Monday, January 26, 2015
Volume 99 Issue 32
www.studentprintz.com PAGE THREE
PAGE FOUR & FIVE
PAGE SEVEN
PAGE SIX
NEWS
F E AT U R E
OPINION
S P O RT S
USM offers 14 study abroad opportunities.
Jihadist teachings are not a symbol of violence.
Film deserving of Oscar recognition.
Eagles defeat Mean Green for first conference win.
Exchange program
Religion
‘Selma’
Basketball
ON CAMPUS
SGA Senate spearheads campus food reform Lindsey Kelley Printz Reporter
In a recent meeting of the Student Government Association Senate, Vice President Kyle Stoner brought forward an idea for a new piece of legislation that would hold Eagle Dining to a higher standard. Eagle Dining, an institution run by private corporation Aramark, is the sole food service provider for The University of Southern Mississippi and is the driving force behind The Fresh Food Company, the cafeteria in Hillcrest and assorted food operations across campus. Aramark, its mother company, extended the contract with the university to provide food service, employees and necessary equipment for both the Gulf Park and Hattiesburg campuses. “This is the time to start and try to make a difference (in food quality),” Stoner said. “Students care about what they’re eating and where they’re eating.” While the quality of the cafeteria food is a common complaint among college students, the senators argued that Southern Miss has a particular issue with Eagle Dining providing fresh, varied kinds of food that allow for a healthy, convenient living. “Are they catering to the students or just catering to their pockets?” Stoner said. SGA President Jeffrey George
ON CAMPUS
Michael Kavitz/Printz
USM junior Jared Priest eats his Sunday lunch in the Fresh Food Company on campus. The SGA will hold surveys outside the Fresh in the Thad Cochran Center as a part of a movement to hold the Fresh to higher food quality standards.
was also present at the meeting and spoke for University President Rodney Bennett. “It’s an issue that Dr. Bennett does know about and (he) is concerned about it,” George said. “We do have a contract with Aramark that is through the next six or seven years. On the flipside, they are doing a lot of work to improve food options for athletic games.”
The debate continued, with people asking what the Senate’s options were and where its jurisdiction ended. The contract with Aramark, while it is through the university, dictates that the university - and consequentially SGA - has little sway in the day-today operations of Eagle Dining. With these questions in mind, the Senate formed a special committee
to follow up on these leads and dig into the heart of the matter. Its first step: to survey the students. On Friday, Jan. 23, the committee met to discuss survey questions and prepare for the data collection. These committee members will take surveys at a table outside of the Fresh Food Company on varied Mondays, asking about the quality and freshness of the meal
of each student. Sen. Lakelyn Taylor, a member of this committee, said she thought the pending legislation was important because of potential recruitment. “Many prospective students come in and they’re looking for (a sense of home). For Southern Miss to be on a competitive recruitment level, we need to have quality food.” Sen. Breanna Cheri said good food is a necessity for those who live on campus. “(The students) coming in (are) in a different environment and want to feel welcome and comfortable. Having those options makes the whole lifestyle easier,” she said. “When studying, I want a good meal.” Sen. Aaliyah Cole brought up the new “Health is Golden” campaign that the university has been running, which is a program encouraging students to be healthy in all aspects of their lives through exercise and eating well. “I feel that having quality food and healthy food sources supports (the program),” Cole said. “For me, when the Fresh has nothing I like, I usually resort to (more fattening) foods. Having healthy options in the Fresh that taste good would support the (new campaign).” The Senate will continue to discuss this issue and the committee will soon conduct surveys during the lunch rush hour from noon to 2 p.m. on Mondays.
USM grad student named fellowship finalist Emma Reeves Printz Reporter
Dahlia Amato, a second-year doctoral student at The University of Southern Mississippi, has been named a finalist for the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. She is the first Southern Miss student to ever receive this award. According to the Soros Fellowship website, the fellowship was established in 1997 by Hungarian immigrants Paul and Daisy Soros and is aimed at providing new Americans with the resources necessary to continue their education in graduate programs while fostering the “creativity, originality, initiative and sustained accomplishment” that typifies the recipients. Fellows
receive tuition and living expenses that can total as much as $90,000 over two academic years. Robyn Curtis, the USM National Scholarships and Fellowships officer, also points out that unlike other programs that select finalists by breaking up the applicant pool into smaller groups and choosing a few from each group, the Soros Fellowship analyzes the entire pool of applicants as one group in the selection process. So, for a Soros Fellowship, each applicant competes against 1,200 others for one of 77 finalist spots, making Amato’s selection “a huge marker of distinction,” according to Curtis. She said Amato is genuine and sincere when discussing her story, research and excitement as a new American. “She really is exactly
Kelley Joe Brumfield/Printz
Graduate student Dahlia Amato stands next to her work in the Polymer Science Building. She is a finalist for the prestigious Soros fellowship.
the kind of person they are looking for,” Curtis said. Amato was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and she first came to the U.S. through the American Field
Service – Youth Exchange Student program. She later returned to the U.S. to receive her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from California Polytechnic State University and her master’s degree in polymers and coating science, also from CPSU. She was drawn to USM by what she acknowledges as one of the topranked Polymer Science programs in the country. She received her permanent resident status in 2012 through her marriage to Doug Amato, also a USM doctoral student in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials. If she receives the fellowship, Amato plans to use the money to enhance her research in the nanoparticle emulsion process as a part of the Patton Research Group,
but she also hopes to use it as a basis for outreach into the community. She loves teaching at Petal High School and said she is passionate about encouraging science programs in high schools through science fairs and other activities. She said she also hopes this experience will allow her to “make other immigrants like me aware of the opportunities available.” Curtis said they are currently reaching out to colleagues at the Soros Fellowship for more information on what to expect, but mainly Curtis is helping Amato get comfortable talking about her application, future plans and story thus far. Amato travels to Los Angeles next week to continue the process with two interviews. Finalists will be notified of results in March.