2 13 2014

THE

S TUDENT PRINTZ SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Volume 98 Issue 35

ON CAMPUS

Candidates debate campus issues

Kara Davidson/Printz

The two candidates for the Student Government Association presidency, Jeffrey George and Lyeneal Griffin, express their will to win at the debate Monday night.

Printz Reporter

On Feb. 10, candidates running for president and vice president for the Student Government Association of 2014-2015 participated in a debate to present their platforms to the study body.

During the two rounds of debate, which took place in the Thad Cochran Center, the candidates gave speeches describing their plans if elected, and they allowed their peers to

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challenge these platforms. In the past, this event had been run as a question-and-answer forum. But this year, the students who participated were encouraged to clash and engage with each other on issues facing the school.

The vice presidential candidates spoke first. Marcus Ocmond, Yolanda Cruz and Kyle Stoner had several minutes to tell the audience why they were the best choice for the position. All three have been on Senate for two years.

Marcus Ocmond, a junior

NEWS Darwin Day Southern Miss celebrates Darwin’s birthday.

5

“

I have ideas

for possibly mending the parking situation on campus.

FEATURE Campus Love Couples beat Valentine’s Day stereotype.

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Mary Beth Wolverton

Kyle Stoner

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psychology major, focused on his desire to break the barrier between students and student government. “Many Senates have been lame duck and haven’t gotten much done, not because there weren’t any ideas or because of a lack of involvement, but that senators didn’t know what to do,” Ocmond said. “That is one thing as vice president that I want to do, motivate and lead by example.”

Yolanda Cruz, a news editorial journalism major, spoke next, describing her platform as

OPINION Singles Awareness The single life isn’t so bad after all.

“go-with-the-flow,” a policy of adaptation that focuses on not being tied down to a specific plan or supporting a personal agenda. One of Cruz’s main goals is to see SGA suggestion boxes put up around campus.

Kyle Stoner, a junior accounting major, described his plans for restoring, impacting and enhancing student government. “I have ideas for possibly mending the parking situation on campus,” Stoner said. “Too many teacher

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See SGA, 3

SPORTS Baseball Preview Team to play Stony Brook.

THE S TUDENT PRINTZ

Page 2 | Thursday, February 13, 2014

Editorial Staff Executive Editor Kathryn Miller kathryn.miller@eagles.usm.edu 850.565.0812 Managing Editor Alan Rawls gregory.rawls@eagles.usm.edu Chief Copy Editor Chris Greene chris.greene@eagles.usm.edu Copy Editor Courtney McNichols courtney.mcnichols@eagles.usm.edu News Editor Nikki Smith ashly.smith@eagles.usm.edu Sports Editor Joshua Campbell joshua.m.campbell@eagles.usm.edu Design Editor Joshua Byrd joshua.j.byrd@eagles.usm.edu Art Director Susan Broadbridge susan.broadbridge@eagles.usm.edu Webmaster Chris Greene chris.greene@eagles.usm.edu

EVENTS Thursday, Feb. 13

Monday, Feb 17

Men’s Basketball UAB 8:00 PM Birmingham, Ala.

Softball Ole Miss 3:00 PM Hattiesburg, Miss.

SMAC Southern Miss Got Talent Auditions 6:30 PM RC’s Lounge

SMAC Southern Miss Got Talent Auditions 6:30 PM RC’s Lounge

Friday, Feb. 14

Tuesday, Feb 18

Women’s Tennis South Alabama 1:00 PM Hattiesburg, Miss.

Student Government Elections 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM TCC Atrium, Union Lobby, Library Lobby, LAB lobby and Payne Center lobby

Saturday, Feb 15

Wednesday, Feb 19

Women’s Basketball Tulsa 4:00 PM Hattiesburg, Miss.

Enactus Entreprenuership Fair 11:00 AM Union Lobby

Sunday, Feb 16

Men’s Basketball UTSA 7:00 PM Reed Green Coliseum

Women’s Tennis Southeastern Louisiana 12:00 PM Hattiesburg, Miss.

