The Student Printz October 3, 2016

Monday, October 3, 2016 Volume 101 Issue 11

student printz SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

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USM defeats Rice, 44-28 JULIUS KIZZEE

sports editor

On Oct. 1, the Golden Eagles played Rice at “The Rock” for a 26-point win.

Senior quarterback Nick Mullens had a Southern Miss record-setting game, throwing for 591 yards combined with four touchdowns. His passes went to different receivers for chunk plays of more than 50 yards at a time.

“It was great to see [Mullens] open his arm and show what we’ve been waiting on,” said defensive lineman Dylan Bradley. “I told him before the game, ‘We follow you. We play off how you play.’”

Wide receiver Allenzae Staggers caught six balls for 292 yards putting him en route to a school record. Those numbers crack out to average 48.6 yards a catch.

“Just use my legs and just run – that’s all I’ve been taught,” Staggers said. “Next week, I’m trying to come and beat my own record.”

The defense may have been the most formidable unit out of all three phases. The defense pit the yardage at 346, including 166 yards through the air.

“It was a physical game and an exciting game for the offense and for [the defense],” Bradley said.

“It just played out like how we expected to play out. But, 300[plus] yards is a little too much

for me.”

D’Nerius Antoine was all over the field, totaling 11 tackles and contributing in punt return coverage.

“He saved a lot of big plays from being touchdowns,” Bradley said. “He gave us opportunities for a stop and for the offense to get the ball back.”

The Golden Eagles forced zero turnovers but turned the ball over three times themselves.

Ten of the 14 total Rice drives went under 30 yards.

“I thought we did a good job of getting a lot of three and outs in the first half and getting the ball back,” said Head Coach Jay Hopson.

After settling for a field goal and punting twice in the first half, the Golden Eagles gained some momentum going in the mid-second quarter with the first touchdown of the game.

The offense encapsulated 702 yards on the night – shattering the 615 yards they put up against Savannah State earlier this season.

Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson had wanted to move the ball around in future games, and he got the job done against Rice.

“Each player did their job and that’s what it’s all about,” Mullens said. “I like to think that if I play well, the team plays well.

It definitely motivates me to not play for myself but play for my teammates.”

Fadi Shahin | Printz USM quarterback Nick Mullens throws a pass against Rice at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Oct. 1.

National Anthem protesters face abuse at USM game HIBA TAHIR

entertainment editor During the game on Saturday, an African-American student and her friends were subjected to verbal and physical harassment when they did not stand up for the national anthem.

“It is okay to have a different opinion,” said Ranicia Taylor in a public post on her personal Facebook page. “I can respect people’s opinions but obviously

everyone does not believe that… I did not shout at anyone, I did not scream black lives matter, I did not disrespect anyone who was standing.”

According to tweets from her personal Twitter account, Taylor and her roommate MeQuesha Thompson were called “unpatriotic f****” and “disrespectful b******.”

“We had alcohol and soda thrown at us,” Taylor tweeted. “I am not proud to be an American.

I am really ashamed. I am not proud to go to Southern Miss. I really feel extremely sad.”

Taylor and her friends believe that the perpetrators were members of a USM fraternity.

In a statement obtained by the Student Printz, Dr. Rodney Bennett commented on the situation regarding the student.

“The University works to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of each member of its community, as well as visitors

and fans of its athletics events,” Bennett said.

“I am deeply concerned whenever members of our community feel they are not treated with dignity that each individual deserves.

Bennett also says that the university will “fully investigate the event.”

Fadi Shahin | Printz

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INTRODUCTION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

Meet the Staff Fall 2016 Cam Bonelli

Executive Editor

FIND US ON THE WEB The Student Printz

catherine.bonelli@usm.edu

Jack Hammett

Managing Editor

@studentprintz

jesse.hammett@usm.edu

Garrett Minta News Editor

garrett.minta@usm.edu

studentprintz.com

Hiba Tahir

Entertainment Editor

hiba.tahir@usm.edu

Julius Kizzee Sports Editor

OPINIONS

southernprintz@gmail.com

Hunt Mercier

Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

Photo Editor

hunt.mercier@usm.edu

Jhaimee Bullock Design Editor

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Sarah Anne Schloemer Web Master

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Nan Beauti Copy Editor

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Amber Cobbins

Hannah Heneghan

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hannah.heneghan@usm.edu

Printz Designer

Printz Designer

EDITORIAL POLICY The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not necessarily represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submissions must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication.

Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.

Chuck Cook

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NEWS MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

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Graduate employment highest in decade NAN BEAUTI

copy editor

Two-thirds of America’s employers projected hiring from 2016’s college graduate pool, up two percent from last year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A survey by CareerBuilder revealed this was the highest rate in graduate employment in 10 years.

The survey suggests that out of 2,186 hiring managers and human resource professionals last February to March, 37 percent of them wanted to offer college graduates higher pay than the previous year. This number exceeds the 11 percent who wanted to decrease the amount in starting salaries.

CareerBuilder Chief Human Resources Officer Rosemary Haefner said this jump in pay for college graduates is a result of an improving economy and more retirements that create more room for advancement and opportunities.

Fifty-two percent of the study’s employer’s said they would make offers to students prior to graduation while the reset said they would negotiate a salary during a job offer.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2016 Spring Update report predicted a positive hiring activity for 2016 graduates.

