2011_03_21

The

S TUDENT P RINTZ www.studentprintz.com

SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Volume 95 Issue 45

Mugshots burns

LOCAL

Owner, students react to fire Samantha Schott Executive Editor After watching his business burn to the ground early Monday morning, Mugshots owner Ron Savell said he isn’t sure what to do.

“Seven years of hard work,” he said. “Just sitting there watching it in the rubble was heartbreaking.”

The USM alumnus said he got a call from one of his managers around 3:50 Monday morning. Savell then made his way to the scene.

The Hattiesburg Fire Department entered the building but couldn’t find the fire, Savell said.

“It’s looking like it started somewhere in the roof.”

The Fire Department quickly left the building to fight it from the outside, and the roof caved in soon after. When asked whether anything was left standing, Savell said, “Just the four walls – that’s it. Otherwise, it’s just a total loss. You couldn’t see where anything had been – the dance floor, the tables, the bar … couldn’t see anything.”

Savell said the Hattiesburg location was the first of seven others, which now cover Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. This made the loss even harder, Savell said.

“That was our first location. It made us who we are today.”

Savell isn’t the only one hurting.

Many USM students are lamenting the loss of the bar.

Junior Mary Lois Hanna watched the fire from her car

LIBYA

this morning. Hanna, who lives in an apartment complex near the bar, said she woke up at 4:45 Monday morning to a phone call from her mother.

“All she said was, ‘Wake up and go outside and see if you can see the smoke. Mugshots is burning down.’”

Hanna then woke up her roommate, and the two drove down to Mugshots and watched in disbelief.

“We just realized it was gone, and it was so sad.”

The two then texted their friends and received disbelieving responses later in the morning.

“No one could believe it at first,” Hanna said. “We had to show them pictures of the flames, of the smoke. … They were completely in shock.

It’s like a piece of us is missing.”

Senior history major Chaise Switzer said the bar was certainly popular among USM students.

“Mugshots may have not been the most glamorous bar by any means, but there was something about it to keep the large crowds coming,” he said.

Switzer added that he’ll miss the bar’s hamburgers, calling them the best in the state.

Savell said the Mugshots name was about to move to a new location. The plan was for the new business to be more like a restaurant. The bar, however, would remain on Fourth Street.

Savell suggested that now plans

See MUGSHOTS, 3

COUCH SURFING

Christopher Bostick/Printz

Mugshots owner Ron Savell serveys the damage from the fire that burned down his buisness early Monday morning. Savell said the Hattiesburg Fire Departmet did a great job responding to the fire.

WEATHER

TENNIS

Tuesday

83/60 Wednesday

85/58 Thursday

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82/55

INDEX Calendar ........................ 2 Sudoku ........................... 2 News ...............................3 Arts & Entertainment .....4 Feature ............................5 Opinion ............................6 Sports .............................7

Calendar

Page 2

The

Student Printz Serving Southern Miss since 1927 Executive Editor Samantha Schott

Mark Your Planner 22 23 24 25 26 All day Mid-term grade entry

All day Mid-term grade entry

Managing Editor Meryl Dakin

Exhibit: Baghdad Beyond the Wire Gallery at Cook Library

Exhibit: Baghdad Beyond the Wire Gallery at Cook Library

Art Director Eli Baylis

6:30 p.m.

6th Annual Richard McCarthy Lecture Series LAB 203

3:30 p.m.

Gender and Interpretation of Casual Hookups and Formal Dates LAB 102

samantha.schott@eagles.usm.edu

meryl.dakin@eagles.usm.edu

ross.baylis@eagles.usm.edu

Chief Designer Christopher Bostick

christopher.bostick@eagles.usm.edu

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

8 p.m.

Wesley Foundation Worship Wesley Foundation

Web Editor Ashton Pittman

ashton.pittman@eagles.usm.edu

All day Exhibit: Baghdad Beyond the Wire Gallery at Cook Library

All day Exhibit: Baghdad Beyond the Wire Gallery at Cook Library

All day Exhibit: Baghdad Beyond the Wire Gallery at Cook Library

Last day for refund for dropping 8W2 classes

7:30 p.m.

