February_10_2009

ENTERTAINMENT

See page 6 for our critics’ picks in movies and music.

SPORTS

THURSDAY’S ISSUE

Need some help choosing a candidate?

We continue to profile the students running for SGA executive offices in the next edition.

S P The

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Women’s basketball continues to dominate.

Catch up with the team on page 8.

Serving Southern Miss since 1927

Volume 93, Issue 38

SGA officers offer advice for voters, candidates Lesley Walters News Editor

Officers from the Student Government Association discussed election issues during The Student Printz’s public affairs meeting Friday, offering advice to voters and candidates.

SGA President Melissa Cirino said student government faces a host of challenges in meeting the needs of its constituents -- the student body - both because of recent budget cuts and long-standing consti-

tutional issues. She urged that students “stop and investigate who would be the best person” to carry SGA and Southern Miss to a more productive year in 2009.

SGA’s focus right now, Cirino said, “is ensuring that this election is carried out with integrity.”

AN IDEAL OFFICER During the meeting, Cirino and Nixon offered advice to students who would otherwise flip a coin to decide between candidates, and used their own

Curious about the candidates? See page three for profiles of the presidential candidates. experience in SGA to outline the qualities of an ideal officer for each position.

Cirino said an SGA treasurer should “be a responsible, motivated student who enjoys balancing budgets -- who can balance a checkbook, basically.”

The SGA Constitution requires

that a candidate for treasurer complete a course in accounting and earn a grade no lower than “B,” but Cirino believes the requirement is unnecessary.

An ideal elections commissioner would be “motivated to increase voter turnout,” make students more aware of the process and make voting easier for students, she said.

“One thing that I think the incoming election commissioner would do is kind of work with the election code a little bit

more, as with the constitution, to make things a little bit more clear and better and more representative of students,” Nixon said.

To help those changes to the constitution come to fruition, the incoming attorney general would have to be passionate and ethical about its revision, Cirino said, as well as “motivated by justice.” The attorney general is the chief authority of the SGA constitution and needs to be very familiar with it, she added.

An ideal vice president is someone intent on reviving the legislative branch of student government, Cirino said, especially by recruiting new student senators. As leader of the senate, the vice president should “partner with and bridge the gap between executive and legislative branches to work together.”

The incoming president should be a true representative of Southern Miss, who has See SGA page 3

Barbour opposes stimulus to state Meryl Dakin Printz Writer

David N. Jackson/Printz

Earnest Carter invites Jesse Jones to attend The Big Success Event in front of the Wilbur Stout Hall. More than 90 campus organizations will be involved in the event Thursday.

BSE encourages student involvement James Osborne Printz Writer

Students may remember going to an Involvement Fair or two when they first enrolled at Southern Miss, but the Office of Student Activities wants to encourage student involvement this year like never before with The Big Success Event.

The event, being held in the R.C. Cook Union Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., is open to all students, not just incoming freshmen and transfers. All of the student affairs departments will be present, along with some academic departments.

The event will also include presentations of more than 90 groups said Audrey Charoglu, assistant director for student activities for student activities union and programs. She said this number is much larger than past involvement fairs, which usually included

between 50 and 70 groups.

If weather permits, Charoglu said, Access Sports will present different sports demonstrations and relay games. Door prizes will be available for students including a Barnes and Noble gift card, Eagle Dining gift cards and T-shirts.

‘‘

helps them find some thing that develops them and to help them find a sense of self,” she said. “It helps them find peers and develop friendships, relationships, and a sense of identity. Dealing with the group advisers gives them a mentorship as well.”

It is so great to be surrounded by great people who actually care about the university and, like you, they are doing their best to help out and do things to better the university and have a successful college experience.

Some of the student groups may also have souvenirs and prizes to give away too, she added.

Students might go for the prizes, Charoglu said, but the real purpose of The Big Success Event is to get students involved in student organizations. “[Involvement] makes students connect to the University and

’’

Kasey Mitchell, sophomore

Kasey Mitchell, a sophomore double majoring in political science and human resource management, said she attended an Involvement Fair during a Preview day when she first came to Southern Miss. Mitchell said she already knew that she wanted to become active on campus in many ways and the Involvement Fair helped

her decide which groups she liked best. Her favorite aspect of campus involvement is “the people,” she said.

“It is so great to be surrounded by great people who actually care about the university and, like you, they are doing their best to help out and do things to better the university and have a successful college experience,” she said. She added that students should not be cautious or scared to get involved on campus because “there is something for everyone.”

The Big Event is being made possible by an initiative of university President Martha Saunders and with help from the Strategic Enrollment Planning Committee.

The SEPC is a sub-committee of Student Activities and is made up of Greek Life, First Year Experience, Recreational Sports, Residence Life and other departments.

This is just one of 12 events in the works under the SEPC.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour shocked legislators last Monday when he suggested that he might not accept Mississippi’s portion of the stimulus package -- $2.6 billion -- because of his concerns with some of its programs.

Barbour, a Republican, expressed apprehensiveness for the bill’s extra projects and conditions connected.

“It’s not a possibility of strings being attached, it’s a certainty,” he said. “Until we get a look at what finally passes and all of the implications, it is my belief that there may be some things that we’d be better off not to take.”

“My guess is that Haley Barbour is blowing smoke,” said USM political science professor Dr. Joe Parker. “If there’s federal money available, Mississippi won’t pass it up.”

Dr. Marek Steedman, also a political science professor at Southern Miss, agreed with Parker’s assessment. “My take on it is that Barbour is trying to influence the debate in the

Senate,” he said.

The stimulus package has already passed the House, but Barbour Steedman believes that Barbour is trying to encourage Senate Republicans to strip out the things he disagrees with.

The two versions of the bill must be reconciled before both the House and Senate vote on it again.

“In the process, the bill is likely to change in a lot of big and small ways... My guess is he wouldn’t turn down any money at all once it is actually passed,” Steedman said.

Barbour is worried that when the stimulus bill’s programs expire in July of 2010, states will bear another financial burden. He also seems particularly concerned with a stipulation that will extend unemployment benefits to parttime workers. If this passes, Mississippi employers would be left with a tax increase to See BARBOUR page 3

With the current version of the bill, Mississippi would receive around $2.6 billion.

The Associated Press reports: • $637 million for budget shortfalls • $353 million for highways and bridges • $249 million for school modernization • $52 million for wastewater treatment • $20 million for mass transit • $16 million for Head Start • $13 million for education technology grants • $7 million for low-income energy assistance

Budget committee considers options for future cuts Lesley Walters News Editor

University officials are planning the budget for next year, minus about $16 million, to prepare for expected state cuts.

During a recent Faculty Senate meeting, Provost Bob Lyman said he has “hi-jacked” an existing committee to help the university consider strate-

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gies for coping with the budget cuts.

The university faces possible budget cuts of 10 or 12 percent in the 2010 fiscal year, Lyman said, but the budget must be prepared soon. The committee deciding how to make the cuts will only meet four or five times to discuss options -- and there are lots of them.

“We sort of got a great big list of options that might be

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Lyman

Cirino

considered ... almost everything you can think of,” Lyman said. The committee met for the first time Tuesday and meet again tonight to priori-

tize those options.

SGA President Melissa Cirino, a member of the committee, said the list ensures a “fair chance” for all the interests of the university, “from the smallest penny that we’ll save to the most expensive thing we do.”

The committee is made up of about 20 people, he said, including representatives from the faculty senate, academic council, staff council and stu-

dent government. He added that the diverse representation creates the sense of “shared responsibility.”

“This is not something that is perceived as being done just by the administration,” Lyman said, “but instead this sense that all of the members of the university community have participated in deciding how we want to cope with the financial situation.”

Cirino said she is proud of

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how the administration is handling the expected cuts.

“They understand that everyone is affected by budget cuts, and so we’re doing what we can and trying to be creative in the ways we save money,” she said.

