The Student Printz December 5, 2016

Monday, December 5, 2016 Volume 101 Issue 26

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Southern Miss Heads to New Orleans Bowl JULIUS KIZZEE

sports editor

Southern Miss will take on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. in the 16th annual R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl for their 24th bowl appearance in school history.

“I am extremely proud of the 2016 Golden Eagle football team and very excited to get the invitation to play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl,” said Head Coach Jay Hopson in a press release. “It is a great destination bowl and the Golden Eagle football family is excited to

continue our season in the City of New Orleans.”

The Golden Eagles became bowl-eligible after their 39 - 24 upset victory over C-USA Western Division champions Louisiana Tech to give them a bowl-eligible 6-6 record. The Golden Eagles are one of seven C-USA teams to be going into postseason play, along with Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, North Texas and TexasSan Antonio.

Louisiana-Lafayette also finished their season 6 - 6 with a season finale win over Louisiana Monroe, 30 - 3.

Notable wins for the Ragin’ Cajuns

were Georgia Southern, Arkansas State and South Alabama, but a three-game losing streak mid-season put Louisiana-Lafayette in fighting terms for bowl eligibility in the last week of the season.

The Golden Eagles also had a rocky season after starting 4 - 1 through the first five games, but injuries and adjusting to an entirely new coaching staff, among a myriad of other factors, led to the Golden Eagles stumbling to a 6 - 6 record in 2016 after a 9 - 5 record in 2015.

Southern Miss can point to a mid-season concussion to Nick Mullens or injuries to players like

D.J. Thompson and Draper Riley as reasons why the Golden Eagles finished with a .500 record. But the resolve of the team to defeat La. Tech after dropping three straight gave Hopson a bright spot for the year.

“We were in our darkest hour and everybody on this football team came out with a positive attitude,” Hopson said. “I’m just blessed to be a part of these young men. It’s been a long tough road, but a great finish.”

It will be the 52nd time that Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss have played on the gridiron, with USM holding a decisive 39 11 - 1 lead dating back to 1923. The

Golden Eagles also have not been to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl since 2009, and it will be the fifth time USM will play in the MercedesBenz Superdome on the occasion.

“I’m proud of the way our players and coaches fought through adversity throughout the season to earn the opportunity to play in this game,” said Southern Miss Athletic Director Bill McGillis. “The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl should be both a terrific match-up on the field and a sensational atmosphere and environment off the field, with both programs supported by very passionate fan bases.”

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INTRODUCTION MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Meet the Staff Fall 2016 Cam Bonelli

Executive Editor

FIND US ON THE WEB The Student Printz

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Managing Editor

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@studentprintz

Garrett Minta News Editor

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Hiba Tahir

Entertainment Editor

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Julius Kizzee Sports Editor

southernprintz@gmail.com

Hunt Mercier Photo Editor

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OP-ED MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Letter to the editor: “Make USM Great Again!”

DR. DOUGLAS CHAMBERS

associate professer of history

Here we go again. And right on schedule. Since I came here in 1999, every five years or so the then-current provost and the thencurrent president, of whom there have been at least five respectively in less than two decades, have set themselves to upsetting the applecart and demoralizing the faculty, again. Folks, this new proposal is just the latest crazy nonsense pushed by administrators who apparently have too little to do as it is. Instead of focusing on enabling the faculty, which I remind you are the university, in our work, they are demanding that we enable the administration to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Provost Moser now wants to totally reimagine and reorganize USM. Oddly enough, the just-released “Plan for Academic Reorganization” (Dec. 2016) is distinguished by the fact that there is no plan. The hubris!

Just when we have finally recovered from the last attempt, in 2011, which would have totally reorganized the way the university funds its work by forcing the faculty into a radical “all against all” (or dog-eat-dog) budgeting system, rather than the normal incremental approach, now they want to force us to reinvent the entire wheel. Really?

In the interim, the university eliminated the Department of Economics in the College of Business (which is passing strange), continued to expand an alreadybloated central administration (of course), tried to kill off regionally distinguished legacy efforts such as the Southern Quarterly (one of the oldest scholarly journals of Southern studies, which was founded in 1962) and then just this Fall announced that they are eliminating the B.A. in Religion. Really?