A Streetcar Named Desire Martha R. Tatum Theatre

7:30 p.m.

A Streetcar Named Desire Martha R. Tatum Theatre

11:45 a.m.

Wesley Foundation Lunch Wesley Foundation

8 p.m.

VivaHaha4 Comedy Weekend (Part II) Caliente Grille

5 p.m.

IMPACT Southern Miss Forum-Economic Development Trent Lott Center 7:30 p.m.

A Streetcar Named Desire Martha R. Tatum Theatre

Sports Editor Travis Thornell travis.thornell@eagles.usm.edu Webmaster Chris Greene

chris.greene@eagles.usm.edu

News Content Adviser Chuck Cook 601.266.4288

Dirty Birds

chuck.cook@usm.edu

Writers Jonathan Andrews Tierra Clemmons Courtney Carter Deonica Davis Mary Margaret Halford Michelle Holowach Earvin Hopkins Marie John Hannah Jones Stormy Speaks

Level: 1

2

3

03-15-11 Malicious Mischief Jones Hall - Byron Miller, W/M, 19 yoa, Biloxi address, was arrested and charged with Petit Larceny and Malicious Mischief.

03-15-11 Petit Larceny Cook Library - A student reported the theft of a HARO BMX bike, silver in color.

03-16-11 Fire Alarm Fraternity Dr - Smoke from burning popcorn in the microwave activated the alarm. The building was cleared of the smoke.

03-16-11 Suspicious Person Hub Commons - Incident report filed.

03-17-11 Found Property Wal Mart 49 S - HPD notified UPD of the recovery of a USM Eco-bike found at Walmart. Two juveniles were detained by HPD. 03-17-11 Petit Larceny Hickman Hall - A resident reported the thef of a wallet from her room.

03-18-11 Grand Larceny Cook Library - A student reported the theft of Toshiba laptop and case, a cellphone charger and IPod charger.

03-18-11 Vandalism 4th St Lot - A student reported her vehicle’s door was scratched.

4

Photographers Jordan Moore Jay Van Orsdol Mary Alice Truitt Brittany Carroll Designers Lisa Gurley Taylor Fesenmeier Ila Higginbotham

www.studentprintz.com

The Student Printz is published every Tuesday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. Signature Offset of Hattiesburg provides printing services.

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.

Advertising Manager Lesley Sanders-Wood 601.266.5188 printzad@usm.edu Sales Representative Angel Wells angelique.wells@eagles.usm.edu

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

4/3/11

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit

www.sudoku.org.uk © 2011 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

SO

UT

H

MIS ERN

S R E C R E AT I O N A

L SPO

SOUTHERN MISS

RT S

OUTDOOR

Upcoming Events BIKE MAINTENANCE CLINIC PRESENTED BY MOORE’S BIKE SHOP AT THE OUTDOOR CENTER WED., MARCH 23, 6 P.M. CHEAHA BACKPACKING TRIP REGISTER AT THE OUTDOOR CENTER SAT., MARCH 26, AND SUN., MARCH 27

PROGRAM

For more information, contact Jessi Hobart 601.266.5405 jessica.hobart@usm.edu www.usm.edu/recsports/outdoor

GOURMET BACKCOUNTRY COOKING CLINIC AT THE OUTDOOR CENTER WED., MARCH 30, 6 P.M. AA/EOE/ADAI

Feature

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

international

Page 3

The USA and Libya: what’s going on?

Ashton Pittman Web Editor American forces embarked on “Operation Odyssey Dawn” Saturday as the U.S. joined France and Britain in launching air strikes against the Libyan government. The attack, which marked America’s third foray into war with an Arab nation in less than a decade, came exactly eight years to the day that President Bush authorized military action in Iraq.

Four weeks earlier, Libyan citizens began protesting, calling for the ousting of their president, Col. Moammar Gadhafi. In response to the protests, Gadhafi’s forces instituted a media blackout and began attacking and killing civilian dissenters.

With the support of the United Nations, an international coalition agreed to implement a “nofly zone” over Libya.

“Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Gadhafi would commit atrocities against his people,” President Obama said. “The United States of America will not stand idly by.”