A Web site is being set up for the committee so that students can stay updated and submit their own suggestions.

It should be functional sometime this week.

TODAY

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TOMORROW

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Page 2|News

www.studentprintz.com |Tuesday, February 10, 2009

DBirds

news in brief President to talk budget in town hall

2.1.2009

•Fresh Food Company – Disturbance – A cashier reported being threatened by a student. Case was cleared

by UPD investigators and referred to dean of students.

President Saunders is inviting all faculty and students to join the Executive Cabinet for a meeting to discuss the plan for handling the budget cuts the Governor recently announced. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12, from 3-4 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center Ballrooms.

2.3.2009

•Vann Hall – Fire Alarm – The alarm was activated when a bathroom heater vent caught fire. Hattiesburg fire department extinguished the fire.

•Elam Lot – Motor Vehicle Accident – Incident report on file.

•Fresh Food Company – Trespassing – Marcus Ducksworth, B/M, 21 yoa, Hattiesburg address was arrested and charged with Trespassing.

•Marsh Hall – Petit Larceny – A student reported leaving a messanger style bag outside and it was gone when she returned.

Rodeo to support breast cancer The 24th Annual Southern Miss Coca-Cola Classic Rodeo rides into the James Lynn Cartlidge Forrest County Multi Purpose Center Friday and Saturday, and the cowboys and cowgirls participating plan to show they’re just as tough dressed in pink. Proceeds from the event will benefit student scholarships and student and staff development. Last year, 15 scholarships were awarded to student employees at the Payne Center.

The event begins at 7:30 both nights. Tickets are available for $10 at Boot Country on U.S. 49 in Hattiesburg until Thursday, and will also be sold the day of the shows. For more information, call 601.266.5405.

2.4.2009

War and Society Roundtable meets The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for the Study of War and Society will host the second War and Society Roundtable of the semester at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Library of Hattiesburg. he 2008-2009 roundtable series focuses on war fiction and the featured novel this month is “Still the Monkey” by Alivia C. Tagliaferri. Several copies of the book are available for loan at the library before the discussion begins. For more information, contact Sean Farrell at the Library at 601.584.3166

Sebe Dale IV/Printz

Chris Robertson, lead singer of Black Stone Cherry sings his heart out at the The Bottling Co. Friday night.

This was Black Stone Cherry’s second visit to the downtown venue where they gave the audience a very powerful and energy-filled show. For more pictures of the show, check out studentprintz.com

•Administration Bldg – Grand Larceny – A staff member reported the theft of a laptop computer from an office. Khaalis Williams, B/M, 30 yoa, Hattiesburg address, was arrested and charged with Grand Larceny.

•Hillcrest – Petit Larceny – A student reported the theft of a Schwinn bicycle.

•Physical Plant Lot – Arrested Person •Theater & Dance Lot – Trespass – UPD officers identified two subjects attempting to sell stereo equipment. They were given trespass warnings and escorted off campus.

•Payne Center – Vandalism – Incident report on file.

2.5.2009

•Payne Center – Motor Vehicle Accident – Incident report on file.

•USM Clinic – Medical Assist – A student was transported to FGH ER by AAA. •Pinehaven Cr. – Suspicious Person – UPD officers identified two subjects on campus selling magazine subscriptions. They were issued trespass warnings and

USM hosts Honor Band weekend More than 250 high school musicians from the Southeast region will participate in The University of Southern Mississippi’s annual installment of the All-South Honor Band program Feb. 12-15 on the Hattiesburg campus. The four-day weekend of rehearsals and concerts at Bennett Auditorium will feature three concerts by Southern Miss ensembles. The Jazz Lab Band, Symphonic Winds and the Wind Ensemble will perform during the weekend program.

All concerts are presented in Bennett Auditorium and are free of charge. For more information about the program and events, call the Southern Miss Bands office at 601.266.4990.

told to leave campus.

•Golden Eagle Av – Motor Vehicle Accident – Incident report on file.

•Payne Center – Vandalism – A visitor reported his vehicle was keyed.

•115 Fraternity Dr – Disturbance – Incident report on file.

2.6.2009

•109 Fraternity Dr – Alcohol – One state citation was issued for Minor in Possession and one campus citation for Community Alcohol.

•Hillcrest Lot – Trepass – Marcus Ducksworth, B/M, 21 yoa, Hattiesburg address, was arrested and charged with Trespassing.

•Polymer Science – Trespass – Three juveniles were issued trespass warnings for skateboarding on campus.

•4th St – DUI – Eman Lopez, H/M, Hattiesburg address, was arrested and charged with DUI and issued citations for No Drivers License, No Seatbelt and No Insurance.

2.7.2009

•Vann Hall – Welfare Concern – AAA ambulance transported a student to FGH ER. •McCarty Hall – Suspicious Person – Four juveniles were issued trespass warnings and released to their parents/ guardians.

•101 Fraternity Dr – Alcohol – Five campus citations were issued for Minor in Possession along with two campus citations for university alcohol policy violation.

2.8.2009

•Scott Hall – Micah Robinson, B/M, 21 yoa, North Carolina address, was arrested and charged with Public Drunk and Disorderly Conduct-Failure to Comply.

•38th @ 4th Street – Police Assist – One state citation was issued for speeding, and the vehicle driver was turned over to HPD and charged with DUI.

ECalendar All day - Men’s Golf @ Mardi Gras Invitational - (New Orleans, La.) - Soccer Registration - Rec Sports (Payne Center) - Sports Trivia - Rec Sports (Payne Center) - Learn To Swim Registration (M.C. Johnson Natatorium at the Payne Center)

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10:00am - Museum of Art presents “Cross Connections” Exhibition - Arts and Letters (Museum of Art)

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10:00am - Museum of Art presents “Cross Connections” Exhibition - Arts and Letters (Museum of Art)

6:00pm - Dr. Danilo Mezzadri Chamber Music Recital (flute) - Arts and Letters (Marsh Auditorium) Recital Credit Available

12:15pm - Career Services Wed. Workshop - Resume Writing - General (TEC 102)

6:30pm -Center for the Study of War and Society Rountable - Arts and Letters (Hattiesburg Library) Books, Dialogue and Debate series continues

3:00pm - Lady Eagle Softball @ Mississippi State - Athletics (Hattiesburg, Miss)

7:30pm - St. Louis Brass Quintet Concert - Arts and Letters (Bennett Auditorium) - Southern Chamber Singers Concert - Arts and Letters (Bay Street Presbyterian Church) 8:00pm - Wesley Foundation JAM Wesley Foundation

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All day - Soccer Registration - Rec Sports (Payne Center) - Sports Trivia - Rec Sports (Payne Center) - Learn To Swim Registration - Session II - Rec Sports (M.C. Johnson Natatorium at the Payne Center)

5:30pm - Condom Art Show - Student Activities (R. C. Cook Union Lobby ) 7:00pm - Men’s Basketball @ Rice - Athletics (Houston, Texas) 7:30pm - Nicholas Foster Guest Artist Recital (saxophone) - Arts and Letters (Marsh Auditorium)

www.studentprintz.com |News

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 | Page 3

SGA continued from page one Barbour continued from page one built their foundation here and wants to lead “as the official voice of the student body,” Cirino said. An ideal presidential candidate has experience to affect change quickly and efficiently, an awareness of the problems that currently face SGA, and the “boldness to face those head-on.”

AN IDEAL SGA Cirino was quick to admit that the SGA could stand some significant improvements.

“Our constitution is in desperate need of revision,” she said.

Cirino said the odd timing of student senator elections is “the biggest hindrance in seeing students’ needs met.” Senator elections are held at the same time as Homecoming elections, she added, which means an incoming executive administration is inaugurated “in the middle of a senate term.”

Cirino said the student senate lost appeal when Freshmen Associates was established, offering first-year students a “training ground” for executive cabinet and officer positions.

