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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

137th YEAR ISSUE 3

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

Buddy, the burned dog, is an inspiration to all at MSU Animal Health Center HEATHER HARRISON NEWS EDITOR

SEC SCREWUP

Read our sports editor’s spicy column about last week’s game on page 6

Buddy, the yellow Labrador retriever who suffered intense electrical burns at the hands of a juvenile, is healing well at the Mississippi State University Animal Health Center, his veterinarians say.

The fan-favorite Labrador is finally making his way toward a healthy life after months of surgeries and around-the-clock care.

Like after like and hundreds of thousands of shares later, Buddy has become an internet sensation and has thousands of fans around the country cheering on his recuperation. The sweet dog has had dozens of articles written about him over the past few months, making ‘Buddy’ a household name.

In April, a source alerted Tunica Humane Society to a dog in Tate County who suffered horrific burns. A

Tom Thompson| Courtesy Photo

Buddy is pictured with two of his veterinarians, Dr. Swanson and Sophia Mauldin.

also serves as director of adoptions and medical care.

Bandaged from his ears almost to the tip of his nose, Buddy could not use several of his senses, yet his caretakers said he greeted them with a wagging tail and kisses.

THS volunteer then found Buddy and brought him to MSU AHC after noticing the severity of his injuries.

“We are very fortunate to be close enough to Mississippi State for them to care for him,” said Vice President of the THS board Tanna Easley, who

BUDDY, 2

Should MSU have a vaccine mandate? Faculty, IHL disagree HANNAH BLANKENSHIP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

In their Sept. 10 meeting, Mississippi State University’s Robert Holland Faculty Senate passed a resolution 20-15 calling on the university administration to petition the Institute of Higher Learning’s Board of Trustees to pass a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The university’s response, sent via an email to the Reflector from MSU Chief Communication Officer Sid Salter, said MSU would continue to comply with the IHL’s directive to refrain from mandating the vaccine, but would continue encouraging the vaccine through various incentive programs.

“First and foremost,

Richard Lake | The Reflector

Mississippi State University is hosting pop-up vaccination clinics around campus. Pictured is a vaccine clinic in the Humphrey Coliseum.

we will seek guidance from the Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning. It is important to note that the MSU administration is relying on guidance from the IHL Board in which the Board

adopted the following language regarding COVID-19 pandemic policies within Mississippi public universities. A motion was made that, except for clinical settings within institutions, centers,

departments and programs, ‘institutions are directed to refrain from mandating the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of enrollment or employment.’ The motion passed on a 9-2 vote,” the email stated.

Cunningham and Trustee Alfred McNair, spoke first and made it clear they were in favor of a vaccine mandate because of the amount of young people they have seen die from the Delta variant of COVID-19. However, the other board members did not agree with the mandate and a motion was passed that directed Mississippi public universities not to mandate the vaccine at this time.x The board mentioned they would continue to monitor the situation and might revisit the issue later.

One of the main factors mentioned in not mandating the vaccine was that it would be unfair to current students who would have enrolled under the pretense that they were not required to take the vaccine.

MANDATE, 2

The motion mentioned in the statement was passed on Aug. 27 in an emergency IHL Board of Trustees meeting called following FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

To open the emergency meeting, IHL Board of Trustees President Walt Starr made it clear this was a discussion on the vaccine mandate, not the vaccine itself.

“I think we all agree that more people getting vaccinated is the way to go to get us out of this crisis, so we’re not here to debate the vaccine versus no vaccine, we are here to discuss encouraging versus mandating the vaccine and provide some direction to our universities,” Starr said.

The two IHL Board members who are physicians, Trustee Steven

Addiction recovery organizations partner to bring sober-friendly events to MSU PAYTON BROWN STAFF WRITER

National Addiction Recovery Month has arrived, and Mississippi State University has multiple options for students to begin the recovery process or become involved with the recovery community.

The Collegiate Recovery Community is an organization on MSU’s campus specializing in helping combat addiction and bringing awareness to the addiction recovery process.

Riley Fitzpatrick, a senior communication major from Lexington, Kentucky, described the importance of having an organization like the CRC on campus because it provides a sober

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community for college students.

“I joined the CRC around three years ago. I actually came down and visited with the CRC staff before I had even started school here. It is just a really great community that is tight-knit. Being on a college campus as an alcoholic or addict, you feel like nobody else is going through what you are going through until you go to the CRC and see everybody is the same. It is honestly like a family, and I have been able to meet a lot of really good friends through it. It has been really good for me,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick outlined the lack of exclusivity in the CRC and explained any addiction is welcome in weekly meetings.

Blake Schneider, a

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coordinator of CRC and faculty adviser for Recovery Ally Dawgs, explained how the CRC provides guidance for those in recovery and how the community setting encourages individuals to overcome their addictions.

“The CRC is a support program for students who are in recovery from alcohol, drugs or process addictions. And so, we have eight to 10 meetings a week on campus where students can come together, build a community, build recovery capital and learn how to stay sober on a college campus,” Schneider said.