Police Contact Information

Thursday, Feb, 20

DIRTY BIRDS

When reporting, the following informaInformation gathered by Kirstie Lowery tion should by provided: • Nature of the crime or emergency • Name, address and phone number of caller • Location of the incident • Description of the scene and suspects

• • • •

Graphic Designers Cody Bass cody.bass@eagles.usm.edu

• Description of any vehicles involved, especially license plate numbers

University Police

• •

Parker Brewer parker.brewer@eagles.usm.edu

911 (emergency)

•

601.266.4986 (non-emergency)

• •

News Content Adviser Chuck Cook 601.266.4288 chuck.cook@usm.edu Ad Graphic Designer Katherine Frye katherine.frye@eagles.usm.edu Advertising Manager Lesley Sanders-Wood 601.266.5188 lesley.sanders@usm.edu Advertising e-mail printzad@usm.edu Find us online at: www.studentprintz.com The Student Printz is published every Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. Signature Offset of Hattiesburg provides printing services.

Bond Hall, First Floor West

2:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, a large green tote bag containing $2,000 dollars worth of tools was reported missing from Scianna Hall.

The theft occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 4 approximately between 12:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The case is still open.

1:17 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, a bike was reported missing from Charles Lane. The crime occurred between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

The bike has been found.

Monday, Feb. 10 at 8:33 a.m. an iPod was reportedly taken from a motor vehicle at the Pinehaven apartment building.

The theft happened between Feb. 9 at 1:30 p.m. and Feb. 10 at 6:30 a.m.

The case is still open.

Monday, Feb. 10 at 2:09 p.m., $70 dollars was reported missing from a purse in College Hall. The crime happened between 11:20 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The case remains open.

Urban term of the week: Food Baby: When you eat so much that your stomach looks pregnant.

“Jeez! I ate so much, I look like I am having a food baby!” source: Urbandictionary.com

WHERE’S SEYMOUR?!

THIS WEEK’S WINNER!!

Tiffany Langham LOOK FOR SEYMOUR AGAIN IN MONDAY’S EDITION OF THE STUDENT PRINTZ!!

NEWS

SGA

continued from page 1 parking spots, not enough students’ (spots). We also need to reapportion the seats of Senate because the populations of each college have changed tremendously over the past four years.”

After the vice presidential candidates had a chance to attempt to win their audience’s votes, the presidential candidates

Thursday, February 13, 2014 | Page 3 stepped up to discuss their own running platforms.

Jeffrey George, a sophomore political science major, spoke first. His campaign is focused on both enhancing student life and making SGA a stronger institution. During the debate, George presented his plans to push for less work during Dead Week, the week before final exams, and a more personalized advising process.

George also plans to continue the many events put on through SGA outside of Homecoming,

including Lighting the Way and Eaglepalooza.

“A lot of the events that we have really allow students to connect with each other and the Hattiesburg community,” George said. “I do think the events are a very big part of SGA because those are some of the things that students actually have the ability to see.”

Lyeneal Griffin, a junior theater performance major, spoke on his platform of getting students more involved in student government. During

the debate, Griffin told the audience that he plans to improve communication between SGA and the student body through student advocacy.

“Right now, the priorities that we have in SGA are set on big events such as Eaglepalooza (and) the Big Event,” Griffin said. “I feel that student events, student initiatives and student advocacy should be the same level as those big events.”

“My biggest thing that I feel we should do is let the students know that we are trying to get

their voice,” Griffin said.

Three students are running unchallenged for positions in SGA: Wilton Jackson, attorney general elect; Meredith Barefield, election commissioner elect and Ben Brewer, treasurer elect.

Each presented a short speech on their own platforms before the debate. Despite the fact that each was running unopposed, every candidate encouraged audience members to get out to the polls and vote on Feb. 18 and 20.

ON CAMPUS

Southern Miss hosts Darwin Day Megan Fink Printz Reporter

The University of Southern Mississippi will host its first Darwin Day Friday, Feb. 14 to celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin.

The event will feature short lectures from Southern Miss faculty as well as a keynote address from Massimo Pigliucci, chairman of the philosophy department at The City University of New York and former biology professor at University of Tennessee.

On Friday afternoon, there will be a jeopardy-style Darwin Quiz that will pit faculty members against teams of graduate students on topics having to do with Darwin’s research. The event will conclude with a teaching workshop that will be open to the public. The workshop will discuss issues in teaching evolution to a diverse student body.

The day-long event is intended to provide an interdisciplinary look at how the work of Charles Darwin has affected modern

academics. “We wanted to showcase not only (Darwin’s) contribution to science, but how his work touches so many other fields,” said Donald Yee, a primary organizer of the event.

Yee is an assistant professor of biological sciences at USM. “Our hope is to do this on an annual basis and involve more people as it goes on,” Yee said.

“This is actually something that is done not only at other universities across the country, but also internationally.”

