9.28.22

Hispanic Heritage Month calls for campus celebrations

CALEB BOWMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

National Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and Mississippi State University is celebrating through a variety of events and exhibits that will showcase Hispanic culture and honor individuals of Hispanic origin.

According to the Hispanic Heritage Month website, the holiday was first established as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 and was expanded to a month in 1988.

Organizations at MSU will host activities throughout the month for

Hispanic students to share their culture with others.

MSU’s first event for the month was Salsa in the Streets on Sept. 15.

The event was a collaboration between MSU’s Division of Access, Diversity and Inclusion, the MSU Latino Student

Old Cowbells location replaced by new bar

Located in the High lands Plantation, the bar Cowbells permanently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, Nick Plava purchased the location and reestablished it as the Double Headed Eagle Bar and Grill.

Plava, owner of the Double Headed Eagle Bar and Grill, said he typically worked in the Italian res taurant industry but was approached about pur chasing the location.

During a conversation about the location, Plava said he was informed that the building had pre viously been open during late hours. He was en couraged to buy the loca tion after learning this.

“I guess it was the only building in that area that stayed open until 3 a.m., which I don’t think that will be the case for us,” Plava said. “I have to study a bit more into it.”

Alston Ferrell worked as a kitchen manager at Cowbells for five years be fore the bar closed.

Ferrell said he became good friends with the other staff members be cause the establishment was an exciting place to be.

“I always saw it as every one else in town came out there because we were open after every other bar closed,” Ferrell said.

According to Ferrell, the late closing hours of Cowbells made it a space where crowds of different people could join to gether.

In 2013, Josh Gilbon

moved from South Caro lina to Starkville to join his brother. After arriv ing, he found a job at Cowbells as a line cook.

“It was really nice, and I liked it there,” Gilbon said. “I am still in contact with the people that I met there.”

Gilbon said he remem bered the daily deals held at Cowbells, like steak nights on Sundays and the infamous penny pitchers that brought in crowds on Thursdays.

BAR, 2

Association (LSA) and the Mississippi State University Ballroom Dancing Club.

Kei Mamiya, interim director of the Holmes

Cultural Diversity Center, said participants were given a lesson in salsa, bachata and other forms of dance from Hispanic culture. The

event featured authentic food from Starkville restaurants, a live DJ and a dance floor.

LSA Historian Andrea Gonzalez said Salsa in the Streets is her favorite event LSA hosts. The event was one of the first that Gonzalez had ever attended with the group and lead her toward participating in LSA.

"Every time I go, it never disappoints," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said parties are common in Hispanic culture. She said Salsa in the Streets gave students a party atmosphere similar to what one might find in the Hispanic community.

New mental health app launched for students and faculty

This fall, Mississippi State University began offering mental health services through a mobile app called My Student Support Program (My SSP).

The app is a hub for students to speak with licensed counselors and seek self-help tips.

According to the My SSP website, the app is

partnered with LifeWorks, a global company centered around the wellbeing of individuals. My SSP was created to support the struggles and mental challenges that students face worldwide.

My SSP’s main feature provides students with access to a mental health professional anywhere, anytime.

Students can choose to call, text or set up a

video appointment with one of the counselors through the app. All communication is confidential.

The app connects the user to a licensed counselor in the state or country that the user is in. The app supports over 150 languages in more than 160 countries. There is 24/7 access to five of those languages with the option to request others.

MSU provides resources for sexual assault survivors

According to a survey conducted by the Association of American Universities, 13% of college students experienced nonconsensual sexual contact in 2019.

This percentage accounts for thousands of students across the country, but it does not correlate with the reported instances on Mississippi State University’s Starkville campus.

MSU’s Chief of Police Vance Rice expressed significant concern with the low number of reports of sexual assault to the police department.

“It is very concerning to us, and we already know it is very underreported, so the low

numbers signal that even more so,” Rice said.

Brycen Bonta, a senior majoring in political science, shared why students may be hesitant to report a sexual assault.

He noted that fear plays an integral role in the underreporting of these cases.

“If the assailant has a significant position, my voice in this won’t change

anything or matter because they have more of a reputation than I do,” Bonta said.

While MSU does not have a large number of sexual assault reports each year, there are still processes in place that provide students with resources for support if they experience sexual assault.

Brett Harvey, director

of Civil Rights Compliance at MSU, described the meticulous process that a sexual assault allegation undergoes when reported.

