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chew

on this...

Defense paves the way for

Dillingham

glazed salmon page 3

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FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

The

Trump and Marijuana Legalization ........ .... ............................ page 4

Reflector

131st YEAR ISSUE 39

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

Alternative facts: is ‘Big Brother’ watching us?

by Kristina Norman Staff Writer

Alternative facts and the popularity of George Orwell’s novel “1984” may be rising, but what exactly are alternative facts, and how do they differ from facts?

The Oxford Living Dictionary defines a fact as “a thing known or proved to be true” or, when reporting news, “information used as evidence.”

On the other hand, a lie as defined by the Oxford Living Dictionary, is “an intentionally false statement” involving deception, and has no basis in fact or reality.

Davide Orsini, a Mississippi State University assistant professor of history, said the debate on alternative facts is not something new.

“As bizarre as alternative facts may seem, they have existed for some time and have always found favor with political regimes who use them as a tool to challenge facts and realities that do not align with their policies,” Orsini said.

Orsini primarily studies the history of science and technology, but also studies the Cold War. One of his

by Sean McCarthy Staff Writer

many research interests includes secrecy and the production of ignorance.

What exactly classifies something as a fact, Orsini said, can vary significantly depending on the period, field, country or region of the world. This is because different societies use different systems for establishing what they consider to be knowledge.

“We privilege the truth because we think that, through that transparency and knowledge, people can understand what their preferences are and behave accordingly,” Orsini said.

Orsini said when knowledge and truth become questioned, it can lead to the deterioration of democratic principles.

This can happen when

popular participation no longer chooses to regard scientific facts and political preferences take precedence over established and agreed upon facts.

Policies built on these premises can become scary, Orsini said. He related this to the world Orwell lived in.

During his lifetime,

Orwell lived through two world wars and witnessed the rise of communism in Russia.

In the years between World War I and World War II, Orwell observed Josef Stalin’s own brand of communism, Stalinism, in which the Russian government ruled through systematic terror, total control and surveillance.

ALTERNATIVE FACTS, 2

Reduced-cost STI testing available after budget cuts

by Sam Gibson Opinion Editor

On April 18 and 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Longest Student Health Center will provide Mississippi State University students with reduced-cost Sexually Transmitted Infection testing. The testing, which will cover all major STIs and cost a flat fee of $22, is part of the MSU Student Association’s effort to promote sexual health on campus.

The Mississippi Department of Health formerly provided free testing for students through Longest Student Health Center, but due to budget cuts, the health center can no longer provide STI testing free of charge.

“The last time the Mississippi Department of Health provided the free testing on campus was the spring of 2012,” JuLeigh Baker said, a health education specialist at MSU. “At that time, we had about 350 students being tested over the twoday event. Unfortunately, there are several areas of health care that could use

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Presidential library continues to grow

Longest Student

Health Center provides

twenty-two dollars

for an STI testing

Jennifer McFadden, The Reflector

more funding, one being sexual health education for young people.”

According to the Center for Disease Control, Mississippi has the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections in the United States, and people between the ages of 15 and 24 have the greatest risk for contracting an STI. Baker believes this is because many young Mississippians lack information concerning

the topic of sexual health.

“I think there could be more awareness about STIs on campus,” Baker said. “At every presentation I have done with student groups, there has always been at least one student, but often more, that are shocked by something new they learn.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the topic.”

P.J. Jarquin, the 20162017 director of research and development for

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SA, said so many people are uninformed because there is not enough open dialogue about sexual health.

“We’re in Mississippi, where talking about sex is still kind of a taboo subject,” Jarquin said.

“There’s a stigma around talking about sex in general, but especially about getting testing, and there shouldn’t be. You want to see people getting tested. Those are the people you want to date, and be with. There should be more stigma around not getting STI tests.”

Jarquin, who is a junior majoring in biological engineering, first brought the idea of reducedcost STI testing to SA. Although Longest Student Health Center works to keep the cost of STI testing as low as possible for students, according to Baker, the general price of testing is upwards of $100, even with insurance.

