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TUESDAY JANUARY 15, 2019

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134th YEAR ISSUE 25

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

9:3

4 Update from Canvas

Rosalind Hutton

University replaces Blackboard, fully switches to Canvas COURTNEY CARVER

Tina Green.

“We’ve done a ‘Getting Started with Canvas’ workshop for them,” Green said. “We’ve also held Canvas Corners, which are open lab times in the computer lab where they can come in and actually work on their actual course and get guidance for that. In addition to that, we have done webinars using our new product called Webex, which allows us to accommodate more people at one time where they all log in from their computer and we are just teaching the seminar online. We’ve also put a lot of information online for faculty and students to get help for how to use canvas.”

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Tyler Bell | The Reflector

Daphne Gibson prepares a faculty member’s bowl at OLILO, which is located beside Chick-Fil-A in the Colvard Student Union. This restaurant serves Mediterranean-style food.

OLILO opens for business New Mediterranean restaurant offers healthy dining option HANNAH BLANKENSHIP STAFF WRITER

Mississippi State University’s newest oncampus restaurant is opening just in time for the myriad of healthy-eating resolutions attached with the start of a new year.

OLILO by Cat Cora is a build-your-own, fastcasual Mediterranean-style restaurant located in the Colvard Student Union

where State Fountain Bakery once was.

Cora, a Mississippi native and the firstever female Iron Chef, developed the restaurant and its dishes, providing a meaningful history and local connection for the new on-campus dining option.

The name OLILO reflects Cora’s Greek heritage, as well as relates to the words “olive” and “olive oil,” two staple ingredients in the Mediterranean diet.

“OLILO will deliver on students’ request for a healthy dining option,” MSU Dining-Aramark Marketing Manager Andi Pichardo said in a statement.

According to Regina Hyatt, MSU’s vice president of Student Affairs, dining services conducted a survey of MSU students, faculty and staff in order to determine needed additions to campus’ dining options.

The survey revealed interest in having a Mediterranean-

style restaurant on campus, as well as an interest in having a healthier option in the Union. OLILO is the answer to both requests.

“MSU Dining presented us with the concept for OLILO, and we thought it was a good fit to meet the needs and interests of our students. And we were excited to have the Mississippi connection to celebrity chef Cat Cora who is behind this concept,” Hyatt said.

OLILO, 2

STAFF WRITER

The Mississippi Arts Commission held an informational meeting on grant opportunities for Mississippi artists and performers Friday evening at the Starkville Community Theatre. Following the meeting, a panel of people discussed the importance of art as a community affair.

Obtaining funding for the arts is often a hard-fought battle, yet the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) has been offering support for

50 years. The opportunities occur on both individual and organizational levels.

Individual grants include apprenticeships, fellowship programs and accreditation via the Mississippi artist roster.

Organizational opportunities include minigrants, project grants and operating grants among others.

Deadlines for minigrants are July 1 and Nov. 1. The deadline for all other grant opportunities is March 1.

Melody Thortis, arts-based community development director for MAC, encouraged all eligible artists to apply, but also to consider

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

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HI: 49 LO: 29 SKY: Partly Cloudy POP: 0

HI: 55 LO: 32 SKY: Mostly Sunny POP: 0

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CANVAS, 2

Habitat for Humanity dedicates new home University have partnered for the last decade to unite the community and build affordable homes for lowincome families.

When someone applies to become the recipient of a new home through Habitat for Humanity, the process is lengthy, according to Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director Joel Downey.

COURTNEY CARVER PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Mississippi Arts Commission talks grant opportunities MARY MADELINE LAMASTUS

After having 61 pilot groups during the 2018 fall semester, all students and faculty members are now using a new learning management system in the classroom.

Mississippi State University replaced Blackboard to give students and faculty a user-friendly interface through Canvas by Instructure.

Since last summer, over 750 faculty and staff members were trained to use this new learning management system, according to Lead Instructional Tech Specialist

Just in time for the holidays, Lou’Quan Lucious, a local mother of three children, became the new homeowner of the 10th Maroon Edition home.

Habitat for Humanity and Mississippi State

HABITAT, 2

Mary Madeline LaMastus | The Reflector

Orlando Trainer and Lynn Spruill spoke on a panel Friday discussing community art.

opportunities offered beyond grants.

“I also hope people know that we do more than grants, we do programs with all types of communities and schools,”

Thortis said. “We also hold a conference every year where people can learn from one another. There are a lot more opportunities in addition to grants.”

FORECAST: The chilly weather continues today, though clouds will begin clearing through tomorrow. The good news is we will be warming up through Thursday, with a high near 60. Rain showers also arrive Thursday, with rainfall up to a third of an inch. Very cold temperatures look likely as we head into this weekend.

Jacob Lanier, Campus Connect Meteorologist

MAC, 2

Katie Poe | The Reflector

Habitat for Humanity dedicated its 10th Maroon Edition home to Lou’Quan Lucious.

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Policy: Any person may pick up a single copy of The Reflector for free. Additional copies may be obtained from the Henry Meyer Student Media Center for 25 cents per copy.

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THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019

@REFLECTORONLINE

CANVAS Last fall, Department Head of Communication John Forde was a part of the pilot program for his course Principles of Public Relations. Forde began training over the summer, but he had to stop his training to tend to a family member’s illness. According to Forde, he did not have any issues once he was able to begin training again because the system is so intuitive.

“I really liked Blackboard, but with Canvas, there are typically fewer actions you have to take in order to provide material,” Forde said.

Similarly, Green believes the only difference is the user interface.

“It’s kind of like the difference between any two competitor programs,” Green said. “They all do the same thing. You are still going to be able to view your files, submit assignments, take quizzes and see your grades. It’s just a matter of the terminology being a

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little different. In Canvas, they’ve streamlined the navigation, but that’s one of the benefits of Canvas.

