MISSISSIPPIAN THE Daily
Thursday, September 25, 2025
STUDENT VIGIL
UM students hold vigil in the Circle in honor of deceased DSU student.
SEE PAGE 5
LSU PREVIEW
The Rebels have the chance to boost their playoff odds with a win over LSU.
SEE PAGE 10
Who’s on the ballot? Meet your Homecoming candidates
Homecoming campaigners hand out stickers to passersby in front of the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union on Sept. 22.
TRAINS
Is it time to get back on track with a Mississippi train system?
SEE PAGE 11
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has decided not to renew its five-year contract with the University of Mississippi to grow cannabis on campus for research, allowing the deal to terminate in 2028.
According to UM’s website, the contract currently grants the university the ability to cultivate, process, analyze, store and distribute cannabis for research and to supply
cannabis and cannabis products to the NIDA Drug Supply program.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which houses NIDA, provided a statement to The Daily Mississippian on the contract’s termination.
“NIH/NIDA’s contract with the University of Mississippi to grow cannabis for research is still in place,” the statement said.
“However, in accordance with Section 3b of Executive Order (EO)
University of Mississippi students will have the opportunity to vote for the Homecoming and Personality election candidates they believe best represent the values of the university’s campus on Sept. 30. Notably, the prominent positions of Mr. Ole Miss, Miss Ole Miss, Homecoming King and Homecoming Queen are a part of this vote.
on candidates’ social media pages. Each candidate has a unique platform, and each will provide something different to the student body.
Over the next two weeks, students can learn more about each candidate and their platforms at tabling events on the Union Plaza and
Here is a comprehensive list of the 2025-26 Homecoming election candidates and their platforms.
UM opens overflow lot, expands shuttle service in response to parking concerns
MICAH OWENS
Staff Writer
The University of Mississippi Department of Parking and Transportation has opened a new parking lot and expanded Oxford-University Transit (OUT) shuttle services to alleviate parking problems faced by students this semester.
The department announced via email to UM students on Wednesday, Aug. 27 that it would open the Residential
Overflow South parking lot at the South Campus Recreation Center for all commuter parking permit holders. The university’s commuter parking permits come in two types: Commuter Red and Commuter Blue. Commuter Red lots are located farther from the center of campus, while Commuter Blue lots are closer to the center. Both permits will be allowed to use the overflow lot, the announcement indicated. Commuter Blue per-
mits, which were sold for $300 each at a rate of 1.7 permits for every parking space available, were sold out, according to the Department of Parking and Transportation.
“This is to ensure proper utilization of lots, and it is common practice in the parking industry for universities,” UM Parking Operations Manager Cassidy Savage said. “If we sold these (at a rate of one permit per every space), there would be many instances each day where
these spaces would be empty and not be properly utilized, which is not the goal we want for our campus when preferred parking areas are not in abundance.”
An unlimited number of Commuter Red permits are available to students, according to Savage. They cost $100.
“We have never filled every space within every Commuter Red lot,” Savage said. “There will always be Commuter Red
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
News
Gertrude C. Ford Center parking lot
DAVIS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
HANNAH IVEY News Staff Writer
PHOTO COURTESY: KEVIN BAIN
DYLAN THOMAS News Staff Writer
Mr. Ole Miss
Ryan Augustine is an allied health sciences major from Madison, Miss. His campaign slogan is “All In,” which encourages students to give back to the university community. He is working with the UM Staff Council as his philanthropy project and plans to use his campaign to raise money for an emergency fund to provide financial support for university staff dealing with natural disasters or medical emergencies.
Mr. and Miss Ole Miss candidates are required to work on joint philanthropic projects once they are elected.
“An aspect of my campaign that I am passionate about is supporting the staff who support us every day,” Augustine said. “I want this campaign to honor the love and hard work that every student experiences through the commitment and sacrifice of our staff.”
Connor Gee is a general business major also from Madison, Miss. The William Magee Center is his philanthropy focus, and his goal is to raise funds for the center that would be used to support the student body in the wake of rising mental health issues.
Gee hopes his campaign platform of “Love your neighbor, love Ole Miss” will motivate the student body to come together and support one another.
“This campaign is based on the values of faith and service,” Gee said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “By loving people well and serving our communities, we can make our campus and the world a better place.”
Miss Ole Miss
Riley Dellenger is a marketing major from Ocean Springs, Miss. Her campaign slogan is “Rooted with Riley,” which is meant to encourage students to foster growth within themselves and in those around them. Her campaign is partnered with the Holman Fund, an endowment that provides financial assistance to students who face unforeseen crises. Dellenger hopes to raise funds to provide financial assistance to university students in the case of life-threatening emergencies.
“This fund reminds students they are not alone and that our Ole
Miss family stands beside them in times of need,” Dellenger said in a statement distributed by the Associated Student Body (ASB) to The Daily Mississippian. “By investing in the Holman Fund, we are strengthening the roots of our community and ensuring that every student has the chance to keep growing, no matter what challenges they face.”
Brooke Jankowsky is a management and marketing major from Macomb, Mich. She is working with Grove Grocery as her philanthropy project, using her campaign to raise awareness of food insecurity on campus and to address the availability of nutritional food options and food waste on campus.
Jankowsky’s campaign platform is “Because Everybody Matters,” and she is using it to encourage student participation and acceptance.
“I know what it feels like to start from scratch and to build a life on campus from the ground up, yet I also understand how transformative it can be to find connection, purpose and community here,” Jankowsky said. “I want to highlight the experiences of students who feel unseen or uncertain about their place at Ole Miss and to inspire them to embrace their journey, get involved and thrive.”
Hannah Olive is an allied health sciences major from Kosciusko, Miss. Her campaign slogan is “Olive Us Together,” and her philanthropy project is with Grove Grocery. Olive wants to use her campaign to raise awareness around food insecurity and provide assistance to students and staff who may be struggling with access to nutritional food.