Let me repeat: Their justannounced Plan is that they have no plan. Instead, they want the faculty to come up with one. Look, we the faculty have more than enough to do, with our teaching, our research/ scholarship/creative works and our professional service. And now we are expected to commit ourselves to the distraction of solving their institutional and administrative problems? I don’t think so.

I encourage everyone to go to the Provost’s webpage and download “The Plan for Academic Reorganization.” It is a document that, while admittedly wellintentioned and of course ambitious in intended scope, is full of blather. It demands that the faculty, with a Jan. 27, 2017 deadline, no less, submit proposals for totally reimagining the basic structure of this centuryold university.

Their main bright idea is to replace the discipline-based structure of this “university renowned for academic rigor, innovation and the achievements of its community of scholars” (p.2) with unwieldy and artificial administrative units that

pay little or no attention to the basic fact that our Profession is based on academic disciplines. For example, they suggest replacing the core liberal arts departments such as English, foreign languages and history with a “Division of the Humanities” and frankenstein departments such as a “Department of Historical and Critical Inquiry” (p.7). For the 195 current history B.A. majors, how would you like to receive a degree in “Historical and Critical Inquiry?” And then have to explain that to prospective employers, graduate or law schools and, for you history licensure students, to school principals who want to hire teachers?

Much of this constant tinkering and disruption reflects two true challenges. The first is that the State of Mississippi continues to cut its part of our institutional funding, for whatever reasons. The second is that this university has never figured out how to compete for the declining number of potential college students in this state, which is a failure of the Office of Admissions, not of the faculty. But the greatest challenge is one of institutional identity. When I came here, the Big Idea was that USM defined itself as “a national university for the Gulf South region.” And that ambition attracted ambitious faculty. Shortly after coming here, however, I walked a freshman Honors College student back to her dorm after an Honors Forum lecture. When I asked her why she chose to come to USM, she said, well, she was from Mississippi and wanted to stay relatively close to home; and though with her high ACT scores she could have gone anywhere, she chose USM because, as she told me, Ole Miss was too preppy, State was too country and, “as everyone knows, USM is the cool university of Mississippi.” Yes, that is exactly what she told me.

The cool university of Mississippi.

Now that is an institutional brand with legs. That dog hunts.

So why in all these years has USM’s administration doggedly refused to recognize our greatest strength, our diversity and, yes, this university’s “cool” factor? And why is it that every five years or so, yet another cohort of administrators beats up on the faculty here?

If they want to “make USM great again,” I would suggest the following core principles: 1. Enable the faculty to succeed in our respective disciplines and focus on supporting our “research, scholarship and service” (p.2). Oh, and our teaching, too.

2. Fund this faculty-focused initiative by dramatic cuts in administration. Decentralize and return to faculty self-governance instead of forcing ever greater centralization (as “The Plan” proposes). Perhaps the best idea would be to free up resources by eliminating the Office of the Provost?

3. Ground any Plan on our actual brand as “the cool university

Courtesy Photo | of Mississippi,” a brand wellunderstood by our students and our faculty and yet utterly ignored by our administration.

4. Shift resources to practical student success, in particular to funding the comprehensive peertutoring, intensive remediation and extensive undergraduate research and active-learning opportunities that many of our students desperately need and which work.

Anyone who actually teaches classes

here, or who has made a career as teaching faculty, and that excludes the current high administrators who constantly assert that they know our jobs better than we do, understands that our greatest challenge as teachers at a doctoral-extensive public university in Mississippi is the significant proportion of students who are only marginally prepared for work at a real university. Yet our students are remarkable, and many have overcome daunting challenges

to be here.

Just as the three key factors in real estate are location, location, and location, the three keys to any successful university are faculty, faculty and faculty. Each time the USM administration has sought to upset this higher-education applecart, for whatever wellintentioned reasons, we lose faculty and have more difficulty in replacing them. That is no way to make USM great again.