There’s a lot of streamlining that’s been done to Canvas to make it more user friendly for both the faculty and the students.”

Freshman Madison Crump, a communication major, agrees with Green about Canvas’ user interface.

She was not in any of the pilot courses last semester, but she said she believes the university-wide transition will enhance the classroom experience with the intuitive interface.

With a different interface, students can find most of their course content in Modules.

“I like being able to create modules easily,” Forde said.

“I told students to think of these as ‘chapters’ or ‘big topic areas’ and you can put subcategories.”

Canvas allows students to comment on their content, and students are

HABITAT “We start with an application process that we have twice a year,” Downey said. “People submit a written application, but it does include financial information. Then, we ask them to write an essay.

In the essay, we ask two basic questions: ‘Why do you need a Habitat home? What will being a Habitat homeowner do to improve their lives and their family’s life?’ We looked at the applications, and of course, they have to qualify just based on financials.

Sometimes, it’s the essays that put somebody who might be on the borderline where we say, ‘Well let’s go ahead and interview them.’”

Before the interview, a credit report is pulled, and the potential homeowners are asked about any issues they have had in their lives. After the interview, a handful are selected for home inspections, where they will be inspected on the need for a new home and how they manage their current home.

With many requirements, Lucious had been denied previously during the process.

“She had to apply three times before she was selected, and she worked on two other Habitat houses to show us that she was serious about it,” Downey said.

During her application process, Lucious’ life was busy during her first attempts to become a Habitat homeowner.

“At first, it was real hard applying,” Lucious said.

“The first time I applied,

also available to determine their “What-If ” grade.

“One of the things students like is where you can project your grade and see what grade you could possibly receive,” Forde said. “People could do that anyway, but you would have to do some sometimescomplicated math.”

While MSU has integrated with Canvas, there is also an integration with Google. Students and faculty are able to sync their Google Drives through BullyMail to Canvas.

Students and faculty are able to access multiple other learning tools through Canvas, according to Green.

“If you go into your settings in Canvas, you can authorize Canvas to access that Google Drive,” Green said. “When you are getting ready to submit assignments to your instructor, you see the option to say Google Drive, and you can go and find your file in your Google Drive. We recommend CONTINUED FROM 1

they denied me because I had a lot going on at the time taking care of my elderly grandmother. I was her aid, I was working two jobs. I had too much going on at the time. My grandmother had passed, so I applied again.”

Last fall, Lucious helped build her friend Kareema Gillon’s Habitat home.

Gillon and Lucious’ family pushed Lucious to not give up on becoming a Habitat homeowner.

“She (Lucious) was a Habitat homeowner also from the Maroon Edition last year,” Lucious said. “Her and her sister worked with me and helped me apply again. They encouraged me to keep on trying. Everybody encouraged me to keep on trying.”

After working very hard, Lucious found out she was going to be this year’s homeowner while helping work on Gillon’s house.

“Mr. Joel (Downey) had told me that some people from the committee wanted to come out and see how I work,” Lucious said. “They had come, and he was like, ‘Quan, have you met your neighbors?’ I’m like, ‘These ain’t my neighbors. You must think I’m Kareema.’ That’s when he showed me the balloons!”

Construction on Lucious’s home began at the beginning of the fall semester.

“There was probably close to about 350 to 400 different people that came out there; most were students,” Downey said.

Habitat is able to build homes and give back with the help of the university, thanks to the partnership between Habitat for Humanity and MSU. “The university is a huge resource in this community, and so many people work at the university or are directly related with the university, that it is essential to have them as a partner with Habitat,” Downey said. “Without them, we really would be struggling to get the man power to do the work.”

With the help of Habitat and MSU, Lucious spent the Christmas holiday in her new house with her children.

“I really appreciate them, and I appreciate everything that they did for me,” Lucious said. “I am very thankful. I would like to thank Habitat for giving me the chance, and I would like to thank Mississippi State for coming out and using their time. They could’ve been doing other stuff, but they gave me that time and came out and helped me. I just really appreciate what they’ve done for me.”

A dedication was held in honor of Lucious moving into her new home, where Lucious received a family Bible from MSU President Mark E. Keenum on Dec. 17.

“Your home is a shining beacon right here in this neighborhood of all the hard work that went into this, but also of the love that went into building your home,” Keenum said in a press release.

that all students need to authorize their Google account.”

Along with Google Drive, students and faculty can upload video or audio files through Arc. “Arc is a media repository,” Green said. “It’s also going to allow students to use Arc to submit assignments, and they could make a video of themselves speaking an assignment or recording their screen and talking over the Power Points.”

With these integrations, students can submit assignments through Canvas by uploading a file from their computer or through Arc and Google Drive, Green said.

According to Crump, submitting assignments via Canvas is much easier than with Blackboard.

While Canvas has a userfriendly desktop interface, the free mobile app is just as intuitive.

“Canvas’s mobile app

is very good and robust,” Green said. “There is actually a Canvas Student app and a Canvas Teacher app. They allow you to work within Canvas very nicely from your mobile device, and that’s probably one of the biggest benefits of this product.”

With a mobile app, pushnotifications are sent to the student or faculty’s phone when an assignment, grade or announcement is posted.

Users are able to customize when and how they will receive notifications.

“You have the ability to set those settings, and you have the ability to say whether or not you want to receive those notifications daily, weekly, monthly or do not send,” Green said.

“We’ve loaded all of the students’ BullyMail email addresses into the system, and the students can actually go into their settings and load a personal email address or cell phone number.”

With both the mobile

MAC MAC’s website claims itself as a “core and essential function of government.”

This sentiment was echoed during the panel discussion Friday.

