3.29.23

MARCH 29, 2023

MSU organization plans to launch first MS satellite

CubeSat MSU will create a satellite for NASA CubeSat Initiative Launch project

An MSU student organization has been looking to make history by putting the first satellite from the state of Mississippi into orbit.

According to Statista.com, there are 5,465 satellites in orbit around the earth, none of which are from Mississippi. Since 2019, CubeSat MSU has been on a mission to change this and put a Mississippi satellite into space.

A CubeSat is a small satellite that is used for conducting research. NASA has a program called the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) which allows CubeSats to

be launched into space as a part of a larger, previously planned launch. One of CSLI’s goals is to promote

CubeSat projects created by students. NASA’s plan is for a CubeSat from every state to be launched within five years.

City will implement new mass communication

The city of Starkville will introduce the app CivicReady to send important alerts to its residents.

CivicReady will send alerts about local emergencies, road closures, event management, utility issues and any other concerns that may affect a person’s everyday life in the city.

The city will send alerts as text messages, emails and voice messages to those who wish to receive the communication.

Residents have the option to opt-in for the app. If they choose to opt-in, they will have the option to customize which type of alerts they wish to receive.

Most of the city's departments, such as the police and utility departments, will have access to send alerts through the system.

The Board of Aldermen approved the program at its recent meeting and planned to implement CivicReady for Starkville residents at the end of April or the beginning of May.

Prior to board approval, city officials discussed implement-

ing a system of mass communication with its information technology department for approximately six to eight months. They sought to build a plan around the idea to be able to go forward with their project.

ALERTS, 2

The team at CubeSat MSU will be drafting a proposal to send to NASA to become a part of the CSLI. If approved, the

MSU CubeSat will be able to launch. The team has been working to turn in the proposal by this November.

CubeSat MSU’s President Bentley Hillis said the satellite’s mission will be to detect wildfires.

Walk hosted to promote suicide prevention, awareness

Mississippi State University’s Psychology Graduate Student Association will host the suicide prevention walk called Out of the Darkness at 10 a.m. on April 1 in the Junction.

Since 2004 when the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention established the event, campuses across the U.S. have hosted Out of the Darkness Walks.

Rachel Scott and Ashley Pate, graduate students majoring in psychology, both worked to bring the walk to MSU.

“We’re both graduate students through the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at State and have both been involved with the Out of the Darkness Walks at other institutions, Scott said. We

were really thinking about a way to really give back to MSU, and we decided that this would be a great way to start an important conversation in our community.”

The walk serves two purposes.

“One piece is to start a conversation about suicide because one of the main

tenets of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention is ‘seizing the awkward.’ A lot of people are unsure how to ask about suicide ideation or potential actions; they don’t know how to have these conversations to check in with the people around them, Scott said. SUICIDE, 2

MSU project will create pollen database for bees

Mississippi State University faculty and students have been working to create a pollen nutrition database for all bees in North America.

Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, the project has the goal of providing vital nutritional information on pollen collected from bee pollinated plants. The information will benefit bee populations by giving beekeepers, growers, researchers and conservationists a better understanding of pollen's nutritional quality from certain plants.

Priya Chakrabarti Basu, assistant professor of pollinator health and apiculture, has led the research.

In 2021, Basu began the project in collaboration with Oregon State University, and she said she does not see it ending anytime soon.

“I look at it as a lifelong project,” Basu

said. “This is a group effort.” According to Basu, volunteers across the U.S. and Canada will contribute to the project by collecting pollen to be analyzed.

“We are handcollecting the pollen from the flowers and the honeybees themselves,” Basu said. “It’s tedious, and it takes a lot of time for

the sheer amount of pollen we need to run the analysis.”

A modified hand vacuum will remove the pollen from flowers, but other common tools, such as electric toothbrushes and paintbrushes, can also be used to gently vibrate the pollen off for collection. From the honeybees, researchers

collect honeybees' pollen from their pollen baskets located on their hind legs. The Clay Lyle Entomology building houses Basu’s research.

Along with the plants located at the Clay Lyle Entomology building, researchers have collected pollen from both land and aquatic plant life at the Noxubee National Wildlife

Refuge outside of Starkville.

When analyzing the pollen, Basu said the researchers are looking for specific factors in the database.

“Just like humans, bees require macro and micronutrients … they need to be well-fed. We look at things like proteins, lipids, amino

acids and metabolites,” Basu said.

Additionally, Basu said it was important to keep bee populations healthy for ecosystems.

“We know that all bees are important for us as pollinators … and beekeeping generates a lot of revenue for the United States. To make sure bees are healthy, they need optimal diets,” Basu said.

“We want to make sure we provide a safe, diverse and constantly blooming habitat for all bee species.”

As part of her dissertation, Lauren Jennings, a graduate student majoring in life sciences, has worked alongside Basu.

“My undergraduate degree is in horticulture, and so I am very interested in the blending of the fields of plants and insects,” Jennings said. “Thus, the study of plant-pollinator interactions is a great fit for my interests.”

Jennings said she wished the community would acknowledge bee species outside of the honeybee. POLLEN, 2

riCky Shaw ContriBUting writer

CubeSat MSU is working to create a small satellite to detect wildfires in the area.

Courtesy Photo | Rebekah Brown

The app CivicReady will serve as the city’s mass communication system for residents.

Heather Harrison | The Reflector

Rachel Scott and Ashley Pate were involved with other collegiate suicide prevention walks.