“A lot of students don’t have insurance, and can’t afford regular testing, or do have insurance, but don’t want their parents to see that they’ve gotten an STI test,” Jarquin said.

Because of this, the $22 cost of testing on April 18

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and 19 can be paid for by cash, card, or a charge to a student account.

The student account charge will be labeled as a general student health center charge, keeping the testing as confidential as possible, for students who are concerned about privacy. The goal of SA is to get as many students as possible to take advantage of this reduced-cost testing, so the health center can show that this is a valuable service, and can continue to provide low-cost testing days in the future.

“In the long-term, I really want to push for free-testing days for students,” Jarquin said.

“The CDC recommends sexually active people get tested for STIs once every three to six months. If the health center could provide reduced-cost or free testing days once a semester, it could greatly help the sexual health of students at Mississippi State.”

Jazmine Kelly, the health and wellness director for SA, wants this initiative to “push students to receive STI testing, and become more aware of their sexual health status.”

There have been some jarring changes made apparent to Mississippi State University students visiting Mitchell Memorial Library.

The noise of construction, coupled with a towering crane, ubiquitous sawdust and a slew of caution tape, proves a big addition is on the horizon. This activity concerns a new floor to the library, which will soon house the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and the Congressional and Political Research Center.

The expansion will allow for a suitable space for the burgeoning collection of political papers, research and artifacts contained in the Grant and congressional collections.

The Grant Association was founded in 1962, as a special commemoration for the articles preserved from the Grant presidency.

Since 1962, there have been 32 volumes collected and published of Grant’s works, which accounts for only 20 percent of the overall materials in the collection.

MSU began housing the Grant collection in 2008.

David Nolen, assistant editor and reference librarian of the congressional center, said having a presidential library on the MSU campus is valuable.

John Marszalek, executive director and managing editor of the Grant Association, said a marker map was created, so the Grant Association could keep track of visitors to the presidential library. The association hosts visitors from 48 states and several countries. Nolen spoke of the variety of researchers from campus that visit the Grant Collection.

“When you think of the Grant Association, and what we have done over the years, and what we’re doing now, I think of it in terms of the functions, and the different groups who use those functions,” Nolan said. “As Dr. Marszalek mentioned, we have artifacts on display, so that people can come in and see things as in a museum, and that is not only for the campus community, but also for the broader city and state.”

While the Grant Association is appreciative of their current space, the number of functions that occur within their small suite of offices can place a major strain on their operations.

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STIs, 2

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STIs

CONTINUED FROM 1

According to Baker, it is a common misconception that STIs are apparent to the human eye, and can be easily identified. However, many STIs do not show symptoms in the early stages, and can easily be unknowingly passed to others.

“When students have access to healthy foods and the ability to exercise, they take advantage of that and talk about it, no problem,” Kelly said. “When it comes to STI testing, people say ‘I don’t need that. I’m clean.’

People don’t want to do it because they don’t want to be labelled as ‘needing’ to get tested, but everyone who is sexually active needs to get tested.”

Reduced-cost STI testing will take place on April 18 and 19, on the third floor of Longest Student Health Center. Male and female condoms, which can prevent STIs, are always available at the health center, as are pamphlets with further information about STIs and sexual health.

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ALTERNATIVE FACTS Issues related to Stalinism such as control and surveillance play heavily in Orwell’s book “1984,” and its main antagonist character and symbol “Big Brother.”

Orsini said Orwell’s themes of control and surveillance appear more relevant to the National Security Agency and Edward Snowden than they do to alternative facts.

Michael Clifford, professor of philosophy at MSU, said “1984” has parallels with today through the language, newspeak and doublethink, which the authoritarian government uses to control the population.

Newspeak controls thought through language and reduces language to simple terms eliminating any nuance. Doublethink directly controls thought through language and allows the acceptance of two ideas which contradict each other.

Clifford said the use

of Twitter by President Donald Trump is a great way to demonstrate someone using newspeak.

“Language like ‘huge’ and ‘great’ involve no sophistication or complexity,” Clifford said.

A recent example of

CONTINUED FROM 1

philosophy, Clifford said the United States has not seen this kind of behavior from the highest levels of government.

