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Quidditch takes over the Drill Field

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

National Prison Strike Deserves Public Attention

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MSU Football Headed to Kentucky

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131st YEAR ISSUE 16

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

Cowbell Cabs cater to students MSU prioritizes cyber security

by Sean McCarthy Contributing Writer

Most weekends, hundreds of Mississippi State University students head out to area bars and restaurants to celebrate the end of the week. During the fall, several weekends are dominated by football games. After games the Cotton District becomes a lively center for socializing, fun and partying. For students who choose to drink, the ability to get home safely at the end of the night is a top concern. While some students will volunteer to be designated drivers, many students might ﬁnd themselves without a safe, guaranteed and cheap alternative for getting home. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), nearly 1,900 students die each year in alcohol related incidents. The highest contributor to this number is motor-vehicle accidents. Due to this alarming statistic, the MSU Student Association, beginning in 2014, sought out options that might assist in keeping MSU students safe when they head out on Friday and Saturday nights. Cowbell Cabs is an initiative started by former SA President Brett Harris in spring of 2014. Working with then-future SA Presidents JoJo Dodd and Roxanne Raven, a plan

COWBELL CABS A S

by Kristina Norman Staff Writer

Jenn McFadden, The Reflector

was drafted to implement a cab system around the Starkville area during the weekends. The goal was to introduce a safe alternative to students who might drive while under the inﬂuence, while still allowing for an efﬁcient manner for students to be transported around Starkville on weekend evenings. The program has seen immense success since its implementation. SA President Roxanne Raven, senior political science major from Okemos, Michigan, is happy to see students using the Cowbell Cabs program. “Cowbell Cabs has

been very successful. Since the program has started in fall 2014, ridership has increased by roughly 500 people each semester with spring of 2016 reaching just under 2,000 riders,” Raven said. Sagar Shetty, a resident advisor with the MSU Housing Department, and a junior business administration major from Mumbai, India, admires the program. Although he has never used Cowbell Cabs himself, as an RA in charge of Cresswell Hall, he sees the beneﬁt that such a program has for the students in the residence hall. “I believe such a program offers a safe

service for college students that need rides when they go out, [so as] to have a safe alternative to getting home,” Shetty said. Shetty especially sees the value of the program for freshmen, who he feels are especially vulnerable to driving under the inﬂuence. “I think it’s an excellent idea,” Shetty said. “Especially with freshmen, that would deﬁnitely assist in reducing the risk of getting behind the wheel. [It’s] not just putting yourself at risk, it’s putting others at risk. So a program like this goes a long way in ensuring safety on the road.”

Across the Mississippi State University campus this week, events promoting the university’s eighth annual Cyber Security Awareness Week promoted safety online to students, faculty and staff. Every October MSU hosts their cyber security week in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Month. Each of the event’s seminars highlight a different threat for individuals and how they can better protect themselves from threats they may encounter online. Among the topics the seminars discussed include: cyber security, cybercrime, phishing and cyber threats. For those who may have missed these events, there will be an additional event on campus Oct. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union’s Foster Ballroom U. The free event presented by Whole Child Initiative with a grant provided by the United Way of North Central Mississippi aims to inform about the dangers of predators and bullies that exist online. Richard Guerry, a digital safety expert, will be the event’s featured speaker. Guerry will speak on a wide range of topics aimed at preventing cyber bullying, inappropriate photos, the careless use of apps and poor

social media behaviors and attitudes. The event’s target, digital awareness and safety online, seeks to supply educators, youth advocates and those with families the resources they need to combat the dangers that exist in the digital realm. Kellum Kim, director of Marketing Whole Child Initiative, a program of the Columbus based Palmer Home, which focuses on the physical, spiritual, emotional and educational well-being of children, said the event allows her organization’s reach to go farther than it otherwise could go on its own. Poor social media behaviors and attitudes are something Kellum said anyone can improve on and should think seriously about before posting anything online. “You don’t think about your digital footprint or digital trail that you leave behind,” Kellum said. “Nor the impact that a post on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter has. Once it’s there, it’s there.” Thomas Ritter, MSU’s Security and Compliance Ofﬁcer, said the technical work he does on campus protects MSU’s campus, its reputation and students’ data. One of the cyber threats he works closely with on campus is phishing. Phishing occurs when people click links in email and have personal information stolen from fake websites.