Courtesy Photo | Rachel Scott and Ashley Pate

annmarie raQUe ContriBUting writer

The Clay Lyle Entomology building is home to the research of Priya Chakrabarti Basu. Beehives are kept within the facility, while pollen is collected from land and aquatic plants.

Annmarie Raque | The Reflector

megan

The team at CubeSat MSU has been working on the satellite proposal and has plans to submit it to NASA by November 2023.

Courtesy Photo | Rebekah Brown

While in orbit, the CubeSat will utilize a small camera with modified filters to locate fires on the earth’s surface. The camera will identify the presence of potassium, the element that is released whenever pine needles are burned. If the satellite detects potassium, it is a good indicator that it has located a wildfire.

President Hillis said, ultimately, the plan is for the MSU CubeSat to gather data that a senior design team can publish as research and present at a major conference.

CubeSat MSU is made up of three teams: Structures, Instruments and Guidance, Navigation and Control Sub (GNC).

Structures will focus on building the body of the satellite. They ensure the structure of the CubeSat meets standard requirements, and the instruments in the satellite are positioned properly within the satellite’s body.

Instruments will work

ALERTS

The system is currently in the project management phase after the board's approval in early March. The city will continue to work on how to deliver messages and programming the ability to opt into the system.

The city’s technology director, Joel Clements, played a part in choosing the CivicReady system for the city.

“We have done a great job overall of using social media, but we're missing out on a huge portion of people that could potentially benefit from this,” Clements said. “That's really the main driving factor is we're getting the word out, but we wanted a way to reach people not only quicker, but also to reach more people.”

“Part of it is to provide education on how we can check in, have these conversations and protect the people around us.”

Pate said her research has shown the importance of having a conversation about suicide.

“Even just having someone ask somebody if they’re doing alright and checking in can have an incredibly meaningful impact on reducing the distress that these people are feeling,” Pate said.

The second goal of the walk acts as a fundraiser for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

“Eighty percent of the money they raise goes towards advocacy work, outreach programs, support for individuals who have been impacted by suicide and meaningful research in this realm,” Scott said.

Additionally, Scott said half of all the money raised through this campus walk will stay in-state, meaning the impact of this walk will affect the community on a personal level.

POLLEN

“Honeybees are lovely friends, who most people know about, but there are so many other species of native bees that, in a lot of cases, are more efficient pollinators,” Jennings said. “I encourage you to pay attention to flowers next time you’re outside and look for mason bees, leaf cutter bees and tiny sweat bees.”

Maya Harlow, a senior majoring in animal and dairy science, has helped with the project.

“No day is really the same,” Harlow said. “I could be working in the lab, vacuuming pollen,

with the devices that will be used in the CubeSat. The Instruments team has been working on building a clean room, a space that is free of dust and other particles that could hinder the design process. The GNC team will be responsible for communicating with satellites from the ground. The GNC team has been working on a ground station that it will use to communicate with the CubeSat.

President Hillis said CubeSat MSU is partnering with a team at the University of Louisiana Lafayette to prepare the satellite.

CubeSat MSU is using ULL’s satellite to test their communication equipment. CubeSat MSU will also use ULL’s satellite to test its ground station once it is completed.

Hillis said being a part of the CubeSat team gives participants the knowledge and skills that they would be unable to

Clements said that the efficiency of the messages is what drew the city to approve the system.

The population of Starkville is over 24,000, according to the most recent census. The system can send about 60,000 texts per minute and 50,000 emails per minute.

CivicReady uses geotargeting technology for the alerts. This technology locates where someone is within the city and determines if a certain alert needs to be sent to that person’s device. There will be an option for residents to receive alerts for specific locations, like neighborhoods.

Mayor Lynn Spruill has

Those interested in the walk can either register online to get extra time for fundraising and promoting the walk, or they can wait until the day of the walk and sign up at a booth on site.

“This walk will be a little more intimate,” Scott said. “We’re just going to be doing laps around The Junction, with that being our central location. There will be music playing and tables with refreshments and suicide-prevention resources set up around the area.”

Both Scott and Pate expressed their desire for the Out of the Darkness Walks to become an annual event and discussed how students can get involved with this walk and potential future walks.

“Students can help us on the front end and volunteer by reaching out to the psychology graduate student association, either through email or Cowbell Connect,” Pate said.

Michael Nadorff, the director of the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program

working with the beehives … it really just depends. This past summer, we even went to the Refuge on kayaks to collect samples from water lilies and lotuses.”

Harlow became involved in the project because she said she was always interested in participating in undergraduate research.

She applied to the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, which funds undergraduates to do their own research at MSU. “I’ve learned how interdisciplinary

gain in a normal classroom setting. This experience can attract interest from companies who are looking to hire young engineers. Hillis said that the CubeSat team often experiences turnover within the organization from team members getting hired away.

“One thing we’re pretty good at is getting jobs for our alumni and people that were on our team. It’s actually been almost a problem” Hillis said.

Rebekah Brown, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, has worked as the event coordinator for CubeSat MSU and is on Structures. Brown said being a part of CubeSat MSU has shown her the potential of satellite technology.

“It’s opened my eyes to all the possibilities that are out there. It’s not just space telescopes or spy satellites that you hear about in the news. It’s all kinds of stuff. You’ve got GPS, weather satellites.

been a leading part of the mass communication plan. She said CivicReady is not limited to the permanent residents of Starkville and encouraged Mississippi State University students to opt-in.