Clifford said Steve Bannon’s, assistant to the president, comments to the media about shutting

“We need to emphasize that when we are talking to people about news and information and digital narratives, that you have to weigh the evidence.”

-Philip Poe, assistant professor of communication what Clifford calls “classic doublethink,” involved Kellyanne Conway and the repeated misinformation she gave to the news media which she called alternative facts.

Coupled with alternative facts, Clifford said, is the president’s attempts to undermine the freedom of the press by discrediting it as dishonest and biased.

Clifford said the press, to some degree, is responsible because they constantly repeat things that do not matter.

Journalists have recently been willing to call out guests for saying things on their programs.

As a professor of social and political

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up and listening, is a classic fascist gesture. In other words, they do not want the media reporting stories negatively about them.

Before becoming the president’s chief White House strategist, Bannon served as the chief executive officer for Breitbart News, a farright news outlet which published numerous stories containing falsehoods and conspiracy theories. However, news filled with falsehoods and conspiracy theories do not fall exclusively to a single site.

Clifford said verifying information online can be a difficult task. Many times people get a story from a slanted news site. They

then visit another slanted news site which confirms the first slanted story.

Clifford said the propagation of fake news has become such an issue that many people do not know what is fake news and what is not, making it “dangerous” and “troubling.”

“People don’t know what the truth is anymore,” Clifford said.

Marty Price, an English instructor at MSU who taught students “1984,” said Facebook is a good example of how misinformation and fake facts can easily spread.

Not caring about where information comes from or what sources are used is an issue. If they are left unaddressed, lies can multiply and spread like viruses.

Price said he sees a parallel with the book and today by how Orwell captured the notion one must have an enemy.

Philip Poe, an assistant professor of communication, said he does not believe, logically, that alternative facts can exist. Something is either a fact and can be verified, or it is not.

Things which can be verified may not always be true, Poe said, nor can all things be verified which are true. He said even when something cannot be verified, there usually exists some type

of crossover between the two.

Poe said the term alternative facts is funny because it has different meanings to different people. People do not want to believe things which challenge their beliefs and worldview.

The real danger of alternative facts, he said, comes when people believe that even when something is true they can refuse to believe it. When one person says something another person believes, it helps reaffirm their beliefs and label those who disagree as wrong.

Poe said people need media literacy to combat the problem of misinformation.

“We need to emphasize that when we are talking to people about news and information and digital narratives, that you have to weigh the evidence,” Poe said.

This does not mean one should not have an opinion, but that they should exercise caution when reading news stories.

Many times they are not news stories at all and do not involve actual reporting.

Poe advises that whenever you see a questionable article online, especially a social media website, find the original source and compare it with another article from a reputable news website.

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THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

Parking on campus: the struggle is real

by Shelby Poindexter Staff Writer

College is full of stressful situations. Tests, projects, work and trying to make it through the semester in general, all cause major struggles in a college student’s life. There is one struggle, however, not many people think would cause a big issue: parking.

Parking on a college campus is one of the most difficult struggles students will face and they face it everyday. Mississippi State University’s campus is not exempt from the battle that is parking on campus.

It all begins the summer before fall semester. This is decal-purchasing time.

Buying a decal is when the “The Hunger Games” of parking begins. There is only a small window from when they fi rst become available to when all that is left are parking lots that require a 15-minute hike to any of the academic buildings.

Sarah Gresham Barr, junior public relations major, said she had to deal with the loss of a good parking decal.

“I was working at camp this summer without internet access when permits went up,” Barr said, “and by the time I got a night

off, there were only coliseum spots left, but I spend a majority of my time in McComas. Permits sell out so quickly that anyone with a summer job can’t get a permit if they miss the very narrow window.”

Buying a decal is not the only part of parking on campus that students struggle with every semester. What follows is also part of the battle.

Once the decal is purchased, a student can only park in the parking areas designated by that decal. If a student chooses to disregard this decal, he or she risks receiving the dreaded parking ticket. Of course, if it is after 3 p.m., any car with a commuter decal can park in any commuter parking lot. After 5 p.m., anyone can park anywhere.

