The Student Printz: January 27, 2021

SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 • WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM • JANUARY 27, 2021 | VOLUME 106 | ISSUE 17

HAPA MURALS

PG 3

CAT TWITTER

PG 6

STUDENT ANXIETY PG 7

NEWS

JANUARY 27, 2021

MEET THE STAFF Executive Editor

Brian Winters brian.s.winters@usm.edu

News & Features Editor Mary Murphy mary.s.murphy@usm.edu

Sports Editor

Charlie Luttrell charles.luttrell@usm.edu

Multimedia Editor

Earl Stoudemire earl.stoudemire@usm.edu

Design Editor

Marissa Haas marissa.haas@usm.edu

The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submission must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@ gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.

Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

Courtesy of Moffitt Health Center

WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

NEWS

JANUARY 27, 2021

WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

HAPA calls for local artists to showcase talent

BRIAN WINTERS EXECUTIVE EDITOR he Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Arts (HAPA) is teaming up with the city of Hattiesburg for a new program called the Call for Artists.

Call for Artists is a city-wide collaborative project that invites local artists to paint designs on utility boxes around the city. Artists with experience in public art or painting are invited to submit up to three original artworks for consideration. Artists will receive a stipend for each completed piece, with applications, which must include a concept statement, being accepted through Feb. 5.

The selected designs will be painted in February and will continue to be created throughout summer 2021.

“Hattiesburg is an arts community, and we should always endeavor to provide opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their work and ingenuity,” Mayor Toby Barker, when asked about the project, said. “I appreciate HAPA stepping forward to support this innovative way of turning something mundane, such as a traffic signal box, into a community asset that can also feature the

Photo courtesy of Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art

immense creative talent in our city.”

The first phase of this project was completed in the summer of 2020. It included five boxes painted by local artists such as Vixon Sullivan, Thomas Jackson and Kalamity Kam. Locals and visitors can currently see these boxes at the following locations: - “Keep Your Dream Alive” by Vixon Sullivan, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue & JC Killingsworth Drive - “Graves Brothers” by Thomas Jackson, Hardy Street and South 21st Avenue -“Heroes” by Thomas Jackson, South 28th Avenue & Hillendale Drive -“Let’s Play Ball” by Thomas Jackson,

Hardy Street & Park Avenue -“Unified” by Kalamity Kam, Hardy Street and Broad Street “These utility boxes are great canvases for artists to create something beautiful, encouraging, and thought provoking.

Public art offers a new perspective and evokes wonder for the community,” said Sullivan. “My phase one mural is intended to remind us that we are all capable and move us closer to self-actualization.”

The Hattiesburg Community Arts Center and Southern Miss Alumni Association will assist in presenting this second phase of the utility box series. Some judging criteria for the final selections include artistic merit, creativity, demon-

strated ability, technical knowledge and interpretation of theme.

“We are excited to see the inspiring concepts proposed for this latest public art project in Hattiesburg. The series will certainly add another layer to our growing popularity as an artistic, vibrant community and destination,” Marlo Dorsey, Executive Director of VisitHattiesburg, said.

For more details and instructions, interested artists may visit hattiesburgpublicart.org/call-for-artists. To learn more about HAPA and for a map of existing public art in Hattiesburg, visit HAPA’s Facebook and Instagram pages or hattiesburgpublicart.org.

NEWS

JANUARY 27, 2021

WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

Seymour’s Closet helps students put their best foot forward

Brian Winters | Printz

BRIAN WINTERS EXECUTIVE EDITOR or some students, wearing business clothes to interviews, job fairs or internships is not an option.

Thanks to a new program called Seymour’s Career Closet, though, business clothing will become available for free to students of Southern Miss.

Seymour’s Career Closet is brought to campus by the Graduate Student Senate, Office of Sustainability and The Division of Student Affairs. It will open March 1 on the first floor of Bolton Hall. Before the program is officially opened, a business wear donation drive will be held until Feb. 28.