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CYBER SECURITY, 2

ROTC offers students professional opportunities by John Lee Staff Writer

What is Reserve Ofﬁcers’ Training Corps? For anyone thinking about joining the army, ROTC is the way to go. Here on campus, Mississippi State University’s ROTC program is a way for students to be slowly introduced to the army in a better atmosphere than somewhere like boot camp. Alisha Irvine, ROTC MS IV Cadet Captain and senior animal and dairy science major, said MSU’s ROTC program provides a way for students to try military training before being totally thrown in. “There’s a lot of training that we all go through that’s in a much nicer and more comfortable atmosphere

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than basic combat training or basic camp that contracted cadets need to go through,” Irvine said. “It’s a way for students to kind of test the waters before they dive on in head-ﬁrst. We train everything from maintaining military bearing and customs and courtesies to how to react to contact, and conduct an ambush.” According to Irvine, there are currently 42 people contracted in ROTC, and they have a little over 70 in total on the army side. “I think ROTC is a great program and really teaches people how to step up and take charge and really enhances leadership abilities,” Irvine said. “It also really teaches you how to work with your peers and become a team.” Brian Locke, professor

of military science at MSU, said the ROTC teaches students a lot of great skills. “Army ROTC teaches leadership and discipline, management techniques, cultural awareness and problem solving,” Locke said. “Those who participate in Army ROTC and subsequently serve as Army officers develop leadership and managerial skills that last a lifetime.” Locke said army officers are responsible for leading and training enlisted soldiers, planning missions and organizing the internal and external affairs of the army. They are also entrusted with the welfare, morale and professional development of the soldiers under their command. The Army commissions only the most qualified and talented men

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and women. “Newly-commissioned second lieutenants have responsibilities that far exceed those of most new college graduates,” said Locke. “They routinely shoulder responsibility for training, inspiring and leading more than 30 soldiers–but are also expected to be America’s diplomat in demanding overseas environments.” Locke is a product of the Army ROTC program and has been an active duty army ofﬁcer for 22 years. “The experiences I’ve had during those years are a direct result of my decision to join ROTC,” Locke said. “If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would gladly do so.” Caleb Law, Cadet Battalion Commander of

FORECAST: A cold front moved through the Mississippi landscape Thurs. The cold front’s affect on the temperatures will start Fri. and last through the weekend.

Caleb Law | Courtesy Photo

Mississippi State Universityʼs ROTC program teaches students valuable skills for their future.

ROTC, encouraged others to join ROTC. “I entered the ROTC as a brand new freshman, and it’s hands-down an outstanding decision to make,” Law said. “You get huge scholarships that pay up to four years of college, and it’s a great way to develop yourself as a leader.” Law was given the opportunity to go to Jungle School in Africa and had the chance to do military intelligence at the Pentagon. To get into ROTC, students must pass an Army

Physical Fitness Test with a score of at least 180, but the higher the score is, the better. One must also have a 3.0 GPA, a minimum of 30 college credit hours and at least two recommendation letters to be able to get a scholarship. “The hardest requirement is having to pass the army PT test,” Law said. Students may visit www. armyrotc.msstate.edu if they are considering joining the ROTC and would like to know more.