Many students have received parking tickets for various reasons. Some are able to get out of having to pay through the use of appeals, others are not so lucky. When in a hurry to be somewhere, students do not always think about the consequences of where they park. They simply park somewhere and go.

Bali Leffall-Young, senior communication studies major, said she has a lot of experience with receiving parking tickets on campus.

“I have probably racked up about $1,000 worth of parking tickets over my four years here,” LeffallYoung said. “I stopped buying decals because there weren’t any decals available near any of my classes by the time I tried to get one. If I parked in the wrong zone, I would get a $30 ticket. So, I stopped buying them altogether and started getting $135 tickets.”

Leffall-Young said she now rarely parks on campus. “ I live at The Pointe so I mostly walk, but every so often, I take my chances,” Leffall-Young said. “I only park on campus when I’m running late or if I’m injured.”

Running late or trying to get on campus during a time when everyone else is also trying to get on campus can cause parking issues as well. Sometimes fi nding a parking spot in the correct parking lot is hard and once it one is found, students are rushing trying not to be late for class.

Parking on a college campus is harder than most people think, but occasionally there are those days where the perfect spot is found, and from there the rest of the day just gets brighter.

Chew on this: affordable food Glazed Salmon

Ingredients: 1/2cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed 1/4cup water 2tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce 2teaspoons packed brown sugar 2teaspoons cornstarch 2teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1/4teaspoon crushed red pepper 4 (5ounce) fresh or frozen salmon fi llets, thawed 1/2teaspoon cracked black pepper Directions: 1. For glaze, in small saucepan combine pineapple juice, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil and red pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more.

2. Preheat broiler on high. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray and line baking sheet with foil. Rinse salmon and pat dry. Place fi llets, skin-side-down on prepared sheet. Drizzle salmon with a few tablespoons glaze; sprinkle with black pepper. Broil 4 inches from heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish fl akes easily with a fork. Place salmon on serving plates and drizzle with remaining glaze. Top with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.

This salmon recipe is sweet with a savory kick, and you can make it as spicy as you want. This recipe is great on the wallet. If you play your cards right, the dollar store sells boneless salmon fi llets, but the chances of them having salmon are hit or miss. If you really want to go cheap, you can grab a couple extra soy sauce packets the next time you grab sushi. Worst case scenario for this recipe: You have to spend a couple more bucks to buy the fish at a grocery store for $10, and just cook the amount of fish you need— the rest can be refrozen. This recipe is incredibly versatile—you can have it with anything from pasta, mashed potatoes, salad, or veggies. This week, I made it with frozen vegetables that took less than 10 minutes to make.

Now, depending on what you want to do, you could actually cook some vegetables in the same pan as the fish—youʼll need to check the directions on whatever side you have fi rst. Youʼll have quite a bit of sauce left after cooking. I recommend reserving a bit for after they come out of the oven.

In addition to that, you might want to save some sauce for leftovers or for your sides. This recipe wonʼt break the bank and is relatively healthy.

- Courtney OʼBrien, Staff Writer

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OPINION

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

Trump vs marijuana legalization Trump is ‘more than capable of being president’ for politicians.

Usually they make lofty promises while on the campaign trail and then those promises seem to fade away once the election is over and won. It has been rammed into our heads that Trump won because “he is not a

by Jonathan Bain Staff Writer

The U.S. has now been under the Trump administration for over a month. The success of the new administration is subjective and of course everyone has an opinion, whether they believe he has done well or done terribly.

While I have never been a fan of Donald Trump, I can admit that I support a couple of things he has done so far.

Agree with him or not, he has done fairly well sticking to his 30 day plan.

With that being said, it would appear his administration is planning on doing some backtracking from the states’ rights platform he won the presidency on.

According to Politico, on three separate occasions during his campaign, Trump stated legalizing recreational marijuana should be left up to the states.

“When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encourage people. There is still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and drugs of that nature,” Press Secretary Sean Spicer said last week.