“I think this is their home, and I want them to feel as though the information that we have to provide is of value to them since they’re living here in Starkville,” Spruill said.

CivicReady will not give alerts about happenings on MSU's campus, but it will send alerts about any major events such as game days to warn people about any road closures or traffic.

Even though the system does not include coverage for campus, Clements said even

and an associate professor of suicide research, spoke about how suicide affects those left behind.

“It leaves a hole,” Nardoff said. "A lot of times people are left wanting a way to help, the way they wished they could’ve helped their loved ones. The walk acts as a way to give back and help the overall cause, even if it’s too late to help the individual.”

Nadorff said people should get involved with the walk because of the communal familiarity with the issue.

“Either we know someone who’s died by suicide, or someone who’s attempted … And because of this stigma surrounding it, we don’t know who’s struggling until it’s too late,” Nardoff said. “Anything that helps to break that stigma and bring these conversations to light is invaluable.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

research is … Research is really a team sport, and this project has been amazing to be a part of,” Harlow said. “I was interested in it for the animal nutrition aspect, and I knew nothing about bees prior and come from a different department.”

Harlow will be presenting her contributions to the project at the MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.

Upon completion, the pollen database will be freely accessible on the internet to everyone for use across a wide variety of fields.

It’s just a really exciting field and it’s only going to get more important as time goes on,” Brown said.

Brown said those who are interested in keeping up with CubeSat MSU can follow the organization on Instagram @cubesat.msu.

Hillis said CubeSat MSU is open to new members who want to help, and the organization is willing to teach new members.

Cooper Baxter, a junior aerospace engineering major and vice president of CubeSat MSU, said joining a design team like CubeSat MSU would be the experience in college that he would most recommend to others.

“Especially this team,” Baxter said. “You’re always working towards something that feels worthwhile and meaningful and impactful and, especially with this club, it feels the most meaningful to me, at least.”

those who live on campus will benefit from it.

“We encourage people that live on campus, and then all students and staff or faculty, everybody associated with campus to sign up for this, because many of the things we do will affect, you know, how you get to school or things like that,” Clements said.

Caroline Dewberry has lived in Starkville her whole life. She is now a senior at Mississippi State University majoring in communication.

Dewberry said CivicReady could benefit the Starkville community.

“Any way to make any form of improving communication within any kind of residence or just the city of Starkville as a

whole, I think that is just a really smart way to get the word out to people,” Dewberry said.

CivicReady is available to

download on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Following its release, residents can sign-up online.

CubeSat MSU is partnering with University of Louisiana Lafayette to prepare the project.

Courtesy Photo | Rebekah Brown

Caroline Dewberry has lived in Starkville her whole life and is a senior at MSU.

Courtesy Photo | Caroline Dewberry

Out of the Darkness will promote suicide prevention and awareness at MSU. The walk will be held on April 1 at the Junction.

Courtesy Photo | Rachel Scott and Ashley Pate

Pollen is collected from the pollen baskets on the honeybees’ hind legs. The pollen is analyzed for specific factors

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Dirty Rice - the Spice of Life

March 24 - A student was found living in Rice Hall without permission. To whoever you are, this is wild.

March 25 - A student was arrested on Bully Boulevard for public drunkenness, minor in possession of alcohol and a fake ID.

March 26 - A student was transported to OCH from the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house due to intoxication.

Editor - This will be my last Bad Dawgs section. Thanks for reading and laughing along, folks. - T.

Scorpio - We’ve taken you on a journey into our psyche this past year with these things, and if you ever found laughter in these bad jokes, we like to think of you as a part of our short list of friends.

Pisces - Soon, a new style will adorn this page, and with it, some new jokes may be made, some (mostly all of ours) will probably be tossed aside like the poor attempts at humor they are.

Libra - This week, keep us — the unnamed authors of your horoscope — in mind. We’re now unemployed, and the market for satirical horoscopes based on an invented taxonomy of Star Gods is slim.

Virgo - X’anthrai and Clark the Disemboweled, our main sources, say goodbye and they love you. Also, they haven’t wanted to say anything, but that one hat you wear makes you look pale.

Lucy Hallmark loses RISK, knows what to do with her life

"Before starting the actual play of the game, players should study the board, which represents a map of the world. The sizes and boundaries of the territories are not accurate, but have been set to facilitate the play of the game."

-Risk, Rules of Play

Lucy Hallmark opens by occupying Afghanistan with blue. She has never played Risk before.

I take Alaska with Black. It is my third game.

She occupies Siberia, China, India. I take Yakutsk and she laughs at her own joke before saying “Bless you.”

She closes the initial scrum by taking Japan. At this point, I have only briefly summarized the rules, choosing to save the dice rules for when it becomes pertinent.

I open by asking the what her biggest fear was as a child.

Lucy takes Siam from India and tells me she does not remember.

She loses a tie attacking Egypt from Southern Europe, across the Mediterranean. She claims I have not previously mentioned that aggressors lose ties. I have not, but history has, so the loss stands.

Lucy says if she could communicate backwards to a past version of herself, she would remind her how little she knows for sure.

“I always had a strong sense of self,” she says. “I always knew who I was.”

I interrupt to announce a troop movement into Siam, ending my turn.

“But I relate it to when you’re writing an argumentative essay, and you get into the research, and you realize you could go either way. There were beliefs I had there were once 100% concrete, and now they

are not.”

Lucy picks at my armies in Western America. Thousands lay dead in Nevada.