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

CYBER SECURITY Ritter said phishing affects just about everyone from MSU’s students, faculty, staff and administration. Because phishing has become a constant problem, Ritter said the university has begun keeping records. Every week phishing attacks happen, sometimes multiple attempts a day. Ritter said the phishing emails he sees today have gotten more sophisticated than the ones in years past. Many of these emails ask users to verify their account by telling them they have overreached their email quota. Ritter said awareness is the key to protecting oneself of the dangers that exist online. Without awareness of those risks Rittersays, people can fall

victim to problems like phishing. If a person suspects a suspicious email, Ritter said they should forward it to the help desk of the information technology services on the university’s website. “Be a skeptic,” Ritter said. “Is this message real?” Besides emails, Ritter said the same goes for websites. People do not take much stock in their usernames and passwords, but he thinks they should. “There’s value to a person’s identity,” Ritter said. “There’s value to a person’s username and password.” Ritter said online marketplaces exist which thrive in the selling of personal information. However, Ritter said

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phishing and identity theft are not the only danger faced by computer users. One of the emerging threats he sees more and more of, is ransomware. Ransomware, a type of malware, encrypts a user’s computer files resulting in the user no longer having access to them. As its name implies, ransomware works a lot like kidnapping. To get the files back, the user must pay the individual holding the files monetarily, usually through a payment service like Bitcoin which cannot be traced. Even when that person pays the ransom, they are not always guaranteed their files back. Therefore, Ritter encourages everyone to regularly back up their files to avoid becoming a victim. Doing simple things like backing up your computer as well as awareness about the dangers online, can help avoid future problems from occurring.

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Both Raven and Shetty would like to see the program grow further. Raven is hoping to see the program expand to include Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the spring semester. Shetty, as an international student, would like to see the program expand to full-time service during the day, providing transportation for students who might not own their own vehicle. Cowbell Cabs runs Fridays and Saturdays between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., and operates as many as 4 vehicles nightly. The free service can be used by any student, and allows for one non-MSU guest per MSU passenger. The service can be reached by calling (662) 813-0084, and will pick up a student from any business and drop them off safely at their residence.

Tuesday October 11, 2016 9:27 a.m. A student was arrested on a warrant for burglary that occured on October 17 in Rice Hall. 9:46 a.m. A student reported her laptop stolen from Mitchell Memorial Library. 3:17 p.m. A student reported her HIMS Braille Sense note taker stolen from her backpack in an unknown location. 3:33 p.m. An RA reported seeing an unknown black male who was banned from Hull Hall in the building. Subject was gone upon officers’ arrival. 10:43 p.m. A student was issued justice court citations and a student referral for minor in possession of alcohol and running a red light on Fraternity Row. The student was also issued a justice court citation and student referral for possession of marijuana. Wednesday October 12, 2016 10:25 a.m. A landscape employee reported a broken window on the west side of Newell Grissom due to landscapers trimming around the building. 8:10 p.m. A student reported his vehicle was burglarized while parked at Ruby Hall. Sunday October 16, 2016 10:26 p.m. A student reported an unknown vehicle tailed him from Alabama to MSU campus. Monday October 17, 2016 8:15 a.m. A student reported his bicycle stolen from Griffis Hall’s bike rack. 9:25 a.m. A student reported minor damages to Oak Hall while doing an inspection of the building. 12:24 p.m. A student reported being harrassed by one of his fellow classmates. 8:48 p.m. A student was arrested on College View for possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle. A justice court citation was issued. Tuesday October 18, 2016 2:15 p.m. A student reported his MSU Bully Bike stolen from Rice Hall. Wednesday October 19, 2016 12:03 a.m. A student received a referral for loud music at the Kappa Alpha House.

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

Quidditch team brings world of Harry Potter to life by Shelby Poindexter Staff Writer

Quidditch at Mississippi State University welcomes those students who have an interest in the “Harry Potter” series and who want to learn how to play the iconic sport. Currently the club meets Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., and it plans to have mandatory practices on Mondays as well as optional practices on Fridays and Sundays. Meetings are held on the Drill Field. According to the Mississippi State website, the sport formed in 2005. Currently about 300 teams are a part of the International Quidditch

Association. The Association hosts a World Cup every year. Leah Dill, vice president of Quidditch at MSU, said they have not been playing Quidditch very long. “We have been doing Quidditch since last semester,” Dill said. “There was a seminar class, and one of our final projects was that some of us were supposed to try and start a Quidditch Club.” Hayden Manning, president of Quidditch at MSU, said getting people together to play Quidditch is what the club hopes to accomplish. “Its a fun sport,” Manning said, “and I really would like to just grab some friends and just go play Quidditch. Eventually,