As you can see, this seems to run contrary to the message Trump had for potential voters during his campaign. This is not new

“This drug is dangerous, you cannot play with it, it is not funny, it’s not something to laugh about...good people do not smoke marijuana,” Sessions said.

If the Trump administration plans on cracking down on states with

The Marijuana Question

Jenn McFadden, The Reflector

politician,” but his actions as of late prove otherwise.

Another thing that should concern state governments that allowed recreational marijuana is the fact that Trump’s Attorney General is Jeff Sessions.

Sessions, a favorite of conservatives, has made his position on marijuana very clear. “We need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that it’s, in fact, a very real danger,” he said in an April Senate hearing, according to The Washington Post.

legalized recreational use, Trump has certainly chosen the right man for the job.

Sessions also said President Obama failed the U.S. by not intervening when states like Colorado were passing laws legalizing recreational marijuana use.

My question for Republicans is this: Why do you only care about states’ rights when it fits your agenda? The Right will argue things such as education and healthcare should be handled at the state and local level, but will undermine the legitimacy of laws enacted by states when it comes to marijuana.

I agree, education and healthcare are issues that would be more efficiently handled at the state and local level, considering how inefficient the federal government has proven to be.

However, if you are going to hold a position in favor of states’ rights, you should be consistent and hold that position across the board.

The 10th Amendment says that powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution should be left to the states. Correct me if I am wrong, but I have never seen anything about marijuana in the Constitution. As with anything else, inconsistency leads to a faulty governmental foundation.

If this new administration is going to attempt to delegitimize an issue that is constitutionally left to the states, this leaves the door open for any administration to strike down any state laws of which they do not approve.

Case in point: states like Mississippi have Constitutional Carry laws. If the next president happened to be a Democrat, that could certainly be a target they would aim for.

Precedence matters.

Setting a bad precedence here could lead to a world of issues for states and their ability to enact laws the citizens of the state want.

I would urge President Trump not to undermine the rights of states any further than they already have been, in terms of his stance on marijuana.

Pay secrecy: it does not work Chris Lowe is a sophomore majoring in business information systems. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

The workplace can be a strange environment. Rules exist that are only enforced at work, and the one that bothers me the most is the taboo on discussing wages among co-workers.

Many people in the workforce, across all kinds of careers, have no idea what their coworkers earn in relation to themselves. I am not against this as a matter of nosiness.

Itisamatteroftransparency.

Making salary information more public in the workplace would promote pay equality across the board, in terms of gender, race and merit.

A 2011 survey by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research states about half of all workers “report that the discussion of wage and salary information is either discouraged or prohibited or could lead to punishment.”

This seems to be a system that can only benefit the

higher-ups, and it needs to change.

The most encompassing issue with pay secrecy is it allows for a disproportionate relationship between merit and pay. There could be situations where two workers of the same merit and with the same responsibilities are earning different amounts, and with the age-old mindset of pay secrecy, neither of them would discover this.

There could even be

and organizations to adhere to corporate policies and to make good decisions.”

Simply put, if there is no downside to haphazardly managing the pay of your employees, that is exactly what quite a number of people in management will do. Employee merit is the ideal guideline when it comes to pay, period.

Of course, an offshoot of the merit problem is the issue of discrimination. Whether it

“Somehow, we have been inf luenced to become uncomfortable discussing money, and it stands in the way of fairness.” tenured workers earning less than their newly-hired counterparts. In a perfect world, we could trust that pay would be distributed in a way that relies on fairness.

However, this is not how our world works.

The reasoning behind this is outlined in a Forbes article by Edward Lawler III. Lawler states, “It is also clear that with secrecy, managers can make poor pay decisions because they do not have to defend them. It also reduces the motivation of managers

is racial, religious, sexual, or in any other form, it is still a real obstacle in the American workplace. Finding a way to rid our culture of pay secrecy would pave the way to the abolishment of pay discrimination.

An eye-opening study by the Pew Research Institute states, “Large racial and gender wage gaps in the U.S. remain, even as they have narrowed in some cases over the years. Among full- and part-time workers in the U.S., blacks in 2015 earned just 75

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percent as much as whites in median hourly earnings and women earned 83 percent as much as men.”

