The Daily Mississippian - March 03, 2011

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MISSISSIPPIAN

Celebrating Our Hundredth Year | The Student Newspaper

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Oxford Fire-Protection Rating Upgraded

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w w w . t h e d mo n l i n e . com

this week FORD CENTER

BY LUKE TAYLOR The Daily Mississippian

FILE PHOTO| The Daily Mississippian

Oxford firefighers battle a blaze at the old Gin building last October. Oxford’s fire-protection clas rating was recently upgraded from Class 5 to Class 4 by the Mississippi State Rating Bureau.

Oxford residents could save money on their property insurance premiums thanks to an upgrade in the city’s fire-protection class rating.

The city’s rating has been upgraded from a Class 5 to a Class 4 by the Mississippi State Rating Bureau.

“This is going to provide substantial savings to everyone,” Mayor Pat Patterson said. “Fire insurance rates for commercial structures will decrease significantly. Rate changes for residential structures should also be noticeable.”

According to the rating bureau, fire insurance rates for commercial and residential structures could decrease anywhere from five percent to eight percent, depending on the size and type of structure insured. Any discounts for existing fire insurance policies in Oxford could be pro-rated from Feb. 16.

The city and the University started a joint fire committee two years ago to consider ways to make the community safer by improving the fire protection rating without increasing spending.

“After having been a Class 5 for years, we began working on becoming a Class 4 two years ago,” Oxford fire chief Mike Hill said. “The goal was to do

so without spending any money in the process. A lot of time and hard work went into getting that better grade from the rating bureau.”

Hill said their aim is always to take specific actions to improve fire protection within the city of Oxford and the University.

The rating bureau considered the staffing levels at the Oxford Fire Department, adequate water pressure at fire hydrants and the use of backup generators at city water wells.

The city and the University are not resting at the current rating and are already taking steps to gain a Class 3 rating.

“For example, we are working to connect the water systems so that we can make both the University and the city safer if we ever have an excessive demand such as a significant structure fire,” Lee Tyner, university attorney and former committee member, said.

Oxford is one of only seven cities in the state and the only one in north Mississippi to have a Class 4 rating.

Jackson and Southaven are the only cities with a Class 3 rating in the state. Biloxi, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Yazoo City and Greenwood all have a Class 4 rating.

The rating scale is 1-10 with 1 being the highest level of fire protection available and 10 being no fire protection at all.

Business and journalism, a healthy combination?

BY BRITTNI WARD The Daily Mississippian

In response to an increasing demand for niche journalism, several universities have decided to introduce business journalism as a new major.

Most journalism schools offer students a general liberal arts degree, and it is not often that journalism students specialize in any one subject.

Because of this, many business professionals reject general news publications for more specialized sources like the Wall Street Journal, including Ken Cyree, dean of the University of Mississippi School of Business.

Cyree said he collects his news from a variety of sources to get a breadth of coverage, but avoids sources that are not business publications for his

business news.

“I rarely get news from general news publications,” Cyree said. “I could be unusual in that regard, but I bet I am not.”

Business journalism is designed to provide a solution to this issue, and the University of North Carolina plans to offer a niche business journalism degree, open to 15 students in the fall.

The program allows for an opportunity to specialize in covering business news. The goal is to provide students with the skills to write a good story about business and the knowledge to back it up — all in one major.

Will Norton, dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, said the University currently does not offer business journalism as a major.

Norton said he does not agree

SWAN LAKE The Russian National Ballet is bringing its acclaimed production of “Swan Lake” to the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts for one show March 4.

With music by Tchaikovsky, “Swan Lake” is based on a German fairy tale and follows the heroic young Prince Siegfried as he labors to free the delicately beautiful swan maiden, Odette, from an evil sorcerer’s spell.

8 p.m. March 4 $20 Mezzanine/ Balcony (Gen. Adm.) Orchestra/Parterre tickets are sold out.

inside NEWS

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Meek School of Journalism and New Media dean Will Norton works in his office.

Norton said he does not agree with the idea of having niche journalism majors like business journalism.

with the idea of having niche Norton said he wanted to journalism majors. Instead, he stress that the most important believes that good journalists thing a good journalist needs is will seek additional degrees in basic journalism skills. specific areas to give them their “The ones that really thrive own specialization. are the ones who know how “If you’re going to be a good to write,” Norton said. “A lot business journalist, first you’re of people know business regoing to be a good journalist,” ally well, but if you can’t write Norton said. “Then you’re go- about it, what good is it to ing to get at least a minor in you?” business and probably more See JOURNALISM, PAGE 5 than that.”

BASKETBALL

OPINION O P IN I O N |

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When Times Are Hard

BY JONECE DUNIGAN Columnist

Life can make it hard to obey a lesson we have all heard for generations. People who act on a golden heart will get gold back. In less-flamboyant terms, good people get good in return.

Sometimes it seems the world was not raised the same way. People become notorious through cheating this big test we call life.

In our darkest days, society has taught the reciprocal of what has been etched in us since birth. Your value as a person is determined by how much money you can earn no matter what the circumstances are. Become a billionaire and you all of a sudden have the universe at your disposal.