The panel included Executive Director of MAC Malcolm White, Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Orlando Trainer, Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill and Starkville Community Theatre Chief Administrative Officer Gabe Smith. The discussion was moderated

by John Bateman, Executive Director of the Starkville Area Arts Council.

The panel began by discussing a core foundation of MAC: the importance of the arts.

“Art enhances community life in such a way that we would be lesser without it,” Spruill said.”

The more art we can bring to Starkville’s community, whether it is fine art or performing art, it makes life worth living.”

Starkville’s mayor continued, saying she considers variety within art culture key to arts thriving within the community.

“I am so pleased that we have venues like Dave’s and Rick’s for younger crowds who may not feel drawn to the symphony,” she said. “The well-rounded

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opportunities are so important, and art can make everyone feel a part of the community.”

“We are trying to invest in things that can make a longstanding impact.

Arts activities can enhance the quality of life. We have to give youth an outlet for activity.”

- Orlando Trainer, Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President

White said art has emerged from Mississippi’s story, and because art pushes, it makes its story the most powerful weapon.

“When communities agree on their story, push that story forward and

OLILO

OLILO’s menu offers several signature bowls and flatbreads, as well as the option to craft your own dish from a variety of Mediterranean greens, grains, proteins and toppings.

“Guests are able to from Signature NEW MANAGEMENT NEW OWNERSHIP NEW LOOK NEW PACKAGES choose Greens & Grains Bowls, COME SEE US AT THE OLD SUNSATIONS like the Lemon Rosemary LOCATION ON HWY 12 (662-324-9191) Chicken Bowl or the Baked Falafel Bowl,” says Hyatt.

“You can also build your own bowl or flatbread with fresh ingredients like Grilled Salmon, Crumbled Feta, Moroccan Carrot Slaw and

app and the desktop interface, Canvas notifies students based on their preference, but students can also receive notifications about course updates and messages.

“Canvas is more interpersonal,” Crump said. “It’s easier to get in touch with professors and students, and it has an app, which I like. It has a calendar which can alert you when assignments are due.”

While there has been much training taken place to prepare the switch to Canvas for faculty, Green believes the biggest benefit is the number of students who have used this management system before.

“The great vast majority of our students already know how to use it because community colleges have been using it for a long time, and even K-12 schools,” Green said. “Many of our students had never used Blackboard before until they got to this campus.”

tell it in unison, (in turn), economic development flourishes,” White said.

Trainer spoke about the importance of allocating appropriate resources to the arts.

“I think that if we would look at arts as an investment rather than an expense, it would really change the dynamic of our communities that are beyond the city limits,” Trainer said.

He continued by saying he believes the arts, to the same degree as infrastructure, are important to improve rural communities.

“We are trying to invest in things that can make a long-standing impact,” Trainer said. “Arts activities can enhance the quality of life. We have to give youth an outlet for activity.”

Allison Julien, alum and biochemistry graduate student at MSU, is a local visual artist who attended the event. Julien stated the concrete support from state government is important.

“A lot of these jobs are underfunded, and it’s hard to get funding for public art,” Julien said. “It is a great way for artists to make their own way and still work in the disciplines they choose.

It is also wonderful to have a government institution to back that type of funding.”

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Tahini Dressing, to name a few.”

The addition of OLILO is a part of a bigger initiative

by MSU Dining Services to respond to the desires of the student body for healthier, more convenient dining options, and precedes several additions such as the construction of an exterior door to the Village P.O.D. in Griffis Hall, as well as the introduction of a new sushi location.

Student Association President Mayah Emerson said she is excited about the health benefits of OLILO

and the variety it adds to campus dining options.

“It’s a healthier option for students, so I think it definitely adds some variety to what we already have,” Emerson said. “It’s pretty tasty, and I think it’s going to help people kick off those New Year’s resolutions of getting fit and being healthy.”

The State Fountain Bakery, which used to occupy the restaurant front where OLILO now is, has moved beside Starbucks.

The bakery still offers pastries, breads and MSU ice cream.

THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019 @REFLECTORONLINE

BULLETIN BOARD

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY...

...in 1972, “American Pie,” an epic poem put to music hit the Billboard charts as America’s #1 pop song.

Don McLean, a struggling folk singer and songwriter, wrote the song in reference to Feb. 3, 1959. On that day, a plane crashed and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the J.P. “the Big Bopper” Richardson. These three artists were stars in the world of rock ’n roll, and the day was marked in American music history as a tragedy, particularly to that generation. McLean’s line “the Day the Music Died” would go on to label the day in history books.

McLean wrote the song as his perspective of “America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might become.” Outside of this small response, McLean was very quiet toward answering questions about the song’s ambiguities. history.com

BAD DAWGS Missing Bad Dawgs today?

No worries, your favorite troublemakers will be back! Be sure to pick up a copy of Friday’s paper to see who’s been in the doghouse.

So, you think you know it all?

1. Who was awarded the very first gold record?

2. How much pressure do the strings in a grand piano exert on the frame?

3. What was the working title of Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, “Gone with the Wind”?

4. What is the best-selling novel of all time?

5. What animal undertakes the world’s longest migration each year?

6. According to Japanese legend, a sick person will recover usefultrivia if they fold 1,000 of what type of origami?

1. Perry Como, 2. 30 tons, 3. “Ba! Ba! Black Sheep,” 4. Don Quixote, 5. Arctic Tern, 6. Cranes

... in 1919, Molasses floods the streets of Boston, killing 21 people, injuring several others, as well as killing dozens of horses. The molasses spilled out of the United States Industrial Alcohol Company (USIAC) building in the heart of the city, located next to a railway. The sticky mess burst through a huge holding tank. The 58-foot-high tank held 2.5 million gallons of molasses, and bursted near lunch time.