The idea of Seymour’s Closet came to Arien Faucett, the Graduate Student

Senate Representative for the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition, as she was cleaning out her closet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic shutdown, I decided to clean out my closet and purged my closet of a lot of business attire that I hadn’t worn in a while,” Faucett said.

“I realized that because of the condition [of the clothes], someone else may want to get some use out of it and I decided to reach out to the GSS members to see if anyone would be interested in helping to organize a clothing drive.”

Faucett reached out to Leslee Potvin, the Manager of Sustainable Operations for the Office of Sustainability, and a partnership was formed. Potvin said Seymour’s Closet will be accepting

gently used or new business wear such as suits, blazers, dress shoes, ties, belts and portfolios.

Items for Seymour’s Closet will still be accepted after Feb. 28, but will be handled in a slightly different way.

“Those offering to donate items after the drive may reach out to the Office of Sustainability and we will arrange a date and time to make a drop off at our office,” Potvin said.

Gavin Rustin, the president of the Graduate Student Senate, said he wishes a program like Seymour’s Closet was available when he was an undergraduate student. He said access to business clothes should not be a barrier to getting a job, and hopes that Seymour’s Closet will help anyone who needs it.

Faucett said she thinks it is indicative of the spirit of Southern Miss faculty, staff and community that an initiative to support students was able to be put in motion and supported by numerous offices around campus.

“I honestly hope that Seymour’s Closet will be a resource for undergrad and graduate students who have worked so hard to prepare for the job market,” Faucett said. “Metaphorically, the community is giving the shirt off their hangers to support all of us and that’s amazing.”

More information about Seymour’s Closet can be found at https://www. usm.edu/sustainability/, including the locations of drop off bins for business clothes.

ENTERTAINMENT

JANUARY 27, 2021

WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

‘WandaVision’ is an exciting take on a beloved genre MORGAN LAWRENCE PRINTZ REPORTER he new Disney+ original series ‘WandaVision,’ which premiered on Jan. 15 of this year, offers Marvel fans a new take on superheroes.

With only three episodes out to date, things keep getting weirder, leaving many fans wondering, “What is happening to Wanda and Vision?”

Wanda and Vision, once again played by ‘Avenger’ actors Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, live in the quaint town of Westview. However, they don’t exactly know why they are there. Vision works a nice desk job, but what does he actually do all day? Wanda tends to her wifely duties, but why?

Most importantly, why are they trapped in a sitcom?

The first two episodes are essentially a love letter to the black-and-white sitcoms of the 50s and 60s, like ‘I Love Lucy’. Everything from the dialogue to the neighbors invokes and pays homage to classic tropes from that era. There are even commercial breaks advertising old Stark Industry products. Of course, this comes with a superhero twist -Wanda and Vision still have to hide

their powers, after all.

The underlying mystery of ‘WandaVision’ is hinged around when it takes place. During the events of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, Vision seemed to die at the hands of Thanos and his henchmen. Yet in an interview with TV Line, actress Teyonah Parris mentioned that ‘WandaVison’ takes place after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ If the Marvel Cinematic Universe is kept in place, this should mean that Vision is dead and gone. So what changed?

It could be tied into Wanda’s powers and Parris’ character, the delightful Geraldine. From what we know so far, Geraldine is an older Monica Rambeau from ‘Captain Marvel.’ You know, the little girl that called Captain Marvel “Auntie Carol”? But did little Monica travel to this weird sitcom on S.H.I.E.L.D. business? Or was she trapped in this weird universe as well?

All this adds to the seemingly unending questions.

Episode three only further adds onto the mystery and changes up the status quo. Over the course of the show, the townspeople refuse to answer tricky questions, and seem visibly disturbed if Wanda or Vision say something out of place. This glitching becomes much

Illustration by Marissa Haas | Printz

more drastic in episode three, when Geraldine is violently thrown out of the sitcom after mentioning a past detail from Wanda’s life.