Playing by the rules and doing good things will only reward you with scraps.

When life cages us with so many problems we can’t even breathe, doing good is easier said than done.

We become deranged and want to cheat life.

Some do it for selfish reasons, like a 2012 Camaro or the latest iPad. Some individuals do it because they feel obligated.

If your child was starving and you were unemployed, going around the law just to make profit doesn’t sound like a bad profession after all.

During certain moments in our lives, the logic of hard work, determination and good of heart seem skewed. Most of us have worked hard and done our best to do good our whole lives to get to where we are now.

We construct a plan to make our dreams a reality and again, worked hard to get there. After graduation, we enter the real world with this full-fledged daydream in our head. It’s at this stage we are completely smacked by this fact: Just because you graduated on May 14 does not mean you will receive the job of your dreams May 15.

Every speck of opportunity you search for, however,

CAROLINE LEE editor-in-chief EMILY ROLAND managing editor

seemed to scurry toward the person who receives $200 or more in allowance and acted like a spoiled brat in order to get what they wanted.

I know that some of you are faced with situations like this on Ole Miss campus. Sometimes the people who judge their every move off a filthy heart seem to have everything we need. We want to throw up our hands and give up.

Some of you are beginning to believe that no one cares and allowing your heart to get hard and the line between what is right and what is wrong is eroding away. This is when we develop the demeanor that life is not fair and it’s something we have to get over.

This is when we begin to point injustice at the wrong subject.

We are not the only ones going through hard times. We have to find support in each other to get through them.

There is nothing wrong with burying our pride and crying

on a friend’s shoulder.

You will find out that there are people who do care. They will support you and guide the way in this blurry world.

It is the world that’s unfair, not life.

Life does not allow hard work to go in vain. With it, trial does not always result in error.

The people who cheat life will always be worn out because of their search for happiness with consistency. They are the cowards who cannot fight through the hard times of life.

The brave individuals are the ones who do good things despite how hard it is, how many back-stabs occurred or how many times plans have failed, because they know that people who do good do get good in return. They will receive something that is more valuable then whatever can be imagined: a happiness that will be kept forever.

The best part is, it cannot be torn away.

Columnist

T H E

On Saturday night, the trending topics on Twitter had a slight change from the usual Middle-East protests and Justin Bieber news.

It appeared that author and pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church Rob Bell was taking heat from the Christian community after a blog post on thegospelcoalition.org called him out for being a Universalist.

The reason this is such a big deal is because Universalist theology goes against what the Bible says about salvation.

In the post written by Justin Taylor, a video of Rob Bell promoting his new book, “Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, And The Fate Of Every Person Who Ever Lived,” was featured along with the publisher’s description of the book.

In the post, Taylor came to a conclusion that Bell may now be a Universalist. This caused a flame war to begin on the Internet.

Many leaders in the Christian community began to speak out via Twitter, and for most of the night, it seemed like a lot of people had given up on Bell.

Author and pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church John Piper has held the top tweet throughout the ordeal, simply saying, “Farewell Rob,” along with a link to the blog post by Taylor.

Tweets like this one and many others merely fueled more and more debate on the topic, and Rob Bell became a worldwide trending topic for the night.

Eventually though, most people settled down and began to look at the matter differently.

Everyone started to look at things from their own perspective, rather than merely agreeing with those with the most followers.

Everyone began to realize that Bell never really admit-

ted to anything in his promo video. All he did was ask questions.

Now most people have taken a step back and have been gathering their thoughts on the issue. More and more hash-tags like #prayforRob have started appearing. Most people are deciding to not give their view on the matter until the book is released.

As the night went on and the weekend came to an end, more lighthearted tweets about the situation began to surface.

Although a search today would still show John Piper and other religious authors/ bloggers holding the top tweet spots, many people can still find tweets like this one from @XIANITY, an Onion-like fake news source for religious culture: “ACADEMY AWARDS: @ RealRobBell snubbed by Oscar once again in the “Most Creative Adaption of a NonFiction Book” category.”

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At this point, many people are not sure what to think of the situation. Many will continue to judge the book by its description and promo video.

And almost everyone who is not a Christian or interested in religion will carry on in life unaware that any of this ever happened.

But what would have happened if we didn’t have blogs, Facebook or Twitter? Would Rob Bell still have been called out publicly like this? Or would he have just received a letter or phone call from a concerned friend?

This is one of the problems with total interconnectivity; it allows us to make snap judgments and respond too quickly.

I am upset with how the situation unfolded, but I hope that the next time something like this happens people will hold off before using Twitter as a weapon to ruin a reputation.

The Daily Mississippian welcomes all comments.

Please send a letter to the editor addressed to The Daily Mississippian, 201 Bishop Hall, University, MS, 38677 or send an e-mail to dmeditor@gmail.com.

Letters should be typed, double-spaced and no longer than 300 words. Third party letters and those bearing pseudonyms, pen names or “name withheld” will not be published. Publication is limited to one letter per individual per calendar month.

