2011_03_29

The

S TUDENT P RINTZ www.studentprintz.com

SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Volume 95 Issue 47

ON CAMPUS

City council targets nightlife Earvin Hopkins Printz Writer

Eli Baylis/Printz

A customer looks into the door of Benny’s Boom Boom Room on Saturday night. USM administrators have made recommendations to the Hattiesburg City Council to regulate nightlife.

For the past few months, it seems that Hattiesburg has been known more for its violent night life than anything else. On March 21, the city council held a meeting that announced suggestions that would make Hattiesburg nightlife safer.

The Mayor of Hattiesburg, Johnny DuPree, said something needed to be done to make Hattiesburg clubbing and nightlife safer.

“With all of the events happening, myself and the city council knew we needed solutions for this problem,” DuPree said. “A council was formed to better help us create final solutions to make our city safer.”

A group of prominent members from the Hattiesburg community all bearing different backgrounds were chosen to be part of that group.

Members included are the owner of Ropers and other restaurants, officers from Camp Shelby, the fire chief, a fire inspector, the

See NIGHT CLUB, 3

ON CAMPUS

‘Mi casa no es su casa’ Senate Bill 2179 – modeled after Arizona’s controversial immigration bill – has raised division between and within party lines in Mississippi this year. In response, several USM students organized a forum Friday night to have “an intelligent discussion on immigration and Mississippi’s response.”

One of the organizers, Rachel Hall, a graduate student in Latin

American studies said they chose panel members carefully “to provide a comprehensive range of perspectives relating to immigration. We wanted people to be informed on how complex the issue of immigration is.”

The forum featured eight panelists from differing organizations and view points, ranging from the Mississippi Tea Party to the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) to the Catholic Church. Also present for a short time was Senator Joey Fillingane,

author of SB 2179 and USM graduate. The bill, if enacted, would allow law enforcement officers to check for citizenship if they have reason to suspect someone is an illegal alien.

“I am for legal immigration,” Fillingane said. “This bill does not target immigrants; it targets those who choose to come here illegally from whatever part of the world that they choose to do so.”

PROLIFE PROTEST

FRIDAY, FRIDAY

MCINNIS

Meryl Dakin & Eli Baylis Printz Editors

See IMMIGRATION, 3

Eli Baylis/Printz

Former legislator and chicken farmer Gene Saucier, right, and J. Michael Anderson, a Gulf Coast immigration lawyer, spoke at the forum on immigration Friday in the LAB.

WEATHER Thursday

80/65 Friday

77/54 Saturday

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Page 8

75/51

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

Calendar

Page 2

The

Student Printz Serving Southern Miss since 1927 Executive Editor Samantha Schott

samantha.schott@eagles.usm.edu

Managing Editor Meryl Dakin

meryl.dakin@eagles.usm.edu

Mark Your Planner 2 29 30 31 1 10 a.m.

Disney College Program Recruitment TCC Lobby

10 a.m.

Disney College Program Recruitment TCC Lobby

Art Director Eli Baylis

11 a.m.

Picture Perfect Models Date Auction Union Lobby

Chief Designer Christopher Bostick

11 a.m.

Fantasy Face Photo Union Lobby

ross.baylis@eagles.usm.edu

christopher.bostick@eagles.usm.edu

Web Editor Ashton Pittman

ashton.pittman@eagles.usm.edu

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

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

All day Founder’s Day 10 a.m.

Disney College Program Recruitment TCC Lobby

12 p.m.

Metro Model & Talent Agency Auditions Union Room D 7 p.m.

Missions Worship Night BSU

9 a.m.

Seymour tryouts Reed Green Coliseum 12 p.m.

The Big Event Hattiesburg

11 a.m.

Rugby recruitment TCC Lobby

12 p.m.

Women’s History Month Final Series: Guest Speaker Marjurie Spruill Stout Hall B 9 p.m.

Mugshots benefit concert with The Whigs Benny’s Boom Boom Room

chris.greene@eagles.usm.edu

News Content Adviser Chuck Cook 601.266.4288 chuck.cook@usm.edu

Writers Jonathan Andrews Tierra Clemmons Courtney Carter Deonica Davis Alex DeMouy Mary Margaret Halford Michelle Holowach Earvin Hopkins Marie John Hannah Jones Stormy Speaks Sarah Rogers Photographers Jordan Moore Jay Van Orsdol Mary Alice Truitt 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.

Dirty Birds 03-24-11 Grand Larceny Southern Hall - Staff member reported the theft of an Epson projector.

03-24-11 Grand Larceny MM Roberts Stadium - A student reported the theft of a backpack and Dell laptop computer.

03-25-11 Vandalism Sorority Village - A resident reported the window in her parked vehicle was broken out and a purse was stolen.

03-25-11 Disturbing the Peace Golden Eagle Av - One campus citation was issued for Noise Violation.