“I’ve seen the effects that (food insecurity) has on people first hand in my small hometown of Kosciusko, Miss.,” Olive said. “Not getting the proper amount of nutrients results in mental and physical health problems, and this issue can genuinely hinder a college student from graduating and becoming the best (person) that they can be.”
Homecoming King
Terrell Atkins is an integrated marketing communications major from Amory, Miss. He is running unopposed for Homecoming King with the slogan “Terrell (For King).” He wants to use his campaign to bring community, spirit and fun onto campus.
“I want to be able to reflect the heartbeat of every student on campus because I feel like I came here feeling like I was not the average, stereotypical Ole Miss student,” Atkins said in an interview with
The Daily Mississippian. “I wanted to be that light for everyone else, that sense of representation.”
Homecoming Queen
Saige Drake is a general business major from Brandon, Miss. Her campaign slogan is “Sweeter with Saige.” She wants to use her campaign to exemplify all the ways UM has impacted her.
“Ole Miss has been such a sweet blessing in my life, a place I am proud to call home,” Drake
said in a statement sent out by ASB. “I am so honored to share my gratitude and show how Ole Miss has made my college experience truly sweeter in every way.”
Holley Jean Garrison is a chemical engineering major from Niceville, Fla. She is running for Homecoming Queen so she can represent the campus community to the best of her ability.
“I hope to authentically represent the Ole Miss student body by celebrating the variety of experiences and perspectives that make this campus so unique and homey,” Garrison said. “To me, authentically representing students means embracing all of these facets: the visible achievements, the personal challenges and the countless moments of support and encouragement that often go unseen.”
Adya Praveen is a psychology major from Madison, Miss. She is using her campaign platform to encourage university students to be their authentic selves on campus.
“As a student who has lived in three different countries and moved five times throughout my childhood, I know what it’s like feeling out of place in an unfamiliar environment,” Praveen said.
“At Ole Miss, I never once felt like I didn’t belong. I want to help create the same community that I experienced that encourages each student to be 100% uniquely and authentically themselves.”
Makayla Russell is an integrated marketing communications major from Hazelhurst, Miss.
Her campaign slogan is “Memories with Makayla,” and she is using her campaign to raise money for Memory Makers Oxford.
“Every memory made on this campus (is) so special, no matter how big or small. … Every memory deserves to be celebrated,” said Russell when discussing her motivations behind her campaign slogan. “Because of this, I decided to partner with a local philanthropy in Oxford, Memory Makers Oxford, a respite day center for those with severe memory loss. … Having a philanthropy is not a requirement of the Homecoming Queen race but an added layer of fulfillment for me.”
Also on the ballot
At the same time as the Homecoming and Personality elections, students will also get the opportunity to vote on the ASB Constitutional Amendment SR - 8, which would change the qualification requirements for ASB Vice President.
Currently, candidates for vice president need to complete one full term as an elected senate member, complete one full term as a legislative monitor or complete one full term as a parliamentarian. This amendment would allow vice presidential candidates to serve in the ASB presidential cabinet or in the legislative branch prior to running for the office.
Connor Gee and members of his campaign team on the Union Plaza
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Supporters of Adya Praveen pass out promotional material.
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Student places campaign stickers on his chest in front of the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union.
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Students ‘ThinkFast’ at SAA Trivia Night
CHANCE MARLOWE News Staff Writer
The Student Activities Association (SAA) hosted a trivia night in the Gertrude C. Ford Student Union Ballroom on Tuesday night, advertising a $200 cash prize.
Students split off in teams of two or three to answer trivia questions ranging from movie soundtracks and actors to famous scientists and capital cities. The trivia was sponsored by a third party company, ThinkFast Interactive.
“ThinkFast trivia has been an ongoing tradition for a couple of semesters — really good turnout rate and people really enjoy it,” Benson Le, co-director of entertainment for SAA, said. “It’s just a great feeling to see all the students from across campus that normally wouldn’t have anything to do on a Tuesday night to just come out and have fun with each other.”
The game was broken into multiple rounds separated by challenges that students could take on for more points, such as a dance competition or an intense 60 seconds of “Guess That Song.” Every round was interactive,
PARKING
continued from page 1
spaces available. This is why the best practice this year would be to get accustomed to parking in less familiar Commuter Red lots, making it work for you, and stop competing against others for the one preferred (Commuter Red) lot at the JAC (Jackson Avenue Center).”
The JAC lot is frequently full.
“It’s … difficult locating parking at JAC due to most spots already being taken,” Antone Ellison, a sophomore business major from Birmingham, Ala., and Commuter Red parking permit holder, said. “I usually get there at 7:30 a.m. for my 8 a.m. (class), yet I’ll circle the lot for at least 10 minutes before I find a spot.”
Experiences like Ellison’s are driving the Department of Parking and Transportation’s decision to open additional parking.
“The JAC is filling up now. We have all experienced this with the growing number of students on campus, and we must adjust,” Savage said. “Students
with a screen showing a top-10 leaderboard after every round.
“It was a good show. We had a good turnout and people had fun,” Matt Kwiatkowski, ThinkFast’s DJ and sound technician, said.
For ThinkFast, the stop at the university was part of the group’s national tour.
“We travel all over the country to many campuses,” Mars O’Neal, tour manager of ThinkFast Interactive, said. “We set up the projectors, speakers, curtains, podiums and then it’s showtime.”
The trivia night was filled with laughter and music. It ended with representatives from the top three teams and one challenge winner up on stage competing in the final round for the $200 prize.
“You guys should come bring your friends, bring your family — my sister and I were on a team together,” Emma Taylor, a graduate journalism student and trivia night winner, said.