The show itself also changes radically. The show is now in color, falling more in step with 70s sitcoms. But, perhaps weirdest of all, Wanda is… pregnant?

Out of nowhere, Wanda spends 12 hours pregnant and gives birth to two handsome little boys. These children, Billy and Tommy, are actually a part of

Cat Twitter offers a new Twitter experience BRIAN WINTERS EXECUTIVE EDITOR hen someone thinks about Twitter, they probably think about humans updating the world about their lives.

Twitter is normally used to get updates about politics, entertainment or from friends about things going on.

But what if cats were given a Twitter account?

Twitter accounts ‘owned’ by cats have started to appear, getting hundreds of thousands of followers. Some notable cats on Twitter include Blueberry (@brrbrrblueberry), Elton (@ orangeofaman) and Benny (@benny_ the_kitty), but there are many others.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find them, either, as all of these cat accounts usually associate with each other.

As expected, the tweets from these cats involve moments from their lives.

They usually post a lot of pictures doing everyday things, like watching animals outside or interacting with other cats. Text posts are a little more infrequent, but not uncommon. The style of how each cat speaks changes from account to account, with some using proper English and others only being able to say their name. Most are written in a cute form of broken

English.

“I GORT THISD .FOR US,” Elton said, referencing a leaf he found outside.

These cats even have a type of community, with the cat’s Twitter followers creating artwork or jokes about the cat. Elton tweets whenever he loses his toy rat, and all of the replies give him support and wish him the best. There is even an account (@isjeremylost) to update if Elton’s rat is lost or found.

Along with these accounts inspired by the cats and their posts, there is a bot called kitty captions bot (@BotPeepee) that takes a cat’s post and turns it into a caption. “[ETERNALLY] it is day nomber 1649 , im still not been bort peepeed,” one caption reads, referencing this tweet from Joey (@joeyfreckle).

The cats are also fairly good about timely replies, which fans love. For some reason, it feels better to get attention from a cat than from a celebrity.

Including a few cats in the timeline is a good way to add some joy to the scrolling of Twitter. Instead of constant doomscrolling, seeing a cat acting goofy helps the mind. There is nothing quite like following a cat’s daily routine and seeing the world somewhat through their eyes. Plus, there’s always the chance to make a new furry friend.

Illustration by Erin Collins | Printz

the original comics. Longtime comic fans hope they end up faring better in ‘WandaVision’, but no one’s sure what’s to come at this point.

This new genre for the MCU is different and all excitable at the same time. And, with any hope, we’ll get to see an epic fight scene soon enough.

Even if we don’t, ‘WandaVision’ excels at keeping the audience’s attention, and everyone is talking about what will happen next to Wanda, Vision and the rest.

OPINION JANUARY 27, 2021 WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM Here’s why I’m not excited for this semester: Thoughts from an anxious college student

Illustration by Marissa Haas | Printz

CARTER LISHEN PRINTZ REPORTER eginnings are difficult for me.

The first day of classes has poisoned me with anxiety. It’s the beginning of the new semester, and I’ve been dreading it...well, since the beginning of last semester’s end.

In efforts to mitigate COVID-19 spread by condensing the semester, Southern Miss announced over winter holidays that its typical breaks were going removed from the calendar, which now comes to a close at the end of April. In doing so, the university has cursed me – along with many other students – to endure a semester-long anxiety attack.

Sure, the university is giving students three Fridays off from class this semester to make up for that fact, but the majority of students at Southern Miss don’t even have Friday classes. These new “holidays” make about as much sense as a doctor prescribing sleeping medicine to a patient with narcolepsy. We’re just being given something a large portion of students already have.

Now, I’m a pretty anxious person by nature, but this winter break ate me alive. I panicked about the upcoming semester while balancing work and an intersession class.

Kicking things off a little earlier than usual limited the scant amount of time I did have to mentally and physically prepare for this semester. I couldn’t see past my Canvas todo list, and before I knew it, intercession had ended. The new semester was here.