2906 Hardy Street between IHOP and Subway

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FEATURE MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Engagement season in full swing NAN BEAUTI

copy editor

Scrolling through her Facebook and Instagram home pages, senior biological sciences major Amani Mohammed said she is not surprised to see engagement posts one after the other.

“Personally, I want pursue my education first before ever thinking about a guy,” she said.

According to VOGUE Magazine, the term “engagement season” has been coined in America to recognize the heightened number of engagements. Engagement season occurs from Thanksgiving until Valentine’s Day. The idealness of the season leaves plenty time to plan and host a wedding throughout the rest of the year, whether it is summer, fall or the next winter.

WeddingWire estimates that 17 percent of engagements occur on the same 10 days each year, with nearly 40 percent of engagements occurring between November and February.

Southern Miss alumna Nikki Smith was proposed to in August with no reason behind the timing other than planning for the wedding.

“Our wedding will be Nov. 25, 2017,” she said. “[Being engaged] is pretty amazing, because when we were dating, we talked about spending our lives together, but once you’re engaged, you know it’s

happening. The commitment is there. And you get a pretty great new piece of jewelry.”

Smith said she got engaged for reasons she believes are the right ones.

“I care more deeply for him than any other person I’ve ever met,” Smith said. “Before I met him, I was in a really serious relationship that lasted three years. [I] dated my now fiancé, David Rowell, for less than a year and we were engaged. It just goes to show the amount of time in a relationship really doesn’t matter.

When you know, you just know.”

According WeddingWire, on average, couples are engaged for 12 to 13 months before getting married.

For Smith, it will have been 15 months.

“Fitting in wedding planning and time together around our work and class schedules is difficult,” she said. “And also, since he doesn’t know where he will get a job after graduation, and I’m already establishing a career here, planning for the future is kind of hard considering places to live and things like that.”

Nursing student Lauren English got engaged in December 2015 with a planned wedding date to be May 2017. English was not expecting the big question until her now fiancé, Josh, proposed.

“I was actually very surprised

Courtesy Photo | because we had talked about getting engaged in the fall of 2016, but Josh said he knew we were both at that place in our relationship, and so, he felt the timing was right.”

English is in a long distance engagement, with both her and her fiancé still in college. She says being in school and far apart has had a significant impact on their engagement.

“We are getting married in May because that is when he will graduate and we can actually be in the same city,” she said. “It also can

be stressful. I am in nursing school and he is majoring in engineering so we cannot always find time to talk to each other as often as we would like to.”

While being engaged in college sounds like a stressful situation, English and her fiancé find the joys in it.

“I love being engaged,” she said.

“Many people get excited about planning a wedding, but my favorite part has been the advice and counsel we have received from so many different people. People say ‘plan

for a marriage, not a wedding,’ so I have really tried to soak up every bit of direction we have received from others.”

Smith said if there was one piece of advice she would give to single girls, it would be to enjoy their college years without worrying about settling down.

“I wish I’d spent less of my time in college worrying about relationships and getting engaged,” Smith said. “I think rushing things like that leads to being with the wrong person.”

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FEATURE MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Three-minute-thesis winner shares life story CAM BONELLI

executive editor

In relation to the United States, Mississippi’s population alone approximates nearly three-fourths of Moldova’s.

“Life was very hard with our family at times,” said Mass Communication and Journalism Ph.D. student Ecaterina Stepaniuc.

“I come from a very small country called the republic of Moldova.

Moldova is situated between the Ukraine and Romania. The population of Moldova is about 4 million people.”

Stepaniuc said she was born in an ordinary Moldovan family – about medium size with two older siblings – and hard work was normal.

“Both of my parents worked in farming all their life. In my teenage years, my father became very sick and there were times we had no food on the table. I often [wondered] why God gave me the family I have and the hard life I lived.”

Stepanuic said she now realizes that all the hardships she endured in life were meant to help her become a stronger person and gave her a strong work ethic to achieve her life aspirations.