Obama stressed, however, that the action in Libya would be

a limited engagement with no ground troops.

But for many Americans who may feel blindsided by the suddenness of the conflict, questions abound. “What’s going on, exactly?”

The Rebel Uprising For over four decades, Gadhafi has reigned as the leader of Libya, a nation that boasts plentiful oil reserves. Yet relative to other oil-rich Arab states, the Libyan people fare poorly. Corruption runs through the veins of its government as unemployment levels stand at 30 percent and children starve from malnutrition.

Despite the woes of the people, dissent has been heavily discouraged in Libya—and sometimes brutally suppressed. Some Libyans, fearing that using his name in public might raise suspicions of insurrection, referred to Gadhafi simply as “the leader.”

But things changed drastically as democratic revolutions began to brew throughout North Africa and the Middle East. In February, on the heels of the Egyptian people’s successful overthrow of the Mubarak regime, Libyan dissidents found themselves embold-

(Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Several supporters cheered and chanted pro-Gadhafi slogans during a fireworks show and at the end were given armloads of free food supplies at a stadium a few kilometers from the city center of Zawiya, Libya.

ened. They set out to protest the Gadhafi government in a planned “Day of Rage.”

Key to the initial protests were the families of some 1,200 prisoners killed by Libyan forces in a 1996 prison massacre. The families became enraged after the lawyer who had represented them was arrested on February 15.

however, and over the course of the ensuing weeks, they spread across the country as government officials continued to clash with the pro-democracy rebels.

Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam el-Gadhafi, warned that the protests could lead to a civil war that

Continues on studentprintz.com

News in Brief

MUGSHOTS, from 1 may change.

“You never expect anything like this to happen,” he said. “We don’t know where to go, what to do.”

Hanna and her friends, however, are trying to look forward.

“We know somehow it’ll be rebuilt and be replaced, I guess – not quite sure yet but we’re hoping we can rebuild it. At first we were kind of down, can’t believe that happened, world is coming to an end kind of thing. But as hours passed, we realized there was no point being that emotional about

After the protests began, Libyan novelist Idris Al-Mesmari told Arab news network Al Jazeera that police dressed in civilian clothing had begun attacking protesters. The connection was lost, however, and hours later, Al Jazeera reported that the writer had been arrested.

The protests were not stifled,

something we can’t help, we can’t solve this second.”

Hanna added that her friends were considering setting aside the money they would have spent at Mugshots and putting it toward rebuilding. Hanna called it “Operation: Rebuild Mugshots.”

For now, Savell and others are still digesting what happened.

“A lot of people are out of work,” he said. “A lot of them have worked here, grown up here – it’s a hard pill for us to swallow.”

USM to host public forum on corporal pushinment The Public Forum on Ending School Corporal Punishment will take place Wednesday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center Ballroom 1.

Timothy Seibel, a USM student and future teacher, helped organize the event in response to Mississippi using corporal punishment as an acceptable form of discipline, though it is classified as assault in 30 states.

A question and answer session will take place with the panel of speakers, which includes USM professors and the founder of The Hitting Stops Here. All are invited to attend.

For more information, contact Seibel at timothysbl@gmail.com.

at Remington’s Hunt Club, is suing the business and owner for $87 million in damages. His suit alleges negligence and failure to provide a safe environment on the part of the club.

Football player injured in shooting sues Hunt Club

The College of Science and Technology invite students to a lunch meeting with the deans of the college today from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in front of the Johnson Science Tower.

Martez Smith, a USM football player who was paralyzed from the waist down in the Nov. 14 shooting

COST to host “Meet the Deans”

Arts & Entertainment

Page 4

Fashion

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

STEP into SPRING with this season’s top trends

With temperatures heating up, wardrobes will soon follow suit. The fashion world unleashed an array of trends that blend fun, feminine styles with a funky retro nod for this season. Runways were lined with wide leg pants, fuller skirts, and sheer layers, creating a schmorgasboard of trendy options for every fashionista. So step into spring with this season’s top trends and add a little sizzle to your wardrobe.