There is also a “disconnect” in communication between the SGA and the students it represents, Cirino said. Part of the problem is an “obsolete” Web site, she added. She said SGA

is working with iTech on Campus Hub, a new program meant to streamline online communications between students and the university.

AN IDEAL TERM While her administration has accomplished some of its original goals, Cirino admits there are “things postponed for another administration, I guess.”

She said she keeps a flier on her desk of her original platform initiatives as a reminder of what she wanted to accomplish.

One problem for presidents in particular is that “the workload is endless”, Cirino said.

The president receives a $4,000 stipend over the course of a year while in office, she added, since having a part-time job is impossible. She described the position as usually being a “balancing act” between going to a meeting or doing homework.

But at the end of the day, Cirino said she is “satisfied” by representing the student body in the effort of meeting its needs.

“I wish I had another year after all that I’ve learned to kind of go back and redo some things,” she said. “But for the most part it’s been really just a growing opportunity.”

pay for that change once the stimulus money expires.

“I will say, I suspect, that most of the money will either have strings attached that are insignificant or they’re manageable,” Barbour said. “But there are some that are not.

And if I consider them to be against the best interest of the state, then I will oppose them.”

Parker said the mayors of Mississippi, who are lobbying heavily for the stimulus money to bypass the state altogether and go directly to the cities. He said the cities’ mayors have jobs ready to be filled and can put people to work immediately. He described the mayors as “absolutely salivating” at the idea of receiving the stimulus money directly.

“Now if Haley Barbour keeps spouting off, legislation

is likely to cut governors out of the picture completely,” he said.

Parker said the Republicans oppose the bill because it does not include enough tax cuts and funds too many “do-good” programs, such as anti-smoking campaigns, environmental improvements and family planning.

“With the concept of a stimulus package, everybody and his brother is going to have an opinion of what would stimulate the economy the greatest and fastest,” Parker said. “I mean, the fastest way to inject money into the economy is to pay 200 million men to dig holes and pay another 200 million to fill them back up.”

He went on to say that this would have no lasting benefit to the country, and that this bill must attempt to balance jump-

starting the economy and providing a long-term solution to current issues.

Parker explained that the core of this controversial issue is ideological differences. Republicans believe that giving money to the people in forms of tax cuts will help to spur the economy with the extra money to spend. Democrats want to spend money now that will make it back to the people in terms of social programs.

“Haley Barbour is just singing with the choir of Republican skepticism of the nature of the stimulus package,” Parker said.

“All federal dollars have strings attached,” He added.

“But of the 50 states in the Union, Mississippi is the least likely to turn down such help.”

Meet the candidates

Your guide to next year’s potential SGA president J.R. Robinson, a junior administration of justice and pre-law double major from Brandon has been involved in the Student Government Association since he joined Freshmen Associates.

John Gernon Glorioso, junior public relations major from Mandeville, La., has participated in student government since he first enrolled at Southern Miss.

After a year in Freshmen Associates, he co-chaired the Homecoming committee and other committees focused on relations with alumni and the administration during his sophomore year. As a junior, Glorioso served as the executive assistant of administrative affairs, which has allowed him “to work with every different aspect of student government.”

As a sophomore he worked on the Freshmen Associates committee. This year he served as elections commissioner until he resigned to run for the office of president.

“I delivered just about everything I said I could on my platform,” Robinson said. “I wanted to increase the voting by a thousand; we did by like 1,200. We wanted electronic voting and it’s here.”

J.R. Robinson

Robinson plans to engage a number of initiatives focused on building community and student relationships, ensuring student safety and encouraging retention.

He plans to implement an academic improvement program for “at-risk” students and raise retention rates. A higher retention rate means more state funding for the university, and possibly lower tuition.

“We need that money,” Robinson said, “so the retention rate has to go up.”

John G. Glorioso the future.

Glorioso aims to simplify academic processes, provide more accessible and more affordable textbooks, enhance student services and include students in plans for

Glorioso wants to eliminate unnecessary steps involved in adding and dropping classes, changing academic majors and transactions with the Business Office and Financial Aid. Providing more accessible and more affordable textbooks would be “something that we’re really going to have to work for and keep working for year after year,” stated Glorioso.

He plans to advocate for the installation of security cameras outside residence halls, start a “Safe and Sober Riders” program, and a campus escort service.

Glorioso also plans to create a 24-hour study environment, increase campus safety and work with Eagle Dining to restructure operating hours to accommodate students’ needs.

An interactive SGA Web site and printing stations in residence halls are other student services Robinson would like to see implemented next year.

He said he would also rally for campus involvement during the Centennial Celebration and increase community relations. He would also encourage roundtable discussions with students to improve student services.

Robinson said he would be honored to “serve, not just lead” the students of Southern Miss.

“We should all be one student body working for one common cause ... and that’s to make Southern Miss better than we found it,” he said.

“A lot of people see the big things we do, such as Eaglepalooza and Homecoming,“ he said, “but what they don’t see is that we’re working really hard for student services, and that is something that I personally want to continue.”

SGA Executive Officer Debates Tonight at 7p.m. in Thad Cochran center ballrooms

Today marks a new day for government’s role in economy Steven Thompson Printz Writer

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Monday used his first news conference in office to urge Americans to embrace big government in the face of a recession he called “the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression.”

“The federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life,” Obama said during his the news conference. He implored Congress to pass his $800 billionplus economic stimulus program.

Noting Republican objections to his plan, he said that former President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy had only “helped lead us to the crisis we face right now,” and pledged that “as long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this economy back on track and put this country back to work.”

Taking questions on a wide range of issues for nearly an hour, he also said that Americans would eventually have to sacrifice to help pay for extraordinary spending now to meet the crisis.

“No free lunch,” he said.

He called news that baseball

star Alex Rodriguez was the latest found to have used steroids “depressing.”

And he said that his administration is looking for areas where we can “directly engage” with Iran. “In the coming months we will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table face to face, diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in a new direction.”

While making clear U.S. opposition to Iran’s funding of terrorist organizations and nuclear-weapons ambitions, the president said he also sees “the possibility at least of a relationship of mutual respect and progress.”

On another topic, asked if his efforts to court Republicans had failed, Obama said his overtures to Republicans, including putting three into his cabinet, “were designed to build up some trust over time.” However, he emphasized that the nation desperately needs an economic stimulus package now, one that will create or save 4 million jobs, and in that context “I can’t afford to see Congress play the usual political games.”

The president’s remarks came hours after the Senate voted to

cut off debate on its $838 billion version of the stimulus legislation, paving the way for a final vote on it Tuesday. Then negotiations on a final compromise package will begin with the House of Representatives. The president hopes to have the legislation on his desk by President’s Day. Earlier in the day, Obama traveled to the nation’s heartland, visiting a town with double-digit unemployment to put a human face on his urgent plea for more than $800 billion in new spending and tax cuts to jump-start the economy.

“We’ve had a good debate,” he said in a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind. “Now it’s time to act. That’s why I am calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Folks here in Elkhart and across America need help right now, and they can’t afford to keep on waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.”

The trip to Elkhart, a blue-collar town of 53,000 that builds RVs and has seen its unemployment rate triple from 4.7 percent to more than 15 percent, was the first of Obama’s several campaignstyle stops this week meant to build grassroots pressure on the

President Barack Obama speaks on the economy during a press conference on Monday, February 9, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Chuck Kennedy/MCT)

Congress to pass the proposed stimulus bill.

Obama was to follow the Monday night news conference with a town hall meeting Tuesday in Florida, and a visit to a heavy equipment plant Thursday in Illinois.

With more than 8,000 jobs lost in Elkhart alone, Obama worked to show that the suffering in the country is deeply personal and to explain how his proposed package would help people.

“We’re talking about people who’ve lost their livelihood and

don’t know what will take its place,” he said. “We’re talking about parents who’ve lost their health care and lie awake nights praying the kids don’t get sick.