I will not deign to suggest pay secrecy is the only, or even the primary, reason this is the case, but it is certainly a key factor. Many companies either encourage or outright enforce pay secrecy, which probably keeps many members of these demographics from even realizing they are being swindled.

Probably the most depressing fact concerning pay secrecy is the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 provides a federally supported policy of pay transparency.

It grants the right of workers in the private sector to openly discuss things such as their pay, for their own protection. However, open discussion of salary is still not a common practice.

Somehow, we have been influenced to become uncomfortable discussing money, and it stands in the way of fairness. Civil rights are stalled as a result as well.

I believe that we should end this phenomenon so that the everyday worker can benefit. This ideal is fair, and it is most certainly American.

I will even start the trend myself… I earn $8 an hour at my day job. What about you?

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The

Congress has been waiting on a president to say that for seven years. In the last year, Staff Writer deductibles and premiums have skyrocketed as a If there was ever any result of the disaster that is doubt that President Trump Obamacare. In Arizona, could appear and sound healthcare prices are up by presidential, it was quickly a whopping 116 percent. proven that he indeed could. We now know that it was a TheStateoftheUnionaddress lie when we were told that was by far the president’s best we could keep our plans speech yet. I would argue and doctors. Government that it should have been his control of healthcare was Inaugural Address because never the solution, but he passionately gave his liberals cannot stand to not vision for America. have control over the less Trump talked passionately fortunate and those that about his desire to bring the depend on government aid. inner cities more success The president said that the and safety during his goal is to make healthcare administration. Last week, affordable for everyone so he signed an executive that they can get the plan order giving $25 billion to they want instead of the plan help get inner cities back on that is forced upon them. their feet. Former President Trump called out radical Barack Obama actually cut Islamic terrorism for what money from his budgets it is and announced one going to inner cities. Trump of the biggest increases in means what he says when he military funding in decades. expresses The president his desire to said that an help African increase of $54 A m e r i c a n “...the continuous billion will be and Latino attacks on him, put towards children the military that are at his family and his this year for risk because rebuilding of whatever a d m i n i s t r a t i o n the Air Force unfortunate and naval s i t u a t i o n are digusting.” fleets as well they find as increasing themselves s e r v i c e in. numbers in all The president spoke from branches. Trump has shown his heart and made it a point his tough stance against to explain in depth, his terror which is something stance on immigration and we need in a commanderwhy we need to enforce our in-chief. The time is now if immigration laws. Trump we are to fight back at these has no issue with legal savages. The president has immigration and I would openly acknowledged that it argue that no Americans will not be a small feat and it have an issue with it as long may take American boots on as it is legal. The issue is that the ground for it to happen the illegals coming into the successfully.

United States from Central “The time for small America and Mexico are thinking is over. The time illegals and are costing us for trivial fights is behind us. taxpayers billions of dollars We just need the courage to as well as good jobs that share the dreams that fill our should go to citizens first. hearts … and the confidence We finally have a president to turn those hopes and who will enforce our nation’s those dreams into action. immigration laws.

From now on America “At the same time, my will be empowered by our administration has answered aspirations, not burdened the plea … for immigration by our fears. Inspired by the enforcement and border future, not bound by failures security. By finally enforcing of the past, and guided by our immigration laws, we a vision, not blinded by will raise wages, help the our doubts. I am asking all unemployed, save billions citizens to embrace this and billions of dollars, and renewal of the American make our communities safer spirit.I amasking all members for everyone,” Trump said. of Congress to join me in Trump is a good man dreaming big and bold… I’m and yet the continuous asking everyone watching … attacks on him, his family to seize this moment, believe and his administration are in yourselves, believe in your disgusting. He would not future, and believe once have taken the time out of his more in America.” life to run for this office and These words prove that assume command of this job Donald Trump is more than if he did not want to help the capable of being President average American overcome of the United States. These serious obstacles. words prove that he has the The president called on demeanor and the soul to Congress to repeal and hold the office of the most replace the trillion dollar powerful person in the Obamacare health law. world.

by Heath Fisackerly

Reflector

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Content is determined solely by the student editorial staff. The contents of The Reflector have not been approved by Mississippi State University.