Don’t get me wrong. I love learning. I came to college because I’m passionate about expanding my horizons and challenging myself. However, last semester was almost too challenging.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large part of my education has been

facilitated virtually. The Fall 2020 semester introduced a slop of new anxieties centered around this unfamiliar, strange way of socially distanced life and learning. This semester looks to be more of the same, only worse.

That makes me very, very anxious, for more reasons than I can even imagine. If the stress I bore last semester is going to persist, I wonder if quality of life during college will ever improve. What am I getting from this bi-yearly punching bag of mixed emotions?

Last semester did teach me a lot about how I prefer to learn and how I like to go about my life while learning. Most importantly – and most unfortunately – I learned online classes are not for me.

I know a lot of people went through the exact thing I did with online learning last semester. Learning in-person allows me to eliminate the seemingly endless distractions that plague me when I attempt any work from home. It’s frustrating when you have to shoo your cat off your notebook every five minutes during a Zoom lecture filled with an anonymous body of students with their cameras off and mics muted. At least they can’t hear me yell at my cat.

I can’t recall ever truly connecting with any Zoom classmates in the ways I would if we were face-to-face. Zoom simply isn’t conducive to facilitating a lively classroom-style discussion among strangers, not when I have to constantly mute and un-mute myself. It’s even harder to make friends via Zoom, since you can’t exactly lean over to whisper something in your neighbor’s ear.

Even the few in-person classes I had were off. Though we were physically together, I felt miles apart. We were all just bodies in rooms at a fraction of their normal capacity.

It was as if my classmates and I couldn’t remember how to connect with one another after a summer in isolation.

To put it plainly, the vibes were just off all semester.

The social distancing didn’t help. The masks we wore to protect ourselves from the virus only added to this sense of alienation I felt in the classroom. I just couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room that uncomfortably pulled my ears forward and left red marks on the bridge of my nose.

At the start of remote learning, it was hard for me to justify what exactly I was doing. I felt guilty for continuing business as usual when thousands of people were, and still are, dying every day from a virus which won’t spread if I stay home. But, because I’m bound by four-year scholarships at a university that cannot afford to close down indefinitely, I’m left with a decision that has already been made for me: continue going to class – for free – during a deadly pandemic, or drown in student debt for the rest of my life because I’d lose my scholarships if I disenroll.

Thus, I endured a whirlwind of a semester. Each week of Fall 2020 felt like the latest revolution of a never-ending carousel.

Or, better yet, it felt like I was perpetually trapped on the teacup ride at Disney World, and I was about to hurl.

I trudged through Canvas Modules without really digesting what I was supposed to be learning. Online assignments, many of which only unlocked the day they were due, continuously slipped my mind.

I remember thinking over and over again, “This isn’t how my education was supposed to be.” But there wasn’t a lot that could be done to fix things, save vaccinating as many people as possible to return to some sense of normalcy.

I knew that was pretty far off, so, hopeless and restless, I sat through too many Zoom calls directed toward empty boxes on my computer screen. Add that onto daily Microsoft Team rehearsals for a virtual theater performance, an on-campus job and several extracurriculars, I was up to my eyes in anxiety.

It didn’t help that I could count on one hand the hours of sleep I’d gotten almost every night. Rehearsals would always end at 10:30, leaving me seven hours before I had to get up and do the whole thing over again.

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Well, no other anecdote had ever resonated with me like that one had last semester. I had overloaded myself at the worst possible time. My brain melted after each Zoom call.

I was burned out before I could even buy my textbooks, and I had forgotten how to relax.

Pandemic or not, each new semester brings new anxieties from familiar problems.

My whole world blasts into hyperspace in one day. The rest and relaxation in which I indulge during breaks evaporates, and I’m left with a rigid, never-ending to-do list. My life recenters around USM.instructure.com, and I can’t log off for months.