We’re talking about families who’ve lost the home that was their foundation for their American dream, young people who put that college acceptance letter back in the envelope because they just can’t afford it.”

“That’s what those numbers and statistics mean. That is the true measure of this economic crisis.

Those are the stories I heard when

I came here to Elkhart six months ago and that I have carried with me every day since.”

“So why wouldn’t we want to build state-of-the-art schools with science labs that are teaching our kids the skills they need for the 21st century, that will enhance our economy, and, by the way, right now, will create jobs?”

In Indiana, he explained that hard-pressed families could get an extra $100 a month in unemployment benefits, extended unemployment benefits, job training assistance and tax cuts.

Opinions

Page 4 opinions@studentprintz.com

Who exactly is watching our money today?

In recent weeks, the economy has been an especially hot topic. It seems like Marika everyone has Smith an opinion; Printz Writer myself included, obviously. In my column last week, I discussed the implications strict partisanship has on the expediency of the stimulus package and legislation in general. How-

ever, while I am first to yell at the television while watching CNN when our representatives fail to put their own beliefs aside and work together, the Republicans really do have a point.

I read a list of things in the stimulus package the Republicans have cited as useless spending published after I wrote my column. There are items and programs on the bill that have little, if any, potential at jump-starting our economy. It seems as if it would be better for the government to take the

$900 billion and just give each of the 300 million U.S. citizens $3000 apiece. While I personally think that is a wild idea, it is something to consider if we are willing to spend almost a trillion dollars on something that might not have any impact on our current economic state.

After all, this stimulus package will be made with our money. We will ultimately pay for all of this. That is perhaps the most disconcerting part of the whole issue. A few weeks ago, I saw an interview with President Barack

Obama, and he discussed the bonuses Wall Street executives gave themselves using the bailout money. First of all, if they were in so much trouble to begin with, why would they ever even consider giving themselves more money instead of paying off debts and getting back on their feet?

I understand there is a certain stigma associated with CEOs; many think people like that stepped on whomever they needed to in order to get to the top. Even if that is true, I per-

sonally cannot bring myself to believe that all Wall Street executives are completely power hungry. I would think they would be more focused on preserving their job than giving themselves more money.

Second, how did they get away with this? How were they even able to take the money that we gave to the companies and distribute it to individuals?

The stimulus package now being discussed has to have more stipulations. There must be guidelines to ensure spend-

ing mistakes aren’t made. While President Obama has put a cap on how much Wall Street executives fed from the federal hand are allowed to be paid, that alone is not going to solve our problem. This is now a global economic crisis. It goes far beyond the United States border, therefore, any decision our representatives make for us needs to have a much broader impact to get us out of this mess.

Marika Smith is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Pay cap is defensible Jamal Robinson Printz Writer

I strongly agree with President Obama’s decision to limit the amount of executive pay to $ 500,000 for businesses receiving federal assistance. Further, companies choosing to pay executives more than the limit must do so with stocks that can be sold only after said company repays the government.

Many of you may be asking: How can he do it? Is it legal?

And why should he do it?

Obama, like many of his predecessors, has already used to his advantage the presidential trend of executive orders and mandates. Although used since the first presidency in 1789, there is no clear example of its legality within the constitution.

The closest we get is Article II, Section 3, which states in reference to the president’s duties, “ he will take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

We can debate the legality

forever, just as it has been debated throughout our country’s years, but we are truly missing the point. We should be interested in why we as taxpayers pay for the rewards of those who are making our lives more difficult to bear by each passing day, namely the bailedout corporations.

As a working student, I become perturbed when I imagine my hard earned tax money going to someone who will frivolously spend it. Why allow them to do such things when they couldn’t handle their money in the first place? Why should I allow them to run through my money like they ran through theirs? Especially while I’m contemplating how to pay for school and dreading an overdraft statement every time I check my mailbox.

There is nothing wrong with being rewarded with for a job well done. In fact, I’d probably be the first to fairly compensate someone for work ethic, but not for greed. The same greed

has sentenced these companies to the fate of a massive hostile takeover by the government.

Every dollar funneled into these companies has been siphoned out of many critical programs.

We’ve all had to make sacrifices.

I think corporate America owes it to us to just shut up, take a back seat, and do what it’s told.

They had their turn. I would like to send them this letter: Dear Corporate America, We own you now. After reviewing your recent financial performance, we the stockholders (taxpayers), have determined that you don’t need to be rewarded for your failure. We doubtlessly back the decision of our president and chief executive officer and his board of directors (Congress).

They have our best interests at heart.

Sincerely, Agitated Tax Payers, Inc. Jamal Robinson is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

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www.studentprintz.com www.studentprintz.com | |Opinions Entertainment

The

S

 Serving Southern Miss since 1927 Andy Hess Executive editor Lesley Walters News Editor

Jesse Bass

Phelps is human. Cut him some slack.

When I saw the photo of Puff the Magic Dragon (better known as Michael Jonah S. Phelps) getting intimate Taylor with a bong Printz Writer last week, I had the same initial reaction as the rest of the world—what the heck was he thinking?! But after I started seeing and hearing the media

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rant about how tarnished his career will be and how much money he is going to lose, I realized how incredibly stupid people are, and I am not talking about Phelps.

People, especially Americans, tend to over-hype a figure of any status, be it an Olympic sports star or a woman who gave birth to eight babies, until the figure inevitably becomes a part of the public spectrum.

Once we have them where we can keep our eye on them, usually in the media, we load the

figures with all these expectations that we are unlikely to set even for ourselves.

Then, when that overrated figure takes a head shaving or puffs on a bong, our hearts are suddenly broken and we are overcome with shock. Get a grip, people!

No matter how magnificent and god-like someone is in the eyes of the public, he or she is still just human. Which, prepare for more shock, means inevitable imperfections. Phelps knew what he did was wrong,

and he has apologized for it when he could have just as easily made more of an idiot of himself by denying it.

The world’s broken heart and overwhelming shock over this situation is exactly what the world deserves for crowning Phelps “King Above-It-All.” On the other hand, Smoky the Swimmer should have been more aware of the example he was setting and more considerate of those whom he represents. On yet another hand, one cannot always predict when

Last week, the Kingdom of Sweden started a program to upgrade the country’s ten nuclear reactors, overturning a three-decade-old resolution to shut them down entirely. Since that resolution was issued in 1980, only two of twelve were ever shut down, and popular opinion of nuclear energy has dramatically shifted, both in Sweden and the rest of Europe. Similar resolutions are also being questioned in Germany and the United Kingdom; Finland has a powerful new reactor under construction.

Perhaps you’re picking up on the pattern

The chaos surrounding violent crimes can sometimes blur memories and confuse details in witnesses’ minds, leading to the conviction

After Johnson’s letter, DNA tests (which were not admissible in the 1980s) confirmed Johnson’s guilt, but more importantly, Cole’s innocence.

Cole’s family is now working to clear his name and polish his memory.

After exonerating prisoners lucky enough to be alive, they are tossed out of prison with little more than a garbage sack full of the menial possessions they were allotted as inmates.

No transportation. No housing. No money.

Imagine being 17 years old, convicted and sentenced for a crime you didn’t commit.

You spend thirteen years suffering the undeserved fate of the guilty. One day, you’re released with the court’s sincerest apologies and a pat on the back—nothing more. You’ve never owned a car, registered to vote, lived on your own or paid a bill. Your ties to family and friends have been severed and your basic knowledge of daily adult life is nonexistent.

What now?

This is the case of most exonerated people. On average, individuals serve 12 years before exculpation—long enough to inhibit fundamental social skills and dissipate relationships with family. This leaves innocent people crippled and without the skills needed to be functional members of so-

some money-hungry loser with a camera is going to invade one’s space.

I am not promoting drug use.

I am saying we should not invest all our hopes and admiration into a mere person, because when it comes down to it, people will disappoint us. If we are going to condemn Phelps for making an obviously irresponsible decision, we had better be ready to hold ourselves to the same standards.