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Sir Charles the Modest Winner

BY JON STEPHENS Columnist

Unless you’ve been living in Egypt or in Ole Miss housing, you’ve had access to the Internet and have almost certainly heard of the Charlie Sheen and CBS fiasco that’s been going on these past few days.

Upon the cancellation of his popular CBS program “Two and a Half Men,” Sheen has threatened to sue CBS for $300 million because he claims his contract was wrongfully terminated.

In addition to creating a Twitter account (for which he racked up over a million followers in less than a day), he’s given quite a few interviews since CBS cancelled the program’s season.

In these interviews, the actor has recently had many notable quotes, and most of my friends have subsequently mocked them.

Of course, with such memorable gems like, “The only thing I’m addicted to right now is winning,” and “I have a disease? Bull****. I cured it with my brain,” it’s really easy to poke fun at the actor.

ABC conducted drug tests on Charlie Sheen; despite testing negative for every drug in the previous 72 hours, he still claimed, “I am on a drug. It’s called ‘Charlie Sheen.’ It’s not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.

Too much?”

He says that people who condemn his actions “lay down with their ugly wives and their ugly children and just look at their loser lives and then they look at me and say ‘I CAN’T PROCESS IT.’ Well, no, you never will, just

stop trying. Sit back and enjoy the show.”

I do not have nor do I want to have an ugly wife or ugly children, so I shall present an argument in support of Charlie Sheen.

Despite America’s sluggish economy, a few industries have enjoyed economic success these past few years. Thanks to Charlie Sheen’s recent erratic behavior, news syndicates have benefited immensely these past few weeks.

His interview on ABC’s 20/20 was the network’s biggest 10 p.m. hour-long rating in the Tuesday night slot over the past two years, as 9.3 million viewers (and millions more online after the interview was aired) watched the actor with “Adonis DNA” and “tiger blood” drink a red beverage, smoke cigarettes, use big words and speak his mind.

Charlie Sheen has also actually benefited both the psyche and wallets of the average Ameri-

can. Millions of Americans open magazines, newspapers and tabloids and covet the multi-million dollar mansions and expensive sports cars that celebrities have.

This envy leads to many people spending more money than is in their bank account on houses, cars, vacations, clothes and accessories, which in turn causes them to neglect spending enough money on basic necessities like food and utility bills. For example, many people want to splurge on a pool, but do not think of the high maintenance or water bills that a pool necessitates.

Enter Charlie Sheen. Sure, he has luxurious items and lives in an awesome Beverly Hills mansion, but what do most people associate with Charlie Sheen?

Women, drugs and alcohol.

Thus, in some people’s minds, one can live like a celebrity by taking women out to eat, going to clubs, and then returning home. This keeps budgets in

(relative) check while also giving future granddad’s stories to tell younger generations.

Charlie Sheen obviously does not want to be remembered as the guy who loosened up Ferris Bueller’s sister in the classic ‘80s movie. He wants to be remembered as the miscreant who has slept with more than 5,000 women and partied too much.

This explains why he is giving himself so much publicity recently — he wants his fan base to grow and then clamor for “Two and a Half Men” to return to CBS. In the program, his character is based on Sheen’s own personality. He was paid $1.8 million an episode to essentially act out his own life.

There are rumors that CBS wants to revive the hit show, but fill Sheen’s role with John Stamos instead. When the character is loosely based on Charlie Sheen’s real life exploits, is there anyone better than Sheen?

Letter to the Editor Dear editor, After reading Mr. Irvine’s column “The End of Labor” in Monday’s edition of The DM, it seems probable to me that Mr. Irvine doesn’t hold a job in the public sector and is primarily concerned with how unions affect “normal Americans’” entertainment.

Thus, I would like to assist Mr. Irvine in finding more than just a single reason why unions are useful in the 21st century.

I ask Mr. Irvine to consider whether or not he values weekends, eight-hour workdays, and five-day workweeks. If he does, he can thank labor unions for these standards.

He can also thank unions for securing provisions for wages,

hours, working conditions, benefits, etc.

Mr. Irvine states that collective bargaining is “detrimental only to the employees because it forces them into accepting a wage scale and set of hours that are determined by others…”

Obviously Mr. Irvine doesn’t understand the definition of collective bargaining he cited, which says it is a “process of voluntary negotiations...aimed at reaching agreements.”

Organized labor unions are one of American worker’s greatest assets. On average union employees make twenty-seven percent more than nonunion workers and 92 percent have job-related health coverage.

In short, thanks to labor

unions, we have rules that protect workers by establishing job security, minimum wages, safety rules, health benefits, retirement plans and child labor laws.

Taking away the worker’s right to organize means that every worker must fend for himself against corporate America. Does this seem like a fair fight to you?

In conclusion, I ask Mr. Irvine to reconsider his opinion of labor unions and the standards they have secured to protect millions of workers in the public and private sectors. I’m afraid we have many long workdays/weeks, without rights, to look forward to if unions are busted.

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NEWS NEWS |

3 . 3 . 11

| T H E DA ILY M I S S I S S IP P I A N | PAG E 4

Man on the Street: What do you think of the leaked mascot photo?