He noted that victims are contacted first, and the Office of Civil Rights Compliance will communicate options for supportive measures and give an option for the

FORECAST: Fall has finally approached us! It is time to pull out the pumpkin scented candles and lightweight sweaters. Live your best life with temperatures in the high 70s and low 50s. Enjoy this spooky season with an autumn-themed coffee, folks. Iced or hot will do.

Courtesy of The Weather Channel

Guide:

victim to file a formal complaint.

“The university can provide supportive measures like counseling, moving class schedules, moving work schedules, helping people get medical care and helping people report to law enforcement,” Harvey said.

He said that while support options are

available, they are separate from filing a formal complaint. As a result, victims can receive help even without making an official complaint to MSU’s disciplinary process.

Similarly, Rice pointed to the university police’s facilitation of support for victims of sexual assault.

Policy: Any person may pick up a single

The

Henry

Center

HANNAH RAE KENNEDY

WRITER

Co-presidents Michelle Trejo Acevado and Agustin Ascencio of MSU’s Latino Student Association led their fellow organization mem bers across campus. Francesco Botto | The Reflector

University Chief of Police Vance Rice.

Courtesy Photo | MSU

The former location of Cowbells is being replaced with the Double Headed Eagle Bar and Grill.

Jahari Bell | The Reflector

MEGAN GORDON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mental health services are offered through the My Student Support Program app. Students will be assisted at any time of the day

Lydia Palmer | The Reflector

PAYTON BROWN NEWS EDITOR

MSU Police Chief Vance Rice expressed his concern of the low statistics accounted for. The infographic includes statistics given by MSU.

Payton Brown | The Reflector Director of Compliance Brett Harvey.

Courtesy Photo | MSU

2

Hector Pitti, a senior majoring in business information systems, is the event coordinator for the Latino Student Association. According to Pitti, lots of people from outside of the organization attended the event.

Sept. 22, LSA hosted Fiesta de Colores in the Old Main Academic Center.

Participants in the fiesta were asked to dress in clothing that corresponded with their chosen color and bring food items of that color. The idea for the festival came from TikTok.

To follow the two events already hosted, LSA will celebrate A Taste of Latin America Oct. 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Dawg House inside

the Colvard Student Union.

Pitti said the event is a potluck where nine different Latin American countries will be represented. There will be music and dancing as well.

On Sept. 29, the MSU Division of Access, Diversity and Inclusion will host a Hispanic Heritage Month mixer for faculty and students from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Butler Guest House. Food will be provided.

Along with organization events, Mississippi State has been celebrating Hispanic heritage with themed exhibits on campus.

MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design has an exhibit featuring Latino architecture in the McNeel

MSU started working with My SSP at the beginning of September. The school’s partnership with the program is in its early stages.

Bree Salazar, a senior majoring in meteorology, said she just started using the app. Salazar said she supports the university sharing this resource.

"I think it’s really good," Salazar said. "I like how easily accessible it is."

Daniel Lyons, a resident advisor at McKee Hall, said he sees the mental health struggles of his fellow college students firsthand.

He said the app could be a good thing to help students get the immediate help they need.

SURVIVORS

“The first thing we are going to do is get an advocate there for the victim,” Rice said.

Sexual Assault Advocates are available to victims through the Student Counseling Service on campus.

Harvey explained that there are many places where victims are able to report incidents across campus.

Whether it is to the Dean of Students, individual professors who are mandatory reporters or fraternity and sorority advisors, victims have a variety of means to report a sexual assault.

He also highlighted The Office of Survivor Support and stressed the importance of their services for victims

"It could let others be heard a lot quicker than what they have before," Lyons said.

Students like Lyons have been involved with mental health awareness at MSU, and some students have been involved in the Mental Health Task Force on campus.

Jeremy Baham, assistant vice president of Student Support and

Gallery at Giles Hall. The Mitchell Memorial Library has a Hispanic Heritage Month exhibit as well.

"MSU hosts cultural events for students to be exposed to different

Well-Being, said the purpose of the mental health task force is to create an environment full of positivity towards being mentally healthy.

MSU’s Mental Health Task Force met with the goal of creating an environment geared towards good mental health. They chose My SSP from three other options for mobile wellness.

My SSP was only one service that the mental health task force worked toward. The group pushed the university to hire more counselors for Student Counseling Services and advocated to have a nurse practitioner on campus.

"Counseling by itself is not going to help our students get out of this crisis," Baham said. "What we

cultures and then people from different backgrounds and different perspectives," Mamiya said.

To explain what Hispanic Heritage Month

meant to him, Pitti used the Spanish word "orgullo"— meaning pride in English.

"Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to celebrate and to take pride

in our culture," Pitti said.

LSA Historian Gonzalez said she grew up knowing little outside of her own Hispanic culture.

As she has gotten older, she has learned more about different countries in the Latino community. Gonzalez said that this knowledge is important for teaching others and learning about one’s own background.

Gonzalez offered advice to students searching for a place to find community at MSU.

"For any student that is feeling like they can’t find a sense of community and that they are missing home a lot, I definitely give advice to them to branch out and join clubs, like LSA, in the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center," Gonzalez said.

Lu Switzer, the director of Student Counseling Services, speaks with people every day about mental health. She said it can take a while to get somebody who is not in a crisis to come in and talk to a counselor.

need to be thinking about is creating an environment at the university that promotes good mental health."

Baham said the task force looks for ways they can help students to never reach a crisis. He said they want to provide a toolbox of free and easily accessible resources for students, staff and faculty.

"That’s when the app would be really good to fill in the gaps of that, you know, to be able to talk to somebody," Switzer said.

Since the release, she said dozens of people have already come to her and have asked to use the app.

While online reviews and feedback for the app prior to the MSU’s partnership have been mixed, there is a feedback option on the app, and Switzer said she hopes that students

will use it to improve their experience.

In the following weeks, Baham said the university will push for people to download and have the app on hand for easier access to immediate services.

My SSP is available on Apple and Android devices through the App Store and Google Play. Visit www.myssp.app for more information.

Harvey said.

While these services are available to students who have experienced sexual assault, students may be unsure of their options due to the lack of communication regarding these resources. Bonta claimed that he was not aware of all of the options that he had as a student.

He added that an increased emphasis on the resources that victims of sexual assault have by MSU would improve the taboo nature of conversation surrounding sexual assault.

of sexual assault. This is an office that provides services for students who do not wish to file an official complaint against the accused party but still need help following

an incident.

While both Rice and Harvey acknowledged there is always room for improvement, the pair agreed that MSU provides

survivors with adequate resources.

“I think that we have done a tremendous amount in the last few years at Mississippi State to really

ramp up the services we provide … we are certainly in the top tier of peer institutions in terms of the resources we provide to victims and survivors,”

“Be more vocal about policies that are already in place and how people can know how to report and what their options and different routes they can take are,” Bonta said.

According to Plava, the new restaurant will serve regular bar food like burgers, sandwiches, quesadillas and nachos.

Plava said he wanted his business to steer away from the previous bar’s popular features.

“We’re definitely going to have specials and happy hour, but it’s hard to get everything in line before you open,” Plava said.

Plava said he hoped the bar would open before Halloween.

“Let’s see how everything goes into play with all the licenses and permits that we have to take into consideration,” Plava said.

While official plans have not been made, Plava expected the business to begin serving customers around 5 p.m.

Gilbon said he felt that the new bar and grill had big shoes to fill due to Cowbells’ impact on the Starkville night scene.

Zach Shawl graduated from Mississippi State University with a

communication degree. During his time in Starkville, he often went out to Cowbells with friends.

“I knew about Cowbells long before I got to Mississippi State as a student,” Shawl said.

Shawl said he remembered Cowbells being one of the biggest bars in the area with its dance floor and pool hall areas.

“They would always have a band, the bar was very large and there was always so many people in there,” Shawl said.

At Cowbells, Shawl made many memories dancing at date parties and betting friends at the pool hall with quarters.

“By the end of it, I walked out with an entire pocket full of quarters,” Shawl said.

Shawl said if he hoped to see that the new bar fit in with the city’s culture.

“I would expect it to not necessarily be the same as Cowbells or any other bar, but I would expect it to live up to the aesthetic that Starkville has,” Shawl said.

Courtesy Photo | Bree Salazar Bree Salazar has been using the app.

Jahari Bell | The Reflector

Cowbells was known for their daily deals, like steak night and penny pitchers.

Jahari Bell | The Reflector

Before closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cowbells was a late-night bar with a variety of entertainment options such as their pool hall, dance floor and large bar.

The Latino Student Association will host a potluck called A Taste of Latin America on Oct. 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Francesco Botto | The Reflector

Courtesy Photo | MSU Assistant VP of Support Jeremy Baham.

Courtesy Photo | MSU Student Counseling Director Lu Switzer.

The YMCA Building is home to the Dean of Students’ office. Students are encouraged to report instances of assault to the Dean of Students’ office or to professors on campus.