Jonah S. Taylor is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Nuclear is better Justice comes too late

Opinions Editor

Tyler Cleveland

Tuesday, 10,2009 2009|| Page Page 7 5 Tuesday, February January 13,

Jacob Key

Printz Writer

here?

We’re so used to believing that all the world’s innovations come from America that we haven’t been paying attention: Europe has had this dependence-on-foreign-oil problem virtually taken care of for decades, ever since the OPEC oil embargo in 1973.

Every year, Europe uses less and less fossil energy, dividing its needs between wind, hydroelectric, solar, and nuclear sources of energy. Sweden’s energy policy, for example, is focused mainly on nuclear and hydroelectric systems. “The New York Times” reports that those ten reactors are responsible for over half the country’s energy, whereas petroleum is responsible for only thirty percent. The United States, by comparison, uses nuclear power for only nineteen percent of its total energy consumption.

The Swedes plan to be almost completely rid of fossil fuels by 2020, and they have made real progress. Sales of oil used for heating have fallen by 85 percent in the last few years, according to “The Times.” Well over half of Sweden’s four thousand gas stations will be ethanol-equipped by 2010, and around three percent of vehicles use alternative bio-fuels. Motorists using those alternative fuels are given tax breaks and are exempt from certain tolls.

Nuclear power just makes sense. It’s clean, and perhaps more importantly, it’s cheap. A 1990 Swedish study showed that it would cost $670 million a year to obtain the energy lost if those two reactors were shut down. Need more proof? Guess which industrialized nation has the cleanest air and the most inexpensive electricity. It’s not Sweden, and it’s certainly not the gas-guzzling, hyper-consumerist United States. Instead, says “60 Minutes” in a 2007 broadcast, it’s France--who claims mastery over the European energy sector. And how do they do it? By going nuclear: an astounding 80 percent of France’s total energy comes from the country’s 59 nuclear reactors. Fifty-six reactors were installed within 15 years of the OPEC embargo. America should have exercised such forethought, instead of hanging out for four decades waiting for T. Boone Pickens to write a pamphlet.

Last year, PBS did a multimedia project concerning nuclear power fittingly entitled, “Why Are Americans Afraid of Nuclear Power?” In one online essay, John Palfreman described his conversations with the citizens of France about nuclear energy. In the long run, what opened their arms to the idea was a combination of necessity and propaganda: France, having little or no coal, gas, or oil, couldn’t afford to import energy, so the French invested heavily in nuclear energy, shown today to be a wise decision. Today, beautifully prepared television advertisements and facility tours reiterate the necessity and intelligence of the nuclear program, to great effect.

Do you really want to wait until there’s no oil left to start planJacob Key is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Madeline Livingston Printz Writer

of an innocent.

Time served by innocent people is a result of a defective system that is more concerned with pointing the finger than finding the truth. However, even with exoneration, the damage done to the individual who has spent years in a prison cell for a crime he or she didn’t commit is irreversible.

Take the example of Timothy Cole. In 1985, Cole was convicted of raping 20-yearold Michele Mallin. He was sentenced to 25 years after she identified him as her attacker in a physical lineup. While in prison, Cole unwaveringly maintained the innocence he plead during his trial, refusing an offer of parole, requiring his admission of guilt.

In 2007, Cole’s family received a letter from one of Cole’s fellow inmates, Jerry Johnson, who confessed to the rape of Mallin. Sadly, this good news had come too late.

Cole died in prison in 1999.

ciety.

But who is to blame? Who is to be held accountable for the ruined lives of these innocent people? Of course the exonerated can file suit against the police, the medical examiners, and local governments, but nothing gained by such crusades will ever restore the life broken by serving time in prison for someone else’s crime.

It seems criminal investigations are sometimes more like witch hunts than legal inquisitions. The desire to burn someone at the stake must be kept at bay long enough to yield a thorough investigation.

In the hasty conquest for a pound of flesh, innocent suspects can be frightened into false confessions and evidence can be overlooked. The system must be changed—it must improve. More care must be taken to prevent wrongful convictions and greater compensations must be awarded to those who still fall through the cracks.

As they say, “You break it, you bought it.” It is the responsibility of those who cause the damage to also repair it. An apology and the return of stolen freedom simply isn’t enough.

Madeline Livingston is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Reviews Aronofsky’s Wrestler delivers emotional knockout

Page 6 entertainment@studentprintz.com

Cory Taylor Printz Writer

Why would any man want to wrestle professionally? Does he truly find it respectable and, if so, how? Darren Aronofsky’s new film, “The Wrestler,” tells the story of a man who is far past his glory days of wrestling but cannot let go of them.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson in what has been hailed “one of the greatest screen performances of our time.” To say it is a good performance, indeed, is an understatement; there is a level of embodiment in this performance that is hard to describe.

As I said, professional wrestling seems contrived and, essentially, pointless. Many men (and women) participate in it and many more pay to see them.

There are those who partake in the event and fully depend upon it to pay the rent. Randy Robinson is one such person. He is a professional wrestler who lives alone in a junky trailer in snowy and frigid New Jersey. He has been wrestling for well over 20 years and is beginning to feel the physical repercussions of his lifestyle.

Randy is emotionally broken and finds it extremely difficult

to connect with anyone outside of the ring. One person who befriends him is a stripper named Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei (who is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar).

Randy and Cassidy’s relationship is tainted, of course, for it is her job to connect with him but only on a sexual level.

Randy sees past Cassidy’s job and begins to truly fall in love with her. Cassidy cannot associate herself publicly or emotionally with customers, though, and tries to keep her distance. In a strong sense, both of these wounded people are entertainers and extremely scared of making an honest, human connection. They both exist to give the public what they pay for. This, of course, means they are perfect for one another.

After a match, Randy is struck down with a heart attack and has to have bypass surgery.

The inclination that he should retire begins to appear, but Randy is stubborn that he will be fine. The heart attack does, however, incline him to contact his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood).

As he pitifully attempts to make amends with Stephanie, Randy becomes more and more aware of his mistakes as a father and

as a man.

As examined in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” time waits for no one. Years pass and generations move on. People grow up and grow old. In the case of Robinson, where would he go? Now that his golden years of iconic wrestling stardom have faded, what is he good for?

For Mickey Rourke, this performance is autobiographical.

Rourke left acting in the early 1990s after a string of abysmal box office failures. He began to professionally box, which has left his face scarred and permanently changed. It is very likely that Rourke will walk away with the Best Actor Oscar, though that race is a bit of a toss-up.

Director Darren Aronofsky has never made a film like this before. His previous three features were, essentially, a trilogy about the human mind, body and soul: “Pi,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and “The Fountain”, respectively. Not many directors are brave enough to completely shift away from their comfort zones, but directly through Rourke, Aronofsky achieves something marvelous.

Promotional Photo

Cory Taylor is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Mickey Rourke, who plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, is nominated for Best Actor for the Oscars. The Wrestler is currently playing at The Rave in Hattiesburg.

Milk makes moving political portrait Cory Taylor Printz Writer

Promotional Photo

Sean Penn and Josh Brolin, who star in Milk, are nominated for Best Actor and Best Picture. Milk is currently playing at The Rave in Hattiesburg.

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Very rarely are actors given complete reign over their characters; even more unusual are circumstances where these characters are homosexual. There are special moments, however, when these two elements collide and garner award recognition.

Sean Penn’s performance in “Milk” is one such collision. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a pattern associated with Oscars and the portrayal of homosexual characters.

Beginning in 1969 with “Midnight Cowboy,” Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were both nominated for Oscars for their performances as a naïve male prostitute and his sickly friend who struggle to survive in the streets of New York.

More recently, in 1999, Hilary Swank won her first Academy Award playing Brandon Teena in “Boys Don’t Cry,” the story of a real-life transsexual teenager who was murdered for her lifestyle.