Friday’s events will feature short lectures from Southern Miss faculty as well as a keynote address from called “Science, Pseudoscience and All That Jazz.” “(Pigliucci is) more of a philosopher-thinker now, rather than working in hard science research,” Yee said. “The themes he’ll talk about will be more about the thought processes that we have, and how to tackle issues that are outside of actual hard sciences.”

Marie Danforth, professor of anthropology and sociology, will give a talk Friday morning

called “3% Neanderthal: Recent research on our closest relatives.”

Danforth said she hopes to mesh anthropology with the hard sciences in her talk. “Human evolution is very much a part of evolutionary science,” Danforth said. “Darwin took so much heat for his suggestion that humans are related (to) other primates, and putting human evolution as part of the big picture, with every other organism. It’s nice to have (human evolution) in the picture as well for Darwin Day.” “I’m very interested in the workshop on how to teach evolution,” Danforth said. “That’s one of our biggest challenges; it’s not something that, a lot of times, (students) were introduced to in high school or junior college. I expect that the workshop will be a helpful community discussion on that topic.”

Every Darwin Day experience will be open to the public, and attendees are welcome to come and go between individual events.

A complete Darwin Day schedule can be found at www.usm.edu/ biological-sciences/events.

Courtesy Photo

ON CAMPUS

Students evaluate health services Crystal Garner Printz Reporter

Students at The University of Southern of Mississippi could expect a top-notch experience when visiting the campus clinic, which recently earned another three years of continuing accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).

According to AAAHC’s official website, the organization is the leader in developing

standards to advance and promote patient safety, quality care and value for ambulatory health care through peerbased accreditation processes, education and research.

“This accreditation holds us to a higher standard of not just providing care but showing that we’re providing good care, consistently,” said Ashley Threatt, assessment officer and health educator for Student Health Services at Southern Miss.

Threatt said Student Health Services began a battle challenging its standards as

soon as students stepped foot on campus.

“A lot of people think of student health as a bandage station or as doctors-intraining, but we’re a real doctor’s office with board certified physicians and other licensed health providers,” she said. “The accreditation shows that we’re the real deal and we provide quality care.”

Waiting to be serviced in the clinic was De’Janique Thorton, a student patient, who expressed another issue besides quality care.

“It’s bad enough that we have to pay to go to school, but then we have to come to the clinic for emergencies and pay for it,” Thorton said. “They do check and make sure everything is OK, but it’s mainly the charges I have a problem with.”

Sitting beside Thorton was Danielle Hicks, another student patient, who said she wasn’t satisfied with her past visit.

“I came for a nose bleed, and they couldn’t figure out what was causing it,” Hicks said. “I had to go to a hospital and that was another bill.”

Hicks said she wishes the university would set aside funds from students’ tuition to cover the cost of a few visits.

Threatt said one of the biggest complaints received from students is surrounding costs. “The problem we have with costs is that healthcare is expensive,” she said. “We have to be revenue-generated on our own to function.”

Threatt said student services is cheaper compared to emergency room visits.

FEATURE

Page 4 | Thursday, February 13, 2014

TECH

Futuristic love bra: modern chastity belt?

Destiny Reynolds Printz Reporter

If you were to ask a woman what she looks for in a quality bra, she would likely respond something to the effect of, comfort, support, durability and an aesthetic design.

Well, it appears that the Japanese company Ravijour is trying to add the ability to detect true love to that list.

Yes, you read that correctly: Japan has created a bra that can supposedly detect true love.

The True Love Tester, as it has been dubbed, has sensors wired into the cups that act as a pulse monitor and send feedback to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. The company has conducted a scientific study that measures particular heart rates in association with a variety of stress-inducing or exciting situations, such as jogging, eating spicy food, watching horror films and flirting.

They have also supposedly linked a particular heart rate sustained over a period of time to true love, according to Discovery News. When the app receives notice that this heart rate has been achieved, the clasp automatically

Courtesy Photo

unlocks and the cups spring open rather dramatically.

The bra was designed with the intent to protect women from unsavory men pursuing them for lustful purposes, like the animal depicted in

the company’s trailer for the product, leading some less reputable news sources - like Buzzfeed - to claim that this bra is the modern equivalent of a chastity belt. However, original intent aside, one

should take note that the silly. Different people have bra will open as soon as the different base heart rates, so target heart rate is detected, how is the app supposed to regardless of what one is account for these differences? doing or where one is located How is it supposed to know at the time. that that particular spike is For example, a woman love and not another form of could be in the grocery store excitement?” with her significant other It should also be noted that and suddenly experience a nothing in the trailer or in any rush of emotion, other information which leads to concerning the one’s bra flying product mentions The ad how off - quite literally one is really did supposed to get according to the video - in front of make it sound the bra off should everyone.