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5

SPORTS

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

Defense paves way for Dillingham

by Amber Dodd Staff Writer

In the historic 27-3 season for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, their impressive defensive powerhouse took the floor and gave their consistent performance every game.

Standing at 5’9” at guard, Dominique Dillingham proved she could present defensive pressure and offensive answers on the team. She brings a consistent playmaker mentality and a willful work ethic to unify the national presence Mississippi State achieved in the ’16-’17 season.

It started in Spring, Texas, for Dillingham as she made her mark at Klein Collins High School while playing varsity all four years on the basketball team.

In the Amateur Athletic Union world of Texas, Dillingham began on HTX Fire and ended her career at Cy-fair Shock. Dillingham said when she began playing in AAU she noticed her defensive abilities outweighed her offensive presence on the court. She knew that defense kept her on the floor and earned her the minutes that molded her into the D1 basketball player the women’s basketball

world knows today.

“I realized at a young age I wasn’t as good on offense ever,” Dillingham said.

“Defense was always the most important thing to me to win. If I wasn’t doing well on offense I know what I need to do on defense.”

Dillingham credited her hard work ethic and toughness to her parents Myron and Barbara who con-

Schaefer said.

“People respect her because they know how hard she works and the difficulties she continues to play through and overcome. We all see how hard she plays. I expect her to go into games and make big impacts.”

Dillingham agreed that the most important factor in building the team with Schaefer was trusting in

“We want to win a National Championship

and be in Dallas for the Final Four. After that, I might continue playing or I might come back and be a general assistant here.”

-Senior Dominique Dillingham

tinuously pushed her off the court and influenced her growth as an athlete.

While Head Coach Vic Schaefer was recruiting for Mississippi State, he saw those morals exemplified in Dillingham and knew she would fit into the team model he needed to build a championship team. He called her mentality one of a champion.

“We sit at the table all the time and try to fi nd who’s the next McDonald’s All American but I always wonder, “Where’s the next Dominique Dillingham?”

EXPIRES 05/04/2017

EXPIRES 05/04/2017

one another in order for Mississippi State basketball to reach their goals of championships.

“When he was recruiting me, I knew he came from a championship team already,” Dillingham said.

“I knew to believe in his vision and I just saw it all unfold. We’ve been going on such a positive track.”

Along with Sixth Man of the Year Teaira McCowan and First-Team SEC honoree Victoria Vivians, Dilingham has her own style that pieces the team together. In her senior

EXPIRES 05/04/2017

EXPIRES 05/04/2017

season alone, Dillingham started 22 of the 23 games she has played in. She fi nished the regular season with an outstanding 13 blocks, 22 steals and took 19 offensive charges. Her best season performance was against the First-Team SEC Sophie Cunningham from Missouri with 24 points in the 70-53 win. She is fifth overall in MSU history for career steals at 204 and only 45 points shy of her own 1,000th point milestone at MSU..

The MSU community welcomes Dillingham with open arms and appreciates her hard-working

consistency along with the team to get Mississippi State to the top of the nation’s ranks. MSU fans rush to the court to the fan base to congratulate their hard work after every game. Schaefer sees that Dillingham is someone they can relate to.

“On and off the court, double zero is defi nitely one of their favorites.”

Schaefer said. “They identify, appreciate and love watching her play. They know she’s willing to do anything to win.”

Dillingham will close her senior year with the SEC tournament and the most important tournament

of her career: March Madness.

Dillingham wants to become a nurse practitioner but doesn’t know if her love for basketball will outweigh that dream.

“We want to win the national championship and be in Dallas for the Final Four.” Dillingham said. “I might continue playing or I might come back and be a general assistant here.”

Dillingham looks to close out her historic senior year on a winning note. The Bulldogs are back in action on March 3 as the No. 2 seed of the Ole Miss/LSU game.

6

THE REFLECTOR FRIDAY MARCH 3, 2017

Bully’s BULLET

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