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with a Commuter Red permit should utilize other lots within their zone, such as the South Lot or the lot at South Campus Recreation (Center), both of which have dedicated bus service.”
Savage also noted that a more permanent solution is in the works, but she did not offer details.
“This is a challenge that is also being addressed by leadership as an area needing some amendment or solution,” Savage said.
The Department of Parking and Transportation is working with the Associated Student Body to make changes to the OUT shuttle system, according to Savage’s statement to The Daily Mississippian.
“We have been working with ASB very closely, and one of the solutions we’ve arrived at, which is now in the works, is another on-demand option to help students get to their residence,” Savage said.
The Department of Parking and Transportation announced on Monday that it opened a supplemental campus shuttle service to “support our campus community with transportation options in ad-
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dition to Oxford-University Transit system current routes.”
The initial routes offered by the new service include the Gertrude C. Ford Center to the Lyceum, a trip around Sorority Loop and the South Oxford Campus on-demand.
The Department of Parking and Transportation has multiple bus routes that transport commuter students without a parking permit to campus. While some bus routes directly pick up students from a location near off-campus apartments, other routes require students to commute to a specific location to catch the bus.
The Department of Parking and Transportation works with OUT to coordinate a variety of bus routes in order to transport students and community members around campus and throughout Oxford.
Many of the buses take commuter students from their pick-up locations to the dropoff location at Kennon Observatory, and from there students are able to walk to their classes.
Sophia Sawser, a sophomore economics, international studies and Spanish major from Würzburg, Germany, has
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expressed grievances relating to OUT, including its availability and operating hours.
Sawser relies on the Bronze route, which takes her from U Club Townhomes to the bus stop at Kennon Observatory.
“In the morning, it’s typically reliable, but sometimes the Bronze line is not running during the times it is supposed to be in the afternoon, making it frustrating for my friends and I,” Sawser said.
Sawser is also a student worker on campus and leaves campus at 9:40 p.m., while her bus no longer runs after 7:15 p.m.
“It’s been a severe challenge to navigate,” Sawser said.
Because of her transportation struggles, Sawser opted out of purchasing a student parking permit.
“I opted out of purchasing a student parking pass because I figured the traffic on and surrounding campus would make driving to campus more time consuming,” Sawser said. “I also know that many (student parking permits) are assigned parking lots rather far from campus and still have to take the bus to class from there.”
Sawser’s case is unique,
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according to Savage.
“We hear very rarely about an individual student with on-campus student employment whose schedule conflicts with the timing of the bus system,” Savage said. “However, if a student has a unique situation, they should reach out to the parking and transportation department for further discussion.” Savage emphasized that the Department of Parking and Transportation’s work is often changing and works to meet the needs of students.
“We are constantly meeting with our campus constituents and student organizations to address parking and transportation concerns,” Savage said. “We are being proactive, and while these changes will not be seen overnight, and some will take a longer time to become established, we will continue to provide various modes of transportation while we await completion of our larger projects on campus.”
Host Mars O’Neal speaks during SAA trivia in Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union Ballroom on Sept. 23.
Bouré plots second location with new executive chef
AIDAN PONIATOWSKI News Editor
City Grocery Restaurant Group, headed by James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef John Currence, announced the arrival of new executive chef Tory McPhail, another Beard award winner, last month. Also included in the announcement were plans to open a second location of Oxford mainstay Bouré in another city.
Bouré falls under the City Grocery Restaurant Group’s umbrella of eateries. With McPhail in place as the new executive chef, plans have proceeded to expand Bouré to a second location.
As he scouts this new location, Currence looks to a connection already made for another one of his brand’s restaurants.
“We’re eyeballing (Birmingham, Ala.) — that’s no secret,” Currence said. “I mean, we’ll have, by the end of this year, five Big Bad Breakfasts there. Our executive team for Big Bad Breakfast is basically centered in Birmingham. … And then it’s geographically located between here and (Florida State Road 30A), so it’s a little easier for Tory to get to, and Birmingham’s a fantastic market.”
While there may be a location in mind, there is not a time frame set for opening.
“I shouldn’t talk about two or three or four locations — we’ve got to (talk about) this one first,” Currence said. “And prove it out, which is exactly what we did with Big Bad Breakfast. Big Bad Breakfast outside of Oxford looks
a little different than the Oxford store … we tweaked the knobs for two and a half years before we opened our second location outside of Oxford, so hopefully we can move a little more quickly.”
In addition to discussing second location plans for Bouré, McPhail and Currence touched on their backgrounds in the culinary industry and their new partnership in an interview with The Daily Mississippian.
“My first job cooking was a total mistake,” Currence, a New Orleans native, said. “The summer before I went into college, I’d gotten a job to work on one of my dad’s tugboats in the Gulf of Mexico, and when I arrived the morning after I graduated from high school, I was summarily informed that I was going to be the cook on the boat. … I had to cook for eight or 10 guys all summer long — breakfast, lunch and dinner – and had a ball doing it.”
From there, Currence ventured further into the culinary world, including stints at James Beard Award-winning restaurant Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, N. C. and within the Brennan family of restaurants in New Orleans. After his stint there, Currence came to Oxford.
“An opportunity to open (City Grocery) presented itself in (1998) and I just ran headlong into it,” Currence said. “I didn’t really choose Oxford. Oxford sort of chose me, and so I was just lucky. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Currence recalled that he
did not anticipate the amount of success he found in the town.
“I realized early on with the success that we had at the Grocery that there was a life to be made here,” Currence said. “At that time, I mean, it was a wide open frontier — there weren’t very many restaurants at all beyond ones that were catered to the student community.”
McPhail, hailing from Washington state, had a similarly unconventional start into the world of food.
