The
S TUDENT P RINTZ
December 1, 2011
www.studentprintz.com
SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927
ON CAMPUS
Greeks get in tune for annual Songfest Arielle Edwards Printz Writer
The Epsilon Delta chapter of Chi Omega sorority will host its 60th annual Songfest Friday at 6 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum. The first Songfest was held in 1951 and is the oldest philanthropy event on campus. The event will feature holiday music performed by 18 Greek organizations, along with a performance by the winners from last year, Phi Mu sorority. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to support the sorority’s philanthropic work for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children ages zero to 18 with life-threatening illnesses. These wishes range from trips to Disney World to a shop-
ping spree in Hattiesburg. One of the new traditions for Songfest is having an honorary Make-A-Wish judge the night of the event. This year, the judge will be 15-year-old DeDe Pugh. As Songfest director, Katherine Currie does everything, from event programming with Reed Green Coliseum to communication with each participating chapter to updating decorations. “I have wonderful committees and committee directors that have done such a fantastic job helping me with every little detail,” Currie said. Her favorite part of the night is singing “Merry Christmas from Chi O” with her chapter. “It is a long-standing tradition to end the night with that song just before we announce the winners of the competition and the amount of money we’ll be donating to Make-A-
Wish,” Currie said. “This year will be even more special because we will be inviting all Epsilon Delta alumnae to join us in singing it.” Alpha Tau Omega is one of the fraternities that will perform Friday evening. This year is senior and ATO member Brandon Holmes’s fourth year to compete in Songfest. “The best experiences are the practices because everyone is coming up with funny skits,” Holmes said. His favorite part is competing. “We usually place in the competition, so being able to get an award is fun too,” Holmes said. ATO usually holds two or three practices a week a few weeks leading up to the event. “This year is going to be pretty entertaining, so get ready for a laugh,” Holmes said.
See SONGFEST, 3
Justin Sellers/Printz
Laura Pace, a junior and member of Alpha Delta Pi, practices for Chi Omega Songfest with her chapter Tuesday evening. Songfest is set for Friday at 6 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum.
STAYING FIT
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
FOOTBALL
Volume 96 Issue 27
FOOTBALL
Liberty Bowl may not be an option for USM Travis Thornell Sports Editor The Southeastern Conference Championship game between No. 1 LSU and No. 13 Georgia will likely have more impact on Southern Miss’s bowl fate than a win against Houston on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ABC. An LSU victory would enact a bowl stipulation between the SEC and the Liberty Bowl that would allow for the SEC to face a Big East opponent instead of a C-USA team. If the SEC has nine bowl eligible teams as it does this year (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Mississippi St., South Carolina and Vanderbilt), they force C-USA to give their tie-in to the Big East. The SEC would give up their spot in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. C-USA associate commissioner Alfred White told the Hattiesburg American, “Right now, we’re at that number nine. That number calls for us to vacate the Liberty Bowl in favor of the game in Birmingham.” A Georgia upset would allow for three SEC teams (including Alabama) to be in BCS bowls and would negate the bowl provision allowing for a C-USA team to play in Memphis on Dec. 31 against a Big East opponent. Plenty is still on the line for USM in Saturday’s game against Houston. A Houston victory will likely guarantee them a chance to play in a BCS bowl. The Fiesta Bowl is a possible destination and would play host to the Cougars and the Big 12 champion. Southern Miss will have to
WEATHER Thursday
62/28 Friday
66/33 Saturday
Page 4
Page 6
Page 8
67/47
set their eyes on winning their first conference championship since 2003 and just wait out the bowl selection process. An outside chance still exists for USM to make it to a BCS bid as they are No. 24 in the latest rankings. The Golden Eagles would need to be in ranked in the top 16, the Big East champion to be ranked lower than USM and both No. 7 Boise State and No. 18 TCU to lose in order to grab a BCS bid. “Although we may not play in Memphis, we feel our options will certainly be excellent and will reward our football team for an excellent season,” wrote Southern Miss athletic director Richard Giannini about the bowl picture for USM on his blog on Wednesday. Including Southern Miss and Houston, C-USA has five bowl eligible teams: Marshall, Tulsa, and SMU. The current bowl ties, other than the Liberty Bowl, are the Hawaii Bowl against a WAC opponent, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas versus Mountain West, the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. against the Big East, the R & L Carrier Bowl in New Orleans against UL-Lafayette (the Sun Belt champion) and the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas against a Big Ten team. The BBVA Compass Bowl may also be an option and would match C-USA with a Big East team. Creative options could also be looked into by the conference. “The commissioner gets calls all the time about doing things that are creative,” White said. “We’ve got a bowl home for all of our bowl eligible teams.”
INDEX Calendar ........................ 2 News .............................. 3 Feature ...........................4 Arts & Entertainment......5 Opinion............................6 Sports...............................8