I have a horrible feeling these issues, along with the onslaught of new pandemic-related problems, will persist into this semester, if not intensify. This one will prove to be a new beast entirely, too, as students must take on the stress and confusion of another semester in isolation without any days off.

If I want to survive, I’m going to have to rethink the habits that fill my days and the attitudes I lug around. We, as students, must take this all in stride and rely on one another, working harder than we ever have to succeed.

This time, I want to side-step my usual exhausted and resentful attitude that pops up whenever I feel semester burnout. Anxious as I am, I know it’s time to buckle down. My reluctance and trepidation will surrender to dedication and perfectionism as I attempt to steer this beginning to smoother waters.

Here’s to more of the same, but here’s hoping it will also be a little bit better. Best of luck this semester, Golden Eagles. Stay strong and stay healthy.

SPORTS

JANUARY 27, 2021

WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM

Southern Miss catches rhythm in conference play, sweeps UTSA CHARLIE LUTTRELL SPORTS EDITOR

fter losing five consecutive games at the beginning of its conference schedule, Southern Miss (5-5, 3-5 Conference USA) returned home from a victory at Middle Tennessee to sweep UTSA. While Southern Miss has had its share of injuries and issues with COVID-19, Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis says the team has been able to get into a rhythm with the majority of its players now available at practice.

“We have definitely improved. Right now, it’s [about] building confidence, it’s building us as a team,” Lee-McNelis said. “Our staff is very proud of them because they have really worked hard. We were in days with eight or six players. I think that says a lot about them as young people that when it’s tough, you’ve got to continue to fight and press on and take those days as opportunities to learn so that when you get to now. [...It] gives us an opportunity to have some flow and to continue to get better.”

In the first game against UTSA, Southern Miss’s dominant first quarter performance proved to be too much to overcome. Southern Miss held UTSA to just four points on two of 21 goal attempts in the first quarter to enjoy an early 27-4 lead.

“I think that was our best quarter of basketball that we’ve played thus far[,] and I think a lot of players played a factor into that,” Lee-McNelis said. “I do believe that a lot of our play came off of the long rebounds where they attempted shots and then[,] where our defense really created tough opportunities for them, we were able to get things on the run.”

While the Roadrunners found its rhythm on offense and outscored the Lady Eagles in the second quarter, Southern Miss still ended the half with its largest halftime lead of the season at 44-27.

Charlie Luttrell | Printz Guard Brikayla Gray and center Kelsey Jones led Southern Miss in the second half, combining for 24 points on an efficient 11 of 15 shots. Jones finished with a season-high of 21 points and recorded six rebounds while Gray contributed 17 points and three rebounds off of the bench.

“My mentality was to get somebody open or take it myself and get myself open,” Gray said. “Coach always tells me ‘attack’[,] so that was my main focus going into the second half.”

Other Lady Eagles had career nights too, as

freshman guard Kahia Warmsley recorded all 11 of her points in the first half. Guard Destiny Smith also had a good night and notched a career-high of 11 rebounds. As a team, the Lady Eagles had its best game shooting since its 2015-2016 season with a 64% accuracy rate.

Keeping in mind its success from the first game, Southern Miss started its second matchup against UTSA by smothering the Roadrunners. The Lady Eagles forced eight turnovers and limited UTSA to an 18% shooting accuracy in the first quarter.

“Last night, we were able to create and convert from those turnovers. Tonight, we forced some turnovers and forced some shots, but we did not convert,” Lee-McNelis said after the second game.

“We made poor decisions [...] we just did not do a very good job of executing from those turnovers.”

While UTSA gained its rhythm in the second quarter, Warmsley’s 11 first half points boosted the Lady Eagles to a 33-27 lead at halftime.

Gray once again proved valuable, scoring 10 of the Lady Eagles’ 17 points in the third quarter. She finished the game with 14 points and four rebounds.

“They finally made some switching action where we were able to run a couple of the sets we ran in last night’s game,” Lee-McNelis said. “We ran a couple of those sets particularly for Brikayla to get her the ball and again, I thought our team did a great job.”