Most recently on Nov. 15, Stepanuic won USM’s annual three-minute-thesis competition with her dissertation titled “Moldova’s Democracy: Between Opposing Ideologies.” Stepaniuc assessed the more than twodecade struggle of Moldova’s government and independent news agencies opposing ideologies of democracy. Subsequently, the divided presentation of democracy in a former Soviet republic has disenfranchised and divided Moldova’s citizens as well.

Stepaniuc said she wants to defend her dissertation by June 2017 and return to Moldova after the completion of her OPT

program.

“I will then return to Moldova and apply for a job at a University and teach mass media courses,” Stepaniuc said. “I love teaching and I hope one day I will be able to mentor students and impact their life, just like I was impacted by my USM professors.”

Stepaniuc said her motivation for immigrating to the United States was to further her education.

“After graduating with my Bachelor Degree in Journalism in Moldova, I decided I wanted to continue my education,” Stepaniuc said. “Through some long time friends that live in Ellisville, MS, I managed to come to USM and see my dream come true.”

Stepanuic said she chose a journalistic degree because her father to stand by the truth.

“I chose journalism because this is a great value in my life and thought it was a channel or tool I could use to help me dig for the truth – then share the truth with the people around me,” Stepaniuc said. “The principle I follow in my professional life is based on a verse from the Bible. The verse is found in the book of John 8:32: ‘For you will find the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.’ I found the Truth and my desire as a journalist is to help others discover it.”

Immigrating to the United States was her childhood dream that for her came true six years ago.

After completing her degree in Moldova, she immigrated to the United States and enrolled at USM to achieve her graduate degree and educational goals, and is married to a professional Martial Arts athlete.

She said he is her greatest support and encourager.

“I’ve graduated with my master’s degree from USM, and I am hoping to graduate with my Ph.D. this summer,” Stepaniuc said. “I am married. I am 29 years old and I have really enjoyed my experience

Kenyatta Ross | Printz in the United States. I’ve built great relationships with people from Ellisville, Hattiesburg and I’ve really appreciated every memory that I’ve created here. It was hard at first because I had to pass this language barrier, and I’ve had to take courses that I’ve never heard about in my life –do a lot of research.”

Stepaniuc has guest-taught in professor Jae Hwa Shin’s Mass Communication Theories class, teaches MCJ 200, an introduction to digital media course and in 2015 received the Robert Gene Wiggins Endowment, a foundation scholarship for graduate students in the MCJ department.

Stepaniuc said she desires to get involved in politics and bring a

positive change to her home nation of Moldova and that the United States will always be her second home.

“People often ask me if I miss my country while I am in the States,” Stepaniuc said. “The answer is always the same. When in Moldova I miss my second family that lives in America, and when in America I miss my Moldovan family.”

Stepaniuc said she wants to mentor and help her students to help them better understand how media works and challenge her students.

“I realize that hard work and disciple brought me to this point in life and in my career; therefore I encourage all USM students to never give up on their dreams.

Work hard, do your best and be disciplined in your studies. These principles will build in you a professional.”

Stepaniuc said people always ask her why she chose Mississippi out of all the 50 states.

“I think Mississippi chose me,” Stepanuic said. “When I was 13, a missionary team from Ellisville, MS, came to my country to teach English. So they helped my education and they invited me to Mississippi. Mississipians are similar to Moldovans – very hospitable, very open as people, always willing to help and support.

That’s what I found here, and I’ve really enjoyed my experience in the South.”

Chi Omega partners with Make-A-Wish for Songfest DAISY STUTTS assistant photo editor Chi Omega hosted “Songfest,” its 65th annual fundraising event for the MakeA-Wish Foundation, on Dec. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum.

The event featured performances by all of the sororities and fraternities on campus and was a free public event.

Songfest began in 1951 and has raised more than $50,000 at past events. All money raised by the event is donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that grants “wishes” to children with lifethreatening illnesses. The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 and is the official charity of USM’s Chi Omega chapter. Chi Omega is involved with the organization in many other ways, with

Songfest being their signature event and the oldest Greek philanthropy event at Southern Miss.