“My first foray into food wasn’t even in restaurants — it was my uncle’s raspberry farm,” McPhail said. “Even before getting into middle school, I had a very good appreciation for where food comes from, and then how hard it is to try to bring it to the table, and so I had a lot of reverence for our food systems in the Pacific Northwest.”
From there, McPhail decided that he wanted to be a chef.
“It just became clear that I wanted to get out of my hometown and really kind of get some sunshine in my face,” McPhail said. “So my path to do that was to get to the best culinary school I could. So I went down to (South Seattle College), the best school in the state at that time, and then graduated at the top of my class.”
McPhail went to New Orleans, working at the award-winning Commander’s Palace for 27 years, 19 of those as the institution’s executive chef. In 2013, McPhail won a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the South.
2025
It was this background that first drew Currence to McPhail.
able to do it more,” Currence said.
“I don’t remember the first time (we met). I remember remarking when we did meet, ‘He got that job at 28,’” Currence said. “The potential egomania for a majority of people that would be put in that position at that age in our industry, the success rate is maybe 3-5%, so in my mind that was another one of the many things that I always thought was incredibly admirable about (McPhail).”
Naturally, McPhail’s cooking also attracted Currence’s compliments.
“Since the first time we met, the first time I tasted his food, the dozens of times that I ate at Commander’s when he was at the helm, I’m only sorry that I was five and a half hours separated and was un-
McPhail’s excitement for the new role was evident when he talked about it.
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“Having the opportunity to join John and the team up here in all these restaurants, I think it’s just an opportunity that is extraordinary,” McPhail said. “Really the most important thing is just to embellish on the legacy that he has already built, and so if I can be a very small part of that in all the different restaurants and help perpetuate the success, then I think that’s the goal.”
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• Former Municipal Court Judge for the City of Oxford, Mississippi for 8 years.
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• Recipient of the DISTINGUISHED AWARD OF MERIT for 1989 from the Mississippi State Bar given to one Attorney in the State each year for outstanding contributions to the practice of law.
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Listing of these previously mentioned areas of practice does not indicate any certification of expertise therein.
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Chef Tory McPhail in Bouré on Sept. 19
JACK KIRKLAND / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
continued from page 1
14222 — Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative, (Health and Human Services) Divisions have completed a comprehensive assessment of all existing contracts for reducing contract costs.”
The NIH press team went on to discuss the future of NIDA’s research.
“As a result of the HHS
cost efficiency initiative, no new task orders to grow cannabis have been issued,” the statement said. “However, the NIDA Drug Supply Program maintains an existing inventory of cannabis and cannabis products, which are available for research.”
Since the contract’s establishment in 1968, UM has been the only higher-education institution in the United States to receive it, according to a 2023 university press release. In accordance with a policy issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) in 2016, UM is one of eight DEA-approved bulk manufacturers and growers.
Each year of the fiveyear contract, UM receives approximately $1.5 million from NIDA for the purposes indicated in the contract.
In the most recent renewal of the five-year contract in 2023, NIDA awarded UM a $2 million work order.
Jacob Batte, the director of news and media relations for the university, shared the university’s plans for the future in a statement to the DM.
“NIDA has chosen not to
award the current year task order to the University of Mississippi for cannabis production,” Batte said. “The university has two years remaining on its federal contract and stands ready to leverage its more than 57 years of cannabis research experience to advance the field of cannabis science and meet any future needs NIDA may have.”
Batte went on to highlight UM’s continued commitment to cannabis research.
“The UM School of Pharmacy will continue to play a leading role in the state and
around the country in cannabis discovery, innovation and research through the National Center for Natural Products Research, the National Center for Cannabis Research and Education and the Resource Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research,” Batte said.
University of Mississippi community comes together to remember Delta State student Trey Reed
has indicated he intends to fund a second autopsy.
Following the death of Delta State University’s Dematravion “Trey” Reed, University of Mississippi students gathered in the Circle to hold a vigil in his honor on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 12:15 p.m.
Reed’s body was found hanging from a tree on Delta State University’s campus in Cleveland, Miss., on Monday, Sept. 15 and sparked national discourse on the history of violence against Black people in the state. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide; however, former NFL star Colin Kaepernick
UM’s Black Student Union, in partnership with other campus organizations, coordinated the vigil.
Attendees received words of encouragement from junior political science major Demetrick Stringer and senior allied health studies major Ayanna Norman. Senior allied health studies major Gabby McCrary led prayers in honor of Reed. Students created posters to hold in place of candles, which were prohibited due to fire safety regulations.
Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” was the song selection by sophomore biological science major Jayden
Lawrence, who shared his thoughts on the vigil’s turnout.
“From the prayer to the signs that were created, we saw everybody — it was multiethnic out here,” Lawrence said. “We’re growing close on campus, and it’s great that we all came together for this event to make a difference.”
Senior allied health studies major and current Miss Black University Han -
nah Olive also expressed the importance of fostering community at this time.
“When times like this come, we have to step up and show up for our community,” Olive said. “I want to say thank you to everybody who came out. They were selfless, came out and thought about Trey.”
Adam Floyd, a junior accountancy major, shared why he attended the vigil.
“I came out not only on my own behalf, but just being a Black young man I feel everybody deserves to have some support,” Floyd said.
“I’m looking to show comfort for the families that are grieving because I feel like Black people are greater as one than (when) we’ve been divided.”
The tragedy’s widespread impact was conveyed by senior African American studies major Fatimah Wansley, who helped organize the gathering as the BSU’s co-director of special events.
“This is heavy for students across the campus, across all races,” Wansley said. “It’s heavy for Mississippians, Delta State and for families. The vigil is truly here to provide support to students, and I’m really proud people from all backgrounds are out here because that shows the things we are talking about affect us all.”