When I ask for an example of a no longer concrete belief, she offers many disclaimers about religion: how it makes conversations complicated, how she wants to avoid offending people’s beliefs, how she wants to avoid hurting the feelings of those who have been hurt by the church.

She pauses a moment and says, “As I get older, some things with God have become fuzzy.” She passes a turn without any troop movements.

Lucy gives off the impression of someone waiting for a race to start. When I ask why a previous relationship of hers ended, she tells me, “I didn’t want to wake up years from now and realize I missed out on feeling something more.”

She speaks excitedly about a future in medicine. She tells me that, this winter, she shadowed a surgeon. She

consolidates troops in Ural. She tells me of the inflation of the body cavity for a laparoscopic gall bladder removal. She loses thousands in a campaign to retake Siberia. She tells me she could feel the gall stones like BB-pellets through the purple flesh. Blood paints the white north red.

“The first thing everyone says when I tell them I’m going to med school is that I’m allowed to give up. They’re like, ‘That’s really hard, you know, you’re allowed to switch majors, you know.’ That’s not what I want.”

I ask Lucy to call her parents and best friends on speaker. I tell her to ask them to describe her in three words. Before, I make her guess what they would say, and she somewhat reluctantly admits they might think she is funny. Everyone who picks up uses decisive or determined. She looks away like one might when people are singing happy birthday to them.

I move troops out of Alaska, across the Bering Strait,

abandoning North America, and go on a strong run across all of Asia.

Tomorrow, Lucy is interviewing me for her article. I tell her it feels good being absolutely certain what you want to do with your future. She breaks reporter mode, lowers her eyebrows, dead serious for a moment, and says, “I have that, too.” She sits up straight and asks me how where I pull inspiration for my writing.

Lucy consolidates power in the Northwest, and digs into Alberta for a final stand. “I make decisions quickly, but I’m not impulsive.”

She abandons Ontario, then the Northwest Territory. Alberta gains thousands in neat lines. She tells me the break up happened between 8:10 and 8:25, because those were the two times she saw when she got in her car.

“It only took 15 minutes?”

“It took, like, five. The rest was small talk and the drive over.”

The smell of crawfish and self-tanner sits in the air.

Multiple sharpie-tattooed hillbillies approach the bar, gripping their debit cards like a life raft, desperately in search of an ice-cold beer. The cover band that has taken the stage tonight makes an ambitious attempt at “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon.

In the midst of the chaos, Luke Copley manages the situation at the bar with the grace and ease of a seasoned pro. Bottle caps soar into the trash while cards are swiped, drinks refilled and tips stashed.

It is here, while Luke bartends for a sorority date party, that I desperately try to remember the first time we met. My memory fails me, but I do know it had to be an opinion section meeting, and that I left the office with an unexplainable feeling that my editor, Luke, had created an environment that I wanted to be a part of.

Luke Copley is the type of

skipped over parts that he deemed “too mean.”

As we drove to his apartment, he explained to me that the longer you spend in Mississippi, the more you can see it as a victim of situation larger than itself. He said he does not know where Mississippi goes from here.

Like you could expect from any writer worth their salt, he has a million and one unfinished works. He gave me bits and pieces of plots from past and current projects, each being unique in their own right. The most you can currently find of Luke Copley’s work online, though, is via The Reflector, where he has worked since his sophomore year.

To witness opinion meetings under Luke’s direction is a privilege not many can claim. Staples of the weekly Ops meetings include the requirement to bring two ideas to the table, a seemingly random theme (sweater night, candlelight vigil, foursquare) and a question posed by Luke that he says aims to be something that you have never before had to consider, but you immediately know the answer to (“What’s your least favorite place you’ve ever been?” “If you had to kill someone in this group, who would it be?”). All of this comes together to create an environment that has sustained the life of the opinion section for the past year.

Luke speaks of his favorite authors and his writing with a tone of adoration not unlike a reverend in the pulpit. He speaks in a way that also makes it clear that to him, there is no plan B. Writing will sustain, no question about it.

John Baladi only has one alarm

For two and a half hours on Thursday evening, I sat to the right of John Baladi at a table outside of Strange Brew in Midtown, Starkville.

He tussled his hair, wrung his hands and bounced his leg until I was certain it would detach. Even so, Baladi allowed me to poke him with my stick, roll him on his sides and reveal all of the wonderfully insightful happenings within him.

Perhaps most important of all is that it takes only one alarm to get John Baladi up every morning. If that does not tell you all you need to know about a person, I do not know what else will.

The ten minutes following his wake consist of checking his emails and responding to

messages. This is Baladi’s only opportunity for procrastination for the rest of the day, as minute of every hour is laid out before him, boiling over with deadlines, meeting times and a variety of commitments.

It would be difficult to find time in Baladi’s busy schedule to follow him around and learn what a day in his life is truly like. Instead, he shared with me a detailed rundown of his week through a collection of notes. His days consisted mostly of going to class, attending any one of his five organizations’ meetings and contemplating existence in its very nature.

Perhaps my favorite part of these notes though, is where Baladi includes the title of each song that he adds to his 2023 playlist. We started with Greta Van Fleet and ended the week with “Wonderwall” by Oasis,

which is either a cry for help or a sign of extreme well-being.

