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S P The
Serving Southern Miss since 1927
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Volume 93, Issue 40
Two USM players arrested Sunday, out on bond Tyler Cleveland Sports Editor
Southern Miss’ all-time rushing leader Damion Fletcher was arrested outside the apartment complex that houses the football team late Sunday night on charges of discharging a firearm inside the city limits. The 21-year-old junior was booked into the Forrest County Jail at 11:49 p.m. Sunday night, and released on bond Monday morning at 4:25 a.m. Brennan Houston, a 22-yearold junior offensive lineman from Norwalk, Calif., was also arrested and booked on one
Fletcher
Houston
See page 4 for “Our View” charge of possession of marijuana. He was also released at 4:25 a.m. “I have been made aware of the situation and am gathering all the facts,” Southern Miss head football coach Larry Fedora said in a statement released through the University. “After all the facts are in, I
then will make my decision pending the legal process on any action that I feel appropriate.” Malachi Martin, an adjunct professor who lives on nearby Mable Street, said he heard about 15 gunshots late Sunday night. Martin said he looked out his window to see an unidentified male firing four or five rounds from a handgun into the air. “I was working on a lesson plan when I heard the first few gunshots,” Martin said. “When I looked out the window I saw a guy standing over there holding something up,
Graphic by Sebe Dale IV
see CHARGES page 3 Two USM football players were arrested Sunday night after police were alerted to gunshots at a nearby apartment complex on 38th Ave.
Panel discusses racism in America Andie Szabo Printz Writer
Bryant Hawkins/Printz University President Dr. Martha Saunders speaks about expected budget cuts during an open meeting Thursday in the Thad Cochran Center Ballrooms. She said “everything is being considered” as administrators seek solutions.
Saunders addresses budget concerns
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Expected funding cuts will be felt across campus next year Printz Writer
University President Dr. Martha Saunders spoke to the campus community during an open meeting Thursday to address concerns of deeper budget cuts next year. “Take heart that these problems today are only about money,” she said, beginning the meeting on a hopeful note. She listed recent accomplishments of the university, staff and students as evidence that Southern Miss would succeed despite cuts in state funding. The overall tone of Saunders’ speech was one of hope and unity, underscored by the phrase “everything is being considered,” which was repeated several times. The university will have to save money to meet the budget cuts, Saunders said, but will also work on making more money. Saunders said everyone will be affected by the budget cuts, but some people may be hit harder than others. She expressed her overwhelming concern that when salaries and jobs are cut, money is saved at the expense of people. Layoffs affect employees’ lives and families, she said. After the meeting, Robert Bateman, professor and chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry said “there’s a lot of cooperation” among administra-
INDEX
CALENDAR............................2 OPINIONS...............................4 CONTACT INFO.....................5 ENTERTAINMENT.................6
tion, deans and department chairs to deal with the budget cuts. “I think there’s going to be a lot of questions about next year and what’s going to happen there...There may be some cuts, but everybody will be part of it,” he said. The university has approximately $31 million in savings that have been left over in the past years, Saunders said, but the savings can be very difficult to procure because the money is dispersed among different departments and organizations on campus at the end of the year. “We are preparing for the worst, but working for the best,” she said. Saunders said the university will not know until April or May how much money will be cut from the university budget for fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1. But the university is already preparing for those cuts, she added. Anyone can keep up with news and plans regarding the budget cuts at usm. edu/provost/budget_planning, a Web site set up by Provost Bob Lyman. Students, faculty and staff can submit suggestions through the Web site for dealing with the cuts. Saunders said the university will close down during Spring Break to save on electricity and water as well as salaries
We are preparing for the worst, but working for the best
Andie Szabo
ENT. CALENDAR...................7 SPORTS....................................8 SPORTS CALENDAR.............8
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-Martha Saunders, President
and wages to pay. The university’s number one priority for dealing with the cuts, however, is student success, Saunders said. She pointed out that if a 2 percent increase occurred in the number of students enrolled at the university and a 2 percent raise occurred in the student retention rate, it could mean 1.2 million dollars for the school over the next year. After the budget meeting, Ty McCleery, a junior physics and math major from Mobile, Ala., said he expects the budget cuts to affect everyone, but “there are things we can do” as students to ensure the success of Southern Miss. He said students can tutor each other, lobby for study spaces and reach out to fellow students who are struggling in an effort to raise the retention rate and hopefully lower tuition. Saunders said students can help the university deal with the budget cuts if they graduate quickly and successfully. “Don’t dilly-dally,” she said, adding that students should plan ahead and keep track of classes so that they can graduate as quickly as possible.
Since the election of the United States’ first black President, some students at Southern Miss are trying to spark a discussion about racism, whether it exists and how to get rid of it for good. The College Democrats hosted a round-table discussion in the R.C. Cook Union Thursday to pose the question: “Is racism dead since the election of the first African-American President?” Panelists were former state Rep. Erik Fleming, Dr. Curtis Austin, head of the USM Center for Black Studies, and Ivory Williams, director of the City of Hattiesburg’s Urban Development Department, who sat in for Mayor Johnny DuPree. Members of College Democrats developed seven questions for the panelists from suggestions submitted through a Facebook group. Many of the questions pertained specifically to President of the United States Barack Obama, while others referred more to racism in general. College Democrats President Roy Logan, a senior administration of justice major from Petal, was the mediator of the event. Some of the questions posed were “If people voted for Obama just because of his race, does that affect his credibility?”, “Did racism play a part in Obama not winning Mississippi?”, “Would Obama have won if he were white?” and “At what point will we overcome racism?” To this last question, Fleming suggested that if race is not the main form of prejudice, people will find another difference between themselves to replace it.
Fleming
“We’re going to be prejudiced,” Fleming said. “At some point it’s going to change into how much money we have.” “Racism is something that we created,” Austin pointed out. He added that since people created it, people have to decide to destroy it. “If we can teach it one way, we can teach it another way.” Austin said he is the only African-American to work in the history department, and many of his opinions are backed by specific examples from his life and working in a department of white people. When asked if President Obama would have won if he were white, the overwhelming opinion was yes. Erik Fleming said it would not matter if Obama were purple; he had a great organized party and is a good politician. Austin said it is likely racism that prevented Obama from winning southern states like Mississippi. “It’s easy to say it’s racism,” Fleming said. “In this instance the public offered to look beyond that.” Ivory Williams said she did not even consider McCain as an opponent. She said Obama’s win was not thanks to his skin color, but to Americans wanting to see a change. “It was about getting out to vote and having the American dream come true,” she said, “and I think the numbers will speak to that.”
Recommendations for the 2009 Fiscal Year Budget Cuts Travel Commodities Equipment Contract Designated Salary Savings Total
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