CareerBuilder estimates that 27 percent of jobs in information technology and 26 percent of jobs in customer service are the

most popular types of positions employers are offering to new college graduates. Finance and accounting and business development are at 19 percent, and sales is at 17 percent.

Business majors remain in the top percent in the job market due to their being the most in-demand graduates by employers. According to NACE’s 2016 Job Outlook Study last year, employers intended to increase spring hiring by 11 percent.

“A lot of small businesses are growing and hiring young people,” said Marketing Specialist at Career Services Tonya McGee. “Generation to generation, it changes. During the 80s, campus involvement was a huge focus for parents, who said, ‘Look, we’re paying for you to go to school, so go get involved on campus and have this amazing experience.’

Then, 20 to 30 years later, it’s, ‘I like your involvement. That looks great on your resume, but have you ever stepped foot in an office before?’”

McGee said qualities like business etiquette are what employers want to see in potential employees.

“There is a big emphasis right now here in the past five to 10 years and will be from now on you having some field experience before you walk in the door,” she said.

President and founder of College Recruiter Steven Rothberg said very few people who go to a four-year college are able to afford to take a customer service position upon graduation. He said after sales jobs, employers mainly look to fill IT and computer science jobs and entry-

level management positions.

According to CareerBuilder, the most in-demand college majors are business (35 percent), computer and information sciences (23 percent), engineering (18 percent), math and statistics (15 percent) and health professions and related clinical sciences (14 percent).

USM alumnus Martez Williams graduated in 2014 with a degree in information technology and currently works for the Mississippi Department of Corrections as a System Administrator, which required a degree.

“Most jobs require experience and certifications such as Microsoft and Comptia,” Williams said. “The school does provide internships, but no certification preparation. I wish the Department of Science and Technology would issue certification vouchers for student to take the test

so in the future the students will have a better opportunity getting the job of his or her dreams.”

Williams said he highly enjoys his job and plants to move to Texas to become a system engineer.

USM photojournalism alumnus Courtland Wells graduated in May 2016 and works for the Vicksburg Post.

“I got the job post graduation, and USM helped a lot,” Wells said.

“There’s a Facebook group for Southern Miss photojournalist majors, and they post job listings for people looking for jobs. I majored in photo, so my job directly relates to what I studied. I love my job and staying in this field is my goal.”

Career Services at Southern Miss is dedicated to helping students achieve their goal careers. Services include career counseling, résumé building, help with the cover letters,

practice interviews and guiding students and alumni to finding entry-level jobs.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is that students come in and prepare themselves for the job search, whether its part time job, internship or full time job,” McGee said. “Interview is one of those things you’ve got to have practice.

The average employer spends about 10 seconds looking over a resume before they flip to the next one, so you’ve got to have it looking great, have what they want right there easy to read in a nice format.

“Taking an hour to come in and get it done right the first time can help you get the job you want. We’ll help you prepare for the job search from helping with resume, cover letter, interview – all you have to do is walk in our door.”

Courtesy Photo |

Prospective students visit Southern Miss on recruiting day JULIUS KIZZEE

sports editor

The University of Southern Mississippi hosted its first of two Black & Gold Days on campus this year, inviting over 1,100 high school students from around the nation to tour the Southern Miss campus.

The event, held from 1 - 4 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center, opened to students from Mississippi, Alabama and other Gulf Coast areas. Attendees were invited to tour the campus and learn about the university’s departments and programs.

“We have over 240 student organizations on campus, we have over 15,000 students, [and] it’s a smaller campus so, they really get to know the other people here,” said Gulf Coast Admissions Counselor Mollie McCaroll. “There really is something for everyone here at Southern Miss.”

Most activities took place in the Thad Cochran Center, with high school check-ins on the first floor, student activities and the meeting of student organizations on the second floor and the various school departments on the third floor.

In addition to touring the programs in the Thad, students were

also able to take tours of residence halls and campus.

Jacob Blades, whose daughter Shelby Blades is thinking about attending USM, took the drive from Ocean Springs, Miss. to visit the Hattiesburg campus.

“I think it’s a good choice because it’s a right-sized institution,” Blades said. “They seem to have everything she needs educationally.”

Recruiting is essential for every university, and Southern Miss Assistant Director of Admissions Recruitment Staff Lauri Benvenutti said USM is striving to create an environment that prospective students feel invited to.

“The objective is to show them Southern Miss — physically take them on a tour to campus, show them all we have to offer them academically and extracurricular [activities],” Benvenutti said. “Lots of students would have already come for a campus tour. Lots of students, this would have been their first time on campus.”

The USM campus enrolls around 15,000 students and the university has just enrolled its most academically-talented freshman class after incoming freshman achieved a 3.33 GPA in high school and

recording a 22.94 average ACT score.

“The big kicker is to get them to campus,” Benvenutti said. “Once they get to campuxs they see the

wonderful facilities they have, they can interact with the current students and they get to interact with the professors and they see the sense of

community that we have here. It feels special and it feels like home.”

The second Black & Gold Day will be held on campus Nov. 5.