In the not so far off distance, an evening band plays to the tune of motorcycles revving by on the street. Somewhere between The All-American Rejects and Kings of Leon, they find their rhythm and pull us in. Baladi drives a black 2015 Acura TLX. From the rearview mirror hangs a handmade cross from Syria that was blessed by Pope John Paul II and gifted to Baladi from his grandparents. He shared tidbits of information frequently: he was in 4th grade when he found out Santa was not real, though he pretended to still believe until 7th grade for his mother’s sake. He does laundry every week between 2-5 p.m. on Wednesdays. He would do anything for anyone but draws

can play without repeating a Kings of Leon song is 36 minutes. The band played the entire time we were there.

the line at risking someone vomiting in his Acura. John Baladi is always trying to find ways to become a better person.

“I know that I’m never going to be the perfect person that I want to be,” Baladi said. “But at the very least, I’m always moving towards something.”

The night was upon us, and the questions grew scarcer. The hoops and hollers of drunk college students grew fainter. Baladi told me he believes that meaning can be found in almost anything.

Simultaneously, a cop flashed his lights and pulled over the girl swerving just beside us. I wondered if she had heard Baladi’s parting wisdom, and what meaning there was for her to find here.

A slowing drummer played us out.

end of the conversation (I did not know these people).

person most people will think they understand on sight. He is, from a Mississippian’s point of view, the poster child for stereotypical transplants from New York. Even after a few months of knowing him, I would not say that this is an unfair observation. But what one might miss from the surface is his own earnest attempt to understand this place.

I was lucky enough to hear a few excerpts from personal essays Luke wrote during his first year in Starkville, almost four years ago. Disregarding the obvious fact that they were extremely well-written, there was a clear bite within the text that showed some definite disdain for the things he had discovered here. And I understood even as a native of this state, there are many things that continually shock me. One thing that I did not expect, however, was for Luke Copley to censor himself as he read pieces of these essays. He

gastrointestinal pain.

Over the course of the past week, I saw Luke everywhere, from class, a section meeting and work, to a regular Friday night. The amalgamation of all these experiences was supposed to give me an idea of who he was, to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Luke is a creative mind, one that never stops thinking about the next idea, the next project or the next story. He knows who he is and what he will spend the rest of his life doing.

As multiple yellow buses arrive at the venue to pick up their mostly-intoxicated charges, the line at the bar empties and shut-down procedure commences. Closing includes a drastic change in noise level, an odd pooling of crawfish water at our feet and a distinct scent of chlorine. Most relevant to Luke, however, is the enormous pile of white receipts that will eventually reveal if the willingness to small talk with customers was a profitable endeavor.

The pile slowly diminishes as we do typical closing shift banter. Just as the last receipt is tabulated, Luke bids me goodbye by complimenting my reporting and giving a firm handshake.

rock music, even if we do not like to talk about it.

If, in an attempt to get to know Cadence Harvey, you walked a mile in her shoes, you would find yourself a mile away with a fresh pair of Air Force 1’s.

Rather than walking a mile in her shoes, however, I sat down with her outside of the

closed midtown Strange Brew this past Thursday. I expected this to last no longer than 30 minutes, but when we eventually parted ways, it was two and a half hours after I initially sat down.

As we chatted, we saw a girl get pulled over, a dozen people wearing high school jerseys and cheer uniforms and discovered that the longest a college band

Life Editor | Trey Barrett life@reflector.msstate.edu

Cadence described herself as “uncontrollably empathetic.” I feel as though this can explain a lot. She cares very much about her family and calls home almost every day, even calling her dad three times in one day last week.

Her friends are very willing to help her out when needed, which I probably would have passed up mentioning if not for one of them letting each of us use their bathroom towards the

Photography Editor | Landon Scheel

Cadence has a very vivid imagination, which would explain her creative writing minor and love for poetry.

Through hearing about her days, one of which she stated was “mostly miserable and uneventful and disturbed by a perpetual headache,” they reminded me a lot of my own school days. Struggling to wake up on time, get to class on time and eating food that legitimately only a college student could digest without suffering extreme

Cadence spent last week going to class, working on assignments, going to meetings and hanging out with friends. Among these were one class she slept through, one project she started on the day it was due, the final opinion meeting under editor Luke Copley and one friend’s couch she slept on.

As we spoke at a table outside of Strange Brew, the theme of a passion for human connection popped up.

Cadence and I share a love for the way things are written, and we also are both fans of punk

This realized passion for human connection led me to walk away feeling a sense of peace. I left with the feeling that we are infinitely close to others around us even if we fail to realize it.

I encourage everyone to ask what your colleagues would do with their lives in different realities this week. You might find their reasoning behind being a contortionist in a circus enlightening enough to enjoy repeat performances of Kings of Leon.

cadEncE haRvEy Staff WRitER

Starkville Area Arts Council blossoms with Spring Showcase

The Starkville Area Arts Council opened its first 2023 Art in Public Places Group Exhibit, the Spring Showcase, March 6. The exhibit is available online or at 122 E. Main St. through May 1. The display is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features art from photography to printmaking. With paintings, virtual poetry and sculptures as well, the diverse collection is unified by its spring theme.

J.C. Long, a photographer involved with the SAAC’s Art in Public Places program since fall 2022, talked about his experiences capturing spring scenery.

“I love the season of spring and the theme of new beginnings it brings. Each spring I enjoy photographing tulips and other emerging flowers. The act of photographing them is sort of like color therapy — pleasing and calming, a renewal of creativity and growth in the practice of photography,” Long said.

Long also described “Backyard Love,” his favor-

ite piece in the exhibit.

“My favorite piece in the Spring Showcase is an image of a yellow fireweed bloom shaped like a heart,” Long said. “I captured the image one spring dusk in 2022. I pushed the camera system to its limits, and it captured the deep blue tones in the shadows near the ground, complementing the bloom in color contrast and depth.”