According to Schneider, the community’s agenda includes hosting weekly food events and providing sober tailgates during home football games.

Schneider explained the easy CRC application

process for individuals looking to recover and said a scholarship opportunity is available for members with six months of sobriety.

“We have an application process where students who are struggling can just walk in today, and we can begin their recovery journey here,” Schneider said.

The advisor highlighted the importance of spreading awareness about CRC across campus.

“We have different advertising to help spread awareness. If they have seen our stuff and they have been thinking about getting involved, this would be their sign to get involved and that no student who is struggling with addiction has to be alone,” Schneider said.

FORECAST: Don’t pull out your jackets just yet, Bulldogs! Sunny skies are in the forecast for the latter half of the week leading into the weekend. It will be a perfect time to soak up the last of summer and enjoy the LSU football game at Davis Wade Stadium.

Courtesy of National Weather Service

CRC, 2

Readerʼs Guide: Bad Dawgs

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BUDDY “He’s just a typical Lab. Happy-go-lucky,” said Dr. Elizabeth Swanson, his head veterinarian at MSU. While Buddy’s injuries were severe, his veterinarians said his conditions could have been worse, and Buddy is lucky to have his senses intact. The burns damaged his eyelids, but their protection potentially saved Buddy’s eyesight.

According to Swanson, Buddy has had at least 10 surgeries. The first step to Buddy’s recovery was removing the dead, burned skin from his face.

Then, Swanson said, they assessed him to see what his most critical injury was.

One of his more intensive procedures involved stitching a codfish skin graft to Buddy’s burn wounds.

The codfish skin bonds with the animal’s skin and eventually turns into the skin of the animal. Swanson said the codfish skin applications considerably lessened Buddy’s pain and allowed his skin to heal healthily.

Dr. Melody Whitney, an assistant clinical professor at AHC, was Buddy’s first residency student when he arrived on campus. During the early stages of recovery, she and Swanson were Buddy’s primary team, and Whitney’s responsibilities included changing

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Buddy’s bandages every day and assisting with the codfish skin applications.

“I didn’t know if he would tolerate the intensity of care … But from day one, he was always willing to eat and drink; he was wagging his tail and happy to see and interact with us,” Whitney said. “And that gave me a lot of hope that he is a dog who could pull through and recover.”

W h i t n e y acknowledged Buddy’s amazing recovery and said he exceeded her expectations.

In the beginning, the veterinarians had to sedate Buddy each time they changed his bandages because of his high pain levels. Slowly, they began to sedate the dog once a day, then every other day and finally, they no longer sedated him.

In August, the veterinarians fully removed Buddy’s bandages, finally allowing him to have complete access to his eyesight and hearing. Swanson said the team expected Buddy to recover all his senses, so they are pleased to see his graduation into the sensory world.

“The first thing he did when he saw us was jump on us,” Swanson said.

“He was so excited to be able to see and make eye contact.”

Swanson said Buddy’s burns are almost healed

besides a small spot in between his eyes that is still sensitive. However, Buddy also has heart worms and is undergoing a standard removal process that will take a couple of months. Swanson said his heart worm treatment is a sign of how well he is recovering because his burns have healed enough to allow treatments for other ailments.

and some residency students engage his mind by playing with sensory toys and teaching him commands.

Sophia Mauldin, one of Buddy’s residency students who administers his treatments, noted her favorite part of her shift is taking him on his daily long walks. She said he makes his rounds around the vet school each day

“...that gave me a

lot of hope that he is a dog who could pull through and recover.”

Dr. Melody Whitney

Assistant Clinical Professor MSU CVM Clinical Science Department

Buddy will undergo some minor cosmetic surgeries after he is heart worm-negative that will improve his physical appearance. One surgery will fix his crooked eyelids that resulted from being bandaged for multiple months.

Now that Buddy’s senses are fully operational, Whitney

and likes to greet everyone he comes across. Buddy wears a cone around his head, and Mauldin said he tends to run into people because of it.

According to Swanson, the only hesitancy Buddy shows is toward large television cameras. Swanson said the Labrador had professional headshots taken a couple

of weeks ago, and Buddy did not enjoy having his photo taken with the huge, telescopic lenses. Besides being camera shy, Buddy has no problems with his human caretakers and is affectionate towards everyone he meets.

Since Buddy’s recovery is in its final stages, THS has begun his adoption application process. MSU veterinarians said they hope Buddy can leave their care and enter his forever home at the end of the year. THS adoption director Easley said Buddy has a list of approved adoption applicants and a waiting list of people who have offered the sweet dog a forever home.

Tunica Humane Society works tirelessly to ensure each dog will have an incredible forever home, especially those like Buddy who had a rough start to life.

The adoption director assured the public that Buddy will be in great hands no matter where his forever home will be.

“We feel 100% confident that the choice that we make will be the right home for Buddy,” Easley said while listing the numerous ways she investigates potential adoptive families.