Felicity Huffman, in 2005, was recognized by the Academy for her performance as a male-to-female transsexual in “Transamerica.” Also in 2005, the infamous “Brokeback Mountain” was released, a film that examines the underlying fear and generational hatred associated with homosexuality. Fiendish lesbian tensions brewed between Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett in 2006’s “Notes on a Scandal,” and both actresses were nominated for Oscars.

Now Sean Penn has been nominated for his fifth Academy award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office.

There is a quality about this man that is rare of most men, regardless of sexual orientation: heroism. Through his exposé of Harvey Milk, Sean Penn embodies this sense of heroism with such passion and fervor, the reality that “you’re just watching a movie” fades away.

We are introduced to Harvey Milk as he is tape-recording the events of his life from the age of 40, to just before his death at age 48. Harvey meets and falls in love with a young man named Scott Smith (James Franco). Together they move to San Francisco and open a camera shop in one of the most prominent gay communities in the country. Though this would seem to be an ideal location for the two men, homophobia pervaded the community, with everyone from local shop owners to the police.

After witnessing the derogatory treatment of homosexuals in the area, Milk runs for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; through this, he hopes to gain respect and positive acknowledgment for his fellow citizens. Three years and failed campaigns later, in 1977, he succeeds.

Inadvertently, Harvey Milk became a spokesperson for homosexuals across the nation. Director Gus Van Sant intersperses the film with actual documentary and news footage, further emphasizing the impact and reverberations that Harvey Milk truly had on closeted gays and lesbians.

A fellow member of the Board of Supervisors, however, was not so welcoming to Milk’s choice of lifestyle. Dan White (played by Josh Brolin) was a seemingly straight, Catholic family man who would eventually assassinate both Harvey Milk and Mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone on Nov. 27, 1978.

“Milk” is a film that stands as a tribute to the man Harvey Milk, to the legacy of honesty he promoted, and to the personal triumph he achieved through continually fighting for a voice.

There is a powerful and passionate urgency in Sean Penn’s performance that stands as one of the best of the year. I will not be surprised if he wins the Best Actor Oscar for the role.

Whether or not you see homosexuality as acceptable or immoral, the point of “Milk” is there are certain people in America’s history whose story holds truth about the human spirit and the fight for unity. Harvey Milk is one of those people.

Cory Taylor is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

www.studentprintz.com www.studentprintz.com | |Entertainment Entertainment

Tuesday, 10,2009 2009|| Page Page 7 Tuesday, February January 13,

Push’s action sequences pull this film’s weight Zachary Lee Printz Writer

It’s true enough that we haven’t had a good action film this year, as this film’s advertisements asserted, but I think Push sets a good standard for the rest of the year.

The movie revolves around people who are born with incredible abilities, as the result of Nazi experimentation with psychic powers, which makes you wonder if there are any supernatural routes they didn’t try, considering how often that plot device is used. I think we may eventually come to have a movie about dinosaurs that somehow involves Nazi

meddling. Anyway, there is an organization called “Division” that seeks to use them for their own purposes. Throw in our rugged, plucky hero and Dakota Fanning as his spunky sidekick, and there we go.

The adventure is well augmented by the different powers the characters possess, such as telekinesis (moving things with one’s mind) and the ability to see the future.

The tricky ways they put the powers to work are also fun to watch. The acting is good enough, though at some points a little jarring.

I was a little put off by the film’s tendency to shove in a clip of music when the

characters are walking for no real reason. It seemed as though they got a few songs for the soundtrack and had to make an excuse to fit them in somehow. Granted, this is a problem I have with several movies; perhaps they believe the audience will begin to wander around the theatre if we don’t get bombarded with sound every five seconds. I also wasn’t a fan of the grainy, removed POV shots the cameramen used every now and then.

Regardless of its flaws, the movie gets points for pulling out a decent action movie without a lot of hype or a comic or novel franchise backing it.

I like a comic book movie as much as the next geek, but it is nice to see a fantasy action film that won’t have fans of original source material foaming at the mouth. It’s also nice that the main character isn’t a rugged ex-soldier or a reluctant whiner.

All in all, you get what you see: a sci-fi thriller involving people with cool powers fighting an evil government organization, with a pretty simple, yet expandable established universe, and an ending leaving up for a sequel.

Zachary Lee is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Big Winners: Plant & Krauss, Lil Wayne, Coldplay, Hudson

Frost one of year’s best Cory Taylor Printz Writer

Sometimes the American people innately expect their commander in chief to do the right thing. Sometimes the leader of the free world should be truthful in acknowledging any lapses in authoritative conduct, with Bill Clinton representing an apparent exception. In 1977, Richard M. Nixon was interviewed by a British entertainment journalist and the unofficial truths about the Watergate scandal, which everyone already knew, were finally expelled.

Director Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind,” “The Da Vinci Code”) has brought this intriguing event to life in the new film “Frost/Nixon,” which is currently nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. The film’s screenplay is adapted by the same man who wrote the original theater production, Peter Morgan (“The Queen”).

As I said, everyone already knew the story of Watergate.

What was lacking was official, presidential recognition. As told through Peter Morgan’s script, Nixon (played

masterfully by Frank Langella) intended to quietly disappear from the press, willing to take the shame of being the first President in history to resign.

The proposition of a lengthy and fiscally lucrative interview with a British bloke was exactly the catalyst Nixon needed to possibly catapult himself back into the good graces of the American people.

The bloke in question, David Frost (played with uncanny resemblance by Michael Sheen), was running on empty professionally: not only was his television show cancelled, but his interviewees were dwindling in status. Both men, it seemed, were at the end of their ropes and willing to meet in the middle.

Some of the film’s depictions of Nixon are fictionalized, but we are given what seems to be such an honest portrait of a truly lonely man. Part of this stems from the audience’s subconsciously aware of the information Nixon has to reveal and another part stems from Frank Langella’s brilliant performance. Langella has portrayed this same character on Broadway before and sincerely understands the

depth of the man behind the scandal. There is such a tortured and forlorn gaze in this man’s eyes; it is hard for the audience to not feel slight pangs of sympathy.

The information revealed as a result of these interviews is hardly the issue. The way in which David Frost broke down Nixon’s rehearsed defenses, coupled with the way Nixon knew to spend over 25 minutes answering one question, turned the interview into a sort of catand-mouse game of wits.

One of the most important elements to a film such as this, one based on actual events that were, then, seen on stage, is believability. With two sources of previous material to draw from, redundancy is one quality that could easily emerge.

Knowing, however, that the majority of Americans will not see “Frost/Nixon” on stage, the film version represents a more accessible, congenial medium.

Though “Frost/Nixon” is likely to leave the Academy Awards empty handed, it is one of the best films of the year.

Cory Taylor is a staff writer for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Jim Abbott The Orlando Sentinel

With the 51st annual Grammy Awards in the books, it’s time for the show’s producers to start looking for more superstar duets for next year.

Here’s a quick look at 3 ½ hours of music: -The big winners In a Grammy surprise, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant won five awards - the night’s biggest take - for their genre-bending “Raising Sand,” a haul that included best album and best record for “Please Read the Letter.”

Jennifer Hudson, fresh from her Super Bowl triumph, provided one of the evening’s most emotional moments with her early win for best R&B album. She held back tears as she thanked God and “my family in heaven, and those who are here today.” That award was presented by a loopy-looking Whitney Houston.

For its seven nominations, Coldplay won for best rock album for “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends,” best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals, and best song for “Viva la Vida.”

Lil Wayne, up for a leading eight nominations, took best rap album

for “Tha Carter III” and awards for rap solo performance, rap performance by a duo or group, and rap song for “Lollipop.” His performance with Robin Thicke, Allan Toussaint, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and trumpeter Terence Blanchard was a show-stopper.

British singer Adele was honored as best new artist, sneaking quietly past Jonas Brothers in that category.