Hannah Jones Printz Writer

Trend # 3 Be a L ad y

Trend #1 Flashback to the 70’s

The lady-like revival has returned for the spring thanks to the mass success of Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2010 prim and proper ode to la femme. Taking a nod from an era gone by, full skirts, fitted bodices, fresh florals and lace accents added a much needed air of femininity and romance to women’s fashion.

A vital aspect to consider with this trend is fit. Women who carry more weight on top should proceed fitted bodices with caution to avoid creating an unflattering silhouette while the petite ladies should skip extra long hemlines to avoid unwanted bulk. The “ladies-who-lunch” look offers a modern sophistication to this season’s style.

Brushed gold hardware, wideleg pants, vibrant graphic prints and high-waisted denim defined ‘70s fashion. Halston (as in, Roy Halston Frowick, clothing designer of the ‘70s) revived its decade heyday this season reinventing retro favorites. Halston’s house designer Marios Schwab meticulously chose the line’s distinct sunny colors and sexy silhouettes describing his inspiration as “bare summer skin, tinted lightly by sun, showing silkily through cutaway backs and fronts.” Think Bianca Jagger, not Carol Brady.

The key to looking retro chic instead of like a ragged out Woodstock attendee is mixing the old with the new. Trends should always be mixed with classic pieces that never go out of style. For inspiration, look to designer Diane von Furstenberg, who seamlessly blends the two with sultry twist.

Studio 54 – eat your heart out.

Trend #4 St e p up the P r e p This season classic prep gets a twist with candy-colored trends.

Take a page from Lisa Birnbach’s “True Prep: It’s a Whole New World” and incorporate countryclub fashion into the mundane with lightweight linens, nautical accents and a rainbow of pastels.

Kate Spade has mastered the modern preppy palette in her spring collection, showcasing sweet seersucker striped sundresses pin tucked at the waist and embellished with a non-fussy bow, the perfect accent for a sunny afternoon. Dusty pink acts as the key color for this season’s preppy trend. Blushed hues are popping up all over the fashion world from airy sheer tops to paper thin crepe jackets to more unconventional pastel palettes such as Rebecca Taylor’s pink and robin’s egg blue leather skirts charmingly modified for spring.

Trend #2

Stand out in bold c o l o r s Lemon yellow, electric blue, fire-engine red and citrus orange made countless appearances on spring 2011 runways. Designer Marc Jacobs embraced the bold, highlighting his runway with designs that Harper’s Bazaar described as “cheerful, swingy silhouettes and the usual cadre of covetable accessories.” Infamous minimalist Calvin Klein also debuted frocks dyed solely in primary colors. However, colorblocking may be too haute couture for everyday wear. To keep the trend less severe, embrace one bold color for a single accessory or item of clothing to avoid a look à la Crayola.

All photos courtesy of MCT Campus

Feature

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Page 5

national

CouchSurfing takes trio across country Marie John Printz Writer Arranging and paying for hoteltype lodging during a vacation is typically a must – but not for three Southern Miss students who utilized CouchSurfing.org for their spring break trip to Pennsylvania after having numerous other travel plans fall through.

The international non-profit organization specializes in alternative forms of housing using a system of hospitality and offers cross-cultural encounters in over 230 countries.

“Surfers” crash in the home of a local to forgo the cost of accommodations and participate in the culture of the area in which they stay. Prior to departure, CouchSurfers undergo a background check and fill out an information sheet for potential hosts so as to keep the network of travelers safe and secure.

“In some cities there are literally hundreds of people with couches available,” said West McKellar, a senior religion major from Hattiesburg “The system itself is great, and the rating system guarantees that you won’t stay with some creep or sickle-wielding murderer.”

When asked to describe the results of their experience, senior business administration major Trevor Clark responded, “Chinatown, Quakers, Amish, Neo-Pagans, French chefs, Mormons and hipsters. One giant cultural smorgasbord.”

Senior international business major and Pearl River, La. native Patrick Laughlin describes the process of becoming a CouchSurfer as

such: “It’s like hitchhiking, but with a couch. You basically make an account online, and then send out message en masse to people who offer their couch up to travelers. Tell them how large your party is and when you’ll be getting there, and you’re all set,” Laughlin said.