Julius Kizzee | Sports Editor Eagle Dining Marketing Manager Lauren Brescher talks to prosepctive students during Black & Gold Day at Southern Miss on Oct. 1

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NEWS MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

Church, protesters clash at Shoemaker Square CAM BONELLI

executive editor

On Sept. 29 the Church of Jackson stood in Shoemaker Square on The University of Southern Mississippi’s campus, bearing signs of aborted fetuses and quotes from scripture.

“Warning to all liars, fornicators, homosexuals, thieves, idolaters, blasphemers, money lovers, adulterers, hypocrites, drunkards – You will be cast into the lake of fire – Rev. 21:8, Gal. 5:1921, 1 Cor. 6:9-10,” read the sign of the Church of Jackson.

The Church of Jackson’s pastor Saint Austin said he chose to visit Southern Miss’s campus because it was on their list for that day.

“We preach at other campuses as well,” Austin said. “We preach at Mississippi College, Jackson State University – some of the brothers have been to Mississippi State – and we’ve been to Ole Miss. We are planning a trip to Georgia State next week.”

Austin said he and other church members were on campus to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“We use abortion because it’s the most grievous sin in our society,” Austin said.

“As much as it grieves God that there is adultery, fornication and homosexuals and all those things, this is the shedding of human blood. This is the shedding of innocent blood. In Mississippi – in our town – is the last abortion clinic. We seek

to abolish abortion through the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

At the same time, Advocacy for Civility Change Equality Safety and Social Justice (ACCESS), a studentrun social justice group for resident assistants, scheduled a ‘Free Hugs’ event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with no knowledge that the church would be at Shoemaker Square at the same time.

Broadcast journalism major Ebonee Jackson said Access is all about promoting social justice and peaceful avenues.

“This was our first event for the year,” Jackson said. “We were just putting our feet in the water. We try to advocate for social justice. With all of the controversial things that are not only going on in the world, but the different beliefs that people have that there is always some animosity. There is always some anger and hurt feelings at the end of the day.”

Jackson said the group did not come there to promote religion but to promote love and peace.

“This is the beginning, and we had no idea how big this would be,” Jackson said. “We didn’t have any idea that another group would be on the other side of the fountain doing something completely different. We had no idea when we planned this. I feel that [our group] will grow.”

Sophomore biochemistry major Temp Weaver said he is personally a

Cam Bonelli | Executive Editor A member of the Church of Jackson speaks to students in Shoemaker Square on Sept. 29.

Buddhist but has read most of the major religious texts.

“There is some beauty in the Christian message, but I don’t think It’s being represented here,” Weaver said. “It’s hypocritical. [The Church of Jackson] says that abortion is a sin, and we should disallow abortion. But to claim that abortion is murder and to propose a solution that further overcrowds our foster care system, and to say that isn’t murder, that makes them moral

relativists.”

Weaver said such a solution is abject hypocrisy.

“I wish they would realize it, but they are never going to,” Weaver said. “They are telling me I’m rationalizing myself into hell. The book of Isaiah says we should take up take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the widow’s case.

Their message is based on oppression.

Jesus was abjectly against oppression.”

Weaver said there is a motif

throughout the gospel of “bringing low the hills to raise up the valleys.”

“It’s not talking about literally changing geographical landmarks,” Weaver said. “That’s talking about the raising of humans from suffering and oppression. If what they are preaching is oppression – if what they are preaching exacerbates the death of children outside of the womb if not inside of the womb, it’s actively going against the teachings of Christ.”

USM involved in month-long sustainability event CAM BONELLI

executive editor

The University of Southern Mississippi’s Office of Sustainability will host numerous events on campus for Sustainability Month in October.

This international month-long celebration encourages universities worldwide to contribute to sustainability in higher education, according to The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education(AASHE). More than 755 universities and business partners across the globe – from Mississippi to New Zealand – hold memberships with AASHE. Physical Plant Assistant Director of Sustainability Haley McMinn-Young said Southern Miss is a member of AASHE. “AASHE operates as a resource and professional development depot for higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students,” McMinn-Young said.

McMinn-Young said Sustainability Month is a concentrated programming month for the Office of Sustainability.

On Oct. 4 The Office of Sustainability will host a Climate Change Panel in Thad Cochran Center 216 at 6:30 p.m.

Chair of the Department of Geography and Geology Mark Puckett, Emeritus Professor of Economics Mark Klinedinst, College of Arts and Letters associate professor Will Watson and USM alumnus Bill Curtis of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby will lead the panel.

McMinn-Young said Sustainability Month’s kick-off event will be the climate change panel.

“This panel will include 4 panelists with a variety of expertise and backgrounds,” McMinn-Young said.

“Our goal with this event is simply to foster a conversation that seriously considers the impact of climate change.”

“Much like Earth Week in April, we program on a myriad of topics related to sustainability and the triple bottom line,” McMinn-Young said. “It’s important that we do programming throughout the year that continues to educate the campus and community.”

McMinn-Young encourages students to attend the upcoming events in October.

“There will also be a few volunteer opportunities to help with the implementation of events,”McMinnYoung said.

President of the Sustainability Advocates and sophomore computer engineering technology major Gabriel Ultvlugt said the Sustainability Advocates will participate in most of the events.

“We will be aiding the office of sustainability wherever we are needed,” Ultvlugt said. “A large part of what we do is try to educate our peers about the importance of sustainable living through tabling events, coordination with the office of sustainability and some events of our own.”