The bolts at the base of the tank exploded first, shooting out bullets. After that, the hot molasses rushed out—an eight-foothigh wave of the sticky brown sweetness crashed out of the USIAC building. Workers in the basement of USIAC never saw it coming, as the liquid poured down over them without warning.

Outside the building, the flood took out freight train cars, a firehouse and support beams holding up an elevated railway.

It would be weeks before the molasses was cleaned from the streets of Boston.

The disaster resulted in a legal battle, as more than 100 lawsuits were filed against the USIAC. Over 3,000 witnesses and 45,000 pages of testimony found the USIAC at fault. Because the tank used was not strong enough to hold the molasses, $1 million dollars were paid in settlement.

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The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m.

Thursday. The deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifieds are listed at $5 per issue.

Student and staff ads are listed at $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found items: Found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed at standard ad cost.

CLUB INFO The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m.

Thursday. The deadline

for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday.

MSU student organizations may place free announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to managing@ reflector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Reflector office in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Reflector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability.

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THE REFLECTOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019 @REFLECTORONLINE

OPINION

Minimum wage disadvantages young workers and increases market prices

MICHAEL BOURGEOIS

is a freshman majoring in English. Contact him at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

The current minimum wage within the state of Mississippi is $7.25 an hour, which is the lowest possible minimum wage within a state according to federal mandate.

As a result, progressive politicians have run and won on the promise of raising the minimum wage.

These politicians turn the minimum wage issue into a moral one, claiming a raise is a decent and necessary thing for the American people.

This is a falsehood. The minimum wage is a leech on the American economy, and benefits no one except the politicians who propose such absurd legislation.

In 1988, the New York

Times released an editorial dispelling the illusion the minimum wage casts, saying, “Raising the minimum wage is not cost-free, just costconcealing. Congress owes the working poor well-designed help, not a well-intentioned illusion.”

Thirty years later, those wise words still ring true.

The minimum wage, as a concept, should be holistically abolished for the countless problems it brings to workers, employers and, most importantly, consumers.

Minimum wage hikes hurt the very people they are supposed to help the most: workers in low-paying jobs.

It is critical to remember the minimum wage does not guarantee jobs, it only ensures those who have jobs are paid a certain wage in compliance with government standards.

Labor is a resource, and just like any other resource, it costs money to utilize it.

The minimum wage puts a fixed price on this resource, and if a company cannot afford this resource at the

fixed price, they must buy less to stay within their means.

This means less jobs and less people employed. People become priced out of the job market.

According to Frayda Levin of Capital Flows for Forbes,”The Congressional Budget Office concluded in 2014 that a $10.10 minimum wage would price some 500,000 people out of their jobs. A $15 minimum wage would undoubtedly lead to even higher losses, potentially in the millions.”

Minimum wage is a job killer for workers. People who never become employed will be unable to reap the benefits of increased earnings. The minimum wage dictates how much an employer must pay per hour, but not necessarily how much an employer must pay per week. In addition to lay-offs, employers can reduce weekly working hours to further minimize the costs of the minimum wage hike: a pay-cut to employees.

Finally, the minimum wage cripples young workers’

ability to find an entry job to begin a career. Employers need to spend valuable, limited financial resources on the most qualified candidates for jobs.

Employers cannot afford to take risks on new workers if experience is vital, and young people are not worth taking the risk because the minimal amount employers can pay them is too high for their skillset.

The drain on the economy minimum wage brings does not only cripple workers’ earning potential, but also makes it more difficult for the employer to succeed in business, and forces the consumer to pay for this virtue-signaling policy.

Employers and aspiring entrepreneurs are discouraged from beginning or growing a business due to minimum wage laws.

All businesses start small, and during the beginning stages, savvy business owners are forced to measure costs to keep their businesses alive prior to their creation. These

small businesses cannot afford to pay the wages necessary to accommodate minimum wage laws and keep their businesses fully staffed, so these aspiring entrepreneurs simply believe the reward is not worth the risk associated with the venture.

A business that never exists will never employ anyone, this is an opportunity cost that cannot be measured.

If the minimum wage was not mandated, these businesses would be created and more people could be employed.

Regardless of however low the wage is, it would be a more desirable outcome than unemployment.

Of course, the most dramatic effects of minimum wage laws would hurt the consumer the most in all aspects of the economy.

Increases in expenses, especially that of labor, forces employers to find additional methods of bringing in more revenue.

The most obvious solution is to raise prices on their goods and services to

overcome the cost of labor.

Increases in prices force individuals to spend more for less, and all potential buying power an increase in wages brings is undone by higher prices. Minimum wage benefits political images of a select group of politicians at the expense of everyone’s wallet.

The minimum wage is an idea that seems to be a moral imperative for a healthy economy and fair pay for honest work; but in reality, it is a job-killer and a detriment to economic prosperity.

Pricing people out of job markets makes them unemployable, and therefore, never able to get the necessary job in which a future can be built.

Building a minimum wage safety net is irrelevant if an individual will never have a job in the first place. It is time politicians recognize this truth, allow the laws of supply and demand to govern wages and salary, and allow business, not government, to conduct business.

Separating the man and the masculine Trump is to blame for the shutdown ud

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DYLAN BUFKIN

ZACHERY ABUNEMEH

is a sophomore majoring in English. Contact him at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

In Lydia Maria Child’s “Women’s Rights” from 1843, Child makes an argument I have yet to cease thinking about. In Child’s eyes, the problem of the sexes could not and cannot be resolved by asking women to change their gender norms to fit into a masculine mold, for the problem of the sexes is really the problem with one sex, men. I am sure many have already heard of the term “toxic masculinity,” but for a quick recap, The Good Man Project’s Harris O’Malley has a fantastic definition of toxic masculinity.

“It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything while emotions are a weakness; where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured, while supposedly ‘feminine’ traits–which can range from emotional vulnerability to simply not being hypersexual– are the means by which your status as ‘man’ can be taken away,” O’Malley explains.