Brittney Williams

Dylan Knight

Brittney Williams said she was happy to see the change and thought the bear was representative of Ole Miss. “I think the way he is dressed helps him, like the hat.

He looks very down home, like he has on Grove attire. It has on our colors, and that looks like our jersey. I think it looks wonderful.”

Dylan Knight had a lot of questions about the image of the mascot upon seeing it, such as, why the hat? “I don’t understand.

I feel like they are trying to make him look like Colonel Reb,” Knight said. He also said he felt there are not enough bears in the state to justify it as a mascot.

Major: Accounting Class: Junior

Kennedy Horton

Major: English and Business Class: Junior

Major: Business Class: Graduate student

Kennedy Horton said he thought the new mascot looked how the University intended it to look. “The costume looks like a bear, but as far as being a mascot for Ole Miss, I don’t think it is representative.”

Miranda Bowers Major: Business Class: Sophomore

Bowers was not fond of the bear to begin with, but she said as an artist, she can appreciate it. “It looks OK,” Bowers said.

“It looks like a mascot, just not the Ole Miss mascot. Everyone I talked to did not vote for the bear, so I thought it was kind of rigged.”

Dwight Barnes

Major: Business and Mangament Class: Freshman Dwight Barnes thought it was acceptable, but he was hoping a different mascot would win. “I think we should have gone with the lion,” Barnes said. “I think it was called Rebellion, and that fit. Plus, a lion symbolizes a kingdom, and a bear is just a bear.”

Ole Miss and JSU team up for early childhood development

BY HEATHER APPLEWHITE The Daily Mississippian

Two state-run schools look ahead to prepare for Mississippi’s future.

Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi are joining together to develop the first Early Childhood Learning Institute of Mississippi through JSU’s Mississippi Learning Institute.

Susan Rucker, director of the Institute for Education and Workforce Development at Ole Miss, said she was looking forward to the partnership with JSU. “We’re really thrilled that Dr. (Nikisha) Ware and her organization are bringing this forward,” Rucker said. “We understand that we’ve really got to address early childhood education, and working with the leaders in that area of Mississippi.”

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Ware, executive director for the Mississippi Learning Institute at Jackson State University, said she was eager to start the five-day program.

“We’re bringing early childhood professionals from across the spectrum to connect preschool to K-12,” Ware said. “This five-day training provides deliberate coordinated efforts between early childhood and K-12 stakeholders both of whom recognize major responsibility in closing the achievement gap that exists.

MLI believes this is the missing link to current early childhood initiatives that attempt to address preparation deficiencies.”

The program runs from April 5-7 and two days in June at Jackson State University.

MLI is the state’s only public school and university collaborative partnership that aims to improve instruction to students Kindergarden through 12th grade, according to officials at Jackson Public Schools. The learning institute recently received a grant of $1,685,344 from the U.S. De-

partment of Health and Human Resources, which allowed MLI to broaden its program and add the Early Childhood Executive Learning Development Institute, which will focus on bringing education to children younger than five.

The institute will help early childhood care professionals become better leaders for younger children, Ware said. Ware said she hopes these leaders will turn around and help broaden children’s minds before the age of five.

ECLI will also help parents prepare their children, pre-natal to five years old, for school and their futures by addressing certain methods of preparing their children for school. This is where JSU and UM connect the path of early childhood education to K-12.

According to governorbarbour. com, Governor Haley Barbour believes this program is an essential tool to build a successful workforce to prepare the youngest of children for their futures.

Rucker and Ware believe the program will help principals and early childhood professionals help their staff become better teachers and leaders, which will in turn help the students and preschool children of Mississippi improve.

If the program can provide better help for school and early childhood professionals, those professionals will be able to more efficiently help students. Ware’s hope is to eventually get other universities to join in the effort of improving our early education system throughout the whole state.

“We’re bringing North Mississippi and Central Mississippi together,” Ware said. “If it can be done with the University of Mississippi and Jackson State University, it can be done in any other part of the state.”

The program costs $1500 and space is limited. Any interested persons should contact the Mississippi Learning institute at 601979-0208 or mlims2001@gmail. com. The deadline for registration is March 18.

TOP 3 REASONS YOU SHOULD SIGN UP FOR THE BIG EVENT It is the best way to say “Thank You” to Oxford for being so much cooler than starkville!

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Join with your fellow students in saying “Thanks” to the Oxford and Lafayette communities!

Saturday, March 26 , 2011 th

Visit www.olemiss.edu/thebigevent to find out more information.

To volunteer log on to your myolemiss account and click “Big Event Volunteer Registration.”

N E W S | 3 . 3 . 11

Wesley Foundation Host Lecture on Existence of God

| T H E DA ILY M I S S I S S IP P I A N | PAG E 5

Oxford Restaurant Blog Grows in Popularity

BY ELAN LLOYD The Daily Mississippian

CONTRIBUTED

Churchgoers sing during a youth group meeting at The Wesley Foundation.