Long’s photographs allow him to preserve the beauties of spring he witnesses.

“I was pleasantly surprised how well the camera captured the spring moment,” he said.

Rah Lowry, a Brooklyn, New York, native who now lives in Mississippi, said he featured his works in a SAAC exhibit for the first time.

He talked about the way spring relates to art as a whole.

“Spring represents life being reborn, a chance at new life, possibility and regrowth,” Lowry said.

“When it comes to art, everything is new. A piece can change each time you view it.”

For Lowry, both the creation and viewing of art lead to new ideas, even for lifelong

artists like him. Lowry discussed his long-lasting dedication to his art.

“I started drawing at the age of four, and I’m 29 now,” Lowry said. His piece, “Immortality,” is one of the 47 works in the Spring Showcase, and he asked people to view his art website.

Kadence Lewis, a junior art major at MSU, also participated in the Spring Showcase for her first SAAC event. She has engaged with the local art community for three years.

In the exhibit, her reduction woodblock print, "Twice As Many Stars," features a cow amongst a nighttime scene inspired by Laura Gilpin's poem "TwoHeaded Calf."

Lewis said she enjoyed working with printmaking as a medium.

“I love the fact that you can make multiples of the same print. I've always struggled with letting go of my pieces because I love them so much, but printmaking allows me to let someone else love it just as much,” Lewis said.

Like the other artists, Lewis said the spring theme works well creatively.

“I really enjoyed the spring theme because it can tie into your work in so many ways since spring is associated with rebirth or reinvention,” Lewis said. “It is also a push to maybe try something new or challenge yourself as

an artist.”

These artists represent just a few of the many talented people involved with the SAAC’s Spring Showcase who bring inspiring creations to downtown Starkville.

The SAAC invites people to admire or purchase the pieces that encapsulate springtime. Interested buyers can call or email the SAAC about any piece, and 80% of the proceeds will go directly to the artist.

2022-2023 Editorial love letter to The Reflector

Our time as an editorial board has come to an end. While we ended the year looking and feeling differently than we started, we have nothing but love looking back on The Reflector’s 138th year, 2022-2023.

Heather Harrison, Editor-in-Chief: I give all the love and credit to The Reflector for cultivating the journalist I am today. From the beginning of my time here in September 2020, I knew I wanted to invest my college years in the paper and spend time writing stories about my new community in Starkville.

I’m so grateful for my time as a staff writer, news editor and editor-in-chief of The Reflector. I wore each title as a badge of honor. I’m really going to miss working with the people who became some of my closest confidants while sitting 10 feet away from each other in a windowless office. Every award, road trip, late night in the office, website improvement, Slack meme thread and staff update was worth it to get where we are today.

I will never forget submitting my staff writer application that one September 2020 day and hoping for the best. I think I can officially say this is “the best” turnout I could’ve dreamed of. I truly put my blood, sweat and tears into The Reflector, and I’m in awe of watching my future unfold as I exit my college years. And it’s all because of that one fall day when I decided I wanted to be a journalist.

I give all my love to The Reflector, and I hope every MSU student can find their home on campus like I found mine at this student newspaper. Try something you have always wanted to do. See what happens.

Tanner Marlar, Managing Editor: When I started at this paper two years ago, my life was entirely different. I was a kid from nowhere, Mississippi, confused and trying to figure out where I go from here after swapping my major. I found the answer in an antiquated, allegedly dead art form that I had only before indulged in as a hobby. I started writing. I have always had a passion for sports, and that led me here to The Reflector and its sports section. I had no clue why the Oxford comma was a satanic principle, or especially why the hell we had to write in a style I had never heard of that was all at once similar but different to the linguistic confines that I was familiar with. I just knew that

this was fun, and if I could have fun at what I did, I wouldn’t dread it as much as I dreaded attending the various business classes as I had been during the past two years. Fast forward to now, and I can say, unabashedly and unashamedly, the newspaper and writing have made me who I am today. They have shaped my thinking, beliefs and core values into the truths that I hold dear today.

To hell with the “antiquated” narrative — writing has given me everything, and it's something that I will always hold dear.

There is nothing in this world that could take this gift from me, much less make me want to do anything else, and I owe that gift to here, The Reflector, of all places, so thank you. Thank you for making me who I am. Thank you for giving me the pathway to open the creative portions of my mind that were previously only explored and viewed by my own eyes.

Thank you for giving me the best group of people I've ever had the pleasure to be associated with. Thank you for teaching me humility.

Thank you for teaching me what real leadership can be.

Thank you for teaching me when to speak and when to listen. Thank you for everything, Reflector. You've been the best decision I’ve ever made in college — and there have been some bad ones. Never change.

Payton Brown, News Editor: My dear ol’ Reflector, I must begin by saying thank you for being my first organi-

zation at Mississippi State University. Thank you for giving me the platform to explore my own creative pursuits and for the opportunity to serve as your 2022-2023 News Editor. With you, I experienced joy, friendship, laughter, acclamation and plenty of journalistic hardships. However, the chance to uphold this 138-year-old legacy was worth it.