Comparing the easy use of CouchSurfing.org to creating a Facebook profile, McKellar commented that the search system for available housing is similar to a drop-down menu and is very userfriendly.

“We just wanted to do something different – that’s where CouchSurfing came in,” McKellar said.

Having spent the week crashing on various couches in cities like Knoxville, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C., the trio trekked over 2,500 miles and culminated the experience by immersing themselves in Amish culture.

“I’ve been to the beach and I’ve been to the mountains but I’d never spent 2 hours in an antique shop in Lancaster Pa., the heart of Amish country,” Clark said. “I’ve met surfers and bartenders but I’d never spent the night with Neo-Pagans in Asheville N.C. or been in a Mormon Temple In Washington D.C.” McKellar said, “It’s rare to meet people in the same way as traveling as you can on CouchSurfing. Even if the people are different from you, they have all been exceedingly nice and welcoming in my experience.

Allowing you to stay at their place is amazing, and I think that shows that people across the world just want to help others like them that enjoy traveling and meeting people too.”

Courtesy of Arthur Lopez/MCT Campus

While CouchSurfing – bumming a couch from a random stranger while traveling – would seem to run counter to every warning your parents and/or the State Department has ever issued about journeying into foreign lands, the experiences reported by its users are almost all positive.

Opinion

Page 6

LOCAL

Student Shout-outs

To see your anonymous comment in The Student Printz, submit it under the ‘Contact’ tab on studentprintz.com.

Mugshots, you will be missed Mary Margaret Halford Printz Writer

“

Hey Fresh Food Co. Monday morning, Facebook was What happened to the filled with statuses such as “I think toaster???

I’m going to frame my wristband Mugshots, my life won’t be the same without you.

To the genius who thinks that the “magic crosswalks” will shelter you from my 7000 pound truck when I’m driving twenty miles an hour across campus: Tag, you’re it.

I am really regretting not going to Mugshots all those times I was looking for a place to eat and saying I’d go later. “Carpe burg-em.”

Seize the burgers.

I like all the new sidewalks around campus. While I’m thankful, I wish the city of Hattiesburg would take the same initiative and build more sidewalks to the apartments and neighborhoods surrounding Southern.

Our new VP is sexy with a capital s! But I can’t find him ANYWHERE on FB. Get me the hook up Student Printz cause I know yall got connections!!! *sigh* Benjamin Langston (OF SMAASH) you rock my world!!!!!

MARRY ME!!

Happy Birthday Jessica Rowe! Love, your roomie :)

”

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

collection from Mugs,” or “RIP Mugshots, only the good die young.”

My own status read “Sad day.” Even “RIPmugs” was trending on Twitter.

The fire that devastated Mugshots Grill and Bar also left a gaping hole in the social scene in Hattiesburg, mostly to the Greeks of Southern Miss who posted many of these social network updates.

“It was the most popular bar, and Greeks are the single biggest organization on campus so we like to hang out with each other,” said Keenan

Dollar, a junior public relations major and member of USM Greek Life.

“A lot of Greeks thought of it as ‘their bar’ and that they lost of piece of their environment.”

Dollar also pointed out that Mugshots was a place that helped unify the Greeks.

“Our Greek community isn’t super huge and a lot of us know each other,” Dollar said. “More times than not, most of the Greeks got along while hanging out at Mugs.”

Dollar is not alone in his feelings.

Kaitlyn Mount, a junior social work major who is also a member of the USM Greek community, was distraught over the fire at Mugshots.

“Some of my best college memories that I’ll always have happened at Mugshots,” Mount said.

“I could go there when my life got too hectic and have a heart to heart on the side porch with a good friend and a good drink.”

Mount, along with many other Greeks, agrees that no matter

what night of the week, you were just about guaranteed to see a friend at Mugshots.

“Whenever I needed an escape, there was always someone I could count on to be at Mugshots,” Mount said.

Marty Cooke, a Greek junior psychology major, often spent time at Mugshots with his friends.

“It was the one place I could go and know that I was going to see everyone I knew,” Cooke said. “It was always a great time and great atmosphere, like we had our own little Mugshots family.”