Jayce Freeman | The Reflector

BOARD

An In-Class Distraction

Joke of the Day

What do dentists call their xrays?

Toothpics

Today’s Motivation

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just stand there.

Horoscopes

Gemini - This week is going to be try ing, yet rewarding. There may be a new challenge for you, but rest assured that you have the capabilities to overcome it.

Virgo - You seen that scene in the Ma trix when they freeze in midair during a fight in a subway? That will happen to you this week, metaphorically (maybe).

Capricorn - You will be offered a busi ness opportunity by an unlikely source this week, maybe a man in a cutoff NAS CAR throwback shirt, even. Be wary of collaboration.

Need a hand? Find last week’s answers down

p.m.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Two students reported they were being harassed by an unknown individual driving a white Ford F-150 on Sorority Row.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

A student was arrested on Barr Avenue for DUI and reckless driving.

Friday, September 23, 2022

A non-resident/visitor was arrested on Bulldog Way for improper equipment, no driver’s license and possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle.

Saturday, September 24, 2022

A student reported his ve hicle was keyed while parked outside of the Kappa Alpha fraternity house. A student referal was issued to the respon sible female. Carrie Un derwood would be proud.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

MSU science professor was arrested by Starkville Police Department for dis reguarding a traffic de vice and disorderly conduct.

A Justice Court citation was issued for leaving the scene of an accident in B8 parking lot.

“You are going to Hell”: Disruptive religious picketers create hostile environment

MattheW brunSon Contributing Writer

Why have I seen so many pictures with dead babies on them? Why are the people most publicly opposed to the concept of dead babies the ones showing me these pictures? Usually they tell me I am going to Hell, which feels rude since they hardly know me. "They" here means the protestors that make the routine pilgrimage to the Drill Field.

They are a very loud and interesting bunch. Each of their visits to campus involves screaming, counter protestors, screaming at counter protestors and counter protestors countering screaming with protests. It is exhausting, unproductive and one of the most hostile environments one can encounter on campus.

My first experience with these protestors was my freshman year. I turned the corner hoping to find one of the small tables in the shade outside of the Colvard Student Union and, instead, learned that I was an unrepentant sinner damned to Hell. After studying the protestors for a moment, I sighed, then trudged off to the Mitchell Memorial Library to, hopefully, find some peace and quiet. I imagine this is the experience of many of my fellow students.

According to Mississippi

State University's Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation policy OP 3.03, harassment may include but is not limited to "severe, pervasive, persistent and objectively offensive insults, jokes or derisive comments relating to a person’s protected characteristic."

This policy does not only apply to students; it applies to faculty, staff and visitors, too. It gives us a good idea that what the protestors are doing is awful and can be defined as harassment. I, as well as other students posting on social media, have also noticed that these protestors seem to take special interest in women who

walk past them, harassing them far more than they would a male student.

Another university policy, Free Speech and Assembly OP 91.304, states the guidelines assemblies must follow.

Guideline number six states "No activity will be permitted that blocks access to university buildings, streets, sidewalks, or facilities, defaces property, injures individuals, unreasonably interferes with regular or authorized university activities or functions, or disrupts the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic."

The protestors typically stand in the middle of the

walkways outside of the Union, and certainly do impede traffic with their large groups and signs. Their divisive rhetoric gathers counter protestors, which clogs the paths further. Again, this policy shows us that these protestors are acting in a way that myself and many other students deem unacceptable.

Additionally, a group of students wrote an open letter to the university regarding intrusive protestors campus, and the petition has garnered over 460 signatures.

If we expect students at this university, many just barely old enough to be called adults, to behave properly and

Pop-Ed: “Last of Us, Part 1” remake is beautiful, if not strictly necessary.

john baLadi Contributing Writer

"The Last of Us Part 1" is arguably one of the best games ever made. It is ex tremely rare for a game to have the types of characters and storylines that "The Last of Us" manages to have, all while having great gameplay. The remake only serves to underline this.

The greatest lie about

"The Last of Us" has al ways been that it is game about zombies. It is a game about loss and how people react and live with it, dis guised as a zombie game. Every part of the story does nothing more than add to that, and with the graphic upgrades that Part 1 added, it is only made more appar ent. The opening is more upsetting, the confronta tions are more intense.

Besides the beautiful way that the story is told, the gameplay has also been updated, and it is flawless.

Combat is fun; the gunplay is very well done, accurate and satisfying. For a storybased third person survival shooter, it is up there as one of the best in gameplay mechanics.