To Josh Foreman, thank you for being the best faculty adviser anyone could have dreamed of. Your dedication to this newspaper is greatly appreciated, and you are legendary. To Trey, Josh, Luke, Heather, Dylan, Tanner, Landon, Sydni and Dontae — thank you for leading and creating with me over the past year. I admire you all more than you could ever know, and I wish you all the best that life has to offer. We have all left a mark in MSU history that will one day sit in the archives of the Mitchell Memorial Library. In the next century, I hope someone stumbles upon one of our issues and wonders why people from the 2020s were so nihilistically absurd. Here’s to all of our hard work, my treasured friends.

Trey Barrett, Life & Entertainment Editor: What started out as a childhood desire to become a published newspaper writer has now become a strong involvement with the oldest and greatest student newspaper in Mississippi. Every second spent with each talented editor and staff member is full of pure joy, laughter and appreciation as we continue to grow

with one another. Because of The Reflector, my love for journalism has continued to evolve, and I have continued to appreciate my active role in Starkville’s environment. Even though my tenure with The Reflector has been short, I will never forget the lasting connections and knowledge I have gained from such a wonderful group of college students.

Luke Copley, Opinion Editor: Junior year, I wrote an article about needing more shade on the Drill Field. On Facebook, one person commented something like, “way to destroy history,” like I had already personally removed the walking paths and planted saplings. Another said, “Oh no! Did you get hot walking to class? Boo hoo.” Both of these are funny; both of them made me laugh. The Reflector offers all the things I hope other people wrote about: community, friendship, personal challenges, and a meager but consistent revenue. My thing is much smaller. You, our readers, are a highlight. The hate comments on Facebook, the letters of commendation for bathroom reviews, the passionate letters to the editor about all the things happening on campus. You are very challenging to predict and a joy to try to impress. Thank you for letting us do this.

Dylan Flippo, Sports Editor: My time as the sports editor at The Reflector has been a dream come true. Ever since I was a little kid, I

had always hoped to someday work in the sports industry. The opportunities and doors that have opened from my time as an editor are what I am truly so thankful for, and I can say that I am blessed beyond measure to have met such amazing people.

Although my time as an editor is up, I will forever cherish the memories and the experience that came with this position. I know that my desk, as well as the other wonderful editors, has been given to the right person for the job, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of The Reflector for years to come.

Landon Scheel, Photography Editor: My time as Photo Editor at The Reflector has pushed my photography to heights I previously thought would be out of reach for me at such a point in my life. Before I took on this job, I knew I had a camera, and I knew I could press a shutter button, but I wasn’t sure of much else. I didn’t know how to use any professional editing software, but The Reflector taught me Lightroom, and it gave me unbelievable opportunities for my portfolio, such as being on the field of Davis Wade, taking pictures of Jak (Bully XXI), being in the photo pit at Bulldog Bash and much more. I can’t begin to describe the growth I’ve seen in the last 12 months, and none of it would have been possible if I didn’t have the courage to take on this position. It scared me in all the right ways.

I’ve been with The Reflec-

tor since fall 2020, and the first time I applied, I was rejected. It hurt, but I knew what I was capable of contributing, and I didn’t let that stop me from pushing to be a part of this team. The Reflector has been one of, if not the, primary outlet for improving my photography skills over the last three years, and I could not be more grateful to those who saw potential in me and helped me grow. I owe a special thank you to Adam Sullivan and Mary Georgia Hamilton (Photo Editors of 2021-2022 and 2020-2021, respectively). I would also like to thank my photography team for being dependable and devoting your time and your work to the paper. Lastly, I want to thank the loyal readers of The Reflector, for without your investment into our words and our art, we wouldn’t have a reason to publish every week.

Dontae Ball, Graphics Illustrator: The Reflector is a big house. Within it is a collection of people who are all patient, passionate and motivated to create and inform all. Being a part of this family has allowed me to become part of something bigger than myself, opening doors for more educational and career opportunities. I loved working at The Reflector, and I loved the people I worked with. I cannot wait to see what everyone does next.

Sydni Vandevender, Marketing Manager: My dearest Reflector, our time together has been too short. You’ve shown me people I likely wouldn’t have found elsewhere on this campus. I am just a marketing manager — this is my first and last time writing for you, but I’ll try my best. To the team, I have never worked with such a unique and talented group. I genuinely enjoy reading your work, and I constantly talk about it to those around me. I will miss not being able to step foot in the office without someone making me laugh. Thank you for welcoming me and including me from the start. I love you.

Joshua Britt, Online Editor: "I'm not f#@&!ing leaving." (Jordan Belfort, "The Wolf of Wall Street.")

All: And thank you, dear reader, for letting us provide your news and opinions. We spent the year working to inform and entertain you while upholding The Reflector’s integrity and long-lasting traditions. Thank you. We love you.

Luke Copley

Joseph MacGown’s ceramic clay sculpture “Rabbit Field Theory” is a play on unified field theory featuring rabbit-like beings.

Landon Scheel | The Reflector

SPORTS

MSU women’s golf building momentum ahead of SEC Tournament

The seventh-ranked Mississippi State University women’s golf team traveled to Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona, this past weekend for the 50th PING/ASU Invitational.

After heavy rain shortened their last tournament in Florida, the Bulldogs did not have to worry about weather this time around. The Valley of the Sun remained true to its reputation, and the teams played the tournament as scheduled beginning on Friday and concluding on Sunday. Team play would not be the only style that featured stiff competition, as 26 of the Top 100 female collegiate golfers were on

the course this weekend, including the Bulldogs' 5th-ranked Julia Lopez Ramirez, 71st-ranked Hannah Levi and 82ndranked Izzy Pellot, who made the incredible leap from No. 103 in the previous rankings.