Back in April, a THS volunteer found a dog named Snoop with Buddy and said the two had bonded. Since then, Snoop and Buddy have

CRC “We have an application process where students who are struggling can just walk in today, and we can begin their recovery journey here,” Schneider said.

The advisor highlighted the importance of spreading awareness about CRC across campus.

“We have different advertising to help spread awareness. If they have seen our stuff and they have been thinking about getting involved, this would be their sign to get involved and that no student who is struggling with addiction has to be alone,” Schneider said.

Schneider extended beyond the CRC and described the purpose of the new Recovery

CONTINUED FROM 1

Ally Dawgs organization.

RAD, an extension of the CRC, allows students

“We want to raise awareness on addiction and recovery on campus to make Mississippi State healthier in that aspect.”

Maggie Shepherd President of RAD

who are not in recovery to spread awareness of addiction and recovery to help transform MSU into a recovery-friendly setting.

The emergence

of RAD symbolizes a further inclusive recovery community since it allows allies to support CRC members and their journeys.

Maggie Shepherd, a senior majoring in microbiology, is the president of RAD. The president highlighted how the new RAD organization works to build a bridge between the public and the CRC to form a support base for those in recovery.

“We want to raise awareness on addiction and recovery on campus to make Mississippi State healthier in that aspect,” Shepherd said.

The RAD is currently trying to table on the Drill Field, and they also use social media and their

website to advertise their organization.

The sole purpose of RAD’s mission is for students to support other students, according to Shepard.

“I think if you are a

MANDATE The board mentioned concerns of students dropping out who were set on not receiving the vaccine.

Several Faculty Senate members questioned whether the university had to listen to the IHL, or if they were just choosing to defer to them.

After an IHL Board of Trustees meeting on Friday in West Point, IHL Commissioner Alfred Rankins told the Reflector that if an institution did choose to mandate the vaccine they would not be complying with the guidance of the IHL. “If they did that (mandated the vaccine) that would not be in line with the directive from the board,” Rankins said.

Additionally, MSU legal counsel Joan Lucas clarified that, under Mississippi law, the university legally has to follow the guidance of the IHL. “Accordingly, we cannot legally ignore a directive of the IHL Board as we are legally under their management and control,” Lucas stated in an email to the Reflector.

In the Faculty Senate meeting where the vaccine mandate resolution was passed, discussion about the resolution and amendments lasted for nearly two hours.

A few faculty members

not seen each other, but THS volunteers hope to reunite the pair in their forever home.

Easley said thanks to the shelter’s generous donors, Buddy’s care at the MSU Animal Health Center was completely paid for.

A true testament to a dog’s loyalty, Buddy is a friend to all and especially loves his caretakers at the vet center. When asked if Buddy ever displayed hesitancy toward people, Whitney quickly answered and said no, he has always been kind and loving.

Echoing Whitney’s sentiments, Swanson described meeting Buddy for the first time.

“When I first met him … of course, he was heavily bandaged; he was still pretty painful. But despite that, he was giving kisses, and his tail was wagging,” Swanson said.

Buddy’s sweet temperament is an inspiration to his caretakers, they say, and residency student Mauldin said people could learn a lesson about forgiveness from Buddy.

“It’s truly just so amazing how loving and trusting he is to everyone he meets, and I really think that Buddy’s a lesson to us all,” Mauldin said. “If Buddy can love and trust people after all that has happened to him, I think we can love everyone around us a little better.”

student of Mississippi State, then you have had times where you have struggled or felt alone or felt you could not identify with people. So I feel like RAD is just another opportunity for you to

support other students and have a community,” Shepherd said.

For more information about Recovery Ally Dawgs and Collegiate Recovery Community, visit their website.

CONTINUED FROM 1

had issue with the wording of the original resolution, which called on the university to mandate the vaccine, something the university said they did not have the legal power to do.

The Senate responded by amending the resolution to call on the university administration to call on the IHL Board to mandate the vaccine.

Several faculty members expressed they had surveyed their colleges and found that the majority of their faculty members were in favor of a mandate.

Senator Thu Dinh of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences was one of the only senators to express his disagreement with the mandate. He read a letter from a faculty member in his college that mentioned several reasons to not mandate the vaccine.

These included the vaccine’s newness, free choice and the fact that the vaccine does not always prevent infection.

Dinh then added his own comments. He mentioned that in his home country of Vietnam, which has been hit hard by the Delta variant, the government has been very heavy-handed in dealing with COVID-19.

His parents were forced to quarantine for over a month and a half and were dragged onto the street daily

by the army to be tested. By now, they have been tested for COVID-19 nearly 150 times — with all the results coming back negative.

Dinh’s point was that there is a limit to what the government should force on the people.

However, other faculty members were adamant that a mandate is what needs to be done for the safety of their families and the students.