03-25-11 Citizen Complaint 4th street - A student reported she was almost struck by a vehicle while walking in the crosswalk.

03-25-11 Vandalism McCarty Lot - A student reported to UPD that his vehicle was egged, along with coke and yogurt poured on it.

03-25-11 Hit and Run Arthell Kelly Lot - Incident report filed.

03-25-11 Petit Larceny Sorority Village - Resident reported the theft of an outdoor bench and three pillows.

03-25-11 Petit Larceny Powerhouse - A student reported the theft of a Blackberry cellphone.

Level: 1

2

3

4

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 SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

4/10/11

© 2011 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

We are

taking care of ourselves

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.

At Planned Parenthood , we’re here for you with high quality health care at an affordable cost.

For birth control with no exam necessary, emergency contraception, and pregnancy tests. ©

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

6111 Highway 49, Suite 119 ~ 601-296-6001 www.plannedparenthood.org/ppse

News

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Page 3

ON CAMPUS

Eagle Dining makes costly mistake Earvin Hopkins Printz Writer All Hillcrest residents received an email on March 1 informing them that they had been charged for the wrong meal plan, resulting in an outstanding balance of $185 that must be paid in full before May 1, leaving many residents upset.

Hillcrest resident and English major Tashia Jennings is refusing to pay this outstanding balance.

“This is a direct result of Eagle Dining’s incompetence, and I am not at fault,” Jennings said. “Furthermore, it was roughly eight weeks into the semester, and you (Eagle Dining) are now notifying me about this discrepancy.”

IMMIGRATION, from 1

Jeremy Anderson, a Gulf Coast immigration lawyer, opposed the bill because “local law enforcement ... is incapable of wielding that power.”

“They’re not apprised of the changing nature of immigration law, they’re not apprised of the complications within immigration law, and it drives the culture of fear and second class citizenry within a very significant community here within this state,” he said.

Roy Nicholson from the Mississippi Tea Party and Ron Vincent from Hattiesburg Project 912 support Fillingane’s bill, and emphasized the need to stop the flow of illegal aliens as soon as possible. Vincent proposed building a wall along the border of the United States and Mexico to accomplish this. “I’m a little surprised to hear people say we can’t build fences along our north and southern border,” Vincent said. “I assure you we can. If North Korea can build a fence, we can build a

NIGHT CLUB, from 1

vision, the mayor’s assistant, delegates from William Carey, USM Chief of Police Bob Hopkins and Detective Captain Rusty Keyes.

The name of the group is Town Gown. Dean of Students Eddie Holloway talked about how the name was chosen.

“The name is symbolic to Hattiesburg. ‘Town’ is symbolic to our city and ‘gown’ is symbolic to a college community,” Holloway said. “Town links to gown and therefore links to community and city.”

Holloway presented the list to the city council. The following are some of the major issues: 1) Security guards must meet a standard, and have enough security guards to govern the clubs safely.

The email read that residents were charged for the Golden Eagle Pass meal plan instead of the Hillcrest meal plan – the difference between the two charges is $185.

“It’s very upsetting,” said international business and French double major Melissa Staton. “I think it’s unfair to the students of Hillcrest because they have a shorter deadline to get their money paid.”

The two options given in the email were – one, visit the website and pay with debit or credit card; or two, go to the office and pay using cash, debit or credit card.

“It just said there was a ‘billing discrepancy,’” Staton said. “There was really no explanation. They

basically just said they’re going to charge your account.”

Staton added that this charge appeared on her account in the middle of the fall semester, too.

“It’s just like here comes the next $200 that we have to pay,” she said.

Initially, Jennings doubted the authenticity of this outstanding balance, because she next checked her account inquiry (which shows students all charges to their account) and the charge wasn’t there.

Those questions left her and other residents confused, wondering how this happened.

Associate Director of Contract Services John Byxbe talked about the outstanding charge.

Byxbe said that the error was

found by Eagle Dinning on Feb. 28, and the residents were notified by email on March 1.

The students were actually on the Hillcrest meal plan, so that shows on the account inquiry, but they were charged for the Golden Eagle meal plan.

“The email gave the residents options of payment,” Byxbe said. “We do realize that this was an error, and we are willing to work with students on a case-by-case basis to help solve this discrepancy.”

He also added that this outstanding balance doesn’t appear on the student’s account inquiry because they wanted to give a grace period to prevent the outstanding balance of actually showing on their account, which

could potentially penalize the students in other ways.

Sophomore personal finance major Jessica Snyder said she is having trouble paying the lastminute charge.

“They took my only luxury on campus away, and I didn’t even do anything wrong,” she said. “And I still owe the school for their mistake.”

Byxbe went on, “These are unfortunate circumstances. If Hillcrest residents wish to go to the Eagle Dining Pass, we can do a survey to close Hillcrest if that is in the best interest of the residents.”