The Roadrunners shook off its early shooting woes and followed closely behind, but Warmsley, Jones and Smith combined for 22 points in the fourth quarter, pushing the Lady Eagles to a 73-66 victory.

“In the second half, Kahia Warmsley, Brikayla Gray, and then Kelsey [Jones] in the fourth quarter, really took control of things,” Lee-McNelis said.

“Kahia stepped up huge for us and made some big threes behind the ball screen. You can see her as a freshman continue to soar and continue to get better and better.”

Warmsley finished the set against USTA with a new career-high of 25 points, which is also the highest point total of any player on Southern Miss this season.

“It feels good and it’s a kind of relief on myself that hard work and long nights in the gym are paying off. It’s a confidence booster,” Warmsley said.

The Lady Eagles now sit on a three-game winning streak, but face a short weekend ahead. The Lady Eagles will travel to play Louisiana Tech next week on Thursday and Saturday.

Southern Miss Volleyball kicks off 2021 schedule after long hiatus CHARLIE LUTTRELL SPORTS EDITOR

fter playing just two games last fall, Southern Miss’s volleyball team launched its 2021 season in the Wellness Center with matches against Tulane and the University of New Orleans.

This weekend marked the end of a nearly five-month wait for the Golden Eagles. While volleyball is typically played entirely in the fall, Conference USA’s postponement left Southern Miss with extra time that the team utilized to train.

“We’re really lucky, so we’re grateful for our athletic training staff and our administration on how hard they worked to allow us opportunities to train while still being safe,” Head Coach Stephanie Radecki said. “Safety and health is the main priority, but we did get to do a lot of training which we wouldn’t normally get to do. We generally play so fast in the fall, so it was a really good time for our team having new players.”

After being able to play two games last year against Louisiana Tech, Radecki described the feeling of being able to play again with a complete schedule ahead.

“It was really fun to play and obviously to play at home in this new facility,” Radecki said. “We got a taste of it in the fall. It’s nice to compete again, it’s nice that there’s so many volleyball matches going on today because it’s

Sean Smith | Printz

been so long to happen, so it was great.”

Southern Miss began the weekend by losing its first game against Tulane in three sets. While the Golden Eagles did not claim a single set, the first two sets were only separated by a combined seven points. There were four lead changes in the first set and five in the second set, while Southern Miss only led once in the final set.

With 14 returning starters from a squad that led the American Athletic Conference in opponent hitting percentage in 2019, the Green Wave continued its defensive success by holding the Golden Eagles to a .067% successful hitting percentage.

Kinsley Hanback led the Golden Eagles with nine kills. Kenzie Smith, meanwhile, led both teams with 20 assists overall.

Though its games against Tulane were disappointing, Southern Miss made a turnaround and swept UNO. The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early six-point lead in its first set, but the Privateers started to inch forward. However, Southern Miss finished out strong and won 25-19 thanks to a service ace from Duquesne Moratzka.

While the Golden Eagles did not trail once in its opening set, the team found itself in a deficit early into the second set. The Golden Eagles rallied together, though, Liana Guillemaud closed out the set with two kills on the last plays.

The third set was similarly contested throughout the beginning, but Southern Miss pushed forward with an unanswered attack that shot up the team 18-10. Lauren Talbert served six straight times for the Golden Eagles, the most of any player on the team during the weekend. Southern Miss rode its lead and Talbert ended the game with a kill.

Moratzka, Hanback and Guillemaudi each finished with double digits in kills. Senior Piper Matsumoto also recorded a double-double with 24 assists and a team-high of 13 digs. Overall, Southern Miss improved from its first game of the weekend to a .319% hitting percentage against the Privateers.

Southern Miss will stay home as it prepares to face its last non-conference opponents of the season next week. The Golden Eagles will play Nicholls State on Thursday and Southeastern Louisiana on Friday.