Junior public policy lead -
ership major Kayle Amos commented on the leaders creating a space for community on campus.
“BSU plays an important role, especially as they umbrella a lot of other minority RSOs on campus, and considering Trey was a minority on another (predominantly white institution) campus, I think it’s very important that we’re showing our support,” Amos said.
SeMarje McGregory, a junior integrated marketing communications major, showed up at the vigil to honor Reed’s life.
“I just want to show my support in honor of the life that was lost on Delta State’s campus just to be in solidarity with him and his family and sympathize with them, letting them know we see them, and we hear their cries,” McGregory said.
SHAYNA BARNES
A&C Staff Writer
Student speaks at the vigil for Trey Reed in the Circle on Sept. 18.
Attendees bow their heads in remembrance of Trey Reed.
LEXI TITUS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Students create posters before the vigil for Trey Reed. LEXI TITUS / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
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RAEGAN SETTLE Managing Editor
Lens Magazine, a new student-run publication at the University of Mississippi, invites students to see Oxford through a different perspective through themed collections of content across genres and art forms. The magazine plans to launch its premiere issue in the first week of October.
Editors in Chief Katherine Palmer and Emma McHard started Lens Magazine as a flexible alternative to other student-run outlets on campus.
“It’s a creative outlet, and each month is going to be based around a specific theme,” Palmer, a junior multidisciplinary studies major from San Diego, said. “It’s usually retro-based. So we will pick a theme, take the pictures … and then we’ll put out articles relating to it.”
Nostalgia is the focal point for the ‘70s-themed first release.
“I wanted to base it around the idea that when you look at your parents’ pictures, it feels so nostalgic and you weren’t even there, and that’s what I wanted to curate,” Palmer said.
Monthly issues of the magazine welcome student submissions of various content types, from paintings to essays.
“We have some poetry, we have some music-related articles, so it’s definitely a big variety,” McHard, a freshman journalism major from Hattiesburg, Miss., said. “Focus-wise, with the photography, it’s very nostalgic, very throwback.”
Palmer and McHard are welcoming students with a wide range of interests to contribute to Lens
New student publication sees Oxford through a fresh lens
Magazine. The co-editors value adding members to their team who are willing to exercise a diverse skillset.
“We’ve got the creative part of it, writing, photography, and most of the people that are on (the magazine staff) are able to do everything, which is great,” Palmer said. “Really, any position that can be thought of with something like this, we are taking … Everyone on the team is so multifaceted. I think that not having a label on those positions means that they are able to ebb and flow and have a variety of their work shown.”
Palmer said Lens Magazine has only one label — being inclusive. She chose to launch a new publication that allows students to explore their creative abilities without strict guidelines. Deadlines, content types and norms for the magazine are all flexible.
“There’s so many different (student publications),” Palmer said. “I wanted to put something out that’s niche, but broad, where everyone’s able to put out that creative spark they have in whichever way they feel. I don’t think I’ve really seen that done because everything usually has a specific label, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid, is one specific label.”
McHard echoed a similar view of the new outlet. For creatives who feel like they do not have a place to put their work, she wants Lens Magazine to be the place.
“Like our motto of ‘See Oxford through a different lens,’ (Lens Magazine) really is (seeing Oxford through that different lens),” McHard said. “The magazine itself is so broad and carries so many broad subjects … We want to be a magazine for all of Oxford, for all Mississippi locals.”
Drew Roberts, a graduate student studying integrated marketing communications from Mobile, Ala., is submitting an article on the yacht rock music genre for the October issue, delving into the history of the genre and his affection for it. He values the experience that contributing to Lens Magazine from the start will provide for his early career.
“It’s the first (magazine) I saw on campus, and it seemed like it would be a good opportunity, especially just getting off the ground because there’s kind of a guarantee that you can get published,” Roberts said. “I’m excited to get to meet cool people and really showcase the literary side of Oxford.”
As a registered student organization (RSO), the editors worry about recent restrictions on Student Activity Fee (SAF) requests that will prevent them from accessing funding to physically print the magazine.
“Cut funding, obviously, was a massive hit to all student-run publications and clubs, which is very unfortunate and frustrating for a student-run magazine, specifically a print magazine,” McHard said. “We were going to have this mass-published thing, and now that’s a hurdle.”
Until access to SAF funds or other funding opportunities becomes available, Palmer and McHard hope to print only a few copies of the magazine each month and upload digital scans of print copies to the Lens Magazine website and social media accounts.
“We’ll print at least a few physical copies for people on the team to have as keepsakes until we figure out printing on a broader scale,” McHard said. “Then, I’m going to
scan the physical copy so that you see the creases on the page and that you are truly looking at a magazine and flipping through a magazine — it’s the physical copy made digital.”
Lens Magazine held its first photo shoot for the October issue on the top floor of the UM Residential Parking Garage on Thursday, Sept. 18, with six new members of the organization.
“Everyone was so sweet and so willing, and shooting the photos and the content was so much fun,” McHard said. “You could tell that they were passionate about it, as well … It really helped us see that this publication is in motion, and it’s building this community already, so early on with Lens. It’s starting to feel like this is real.”
Many UM students anticipate the magazine’s release.
Nadia Durant, a junior elemen-
tary education major from Calhoun City, Miss., is ready to read Lens Magazine’s first issue.
“I think it’s something that students will look forward to each month,” Durant said. “It seems to have themes that people I know would be eager to read, things you’d want to engage with.”
“The whole basis is on building a community, keeping Oxford weird and seeing it through a different lens,” McHard said. “Building a community of creatives and possibly throwing events in the future to bring these creatives together is going to show people that we have this niche, weird, cool artistic community that I don’t think most people perceive Oxford having.”