Cooke also agreed that the Greek community often made up the majority of people at Mugshots.

“I believe it unified Greeks as a whole,” Cooke said. “I made many close friends in different fraternities that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be friends with if it wasn’t for Mugshots.”

Though Mugshots was primarily populated with Greeks, non-Greeks

frequented the bar as well.

Olivia Hogan, a sophomore from Vicksburg, Miss., agrees that many of Mugshots’ customers were Greek.

Despite her not being in a sorority, however, she still went to the bar and had a great time.

“When you’re in that setting it’s more about what you have in common than what sets you apart from one another,” Hogan said. “Mugs was about having a good time, no matter your letters or lack of them.”

So true, Olivia. Let’s all take a moment to remember our own good times at Mugshots – whether you cried on the front porch, or fell down in the parking lot, we can all agree that Hattiesburg has lost a fine establishment that will be sorely missed.

This was an article of opinion by Mary Margaret Halford, a writer for The Student Printz. Email questions or comments to mary. halford@eagles.usm.edu.

NATIONAL

Idol: full of talent, drama, tears Sarah Rogers Printz Writer Idol fans have seen some of the most talented contestants take the stage this season – and some of the weirdest. Now that the 10th season has made it through auditions and on to the finals, let’s take a look at how far these hopefuls

have come since day one.

This year American Idol held auditions in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Louisiana, New Jersey, Texas and California. Every place the show went, the judges found some big talent … and a few folks to laugh at.

One of my favorite auditions from the season was 15-year-old Lauren Elaina, who auditioned in Nashville.

She sang “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith, which made her shine in Judge Steven Tyler’s eyes.

She is still one of my favorites in the Top 12, and now at 16 years old, she has one of the strongest voices in the competition. I predict Lauren will go far in the music industry regardless of whether she wins or loses.

This year’s Idol contestants also have an unusually large handful of depressing (and creative) stories.

Made-up or not, one of the most touching auditions this season was Chris Medina’s. When he talked about his fiancée being left paralyzed after a car accident, he touched the hearts of viewers everywhere.

Medina talked about how he could not leave her when she needed him the most and prayed for her everyday, hoping for a recovery.

Unfortunately, Medina got kicked off in the final round before the Top 24. Neither J. Lo. nor I handled this news well. Lopez had a breakdown and said she wanted to leave the show. Of course, who knows how much of her “breakdown” was real and how much was for television.

Now let’s visit Hollywood Week. It started out how it always does – peo-

ple sing, people get cut, people cry, etc. Group Day was pretty much the same as previous years except with a bit more drama, if that’s possible.

Tiffany Rios (the obnoxious Snooki wannabee) had problems finding a group to perform with. Actually, she could only find one contestant out of the couple hundred to perform with her. Neither of them made it past the group round, and they both were eliminated.

This was not the worst of the Group Day drama. Jacee Badeaux, 15, thought his group was going well, until they suddenly decided to kick him out at one in the morning. I could not believe adults would be so heartless to such a young teenager, especially one with that much talent.

Badeaux had to find a new group and learn a song that he had never heard, but he kept his head held high, showing more maturity than his former group members. Both Jacee’s new group and his ex-group made it though the group round, but first the judges had a talking-to with the group that ditched him.

They decided to add an extra day to Hollywood Week this year, taking all the contestants to Las Vegas, where they learned and performed a Beatles’ song. While in Vegas, Ashley Sullivan decided to make the most of her trip by getting married to her boyfriend. She spent time shopping for a dress and doing other things instead of rehearsing.

Good news is she is now married.

Bad news is she sucked when she performed her Beatles’ song and

was kicked off because of it.

Once American Idol was in the Top 24, they decided to throw in another twist – they narrowed the contestants down from 24 to 12 in one episode. I liked it much better in the past where they voted off two boys and two girls a week until they reached the Top 12. I still do not really understand why they did this, but they did. So, America voted for the Top 10. Then, the judges picked three wild card girls and three wild card boys to perform. From those performances, they picked their favorite ones. They ended up making a Top 13 with their choices being Stefano Langone, Naima Adedapo and Ashton Jones. The two girls were not who I personally would have picked since I think much better entertainers went home.