Upon an instance of hearing about scientific, but true love not this innovative I don’t think arise. From the invention, USM information freshman Brandon that there can provided, it Yrle said, “I’d be a certain would seem that really enjoy sitting heart rate that there is no way to down to a nice free oneself from seafood dinner indicates true the contraption, at my favorite love. unless one were to restaurant and dance a magical watching random jig and somehow women’s bras it Skye Travis maneuver popping open around one’s under their shirts goods and over in moments of true love.” one’s head.

Aside from the obvious Despite all of the skepticism issues, there is a swirling cloud and sarcasm that surrounds of skepticism surrounding the this product, the idea is entire idea. innovative. For the lovelorn “The ad really did make or those stricken with terrible it sound scientific, but I luck in the dating field, this don’t think that there can bra may have some appeal. be a certain heart rate that Whether or not it will sell indicates true love,” said well can only be determined freshman Skye Travis. “That’s with time.

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FEATURE

Thursday, February 13, 2014 | Page 5

LIFE

Couples combat Valentine’s norms Kristy Shelly

will graduate in December 2014, and they plan to continue their Golden Eagle When February rolls pride by attending USM around, couples swarm to Graduate School. restaurants with low lighting The women met in high and exchange gifts ranging school and have been from red roses, cologne inseparable ever since. and Reeses peanut butter “Katie thinks we met at hearts. Many people feel the daycare,” Thompson said. pressure to plan the perfect “We did,” Perry said. “ We day. So shame on you if stayed at the same woman’s your boyfriend or girlfriend house when we were younger. takes you to a standard But, I distinctly remember dinner and movie. Just being at basketball camp in unacceptable, right? sixth grade, and Katelin was According to pyschcentral. a grade under me.” com, people will spend an “To me, we met at Disney average of $139.97 on their World,” Thompson said. significant other, 145 million But Perry believes they Valentine cards will be sold actually started dating in and $4.4 million will be spent Disney World. on diamonds, gold and silver.

The couple said the key to So what happened to the idea making their relationship about just being together like successful is honesty any other day? and communication.

Two couples at The “Communication is the University of Southern biggest thing,” Thompson Mississippi have figured out said. “I can tell her when how to beat the standard she’s being a jerk.” stereotype of Valentine’s Day. “Well, that’s being honest,” Katie Perry and Katelin Perry said. “We’re always Thompson are USM senior honest with each other.” nursing majors from Florence, Thompson said the Miss. and have been together challenges she and her for almost six years. April will girlfriend face are mostly mark the milestone of their outside of the relationship. six-year anniversary.

“We don’t really have Perry and Thompson a lot of problems within currently live together and our relationship. It’s more Printz Reporter

Mollie Robinson (left), Chris Hill (right).

outside of it with my family,” Thompson said.

“I mean, the only thing I can think of inside our relationship is we’re always together,” Perry said. “We share a bedroom, we have all the same classes, all the same clinicals and we work together.”

The couple said they do not have anything planned for Valentine’s Day, but they already know they will be spending time together.

“We don’t really have any plans,” Thompson said. “We never celebrate Valentine’s Day and this was going to be the first one we did.”

Perry said she and Thompson were going to take a trip, but time surpassed and money became tight. “(And) nursing school is kicking our butts right now,” Perry said.

“We had three tests last week and three this week,” Thompson said. “We just can’t seem to catch up.”

But amid all the studying and hectic schedules, Perry believes Thompson is her rock.

“My favorite thing about Katelin is that she’s so levelheaded and determined. She really keeps us both together,” Perry said.

Kate Dearman/Printz

Katie Perry (left), Katelin Thompson (right).

With school, student loans and long night shifts at work, it can be challenging to balance this with a relationship.

Mollie Robinson met her boyfriend, Chris Hill, at Southern Miss. Robinson, a freshman child and family studies major, and Hill, a healthcare marketing major, have been dating for three months and haven’t looked back.

“We met at a party,” the couple said in unison. “(Mollie) made her friend give me her number and tell me ‘hey, she’s over there, but she thinks you’re really cute and you should go talk to her,’ and we’ve been together ever since,” Hill said.

Even though the couple has been dating for a short time, they love spending time together as they still get to know each other.

“We just have an understanding of each other, so we know,” Robinson said.