McMinn-Young said the Sustainability Advocates is a student organization that is in its fifth year.

“They support sustainability

initiatives on campus and work to bring awareness to all campus constituents regarding sustainability issues,” McMinn-Young said.

“The Sustainability Advocates and the Southern Miss chapter of the United States Green Building Council are the two I know of [on campus].” Ultvlugt said. “Students can also participate in the Adopt-A-Spot program to help keep campus litter-free.”

In 2008, former university president Martha Saunders signed American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which committed the university to sustainability.

McMinn said the signing of the President’s Climate Commitment set into motion a number of accepted university responsibilities.

“The biggest part of this commitment is the designation of a climate neutrality date, McMinn-Young said. “In our Climate Action Plan, Southern Miss has committed to reaching climate neutrality by 2050.”

McMinn-Young said campus sustainability is important that Southern Miss continue to strive to be a sustainable institution. “[It is important] that we meet this commitment, are able to stay viable as climate change challenges arise and are able to educate students to lead sustainable lives in their own respect,” McMinn Young said. “This long term change, through education of our people, is where the largest positive impact on our environment can come from.”

Ultvlugt said sustainability on campus is important because it serves a larger purpose of sustainability in the environment.

“Our campus is, in my opinion, a very beautiful place,” Ultvlugt said. “I want to preserve that. On a larger scale though, sustainability on campus is

Courtesy Photo |

important because of the opportunity it presents to get others excited about preserving our environment as a whole.”

For more information regarding the Office of Sustainability or the Sustainability Advocates, visit its website at usm.edu/green.

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FEATURE MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

Grivno tracks tale of 130-year-old slave CAM BONELLI

executive editor

Associate professor Max Grivno pulls a black and white composition notebook from his bag – the contents of which are several months’ worth of research in neatly compiled notes and handwriting – as he expounds on the peculiarity of Sylvester Magee, allegedly the oldest man in history.

Magee claimed to be a 130-year-old American slave. A.P. Andrews, a retired insurance agent and amateur historian, brought Magee’s story to national attention in the 1960s through interviews and the collection of documentation of Magee’s claim.

“The question of who he was is one that has fascinated people for a long time,” Grivno said. “It’s a story of a man who claimed to be 130 years old, a man who claimed to the last slave [and] a man who claimed to be the last surviving veteran of the civil war. At first brush, the claim seems almost impossible to believe. There’s only been one documented case of a person getting anywhere near that [age]. That was a woman in France who may have been in her late 120s.”

Grivno transcribed these notes from a collection of handwritten letters, two reel-tapes that have been digitally reformatted, news clippings, articles and documents – some of which were frail, yellowed, damaged or illegible. The material, collected by Andrews, resides in the McCain Library. The library received the collection from retired University of Southern Mississippi history professor William Scarborough.

“I was a member of the Jackson Civil War Round Table along with A.P. Andrews,” Scarborough said. “Andrews was the one who gathered this material together. He passed away, and we had a ceremony, and Andrew’s wife Zetna formally presented the materials to me in hopes that I would write a book about

Sylvester Magee. [The collection] stayed in my office for 30 years or so, and when I retired in 2011, I gave the materials to the McCain Library.”

Scarborough said he did not have time to write about Magee due to teaching, researching and his doubts about Magee’s claim.

“I doubt that he was that old,” Scarborough said. “I doubt that he was a part of the civil war. Andrews thought he was the genuine article. He ignored the evidence that was contrary to his point of view or he twisted it to his own ends.”

Grivno has meticulously poured over this collection, visited county courthouses to obtain documents that pertained to Magee or his name’s likeness and collected any shred of evidence that would illuminate Magee’s true age.

“The evidence that we have about Sylvester Magee is very thin on the ground,” Grivno said. “There’s not much that we know, and it’s often contradictory.

I was at the Forrest County courthouse earlier this week, and one of the items mentioned in the early press coverages of Sylvester Magee was that he was married in 1949, at which point he would have been 107 [or] 108. It doesn’t seem that anyone in the 1960s checked his marriage license.”

Grivno pointed to his computer screen showing Magee’s 1949 marriage license application, which cited Magee’s age as 60 years old.

“Here again is where it gets complicated,” Grivno said. “In the 1940 census, there is a fellow named Sylvest Magee – who is probably the same person – who’s living in Lamar County, Miss. claiming that he is 97 and born about 1843 in North Carolina.

This is consistent with the details that Magee told one of the interviewers in the 1960s. The problem is that’s also the same fellow that gets married in 1949 and claims to be 60. There’s a real lack of consistency about his age. I haven’t been able to track

him consistently over the years in the historical records.”

Mississippi did not begin issuing birth certificates until 1912, so Grivno cannot track Magee with that documentation.

Grivno discovered WWI draft cards of three African-American men from Lamar county who registered for the draft in 1917. Two of the men were in their 20s, and one was in his 40s. However, this would show that Magee’s age during the 1960s would be around 80 or 90 years old.

A.P. Andrews’ interference with Magee in the 1960s complicates matters further.

“Andrews was an rabid segregationist,” Grivno said. “He did everything he could to resist the Civil Rights movement. He used southern history and Confederate heritage to block the freedom struggle in the 1960s. He’s an unlikely fellow to bring this story forward. It wasn’t just the story of Magee, it’s the story of his relationship with this historian. It’s an interesting kind of dynamic.”