Several of the children sponsored by Chi Omega’s participation in Make-AWish wished everyone in attendance a happy holidays to kick off the show.

Each Greek organization performed 3 - 4 musical numbers including Chi Omega-themed songs. Many popular themes such as Frozen, The Beatles and Grease were exhibited by the performers, providing entertainment to the Hattiesburg community and several children benefited by the Make A Wish Foundation, who were also in attendance.

“Songfest is my favorite event of the season,” said Evie Price, Alpha Chi Omega’s song chair. “That is why for the past three years I have jumped at the chance to be songfest chair for Alpha

Chi Omega. Being able to create a show, support Chi Omega and Make A Wish all while getting to spend time with sisters is something I cherish and look forward to every year.”

Songfest involves community sponsors as well as individuals who donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and they were all mentioned in the program.

“Songfest is one of the most rewarding parts of being in Chi Omega,” said chapter president Ellen Suss. “Involving an entire community to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses is awe-inspiring. Together, we directly impact the lives of children in the Hattiesburg community, and my goal is to raise enough money to grant wishes for at least five children.”

The event this year raised more than $42,000, and winners were awarded

Courtesy Photo | in both the sorority and fraternity divisions. Delta Gamma was awarded winner of the sorority division, after their “Grease” themed performance. Pi Kappa Phi won the fraternity category, and their show featured classic and

upbeat Christmas songs.

Reed Green Coliseum was full of community members ready to support The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chi Omega and other Greek organizations.

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ENTERTAINMENT MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Miss. folk favorites record live album HANNAH HENEGHAN

printz reporter

On Dec. 3, Oh Jeremiah played a show at The Thirsty Hippo. This was no ordinary show, though. This was a live recording of the band’s album “The Other End of Passing Time” featuring a string quartet.

The place was packed and filled with anticipation for the show to start.

Various age groups were represented, including multiple groups of students from William Carey and USM. The show opened with Jeremy Moore, an old friend of the Stricklins.

He instantly captivated the crowd with his unique sound and lyrics.

After he was able to warm the venue up, Oh, Jeremiah greeted everyone.

The band opened with “Dinner Conversations,” and it was phenomenal.

The band’s excitement was visible.

The members interacted with the crowd through conversation and humor.

The atmosphere was familial in that attendees were familiar with the band’s two core members. The Stricklin family talked of high school memories, the infamous Hardy Manor apartments and the politics of “Gilmore Girls.” Even in the moments

when Jeremiah was about to play the wrong song and Erin made him stick to the set list, the audience could not help but laugh.

The group said they picked The Thirsty Hippo to perform their show because it was one of the few places that actually let them play live music when they were first starting.

“We picked Hattiesburg because there is trust here,” Jeremiah said.

“The audience here will take a chance on us to try something new.”

The band members showed sincerity in how much it meant to them that people came out to the show.

They also stressed the importance of supporting local music.

“This performance in my opinion was probably the most ‘in their element’ and passionate I have ever seen them on stage. With such powerful lyrics and stage presence, their performance truly was something special,” said USM student Melanie Appel.

“I think the show was successful in the ways it needed it to be,” Stricklin said. “It was a much harder goal to achieve than we expected. We thought it would be an easy process but string quartets are tough. We expected an evening of intimate music that in a city that means the world to us. And

Courtesy Photo | we got that.”

Intimate it was indeed. Oh, Jeremiah ended the show with a Christmas carol chosen by Erin.

Jeremy Moore joined them on stage to perform. The whole room was filled with the crowd’s voices singing along. As the show came to a close,

the musicians thanked everyone again and joined the warm crowd in celebrating their performance.

Q & A with Devron Devon on his comedy show KENYATTA ROSS

printz reporter

Q: Tell me about your rehearsal experience.

A: The rehearsal experience that I went through was the most meticulous thing, I have ever done. Every joke had to be strategically place to build the set correctly. Thankfully this isn’t the first show that I’ve put together so I was able find solace in. I wanted to be sure that I found the right talent to fit in with the crowd that I was expecting. Thankfully Ben Compton, Mark Brooks, Brandon Philips, True Wordskill & Tyga were perfect fits. I can honestly say I don’t think the show had any holes.

