SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 • WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM • OCTOBER 3, 2018 | VOLUME 103 | ISSUE 06
NEWS•NO KILL SHELTER AT RISK SPORTS•AUBURN GAME ANALYSIS Devon Dollar | Printz
Makayla Puckett | Printz
First no kill shelter in Mississippi at risk of shutting down.
Grant Chighizola breaks down Southern Miss’ loss to Auburn.
PG 5
PG 12 Hannah Beaver | Printz
•J.K. Rowling •Bill Cosby •Kavanaugh •Kanye Female students report verbal harassment in parking garage WILL VEAZEY
PRINTZ REPORTER
Southern Miss 2017 Homecoming Parade.
SGA proposes Homecoming rules LANIE LEACH
PRINTZ REPORTER This year’s homecoming football game will fall on Saturday, Oct. 20. Every year, Southern Miss’ SGA facilitates a week filled with homecoming festivities leading up to the football game that Saturday. The week’s festivities include competitions among oncampus teams that are made up by Greek Life, Lucky Day, Honors College and many other groups on campus. This year, SGA has proposed amending some of the homecoming week rules. The proposed changes to Southern Miss’ homecoming week include having a less involved social media portion of the competition and exchanging the “pomped” standing lawn displays for banners that would hang in the Eagle Walk on the day of the homecoming game. Each team would also have a financial budget, the winning team would be the special entertainment for the following year and the
Karaoke Night portion of the competition will be replaced by SMAC’s Talent Show. Senior communications major and SGA President McKenna Stone explained the reasons for the new competition changes. “Last year following homecoming, we received a lot of feedback from students who participated in homecoming, especially within Greek Life, that they were not satisfied with the competition aspect,” Stone said. “They felt as if they were spending a lot of time, too much time in fact, on this competition when they needed to prioritize school work, mental health, sleep, emotional stability and etcetera. They felt like they were spending so much time on this competition aspect that they were no longer having fun. And that is what homecoming really is about—having fun, bringing the community together, having school spirit and connecting students with alumni.” Stone continued to explain that the goals of the proposed changes were to make the competition more equal. The SGA also wanted
to ensure that homecoming would not be as time consuming as it has been in past years. “I think SGA is doing a great job of listening to the needs of the student body and their homecoming needs,” senior psychology major Peyton Czerwonka said. “They aren’t making a big deal of it to the majority of the student body as a whole, though. However, I think that more people should be involved with the changes that will be changed.” SGA will also hold optional events throughout homecoming week, such as having inflatable bounce houses one day for students to play on throughout the day and a party one night at the fountain in Shoemaker Square. Given that the College PanHellenic Council makes up the largest portion of homecoming competitors, the SGA is allowing each team to cast their vote on the aforementioned proposals, excluding the first and last. The decisions will be announced on an unknown future date.
tudents have been reporting being catcalled in and around the parking garage. The individuals who have been interviewed for this piece have requested to remain anonymous. The respondents who reported incidents occurring in or around the parking garage will be denoted by letters, such as Individual A, Individual B, etc. “My roommate and her friends. They were walking through the parking garage, and a group of boys came up to them and told them, ‘You can either suck my [expletive] or give me your Snapchat,’” Individual A said. Out of fear, she gave him her Snapchat. Individual B also said she was being verbally harassed one night in the parking garage at around 11 p.m. “I was approached in the parking garage by someone, and he said some very unkind things.” Individual B said. She went on to add that the university is not responsible for the conduct of young adults on campus. “It does not make me feel any differently about our school. It just makes me scared to go out by myself,” Individual B said. The final incident that has been obtained was an individual being catcalled on her way into the parking garage, an incident that she defined as “creepy.” “I was walking from the Century Park South and into the parking garage. I wasn’t alone but my friends were kind of trailing behind me,” Individual C said. “A group of men were looking in my direction. I thought they were talking to my friends behind me. I soon realized they were pointing me out. One said, ‘Yo momma come here.’ Me not paying attention to them I kept walking, but it continued. The guy got irritated that I wasn’t flattered by it and preceded to say, ‘At least you can acknowledge me.’ I started to laugh because he sounded so dumb. But it occurred to me that what he was doing was unwanted on my behalf because it had continued after his first encounter,” Individual C said. Individual C said she did not report the incident because the man did not follow her or make her feel unsafe. “There have not been any other instances with me around campus, the only places I really see it happening is right outside the parking garage and in the parking garage,” Individual C said.
CONTINUED | PG 3