CONTACT THE A&C DESK AT thedmfeatures@gmail.com
First Water Valley Literary Festival kicks off on Saturday
ALANA BROWN-DAVIS A&C Staff Writer
Mississippi is nicknamed “The Birthplace of America’s Music,” though it is also home to a large and impactful literary community. This is exactly what the Water Valley Literary Festival aims to highlight on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All programming will be at Bozarts Gallery.
Panels will be held throughout the day and will highlight a variety of genres, including fiction, biography, young adult and children’s literature. Violet Valley Bookstore will be selling books to attendees, and authors will sign copies. Featured authors include Calvin Hawkins, Robert Fieseler and E. Stanley Goldbold Jr.
Jamie Harker, professor of English, director of the Sarah Isom Center and event organizer, expressed excitement about the conversations that will be taking place with the featured authors.
“We look forward to hearing from these amazing writers, and we hope people will take the opportunity to talk with writers in an intimate setting,” Harker said.
Harker spoke of the ties between Water Valley locals and the out-of-town authors invited.
“We have the biographer of Jim-
my and Rosalynn Carter talking with Brandon Presley, who lives in Water Valley, who’s the former Democratic candidate for governor,” Harker said. “So even (for) those who are from elsewhere, there’s connections with folks in town that’s a part of that conversation.”
There will be a lunch conversation led by Harker at 12:30 p.m., and the festival will close with a reception from 5 p.m.-6 p.m.
“I’m doing a discussion with a New Orleans gay journalist at 12:30 (p.m.) who just published a book about (the) Cold War repression of queer folks and Black folks in Florida,” Harker said. “It’s really interesting.”
While focusing on bringing the literary community together, this festival also aims to posthumously honor the legacy of Hubert Creekmore.
Creekmore was a University of Mississippi alumnus, novelist, translator and literary critic from Water Valley. He wrote four novels, most of them set in Mississippi. The most famous was “The Welcome,” released in 1947 and reprinted by University Press two years ago. Creekmore worked for various literary agencies in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s.
Harker said the idea for the festival came from a group of Water Valley residents who were
fans of Creekmore’s writing.
“We had a group of folks who live in Water Valley who, in various ways, like Hubert Creekmore and are interested in him,” Harker said. “And so we formed it as a sort of society for Hubert Creekmore about a year ago, and we were kind of debating what ideas we had, like a birthday party for him.”
The festival idea then broadened to a greater celebration of Water Valley’s literary prowess, Harker said.
“We thought (a festival) would be … a good way to showcase Water Valley as a place where writers are,” Harker said. “So we thought, ‘Let’s start small. Let’s do something cool and bring in some interesting people.’”
Some of the events during the festival will focus on honoring Creekmore’s legacy, said Annete Trefzer, event organizer and UM professor of English.
“Some of Creekmore’s family will be attending the festival, and (State) Rep. Sam Creekmore will declare a Mississippi Hubert Creekmore Day,” Trefzer said. “This should happen right after the Creekmore panel at noon.”
Harker said the festival aims to spotlight the literary community in Water Valley.
“It’s more about having a local thing that’s really focused on writers in the community, connections
and larger ideas,” Harker said. “Everyone’s welcome obviously, but we really want it to be by Water Valleyians for Water Valleyians.”
Trefzer hopes the festival will also engage students from the university community.
“The younger generation of students is especially invited to branch out and come join us to learn about local authors, and — if they are writers — to participate in the events or become members of the literary society,” Trefzer said.
Though Harker appreciates the literary culture of Oxford, she wants to establish Water Valley
as its own literary destination.
“What’s nice about this is it doesn’t have to be Oxford,” Harker said. “We’re not trying to be Oxford … Other communities have their own connections with folks, and to emphasize those local connections and make folks who live there feel like they can be writers too or they can appreciate that, is part of it.”
Bozarts
Lens Magazine participants pose for ’70s-themed photo shoot.
PHOTO COURTESY: EMMA MCHARD
Gallery is located at 403 North Main Street in Water Valley.
The Creekmore House located in Water Valley, Miss.
‘Trash Can Friday Flow’ brings calm before the game day storm
ALANA BROWN-DAVIS
A&C Staff Writer
The eve of home Ole Miss Football games begins with the anticipation of Trash Can Friday, a tradition in which the Department of Landscape Services dots the Grove with red and blue trash cans.
In the midst of a bustling campus and the competitive excitement that accompanies the impending game, comes “Trash Can Friday Flow” — a touch of calm centered around the Grove Stage.
“Trash Can Friday Flow”
occurs at noon every Friday before a home game.
Carey Greenwood, assistant director of Campus Recreation, discussed the creation of “Trash Can Friday Flow,” which started in 2022.
“I was inspired by Trash Can Friday and the festive nature around Fridays (before home games),” Greenwood said. “We really wanted to do more of a peaceful, sunrise Trash Can Friday, but because of game day and logistics, it works out better for us to get in the Grove either at 11 or 12 once landscaping and facilities manage -
ment has set up everything.” Greenwood elaborated on the purpose of the event.
“It’s pretty fun to capitalize on the game day vibes for the weekend and really get Campus Rec out on our Grove Stage in front of students,” Greenwood said. “This allows them to relieve some stress before the weekend but also learn about our programming.”
Ansley Thurmond, a graduate student from Augusta, Ga., studying athletic training, explained how the location of the event adds to its appeal.
“I think everyone will find
it fun to do this. (The location is) just a more appealing factor that brings people into exercise,” Thurmond said.
Friends Abby McCracken and Audrey Kump attended “Trash Can Friday Flow” this Friday for the first time. They agreed that events like these increase wellness across campus, especially as midterm exams grow closer.
“I feel like it’s good, especially with such a long week followed by a long weekend,” McCracken, a junior marketing major, said of the Arkansas football game weekend. “It’s a good break.”
