home for a doubleheader in their matchup against Samford University and UAB on Feb. 4.

Bulldogs right ship against Mizzou PETERS’ NINE ASSISTS, HOLMAN’S MOMENTUM CHANGING BASKET PROPELS MSU

HUNTER CLOUD

STAFF WRITER

As the game clock expired in the first half, Aric Holman scored a putback to tie Mississippi State University men’s basketball (15-6, 3-5 SEC) game against the University of Missouri (13-8, 3-5 SEC) 31-31.

Holman, a junior forward from Owensboro, Kentucky, scored nine points in MSU’s 74-62 victory. He also blocked two shots.

“That is the whole goal for the game is for the three, four and five to crash the boards,” Holman said. “Just luckily, God helped me with that touch, put it in. He was face guarding me like he knew I was going to the glass, but he turned his head and I ran straight past him, and luckily the ball came straight to me.”

The momentum from this shot carried over into the second half, as MSU came out of the gates swinging, scoring six straight points. Head coach Ben Howland said his team did a good job starting off the second half strongly on defense.

“We are going to keep working hard, keep getting better at practice, keep playing together as one, and it is all going to fall into place.”

-Lamar Peters, MSU point guard “That was big, and the way we started the second half, Lamar had a big steal, and Nick had a couple of good plays,” Howland said. “We really came out and jumped on them early in the second half. We had momentum and boom, right from the get-go which was big, that was really good, that was growth as a team.”

Going into halftime, Nick

Weatherspoon, a freshman guard from Canton, had made zero of five shots from the field, and had zero points. He said his coaches got him going and this lead to him scoring 12 points in the second half.

“My coaches came in and told me to let the second half go, I knew I had a bad first half,” Weatherspoon said.

“They seen me hanging my head, and they just told me to go out there and play my game. My jumper was not working, so I just tried to sneak behind the defense and get out on transition.”

The Bulldogs had a solid offense tonight and shot 54.7 percent from the field, and went 6-16 from threepoint range. They were led

by Quinndary Weatherspoon, who scored 20 points on the night and went 2-4 from beyond the arc. He also had three steals.

Howland was pleased with how his team was able to attack tonight.

“Our team overall was very good, 17 assists on our 29 baskets, only 16 threes attempted which was really nice,” Howland said. “Keep getting inside, having balance, and I thought Lamar did a nice job orchestrating the offense with nine assists.”

MSU moved the ball around and created chances thanks to the play of Lamar Peters, a sophomore guard from New Orleans. Peters said he just wanted to help his team get the win any way he could.

“I knew we needed the game, so I just wanted to make a difference, because I hadn’t had a good season scoring the ball,” Peters said.

“I thought I could affect the game in different ways by being a playmaker for others, screening the ball and playing good defense to help us get a win.”

The defense also showed up, as they forced 15 turnovers, with 10 steals and seven blocks. Howland said this was a huge difference in the game, and despite some rough spots toward the end of the game, they did a good job.

“I thought our defense was pretty good, I felt like

they were scoring every time in the final four minutes when we had the double-figure lead, and could not get a stop,” Howland said. “Overall, we really did a good job, and I’m really proud of our team.

With 10 left in the league, we are going to be playing better and better.”

With the victory, MSU has gotten to its win total from last Lindsay Pace| The Reflector year with 10 games remaining.

Peters believes this team can Lamar Peters, a sophomore guard from New Orleans, Louisiana, calls a play from the top of the key in MSU’s 74-62 victory over Missouri. eclipse their win total from Getting in this year and also said they are NOXUBEE REFUGE much better this season.

NATURE STORE “We are way better than T-SHIRTS last year, and I’m sure we will for the nox caps win more than six games,” CONTACT NEW YEAR? HAMMOCKS Peters said. “We just going LYNN PRISOCK to keep working hard, keep AND MUCH MORE! INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTOR getting better at practice, keep 10% OFF WITH playing together as one, and it Call or Text is all going to fall into place.”

STUDENT ID! 662-418-1400 Wraps tighten, tone, MSU will play at 7:30 or (662) 323-5548 and firm! p.m. Jan. 31 at the University www.mslynnprisock.itworks.com of South Carolina and SEC Network will televise the game.

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THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018

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