Q: How far have you come since you’ve started in comedy?

A: I’ve come a very long way. I joined CHAOS back in 2012 and I didn’t have any actual performance experience. I just had a larger than life personality and they helped me to mold that into something that could but performed. I had my first show in that very same room four years ago. It was about 10-12 people in the room. I loved it those 12 people for showing up. After the show I sat in the room and said to myself “one day I am going to fill up this room.” I put in the work I became known as that funny guy on campus.

I kept working to get better day in and day out I would spend hours working on material just learning the craft. I would watch comics such as Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart, Bernie Mac, George Carling etc. just the greatest of the greats to just get an understanding of the game. After I gained the understanding I was searching for I went to club after club just working material. It’s still sort of surreal that the show actually happened.

Q: Tell me about your performance last night, what did you feel during the show?

A: The night of the show I was actually kind of numb. It didn’t feel like I was doing a show. I had an out of body experience when I was on the stage I actually can’t remember anything but going up and coming down. Everything in between is a blur. I have to say that my parents being there made it special. I can comfortably say I put my all into that show. The most special part of the night was when a kid came up to me and said I inspired him to do what I do. I can leave the campus knowing that I have left my all right there in that room.

Courtesy Photo |

OPINION MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

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Recap: ‘The Walking Dead’ season six HANNAH HENEGHAN

printz reporter

For walking dead fans, 2016 has been a year of traumatizing deaths, overwhelming sadness, and ridiculous amounts of blood shed, and that was just episode one. We watched one of the most well written and developed characters have his head smashed to pieces by what is probably the scariest character written into existence.

Negan graced our screens at the end of season six and from there we could see his menacing charm. While every fiber of my being despises him for what he has done, I cannot argue with the fact that this is one of the most well written villains I have seen on the show to date. The writers were probably hoping this would distract us from the other complete nonsense happening though.

I understand we are in an apocalypse and that people are going to be separated, but it has become too much. We first started to see this problem with Carol running off to the land of the bizarre King Ezekiel.

She cast herself away from everyone, refusing help form anyone at some

points. I can see why she has reason to be upset and why she would act out, but it has gone too far. We can also see hints now that they are about to push a relationship between her and King Ezekiel. Now the fact that I had become emotionally attached to an unhealthy extent to Carol and Daryl could possibly be why I am so against her being with Ezekiel, but I do not think that it all. If they are going to have her work out all of these problems away from the group, let her do it on her own. Give us the strong badass Carol we have come to love. One of the laziest things I believe you can do in writing with a female character trying to base her importance on a male role.

We are all way too attached to the entire group now not to care about what is happening to them, but I am tired of them stretching out the whole season into episodes following characters dispersed throughout the region. As I said before, Daryl is a very important character to me, but so many things in his episode “The Cell” were confusing. The Savior who tried killing him before, Dwight, all of a sudden becomes very real with Daryl

Courtesy Photo | and you can feel that they almost want to to sympathize for him. This is extremely ridiculous considering all that he has done and how he treats Daryl’s group in the very next episode.

I do believe the episode focused on Daryl was necessary though, unlike a complete episode about Maggie/Sasha and Tara. It feels like everything is just being drug out until they can figure

out what to do about Negan. While I am sure the writers have a complete plan for what is going down, I am still concerned about how season seven will continue.

Hamilton Mix Tape offers musicality, sensation HIBA TAHIR entertainment editor If there’s one thing I miss about high school, it’s the fantastically magical, heart-wrenchingly intense and borderline corny world of musicals.

Back then, I was a performer of sorts, an actress who lived more for the backstage gossip than the horrifying (and ridiculously hot) spotlight. My love for words is what drew me to theatre.

As a writer, I was mesmerized by the seamless marriage of story and music, the careful dialogue and calculated chords that contributed to the complete musical experience.

But in all my time, I never saw or heard or read anything as captivating, as ingenious and as timelessly relevant as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” a hip-hop, pop and rap musical with profound historical themes that first made its appearance in 2015.