Kump, a junior elementary education major from Flora, Miss., added that being outside and being social helps relieve her stress.
“I feel like being able to come outside and interact with other students, especially when I have my first test coming up next week, it’s going to help me relax,” Kump said.
Greenwood noted that turbulent weather, sports and programming create complications with holding more spring events outdoors. She noted that the department offers more indoor opportunities to get active in the spring.
“There’s aquatic programming, and we have intramural sports and sport clubs,” Greenwood said. “We offer over 40 group fitness classes a week. There’s a ton of stuff we do, maybe not necessarily a large one-time event such as Trash Can Friday, but ongoing each week, there’s stuff for everybody to get involved in. All of those play into getting people moving, releasing stress and staying active, as well.”
Students meditate during “Trash Can Friday Flow.”
PHOTO COURTESY: CAMPUS RECREATION
PHOTO
Can Ole Miss compete in the post-House era?
RUSS EDDINS Sports Editor
In the current climate of college sports, student-athletes can make money in a variety of ways: name, image and likeness (NIL), third-party deals and sponsorships, to name a few. Following the recent House v. NCAA settlement, athletes can add payment from university athletic departments to that list.
Athletic departments can now directly pay student-athletes up to $20.5 million a year. That number will increase by 4% every subsequent year, and every three years there will be a look-in to determine whether that number is still accurate.
Consequently, winning and losing have become increasingly reliant on a university’s wealth and their ability to maintain collectives and foster third-party deals.
Large schools such as the University of Texas flash Lamborghinis parked in their stadium on social media, and others pay players NIL contracts worth up to $4 million.
Every university’s fan base is a key source of fundraising. Schools such as Texas with approximately 55,000 students enrolled, a home base of Austin with a population of almost 1 million and more than 600,000 living alumni across the country, have a distinct advantage.
Schools such as Ole Miss, with its enrollment of approximately 27,000 students and fewer than 200,000 living alumni, must be aggressive in their fundraising and more efficient with their spending.
“I think we’ve always had a lot
of pride in making sure that we had a very comprehensive athletics department and tried to resource every sport the best way that we possibly could,” UM Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “We’ll have to continue to evaluate what all that looks like. I think by and large we’re going to share revenue with the sports that make the revenue for us.”
Carter also said that supporting non-revenue sports might entail additional scholarships, among other means of resourcing, to maintain competitiveness.
“I think by and large we’re going to share revenue with the sports that make the revenue for us,” Carter said. “And then for our non-revenue sports, figuring out how we can help them, maybe with additional scholarships or other ways of resourcing them so they can remain competitive and win at a high level.”
Matt McLaughlin is the senior associate athletic director for strategy and cap management at the university. He oversees revenue share distribution, works with the athletics executive team to allocate funds, helps set the athletics budget and collaborates with the Grove Collective, an Ole Miss exclusive NIL program, for deals.
“The thing that I think about every day is, how do we make each sport competitive no matter what the budget is, no matter what resources are available?” McLaughlin said.
Ole Miss shares revenue with players on the football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball teams.
McLaughlin and the athletics department are only fully in control of revenue share payments. He is tasked with balancing revenue share, NIL and scholarships for all sports at the university. He takes all the ways in which student-athletes can make money and packages them together.
Walker Jones, CEO of the Grove Collective, handles NIL payments, while Learfield, the university’s multimedia rights partner, delivers NIL deals to student-athletes. Additionally, student-athletes’ agents can find them other deals.
Going forward, revenue share will be a large variable in college sports, but there is a battleground in the NIL space. The House v. NCAA settlement dictates that NIL deals have to be made with a valid business partner. Accounting firm Deloitte determines what qualifies as a valid business partner (VBP). A VBP is an entity paying student-athletes, and it must seek to sell a good or service to the public for profit.
“The days of a kid getting X amount and really not having to do a whole lot (are) probably over,” McLaughlin said.
Outside of football, the athletics department will most likely work with each program individually to determine how much money will be allocated to every sport.
“We want to win at everything at a high level,” McLaughlin said. “But I think the guiding light is obviously football. That’s the biggest revenue driver for us, so we work from there, then we work from each sport. I think it’s just a conversation with each coach, and
what they think they might need.”
The athletics department communicates the budget that coaches have to operate within. For McLaughlin, communication is a big key to budgeting success.
“I think just constant communication (as) best as humanly possible is the best way,” Mclaughlin said. “Obviously, it’s all new for everybody, so there’s been some bumps in the road along the way. … Nobody expects to bat a thousand (out) of this, but as long as we’re on the same page, I think we’ll get it all figured out.”
Ole Miss has one of the smaller living alumni bases in the SEC, which is a challenge McLaughlin has to deal with.
“We talk about efficiency and spending money better,” McLaughlin said. “Well, that’s not because we just live in an abundance. So whether it’s coaches’ salaries or players, it doesn’t really matter. You have to have resources.”
Ole Miss has some of the highest-paid coaches in the country. McLaughlin credits the athletics department and the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation for that. He also gives fans their due.
“I think the fact that our fans have been so galvanized over the last five years, that they’ve supported (us) in a lot of different ways,” McLaughlin said. “Whether that was NIL (the Grove Collective), the (Ole Miss) Athletics Foundation or both, I think we’ve done a really good job of managing where the money has gone.”
Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House v. NCAA Settle-
ment last June, but athletics departments had been anticipating its approval for months. The process to prepare for revenue sharing and the new rules was exhaustive.
“We, as an executive team, met and just kind of worked through everything again,” McLaughlin said. “It’s the fact that the business office and Angela (Robinson, senior associate athletic director for finance) and her team make sure that we have payment mechanisms figured out. It’s (Taylor Hall, senior associate athletic director for compliance) and his team making sure we’re doing it compliantly. It’s (Ane Redmond Debro, associate general counsel for athletics) and the General Council office to make sure that the contracts look right in a way that we’re represented well.”
