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M ISSISSIPPI
Mississippi leads nation in STI cases BY LACI KYLES | Staff Writer
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ississippi leads the nation in chlamydia and gonorrhea cases, while coming in fifth in cases of syphilis and sixth in reported cases of HIV, according to the Mississippi Department of Health. April is STI Awareness Month and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of all new STI cases occur in people aged 15 to 24. JuLeigh Baker, health and wellness department educator, said sexually-active students should be well aware of the hazards of having unprotected sexual activity, such as sexually transmitted infections. “It could cost them their life,” she said. “Several STDs left untreated can lead to death.” According to the CDC, the United States has approximately 19 million new infections each year, leading to a cost of 17 billion to the healthcare system. Untreated STIs cause at least 24,000 women in the U.S. to SEE STD, 4 become infertile.
BY JILLIAN FOWLER Contributing Writer
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STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Department of Relationship Violence & Outreach offers programs, events
Mississippi State’s Department of Relationship Violence & Outreach provides students with services and educations that deals with sexualized violence. Beatrice Tatem, the director of the Department of Relationship Violence & Outreach, encourages students to make the most of the programs offered. “Even in safe places, individuals need to help to make it safe. (Not utilizing the university’s sexual assault protection services) is like driving a car and not wearing a seatbelt,” she said. Tatem said MSU’s department’s programs are successful and an example for other universities, as indicated by the $300,000 federal grant awarded to the department from the Office on Violence Against Women. The department has a new name — The Department of Relationship Violence & Outreach — and a new location: the Henry Meyer Media Center, next to the State Fountain Bakery. But the quality care and support for students has not changed, Tatem said. On April 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., The Department of Relationship Violence & Outreach will host “Women for Women,” which will include information booths and a mini “Justice for Jeans” fashion show, designed to honor a rape victim blamed for being raped because of her tight jeans. Later that day at 6:30 p.m., during “Take Back the Night,” students can see candles lit, flowers tossed into Chadwick Lake and hear a faculty member speak about being a rape survivor. Events hosted throughout the yearthe Clothesline Project, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, the Be Safe Campaign and the White Ribbon Campaignfocus on a particular aspect of sexual violence and remind students of the dimensions of the department’s support. The many T-shirts displayed on the Drill Field for the Clothesline Project is the department’s signature and annual kick-off.
125TH YEAR | ISSUE 46
ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
State expands on campus graduate housing options BY HANK DAVIS Contributing Writer
The growth of Mississippi State’s student body has been exponential in recent years, and due to the increase in size, MSU is searching for new possibilities to provide housing to graduate students. Ruby and Critz halls are part of the solution. To combat lack of graduate student housing, both halls will be dedicating a single block of rooms to graduate students. Bill Kibler, vice president for student affairs at MSU, said he believes the 50 rooms being made available will help accommodate a small portion of the nearly 4,000 graduate students attending our university. “We’ve never had enough housing for graduates on campus,” Kibler said. “We’ve built seven new residence halls, but we’ve taken five down. Next fall, State will increase the amount of bed spaces on campus for the first time in eight years.” While Kibler said he believes reno-
vations have delayed the increase of accommodations on campus, Kibler stressed MSU’s efforts to improve the quality of student housing and its effect on the growth of student enrollment. Ann Bailey, director of housing, said the university is also exploring demolition options for Aiken Village, a four-building complex dedicated to housing anyone receiving a masters or a Ph.D. Aiken Village has been closed since last December. “The university plans to build new apartments for students, families and international students on the cleared site,” Bailey said. “The projected opening date for the new apartments is fall of 2014.” While Aiken Village did accommodate families and married couples, the rooms opening in Ruby and Critz will be solely for single graduate or doctorate students. Once the complex that replaces Aiken Village is complete, families and couples will be able to live on campus once again. SEE HOUSING, 3
MSU dean of College of Arts & Sciences resigns Replacement search to begin in fall BYJOHN GALATAS Staff Writer
The Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon after serving for five years in that position. Gary Myers resigned his duties as dean last Tuesday morning effective June 30 but does plan to resume his responsibilities in the English department as professor. Jerry Gilbert, provost and executive vice president, thanked Myers for his services and loyalty to the department. Myers “Dr. Myers has been an excellent dean and has advanced the academic programs and research programs of the College of Arts & Sciences,” he said. “We look forward to having him continue to contribute as a faculty member in the department of English.” Although the provost office has not set a time frame for making a new hire, Gilbert said the tenative plan of a replacement is to appoint an interim dean of students and launch a search for a full-time college head in the fall.
Online piracy statistics increase on universities BY CANDACE BARNETTE Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: the name Renae Hutcherson (marked with an asterisk) has been used to protect the identity of the source. An increasing number of students, including some at Mississippi State, are turning to illegal file sharing software to download music and movies for free, rather than purchasing them from legitimate providers. Renae Hutcherson*, a junior at MSU, said most students are able to pirate music and movies regularly without regret. “Somehow all these artists get rich anyway,” Hutcherson said. “When we look at their luxurious lives, we don’t feel like we’ve stolen anything from them. We actually feel like we’re supporting them because no matter how we get their music, that’s what makes us fans.”
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A report commissioned by Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy estimated between $30 billion and $75 billion of digitally pirated products in 2008 and predicts an estimated increase of $80 billion to $240 billion of digitally pirated products by the year 2015. The Higher Education Opportunity Act passed in 2008 requires universities and colleges to have a plan in place to combat piracy on campus. Tom Ritter, security and compliance officer for MSU’s Information Technology Services, said students do not seem to understand how easily they can be found out. “One of the first questions I ask people when we talk about this is ‘You get on our wireless network and you enter your net ID and your password; do you think you’re anonymous?’” Ritter said. He said a law called the Digital Mil-
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lennium Copyright Act gives people who own copyrights for music and movies the right to complain if someone shares it illegally. “For example, MSU is registered with the Library of Congress,” Ritter said. “We have an email address people can complain to, and we frequently receive complaints about people sharing music and movies inappropriately on our network. Under the DMCA, as long as MSU responds effectively and quickly, we can’t get sued.” MSU and other colleges receive copyright notices from the Recording Industry Association of America to notify downloaders in advance that they are breaking the law and steeper consequences will follow if the actions continue. If the student fails to adhere to the warning, Ritter said the RIAA will usually try to offer the opportunity to settle outside of court for about $2,000. SEE PIRACY, 3
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