-The duets that (mostly) didn’t work Plenty of A-list pairings, again demonstrating that these ideas often are better on paper than in reality.

Miley Cyrus joined Taylor Swift for her “Fifteen” - sadly these two young stars together don’t have enough charisma to light a 30-watt bulb. Stevie Wonder teamed with Jonas Brothers for a medley that added Super Bowl excess to Jonas’ hit “Burning Up” and Wonder’s “Superstition.”

And what was that psychedelicflashback-gone-bad production with Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”?

Could anyone see the fan-submitted videos for that “Grammy Moment” gimmick?

Better: The Rev. Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which still soared even with unnecessary help from Justin Timberlake, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban.

For spirit, at least, Paul McCartney’s “I Saw Her Standing There” was bolstered by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl’s manic drum pounding. Sir Paul looked better than the aging Plant.

-Other performances U2’s “Get On Your Boots” opened the show with the lead single from the band’s upcoming album. The mondo video offered Bono a chance to do the dramatic silhouette thing, and disguised the fact that he’s really showing his age. And that Carrie Underwood song was noisy, wasn’t it? Is that country music now?

-The no-shows Chris Brown and Rihanna, two nominees scheduled to perform on the show, were absent instead.

Before the show, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that Brown was the subject of a felony domestic-violence investigation.

During the show, it was reported, Brown was being questioned by detectives about the incident. He and Rihanna have been romantically linked, although she apparently was not involved in the incident.

The no-shows were a headache for producers, who were left to put Dwayne Johnson (formerly The Rock) in the awkward position of doing jokes to fill time early in the show.

Tragedy complicates Telefon Tel Aviv record Eric Nagurney Entertainment Editor

Post-mortem albums are always a tricky subject.

Generally, such records are the work of established artists and the work within is generally judged under the unfortunate shadow of both their death and past work. Chicago-viaNew Orleans electronic duo Telefon Tel Aviv’s third record, Immolate Yourself, is the strangest sort of post-mortem record. In actuality, the record isn’t post-mortem, yet it will inevitably be heard that way.

On Jan. 22, two days after the album’s release, Charles Wesley Cooper III, one of the group’s two members, passed away.

What remains is an exciting, if occasionally uneven record, that now carries an unescapable tinge of melancholy.

On last year’s Saturdays=Youth, M83 coupled a heavy sense of 1980s nostalgia (think The Goonies or The Breakfast Club) with the group’s usaul wall of synths songwriting style. Though frequently impresssive, the record tended to collapse under its own density. Perhaps the duo of Cooper and Joshua Eustis

took inspiration from M83’s record or perhaps the two just both love The Brat Pack, but the pair attempt the same 80’s nostalgia kick, albeit with a considerably lighter touch, on the album’s best tracks. Most notable is single “Helen of Troy,” whose throbbing pulse expand into vocal harmonies and a sublime chorus of “Follow me/In the car/Off a bridge/We won’t go far/Down we go.”

Similarly effective is enormous opening track “The Birds.” The track’s slow burn takes its patient time working from ambient clicks to more prominent beats to a fullfledged barrage of beautiful electronics. These shifts are subtle and barely noticed initially, but produce quite the sepia-tone anthem by the track’s end.

As potent as the 80s-tinged songs are, not all of the records successes are fueled by nostalgia. “Stay Away From Me” floats along on a surprisingly dancy beat, though the rhythm is oddly reminiscent of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart It Races.” It is a rather out-of-place track on such a dramatically downbeat record, especially considering that it’s sandwiched between two of the

album’s quietest tracks, but it makes for a welcome lightening

of the mood.

Where the record stumbles is when Telefon Tel Aviv falls into habits of generic ambient techno. Considering that most of these fall on the record’s backend, Immolate Yourself comes off as rather top-heavy. Both the purpsosely misspelled “I Made A Tree On The World” and “Your Every Idol” lazily build to a climax that just never comes. Due to

their back-to-back sequencing, all momentum is killed. The group’s more ambient work isn’t all bad, though; “Mostly Translucent” works perfectly as a ghostly dirge and provides a heartbreaking centerpiece.

Immolate Yourself is destined to be one of 2009’s most frustrating. It’s certainly an impressive record, but it’s also one that falls just short of being truly amazing. It feels like a

stepping stone for Telefon Tel Aviv to do even greater work.

With Cooper dead and the future of the group in doubt (a blog post on their Myspace states that Eustis doesn’t know if the group will continue, but that he can’t imagine working without his partner), we’ll never really know.

Eric Nagurney is entertainment editor for The Student Printz. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

Sports Recruiting a roll of the dice

Tyler Cleveland Sports Editor

Score Board:

Lady Eagle’s Softball:

Men’s Basketball:

UAB 66 @ Southern Miss 49 Women’s Basketball:

SMU 65 @ Southern Miss 75 Tulsa 43 @ Southern Miss 72

Arkansas 5 @ Southern Miss 3 Arkansas 7 @ Southern Miss 9 Samford 8 @ Southern Miss 3 Central Arkansas 3 @ Southern Miss 4

Lady Eagles dominate C-USA Kevin Kyzar Printz Writer

Just last We d n e s d a y, thousands of college football fanatics flocked to web sites and newspapers to find the latest on their school’s recruiting ex-

ploits of the day.

They wanted to know who they signed, what their 40 yard-dash time was, how many stars they merit and if they will qualify academically.

They want to know how high they can jump and how much weight they can bench press.

Getting excited about recruiting is unavoidable. I’m as guilty as anyone in that respect, but remember Southern Miss fans, that some of the state’s most famous athletes wouldn’t even have had a single star - the recruiting services’ rating system - among them.

Southern Miss great Reggie Collier, who might have merited two stars out of D’Iberville, was overshadowed by Ocean Spring’s Eddie Hornback and chose Southern Miss over Tulane in 1978.

Hornback, who younger fans will not remember, would have easily rated a five-star and signed with Notre Dame as the hottest quarterback recruit in the country.

Four years later, Collier was whipping Florida State, and Hornback was a second-string defensive end on a struggling Mississippi State team.

Perhaps the most famous Golden Eagle, Brett Favre, chose Southern Miss over Delta State and was a fall-back plan after the Eagles missed on another quarterback. USM decided to take a chance with the unheralded Kiln prospect, and that brought great rewards.

Receiver Louis Lipps had offers from Southern Miss and Nicholls State, running back Sammy Winder walked on after not getting an offer from Mississippi Valley, and Adalius Thomas might have been a higher-rated basketball prospect.

Another good example is Archie Manning. He may not be a Southern Miss guy, but he was the ultimate underdog.

The Drew native probably would have merited maybe two stars, and was at the bottom of a signing class that included five quarterbacks. Three years later, I’ll bet Johnny Vaught would have gladly traded all of the other four for Archie.

Walter Payton, another twoor-three-star guy, had two offers coming out of high school, and chose Jackson State over Kansas State.

The examples go on and on.

You could make the case that the Reggie Colliers happen less and less in today’s era of information, but in spite of all the recruiting hoopla, they happen all the time.

In 2006, Southern Miss signed a two-star running back from Biloxi who was all of 5-foot-10, ran a 4.71-second, 40-yard-dash, and only had offers from the Golden Eagles and Arkansas State. Three years later, it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard of Damion Fletcher.

Gerald McRath, Shawn Nelson, Brandon Sumrall and Ryan McKee were all two-star recruits.

Now USM has signed a threestar defensive lineman, who on paper looks a lot like a young Adalius Thomas.

Octavious Thomas, the end from Mount Zion, Ga., verbally committed to Southern Miss a little over a week ago. Big Octavious is 6 feet, 3 inches, weighs 230 pounds and runs a 4.6 in the 40. Yet, he merits only two stars from Rivals.com.

Page 8 sports@studentprintz.com

David Jackson/Printz

Robin Murphy, a sophmore from Conyers, Ga., helps extend the Lady Eagles’ lead against Tulsa Sunday.