BY LANCE INGRAM City News Editor

The University of Mississippi Wesley Foundation will host Steve Blakemore, a professor of philosophy and apologetics at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson.

Blakemore’s lecture is called “To Believe or Not Believe: That’s the Only Real Question.”

“The reasons that people have for not believing in Jesus or not being Christians are things that I take very seriously,” Blakemore said in a press release. “But I want to help them evaluate whether or not those reasons are actually good enough to keep them from faith in Christ.”

Eddie Willis, director of

the Wesley Foundation at Ole Miss, said he believes there is a huge student population that struggles with faith issues and there is a tension between belief and disbelief in Christianity on the Ole Miss campus as well as in the community.

“I feel there are a lot of a questions on campus of the validity of whether there is a God or not, and I could just feel the tension,” Willis said.

“I wanted to help answer some of those questions some so I’m bringing in a lecturer to help answer them.”

Blakemore said in the press release that he has found that often people who deny the existence of God want to “have their cake and eat it too.”

Blakemore also said he finds it remarkable how much of a

historic case one can make for the Christian claims about Jesus.

“Similar to other sacred scriptures, the Hebrew Bible and New Testament are filled with difficult questions about life, faith and God,” Ryan Weimer, Ole Miss religion professor, said.

“Whether one is religious or atheist, hedonist or celibate, confused or simply needing extra credit in a class, then what better time to investigate the big picture than from a variety of guest speakers during college?”

The Wesley Foundation meets in the Paris-Yates Chapel on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., with a meal immediately following at the Wesley Building on Jackson Avenue.

For students interested in one major that offers a mix of journalism and business courses, Ole Miss does offer marketing communications and will soon offer integrated marketing communications.

Both degrees combine a mix of journalism courses to hone students’ writing skills and business core classes to give students a better understand-

ing of the business world.

Marketing communication students also study advertising, consumer behavior and additional marketing courses.

“Graduates will be able to understand business while possessing the writing, broadcasting or public relations skills necessary to compete effectively in the marketplace,” Cyree said.

JOURNALISM , continued from page 1

Deb Wenger, assistant professor of journalism and director of undergraduate studies, said she believes that specialization is important, but that it’s just not the focus for the journalism school.

“Our focus in on new ways to capitalize on technology to create new forms of journalism business — not how to cover business,” Wenger said.

People from all around the world visit Oxford every year for its history, education, shops, and most importantly, food.

Home to unique restaurants Ajax, Two Stick, Big Bad Breakfast and many more, Oxford has become a hot-spot for gourmands.

When Liz Barrett, editor-inchief of PMQ Pizza Magazine, launched a website in November 2009 dedicated to Oxford’s food scene, she said she had no idea of the popularity it would soon attain.

Since its inception, EatingOxford.com has grown to 300 reviews and received over 100,000 visitors. The site has also been ranked for the past year as the No. 1 blog in Mississippi on Urbanspoon, the popular restaurant information and recommendation service.

The website offers a complete, detailed list of all of the town’s restaurants and, when available, a link to their menus. It also keeps readers regularly updated with information on what’s going on in Oxford.

Barrett said she wanted to provide a resource she thought Oxford has needed for a long time. She said her only goal is to get the word out about

everything food related in the town.

“The site really has two purposes: to inform and to promote,” she said. “You’ll notice that there are no restaurant ads on the website, and that’s because EatingOxford.com is strictly an informational site here to inform residents and promote Oxford restaurants, at no cost to either.”

Barrett said that she would love to see more Oxonians sharing their opinions about the restaurants and also hear from more restaurateurs regarding what is on the horizon for their businesses. She thinks both of these could only make her website better.

The site was recently ranked as a favorite local website in a survey conducted by The Local Voice.

Barrett said she hopes to win a Best of Oxford website in the current poll being held by The Oxford Eagle.

Barrett co-authored a biweekly restaurant review column for The Local Voice a few years ago.

She serves on the Board of Directors for the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), an association for writers, editors and public relations professionals working in and around the foodservice industry.

For more information, visit EatingOxford.com.

NEWS NEWS |

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Ole Miss Idol Narrows Down

BY MADISON HILL The Daily Mississippian

HOUSTON COFIELD | The Daily Mississippian

Jacob Hickman sings “Tainted Love” in the Ole Miss Idol competition on Wednesday night. The final round will be held next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Student Union food court.

In an 80s-themed performance, six of the 12 semifinalists of Ole Miss Idol sang their way to the final round, which will take place Wednesday, March 9.

The six finalists are Tiffany Boyte, Britney Helmick, LaTonya Herron, Jacob Hickman, Lovetta Oguhebe and Lawrence Walker.

The winner of Ole Miss Idol will be awarded $500 and the potential to perform at various campus events throughout the year.

The crowd grew in size and enthusiasm with each performance, which in turn sparked the enthusiasm of the contestants.

“It’s a beautiful experience when I sing, because I come from my heart and soul,” finalist Lawrence Walker said.

For the semifinals, Walker sang “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross.

“Seeing all this talent is definitely an honor,” said finalist Jacob Hickman.

Of being chosen as a finalist, Hickman said he felt “sheer excitement and enthusiasm.”