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we’d love to actually play against other schools, but what we are aiming for this semester, is just to teach people Quidditch and get them interested.” Athletic and non-athletic backgrounds are both welcome. Anyone is allowed to come and scrimmage, particularly during the optional practices. Fans of the “Harry Potter” series will be familiar with the ionic Hogwarts’ houses and the Quidditch game balls. Anyone from any Hogwarts’ house is welcome: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. The club is creative when it comes to the balls and hoops they use to play the game. The Snitch is a

MSU ART DEPARTMENT GALLERIES Join us for Starkville’s ﬁrst Art Crawl & Parent’s Night Out! Evening begins at 808 University Drive at 6 p.m. on November 4. 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.

An In-Class Distraction

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person that holds a sock with a golf ball in it and runs around. The Quaffles are usually soccer or volleyballs, while the Bludgers are dodgeballs. For hoops, a hula-hoop is placed on some form of piping. Manning, a junior anthropology major, said at the moment, regular brooms are being used to play the game. “Next semester, once we get enough people, we will probably order official ones, but for right now, we are just going to stay within regulation,” Manning said. This semester will be more informal, while next semester will be more serious when it comes to practices and dedication to the team.

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75 Biblical plot 76 Bygone blade 77 Imperial decree Down 1 Mouse catcher 2 Tasman of New Zealand 3 2004 Queen Latifah movie 4 J.F.K. postings 5 Leased 6 Kyrgyzstan city 7 Alka-Seltzer sound 8 Saw the sights 9 Golf shot 10 Icelandic epic 11 Cousin of a loon 12 Fish parts

13 Mata Hari and Margarete Gertrud Zelle, e.g. 21 Things 23 Conveyor 25 Lightly burn 28 Passing notice 29 Mouselike animal 30 Fraternal group 31 Reposes 33 Hungarian composer 36 Water source 38 Orange Free State settler 39 Continental capital 40 Certain horse race 43 Tick off

44 Dangerous bacteria 47 Wine label info 51 Racetrack ofﬁcials 52 Flower part 54 1980 Olivia Newton-John musical fantasy 55 Cherish 56 Like some stadiums 57 Endure 61 Kind of collar 62 Cairo’s waterway 64 ___ jacket 65 Lab item 66 Decomposes 69 Ham holder 71 Bishop’s jurisdiction

Megan Bean| Contributing Photo

The Quidditch team attempts to catch the snitch and shoot the Quafﬂe through hoops.

Anyone interested in joining Quidditch at MSU can show up to practices

this semester or contact Hayden Manning at hbm123@msstate.edu.

SUDOKU

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OPINION

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

National prison strike deserves public attention Holly Travis

is a senior majoring in political science and criminology. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.mstate.edu

The largest prison strike in United States history has been underway since Sept. 9. The strike began in Alabama’s Holman Prison, and word quickly spread through activists on the outside. Groups such as Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee worked to distribute information regarding the strike to inmates and their family members across the country. The Marshall Project has most recently received reports of strike participants spanning 12 states in at least 29 prisons, with approximately 24,000 inmates taking part in the strike. Have not heard about this yet? Well, most Americans have not either. Even though the prison strike extends throughout the country and sets the record as the largest strike, uniting inmates from a variety of

states, there has been very little news coverage. This leaves much of the general population clueless about what is occurring behind bars. There are several reasons why this is the case. Media Matters conducted a Nexis search of the major news networks, such as CNN, NBS, ABC and Fox, and their coverage of the nationwide prison strike throughout the month following the Sept. 9. The report came up “almost completely empty on coverage” with the exception of a few instances that added up to less than four minutes of coverage in total. Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Ethan Zuckerman points to the lack of access reporters have to prisons and the discretion utilized by prison officials in answering inquiries regarding issues inside prisons as potential causal factors in the lack of news coverage. The lack of news coverage is also arguably the result of an election season that has dominated the media’s attention. Even considering these factors, I believe the lack of attention given to the prison strike by both the media and public speaks to the character of a society that has historically disregarded the strife of the incarcerated.

Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, a professor at the University of Michigan, pointed out that although there is not a set list of demands called for by strikers, participants are protesting issues ranging from solitary confinement to inhumane labor conditions. The one issue that has occupied center stage throughout the movement is a call for humane wages and working conditions for prisoners, a reform long overdue. Although most know the

According to The Marshall Project, approximately 700,000 inmates hold daily jobs with 60,000 of these holding positions that resemble real-world jobs through the government’s Unicor program and contractual agreements with outside companies. Companies like McDonald’s, Victoria’s Secret and Walmart use prison labor as a means of production with inmates sewing garments and picking produce.

“The exploitation of prison labor serves as a hindrance for economic progress, diminishes the value of inmates in the eye of society, and perpetuates a modernized form of slavery.” 13th amendment for its abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude, what many do not realize is that within this landmark change to the Constitution, there is an exception. The exception allows for involuntary labor for those convicted of a crime. Prisons have long since used this loophole. As the prison populations have exploded over the past 40 years, so did the industry of prison labor.

Even though many of these jobs are essentially the same as employer-employee relationships seen outside of prison, judges have ruled that inmates do not have the same rights given to employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The average wage inmates receive as listed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons is between 23 cents an hour and $1.25 an hour. However, in some

states—such as Texas, Georgia, and Arkansas— inmates receive no pay for their work. The problem with this is not that inmates are required to work, but that inmates are not given proper compensation for their work—nor are they given a means of demanding better pay. The exploitation of prison labor is not only an injustice to the individual, but also to the economy. Professor Gordon Lafer, an associate professor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center, stated, “convict labor not only takes decently paid jobs out of the economy; it also undermines the living standards of those who remain employed by forcing their employers to compete with firms that use prisoners.” In a USA Today article Dr. Lafter cited instances such as “a south Georgia recycling plant laid off 50 workers … and replaced them with prison laborers…” and “…the church-owned Sacred Heart Hospital canceled its contract with a unionized linen service and redirected the work to a prison laundry.” The exploitation of prison labor serves as a hindrance for economic progress,

diminishes the value of inmates in the eye of society and perpetuates a modernized form of slavery. Even with all of this information, you may still be wondering—why should you care about the experiences of those behind bars? This is the question asked by a majority of Americans that have allowed a month to pass without adequate coverage of the nation’s largest prison strike. Many would argue that regardless of whether unpaid labor should be allowed in general, the fact that it is occurring in prisons is simply a matter of further punishing the criminal. Following the logic that inmates do not deserve humane treatment because they chose to deviate from legal and decent behavior, it is very easy to dismiss the concerns brought up in the ongoing protest. However, this logic is dangerous for two reasons: first, it ignores the glaring modern slavery seen in a prison system that profits off the backs of society’s lower-class and marginalized members. Second, it overlooks the innate value that each man and woman holds, even those living in prison cells.

T h i rd pa r t y president ia l votes do not go Beauty pageants continue to create harmful beauty to waste by Chris Lowe Staff Writer

I would like to state now that this article is neither endorsing any particular political figure nor is it arguing against one. This is simply an issue of principle. With the upcoming presidential election, many individuals are expressing their distaste of the two primary candidates: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The Free Press claims that “…most of us vote the ‘lesser of two evils’ – a defensive vote, rather than an offensive one.” What most people seem to forget is that there are indeed other candidates out there, and they might just fit in line with one’s views much better than the Republican or Democratic nominee. The three primary parties with candidates registered in the 2016 election are the Libertarian Party, the Green Party and the Constitution Party. Likely even those not particularly politically savvy have heard of the Libertarians and their nominee Gary Johnson. In short, Libertarians run on a platform of social and cultural liberalism and fiscal conservatism. The Green Party is one that identifies as “eco-socialist,” which means that it is far-left with an emphasis on