“We have a good balance, even though we see each other a lot,” Robinson said. “We’re also friends with each others friends, so we don’t really have any problems.”

The couple also agrees that honesty is the best policy in any relationship.

“It really helps to communicate with each other,” Robinson said. “If I

Kate Dearman/Printz

do something wrong, I want to know (what I did wrong).

But, he is my best friend, (so) I can tell him anything.”

“And we hang out all the time (and) we get to see each other a lot, so that makes it easy,” Hill said. “(Mollie) really cares about me and she’s always there for me (when I need her),” Hill said.

Hill said that at the end of the day, Robinson’s comfort is the best feeling.

“I can be myself, I can be goofy, and I know he’s going to be there for me no matter what, through the good and the bad,” Robinson said.

Hill said he has a surprise planned for his girlfriend, but unfortunately, he cannot reveal his secret plans or it would disappoint Robinson.

These two couples have discovered something most haven’t: that values can override any gift exchange or an expensive dinner that could possibly eat one’s entire paycheck.

So if you are stressing about what to do for Valentine’s Day with your hubby, take a step back and think about why you love and appreciate that person. And then go tell them how you feel. Those powerful words are priceless and much better than an obnoxious teddy bear named Buttercup.

OPINION

Page 6 | Thursday, February 13, 2014

LIFE

All the single ladies: Have fun Feb. 14 Mary Sergeant

Printz Reporter & Photographer For many people, Valentine’s Day is spent with a significant other at their favorite spot in town with chocolate and wine by their side. As for me, I haven’t had a significant other since my senior year of high school. This year, as I have been doing for the past several years, I will spend Valentine’s Day with my

closest girl friends drinking at a local bar, loudly voicing my opinion that Valentine’s Day is vastly overrated.

Valentine’s Day can bring any single lady down. What with the hearts, flowers and romantically lit restaurants, both perpetually single and newly single women tend to feel a bit under the weather on this grandest of holidays. This year, I want every single lady out there to remember that though this lifestyle has its cons, it definitely has more pros.

Pro: Christmas gifts, anniversary gifts, Valentine’s Day gifts… they are all so expensive.

Con: I wanted a Michael Kors watch for Christmas too, OK? Con: There is nobody to buy me flowers.

Pro: I can buy the kind of flowers I want. And, besides, flowers die anyway.

Pro: Drinking cheap beer while watching copious amounts of Epic Rap Battles of History and other YouTube videos with my guy friends is by far one of my favorite pastimes.

Being single gives me more time for bro time.

Con: I just referred to myself as a “bro.”

Pro: I don’t have to pretend to like my boyfriend’s taste in music.

Also, at music festivals, I can bounce from one sexy festhead to the next.

Con: Concert tickets are expensive.

Pro: Going out is more fun when multiple guys are competing for your attention with multiple rounds of shots and exaggerated invitations to dance.

Con: Newly shaven legs, lipstick and my A-game are three things I cannot head to the bar without.

Source: www.statisticbrain.com

Infographic by Parker Brewer

Pro: I have more time to dedicate to myself. I live on my time and my time only. I have dreams that I can make happen and there is no man that can hold me back.

Con: There is no con to that.

Pro: Nick Missel is still single. ;) Con: With that shuttle service and all, he is a pretty busy guy.

Pro: Just because there is a goalie doesn’t mean you can’t score.

Con: If you live by that statement, you might as well get the word “home-wrecker” tattooed on your forehead.

Pro: You can be a really messy eater and not even feel guilty about it.

Con: You are awful at first dates.

Pro: You never have to make your bed. You never have to clean your room.

Con: The closest to spooning I have gotten in the past few years is with my pillow or with a carton of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Pro: You can watch as many hours of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Gossip Girl” as you want.

Con: Derek and Meredith. Chuck and Blair.

And last but definitely not least….

Pro: You never know who you are going home with.

Con: You never know who you are going home with.

While taking some time to gather my thoughts, I took a “Why are you single?” quiz on Buzzfeed.com. According to my results, I am just too bad; but like Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games” bad. I am too bad to be tied down to a man.

Sure, some of my nights are filled with uncontrollable sobbing as I rewatch the scene of Chuck confessing his love for Blair or the scene when Derek asks Meredith to marry him. But, then again, many of my nights are filled with uncontrollable laughter as I awkwardly dance with strangers and scrounge for $2.81 to pay for my Taco Bell at the end of the night. In case you were wondering, $2.81 will get you a Beefy 5-Layer burrito, cheesy nachos and a small water cup.