Hickman performed “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell.

“There was a lot of good energy,” said Mallory Baker, an Ole Miss graduate and former contestant of the Ole Miss Idol.

“I like how they showcase students from all different backgrounds.”

Each contestant was judged based on 5 categories: Vocal ability (15 points), stage presence (10 points), crowd response (5 points), knowledge of material (5 points) and appearance (5 points).

“There are definitely some talented kids here,” said Ryan Upshaw, one of the five Ole Miss Idol judges.

The judges rated a quality performance with a variety of approaches.

“Vocal ability is obviously the most important,” said judge David Steele, also known as “Dr. David” of Rebel Radio.

Upshaw, on the other hand, put an emphasis on the contestant’s choice of song.

“If the right song fits the right person, they can put on a really great performance,” Upshaw said.

This is the seventh-annual Ole Miss Idol, and it is produced by the Student Programming Board.

Wil Yerger, a co-producer, said that conducting the Ole Miss Idol is an ongoing process.

It starts with applications, then auditions, then eliminations each week after performances.

“We started with almost 40 contestants,” said Bradley Baker, part of campus programming.

Next week, each contestant will perform two songs of his or her choice.

The final round of Ole Miss Idol will take place at 7 p.m. in the Student Union food court.

LIFESTYLES L IF ES T Y L ES |

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Designing worldwide: Meet Dex Edwards

HOUSTON COFIELD | The Daily Mississippian

BY HOUSTON COFIELD The Daily Mississippian

Dex Edwards’ passion for scenic design and directing has taken him to theaters near and far.

Edwards, who has been an associate professor in the University of Mississippi’s theater department for the past 15 years, has designed sets locally, nationally and globally.

“There are directors that I design for around the country that will call me and say ‘I’m doing a show in Toronto,’ and I’ll say ‘I don’t care where the show is, I’ll work with you anywhere,’” Edwards said.

For the show “Comedy of Errors,” which took place in Chicago, Edwards was sent to London with the entire design team to borrow costumes from the Royal Shakespeare Company Theater and to do their concept design meetings.

“I’ve done a show in Berlin and a few other shows in northern Europe as well,” Edwards said. “I love Toronto.

I’ve done eight or nine shows in Toronto, and it’s one of my favorite cities,” Edwards said.

Not only has Edwards traveled around the globe designing for some of the biggest names in theater, he has also designed for events such as

The Daily n Mississippia

Edwards said that traveling is one of the things he loves most about his job as a scenic designer.

“Getting to travel and see different places is a part of my job that is extremely rewarding,” Edwards said. “Most of the time I’m sitting in a dark theater looking at a pretend thing with people shining colored lights at it, and I think to myself, ‘This is a weird job. I can’t believe they pay me to do this.’”

One of the things that Edwards finds most satisfying after designing a set is being able to sit back and critique his own work.

“You get a chance to look at it objectively and say, ‘Yes,

that worked,’ or ‘That nearly worked,’” Edwards said.

While Edwards’ passion for design is evident, directing is also a huge part of his life.

“As a director, he pushes his actors to their fullest potential,” Damare said. “He forces you as an actor to give him exactly what he wants.”

On top of being an accomplished scenic designer and director, Edwards is also known to be a teacher who is very personal with his students and spends as much time as he can to teach them everything he knows.

“When Dex teaches, he takes all the information and sets it side by side with real life experiences that he has had,” Sam

Damare, a junior musical theater major said.

“After my first year of teaching at Ole Miss I went, ‘I really like this teaching business,’” Edwards said. “It really is very fun.”

Edwards is well respected by his colleagues, as well as other designers in the theater industry.

“His attention to detail is really what sets him apart from other designers,” Michael Barnett, assistant professor of lighting design, said.

Edwards has taught many theater design classes as well as directing classes at Ole Miss, and Damare said he is considered one of the most creative and professional teachers.

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the 1996 Olympic Centennial Park and “Don’t Stop the Carnival,” Jimmy Buffet’s musical adaptation of a novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk.

“To sit in a room with Herman Wouk and Jimmy Buffett was really fun, and we had a huge budget too,” Edwards said.

Although Edwards has been to many odd and interesting places, he says the most unusual place to work in is in the U.S. “The most bizarre place I’ve worked in is Branson, Mo. It is the strangest place in the world,” Edwards said. “Branson was a really unique place. It was an odd, odd experience.”

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Local organic groceries at your doorstep

BY CALLIE DANIELS The Daily Mississippian

As wonderful as farmers’ markets are, they are only open during market season. Those who crave fresh, natural vegetables that are grown in Oxford have to wait for April to come around.

All of this will change in March when B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery and Yokna Bottoms Farm begins accepting orders and delivering to the citizens of Oxford.

B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery is a rustic store located in Water Valley.

It specializes in unique selections such as handmade pasta, local dairy and meat, honey, sugar, and spices that cannot be

COURTESY OF B.T.C Grocery

COURTESY OF Yokna Bottoms Farm

LEFT: Granny Smith apples are sold at B.T.C. Grocery. RIGHT: Yokna Bottoms Farm veggies are ready to be sold at Taylor Farmer’s Market.

