WWW.REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM
@REFLECTORONLINE
Service D.A.W.G.S. presents:
Violence in Virginia may lead to
Men’s Tennis secures
BREAKING STEREOTYPES
SECOND CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
SPOT IN SEC TOURNAMENT
p6
p4
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015
p7
129 th YEAR | ISSUE 45
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Student company wins $10,000 by Eshan Newaz Staff Writer
The Entrepreneurship Center at Mississippi University held its Final Start-up Competition award ceremony for eWeek 2015 at the Hunter Henry Center on April 10 at 4:00 pm. eWeek gives students who have started their own companies the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a group of established entrepreneurs for the chance to win large money prizes they can use to further their business. The grand prize winners, a company named Vibe, received $10,000 from Tellus Operating Group, who sponsors the prize money. There were also bonus People’s Choice awards decided by the audience that added $250 to the total winnings of the companies the people voted for. Vibe and a company called Consumable both won the People’s Choice award for separate events. Vibe, a team comprised of Kaylie Mitchell and Hagan Walker, provides clubs, hotels and restaurants with and atmospheric lighting and flavors for drinks. Kylight’s mission, the runner-up company, is to improve the longevity of organic products by using the germicidal properties of UV rays. John Mooney, senior marketing major, said he put a lot of work into naming his business and talking to numerous people to market his winning company Consumable. “I’m still working on funding because there’s a lot of moving parts,” Mooney said. “But the initial business is pretty hot.” Mooney said the Entrepreneurship center at MSU helped him build his idea and get feedback from successful entrepreneurs. “It’s a great place to hatch different ideas,” Mooney said. “When you surround yourself with entrepreneurs you think in that mindset and it changes the way you look at the world.”
E-Center | Courtesty Photo
The start-up company Vibes was awarded $10,250 dollars last Friday, bringing eWeek to a close. eWeek, or entrepreneur week, is a business competition held by the E-Center that allows students who have started or want to start their own companies to pitch their business ideas to a panel of established entreprenuers that decides which participant has the best business idea.
EWEEK, 2
Modern E-Center to be built this summer by Vanessa Cotton Staff Writer
Construction on a hi-tech, modern Entrepreneur Center will begin this summer, but will not be finished until December 2015.
The E-center is for any potential entrepreneur who would like to start a business. It’s available to faculty, staff, and students. It is mostly funded by private donations by alumni through the MSU Foundation. This project cost roughly around $625,000. The E-Center will con-
tribute $1,000 to $3,000 from grants to help fund the construction, and the Angel Network, an investment group, will contribute roughly $50,000 to $1 million dollars. The vision statement for the E-Center states, “The principle goal of the renovation project is to create an impact-
ful, unique home and central nucleus for all entrepreneurial activity by students, faculty, and staff right in the heart of campus at Mississippi State University, as well as become a gateway to community & industry partners who seek to engage with these innovators.” Program Manager for the
Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and MSU Alumni, Eric Hill, said the program had an increase in the number of walk-ins since early July last year to date, and now around 179 people are interested in starting their own startups. “The reason for starting the E-center is the number
of people interested in starting companies here, at MSU, has doubled in the last two years and is being constructed to support that growing number,” Hill said. “We do support Alumni startups as long as they involve an MSU student as a partner and that allows us to support an Alumni startup.” ECENTER, 3
MSU welcomes new Bully
MSU’s College of Business turns 100 by Kayla McNair Staff Writer
Courtesy Photo| Media Relations
Meet Jak: Heʼll be the twenty-first in the line of English Bulldogs to don a leather harness and march onto campus with the rest of MSUʼs best and brightest.
Mississippi State University’s College of Business is hosting several events throughout 2015 stretching out its Centennial Anniversary Celebration to last the entire year. The College of Business has just launched The campaign centers around the systematic release of six keywords that exemplify what the College of Business means. With the release of the first keyword, “Integrity,” the college hosted guest speaker Cynthia Cooper, former accountant and whistleblower for the WorldCom scandal. Cooper visited the university and spoke to students on the meaning of the word integrity. “Discovery” the second word to be released was announced last month
to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the college’s PhD program. In honor of eWeek, an entrepreneurship event hosted by the College of Business last week, the word “Innovation” was released. Emily Daniels, marketing and advancement coordinator for the College of Business, says the college is also updating its e-center to promote its students entrepreneurship efforts. Stormy Rains, junior business administration major and owner of Greenberry Vintage Flannel Company, says her company has grown because of what she has learned in the classroom. “I had the privilege of competing in Entrepreneurship week Post-Revenue competition this year. It was an incredible opportunity to get myself out there and get feedback from working professionals,” Rains said. ANNIVERSARY, 2
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Policy: ANY PERSON MAY PICK UP
A SINGLE COPY OF THE REFLECTOR FOR FREE. ADDITIONAL COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE MEYER STUDENT ME-
Reader’s Guide
Bulletin Board Opinion
5 4
Classifieds Life
5 6