The
S TUDENT P RINTZ
November 29, 2012
www.studentprintz.com
SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927
Volume 97 Issue 26
ON CAMPUS
Two students arrested after fight on campus Golden Eagle QB jailed for aggravated assault Mary Margaret Halford Executive Editor
Tyler Hill
Mary Alice Truitt/Printz
Freshman quarterback Anthony Alford, who started five games for the Golden Eagles this season, was arrested for aggravated assault Wednesday after a fight on campus. Another student, junior Korey Hathorn, was charged with felony possession of a weapon on campus.
News Editor Two students at the University of Southern Mississippi, one being a quarterback for the Golden Eagle football team, were arrested Wednesday afternoon following an on-campus fight that involved two guns, according to the University Police Department. Freshman Anthony Alford was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, and junior Korey Hathorn was charged with felony possession of a weapon on campus by a student. Both were being held in the Forrest County Jail without bond Wednesday night. University Police Chief Bob Hopkins said that the fight, which took place in front of the Walker Science Building, was reported
around 11 a.m. Wednesday and involved four people. Hopkins would not release the names of two other suspects Wednesday who had not yet been arrested. No one was injured in the fight. “As calls continued to come in, it developed into an issue where an individual apparently drew a weapon and made some threats,” Hopkins said. “It [the altercation] seems to be a simmering problem that’s been going on for a few weeks.” Hopkins said that as police worked the scene and interviewed witnesses, one officer spotted a “possible suspect” remove a gun from his vehicle, put it in his pants and start walking away. He said officers called for backup and arrested Hathorn near the former printing center and Johnson Science Tower.
See FIGHT, 3
FOOTBALL
Southern Miss fires Johnson as head coach Search for new coach to begin immediately
Following the worst Southern Miss football season since 1925, Athletic Director Jeff Hammond and Interim University President Aubrey Lucas have decided to part ways with the head football coach, and Ellis Johnson was fired Tuesday morning. “Following a thorough assessment of our football program, I made the recommendation to our University President that
we not retain Ellis Johnson as our head football coach,” Hammond said in a press release. “At Southern Miss, we expect to compete hard and succeed both in the classroom and on the field. This is not the exception…This is in fact the standard, the norm, our identity and who we are.” Lucas said the serious discussions about firing Johnson did not begin until the season officially ended Saturday. “As long as a team is in seasonal play, as a president I will
stand by those coaches and that team,” Lucas said. “It seems to me that it’s just terrible for a president to not support the university’s team, and if I had been talking about getting rid of the coach, that would have been nonsupport.” However, Lucas said he was concerned during the season. “I said publicly that we were disappointed, but after Saturday is when we started evaluating the program from the standpoint of coaching and whether or not we needed to
make a change.” Southern Miss completed a winless season that ended with the Memphis Tigers snapping a three-game losing streak to the Eagles before leaving Conference USA for the Big East. This season, the Eagles’ losses included four to teams that did not qualify for a bowl game by a combined score of 162-100. Hammond was not available for comment Wednesday, and a person answering phones in
SONGFEST
GIRL MEETS WORLD
BASKETBALL
WEATHER
Ben Welch Printz Writer
See JOHNSON, 3
Thursday
67/38 Friday
73/45 Saturday
Page 4
Page 5
Page 7
73/48
Kelly Price/Printz
INDEX
Calendar ........................ 2 News .............................. 3 Arts & Entertainment......5 Opinion............................ 6 Sports...............................7