One gold-status album, countless awards, multiple White House performances, numerous sold-out shows ($1.5 million in weekly sales, according to Business Insider) and one awkward encounter with Vice President Mike Pence later, Hamilton is still capturing hearts and converting all manner of people into history buffs with new releases and additions to the original show and soundtrack.

The latest of these additions, in true hip-hop form, is a mixtape – covers and remixes of several of the more popular songs from the show. With features from popular artists like Chance the Rapper and John Legend, vocal powerhouses like Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys and

surprisingly un-musical entertainers like Jimmy Fallon, it’s a truly diverse tourde-force sure to please many. For the purpose of this review, I’ve selected some songs at random.

“Wait For It” - Usher This deeply remorseful track from Aaron Burr’s viewpoint examines the famous assassin’s less than glamorous and highly unfortunate life (involving a dark affair and darker legacy), with a few digs at Hamilton to boot (“he takes and he takes and he takes and he keeps winning anyway.”) Usher’s soulful vocals depict the heart-wrenching desperation perfectly.

“Helpless” - Ashanti feat. Ja Rule This sweet love song is Eliza Schluyler’s introduction to Hamilton at the Winter Ball. The original is just short of sickening, but I adore this version – if for nothing more than that its smooth, soulful melodies remind me of listening to Ashanti in my childhood. Also, it’s not quite as nuanced and dialogueready as the other songs and is extremely radio-friendly. This is one that I can see Hamilton and Ashanti fans alike listening to for a long, long time.

“Satisfied” - Sia feat. Miguel & Queen Latifah As a huge Sia fan, I appreciate this collaboration so, so much. Sia brings all the power and personality demanded by the character Angelica Schluyler, Eliza’s older sister, as she meets Hamilton for the first time. This track is “Helpless” revisited from a different viewpoint, but it begins with Angelica’s toast to Alexander and Eliza at their wedding.

As she raises her glass, Angelica finds herself thinking back to the night she

met Alexander. The whole set then “rewinds” to that night, and the listener learns that Angelica met Alexander before Eliza at the Winter Ball, where she was faced with “three fundamental truths” that ultimately resulted in her essentially giving Alexander to her younger sister, whom she then introduced to him. Much of the same dialogue from the ball in “Helpless” is included. Super, super cool and Queen Latifah’s raps and Miguel’s warm verses make it even cooler.

“It’s Quiet Uptown” - Kelly Clarkson Arguably the most depressing song in the show, “It’s Quiet Uptown” is Alexander and Eliza’s lamentation following Alexander’s affair and their

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son Phillip’s death. The song largely consists of expressions of grief, regret and apologies.

“If I could spare his life, if I could trade his life for mine, he’d be standing here right now – and you would smile, and that would be enough,” Alexander sings to his wife.

This track is particularly affective because it samples earlier tracks like “That Would Be Enough,” earlier songs from Eliza’s point of view that were chiefly concerned with her love for Hamilton that he now regurgitates in shame and remorse. And of course, Kelly Clarkson’s soulful vocals provide exactly the power and emotion necessary to really drive the message home.

Immigrants – K’naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC & Residente This one is an original track released just days after Trump’s election. It’s chock full of haunting references to regrettable historical events like the Atlantic Slave Trade: “I was brave sailing on graves; don’t think I didn’t notice these tombstones disguised as waves” and features a Spanish verse from “Snow the Product.” K’naan, Riz MC and Residente are also on the track, and each holds their weight as they loudly proclaim the song’s refrain: “Immigrants, we get the job done.” Also, there are some pretty clever and hilarious lines. My favorite: “Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo.”

8

SPORTS MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016

Early returns for Lady Eagle basketball ANDREW ABADIE

printz reporter

While most students will be preparing for exams and looking forward to their winter breaks, the Lady Eagles will be preparing for the most difficult part of their schedule that could possibly determine the outcome of their season. After the road game win at South Alabama, the Lady Eagles will face three undefeated teams back to back.