In an interview with the Reflector, Kimberly Kelly, a senator from the College of Arts and Sciences who helped write the resolution, expressed her frustration that the continued problem of COVID-19 could be easily mitigated by a vaccine mandate.

“We have the means to prevent this. If more people had gotten vaccinated we wouldn’t be where we are now. We could be on the other side of the pandemic,” Kelly said.

Kelly also said she hopes the university sees the resolution as leverage to talk to the IHL about the mandate.

“I think the message the IHL needs to get is that there is a lot of support from below for these mandates,” Kelly said.

Alexis Gregory, a Faculty Senate member representing the College

of Architecture, Art and Design who also voted in favor of the mandate, said she is not surprised the university is choosing to stick with the IHL’s guidance.

“The Faculty Senate is an advisory board, so we don’t have the power that the upper administration does, but we just hope that the administration respects us and listens to our recommendations and understands why we are putting resolutions out there — because of the concerns that we have,” Gregory said.

MSU’s Faculty Senate meeting came one day after President Joe Biden mandated the vaccine (or weekly COVID-19 tests) for all employers with 100 or more employees, after already mandating the vaccine for all federal workers and millions of government contractors.

According to legal counsel Lucas, the executive order concerning companies with over 100 employees does not apply to MSU, but the directive about federal employees and contractors could.

The university will know for sure which employees are affected when the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issues the terms and protocols they have been directed to develop by Sept. 24.

Heather Harrison | The Reflector

MSU President Mark Keenum presented these vaccination statistics during the Sept. 10 Faculy Senate meeting. The numbers are only out of polled faculty and students, not all.

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Sudoku Solution 3 8 2 4 9 5 7 6 1 4 6 5 7 2 1 3 9 8 1 9 7 8 6 3 5 4 2 7 2 1 9 8 4 6 3 5 8 5 4 3 1 6 2 7 9 Student reported someone Tuesday, September 5 7 8 1a bumper 4 9 3 6 2 attached sticker 14, 2021 on her vehicle in D5 parking 4 8 5 7 9 1 2 3 6 lot which caused paint Student in Oak Hall was having difficulty 5 breathing.

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2 4 8 6 Student was transported to 8 9 5 September 7 2 1 3 6 4 Saturday, OCH via ambulance.

BAD DAWGS

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Student reported her vehicle was keyed while parked in the F8 parking lot.

Thursday, September 16, 2021 Employee reported finding money outside Herzer Building and wanted to turn it in to the police department.

Student was transported to OCH from Moseley Hall due to intoxication.

Friday, September 17, 2021 Officer responded to Hull Hall for an individual who had entered someone’s room uninvited.

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Subject was injured by a horse at the Horse Park.

Sunday, September 19, 2021 Student was arrested in Mosely Hall for public drunkeness.

Monday, September 20, 2021 Landscape supervisor reported hitting another vehicle while traveling in the A7 parking lot.

Non-resident visitor arrested in Davis Wade Stadium for trespassing, public drunkeness, burglary, forcible entry and resisting arrest.

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THE REFLECTOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 @REFLECTORONLINE

OPINION

There is no such thing as a greatest generation in U.S. history GEORGE HUFF

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It is common to find different eras set apart and glamorized when looking back at the history of the U.S. Individuals who lived in certain time periods are praised for their character and work ethic, while other generations are the subject of ridicule.

Furthermore, the present times are often berated with negative opinions and criticized ruthlessly.

Many people claim a past generation or their own as the greatest in American history. This raises the question, is there truly a greatest generation? While each generation has its own strengths, they also have weaknesses which are just as apparent. All things considered, there is no greatest generation.

Many claim the U.S. has declined morally since its founding. The Founding Fathers of this nation are often set up as pillars of virtue and integrity, but it does not take much searching to learn the truth is often contrary to these beliefs.

Author Stephen E. Ambrose for Smithsonian Magazine writes on the controversial lives of the prominent figures of the early U.S. He calls out the hypocrisy of men who claimed all men are created equal while owning other humans as slaves. The wide acceptance of slavery is only one example of the many taboo behaviors considered just during this generation. The Founding Fathers and citizens of

the early U.S. contributed great things to the nation, but they also made grave mistakes which cannot go without mention.

Oftentimes, the generations considered the greatest are those who have conquered significant adversity. The people who lived through misfortunate times have an unmatched level of strength and perseverance, but these positive traits do not erase their negative attributes. Ann Brenoff explains some of the less favorable parts of 1950s life, including sexual orientation related discriminatory policies, lack of women’s rights and extreme racial hate in her article for the Huffington Post. This period is often glamorized and considered a peaceful time amidst other decades filled with war and turmoil, but in actuality, it was filled with discrimination, sexism and racism which was endorsed during this time.

A society cannot improve by fixating on the positive aspects of a generation alone. This generation is rightfully praised for its characteristics, but it is also tainted by the ways it failed.