For more information, contact John Byxbe at 601-266-6904.

News in Brief fence. If Israel can build a fence, we can build a fence. They are very effective.”

Rafael Sanchez, representing Sacred Heart Catholic Church, opposed the bill and the proposed wall. “I think that we have to find unity. Every time we talk about disunity or building barriers, that’s the big mistake,” he said. “When they come to church, I’m not there checking ID’s. I’m against illegal immigration, yes I am. But we need to think that if we want their respect, we need to respect them.”

Former legislator and chicken farmer Gene Saucier had an inside perspective on illegal aliens. He asserted that his business, and the industries of timber and blueberries, are dependant on the labor of immigrants and illegal aliens that are currently employed. “You’ve got people here who are desperate to keep a business going.”

Saucier said, before anything else, the state must implement a good guest worker program. “Our

legislature has failed us on this issue,” he said. “I helped establish the Republican party in Mississippi, and I’m disappointed that Republicans are standing against doing something about the guest worker program, because Mississippi is dependant on them.”

Hall said the audience reaction to the speakers was as varied as the panel members’ opinions.

“There were some Hispanic members in the audience, who visibly had very strong reactions to a lot of the comments made,” she said.

“The discussion was very civil, and we’ve even had some panel members write to us asking for a follow-up forum in the style of a panelist discussion.”

Sanchez ended with a thought for the audience: “When you come to Mississippi on the interstate. the first thing you see is a beautiful sign that says, ‘Welcome to Mississippi.’ I think that maybe if they pass this type of legislation, we might have to add underneath, ‘Mi casa no es su casa.’”

2) Promotions must be done in good taste, and certain promotions would no longer exist, such as ladies night, college night, Greek night, and all you can drink.

3) Alcohol policy would include test Fridays at the schools, and also either stop or make a better way to stop people under 21 from drinking in the clubs.

4) Stop littering, noise and loitering.

5) Make charges for nightclubs more punitive if they go over their occupancy number, and other laws.

USM student Kacie Bailey was at the meeting and said the announcement of the list didn’t shock her as much as the other students, but a suggestion did

surprise her.

“I was surprised they are considering ‘Testing Fridays’ where the schools would have to enact a testing day to curb going out on Thursday nights,” Bailey said.

“Many people purposely do not schedule classes on Fridays because they go out on Thursday.”

“I think it’s unfair to punish the students that do not go out on Thursdays and the teachers who would have to change their teaching habits just to accommodate nightlife in the city.”

The decision for which suggestions to use, if any, is ongoing.

Holloway said, “We looked at all aspects of the Hattiesburg community, and we want stern rules and regulations to ultimately make our city safer.”

Lap top thief on the loose On Friday at approximately 9:50 a.m., a man entered Cook Library and stole a laptop computer from a student study area, according to the UPD. Based on photos taken by a security camera, the suspect is a slender-built black male with a dark complexion, who at the time of the incident was wearing a white Tshirt, long white shorts and white shoes. The UPD believes this suspect is involved in similar incidents which have occurred at Johnson Science Tower, Southern Hall and the Bobby Chain Technology Building.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call University Police Crime Stoppers at 601-2664986. A reward may be available for

information that leads to an arrest of the suspect.

Gay officer to be reinstated The American Civil Liberties Union announced Monday that the Forrest County Sheriff ’s Department will reinstate Andre Cooley, the corrections officer who alleged that he was fired last year because he is gay.

That development came as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. Although the settlement does not amount to an admission of guilt, the Sheriff ’s Department’s non-discrimination policy will be updated to reflect that the department will not discriminate based on sexual orientation.

News

Page 4

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

on campus

Abortion images assail students Ashton Pittman Web Editor After taking a day of rest, the group that calls itself the “Missionaries to the Preborn” arrived in Hattiesburg on Monday to spread its pro-life message at Southern Miss. Last week, the group began the Mississippi leg of its “Personhood Tour,” making stops in Jackson and at the Ole Miss campus in Oxford.

“Our purpose here today is to get literature out because we want to spread the word about the vote that is going to be on the ballot in November,” said Jacob Riley, 17, of Tupelo.

Jacob is the son of Les Riley, who led a petition drive last year to have the “Mississippi Personhood Amendment,” or Amendment 26, placed on the ballot for elections this November.

If passed, the amendment would define life as beginning at the moment of fertilization or “the functional equivalent thereof.” That would bring into question the legality of abortion in Mississippi.

Planned Parenthood, in a press release, called the group “extremist.”

“Instead of working towards real solutions, these groups are traveling across the state using tactics that are, at best, questionable, and at worst, offensive and insulting,” said Felicia Brown Williams, Regional Director of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast.

Those tactics included holding demonstrations around campus with large placards – some depicting shocking images of aborted fetuses.