protecting the environment. Their candidate, Jill Stein, is a favorite amongst former Bernie Sanders supporters. Lastly, the Constitution Party is a far-right leaning party with an emphasis on Christian ideals. Darrell Castle, their nominee for president, embodies the ideals that many Republicans who do not support Donald Trump would be on board for. If it is not apparent, there is a second choice for everyone, whether they be liberal, moderate or conservative. There

of the aforementioned candidates winning the 2016 election are slim to none, claiming it is wasting a vote is just not accurate. Voting is not simply about trying to have a specific person win and take a certain political seat. While this is certainly the most important aspect of it, voting can be about making a statement as well. Sure, it sounds overly idealistic and most of us probably scoff at such a prospect, but with more and more people becoming angry with the

“If it is not apparent, there is a second choice for everyone, whether they be liberal, moderate, or conservative. ” just is not a reason not to vote third party if you are not satisfied with the “mainstream” choices.…Or is there? For those familiar with the debate on the validity of voting third party, a common argument against the practice is that it is basically a wasted vote. Opponents state that voting for a third party candidate is voting for someone that has basically no chance whatsoever of becoming the president of the United States. While I do not have any intention of challenging that claim, as the chances of any

two big parties in America, it might be time to make these angry voices heard by pushing a new party to the top. For a third party candidate to earn a spot in the national debates, which would in turn create massive exposure for them and their party, he or she needs to garner support of 15 percent of the public in five national polls. As The Hill stated in August of this year, “Johnson currently averages 9 percent in the three most qualifying polls, while Stein sits at just under 5 percent. In Fox’s most recent poll,

Johnson scored 12 percent, but the poll did not include Stein.” This would suggest that at the very least, Gary Johnson was only a hair away from having the opportunity to be on equal footing with Clinton and Trump, at least as far as debates are concerned. All that is needed is for people to stop having the mindset that only voting between the two proverbial big dogs in the fight is worthwhile. While a third-party vote may not yield immediate results, establishing a trend towards voting third party instead of choosing from two candidates one does not agree with might change future elections for the better. Americans tend to be impatient. We seem to want immediate results, and if they are not obtained in such a speedy fashion, a lot of us just give up. Being open to third-parties is about slowly ushering in a new way of looking at things. It is about making a statement. This election has made it incredibly obvious that when both candidates do not appeal to a sizeable portion of the country, it creates a sense of hopelessness and anger towards the state of the nation at large. The only way to fix this is to stop allowing uncertainty and ignorance to keep us from truly exploring our options.

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The

standards for women

by Bouteina Driouche Staff Writer

The first modern beauty pageants took place in the United States in the 19th Century, with the first Miss United States pageant held at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in 1880, according to the Wall Street Journal. Today, beauty contests are popular in many parts of the world. The largest pageant is the Miss World competition, which attracts billions of viewers in 120 countries each year. Unfortunately, beauty contests advertise a definition of female beauty to which only a minority of women can realistically aspire. They aggressively encourage eating disorders and cosmetic surgery, and at the very least make women feel ugly in comparison to this beauty pageant “perfection.” Exalting a woman for beauty alone reduces women back to beings that only exist to be looked at—this is a shame, when in almost every other aspect of life, there have been great advances in women’s equality. Pageants based on judging women solely on their looks enforces the subjugation of women, because qualities such as intelligence are unfortunately not seen as part of the “ideal” femininity. In addition, the feminine ideals promoted by beauty contests are very culturally specific and western—it really does not matter how many African women win the Miss World pageant,

they can still only do so if they take part in the swimsuit competition. In many countries, this is not considered an appropriate thing for women to do, and can cause backlash for women who dare take part in the swimsuit portion of the competition. This sort of cultural clash has led to protests and violence of beauty pageants in many countries. In 1996, demonstrations against the Miss World pageant were led by feminists and Hindu nationalists in India. Miss World protests in Nigeria in 2002 resulted in more than 200 deaths and led to the contest ultimately being moved to London. A minority of societies and governments are considering a ban on beauty contests. However, I feel that a ban is a very blunt instrument with which to attack the institution of pageants. Banning beauty contests would do so little to destroy the ideal of beauty pageants promote—these standards are already deeply embedded in society. This is the problem that should truly be addressed within the currently existing pageant system. Pageants could also be opened up to include men, somewhat leveling the playing field for men to be judged more on their looks. The pageants could also be changed in scope to include a broader ideal of beauty and promote other characteristics besides beauty alone in young women and people in general.