The only flaws I find with the game is that first,

"The Last of Us Part 2" ex

ists, tarnishing this game’s legacy, and second, there was not a single reason for it to be re-made. Since diehard fans did not like how the second game went, I feel like Naughty Dog, the developers, needed a way to fix their public relations, and this was how they did it: a beautiful game that should not exist, a quick re minder of how good things used to be.

follow these simple guidelines, why then should it be acceptable for these people to come onto campus, harass people and impede students’ ability to attend classes?

This is not about the religion. Periodically, there are pairs of older women near the library handing out pamphlets, and no one has petitioned to bar them from campus. There are thriving student-led and organized religious groups here who follow the university's guidelines.

This is about reading, "YOU ARE GOING TO HELL," at 10:30 in the morning. This is about "YOU ARE GOING TO HELL,"

when really, earnestly, where I am trying to go is Chick-fil-a. These protestors breed an awful environment on campus, so much so that I dread even coming near the Union on Thursdays, their normal assembly day, because I might run into them.

According to Mississippi Code Title 91, Chapter 35, Section 15, disturbing the peace is defined as any act that "disturbs the public peace, or the peace of others, by violent, or loud, or insulting, or profane, or indecent, or offensive, or boisterous conduct or language, or by intimidation, or seeking to intimidate any other person or persons, or by conduct either calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, or by conduct which may lead to a breach of the peace, or by any other act."

I am not a lawyer, but the protestors are certainly loud, insulting and intimidating. I would describe my peace as disturbed.

I am not here to argue that these protestors should not be allowed on campus or should not be protesting anywhere. However, I do raise issue with how they go about their protesting. They harass students, impede free movement around campus and are so incredibly loud that you can almost hear them from Simrall Hall. All I want is for everyone on campus to feel safe and happy and not have to worry about the fiery pit of Hell any time soon.

music, you and tainly in of put sippi Music a committed music bands a those pete form Government band abundance stage music. variety fluenced lar by

Lucy conTriBuTing

Every fiber of my being loves this game, but at the end of the day, it did not need the extra help. I loved this game then, and I love

this game now. It is beauti fully done, but their efforts could have been better spent elsewhere. It was al ready perfect.

Government The Trey Life

Parking

emphasis on pay-to-park options does not help the parking situation

harriSon

We should all be able to agree that parking is a pitiful condition on campus.

I, along with almost every other commuter at this uni versity, face a daily parking dilemma: there are simply not enough spots. Now more than ever, why is park ing on campus an arduous task that takes careful plan ning and quick reflexes? Did we not pay almost $200 to park?

Over the past three years, there have been many park ing constructions. For ex ample, the new parking ga rage on the north side of campus was completed over the summer.

"We completed a park ing study in 2015 that fore cast a need for this garage on the north side of campus, and we are glad to finally have these spaces available for those needing to park during the week, for special events or game days," said

MSU Executive Director of Transportation Jeremiah Dumas in an article regard ing the completion of the project.

Adding parking spots is good, as are proactive park ing services studies that prove Parking Services is not just making it up as they go along.

However, the article con tinues, "The garage accepts debit and credit cards only and is open to all parkers." So, instead of expanding on the already full commuter spaces, the university added this big parking garage, de spite knowing in 2015 that we would need the extra spots in the future.

Parking Services is tack ing on extra fees on top of our already-purchased park ing permits, knowing the commuter lots were full. So what exactly was that $200 parking pass for? Surely, this garage is not the only place to park besides the commuter lots.

In short, yes, it is. Park

ing spots on campus besides commuter and resident lots are also pay-to-park. These paid spots include the park ing garage beneath Old Main Academic Center, parking spots in front of the Colvard Student Union and next to the post office.

According to the Parking Services website, "to park in the metered spaces (outside of the Union), the parker must enter the vehicle's li cense plate information into the Pay Stations that are conveniently located at each location and pay with their debit or credit card."

How convenient? Had I known about the conven ience before, I might have set aside that $200 earlier in the semester for this very issue.

So once again, I conclude that, as of now, the only so lution to not finding a park ing spot in the lot you paid for is to pay more money to park in a parking garage or metered spot. This is an in sane solution.

"Help, the parking pass you sold me is out of spots every day!"

"Have you considered our new hourly subscrip tion-based parking serv ice?"

Unfortunately, I have had to do just that. There have

been days where missing class or paying to park are my only options. You cannot say that I could park in Any Valid lots; they are already full.