The present generation has its flaws and bright minds like those of the past; only now previous generations refuse to acknowledge the good of the present, favoring to highlight only the shortcoming. The present day has apparent issues, but this does not make it worse than those existing previously. In her article for the Wall Street Journal, Alison Gopnik explains how the idealization of one’s generation leads to a distaste for those who do not fit into this category.

It is easy to criticize present day issues and ignore those of the past.

However, this does not erase the mistakes that led up to the problems of the present. Today’s generation has trials like

any other time period, but this does not invalidate its positive contributions.

Different generations are often pitted against one another in a battle with no victor. Even the generations who are said to be the greatest have their own significant flaws. Oftentimes we find the strengths of the present time are found in the places where past generations were the weakest.

Today’s generation has a multitude of issues, but it has made leaps and bounds in the fight against the discriminatory ideals plaguing the past.

Negative attributes do not invalidate positive achievements, but these should not be used to paint over the ugly side of history. Ultimately, all generations have both failures and victories worth celebrating. No generation is the best.

Each is distinctly flawed, yet equally great.

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PAYTON BROWN

STAFF WRITER

Tune in every week for a new review for what is trending on your streaming services!

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The Drill Field is inconvenient for pedestrians but could improve with minor changes

LUKE COPLEY

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

Step one is identifying our enemies: heat and crowds. These are the inevitable inconveniences faced by anyone who walks though the Drill Field.

Between classes, the long path stretching from the Colvard Student Union to Allen Hall starts looking more like a concert queue than a sidewalk: a line, four people across and moving at a fraction of the speed of their normal pace. The Mississippi sun and humidity are constant and unyielding until midOctober, upon which they trade for rain until spring.

Between the walking traffic and the heat—and to a lesser extent rain—it seems like I always show up to class feeling wet, either with sweat or with rain.

I am tired of feeling wet and I imagine many other students are as well. The experience of commuting between classes could become comfortable with some pedestrian-friendly revisions of the layout of the Drill Field.

Our first enemy is heat. Looking out over the Drill Field from the top floor of the library reveals students clumping around the Union like bees

around a hive. Yes, the Union is probably the only common denominator between students. There are tables, always full, so it follows there would be more people there. The trees surrounding the area are just as important as the tables or the proximity to Chick-fil-A. Shade is essential to a pedestrian space.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, tree coverage can lower the surface temperature of a given object by anywhere from 20 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Our quad is lacking in greenery. We are exposed to direct sunlight just about every time we are on the Drill Field. Currently, there are a dozen or so saplings growing on the far corners of the Drill Field. This is a good start but imagine the profile of the Drill Field if it were shaded amply. Ample tree coverage would cool the area, making it more comfortable for commuters walking through, and open up the possibility of more public sitting spaces for picnickers, study circles and people lounging outside.

Our second enemy is crowds. The next step to transforming the Drill Field is reconsidering and expanding on the current brick road layout. The paths are rigid, lacking in an understanding of the movement of students.

Two paths, the long ones

Landon Scheel | The Reflector

Students walk on pathways in front of McCool Hall. The paths on the Drill Field are plentiful but not practical when walking to class.

running on the edges of the Drill Field from Lee Hall to the Swalm Chemcial Engineering Building, tend to be marginally more packed than the interior paths.

Part of this is shade, but partially it is a cumbersome choice in paths. If you are trying to get from one corner of the Drill Field to the other, it is far more convenient to walk the duration of the long path to the area in front of Allen then turn towards the library than it is to attempt the weird halfway diagonal that stops at the flagpole for some reason.

I grew up in a pedestrian-heavy city where I could walk anywhere. Grassy areas within parks laid between residential neighborhoods

CONTACT INFORMATION Editor-in-Chief/Hannah Blankenship 325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu Managing Editor/Daniel Dye managing@reflector.msstate.edu News Editor/Heather Harrison

and business hubs were constantly trampled over by commuters. The paths which they carve in the grass blazed by efficiency are called desire paths.

“The paths

are rigid, lacking in an understanding of the movement of students. ” Luke Copley Staff Writer

Humans carve these paths without an eye to infrastructure and can be useful in seeing patterns.

Finland records data about

the desire paths carved out of fresh snow to predict where to expand business.

We have relatively few here on campus. There is one running from commuter north toward the Old Main Academic Center. There is another behind the post office.

So, if the brick paths are so bad, why are there no desire paths on the Drill Field, no trampled lines of grass? Simply, it is too muddy. Both of the welltrodden desire paths on campus are on relatively steep hills. After any given Mississippi storm, the water runs right off, leaving the ground solid for pedestrians. The first time I confidently strode into the Drill Field’s grass on my first day as a student I sunk inches into

the mud. The level ground collects water, leaving desire paths as a project only for the late left with no other options.

If paths were expanded, laid out logically with attention to which buildings bring the largest crowds in the minutes before and after a standard class time starts, the comfort and maneuverability of campus would be quickly and observably better.

According to Kurt Kohlstedt with 99% Invisible, similar strategies have been utilized at Virginia Tech and University of California Berkeley, who used pedestrian traffic data to predict a myriad of helpful paths to traverse their campus.