Ashton Jones didn’t stay for long since she was the first of the 13 to be eliminated, followed by Karen Rodriguez. Now there are only 11 contestants left on the show.

From a deep country voice to a high-pitched rock voice to some of the youngest contestants ever on the show, this season has a bit of everything. It should be interesting to see who makes it all the way and becomes the next American Idol. So keep voting – if anyone actually votes anymore – and make sure your favorite wins.

This was an article of opinion by Sarah Rogers, a writer for The Student Printz. Email questions or comments to sarah.rogers@eagles. usm.edu.

Sports

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Page 7

BASEBALL

Golden Eagles sweep up the competition Tyler Cleveland Printz Writer

Jordan Moore/Printz

Senior right hand pitcher Seth Hester launches a pitch from the mound at the baseball game against Alcorn State on February 23.

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The Southern Miss baseball team is ranked for the first time this season after sweeping a three game series to win the College of Charleston Invitational Tournament at Charleston, S.C. over the weekend.

The Golden Eagles (15-3) are off to their best start through 18 games since 2004, and are ranked 25th in the country by Collegiate Baseball and 27th in the USA Today coaches poll.

“I think the one thing the team really showed me is that they understand that we are never out of game,” Head Coach Scott Berry said. “I felt like no matter what the situation was, whether we were ahead or behind, our guys were playing to put ourselves in a position to make our own breaks, and that’s what you want as a coach.”

The Eagles defeated then-No. 24 College of Charleston 7-2 behind a solid start from staff ace Todd McInnis on Friday, outlasted Rhode Island 5-4 in 15 innings Saturday and overcame an early 3-0 deficit to beat then-No. 24 Connecticut 6-3 on Sunday to take the tournament title.

Southern Miss hitters stayed hot at the plate, driving in 18 runs on 32 hits in the three weekend games, and starting pitchers Todd McInnis, Josh Thomason and Geoffrey Thomas yielded just

seven runs in a combined 21 innings of work.

“We are playing hard right now,” Berry said. “Our hitters are handling the bat better than they were at the beginning of the year, and our starting pitching is doing its job eating up innings and working into the seventh and eighth inning of games so we can turn it over the bullpen, which has been consistent as well.”

Everything may be clicking for the Eagles, but this week brings new challenges, including the start of Conference USA play.

The Golden Eagles are 9-1 at Pete Taylor Park, and they’ll play four straight in front of friendly crowds after a trip to Monroe, La. for a Tuesday matchup with Louisana-Monroe. They’ll face South Alabama Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a make-up game originally scheduled for March 8, and finish the week with the biggest challenge to date – a three-game weekend series with rival Tulane that marks the opening of the conference slate.

The Green Wave are 16-4 headed into a Tuesday matchup with Nicholls State.

“This week we have a great slate of games that should challenge us,” Berry said. “Tulane is always a good series, and South Alabama is always a strong program.”

Boomer Scarborough is penciled in as the starting pitcher for Tuesday night, and Berry said he hadn’t chosen a starter for Wednesday’s game.

1/7/11 2:01 PM

Sports

Page 8

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

TENNIS

Eagles break winning streak Travis Thornell Sports Editor

On Sunday, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles tennis team lost their match, 4-3, against the Rattlers of Florida A&M. The loss for the Golden Eagles (3-13) snapped their two match winning streak.

The Rattles were able to take the doubles point and placed the Golden Eagles behind the eight ball headed into singles competition.

The number 2 doubles group of Paulo Alvarado and Jovan Zeljkovic defeated the FAMU double team of Chidid Gabriel and Takura Happy 8-6 to give the Eagles their only win in doubles.

“We started off playing okay.

(Zeljkovic) was getting excited and we started winning. He pumped me up. I started to play like him and we fed off of each other on the court,” said Alvarado.