Will things change any time soon? When I spoke to the Executive Director of

Transportation Jeremiah Dumas, he said they are reevaluating how parking lots are zoned, but that is about it. For now, I guess we will just have to buckle in (up) as a student body, and, hope fully, not spend too much extra money in the process.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the editor can be sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. They can also be emailed to edi tor@reflector.msstate.edu and have a max imum wordcount of 350

Letters must include name and telephone number for verification purposes. The edi tor reserves the right to edit or refuse to publish a letter.

EDITORIAL POLICY CORRECTIONS

been net versies, Darling" up licity. ling" rectorial Olivia of 2019 "Booksmart." ternet with about behind-the-scenes feuds and the at tival Pine troversies, Worry easier 1950s, Darling" Chambers Pugh) Jack ing sert Victory. the mysterious run Pine), other utopian esque wives nity, delicate act try bands dancing tice. on emerges and Layne),

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

The Reflector staff strives to main tain the integrity of this paper through accurate and honest re porting. If we publish an error, we will correct it. To report an error, email editor@reflector.msstate.edu or call 325-7905.

Luke CopLey

Luke Copley | The Reflector

Parking pay stations charge students $1.25 to park outside of the Union for the first hour, and $2.50 for every hour after that

Courtesy of SONY PlayStation

Government Plates set to rock the stage at Bulldog Bash

2020, the band is com prised of current and former MSU students.

When listening to great music, there is not much you can do except get up and dance. That is cer tainly what it felt like to be in the crowd during Battle of the Bands on Sept. 16.

Battle of the Bands is put on annually by Missis sippi State University's Music Maker Productions, campus organization committed to bringing live music to Starkville. Five bands are chosen through vote on Facebook, and those five gather to com pete for the chance to per form at Bulldog Bash.

This year's winner was Government Plates, a band best described by an abundance of energy on stage and a passion for music. They performed a variety of classic rock in fluenced songs and a stel lar rendition of "Dreams" by The Cranberries.

Formed in October

There was a struggle in the beginning to find a guitar ist, which was promptly solved by a post on the MSU sub-Reddit page.

"We needed a guitarist, so we found the sanest person that exists on Red dit, and it worked out," said Justin Yates, one of the band's guitarists.

After forming the band, the group needed a prac tice space and a name. The band found a storage unit available for rent for $1 a month but found it diffi cult to find a name.

Max Rooks, one of the band's guitarists, had a handful of names to choose from. Government Plates was one of them, which was also the name of a 2014 Death Grips album.

"I knew the name sounded familiar, but I looked it up and couldn't find a band with the same

name," said Rooks re garding the naming diffi culty.

Currently, Government Plates exclusively plays covers, but original mate rial is in the works. When asked about their musical inspirations, each band member varied with multi ple sources of musical in spiration.

Lead vocalist Lauren Boozer said she listens to a wide variety of music, growing up on "the '70s and '80s rock our parents listened to." Ried Smith, the band's bassist, cited the band Muse's grunge and progressive rock as his inspirations, while Yates cited the band Weezer and alternative rock.

The band members de scribe their wide variety of interests as "a blessing and a curse." While it was harder for them to find what they wanted their sound to be, it ultimately gave them a wider range of

music to play together.

Aside from winning the Battle of the Bands, another big accomplish ment for the band has been performing at Rick's Café.

"Playing at Rick's made it feel like we had sort of 'made it,'" Boozer said.

The band said they hope to play some of their origi nal material and increase their catalog of songs in

the future. For now, the entire band said they are extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to play at Bulldog Bash.

"We've seen other bands at Bulldog Bash, and it's crazy to think that that's going to be us," Boozer said.

Bulldog Bash was formed in 1999 as a pep rally equivalent before a Southeastern Conference

football game. Since then, the bash has grown to be come the largest outdoor concert in the state of Mis sissippi. This year, the event will be held Oct. 21.

Ultimately, Government Plates wants to "play music for people to have fun and jump to."

Drummer Patrick Mar cus said it more plainly.

"We just want people to mosh," Marcus said.

Movie Review: 'Don't Worry Darling' is something to worry about

For a film that has been riddled with inter net gossip and contro versies, "Don’t Worry Darling" failed to live up to its infamous pub licity.

"Don’t Worry Dar ling" is the latest di rectorial feature from Olivia Wilde, riding off of the success of her 2019 directorial debut, "Booksmart." The in ternet has been ablaze with rumors circulating about the film’s alleged behind-the-scenes feuds between Wilde and Florence Pugh and the speculated "spit" at the Venice Film Fes tival involving Chris Pine and Harry Styles.