Our campus is a microcosm of a city.

It has grocery stores, independent businesses, residences and even a church. It is time we start planning it the way it is intended to be, like a city.

By providing better shade through the entire Drill Field and by expanding and diversifying path options, it could become the campus hub it was destined to be. It is not an investment in something immediate and pressing, like parking or residency.

It is an investment in the aesthetic of our campus, and, more importantly, in the overall quality of life for the thousands of students at MSU, and the thousands who will come over the decades.

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LIFE & ENTERTAINMENT 5

THE REFLECTOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 @REFLECTORONLINE

The generosity of Kenneth Miller, one of the first African Americans to attend MSU, continues to impact students

LYDIA PALMER

STAFF WRITER

Kenneth E. Miller started his journey with Mississippi State University in 1969. He grew up right down the road from Starkville, Mississippi, in Columbus, Mississippi. Coming into college at the ripe age of 15, he was not only the first member of his family to attend college, but also among the first African Americans to attend the university.

Prior to Miller, only one other African American had completed the engineering program at MSU. His legacy did not end when he graduated from MSU in 1975, rather he continued to invest in the university throughout his life. Miller, before he passed, made a pivotal donation to the aerospace engineering department at his alma mater.

Calvin Walker, senior flight test engineer at Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, shared he had only one personal conversation with Miller, but remembers him often through the donation he made to the department.

Walker shared that the monetary donation made to the department

by Miller was used in conjunction with other donations to purchase a simulator that would be helpful in advancing students’ learning abilities.

This simulator is used in a couple of classes Walker instructs on campus: an aircraft flight dynamics class and an aircraft design class.

“They design their airplane using the design methodologies that we give them, and then they will then put that particular design into the simulator to see how the airplane performs or how the airplane flies or how the airplane handles,” Walker said.

Miller left behind a legacy when he walked off of MSU’s campus in 1975, but his influence extends

far beyond the 39759 zip code of Starkville, Mississippi. According to his obituary, Miller valued serving his country as well as his alma mater.

“Ken served his country with over thirty years of civilian service to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force and retired as one of the highestranking civilians in the Defense Department ...

His final government service position was as Special Assistant for Acquisition, Governance and Transparency, to the Secretary of the Air Force.

“This is Ken Miller’s legacy.

The gift that he has given us is going to keep on giving, because the students that have benefited from it have gone on, but more are coming through and they are benefitting now...”

Rani Warsi Sullivan, Department Head Aerospace Engineering He exemplified honor, courage, and commitment in every interaction,” the obituary states.

His commitment to service led him to eventually establish and be president of KEM (Kenneth E. Miller) and Associates LLC, a business and management consulting firm.

His influence and commitment to his community lives on.

Here at MSU, Miller’s contributions continue to impact students.

“If it wasn’t for him and the donation that he gave, we wouldn’t have been able to get the simulator, and the simulator has

allowed students to have an understanding of handling qualities and flying qualities other than the equations that we give them in class,” Walker said.

Miller passed away on Aug. 17, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia, at 69 years old. He left behind his legacy as a pioneer for Black students to come through MSU, and also for students in the engineering department to do big things. Aside from his impact, he is survived by his wife, Victoria Miller, and his sons Kevin Miller and Kenneth Miller, Jr. There is a fundraiser in his name, the Kenneth E. Miller Excellence Endowment, that can be donated to through the Mississippi State University Foundation.

It is in support of other African American leaders in engineering coming through the program at MSU. Rani Warsi Sullivan, Ph.D., interim department head and professor for the aerospace engineering department at MSU, spoke about the importance of helping students go through the university’s engineering program.

She shared that the small department’s faculty has always had an open-door policy to make students feel more comfortable asking them for help and guidance. The program also emphasizes the importance of work done in groups.

“This allows our students to hone a number of skills— not only technical skills, but soft skills as well,” Sullivan said. “They work in teams, they collaborate, and this enables them to see things from many different perspectives.”

MSU’s aerospace engineering department has certainly developed in leaps and bounds since Miller’s departure in 1975.

Miller was able to see the department’s progress over the years, progress which was influenced by his legacy there.

Courtesy Photo|MSU

Mississippi State University alumnus Kenneth E. Miller passed away on Aug. 17, 2021, leaving behind a legacy of generosity and dedication.

This, Sullivan shared, is part of what must have encouraged him to make his generous donation.

“We would like to give a very holistic, wellrounded experience to our students, so that when they are graduating, they are ready to take their place in the workforce as an aerospace engineer,” Sullivan said.

Aside from his

donation, Miller gave back to the Bulldog family by serving on the Department of Aerospace Engineer’s board of advisors. He also participated in the MSU Black Alumni Advisory Council. He left behind a legacy so that students could learn from him and develop skills because of him, through the equipment purchased with his donation.