On the singles side, the Golden Eagles held their own but could not overcome the early deficits. Alvarado won the singles four spot, while Jan Burmeister took down Ivan Umnikov 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 for singles number two. FAMU was able to clinch the match with wins in the 3rd, 5th and 6th singles. Tamuera Asafu-Adjaye defeated Southern Miss’s Stewart Gammill 6-0 and 6-0 and Fabrice Myrtil put away USM’s Michael Sims 6-0 and 6-0. The dagger to the victory of Southern Miss was in number three singles when FAMU’s Gabriel came back from a first set loss to defeat Zeljkovic 3-6, 6-1 and 6-1.

The match of the day took place in No. 1 singles between USM’s Julien Roussel and Takura Happy. In a tightly contested matchup, it seemed that whoever could keep their emotions in check would take victory.

The match featured several disagreements on out calls and time outs that reached the stands when words were exchanged between fans. Ultimately, Roussel kept his cool and took the win 6-3 and 6-3.

“It was a good win today. We had a good contest and he was a good player. I am finally getting my game back. The ball bounced my way a few times and I guess

Zachary Odom/Printz

Southern Miss’s Julien Roussel returns a serve Sunday. The Eagles lost 4-3 against Florida A&M.

somebody up there wanted me to win today,” Roussel said.

The Eagles expected to have some growing pains throughout the year, but with the recent success they were pleased with where they are at. The team was able to defeat Prairie View A&M and Lamar over spring break “We are playing better. Obviously, we have to keep building on every match. This will give us a lot of experience and the freshmen are getting constant experience.

Baseball vs. South Alabama Day: Wednesday Location: Pete Taylor Park Time: 6:00 p.m.

Overall record: 10-8

South Alabama’s Last Five Games: USA’s Last Five Games: 3/13 vs. Columbia L, 2-5 3/14 vs. Columbia L, 17-5 3/18 @ Troy L,7-1 3/19 @ Troy W, 10-4 3/20 @ Troy L,6-1

Momentum is an important thing.

We came off of that winning streak that was good for us and we played a good Florida A&M team today.

We barely lost, but we will look at it and see some of the good performances. We can only hope to get better,” said Coach Ki Kroll.

The Golden Eagles will travel to play Memphis next Saturday and then will be back in Hattiesburg to host the C-USA shootout on April 1-3 against UAB, ECU and Tulane.

Southern Miss Box Score

Baseball: 3/18 @ College of Charleston W, 7-2 3/19 vs. Rhode Island W, 4-3 3/20 vs. Connecticut W, 6-3 M. Tennis: 3/20 vs. FAMU L, 4-3 Softball: 3/19 @ UAB L, 3-1 3/19 @ UAB L, 6-1 3/20 @ UAB L, 6-2

Singles 1. Julien Roussel (USMM) def. Takura Happy (FAMU) 6-3, 6-3 2. Jan Burmeister (USMM) def. Ivan Umnikov (FAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 3. Chidi Gabriel (FAMU) def. Jovan Zeljkovic (USMM) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 4. Paulo Alvarado (USMM) def. Michael Moore (FAMU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 5. Temuera Asafu-Adjaye (FAMU) def. Stewart Gammill (USMM) 6-0, 6-0 6. Fabrice Mytril (FAMU) def. Michael Sims (USMM) 6-0, 6-0 Doubles 1. Temuera Asafu-Adjaye/Maurice Wamokowa (FAMU) def. Jan Burmeister/Julien Roussel (USMM) 8-6 2. Paulo Alvarado/Jovan Zeljkovic (USMM) def. Takura Happy/Chidi Gabriel (FAMU) 8-6 3. Michael Moore/Ivan Umnikov (FAMU) def. Stewart Gammill/Michael Sims (USMM) 8-1

Southern Miss Sports: Upcoming Games Tuesday, March 22 at 6:00 Baseball @ Louisiana-Monroe Monroe, L.A.

Wednesday, March 23 at 6:00 P.M. Baseball vs. South Albama Hattiesburg, Miss.

Wednesday, March 23 at 4:00 Softball vs. Jackson State Hattiesburg, Miss.

Friday, March 25 at 2:00 Women’s Tennis @ Southeastern Louisiana Covington, L.A.

Wednesday, March 23 at 6:00 Softball vs. Jackson State Hattiesburg, Miss.

Friday, March 25 at 6:00 Baseball vs. Tulane Hattiesburg, Miss.