Unlike its many con troversies, "Don’t Worry Darling" is a bit easier to follow.

Set in the vibrant 1950s, "Don't Worry Darling" follows Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh) and her husband Jack (Harry Styles) liv ing in an isolated de sert utopia known as Victory. Jack works for the Victory Project, a mysterious company run by Frank (Chris Pine), along with the other husbands in the utopian community.

Life is eerily pictur esque in Victory. The wives of the commu nity, adorned in their delicate 1950s dresses, act in complete symme try by seeing their hus bands off to work or dancing at ballet prac tice.

Most of the film relies on the connection that emerges between Alice and Margaret (KiKi Layne), an outcasted

woman experiencing strange "hallucina tions." After the two unite over a shared ex perience, Alice begins to experience these same hallucinations, questioning the validity of her surrounding re ality.

Symmetry and control emerge as a central theme throughout the film, excellently ex pressed through its cin ematography and di recting. In one memorable hallucina tion scene, Margaret manages to break Alice free of the symmetric ballet practice by ap pearing in place of Alice’s reflection in the ballet mirror.

The film is sprinkled with a few solid per formances as well, namely from Pugh, who captures the audience’s attention effortlessly as a distressed housewife, and Pine’s charismatic and cunning Frank. Newcomer Sydney Chandler played Violet with such intrigue, but the faulting script fails

to utilize her fresh tal ents.

Unfortunately, Styles’ star quality, which undeniably brought many fans to the theaters, is one of the film’s many let downs. Styles gives a decent performance, but at times, the unin spired script calls for Styles to portray Jack dynamically. It became hard to separate the boyish charm of Styles from the complexities of the character, espe cially if other perform ances are a bit better.

To a keen eye, many of the film’s twists and themes are not as sub tle as Wilde may hope them to be. The camera spelled out many char acters’ contradictory decisions, with linger ing close-up shots and zoom-ins before mo ments of betrayal, while most of Shelley (Gemma Chan) and Frank’s monologues detailed the film’s antipatriarchal message.

The chemistry of the primary couple, Alice

and Jack, is practically nonexistent throughout the movie. It mostly re lied on overly drawnout sex scenes that could have been ex changed for actual dia logue scenes. The in clusion and frequency of such scenes became an issue when the film’s emotional moments rely on the sincerity of the couple.

The biggest failure of the film happened dur ing its climax. Char acters become exagger ated, and each subsequent twist be comes more outrageous than the last. Even though it does not feel like a two hour long feature, the chaotic na ture of the film’s final act felt like it over stayed its welcome.

Director Wilde tried and failed to convey a unique message in her latest film. Despite its colorful palette and dreamlike motifs, "Don’t Worry Darling" is yet another instance of a director’s sopho more slump.

Lucy HaLLmark conTriBuTing WriTer

Julian Dedeaux | The Reflector

The Starkville-based band, Government Plates, placed first in the Battle of the Bands competition Sept. 16. The rock-influenced band formed in October 2020 and consists of five members: Patrick Marcus, Lauren Boozer, Justin Yates, Max Rooks and Ried Smit h.

Trey BarreTT Life & enTerTainmenT ediTor

Julian Dedeaux | The Reflector

Guitarist Justin Yates and bassist Ried Smith rocked the stage at this year’s Battle of the Bands. The band will open at Bulldo g Bash.

Courtesy Photo | Warner Bros. Pictures

“Don’t Worry Darling” was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in the U.S. on Sept. 23.

Daniel Benavides | FlickrEva Rinaldi | Flickr

Patrick Lovell | Flickr Florence Pugh is Alice Chambers in the film. Harry Styles is Jack Chambers in the movie. Olivia Wilde directed and produced the film.

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ablaze. Episode out

9/29.

SPORTS

Dawg fight: MSU volleyball wins SEC opener against Georgia

total in the match.

Mississippi State University volleyball opened Southeastern Conference play in Newell-Grissom last Wednesday defeating the University of Georgia in four sets.

The Volleydawgs started hot out of the gate in the first set of the match-up with 19 total kills in their 25-14 win against Georgia. Lauren Myrick had seven kills in the set alone.

However, Georgia came out with revenge in the second match. UGA led MSU almost the entire match, but MSU tied the game up halfway through, yet couldn't get over the hump at the end. UGA won the second set 2520.

MSU volleyball head coach Julie Darty Dennis said her team wanted to set the tone and figure out their identity in the SEC home opener.