Led by head coach Charlie Ewing and assistant Lauren Whyte, the Bulldogs finished in fourth place, shotting only four strokes over par for the entire tournament. MSU was beaten out only by other top 25 teams in No. 23 Northwestern University, the home team of No. 11 Arizona State University and No. 14 Baylor University.

The Bulldogs competed with the same lineup, which currently boasts the lowest 54-hole tournament score in

program history. Senior Abbey Daniel shot in the one spot, followed by senior Levi. Freshman Pellot was set to shoot third, just ahead of freshman Surapa Janthamunee, who notched her fifth team appearance this tournament.

Lopez Ramirez, who was recently added to the ANNIKA Award Watch List, rounded out the lineup. College golfers, coaches and members of the media voted, and the Haskins Foundation presented the award to the most outstanding female collegiate golfer of the year. Friday’s round featured overall strong play for the Bulldogs. As a team, the ladies shot just two over par (290), finishing the

round in a three-way tie for second place.

Daniel started strong on Friday, but during her inward nine, she shot only two holes for par and seven for bogey, which set her behind for the rest of the tournament.

Lopez Ramirez came out playing with something to prove. The sophomore shot seven of her twelve total birdies in the first round, finishing the day in first place with a score of5. The 67-stroke performance allowed her to notch her 22nd career round in the 60s. With this, she finished her second regular season just three sub-70 rounds behind all-time Bulldog leader Ally McDonald Ewing. Day two of the

tournament was the cleanest day for MSU, as no individual shot more than two strokes over. As a team, the Bulldogs shot dead even, good for a 4th place ranking after rounds concluded for the day.

Coach Ewing discussed his thoughts on his team’s performance after day two of the tournament.

"Everybody hung in well [and] as a team, we were steady today,” Ewing said. “There were plenty of mistakes out there that leave you feeling frustrated because they feel pretty wasteful, but all in all the golf has been good.”

The third and final day of the tournament saw little change in rankings for the Bulldogs as a team. MSU finished the day two over par, akin to their day one performance, and held

on to their fourth-place ranking.

Four out of five Lady Bulldogs finished in the top 40 individual rankings, with the highlight of the group being Lopez Ramirez, who fell to third following a final round score of one under par. Even though she started the tournament slow, two consecutive days of +2 play allowed Daniel to jump a total of 17 spots in the final individual rankings from where she ended day one.

Mississippi State women’s golf will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, on April 12 to compete in the SEC Championship, where the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Golf Tournament.

Softball battles UGA ahead of Arkansas series

The Mississippi State University softball team dropped two games to the No. 17 University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, over the weekend, but the MSU softball team is far from done in 2023.

Aspen Wesley got the start in the circle for MSU in Friday’s game. MSU held UGA to two runs before heading into the third but were forced to bring in the talented freshman Josey Marron to relieve Wesley, as UGA continued to apply pressure with their talented hitters in the lineup.

Marron has had a great run thus far in her first season playing collegiate softball. Through the 2023 season, Marron has posted a 1.70 ERA, and she also tied the MSU freshman strikeout record for a single game earlier this year against Furman.

In the bottom of the fifth, Marron continued to battle in the circle for

the Maroon and White, throwing an exact 12 pitches in a 1-2-3 inning.

Mississippi State tried to build some momentum going into the final inning, but it was quickly put out by the plethora of talent on the UGA defense. After getting runners on base, Brylie St. Clair bunted to advance two runners to scoring position, but it was not enough to mount the comeback, as UGA would claim a 3-0 victory. Following the tough loss, MSU head coach Samantha Ricketts shared what she saw from her squad in the battle against UGA.

“I think the biggest thing is that I'd like to see a little more fight early on, not wait until seventh,” Ricketts said.

“We need to be making plays for our pitchers and just overall play a cleaner ballgame. Georgia’s a great team. They’re going to hit and hit the ball hard. We have to expect it and be ready to make some plays.”

Another freshman pitcher, Reis Beuerlein

took to the rubber on Saturday. The talented newcomer out of Cave Creek, Arizona, has also shown early signs of success in the circle. Beuerlein earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for her performance in the sweep against the University of South Carolina.

Unfortunately for MSU, Saturday’s game was not a true display of Beuerlein’s talents. She pitched one inning and gave four runs before Kenley Hawk came in for relief.

Mississippi State was hitless in Saturday’s game, as Georgia claimed a 10-0 victory in just five innings.

Due to inclement weather conditions, Sunday’s game between the two teams was canceled. MSU will hit the road for a midweek game at the University of Louisiana-Monroe before the return home for a weekend series against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks at Nusz Park.

Mississippi State last

faced Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2021, where Hogs swept the Bulldogs. With many arms stepping up in the circle and an earlier

offensive presence, the battle between the Hogs and the Bulldogs will be an intriguing matchup in Starkvegas. First pitch times are

set as followed: Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m., with all games broadcasting live on SEC Network+.

MSU’s Julia Lopez Ramirez celebrates in an earlier tournament this season.

Mississippi State softball dropped two games over the weekend to UGA. Sunday’s game was canceled due to weather.

As a sophomore, Lopez Ramirez led the way for the Bulldogs by finishing third overall in the PING/ASU Invitational. MSU is ranked sixth nationally per Golfstat.

Courtesy Photo | MSU Athletics

Courtesy Photo |MSU Athletics

Paige Cook is one of the highlights of the Bulldog batting lineup. She’s currently hitting .325 with six Home Runs.

Landon Scheel | The Reflector

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