Recently, the term once again hit headlines as the American Psychological Association released a condemnation of traditional male gender norms as harmful to those who practice them. The report is troubling, to say the least.

According to Stephanie Pappas of the American Psychological Association, studies have shown men who strictly adhere to traditional masculine norms are less likely to seek preventive health care, will have a negative view of mental healthcare and participate in “risky behavior.”

This is coupled with very upsetting male-focused statistics.

“Men commit 90 percent of homicides in the United States and represent 77 percent of homicide victims.

They’re the demographic group most at risk of being victimized by violent crime.

They are 3.5 times more likely

Rosalind Hutton

than women to die by suicide, and their life expectancy is 4.9 years shorter than women’s. Boys are far more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder than girls, and they face harsher punishments in school—especially boys of color,” as reported by Pappas.

I will not lie and say I have tried to uphold masculinity as a primary trait of mine. It stings when someone says, “grow a pair” or “be a man,” but beyond that, I do not often consider my masculinity.

However, it is in the unsaid where toxic masculinity rears its ugly head.

When your only references for romantic behavior are movies showing hypersexual guys or sexual exploits from actual hypersexual guys, you receive a distorted view of consent or proper communication, and when irresponsibility or violence is just “boys being boys,” you receive a distorted view of your place in society.

Many men are antagonistic to talks of toxic masculinity or dismissive of its effect on their own lives. The countless “not all men” that follow criticisms of male behavior is well-known at this point, but I am not talking about all men. I am talking about a cultural phenomenon that is perpetuated on a societal level, and it does not have to encompass all men to be a pressing issue. If you do not have any toxic traits, I am so glad you have overcome the hurdle and become the perfect male paragon, but there are quite a few other men who have yet to understand the situation.

Through this realization of toxicity, it is important to remember masculinity has positive social norms. Men are expected to be strong, courageous and tenacious, and no one is trying to remove these traits, or the myriad of other positive

traits a man can have. The removal of toxic masculinity from our cultural behavior is not emasculating, but rather, redefining what makes one a man. Furthermore, it could be appeals to these positive traits which leads to the end of the negative ones.

A World Health Organization report on violence prevention points to the “Freedom from Fear” campaign in Western Australia as a sign of success.

The campaign focused on addressing male domestic abuse perpetrators directly, and when the campaign found slogans like “real men don’t hit women” were ineffective, the campaign shifted to focus on the effect domestic abuse has on children.The results of the campaign were a smaller proportion of men reporting they had emotionally abused their partner and a significant decrease in reports by women of “being yelled at” or “being threatened with being hit.”

Rather than trying to appeal to a concept of masculinity, the campaign appealed to the natural compassion of men and showed that larger cultural change is possible if society teaches men to tap into their positive natural qualities.

It is our job as men to recognize the harm toxic masculinity has on our partners and families. It is difficult to ascertain which qualities we have been told are masculine are actually harmful social constructs, but the best question to ask oneself is what effect one’s behavior has on others.

Ask yourself whether it is okay to manipulate a woman’s emotions in order to receive sexual satisfaction.

Ask yourself whether it is okay to disregard your own health for some imaginary concept of manliness. In some hopeful future, a call to “be a man” will be a call to courtesy and wisdom, and not a call to shotgun a beer.

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On Dec. 22, 2018, the government was officially under a partial shutdown.

Since this shutdown, the media has been quick to blame the death of bipartisanship for the shutdown and the consequences thereafter.

Perhaps the media is at least somewhat correct, but from my perspective, I do not see a failure of Congress—I see a failure of a president.

Sometimes, Congress simply does not work, and I understand those occurrences.

For years and years now, we as Americans have complained our Congress has been broken.

This was true before President Donald Trump, it is true during Trump and it may be true after Trump. Presidents deal with opposition. If congress never gave Trump a spending bill to sign, or if they gave Trump one so laughable he could not possibly sign it, then I would understand the president’s dilemma. What is often forgotten in this whole debacle though, is how Trump did have a chance to secure his big, beautiful wall, but the writer of “The Art of the Deal” choked at the negotiation table.

According to Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post, “Democratic leadership [offered] a plan [to Trump] to pair the $25 billion in border wall cash and a pathway to citizenship for a broader dreamer population of about 1.8 million.” This was reported back in March of 2018, months before our shutdown, and was a bipartisan compromise America demanded for over a decade. Trump, for some reason, refused to agree to the deal, citing his desire to improve other immigration policy.

Of course, this deal was denied by Democrats, and Trump’s $25 billion wall was dead. Now, Trump is asking for $5 billion for the wall, a

Rosalind Hutton

far cry from what was offered just a few months ago, but now with a Democratically controlled House, Trump’s only option is to try and save face by denying everything put in front of him.

Just before the shutdown started, Jacob Pramuk of CNBC reported, “The Senate unanimously approved legislation to keep the government funded through February 8.” While that is not ideal, it would have prevented a shutdown and all the consequences thereafter, with bipartisan support.

Bipartisan support and unanimous agreement, though, did not seem good enough for Trump. He refused to sign the bill, and demanded his border wall, therefore killing any chance for a bipartisan bill to be passed.

Democrats and Republicans actually came together to prevent a shutdown, but Trump forced their hand nonetheless. He even stated on camera he was “proud to shutdown the government,” according to MarketWatch.

Let us fast forward to 2019. According to Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal, “House passed a spending package aimed at reopening the federal government,” but “Trump has already notified Congress that he would veto the House bill.”

This now marks three proposals Trump has refused

to sign that either fund his wall or prevent a government shutdown.

Each one had at least some bipartisan support, with one passing the Senate unanimously.

None, however, were good enough for Trump, who now, According to Seung Min Kim, Erica Werner and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post, has warned, “The partial government shutdown could go on for months or even years.”

