The Student Printz November 05, 2015

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Volume 100 Issue 21

www.studentprintz.com PAGE THREE

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NEWS

Ed Wheeler

Photographs, documents latest to be displayed in Cook Library.

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F E AT U R E

OPINION

S P O RT S

House provides music release for punk scene in Hattiesburg.

Pop star returns with new but disappointing single.

Men’s team exhibition game set for Thursday night.

Porn Hall

Adele

Basketball

SGA to vote on removal of state flag Alan Rawls

Executive Editor The Student Government Association at The University of Southern Mississippi will vote Nov. 5 on a resolution to officially remove the state flag from both the Hattiesburg and Gulf Coast campuses. Senior political science major and SGA senator Nathan Barron authored R05F15, “A Resolution to Remove the Mississippi State Flag from University Grounds,” on the basis that, “the (flag) does not represent the values of the Student Body or of the University and is inconsistent with the Southern Miss Students’ Creed,” according to the resolution. “This is organic,” Barron told The Student Printz. “This is from the ground up, and that is what we want in Senate: for the students to get involved. (Now) that we know that the flag has been down, it has become exciting news.” According to SGA Vice President Kyle Stoner, students continue to send their opinions to senators via direct email and the Speak Up Southern Miss application on the SGA website. Their input, Stoner said, is of great value to the Senate. “As the elected voice of the student body, the Student Government Association

Courtland Wells/Printz Photo Editor Students arrive at the front of campus Oct. 28 to show their support for the Mississippi flag amid protests.

Senate is responsible for representing the diverse voices of the student body of The University of Southern

Mississippi through democratic processes,” Stoner said. “This resolution was created by a senator in order to allow for the

student voice to be heard on the current event of the State Flag of Mississippi.” The vote comes just over a

week after the Oct. 28 removal of the state flag from the front of the Hattiesburg campus. That Wednesday, students and faculty protested both against and for flying the Mississippi state flag on campus. “The Confederate battle flag represents violence, oppression and hate to many Mississippians and to people all over the world,” said Susan Hrostowski, associate professor of social work and organizer of the flag protest. “Such a symbol does not reflect the best Mississippi has to offer. It is as offensive to many as the swastika.” Counter-protesters like junior psychology major Christine Miller disagreed. “To take it down feels like you’re rejecting everything you are and how far you’ve come, as if you’re spitting on all the progress you’ve made,” Miller said in a story by The Student Printz. The SGA Senate resolution says, “Furthermore, The University of Southern Mississippi shall not raise the flag of the State of Mississippi on the Hattiesburg or Gulf Coast campus as long as the Confederate emblem, in whole or in part, remains on the flag.” The Student Printz will report the SGA Senate’s vote later Thursday. Stay with The Student Printz as the story develops.

ON CAMPUS

Documentary chronicles journalist’s life Nan Buti

Printz Reporter On Tuesday, the Liberal Arts Building screened “Eyes on Mississippi,” a documentary on legendary Mississippi journalist Bill Minor. “Eyes on Mississippi” examines the major life events and career efforts of Minor. He began his career in 1947, including coverage of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi for The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Ellen Ann Fentress, the documentary’s director and producer, was bestowed with a pre-screening reception in the Liberal Arts

Building lobby where history enthusiasts and others interested in Minor’s story mingled. Fentress compiled major and minor events that Minor covered in not only Mississippi, but all over the world during his role as a journalist. For three years, Fentress visited Minor to shoot videos in the making of the documentary until she was able to put together an hour-long historical memoir of Minor’s life. Minor was presented the Harvard University’s Louis Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism in 1966 and received Columbia University’s John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism in 1997. At age 93, he is one of the country’s oldest

working journalists. “This is a fantastic story that is long overdue for a treatment,” said Fentress. “Bill lived an amazing life being a witness to all of these events.” Fentress saves 40-plus hours of film for her other intended projects. “He’s taken me from 1947 on to the present time, and for all these events, he has been an eye witness,” she said. “He was in the car taking John Kennedy to the airport in Jackson in 1957, he’s had a private meeting with J. Edgar Hoover and for an assignment, he went to William Faulkner’s house at 10 o’clock to drink bourbon one night in the late ‘50s.” Fentress said that Minor had

many prominent friends, including Civil Rights Movement activist Medgar Evers. “The film reveals how important that relationship was to him and Mr. Evers,” Fentress said. During his reporting era with The Times-Picayune, Minor made vital achievements, quietly reporting for The New York Times and Newsweek. He was often one of the only journalists on the scene as historic events took place. Minor narrated news for nearly seven decades in Mississippi during his time as a journalist. He believed that the more eyes there were on Mississippi, the more pressure there would be for transformation. As a continued effort to publicize

Minor’s motives, Fentress created a tax-deductible charity called the Eyes on Mississippi Fund that allows supporters to donate toward Minor’s work. Upon his retirement from The Times-Picayune in 1976, Minor had ability to take on opportunities in places across the country. Instead, Minor chose to remain in Mississippi and start the Alternative Weekly in Jackson, where Fentress worked for Minor’s newfound production. “Capturing this story needed to be done and I am so happy we’ve been able to document the story for future generations,” said Fentress. “There is an awareness that BILL MINOR, SEE PG. 3


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