“This is Ken Miller’s legacy,” Sullivan said. “The gift that he has given us is going to keep on giving, because the students that have benefited from it have gone on, but more are coming through and they are benefitting now from this simulation capability that we have, the ability to design an aircraft and then immediately to fly it to see its performance.”

a fan herself. We transition to “keep lookin’ up” next, a classic Kacey Musgraves country song, with some pop elements influenced by her new sound. In this uplifting song, the singer touches on her East Texas upbringing, where the stars are “big and bright.”

She speaks about her father encouraging her to keep looking up to the sky and to not let the world get her down.

“What doesn’t kill me” is another upbeat track with both depressing and inspiring lyrics. She sings of going to hell and back and her “golden hour faded black,” a clear reference to her previous studio album. She also is inspired on this track, saying that what does not kill her “better run.”

During the penultimate track, “there is a light,” Musgraves continues to uplift herself, singing that even though her marriage is ending, she still has hope in herself.

This song bends genre,

showcasing Musgraves’s refusal to be pinned down and pigeonholed into one category. “Gracias a la vida,” the album’s closer, is a cover of Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra’s song.

The cover is hauntingly beautiful, and the lyrics are powerful. Parra wrote it as a sort of love letter to life, a year before her suicide. Musgraves gives the song justice, belting out a gorgeous rendition of a sad song.

“Star-crossed” is an album of contrasts, with extremely high highs, and some devastatingly low lows. It is at times dazzling with its production, somber with its lyrics and hopeful in its outlook.

Fans of classic country Musgraves will find moments they enjoy, while fans of her new sound will likely be pleased by the entire tracklist. It may not stand the test of time like Golden Hour surely will, but it is a significant moment in Kacey Musgraves’s discography.

Album review: Kacey Musgraves dazzles fans with “star-crossed”

JOSHUA STEWART

STAFF WRITER

On her fifth studio album, country music star Kacey Musgraves continues her ascent into superstardom.

“Star-crossed,” her most recent album, is an emotional look at love and heartbreak. Full of somber tracks, allusions to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and discussions about her recent divorce, the album strays far from the shimmering optimism of 2018’s “Golden Hour.”

In an interview with “Rolling Stone”, Musgraves shared she was enamored with Greek tragedy while writing this project. This influence can be seen in the threeact structure on display.

The five-song acts do not always share themes and ideas, but the experiment works, and creates three distinct sections of the album.

In previous endeavors, Musgraves was never one to shy away from expressing her emotions, and “starcrossed” is no exception.

The title track, which also serves as the album’s opener, is a melancholy exploration of an ending relationship. Musgraves waxes poetic about her former relationship and lovers being woken from a “perfect dream,” into darkness.

Most relationships start off with that perfect

dream. On “good wife”, Musgraves recalls the early days of her marriage, where she asks God to help her to be a good partner for her husband.

She sings about how he needs her, and at the end admits that she needs him as well. She also sings that she could “probably make it on (her) own,” signifying that early doubt she was feeling.

The remainder of the first act shows Musgraves exploring poppier sounds and lyrics.

“Cherry blossom” is an upbeat song ostensibly about Japan and Tokyo’s famed cherry blossoms. “Simple times” has Musgraves wishing she could return to her teenage years “cause being grown up kinda sucks.” “If this was a movie..” signifies the end of act one, and is a melancholic wish for her partner to “run up the stairs, hold my face, and say we’re being stupid.”

The first act, as well as the rest of the album, suffers some lyrical issues. Musgraves is an excellent songwriter, but many of the lyrics lack metaphorical meaning and leave little room for interpretation. This is a minor complaint, as most of the lyrics flow well and make sense, however literal they may be.

The second act kicks off with “justified,” one of the album’s three singles. The track is a look

into Musgraves’s mixed feelings after her divorce.

She sings about needing time to heal and how she hates and loves the subject simultaneously.

After this comes “angel,” a track laden with ethereal acoustic guitar and vocals, with themes of wishing perfection on herself and her ex-husband.

Up next is “breadwinner,” a personal highlight of the album in my view. In this song, Musgraves warns her ex’s potential new lovers.

Musgraves appears to think her success made her ex resent her, even though he claimed otherwise.

The track is an excellent exploration and criticism of traditional gender roles.

The ending tracks of the second act are

slow, methodical pieces.

On “camera roll,” the singer looks through her phone and feels intense sadness while viewing old relationship pictures. She says “I don’t wanna see ‘em, but I can’t delete ‘em,” giving the song a tinge of relatability for anyone who has experienced a tough breakup. “Easier said,” the final song of act two, is somewhat of a lowlight.

There are no memorable lines or moments like there are on so many other tracks.

The third act starts out strong with “hookup scene,” a commentary on the culture surrounding dating apps and online dating.

Musgraves makes it clear she has no opposition to this type of dating, but that she is not

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THE REFLECTOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 @SPORTSREFLECTOR

SPORTS

THE REFLECTOR SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 @REFLECTORONLINE

Marlar: SEC screwjob shows unaccountability TANNER MARLAR SPORTS EDITOR

By now everyone knows exactly what transpired on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium around the 5:30 p.m. mark.