Mary Claire Brough, 17, of Pennsylvania, was among the demonstrators.

“A lot of people give us a negative response, like, ‘That’s disgusting, go home,’” Brough said. “But a lot of people, abortion minded women, will look at the pictures and change their minds. We’ve seen it before – in person and at clinics.”

One of the demonstrators, Lori Swan, of Milwaukee, Wisc., said that the images may have stopped her from having an abortion nearly 40 years ago – if

she had seen them. As she held up a sign that read, “I Regret My Abortion,” she recounted flying to New York City to have an abortion when she was twelve weeks pregnant.

Swan was standing near two placards – one of a developing fetus and the other of an aborted fetus.

“There’s a 92-percent chance I would have changed my mind if I had seen these pictures before I had my abortion,” Swan said.

Asked which one would have been more likely to change her mind – the one of the living fetus or the one of the aborted fetus – Swan pointed tearfully to the aborted fetus.

“That one,” she said. “Because that’s when I had my abortion – I was even a couple of weeks further along than that. It’s still hard to see these pictures sometimes.”

“I don’t like them at all,” Jacob Riley said of the images. “They’re uncomfortable images. But I think they need to be shown because people need to see the reality of what’s being done to the pre-born in our nation, just like people needed to see the reality of what was being done to the

Jews in the Holocaust and black slaves before the abolition.”

But not everyone agreed.

Katera Evans, a junior studying Early Childhood Education, debated Riley briefly. She said she believed abortion should remain legal and that she didn’t think the images would change minds.

“I think people that walk by here today and see those signs, they might get pregnant tomorrow,” she said. “And they may think about the signs, but they will still make the same choice.”

Brad Champine, a junior philosophy major, believes abortion is wrong. But he also believes the demonstrators were wrong, according to a note he posted on Facebook entitled “Dear Christian Activists.”

“This will not win anyone to your cause,” wrote Champine.

“It will only further taint your image as people who are not about love, but rather, about hate. What you have done today I would expect from Westboro Baptist Church – not mainstream Christians.”

There are better ways, Champine said, to protest abortion.

“If you want to be like Christ in your dealings with abortion, volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center,” he said. “Give aid to the suffering. Adopt a child. Do not resort to hate, because you are commanded to love.”

President of Eagles for Life, Mark Harris, disassociated himself and his organization from the Missionaries.

“Our group supports the goals

Writer Reactions words from our staff I do not think that people who believe differently from me are going to change their minds because of horrifying images that are forced upon them.

– Michelle Holowach The anti-abortion van and protestors for pro-life may think that their graphic pictures and pamphlets are revolutionary, but all they did was trigger outrage and Facebook rants among USM students today.

– Justin Mitchell What’s even more sick is that two little boys outside the Hub were competing to see how many [pamphlets] they could pass out. Am I the only one that has a problem with this?

– Courtney Carter If you think your position is so indefensible that you have to use gore to get them across, you’re no better than the people who decided to make the last four “Saw” movies.

– Jonathan Andrews To read the complete responses, visit www.StudentPrintz.com.

of these activists but we didn’t know about this event and we don’t use graphic images,” he said.

“Missionaries to the Preborn” planned to travel to Petal, Laurel, and Meridian on Tuesday.

Additional stops in Columbus, Starkville and Tupelo were also planned to take place before the group wraps up its Mississippi tour on April 1.

Arts & Entertainment

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Page 5

local

Boom Boom Room boosts Mugshots A benefit concert will be hosted at Benny’s Boom Boom Room to support the Mugshots staff, temporarily unemployed due to the recent fire. All proceeds raised at the show – including tips and donations – will help sustain the employees until the business moves into its new location in May.

Meryl Dakin & Jonathan Andrews

Managing Editor & Printz Writer On Wednesday night, an unprecedented benefit show will take place downtown: Benny’s Boom Boom Room will host a concert in support of the staff of Mugshots, whose building burned down last Monday morning.

The bands slotted to play were originally scheduled to perform at Mugshots Wednesday, but after the fire had lost the venue. Ben Shemper, owner of the Boom Boom Room, said he spoke with the booking agent for Mugshots and offered his bar to host the bands.

“I started thinking about how many employees are out of work and I wanted to offer my help,” he said. “We decided to make it a benefit, hopefully a lot of people show up. We’re going to give that money to Ron (Mugshots’ owner) to distribute to his employees.”

Patrick Everman, manager of Mugshots, said the upcoming

concert has lifted the spirits of the jobless Mugshots staff. “Out of the goodness of his heart Benny made it into a benefit for the employees,” he said. “I guess just knowing that we have the support of our patrons and of other businesses in town. It helps with the morale of the employees.”

tinued to do a lot of catering and sold food at events, such as Saturday’s Hubfest. “We sold over 1000 burgers at Hubfest,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of free time but we’ve been working on getting ready for the opening of the new restaurant too (in May).”