Grivno said he believes Andrews’ motives were complex and that Andrews believed Magee about his age. Andrews saw his research as an opportunity to establish himself as a historian.

“In some ways, I think people like Andrews were trying to show that they weren’t racist or that they believed the races should be separate, but it didn’t mean that they saw themselves as hateful people,” Grivno said. “Andrews gets to these points in his interviews. He asks Magee if he would rather be alive in the 1850s or the 1960s. He’s shocked when Magee says he’d rather be alive in the 1960s. It’s almost like he wants Magee to validate white supremacy.”

Grivno said when Andrews asked Magee about integration, Magee said, “Mixing is not right – it ain’t right. White folks has always been ahead all the time.

Mixing up, there’d be a war here. You all would kill all of us. You all ain’t gonna stand for it.”

before that under a different name that I don’t remember. Some cult of Stage Monkeys came here, saw the group perform and gave us the Stage Monkeys name.”

The organization performs shortform improvisation in which they spontaneously act out games and gimmicks. Halliburton said the group practices the format of games beforehand but never performs a game the same way twice.

“It takes a very specific kind of person, I think,” McGuire said. “That’s not saying we have this tremendous amount of courage. I just think that we have these weird brains that will allow us to throw ourselves out there in front of people hoping to make them laugh.

But really, we’re just like making fools of ourselves for our own enjoyment.”

While nothing is concrete and wrong from right is undeterminable in improvisational comedy, members of Stage Monkeys offer support when someone is having difficulties continuing the performance.

“One of the things that improv

teaches you to do – and that’s why it’s a useful life-skill – is if you ever see someone failing, you need to make their failure make sense,” McGuire said. “You make their failure funny without making fun of them.”

Whether it be to meet new people, have fun or achieve a personal goal, each Stage Monkeys member had a reason for attending tryouts.

“I’ve done improv for a long portion of my life,” Halliburton said. “I have met people from all walks of life with all kinds of careers, and they all get together to fly one flag under improv, and it’s fantastic.”

Not used to performance art, McGuire said he joined Stage Monkeys in hopes of gaining life experience.

“Glen Payne said improv is a lot like nerdy skydiving, because when you do it, it changes your life forever,” McGuire said. “You gain this skillset to be able to do this thing that terrifies most people. It becomes this rush that you can get any time that crosses over into your regular life, and you’re more likely to take risks and speak your mind

Cam Bonelli | Executive Editor The Sylvester Magee colleciton resides in the McCain Library. Associate professor Max Grivno used these materials for his research.

“Magee never says that whites are superior but resistance to segregation will result in a lot of violence,” Grivno said.

“Regardless of however old he is, if he’s 130 or just 60, he would have grown up in the worst years of post-slavery race relations.

He would have seen or heard of black men being lynched for any number of reasons.

He would have known that any challenge to the racial order would be met with overwhelming violence.”

Many cases such as Magee’s showed that the media used former AfricanAmerican slaves in post-slavery times as props. Several times, the articles would not go into details about the individuals’ lives or personal matters but would juxtapose them next to new technology as a means to show how far America had come in postslavery race relations, according to Grivno.

In one National Enquirer article

clipping at McCain Library, Magee poses with a telephone pressed against his aged face and white beard.

Grivno showed a collection of laminated articles similar to that of Magee’s. The articles featured former African-American slaves’ faces printed in black ink and lined with old age. The case of Magee follows closely to those printed in these articles.

There was never a mention of the life he lived in abject poverty.

As a social historian, Grivno’s work revolves around finding information on those like Magee, where little documentation exists. The entirety of the man and mystery of Magee resides in a small gray box in McCain Library.

The cumulation of Magee’s case will result in a presentation of Grivno’s findings at 6 p.m on Oct. 4 in the Cook Library Art Gallery.

Stage Monkeys serve to induce laughter, relief from stress PATIENCE JOHNSON printz reporter

They spend each week providing comedic relief for students and the surrounding community, motivated by a passion for courage and comedy.

To the Stage Monkeys, a Southern Miss improvisation comedy group, humor is an escape from life’s stressors, and members believe in its potential to change a person’s day – including their own.

“We love to make people laugh, and it’s 100 percent free,” said Stage Monkeys president Logan Halliburton.

“We are under the flag of the cult of the Stage Monkeys, which is now coast to coast.”

The organization celebrated its 15th anniversary last summer.

“USM was actually given the Stage Monkey menarche by someone from the cult of the Stage Monkeys,” said John McGuire, a 27-year-old former graduate of USM and current member of Stage Monkeys. “We existed

Courtesy Photo | and be good with people.”

This year the Stage Monkeys plan to advertise their new location in Wilbur Stout Hall on USM’s campus, having previously performed in Joseph Greene Hall. Attendance has

decreased since relocating. Members estimate a minimum of 20 people frequent shows.

The Stage Monkeys next show will be Oct. 13, and a Halloween show will follow on Nov. 3.

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ENTERTAINMENT MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

Former student’s production company takes off HIBA TAHIR

entertainment editor When Bryce Ballinger last spoke to The Student Printz in March, he was just starting his company Witch Trial Productions and making no profit from his ventures. As a full-time student and part-time GameStop employee, he’d regularly rack up $700 bills for the catering, equipment and gas needed by the bands he invited to play shows in Hattiesburg.