Matt McLaughlin
The SEC hardly waits until November to deliver heavy weight bouts, and Saturday afternoon in Oxford feels like one of those games with No. 4 LSU and No. 13 Ole Miss set to kickoff in Vaught-Hem ingway Stadium at 2:30 p.m.
When LSU and Ole Miss face off, the matchup will not just be about bragging rights or another win in the column. Instead, it will be about setting the tone for the rest of the season — and perhaps staking an early claim to a Col lege Football Playoff bid.
Both teams arrive unbeaten, both with something to prove. The Tiger offense has struggled to produce consistent, high-scoring performances behind quar terback Gar rett Nussmeier.
Despite the early season slump, Nussmei er is surrounded by speed on the perimeter and balance in the backfield, mean ing he spearheads an attack that has dangerous poten tial. The unan swered question is whether that sleep ing giant will wake up on Saturday.
On the oth er side, Ole Miss has been equal parts thrilling and unpredictable. Sophomore quar terback Austin Simmons has been
No. 13 Ole Miss Football
emerged as the engine of this offense. One of college football’s top rushers, he churns out yards and sets up the Rebel’s trademark speedy tempo.
Defensively, Ole Miss has taken strides in limiting big runs and generating pressure. Despite the rough first two games against SEC opponents, weekly improvements are being made. The pass rush specifically has taken a step up. Ole Miss’ size and speed on the defensive front is sure to create issues for the Nussmeier and the LSU offensive line.
LSU’s depth and speed will present an equal challenge on the other side of the ball for the Rebels. The Tiger defense has earned the right to be called one of the best in the NCAA. The Tigers boast the kind of size and athleticism that could force Ole Miss into uncomfortable passing situations.
Then, there is the backdrop.
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, loud and sweltering on
a late September Saturday, has turned into a legitimate advantage for the Rebels in recent seasons. If Ole Miss can ride that momentum and avoid costly turnovers, it will have a chance to swing the national narrative in its favor.
This one has all the makings of a classic SEC battle: two undefeated Top 15 teams, elite athletes all over the field and playoff stakes at hand. Whether it comes down to an offensive shootout or a defensive masterclass, the only certainty is that all eyes will be on Oxford.
Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 with no repeats.
Stuck in traffic? Maybe
it’s time to get back on track
“The depot’s bricks remain intact, and while the tracks are long gone, in their memory lies a concept that could very much carry us into the future.”
TAYLOR YOUNG Opinion Staff Writer
It is no secret that traffic in Oxford has worsened in recent years — getting much, much worse. Once upon a time, congestion was a hassle only on game days. Now, roads and parking lots seem perpetually packed.
The city seems to believe roundabouts are the solution. While they certainly help keep traffic moving, perhaps there’s another solution — a forgotten gem from the past.
Many of us pass it sitting idly behind the Gertrude C. Ford Center near Jackson Avenue every day on our commute to class. The old Oxford Train Depot is a relic of a time when trains connected our bustling town to the rest of the state.
The depot’s bricks remain intact, and while the tracks are long gone, in their memory lies a concept that could very well carry us into the future.
In pre-modern America, depots like ours in Oxford thrived, but the passenger train industry declined in the aftermath of World War I. However, in many countries, this industry boomed.
For example, in Europe, the totality of passenger train ridership has significantly passed pre-pandemic numbers. In China, magnetic trains, which are faster than some planes, are being tested.
The United States, by contrast, has lagged behind and has yet to complete even its first high-speed railway project in California. If China could build 6,213 miles of high-speed rail in less than seven years, can we not imagine the same for our country?
Practically speaking, many college-aged students could not care less about the geopolitical race between China and the U.S. However, they should. Investment in modern train infrastructure nationwide, let
Opinion Policies:
alone in Oxford, would revolutionize transportation for students, faculty and residents by increasing safety and efficiency.
A single high-speed route from Oxford to Memphis could cut the roughly 85-mile journey from an 1.5 hours to just half an hour, making the trek to the Bass Pro Shop pyramid far more efficient (and other locations, of course). It would dramatically reduce vehicular traffic, putting less strain on local and state efforts to keep infrastructure up to pace with growth.
High-speed trains would allow for students to safely travel home on the weekends,
unclog Oxford’s increasingly busy road network and reduce commute times for students and workers who live outside of Oxford due to exorbitant housing prices.
We have already seen the magic of public transportation in action. The Lafayette-Oxford-University bus system provides the city and campus with regular, safe and timely transportation, and the same could be said for a revitalized train system.
Right now, it can be frustrating to drive on campus while also navigating traffic, pedestrians and finding a parking spot. Trains, in the long run, could provide the univer -
sity and Oxford with the opportunity to grow strategically while balancing environmental concerns of the future. Fewer cars on the road mean lower carbon dioxide emissions, safer roads and cleaner air.
For many, the Oxford Depot represents the past, but it doesn’t have to remain that way. Oxford’s continued growth seems inevitable. The choices we make now will shape the campus and city for decades to come.
Trains could once again easily connect Oxford to the rest of the South, providing local benefits such as cleaner air and safe traveling options for both students and visitors.
Sometimes the way forward isn’t reinventing the wheel but rather getting back on track.
Young is a secondyear law student from Gulfport, Miss.
THE OPINION
Columns do not represent the views of The University of Mississippi or The Daily Mississippian. The Daily Mississippian welcomes letters to the editor, which should be emailed to thedmopinion@gmail.com. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. They may be edited for clarity, brevity and libel. Third-party letters and those with pseudonyms or no name will not be published. Letters are limited to one per individual per month. Letters should include contact information, including relationship to the university, if applicable.
Taylor