The line up Wednesday features

“

and The Whigs will perform that afternoon at T-Bones records.

Harry Crumpler, owner of TBones, said it’s not only promotional event for the bands’ albums, but for the show that night as well.

“They’ll pack it in pretty tightly at the Boom Boom Room,” Crumpler said. “The Whigs are a big national act and it’s for a good cause, to help a local business that’s come under fire, for lack of a better term.”

The Whigs have played with several other big name bands, such as Kings of Leon, Drive By Truckers, and the Kooks, and Crumpler said they’re on the verge of similar levels of popularity.

“They’re one of those bands that are right on the cusp of really breaking in,” he said.

“A lot of times this is the best time

They’ll pack it in pretty tightly at the Boom Boom Room. The Whigs are a big national act and it’s for a good cause, to help a local business that’s come under fire, for lack of a better term.

Harry Crumpler

”

Since the fire, the staff has found creative ways of staying afloat. Everman said they’ve con-

three bands, Ridlens Kids, Johnny Corndawg and The Whigs. Before the benefit show, Johnny Cordawg

to see a band. You get to see them in a small more intimate venue when they’re young and on fire, they’ll have a super passionate and super intense performance.”

As of now, Shemper said there are about a hundred people confirmed to attend, but they’ll need around 150 to break even since the Boom Boom Room is also giving all the tips and donations made throughout the night to Mugshots.

“Even if you’re not a fan of Mugshots or of the band, it’s for the greater good,” Shemper said. “It’s for all those people who are now out of jobs.”

Crumpler echoed Shemper, saying, “There’s no reason not to come out.”

“Hattiesburg is a small enough town where it can come together to support its own, and I’m hoping that’ll be the case for Wednesday.”

The show will begin at 9 p.m. TBones is selling advance tickets at $10 per person. Tickets at the door, if any are left, will go for $12.

on campus

Renowned sculptor visits USM Stormy Speaks Printz Writer Mississippi artist, commentator and educator William Dunlap will present a lecture titled “Confessions of an Itinerant Painter,” an autobiographical account of his career as an artist for over three decades and where it has taken him. The presentation will be tonight at 6 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium.

With paintings and sculptures in prestigious institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United States State Department, Dunlap is most widely noted for his oil and canvas works depicting the Mississippi landscape, particularly locations in the Delta. His most famous work, however, is a depiction of the Shenandoah Valley in summertime and the Antietam battlefield in wintertime titled “Panorama of the American Landscape.” Commissioned by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the 112 foot long cyclorama has traveled across the country, including multiple locations in Mississippi. Dunlap has also co-curated several exhibitions

and is currently working on the showing of a contemporary Cuban painting, which will open at the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C. Dunlap’s work is highly sought after, and he is often invited to speak at universities, institutions, and conferences. Southern Miss is honored to be able to welcome him to the university.

“Dunlap is one of those rare artists who are beloved by a wide public as well as by the in crowd of the national art scene,” said Jan Siesling, an assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design and the director of the Southern Miss Museum of Art. “His art is a reflection on the beauty and strength of the Mississippian landscape.

“Dunlap’s art is sensual, like the South. His work is simple and attractive, though charged with symbols. His style becomes very powerful, and indeed rich, when he works out recurrent themes that become icons of his vision of this land.”

The lecture, sponsored by the Museum of Art, will also serve as the opening event for the Department of Art and Design’s Annual Student Show, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Museum of Art. The

public is welcome to attend after the lecture and enjoy refreshments while students receive awards for their work.

“The lecture is a great way to open the art show because people outside of the program, outside of the campus, and outside of the city will be visiting our campus,” said graphic design major Jennifer Kiza Jordan,

whose works will be featured in the art show. “They’ll get to see that we’re here making wonderful art, as well as striving to make a difference in the world.

“It might inspire other speakers to visit us, too. Good speakers always give great tips and anecdotes that help and inspire us on our way.”

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Opinion

Page 6

NATIONAL

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

We made ‘Friday’ famous

Student Shout-outs

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

Michelle Holowach Printz Writer If you have ever dreamed of being famous, now is your chance. It only takes three simple steps.

First, write a song that will make people seek deafness. Make sure the lyrics are redundant, mundane and filled with the word “fun.” Adjectives don’t get much more descriptive than that.

Second, make a video with bad effects and fill it with a bunch of 13-year-olds who can’t dance. But make sure they can smile really, really big and move their shoulders up and down.

Third, post the video on YouTube, and then let social media do the rest of the work. Your job is done, and if you follow these three simple steps, fame will be knocking on your doorstep before you know it.

On March 14, the world watched in disbelief as Rebecca Black’s “Friday” single went viral on YouTube.