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SPORTS

Bulldogs head to Kentucky by Taylor Rayburn

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

Upcoming Events Volleyball

Staff Writer

Mississippi State (2-4, 1-2) will once again be on the road as they continue the 2016 season in Lexington, Kentucky, against the University of Kentucky (3-3, 2-2). After a 28-21 doubleovertime loss to BYU last Friday, MSU will have to re-group and continue moving forward as they put the heartbreaker behind them and face a team they beat seven times in a row. Coming off of an emotional loss is always hard. Head coach Dan Mullen said he thinks the emotional loss can pull the team together. “When you face a little adversity, it tests your character, but it can really pull a team closer together,” Mullen said on Monday about the BYU game’s effect on the team. “Stuff like this can actually help pull the team closer together at times.” The biggest mental challenge will be for Fred Ross. Ross has struggled over the past couple weeks with dropped passes. Ross, who entering the season known for his sure hands, has had some uncharacteristic drops. The moment Ross will have to move past was in the second overtime when he dropped a pass in the end zone from Nick Fitzgerald that would have sent the game to a third overtime. His wide receiver coach and offensive coordinator Billy Gonzales said Ross needs to relax and go play. “I think at times he says, ‘I have got to do everything,’ and no you just have to make the plays he is responsible for and move,”

Oct. 21 @ 6 p.m. @ Florida

Football Oct. 22 @ 6:30 p.m. @ Kentucky

Soccer Noah Siano | The Reflector

Mississippi State heads to Kentucky this weekend for an SEC matchup. The Bulldogs look to improve their 2-4 overall record.

Gonzales said. “We sat and talked and I think he will have a great rest of the season as well.” Ross will have some big milestones to look forward to in this game. He is two catches away from breaking the MSU career record for catches. He currently has 161 and the record is 162. He is also three yards shy of 2000 receiving yards for his career. On the defensive side of the ball, MSU is coming off of a game where they gave up 14 points in regulation, tied for the best they have done in regulation all season. The challenge this week will be with Kentucky running back Stanley “Boom” Williams. Williams, a junior, is sixth in the SEC with 90

rushing yards a game. He has 540 yards on the year and is averaging 7.1 yards a carry. Against MSU last year he had 111 yards from scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said they will have more to worry about this week with Williams and the Kentucky rushing attack. “Kentucky is going to have a little more of a full menu of the run game,” Sirmon said. “Gap schemes, zone schemes, wildcat, quarterback runs, so there is a little more to contend with.” MSU will need this win if they want to have any hope of making a bowl. With the chances already slim every game matters. Senior linebacker Richie Brown said the team is not worrying

about bowl eligibility. “We are not thinking about bowl eligibility, we are just thinking about the next game,” Brown said. “No matter if you are undefeated or struggling to hang on, either way you just have to focus on the next game. Just worry about winning today, winning this week, doing well in practice and things will take care of themselves when you do that.” The Bulldogs will play at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday against Kentucky.

Oct. 23 @ 12 p.m. @ Florida

Volleyball

Oct. 23 @ 2 p.m. vs. Tennessee

IMAGINE

THE FUTURE O F A E R O S PA C E .

WE ARE .

When you’re a leader, people watch to see what you’ll do next. Nobody knows that better than Mississippi State University. For years we’ve been leaders in the world of aerospace engineering. MSU now serves as the national lead university for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, putting us on the cutting edge of this new era of research, development and integration into the nation’s airspace. We’re driven to lead the way. Keep watching as we soar to new heights. M S S TAT E . E D U

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6 THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 21, 2016

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