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to stand out,” Alexe Van Beuren, B.T.C Old-Fashioned Grocery owner, said.

She is now looking to establish a delivery system in Oxford.

“People would come here and say, ‘Wow, this is fantastic, but it’s such a long drive!’” Van Beuren said.

“We want to make it easier for those in Oxford to enjoy unique deli items and local meat and dairy.”

Unlike other grocery stores, B.T.C. is willing to cater to any request from its customers.

“It may cost extra, but we will get it for you,” Van Beuren said.

When the summer begins, the grocery store will pair up with Yokna Bottoms Farm to feature fresh, locally grown produce.

The partnership is a year old, and they hope it will continue for many more years to come.

Both are supported by those who want to find better alternatives to convenient but unhealthy produce found at chain groceries.

Yokna Bottoms Farm’s mission is the same as B.T.C. OldFashioned Grocery – promotion of organic food and local business.

“The tomatoes that you buy at a Kroger or Walmart are shipped from countries as far as Chile,” Daniel Doyle, the co-manager of the farm, said. “They may look fresh, but they’re nearly plastic

with the chemicals implanted in them. Here, we grow all of our tomatoes naturally with care.”

The farm is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), meaning that all local farmers share their profits, their methods and their losses with the community.

Yokna Bottoms Farm grows all varieties of fruits and vegetables, depending on the season. It is currently offering a food-share which is seven percent of its crops.

Beginning May 1, a customer can deposit $400 to receive weekly $15-$20 worth of groceries for six months, which is considered a full share.

If the customer chooses to pick the full-share crops up at the farm, the deposit goes down to $300.

“It may come off as expensive at first, but whenever I hear, ‘I can’t afford this,’ I want to say, ‘Let’s look at your budget,’ because the chances are that the money that could’ve been spent on healthier, chemical-free vegetables are usually being spent on phones or television cable,” Doyle said.

“I think that choosing to eat well-grown, clean, fresh food is better in the long run.”

English major Jason Cimon has been a vegetarian for 14 years and a vegan for nine.

“It’s usually hard for me to buy

organic groceries for one,” Cimon said. “I get so much food, and it always goes bad before I can cook the rest of it.”

He said he supports the concept of locally-grown, smallfarm crops.

“It’s very important to support family farms and to eat locally because the local farms grow food the way it’s intended to be,” Cimon said.

B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery is currently looking for 15 people in Oxford to sign up for the local delivery service.

They have two kinds of packages (All Local Package or BTC Epicure Package) in which customers pay $35 to $40 a week for groceries for two.

It also features “Custom Bag O’Groceries,” in which the cost of groceries depends on the type and quantity of items a customer chooses. The packages are a flat rate with sales tax.

The deliveries can be picked up at the Powerhouse parking lot on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. from March to May. Customers can also request for the groceries to be delivered to their doorstep in Oxford; the service is an additional $5 charge.

Those who are interested in supporting these local businesses can call ahead to either business and schedule deliveries for this spring.

JOIN THE LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN The Office of Enrollment Services is inviting all students, faculty and staff to sit down and write a few old-fashioned letters. The department is hosting a letter-writing campaign February 28th-March 4th to encourage high school seniors to attend Ole Miss in the fall.

Who: All interested faculty and current students When: Monday, Feb. 28th-Thursday, March 3rd: 9AM-4PM Friday, March 4th: 9AM-1PM Where: Student Union 405A (3rd floor) Monday-Thursday Student Union 410 (Catalpa Room-3rd Floor) Friday Come and write words of encouragement and wisdom to the students we hope will be the incoming class of 2011. Refreshments, stationery, and writing utensils will be available.

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Lady Rebs experience growing pains in 2010-11

BY KAITLYN DUBOSE The Daily Mississippian

It’s been a tough year for the Ole Miss women’s basketball team (10-18, 3-13 SEC), who lost seven straight games to end the regular season.

With most of the team comprised of freshmen, it is understandable that Ole Miss experienced some growing pains.

In addition to youth, the team lost one of its biggest contributors, senior guard Kayla Mel-

son, who suffered an injury in the Florida game, which was the last contest the Lady Rebels won.

Melson’s injury was a major blow to the Lady Rebels and added more pressure to the young team.

Even though Ole Miss finished with a less-than-stellar record, the freshmen were able to get acclimated to the college game and gained valuable experience on the court — something the Lady Rebels can build on for next year.

In a lineup that usually consisted of three freshmen, one junior and one senior, the newest Lady Rebels showed much promise for the future.

Perhaps the most impressive out of the freshman class was 5-foot-4 point guard Valencia McFarland. The youngster averaged 37 minutes per game and played in all but one game for the Lady Rebels. Valencia averaged 13.2 points per game and also led the team in assists (121) and steals (42). In SEC play, she averaged 38.5 minutes

per game and shot 79.6 percent from the free throw line.

On Tuesday, McFarland was named to the Southeastern Conference’s All-Freshman team for her play.