Many people were left scratching their heads, trying to figure out if this was a song or a joke. The answer to that question leaves the music industry tucking its tail between its legs and looking for a place to hide from this grotesque embarrassment.

Rebecca Black is a 13-year-old California native whose mom paid Ark Music Factory to let her sing a song written by Clar-

“

Courtesy of YouTube

Rebecca Black

ence Jey and Patrice Wilson and star in her very own music video.

Black did not expect to become famous from the song; she was only doing it to have fun and get a foot in the music industry door. But YouTube, Twitter and Facebook had different plans for Black as her video quickly took over the Internet.

When “Friday” hit the Web, viewers went crazy as the word spread like wildfire from one network to the next that the worst song ever written had been released. It now has over 57 million views on YouTube, 120,000 likes and over one million dislikes.

But while everybody is making fun of Black and her musical debut, maybe we should take a step back and see what this has to say about us – the viewers.

We have rocketed a 13-yearold auto-tune singer to fame, and that was nobody’s doing but our own. It was prompted by the social media, yes, but then we took it into our own hands, landing Rebecca Black with a spot on the Jay Leno Show and her own Wikipedia page.

We make fun of her yet we are the ones watching her video over and over again and posting about it on Twitter. Music critics are shooting the insults out of a machine gun, and we are all quoting ridiculous lyrics such as, “Today is Saturday and afterwards is Sunday,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun!” on our Facebook statuses, but if we just left the song and the video alone, it would go away. We are the sole perpetrators of its fame.

Not only that, but what does this have to say about where the

music industry is headed if the most talked-about song of our day is sung by a 13-year-old and has lyrics more basic than the first book you read in kindergarten?

Whatever happened to celebrating musicians who compose their own songs, write their own lyrics, sing with their own vocal cords and play their own instruments? I say we send Rebecca Black packing and find a few more Billy Joel’s or Elton John’s, because they’re out there, too.

They just don’t provide the kind of fodder we as humans need to make fun of people, and goodness knows we need to make fun of people. I can almost guarantee you the thought going through most people’s heads when they watch Rebecca Black waking up at 7 a.m. is, “I’m sure glad that’s not me making myself into a laughing stock for the world to see.”

Ironically, Rebecca Black didn’t ask for fame. In fact, she is genuinely hurt and surprised by the insults that people are having so much fun dishing out at her. Maybe she needs a slight reality check if she ever believed that “Friday” was actually a good song, but this doesn’t make her deserving of death threats. Black is sending the money practical jokers have spent on buying her song to Japan to help the earthquake and tsunami victims.

So while we keep laughing at her, and posting her video on our Facebook walls, and making countless parodies and then posting those all over the Internet, just remember that Rebecca Black and her ridiculous song are famous for just one reason – us, the producers and consumers of today’s social media.

This was an article of opinion by Michelle Holowach, a writer for The Student Printz. Email questions or comments to michelle.holowach@eagles.usm.edu.

OKAY. I’m all about free speech, but you people with your vile, opinion-spouting, anti-whatever cards need to quit flinging your ideas on me with EVERY 10 STEPS THAT I TAKE. AND, put your kids in school, not protesting. In summation, QUIT HASSLING ME. Also, don’t chalk yourself up to be a CHRISTIAN if all you are doing is standing around and judging people.

What would Jesus do?

I saw a chick wearing an Ole Miss shirt the other day. I wanted to punch her in the face. Not because this is USM and she’s wearing Ole Miss crap, but because I graduated from Mississippi State and hate Ole Miss. HAIL STATE...

GTHOM. Happy 21st birthday, Lyndsay Pleas! I love you! Love, Katherine.

Sure your family can sue the guy who ran you over.

Too bad you won’t be around to see a nickel of it.

Correction to the TOMS shout out: One Day Without Shoes is April 5th, NOT April 8th.

Happy birthday, Hanney Waters! From, your RA Ashley Jones!

To the person who was crying about imaginary discrimination. I’m extremely white and they give me nice big portions. Maybe they just don’t like rude people or racists.

To the freckle-faced girl in the Air Force uniform who walks by me every Thursday afternoon: You could fly my jet any time, baby!

Happy late birthday, Kenny Chesney. Love, a wannabee rebel who doesn’t have a clue.

”

Sports

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Baseball

Page 7

Golden Eagles dominate Tulane Alex DeMouy Printz Writer The Southern Miss baseball team opened conference play this weekend with a huge three game series against rival Tulane.

Both teams entered the weekend ranked in the top 25 with Tulane (18-6, 1-2 C-USA) ranked 23rd and Southern Miss (18-5 overall, 2-1 C-USA) ranked 25th. Southern Miss continued its dominance over the Green Wave by taking the decisive game of the series on Sunday 12-0, while outscoring Tulane 43-20 in the series.