With all of this being said, if you are single this Valentine’s Day, live it up. Grab some gals and take on this day with your head held high and your standards down low. There is only one day out of the year you can celebrate being in a relationship but there are 364 more days you can celebrate you.

Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publications manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

SPORTS

Thursday, February 13, 2014 | Page 7

BASEBALL

BASKETBALL Lady Eagles beat Herd

USM baseball poised for big season Joshua Campbell Sports Editor

The Southern Miss Golden Eagle baseball team will start its season this weekend against Stony Brook at Pete Taylor Park in a three-game series.

Southern Miss is coming off a disappointing season in which they were ousted in the Conference USA Championship game against Rice. In the 11th inning of the title game, Rice left fielder Keenan Cook stroked an RBI single to give Rice an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship while ending USM’s season.

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USA second-team. The former freshman All-American and New York Mets’ draft pick will look to continue to be a consistent force for the Golden Eagle lineup.

One of the junior college transfers to look out for is Matt Durst, who is an Evan Gattis look alike according to Robbins. Durst hit six homeruns last season for Northeast Texas Community College and USM is counting on his presence in the lineup.

“He’s really swung the bat well and brings us that leadership behind the plate that you have to have,” said Southern Miss head coach Scott Berry.

Southern Miss is hoping

Our goal is the regionals,

but if we make it to the regional, we can go farther. I feel like as a team, the sky is

“

the limit basically.

Jay Myrick USM is going to look like a much different team when they take the field on Valentine’s Day as many contributors from a year ago were lost to graduation. Usually in a case like this, a youth movement will take place, but Southern Miss took a different route this offseason, signing several junior college transfers to fill in.

“We have a lot of new guys, (but) it’s a lot of old guys because we had a lot of JUCO transfers,” said junior outfielder Mason Robbins.

“We’re a much older team. We have a lot more experience.”

Robbins led the team with 40 RBI’s last season and was selected to the Conference

that their experience will carry them to their main goal, which is the NCAA Regionals. Before they can do that, they’re going to have beat Rice, who kept them from reaching their goal a season ago.

“I’ve been here for five years and we’ve only taken one (of three games) from them every year,” said senior pitcher Jay Myrick.

“I’m looking forward to this year, playing against Rice and trying to take two of three from them.”

After defeating Southern Miss, Rice made it all the way to the Super Regionals before being ousted by North

Carolina State. Rice is not the only tough opponent USM will face this season though.

Their schedule also has two ranked SEC powerhouses on it with LSU and Florida.

Both games will be played at neutral sites. USM will play LSU at Zephyr Field in New Orleans and will play Florida at Bayfront Stadium in Pensacola, Fla. While the schedule may be tough, USM has revamped itself with added talent and experience and is poised to have a successful season.

“Our goal is the regionals, but if we make it to the regional, we can go farther,” Myrick said. “I feel like as a team, the sky is the limit basically.”

If the team is going to make a deep run in the postseason, it will need junior centerfielder Connor Barron to stay healthy. Barron is one of the most talented players in the country, as evidenced by being selected in the third round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins, but has struggled to stay on the field.

“This is the healthiest he’s ever been since he’s been here and it shows in the way he played this fall,” Berry said. “I’m very excited about seeing him in centerfield.”

Things are certainly shaping up for the Golden Eagles to be a top team in Conference USA this season, but they will need a little help. According to the players, one of the things they want this season is to see more students in the stands of Pete Taylor Park.

“It’s a fun experience and we have a really good team this year. They should come out and watch us,” Robbins said. “If you have a packed house, that’s a fun baseball game. If there isn’t anybody here, that’s no fun to play in front of.”

The first pitch of the season will be thrown Friday at 4 p.m.

Right hander Cameron Giannini will take the mound for Southern Miss in Friday’s matchup.

Hunt Mercier/Printz

Conference USA women’s basketball Freshman of the Week Kierra Jordan drives for a layup against the Marshall Thundering Herd Wednesday night in Reed-Green Coliseum. Jordan had 16 points for the Lady Eagles off the bench en route to a 80-73 defeat of Marshall. USM made a huge comeback by outscoring Marshall 26-12 to erase a seven-point deficit with just over five minutes to play. Senior point guard Jamierra Faulkner led the way for USM with 25 points, three assists and six steals. Faulkner’s six steals propelled her into second place all-time in C-USA history. USM sported their pink uniforms in spirit of breast cancer awareness night.

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