Trump does not care about the millions of unpaid Americans who now face eviction, foreclosure and much worse, thanks to his shutdown.

He wants his wall. He wants his political victory, and sees those affected as pawns.

There is a reason Republicans and Democrats tend to join forces to avoid government shutdowns: Americans hate them.

They hurt everyone in some way, shape or form, but Trump has never had to live paycheck-to-paycheck or needed government assistance. He does not understand the undue burden is placed on millions of Americans because he has never had to live it.

All he wants is his wall.

For once, let us not blame Republicans, Democrats, foreigners or our fellow Americans. This is Trump’s shutdown.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Life Editor/Emma Moffett

Managing Editor/Kristina Domitrovich News Editor/Katie Poe

is a senior majoring in political science.

Contact him at opinion@reflector. msstate.edu.

“You can’t have your government back until I get my wall.”

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Letters to the editor should be sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to editor@reflector. msstate.edu.

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Review: OLILO offers Mediterranean meals on campus MARY MADELINE LAMASTUS STAFF WRITER

The spring semester has brought a new addition to the food selection on Mississippi State University’s campus: OLILO, an Aramark chain for Mediterranean food.

As both the Mediterranean food and the fresh-food movement are gaining popularity among Americans, the addition seems fitting.

The make-it-your-own style gyro and power bowl food place is located next to Pizza Hut in the Colvard Student Union.

After hearing rumors of the new campus food option, I decided to check it out for myself. When I first saw the location, I noticed it was distinct from the other Union eateries due to its clean and white appearance.

The appearance reflected the type of food served— clean and fresh. The aim of the to-go restaurant seemed

straightforward: to offer quick, healthy and flavorful options to the MSU campus.

The menu is simple.

Choose a pita bread wrap or a salad bowl, with either chicken or falafel. Add various Mediterranean style toppings and dressings, including edamame-avocado hummus, tzatziki, crumbled feta, pickled onions, tahini, yogurt herb, harissa, etc.

For my meal, I chose the lemon rosemary chicken salad bowl. With everything already cooked and chopped, the process proved extremely quick.

I was in and out of the line within three minutes. Per the usual for MSU employees, the staff was mannerly and helpful, smiling and laughing the entire time. A worker noted most vegetables were chopped every one to two days, and most of the sauces were made there in the Union.

By the cashier, a binder including the nutrition

facts of the food was easily accessible for healthconscious customers. The packaging was minimal, with a simple paper bowl or box to hold the meal, and I appreciated the sustainability efforts.

The meal itself was actually the best I have eaten on MSU’s campus. As a big fan of the Mediterranean diet, I love anything fresh with lots of spices and flavor, and that is exactly what I received.

For those who enjoy

curry-style spices, I highly recommend adding romesco to your meal. The chickpeas were very flavorful, and all of the vegetables tasted as if they were chopped that very morning.

The chicken in my meal was only slightly dry, so I will try the falafel next time. I could tell the meal excluded the extra sodium and preservatives that often saturate campus foods. After eating, I was perfectly satisfied and energized to conquer my afternoon classes.

Overall, the food was healthy, fast and pretty yummy, but students will have to sacrifice affordability to try Olilo’s food. For one regular bowl, the cost was $9.62 with no drink included. While the restaurant does accept flex dollars, the evening blockmeal discount does not apply.

Zena Jackson, a senior communication major, said she tried the food chain as well, but had a less

structure and comedic nature of their performances help them stand out among other student organizations.

“Because the shows hang so heavily on the audience and their suggestions, I feel like there’s nothing really like Lab Rats Comedy in our area,” Lutz said. “You’re a part of the show, and that’s something special.”

When Lab Rats Comedy puts on a show, not only is it a fun adrenaline rush for the people onstage, but it also relies heavily on the audience’s reactions and suggestions.

Though their primary focus is the audience, there is also plenty the audience does not get to see. This includes the performers practicing

twice a week, as well as marketing for their shows.

Lutz said these practices help build and strengthen the team as a whole, including his own comedic relationship with his sister, Ashlynn Lutz.

“My favorite thing about performing is getting to do scenes with my sister Ashlynn,” Lutz said.

“Growing up together, we would always do little skits or bits, and now we get to do it in front of people on stage, and it’s just surreal.”

While the shows are improvised, practicing for them is extremely important for this organization so they can do better onstage and with a live audience.

Blaine Wohlgemuth, a long-time active member of

the Lab Rats and previous head director and long-form director, said the key to improv is practice.

“The more you do improv, the better you are at it because you never know what you’re going to get,” Wohlgemuth said.

The group also recently incorporated punch cards, which allows students to “go to the first four shows” and get in “the fifth show for free,” said Cameron Ladner, this semester’s long-form director.

If a student does miss a show, their last performance may not be free, but Lab Rats Comedy is currently planning for all proceeds from their last performance of the semester to go to St. Jude. This way,

Mary Madeline LaMastus| The Reflector

Eleanor Jenkins, a freshman educational psychology major, eats at OLILO in the Colvard Student Union.

satisfying experience.

“It was my first time going, and the staff was very friendly. I wasn’t completely pleased to be honest,” Jackson said. “I would eat there again, but I would order differently and try other things on the menu, though I did enjoy the chicken and the quinoa.”

On the other hand, Emma Kate Jones, a freshman biology major, expressed no remorse for her purchase.

“I thought it was very good and fresh. I am a big hummus fan, so I matched up well with the type of food I like,” Jones said. “MSU needed a healthier option to balance out the Chick-Fil-A and Panda Express.”

While students are still expressing mixed reviews, I am among those to recommend the eatery. It is a fun and fresh addition to the campus-based food options, and offers a variety of flavors so each meal is a new, delicious experience.

every entrance fee of $5 will be given as a donation.