“Every game is a coin flip,” said Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis.

In the first game, the Lady Eagles will find themselves in a David and Goliath scenario as they face Mississippi State. Mississippi State is currently undefeated and is ranked as the sixth best team in the country.

After Mississippi State, the Lady Eagles will get the following week off, then enter the Las Vegas Classic where they will face California, Xavier and Northern Kentucky.

Although Cal is undefeated and has received votes for the Top 25, their schedule has been very weak. This could be an opportunity for the Lady Eagles to gain a big win.

Like Cal, Xavier is also unbeaten and has played a weak schedule.

Much like Southern Miss, Xavier will be in the heart of the toughest

part of their schedule when they play USM. Northern Kentucky has only two wins so far this season and should be a breather for the Lady Eagles. The biggest thing the Lady Eagles need to do is to not overlook NKU and to try to stay rested after playing Xavier and Cal. “This team has got to understand that [in] having [poor] quarters, we don’t have a shot at winning those games,” Lee-McNelis said. “All we got to do is keep those games close and then anything can happen.”

After the Las Vegas tournament, the Lady Eagles will open conference play in three more road games. They will start conference play by taking on rival Louisiana Tech on Dec. 30. After La. Tech, they will face Texas-San Antonio, who finished third to last in the conference last season and will hopefully be another breather for the Lady Eagles. The long road trip will finish at Texas-El Paso, who finished first in the conference last season. Despite finishing at the top of the conference last season, the Miners have started the season at 2 - 5.

Although this long road game stretch could be physically and mentally exhausting, it could also be seen as an opportunity. The Lady Eagles currently sit at the top

Courtesy Photo | of the conference, but this stretch could make or break them. The Lady Eagles are more than capable of going 6 - 1 in this stretch. They can not only use the opportunity to gain national attention but affirm themselves as top dog in the conference.

Notably, even if the Lady Eagles do stumble in this stretch of games, they will finish the last three games of the season at home. This could be vital later in the season if the team is on the verge of making the postseason.

“We’ve got to have [Jayla King

and Brittanny Dinkins] along with some others that are playing some veteran minutes to play with some poise and take care of it,” LeeMcNelis said. “As good as we are playing right now, it can all spiral.

It’s left up to us to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Sadler’s Golden Eagle’s show early resolve

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GRANT CHIGHIZOLA printz reporter

The Southern Miss men’s basketball squad is showing some improvement this season after finishing with disappointing 8 - 21 record in 2015.

Despite a recent 75 - 64 loss

against Jackson State, the Golden Eagles have started the 2016 regular season on a higher note than last season.

Through the first six games of the season, the team has won three games against non-conference opponents Tougaloo, Union and Alabama A&M. Compared to last

year’s 0 - 6 start, this team is showing that they can close out games and win.

The Golden Eagles have benefited from solid performances from players like senior guard Quinton Campbell and sophomore forwards Eddie Davis and Tim Rowe this season. Campbell leads the team in

scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game.

Davis has been efficient as a rebounder, grabbing 48 total rebounds for an average of eight rebounds per game.

Rowe has made significant gains in his second season with the Golden Eagles. Coming off the bench in

the first six games as the team’s sixth-man, he is averaging a team leading 12.2 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.

For all of the improvements the Golden Eagles have made this season, there is still some work that needs to be done.

The team needs to address ball control and limiting turnovers in games. As it stands now, the Golden Eagles are averaging 18.3 turnovers per game.

Defensively, Head Coach Doc Sadler thinks the team needs to improve on defending and getting pressure on the perimeter.

“I think, more than anything, our perimeter-pressure defense has got to get better,” Sadler said after the team’s recent loss to South Alabama on Nov. 30. “If a perimeter offensive guy can get the ball where he wants it to the offensive post guy, then your choice is you’ve got to probably double team the basketball.”

While the Golden Eagles have had some issues on both offense and defense, they have shown they can win games and work as a cohesive unit.

If they can limit turnovers and improve their perimeter defense, this team can improve on the 8-21 record from last year’s team and can make some noise once C-USA play starts.