The team captain was a contributor both on and off the court for the Lady Rebels, averaging 37.9 minutes per game and 15.6 points per game before her injury.

She shot 46 percent from the floor and reached her 1,000th career point in red and blue this past season.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ole Miss hoops falls apart at Auburn AUBURN, Ala. - Ole Miss led by as many as 20 points in the game but could not withstand a big second-half rally from Auburn in a 76-73 loss Wednesday night.

Freshman Dundrecous Nelson scored a career-high 30 points on seven 3-pointers and missed a desperation three-quarters court shot at the buzzer that nicked the side of the rim.

Chris Denson hit four straight free throws in the final 35 seconds to help Auburn cap the comeback.

The Tigers (10-19, 3-12 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit and survived a wild final sequence when the teams swapped turnovers in a 2-second span.

Ole Miss (18-12, 6-9) had a couple of chances for the goahead basket in the final seconds.

The Rebels’ full-court press forced a turnover with 16 seconds left after Chris Warren’s 3-pointer cut Auburn’s lead to 74-73. They gave it right back when Warren lost the ball out of bounds.

Ole Miss then forced a bad pass by Earnest Ross that Nelson picked off. He passed inside to Nick Williams, who couldn’t control the ball.

Nelson is the third Rebel to score 30 points in a game this season. Zach Graham had 30 in the first meeting with Auburn, and Warren had 33 at South Carolina.

Nelson also tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game by a freshman, shared by Trevor Gaskins and Warren.

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ALEX EDWARDS| The Daily Mississippian

Freshman Dundrecous Nelson brings the ball up-court during one of the Rebel’s game earlier this year. Nelson, a guard, had a career-high 30 points in Ole Miss’ 76-73 loss at Auburn on Wednesday.

of

The univerSiTy

of

MiSSiSSippi

McFarland and Melson were both leaders for the Rebels this year but, despite her injury, it was Melson who was the team’s most valuable player. Even on the sidelines, Melson made an impact as she boosted the Lady Rebels’ morale.

While the regular season is over, Ole Miss has a chance to extend its season in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

The 12th-seeded Lady Rebels play fifth-seeded South Carolina tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Nashville.

SPORTS S P O R TS |

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| T H E DA ILY M I S S I S S IP P I A N | PAG E 12

OM offense explodes against Austin Peay

BY AUSTIN MILLER The Daily Mississippian

ALEX EDWARDS | The Daily Mississippian

Junior Matt Synder jogs the bases during the Rebels’ 11-3 home win over Austin Peay on Wednesday. Snyder, part of an explosive Ole Miss offense on the evening,hit a home run in the fifth inning and drove in four RBIs against the Governors.

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The Ole Miss baseball team (9-1) exploded for six runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning and never looked book, sweeping the two-game midweek series against Austin Peay (4-2) with an 11-3 win on Wednesday night.

“We had a lot hits – 12 hits – and 11 runs,” junior designated hitter Matt Snyder said.

“That means we got guys on and scored them in, so that was big for us. It’s good to get one of these games under our belts too.”

Freshman right-hander Mike Mayers (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits in a careerhigh five innings for the win in his first collegiate start.

Austin Peay jumped out a 2-0 first-inning lead on threestraight hits to start the game, but Mayers settled in and gave up only one run and one hit the rest of the way.

Snyder just missed a home run in the bottom of the first, but his double off the wall drove in senior first baseman

Matt Smith to tie the game at 2-2.

After back-to-back walks to freshman third baseman Preston Overbey and senior outfielder Matt Tracy, junior catcher Taylor Hightower delivered a bases-clearing twoout double down the left-field line to give Ole Miss a 5-2 first-inning lead.

Hightower scored on a single to shallow center by junior shortstop Blake Newalu, who extended his team-leading hit streak to five games tonight, to cap a six-run first for Ole Miss.

The Diamond Rebels added two runs in the second on Tracy’s bouncing two-out, 2-RBI single to right. Austin Peay cut the lead to 8-3 in the fifth when a leadoff walk came around to score on a pair of wild pitches and a RBI groundout to sophomore second baseman Alex Yarbrough. In the bottom of the inning, Snyder hit his first home run of the season – a 3-run shot to right-center – to extend the lead to 11-3.

“I think we were very aggressive tonight and got a lot of

good swings,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “We’ve been swinging the bat pretty well throughout the 10 games. Sure there are going to be lulls, but that’s always going to happen.

“The thing that we’ve really been missing is the big, timely hit – the one that busts open the inning. The one like Hightower had tonight and Snyder’s big home run – the proverbial crooked number.”

After Mayers, sophomore right-hander Blair Wright, junior left-hander Jon Andy Scott and freshman right-hander Brooks Oursler – all making their Ole Miss debut – combined for four shutout innings to end the game. Wright and Oursler allowed no hits, while Scott stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back strikeouts.

“It was probably our best night of the year, all-around,” Bianco said. “It’s amazing how things turn out. We start a freshman. He handles some adversity in the first inning and three guys that have never pitched before in college finish up and do a terrific job. “

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