“Six months ago, I hadn’t even put on my first show yet,” Ballinger said. “Since then, it’s just completely blown up. I started booking shows thinking it’d be a fun thing to do – you know, meet people and have fun. But this whole Witch Trial thing has turned into another kind of monster.”

Witch Trial Productions is Bryce’s brainchild.

According to the description on its Facebook page, it is “a team of multi-talented individuals with a main focus in providing the best possible service we can to bands and the fans of all music we work with.”

On Oct. 8, Witch Trial will host a show featuring the bands

Filth, Lordis, Delusions, VØID and Invictus at Hero’s Laser Tag in Gulfport. On Oct. 21, they’ll host Bodysnatcher, Unity and Daggers at The Tavern in Hattiesburg.

In the midst of their alreadypacked schedule, Ballinger and his team are gearing up for their busiest month of the year. In November, Witch Trial will host a Fall Festival in Biloxi and an additional show at The Tavern. They will also run a tour for the band Invictus.

“It’s not huge, but it’s a step in the right direction, and we couldn’t be more excited to be able to help bands get out on the road and play their music,” said a statement on the company’s Facebook page.

To Ballinger, it’s always been about the bands.

“I want these artists that we’re booking to succeed,” he said. “I want the people that I’m working with to succeed.”

Ballinger’s drive also stems from the frustration he feels sitting in classrooms.

“Part of the reason why I’m not in school this semester is that I just feel like I [should] focus on what my major says I should be doing instead of just sitting in class,” he said. “And you know, actually

getting paid for it.”

Starting in 2017, Ballinger will expand Witch Trial in order to focus more on artist management.

He plans to sign two artists to their label.

“We’re going to be distributing their music,” he said. “We’re going to be hooking them up with tours.

Our first band is a great group of hardworking dudes out of Topeka, Kansas called Stories Through Storms. These guys have been hustling almost more than any band I have seen out there. We’ll be releasing [their track] as our first official song released through Witch Trial.”

Although he’s already developed a large team of hardworking music enthusiasts, Ballinger is open to adding members all the time. As a musician himself, he knows the value of genuine interest.

“I think it’d be awesome to start an on-campus organization to get people involved more with handson experience in booking shows and managing bands,” he said. “The best thing you can do right now if you don’t know what to do is just come to one of our shows or go out to any of the shows around here.

Meet people in the music scene.”

In five years, Ballinger sees himself booking tours and releasing music nationally.

“It’d be cool to expand, to have representatives in almost every state, but that’s a big feat that we’ll

have to work on,” he said. “I’m just focusing on getting as many touring artists built up as possible. I’m going to do my best to make sure this doesn’t crash and burn.”

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Rob and Chyna desperate for ratings, viewership TACHINA WILSON

printz reporter

Seems like Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna are pulling out all the stops for ratings.

Earlier this week, Rob took to Twitter after finding out his sisters were planning a baby shower without inviting Blac Chyna, and he was furious.

Rob tweeted, “Didn’t invite the mother of my child to a baby shower you all were trying to throw for me!!?

You all must have lost your damn minds” Kylie Jenner, Rob’s youngest sister got caught in the cross fire of the usual reality TV drama when Rob tweeted out her cell phone number.

If you’re not familiar with those involved, Blac Chyna used to date Kylie’s current boyfriend Tyga, with whom she has a child.

According to E! News, it was all a misunderstanding.

Apparently, it was a guys-themed baby shower, and Chyna was going to surprise him by coming. However, Rob never showed up, so the sisters told her not to come at all.

It seems as though the drama never stops with the Kardashian clan, and revenge is well kept within the family.

Rob called into “On Air With Ryan Seacrest” to tell Ryan how it all went down.

Rob apologized to Kylie and added,

“She definitely blocked me, and she didn’t give me her new number.”

After the baby shower fiasco, Chyna decided to get even on Twitter as well, this time pulling Rob’s stunt on him by tweeting out his cell number to her 694,000 followers.

Some are wondering if this is Chyna’s “method” to get better ratings for Sunday’s upcoming episode.

She later commented on Snapchat, “to ensure your man is not texting no b******, just tweet his number out.”

Twitter warriors went wild wondering if Rob would fight back, but Chyna did not seem to care much about releasing her fiancé and soonto-be baby daddy’s digits.

She later took to Snapchat saying, “How’s that feel, Rob? How ya feel?

Get your number changed, thank you.”

Rob’s number has since been disconnected.

All of the controversy has raised eyebrows and makes one start to question if the Kardashian spin-off is suffering from low ratings. Are Rob and Chyna desperate to stay relevant?

In one of the first teasers of the couple’s E! reality show, Chyna was seen on the phone screaming at Rob, asking, “Are you still texting b******?

Yes or no?”

The phrase was so popular, social media users created various memes and videos mimicking the phone call.

Even though Chyna doesn’t enjoy fighting with her fiancé, she enjoyed the popularity enough to have the

phrase printed on a T-shirt.

Perhaps the silver lining for Chyna could be using the fights to

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make money.

She is currently selling the tee on her website.

For $25, you can rock a phrase from a fight you were not involved in.