When Adam Doleac was asked about the intensity of the rivalry, he responded, “It’s a good rivalry and it’s no secret we don’t like

opinion

them, and they don’t like us.”

On Friday night Southern Miss extended their win streak over Tulane to six in a row with a 16-4 win behind a strong outing from ace pitcher Todd McInnis. McInnis became the school’s all-time leader in wins after pitching seven innings and only surrendering two runs and striking out five. A big reason McInnis was able to pull off the win was because of the firepower of the Golden Eagles hitters. The offense was led by Adam Doleac, Tyler Koelling, and Kameron Brunty, who each recorded three RBI’s and powered the team to the lopsided victory.

Saturday’s game was affected

by the wind in a large way and it showed in the stat sheets with

“

It’s a good rivalry and it’s no secret we don’t like them, and they don’t like us.

”

Adam Doleac both teams hitting a combined five home runs in the game. Tulane was able to squeak out a 1615 win after 10 innings, but it was not because of a lack of effort by

the Golden Eagles. Despite being down 7-0 and 14-8 during the game they kept finding a way to fight back into the game. During the eighth inning they even took the lead with a three run shot to left by Koelling that caused the rival dugouts to clear and exchange a few choice words before settling down. Tulane’s Brennan Middleton scored the goahead run in the tenth for the Green Wave to lift them over USM. When asked how the wind affected the game, Tyler Koelling responded, “It played a huge factor in the game both ways. Balls were going off the wall that were routine pop flies.”

On Sunday the Golden Eagles

put together a complete game and mercy ruled the Green Wave, 12-0. The offense put up at least one run per inning of play led by Koelling, who had four RBI’s on two doubles. However, the real star was starting pitcher Geoffrey Thomas, who threw a complete game shutout and only gave up one hit with six strikeouts on the day.

When commenting on Thomas’ one hit day, Coach Scott Berry said, “That’s as solid a pitching performance as I’ve seen since I’ve been at Southern Miss.”

The Golden Eagles will finish up their five game home stand as they take on in-state rival Ole Miss (18-7). First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30.

Miss. schools should stay in state and play Travis Thornell Sports Editor

On Wednesday night, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will play host to in-state rivals the Ole Miss Rebels. This will be the first of two scheduled match ups with the other game set to play April 12 in Pearl at Trustmark Park.

When these two southern baseball powers take the field against each other, the fans bases have it circled on the calendar. Whenever the Golden Eagles duel the Reb-

els, Black Bears, or whatever they call themselves on the baseball diamond, it is a classic and is always one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Even the hardwood has produced close and entertaining games. The past two years Southern Miss has travelled up to Oxford and played tough games. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles have come up short, but showed they were up to the task against the Southern Conference member. Progress is being made between the “School up North,” and USM playing in every sport.

There is still a lot of ground to cover for the teams to finally meet up on the gridiron. The baseball and basketball games

have had great draws and fans have really embraced the chance to see the two Magnolia State rivals face off. With Mississippi State agreeing to take on Southern Miss in a two game series in 2014 and 2015, it’s time for Ole Miss to follow suit.

All three schools have talked about various reasons about economics and not part of their ultimate plans for their respective programs. Fans have typically understood those reason and just wondered to themselves about the prospects of one day all three of the big in-state schools playing.

I always get a kick out of seeing all three schools playing Memphis or Alabama-Birmingham.

Some years, Mississippi State and Ole Miss have played all of their

non-conference games against Conference USA opponents. It does not make sense.

I was rather taken aback when I saw the schedules for all three schools for next fall’s football season. The one blaring similarity hit me and I did not want to believe it. I completely understand the reason Memphis happens to pop up on everyone’s schedules.

Memphis is nearby to Oxford and Starkville and has an intense rivalry with USM. The same logic cannot be applied to the 2011 schedules, where all three will host Louisiana Tech. Tech and Southern Miss have an old rivalry that has just been restarted in the last year, but Ole Miss and MSU have no reason to be playing the Western Athletic Conference

member. State will pay the school out of Ruston, La. $700,000 to come to Starkville. This huge sum of money should be kept in the state of Mississippi.

With the Mississippi State Bulldogs wising up and agreeing to play Southern Miss, it is time for Ole Miss to follow suit.

All indications are pointing towards this being a long way off from happening. I guess we will just have to enjoy seeing victories on every other field except the football field.

This was an article of opinion by Travis Thornell, a writer for The Student Printz. Email questions or comments to travis.thornell@ eagles.usm.edu.

Sports

Page 8

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Breaking record

BASEBALL

McInnis sets career high wins at USM Tyler Cleveland Printz Writer Southern Miss fans who have enjoyed watching Todd McInnis over his career at Southern Miss can thank two people: Southern Miss coach Scott Berry and the makers of cotton candy flavored bubble gum.

By nature, teammates will tell you McInnis is a deliberate competitor on and off the field. He’s also a creature of habit.