Two days after claiming the top spot in Conference USA, the Southern Miss Lady Eagles dominated the Lady Hurricanes Sunday afternoon at Reed Green Coliseum to clinch their ninthstraight win.

The 72-43 dismantling of the Lady Golden Hurricanes marked the first time Southern Miss had defeated Tulsa in women’s basketball since it joined Conference USA. The first two minutes had seven turnovers and three missed shots between the two teams.

“I don’t know if either team really was ready to play at the start of the game,” Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said.

“We kept giving the ball back and forth to each other….I think we started off playing some really ugly basketball.”

At the 17:50 mark, Tanesha Washington hit a jumper and the Lady Eagles never looked back.

Southern Miss pushed their lead to 21 points in the first half behind Tanesha Washington and Pauline Love’s combined 21 points in the first half. Tulsa cut the lead to 13 twice in the first half, but that is as close as they got. The Lady Eagles went into half time leading 39-24.

“Coach told us just to keep pressuring the ball, run the floor, make easy shots and be patient,” Washington said.

Southern Miss came out in the

second half and pushed their lead to 51-30 midway through the half. The Lady Hurricanes came no closer than 19 points in the second half.

The Lady Eagles forced Tulsa into 33 turnovers scoring 24 points off the turnovers, and the bench for Southern Miss contributed 33 points during the game.

Southern Miss shot 45 percent from the floor while holding the Lady Hurricanes to 26.2 percent.

“Coach always tells us that we have to dig our teeth in them and rip them apart,” center Stephanie Helgeson said. “She just wants us to dominate the game.”

Pauline Love led all scorers with 16 points; Tanesha Washington added 13 points, and Stephanie Helgeson added eight points and seven rebounds. Guards Kendra Reed, Erin Gatling, and Candace Rucker each had seven points.

All 14 players on the Lady Eagles roster played in Sunday’s game.

“Everybody got a piece of the pie today,” McNelis said. “Everybody recorded some minutes and everybody recorded something on the stat line.”

Southern Miss improved their record to 16-7 overall 9-1 in CUSA while Tulsa fell to 6-16 overall and 2-8 in C-USA. The Lady Eagles will now go on a four game road stretch beginning at East Carolina on Friday, and then travel to Marshall for a nationally televised game on ESPN2 on Sunday.

Lady Eagles softball kicks off season, 2-2

Christopher Bostick/Printz

Blazers destroyUSM 66-49 in C-USA loss Jeremey Wise goes in for a layup in spite of a Southern Miss loss of 66-49.

David Jackson/Printz

Courtney Hill, a sophmore from Hattiesburg, slides safely back to first base during the Lady Eagles’ game against Central Arkansas.

Kevin Kyzar Printz Writer

The Lady Eagles Softball team finished the Southern Miss Invitational played at Oak Grove High School with a record of 2-2 this weekend.

The Lady Eagles showed they have power, speed and pitching, but taking some infield may an emphasis in practice this week.

“Going into the tournament I thought I would be happy coming out 2-2,” head coach Howard Dobson said. “ We had 16 errors in four games, which isn’t very good, but we’re 2-2 even with those errors.”

On Friday, Southern Miss played Arkansas in each team’s first game of the season. The Lady Eagles jumped ahead of the Razorbacks 3-1, but ended up losing 5-3 after Arkansas scored two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Samantha Davis pitched the entire game for Southern Miss in the losing effort that included five errors in the game all made by freshmen.

The Lady Eagles had eight stolen bases in the game including two by Courtney Hill and one by Kristin Pilgrim. Both players also had one RBI. Arkansas pitcher Miranda Dixon tallied seven strikeouts in a complete game effort.

The Eagles got revenge

Saturday with a 9-6 win over the Razorbacks.

Southern Miss bounded ahead to an 8-1 lead in the top of third, but Arkansas scored five runs in the bottom half, two of them coming off a Jessica Bachkora double.

Bachkora went 2-5 on Saturday after going 4-4 against the Lady Eagles on Friday night. Again Southern Miss showed its youth with five more errors.

Courtney Ramos earned the win for the Lady Eagles pitching five innings and Samantha Davis came in and picked up the save pitching the last two innings.

In Saturday’s finale, the Lady Eagles lost a pitcher’s duel late between Lana Vaughan and Samford’s Amanda Barrs and Stephanie Royal, 8-2.

Southern Miss responded to a Samford 1-0 lead with a twoRBI double by Kristin Pilgrim in the fifth inning; however, Samford put seven runs on the board in the sixth inning, thanks mostly to a three-run home run by Katie England.

Lana Vaughn pitched the entire game for Southern Miss picking up the loss that included four errors by the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles capped the weekend with a 4-3 win over Central Arkansas Sunday on an eighth-inning RBI single from Kristin Pilgrim.

The Lady Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the

Jermaine Powell Printz Writer

On Saturday, The Southern Miss student section made it a point to remind the UAB faithful of the 70-14 beating their football team suffered at the hands of the Christopher Bostick/Printz Golden Eagles back on Nov. 1.

Leslie LeJune, a freshman from But that didn’t seem to help Houston, forces an out by catching a stop the sting of UAB’s 66-49 ball heading towards the fence. beating of Southern Miss at Reed first inning, but the Bears Green Coliseum. responded with a two-run Southern Miss jumped out to second inning. Southern Miss an early 14-4 lead with Senior added another run when right Courtney Beasley hitting fielder Megan Hill blasted a the game’s first four points. solo home run in the fourth Beasley made his first three shots, inning, but it was Pilgrim’s and gave the the spark needed for single that clinched the game the Eagles to set an early tone. in the eighth.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Samantha Davis pitched UAB provided a little more than three innings, Courtney Ramos just a spark. came on in relief earning the Despite struggling from the win and pitching five innings. free throw line early (3 of 8), the The Golden Eagle defense Blazers cut the Eagles’ lead 14managed just two errors in the 11 by the 11:47 mark, and tied game. it up on a Lawrence Kinnard 3Kelly Martino pitched seven point goal. innings for the Bears and A see-saw battle ensued as the Katie McGregor suffered the two teams matched each other loss in the eighth. basket for basket.

The Lady Eagles travel to Even though the Eagles held Starkville on Wednesday to UAB’s leading scorer Robert play Mississippi State, before Vaden to five first half points, heading to Las Vegas for the the Eagles ended the half on the UNLV Tournament on Friday, wrong side of a 7-12 run and Saturday and Sunday. trailed 31-29 at the break. “(UAB) is about as good a starting five as there is,” said Batting: Pitching: Southern Miss head coach Larry RBI: 16 SO: 13 Eustachy. “We were out-classed.

Runs: 19 Runs: 23 We have some guys that are HR: 1 HR : 2 struggling right now, and you can’t have that against a team

like that and win.”

The Eagles couldn’t seem to get anything going offensively in the second half, and by the 16minute mark trailed 38-31.

The momentum continued to build for the Blazers when guard Paul Delaney III threw down a monstrous dunk over Eagle reserve guard Bryson Brewer, setting up what would turn out to be a 3-point play.

When it couldn’t get any worse, Vaden got into the action.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound future NBA players added 10 second half points, complicating things for the struggling Eagles, who have now lost three consecutive Conference USA games.

The frustration boiled over late in the second half, when Eagle senior guard Craig Craft got into it with Delaney III, which drew off-setting technical fouls from officials.

Senior Courtney Beasley was also involved in a tense staredown earlier in the second half with Delaney III. At the 2:25 mark, most of the Eagle fans began to exit the building with UAB comfortably ahead 64-47.

The Eagles will have a chance to return the favor on Feb. 21, when they travel to Birmingham for a rematch with the Blazers.

Up next for Southern Miss is a trip to Houston to take on the Rice Owls on Wednesday at 7 p.m., then another big home game with Memphis coming to Hattiesburg on Saturday.