OPINION MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2016

7

American politics: Decency out, Trump in J.D. RIMANN

printz reporter

Decency in American politics is something of a myth. In his 1884 race against James Blaine, Grover Cleveland, accused of fathering an illegitimate child, had to face jeers of “Ma, ma, where’s my pa?

Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!” (Cleveland provably did laugh at this after being sworn in as President). Jefferson faced a slew of character assaults, and Burr killed Hamilton over a personal, not political, insult. Since the beginning of the republic American politics has been anything but an arena where ideas and not individuals are the focus of debate.

The acts of respect and acknowledgement that your opponents are also human beings which constitute the tolerance of the decent individual seem to be wholly lacking in American politics today.

However, Donald Trump and his supporters have taken this dearth of decency in national politics to a whole new level in this race (and no, I am not referring to Trump’s discussion of his little hands in the primaries). From continuing to call

a former Miss Universe Miss Piggy to using cruel caricatures on-stage for his fellow candidates to telling the mother of a crying child to get out of a rally to insulting a disabled reporter, The Donald has proven to be uniquely lacking in decency.

His supporters try and play this lack of human decency off as a part of his campaigning strategy, or as a mere front. It is a persona, or just part of a negotiation, or just a media deception, or telling it like it is. Whatever the excuse Donald the person, we are assured, is not at all like Donald the Candidate or Donald the Reality TV Star or Donald the Husband or Donald the Businessman.

This simply cannot be true.

There is no such thing as a differentiation between private and public virtue. If an individual is dishonest, cruel, and perverted in their capacity as a private citizen, then there is no reason to expect differently from them if they were to achieve public office.

If a candidate runs roughshod over the basic norms of human decency on the road to White House, they probably are not going to experience a 180 degree change once they are sitting in the Oval

Office and become a paragon of honor and virtue.

This is one of the key problems with Donald Trump. He has a welldeserved reputation for being all of those things mentioned above.

He cannot stop oscillating between merely mean and completely crazy. He packed more indecency and craziness into this week than most politicians do in there entire careers. He falsely accused a woman of having a sex tape, encouraged America to go watch it (!), and then had the news that it was actually he himself who cameoed in a Playboy sex tape in the 1990s (I wonder what Jerry Falwell thinks about his son’s endorsement). Trump routinely demeans whole categories of individuals for no discernable reason, other than perhaps to boost himself by booting them.

And not only is he a loose cannon, he is a coward. He saves his worse insults and most petty (and bizarre) accusations for late night twitter sessions, blasting people in 140 character messages. When he comes face-to-face with the people he insults though, he wilts. Carley Fiorina and Hillary Clinton both called him out in person for things

he said on Twitter or in interviews about them, and both times he backtracked and tripped over his words and refused to admit to saying what he said.

To paraphrase Richard Harding Davis, Trump’s rudeness is exceeded only by his rudeness.

Trump may be a sign of the times, but he has not been without harbingers. The Clinton primary campaign in 2008 questioned Barak Obama’s birth—Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal and not Trump is the godfather of the so-called birther movement—and the endless string of mocking insults and accusations veiled and otherwise of racism, sexism, classism, and so-on which Democrats cast at Mitt Romney in 2012 must appear to them to be ironic now.

That is perhaps the major reason why Trump is still not dead in the polls, even after inflicting approximately a thousand selfinflicted wounds: many Americans simply do not seem to buy it now when a candidate is accused of hating minorities or women or of being a threat to the republic or whatever. That rhetoric, which has been unjustly applied to

Republicans from Clarence Thomas to Samuel Alito to Jeb Bush to Mitt Romney and many more, now means that when a GOP candidate comes along who really is those things than those accusations, actually true for once, are not taken seriously by many voters. Instead these accusations are seen as one more cycle of partisan mainstream media attacks.

This is a problem, and a difficult one to solve. We need to develop decency in American politics, but decency does not sell. It is not involved in soundbites with snappy little nicknames or false accusations. At the end of the day the media would rather report on jerks and blowhards more than discussing genuinely good human beings. Maybe decency has never existed in political discourse, and maybe it never will. After all we are still broken human beings, a truth unfortunately reflected in our politics today as much as it ever has been. I am not sure how we go about making politics a discourse and a dialogue and not a petty shouting match.

Nominating someone other than Donald Trump in four years is probably a good place to start.

Oxford High superintendent implies segregation ALYSSA BASS

printz reporter

On Sept. 29, Oxford High School’s newspaper The Charger published an article that took the Oxford community by surprise: “District considers opt-in school for low-income students.”

Most shockingly, the idea came from Oxford High School’s Superintendent Brian Harvey, who cited the achievement gap as his reason for the proposal.

“We have a lot of smart kids and because there is not a private school or other real viable options this creates a gap where we have the people who are high achieving students and then the low achieving students,” Harvey told The Charger. “We have one of the largest gaps in the state.”

Harvey went on to say that this gap is linked to poverty-stricken students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

“It is geared towards those who are in the low economic groups,” Harvey said. “There is a correlation between achievement and poverty.”

While Harvey meant for his idea to be innocuous, the proposal is strikingly similar to “separate but equal,” and I understand why students and parents feel insulted. Harvey’s disguised version of “separate but equal” isn’t racially-motivated, but race is linked to socioeconomics.