McInnis set the career wins mark for Southern Miss with his 30th victory Friday in a 16-5 win over hated rival Tulane, and McInnis chomped away on cotton candy bubblegum as he has in almost every start he’s made going back to his high school days at Northwest Rankin High School.

“I didn’t really expect to do that when I signed with Southern Miss,” McInnis said. “Twentynine wins was a huge number and I had no idea what to expect.”

The fifth-year senior has put together a 30-14 record over his career, passing former Golden Eagle Darrell Lindsey’s old record of 29 wins.

When McInnis decided to come back for a fifth season (he received a medical red-shirt during his freshman season in 2006), he admits the record for wins was at least a contributing factor.

He was drafted with the 965th overall pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 32nd round last season, but after a few days of reflection and contract negotiation he decided to come back for one more year.

“I thought about (the record),” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but I wanted to come back and have a chance at helping this team reach the College World Series again. We have a lot of potential and we want to keep this thing rolling. I love this university and

David K. Byrd/Printz

Southern Miss pitcher, Todd McInnis, set a new school record for pitching wins for the Eagles, ranked No. 25, against No. 23 Tulane at Pete Taylor Park. McInnis only allowed four hits and two runs in seven innings against the Green Wave Friday night.

I’d grown too many good friendships with guys like Collin (Cargill) and Adam (Doleac). Plus, I had a shot at putting my name in the record books.”

One of those friends, Southern Miss closer Collin Cargill, lived with McInnis for four years and has been as close as anyone to the Brandon, Miss. native.

“We spent two years in the

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

Overall record: 18-7, SEC: 3-3

Ole Miss’s Last Five Games: 3/20 vs. Alabama 3/22 vs. Samford 3/25 @ Tennessee 3/26 @ Tennessee 3/27 @ Tennessee

L, 6-4 W, 3-0 W,6-1 L, 6-4 W,8-0

dorm and we lived two years in a house together,” Cargill said. “All you can really say is he’s the ultimate competitor. He wants to win every time he goes out there, and the rest of the team knows that, so when he’s on mound we feel like we have a great chance to come away with a win.”

Berry was McInnis’s pitching coach under former Golden

Southern Miss Box Score

Baseball: 3/25 vs. Tulane 3/26 vs. Tulane 3/27 vs. Tulane

Eagle coach Corky Palmer before he accepted the head coaching job after the 2009 season, so he’s seen the right-hander grow from a raw 18-year-old freshman to a 22-year-old dominant pitcher in division one baseball.

The second-year head coach said he was as happy as anyone to hear of McInnis’ decision to return for another season.

“It solidified our Friday night pitching,” Berry said. “Which is big from the aspect of the players’ confidence in those games.

But on a personal note, his loyalty to this program, his love for this program was really reflected in his decision to come back.

“There’s no doubt that he’s going to get an opportunity to play professional baseball, but the experience he has received on the field and in the classroom outweighed the opportunity he had to play professionally.”

A chance at another Conference USA regular season championship and another trip to the College World Series might have been a big motivating factor, but now that the Eagles are off to a red-hot 18-5 start, it’s more of a reality.

McInnis has been a big part of that success, winning five of the six games he’s started (Cargill mistakenly picked up watermelon flavored gum in stead of cotton candy in the lone loss), and his 2.68 earned run average is the best he’s had since his freshman year.

He needs 60 strikeouts to break Southern Miss’ career record, also held by Lindsey, but said he doesn’t think about that kind of thing while he’s competing on the field.

“Instead, I just tried to concentrate on the first thing coach Berry told me when I got here,” McInnis said. “He said ‘Go out there and give us a chance to win,’ and that’s what I’ve tried to do. Truthfully the defense should get most of the credit, because you don’t get those wins without them playing well behind you.

“I’ve just tried to compete to the best of my ability and I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far.”

McInnis will get his first shot at win number 31 on Friday, when he takes the hill against Central Florida in Orlando.

Southern Miss Sports: Upcoming Games Wednesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m.

Baseball vs. Ole Miss Hattiesburg, Miss.

Friday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Men’s Tennis vs. UAB Hattiesburg, Miss.

W. Tennis: 3/24 @ SE Louisiana W, 4-3

Wednesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m.

Softball @ South Alabama Mobile, Ala.

Friday, April 1 at 5:30 p.m.

Baseball @ Central Florida Orlando, Fla.

Softball: 3/25 vs. Houston 3/25 vs. Houston 3/26 vs. Houston

Thursday, March 31 at 2:00 p.m.

Women’s Tennis @ Jackson State Jackson, Miss.

Saturday, April 2 at 1:00 p.m.

Softball vs. East Carolina Hattiesburg, Miss.

W, 7-2 L, 16-15 W, 12-0

L, 5-0 L, 10-2 L, 11-0