"Today's theme was figuring out who we are in our identity and setting the tone in our home court," Dennis said.

MSU set the tone in the third set with the first point and led UGA for the entirety of the set. MSU went point after point in the third set for a final of 25-15, making the series 2-1 in MSU's favor.

Starting the fourth set, both teams kept within two points of each other, and UGA saw their opportunity for a comeback with a score of 12-13 at the halfway point. Coach Dennis called for a timeout to give the team a

chance to catch their breath.

After the game, coach Dennis spoke to the media about the reasoning and message behind the timeout.

"They needed a chance to remember, 'This is our time to close it out,'" Dennis said. "We did not want to go five sets. We want to close it in four at home so we can focus on our next opponent."

MSU returned from the time out with a fire lit underneath them — going on a 12-3 scoring run before ending their fourth and final set with a 25-15 win over UGA.

MSU's Myrick led the match with 15 kills total, trailed by Shania Cromartie with 13 and Gabby Walden with 11. Deja Robinson led the team with five blocks and Gabby Coulter had 44 assists

Coach Dennis gave her thoughts on the Volleydawgs' performance in the team's SEC opener.

"It was a great opportunity to start SEC play," Dennis said. "I was really proud about our first contact. They were loose, they were confident and they were having fun."

MSU volleyball's record now sits at 8-3 (1-0) after the win against UGA. Mississippi State will face the Auburn University Tigers Wednesday, followed by a home series against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. Game one against the Hogs is set to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in Starkville and game two is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The bounce back: Bulldogs thwart Bowling Green

The Mississippi State University Bulldogs thwarted the Bowling Green Falcons Saturday and managed to get back in the win column with a 45-14 victory.

Will Rogers threw for 406 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions as he and the rest of the Bulldog offense cruised to an easy win. Rogers found 13 different receivers on the day and completed 38-49 passes for a 78% completion rate.

“Well, I think we’re playing together,”

Leach said after the game. “I think that the offense, defense (and) special teams were complimenting each other’s performance.”

That win pushes the Bulldogs’ record to 3-1 on the season after their lackluster defeat last weekend at Louisiana State University. This game offered MSU a chance to right the ship before conference play starts.

Caleb Ducking caught for 96 yards and had two scores himself, which tied him for second in the country as far as receiving touchdowns go. Leach

spoke on Ducking and his improvement after the game.

“I think he’s gotten better and better,” Leach said. “It was kind of a work in progress when he got here, but he’s worked hard and he’s a fast, relatively dynamic guy … when he uses his hands he’s awfully tough to cover … he’s gotten better and better the longer he’s been here.”

MSU only gained 46 yards on the ground in the victory, but that was due in the most part to Rogers putting on a passing clinic, as his six touchdowns tied his own

school record for a single game.

Zach Arnett’s defense made their own presence felt, with Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson leading the way with 10 total tackles.

MSU sacked Bowling Green backup quarterback Camden Orth twice and picked him off once.

Bowling Green lacked their starting quarterback Matt McDonald and head coach Scot Loeffler, which only added to the low chances of the Falcons exiting Davis Wade Stadium with a win.

Late in the game, Bulldog backup signal caller Sawyer Robertson had significant playing time for the first time in his MSU career.

Robertson is the highest-rated quarterback recruit MSU has ever signed, and this has contributed to some lofty expectations.

Robertson did not really have enough time or chances to meet those expectations, tossing 34 passes for completions and racking up 11 yards in the process.

After the loss to LSU, the special teams unit raised eyebrows among

fans as a concern with the team moving forward, but the specialists did their part in erasing those concerns on Saturday.

Kicker Ben Raybon nailed a 53-yard field goal, which tied the program record. Punter George Georgopoulos had himself a day at the office; he racked up 136 punt yards with a 45.3 yd average.

All in all, Mississippi State can consider the bounce back complete. They’ll be 3-1 hosting Texas A&M University at home next week in their second SEC matchup of the season.

tanner marlar managing editor

MSU volleyball sits at No.2 in the Southeastern Conference in digs per set.

Cora Yielding Staff writer

Under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett, the Bulldogs’ defense has forced a turnover in 22 of 28 games.

Landon Scheel | The Reflector

Redshirt senior setter Gabby Coulter was the recipient of the SEC Setter of the Week award after her performance against Georgia. Coulter recorded a career-high five kills on a .883 hitting percentage with no errors in the Volleydawgs’ win against UGA.

Jahari Bell | The Reflector

Jahari Bell | The Reflector