Historically, African-Americans are the poorest Americans and still are,

according to U.S. Poverty Statistics released in September by the U.S. Census Bureau. Currently, 24.1 percent of African-Americans are in poverty.

To understand why AfricanAmericans remain at the bottom of the socioeconomic food chain, one must examine the history of how they got there. The answer lies in systematic racism long after the slavery days were over.

Defined by sociologist Joe Feagin, systemic racism is “the complex array of anti-black practices, the unjustlygained political-economic power of whites, the continuing economic and other resource inequalities along racial lines and the white racist ideologies and attitudes created to maintain and rationalize white privilege and power.”

An example of systematic racism against African-Americans can be found in employment or lack thereof.

According to NPR, unemployment rates are dropping, but the AfricanAmerican unemployment rate is more than double the rate for whites at 8.8 percent. Of course this could be attributed to that percentage simply not having the right qualifications for the jobs they desire, but assuming the worst, the reason could lie in racist employers.

For example, a 2015 UCLA study found that employers were more likely to hire a male with a “white-sounding” name rather than a “black-sounding” name because “black” names like Jamal,

DeShawn or Darnell are associated with violence due to common stereotypes of black men.

Black women are also discriminated in the work force, especially if they have natural hair. In 2007 a white “Glamour” magazine editor told employees that afros and dreads were a “no no” and that those “political hairstyles really have to go.” In 2014 Louisiana meteorologist Rhonda Lee gained national attention when she was fired from KTBS for defending wearing her natural hair on Facebook.

It should be noted that natural hair being declared unprofessional is nothing new, for early into the 1900s, black women straightened their hair to not only get jobs, but match white beauty standards.

Even if black men and women are employed, they earn less than their white counterparts due to the pay gap.

According to the National Committee on Pay Equity in 2013, black men earned 75.1 percent of white men’s median earnings. The percentage gets even smaller if you’re a “doubleminority”: black women earned 64 percent of white men’s earnings.

However, once again, this is nothing new. Unequal pay based on race and gender began early on in American history.

If you’re not earning enough money, you can’t afford to live in the nicest neighborhoods.

In the 1930’s, African-Americans

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were victims of redlining. Defined

by Daily Beast writer Jamelle Bouie, redlining is “the practice of denying key services (like home loans and insurance) or increasing their costs for residents in a defined geographical area.”

The Federal Housing Administration encouraged redlining and deemed African-American neighborhoods ineligible for FHA mortgages. This is how ghettos were formed.

And as we all know, where you live can determine your safety, access to health care and yes, even your access to a quality education.

Harvey’s right: There is a correlation between achievement and poverty.

A school district cannot do much to improve a student’s economic situation, but it can do more to help its students achieve. While Superintendent Harvey is not responsible for systematic

racism, he should be held responsible for dividing the Oxford High School student body based on socioeconomic status and inadvertently targeting African-American students.

And honestly, why would any type of segregation cross a Mississippi superintendent’s mind after the South’s history of blatant racism? Furthermore, Harvey’s proposal said less about the students at Oxford High School and more about his nonbelief in the staff and faculty to provide the resources necessary in creating successful students.

Thankfully, after backlash from students and parents, the Oxford Board of Trustees released a statement on Sept. 30 saying they “have no plans to create a separate school and will move forward only with participation of the Oxford community.”

8

SPORTS MONDAY, OCTOBER3, 2016

Golden Eagles dominate in Reed Green return KYLE WILLIAMS

printz reporter

It has been a month since Southern Miss has played at home in Reed Green Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles (13-5) hosted Marshall (13-6) Friday in their highly-anticipated homecoming game and delivered with a 3-0 victory.

Marshall started game one strong, taking an early 11-6 lead on the Golden Eagles. A 10-4 run would demolish the lead for Marshall and give Southern Miss the 16-15 lead. The 11-6 lead would be one of the two leads for Marshall throughout the three games.

Southern Miss did not let the momentum fall to Marshall as they were able to obtain an 8-2 lead. The six-point lead forced Marshall to call a timeout in hopes of killing some of the Golden Eagles’ momentum. The timeout was ineffective as Southern Miss went on to build the lead even more to 14-8 off of four attack errors committed by Marshall.

Southern Miss went on to win set two, 25-15.

Early in the third set, both teams would trade points back-to-back, as neither team could gain the momentum to obtain a lead higher

than two. Six Golden Eagle kills and a plethora of errors by Marshall led to Southern Miss gaining the much-needed advantage to win the set, 25-16.

“It was a good rebound from our last match at [Texas-San Antonio],” said Head Coach Amanda Berkley.

“They just played really well. I think we just played low-air volleyball.

Kylie Grandy had a great match for us, and she didn’t have any errors.

She served really well, and I think it was one of her first matches where she didn’t have any service errors.”

Grandy entered Friday night’s contest fourth in C-USA in aces with 0.39 per set. Grandy’s two service aces Friday elevated her to second in conference USA. There were other notable achievements for Southern Miss in their home showing. The Golden Eagles held Marshall to only a .103 hitting percentage, recording this performance as the best defensive work for the Golden Eagles this season. Also, this is the fourth consecutive meeting between Southern Miss and Marshall where Southern Miss has won all four under coach Berkley.

Southern Miss looks to keep the streak going as they play host against Western Kentucky Thursday at home. The first game is set for 6:00 p.m.

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