However, the biggest part of Lab Rats Comedy is how people feel as a result of what they do, whether that is the audience or the performers.

Wohlgemuth said his favorite thing about being a Lab Rat is that he “can go onstage and be an idiot, and people laugh.”

While the performances rely heavily upon the audience and their reactions, much of why the actors work together so well is because of their trust and the bonds they have with each other in these scenes.

Students can buy tickets for $5, and the first show can be expected to take about an hour and a half.

Lab Rats Comedy brings laughter into the new year EMMA DRAY BRASWELL STAFF WRITER

Lab Rats Comedy is not only a show people cannot see every day, but it is a show that cannot be seen the same way twice. Because the Lab Rats shows are improv, every performance is one of a kind.

Due to this originality, Lab Rats Comedy is inviting every student to come out and watch their spring semester performances, beginning with their show at 8 p.m. Friday on McComas’ main stage.

This performance, like all their other shows, has a few things that makes it original and entertaining. It is completely improvised, save for a sketch typically played

via video, that is played prior to the show and during intermission.

Keegan Lindsey, a freshman who will be participating in his second Lab Rats show this Friday, said the focus on humor over drama is what drew him to the organization.

“There’s no script, and the focus of the Lab Rats is on comedy over any sort of drama,” Lindsey said.

Lab Rats Comedy is made up of students, with roughly 17 students involved.

A special thing about these students during their performances is that there is no wrong way for them to act onstage.

Luke Lutz, the Lab Rats sketch director, said the

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SPORTS

Track and Field are in the starting blocks for a new season GARRETT SMITH STAFF WRITER

Mississippi State University began its indoor track season this past weekend at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Head coach Chris Woods said in a press release previewing the meet he felt the meet would be important to the team going forward.

“I think this meet is going to be a great stepping stone to the meet that we have next weekend and a great stepping stone to the Razorback Invitational,” Woods said.

Woods is currently serving as the interim coach, following the resignation of former head coach Steve Dudley in September 2018. However, Woods felt he and his staff have been able to handle the transition well, and have properly prepare their team for another solid season.

Rosalind Hutton

“Obviously, the first week or so was a little bit of a whirlwind,” Woods said.

“But after you get yourself grounded and you start making traction with some of the things you want to do and you figure out what direction you want the program to go, things have been smooth ever since then.”

Woods said the team will have plenty of veteran talent, as they kick off the season, but he also mentioned they will have some help from several newcomers.

He went on to mention specific athletes Marco Arop, a sophomore from Edmonton, Aberta, Canada, and Daniel Nixon, a junior from Hoover, Alabama, as well as more. Woods is confident his team can replicate their past successes, and expects his staff and team to outwork their opponents.

“Last year, our women finished in the top 20 in the

country,” Woods said. “So that’s something we want to duplicate or do better. This year, we feel like our men, indoors, can be a top-20 to top-25 team.”

Part of their success plan is going to several challenging meets, as well as outworking

everyone in the NCAA. For Woods, that hard work is what defines this state, and he wants his team to reflect that in their training and competing.

“As a staff, we have to outwork people,” Woods said. “That’s what this state

is about. We are a working class, blue-collar state, and that’s what our staff has to be. That’s what I have to be as an individual, and that’s what our kids have to be.”

While they have never had a very high recruiting class, nor have they been afforded the same luxuries other schools may have, they are still able to be successful, and Woods said this is demonstrative of how much they work to be successful.

“We’ve never had a top-10 recruiting class, and I believe that success we’ve had shows the amount of effort that we put into coaching,” Woods said. “And the amount of effort the student-athletes put into honing their craft and getting better at his or her event.”

When the team finally saw action this weekend, they had several individuals who posted a solid performance.

Alicia Viveros, a sophomore

from Bakersfield, California, and Madelyn Lee, a junior from Chickamauga, Georgia, both posted personal bests in their respective field events.

Arop and Nixon both contributed to a second-place finish in the men’s 4x400m relay.

The women’s 4x400m team also placed second.

Riley White, a sophomore from Nolensville, Tennessee, won the women’s 500m with a personal best of 1:16.39.

Several Bulldogs placed third in their respective events.

Gralyn Jones, a senior from Brandon, posted a personal best in the men’s long jump.

Alexis Farley, a junior from Peachtree City, Georgia, finished third in the women’s triple-jump.

Mississippi State Track and Field will be back in Birmingham next weekend, as they compete in the Vulcan Invitational hosted by Samford University.

Bulldogs lose thriller, Davis victorious on return home RENALDO HOPKINS STAFF WRITER

Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi showed the Egg Bowl rivalry does not end on the football field, it also carries over to the hardwood as an 81-77 Ole Miss victory engaged fans in Starkville to the very end.

This rivalry game was special because it brought the return of one of MSU’s prodigal sons in Kermit Davis, as he led the Rebels to another win over a nationally ranked team. Kermit Davis, the son of former MSU coach Kermit Davis Sr., said it had been a long time since he stepped foot in Humphrey Coliseum.

Having played and coached for the Bulldogs, Kermit Davis still shows love and respect for MSU. Yet, he still raves about he truly believes Ole Miss is the perfect place for him to be right now.

“It’s amazing how the good Lord kinda puts you in places you should be, and my path is exactly for Ole Miss,” Kermit Davis said.

The Rebels played with outstanding offensive efficiency. Ole Miss relied heavily on giving the ball

to freshman guard/forward Blake Hinson, who put up an impressive stat line with 26 points, mostly from shooting the ball extremely well by going 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point land, making a total of five threes.

“I was just kinda feeling it, and my teammates were looking for me, too,” Hinson said. “Every time I come in the huddle, they tell me to keep shooting it… I was feeling it and they knew I was feeling it, too.”