No, it is not when they decided to turn the air conditioning in the press box to sub zero, but it is when Memphis redshirt senior wide receiver Calvin Austin III picked up a ball that had been signaled dead and ran 94 yards to the end zone to take what little wind that was in the sails of the Mississippi State University football team right out of them.

This is not, however, about the legality of that play, or even the following onside kick review in which

the officials determined that they were wrong about the original call, but decided they would find another penalty within the review to make up for it.

No, this is about the SEC and their blatant failure to enact their own rules, and its ability (or lack thereof) as a governing body to even hold its employees (the referees) accountable.

After the game on Saturday, the SEC Officiating Twitter account released a statement stating this: “On the play, the back judge gave a single ‘stop the clock’ signal immediately after the receiving team possessed the ball. The inadvertent signal aspect of the play is reviewable and replay should have stopped

the game to review for a potential inadvertent signal. The subsequent review would have placed the ball at the spot the signal was made. On the same play, two Memphis players were wearing No. 4, which is a violation and should have resulted in a five yard penalty on Memphis.”

To put it in layman’s terms: “We goofed, sorry, you still lose.”

So what happens when these referees mess up this badly? What is the punishment? Where is the accountability? The answer is nowhere.

The head referee of the game, Mark Curles, has done this before. This isn’t his first rodeo. His crew, though, was the first crew that the SEC publicly

announced suspensions for back in 2009, following another egregious error.

Now, think about this, if I were to completely miss my deadline and cause the paper you’re reading to not be printed, I would be lucky to have a job after that. If I did manage to have a job after that and I did it again, I would definitely be fired.

I say this to reiterate that if someone is in a position of power in a sport or profession which carries so much weight, not only in terms of school pride and wins and losses, but also monetarily, how can the SEC just let this slide, especially after multiple occurrences?

The answer is simple.

They don’t care. SEC Commissioner Greg

Sankey is too worried about the next ESPN deal to even think about holding referees accountable. He’s so unconcerned with it, he has someone do it for him. John McDaid is the name of that someone, and his official title is “Coordinator of Football Officials.”

He is a Harvard graduate, and according to the SEC’s website, has “worked professionally in positions of identifying, designing, capturing, engineering, and delivering high technology solutions for government and commercial customers.”

That is all great. He seems like a great man, but he was also an official for more than three decades, and if you know anything about officials, you know

they stick together.

What Sankey has done is let the zebra shepherd the herd, and as evidenced by the Memphis screwjob that occurred over this past weekend, he’s doing a real fine job of it, huh?

Until someone is put in charge of the officials in the SEC that will hold them accountable for making the mistakes that they do with all of the best available equipment that money can buy, instances like this will still happen. There will be no punishment, and there will continue to be no improvement.

I’ll leave you with this; what does it really mean, Sankey? Because from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like “more” is the answer.

Adam Sullivan| The Reflector

Junior Cal. transfer wide reciever Makai Polk lays out for a touchdown catch on the Bulldogs’ final drive in a last ditch attempt to secure a win against Memphis this past weekend.

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1.Alabama.............................................................................................................(-) 2. Georgia..............................................................................................................(-) 3. Oregon..............................................................................................................+1 4. Oklahoma..........................................................................................................-1 5. Iowa...................................................................................................................(-) 6. Cincinnati..........................................................................................................-1 7. Texas A&M.......................................................................................................+1 8. Penn. State........................................................................................................+2 9. Ohio State..........................................................................................................(-) 10. Clemson..........................................................................................................-3 11. Notre Dame.....................................................................................................(-) 12. Florida..............................................................................................................(-) 13. Mississippi.......................................................................................................+3 14. Iowa State........................................................................................................+1 15. Coastal Carolina.............................................................................................-1 16. BYU.................................................................................................................NR 17. Arkansas.........................................................................................................+6 18. Wisconsin.......................................................................................................(-) 19. North Carolina..............................................................................................+1 20. Michigan........................................................................................................+4 21. Michigan State..............................................................................................NR 22. UCLA..............................................................................................................-9 23. Fresno State...................................................................................................NR 24. Virginia Tech.................................................................................................-7 25. Auburn...........................................................................................................-4 Dropped out: Arizona State (19), Miami FL (22), USC (25) ..........................

Receiving Votes: Arizona State (69), Kansas State (30), USC (26), Texas (26), West Virginia (25), Oklahoma State (22), Kentucky (22), TCU (18), LSU (17), Liberty (17), Rutgers (17), Boston College (14), Wake Forest (13), Army (11), Maryland (9), NC State (8), Memphis (7), Appalachian State (6), Western Michigan (6), Nevada (4), Minnesota (4), SMU (4), UTSA (4), Boise State (3), Baylor (2), Tulsa (2), Indiana (1), Utah State (1)

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