Not excluding the rest of the team, the Rebels came to prove they are not pushovers, as they collectively shot well Saturday. Their team had a 46.6 percent field goal percentage and made 12 threes in the game, making for a 38.7 percent 3-point percentage. What stood out the most about the Rebels’ win was how they were able to get those high percentage shots.

The Rebels’ ball movement and screen offense made it tough for the Bulldogs to defend the ball, making the them suffer by an Ole Miss’ player being open either around the perimeter, inside under the basket or becoming open on a well backdoor screen.

MSU head coach Ben Howland recognized how well coach Davis’ system worked against the Bulldogs.

“They are a very good offensive team,” Howland said “Basically, they’re playing with four guards.

They are big kids, very good at screening and rolling… In the second half, they really got it going. They moved the ball well.”

Even though the Bulldogs lost this contest, they went down swinging, as fans should expect, and they shot just as well as the Rebels. MSU went 46.9 percent from the field, getting some good looks and lucky shots to keep the game close.

Although MSU had some great performances from Lamar Peters and Quinndary Weatherspoon, the team got a much-needed push from their freshmen players, guard Robert Woodard III and Reggie Perry, who combined for 14 points, scoring seven each.

Woodard scored his seven points in the first half alone, which was shocking for a lot of people because he would only see one minute of play in the second half. He was asked about why he did not get back in,

Noah Siano | The Reflector

Nick Weatherspoon dunks on an Ole Miss Rebel in the MSU defeat on Saturday. Weatherspoon had 11 points in 25 minutes of playing time.

and he simply said, “I don’t know,” grinning at how he did not have another way to answer. However, Howland had an answer.

“That was my fault and it was really a coaching error because we needed him in there with the way he was guarding Hinson, which had been our best matchup,”

Howland said.

The competition will only get tougher as the Bulldogs go deeper into their conference schedule with an 0-2 conference record, and Howland knows exactly what aspect the team needs to improve upon in order to stay relevant and compete with teams like the

No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers and No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats.

“We got 16 more teams, so the bottom line is: we got to get better defensively,” Howland said.

The Bulldogs end their two-game home stand against the Florida Gators at 6 p.m. on Jan. 15.

Bulldogs go beyond the game at the Outback Bowl

HUNTER CLOUD

SPORTS EDITOR

There is more to life than just football, and the same can be said about a bowl game. On the surface, a bowl game is just a football game.

However, as the Mississippi State University players, coaching staff and their families learned, bowl games are more than that.

In his opening statement in the press conference, head coach Joe Moorhead expressed his appreciation to Outback Bowl chairman Todd Timmerman.

“Certainly we are very appreciative of the committee for extending the opportunity for us to be here,” Moorhead said. “This was a great week for us, for our players and our families. One of the best bowl schedules and setups we have been around. It was awesome for our guys.”

Osirus Mitchell, a sophomore wide receiver from Sarasota, Florida, said they had a great time during the week of the bowl game.

“We had a very good time; we went to the beach and rode jet skis,” Mitchell said. “We parasailed. We had a great time in Tampa. I really love the weather, and the weather was great every day, so we really did enjoy every day being here.”

The long season came to an end on the first day of January, as the Bulldogs lost the Outback Bowl in heartbreaking fashion. However,

the week of relaxation and recreation was a nice change as Mitchell said.

“It was actually refreshing,” Mitchell said.

“Being in Florida, in this great weather, just chilling before the game. It was really refreshing to us, and I feel like this can carry on to the next season.”

As for next season, Willie Gay Jr., a sophomore linebacker from Starkville, said the preparation for next season starts now as they hope to crack eight or nine wins—a number they have been stuck on the past two seasons.

“It starts tomorrow, it starts today actually,” Gay said.

“From workouts, summer and winter workouts, to spring ball fall camp and on to the next season. We just have to continue to work together as a team and replace leaders.”

Leaders like Nick Fitzgerald, Jeffery Simmons and Gerri Green, leave big shoes to fill, and Gay realizes the team will have to step up and fill their positions. While it will be hard to replace them, the remaining Bulldogs have to get ready for the next season without them.

“We know they are very valuable guys, and it is hard to replace those guys on any team that you play for,” Gay said. “You have got to get guys in, get guys in who can play to replace Jeffery, Sweat and Gerri, all of them.

Football goes on.”

Part of the next process is team bonding, and for Gay and the rest of the team, that happened outside of the jersey swaps at practice and dance sessions in the bowl practices.

“We enjoyed ourselves a lot,” Gay said. “Team bonding, we really enjoyed ourselves this week. We spent a lot of time together, with our coaches and with our families. It was big for us.”

One player in particular whose season came to an end was Jeffery Simmons, a junior defensive end from Macon, who decided to forgo his senior year of football to enter into the NFL draft.

Simmons spoke about his

appreciation for MSU in giving him a second chance after he had an arrest before his freshman year.

“It has been a blessing, they are the ones who gave me a second chance, and I will never forget that,” Simmons said. “It has been a journey like I’ve said. I’m blessed. I’m ready to start my journey, and I know these guys are ready to watch film.”

Simmons is headed for the NFL Draft, but for now, his next few steps are to go home to his family and to train for the upcoming draft.

“I’m just going home to my family for a few days, and then I’m off to train and ready to get back to work,”

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Simmons said. “I’m not sure how it is going to be, but I’m going in with laser focus. I think I’m the best defensive end in the draft. I’m ready to attack training like that.”

For Simmons, he would love to end up with his dream team and maybe play alongside a former MSU Bulldog; however, he said he is ready to play anywhere.

“Growing up, I was a Cowboys fan, so I would love to end up with the Cowboys,” Simmons said.

“At the same time, whomever feels the need to draft me, whomever feels like I’m a good fit for them, I’m ready to go to work and make the most of it.”

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