SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 • WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM • SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 | VOLUME 107 | ISSUE 2
LORDE
VACCINE MANDATES PG 3
PG 7
SOCCER
PG 8
Hattiesburg feels impacts of Hurricane Ida
CHARLIE LUTTRELL AND MARY MURPHY SM2 NEWS DIRECTOR AND PRINTZ EXECUTIVE EDITOR hough the worst of Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana last Sunday, Mississippi residents are still recovering from the strong winds and rampant flooding over the weekend. Ida made landfall as a Category Four hurricane on Aug. 29, 16 years to the day that Katrina made landfall, with the National Weather Service recording its top winds reaching 150 miles per hour. Though it weakened into a tropical storm once it crossed the state border, with top winds only hitting 45 to 50 mph, Ida still wreaked havoc throughout Mississippi. University of Southern Mississippi Geography and geology professor Thomas Patterson said that the Pine Belt region avoided the devastation that Louisiana experienced, but Ida’s impact in Mississippi is yet to be discovered. “Most effects arise days to weeks after the system has passed,” Patterson explained in an email to The Student Printz. “These can include displaced families, loss of water and power, disruption of schools, etc.” There are numerous reports of downed power lines and trees due to high winds across the state, with several businesses and homes damaged in the process. Flooding also proved a problem for many, with the City of Hattiesburg alone reporting blocked roadways along streets like Hardy, O’Ferral
and Hwy 49. Thousands of residents have also fallen victim to citywide blackouts, especially in places like Brookhaven, Natchez and McComb. Entergy, one of the state’s top power providers, is, as of writing, still trying to restore power to over 19 thousand customers in Mississippi alone. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida, many Southern Miss students are struggling to put things back together, especially those from Louisiana. Senior broadcast major Rachel Hernandez stayed in Hattiesburg for Ida while her family stayed back in Louisiana. “My mom stayed in Metairie and they don’t have power or water. It’s probably going to be a while before they get it [back],” Hernandez said. While Hernandez was able to contact her family in Metairie after the storm, her family was unable to contact her father, who was in LaPlace, Louisiana as a volunteer police officer for St. John the Baptist Parish. While Hernandez’s father contacted her and is safe, she said it is hard to focus on school with her family still recovering from the storm. There are a lot of uncertainties now that the worst of Ida has passed Louisiana and Mississippi. As the newly weakened tropical storm crawls up the east coast, worries of increased death tolls and horrific property damage are as present as ever. Some are worried that Ida may turn into a COVID-19
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super-spreader, as grocery stores and evacuation shelters alike were packed by potentially unvaccinated residents. There are also a lot of concerns over which towns will be deemed “eligible” for federal aid, especially from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Hernandez expressed her concern that smaller towns won’t receive the same amount of FEMA relief that larger cities will. “In the aftermath, people from out of the state are going to be focused on New Orleans,” Hernandez said. “Yes, New Orleans got some damage but not nearly as bad as all the lesser-known towns surrounding it. I’m concerned that they are not going to get the help and aid that they need in the aftermath.” Patterson emphasized that the Atlantic hurricane season lasts until November and encourages people to stay updated with local weather stations and information from the National Hurricane Center. To keep up with Southern Miss’s response to natural disasters, make sure to keep your contact information up-to-date on Eagle Alert, the campus’s emergency notification system. To sign up for Eagle Alert, or to update your contact info on it, visit https://www.usm.edu/police/eagle-alert-enrollment-login and follow the instructions to access your account.
NEWS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
MEET THE STAFF SM2 News Director
Charlie Luttrell charles.luttrell@usm.edu
Executive Editor
Mary Murphy mary.s.murphy@usm.edu
Sports Director
Austin Lindsey austin.lindsey@usm.edu
Entertainment/Features Editor Loren Jones loren.jones@usm.edu
Printz Reporters
A’ Darius McCormick adariusmccormick@usm.edu Morgan Lawrence morgan.m.lawrence@usm.edu
Design Editor
Marissa Haas marissa.haas@usm.edu
Photographers
Scarlett Gully scarlett.gully@usm.edu Mariah Reed mariah.reed@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
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NEWS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM IHL says Southern Miss does not need to mandate vaccines
MARY MURPHY EXECUTIVE EDITOR
n Aug. 27, the Board of Trustees for Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) voted against mandating the COVID-19 vaccine on college campuses. Dr. J. Walt Starr, the president of the IHL’s Board of Trustees, helped announced the decision via a press release last Friday. “The vaccine is clearly the best protection against COVID-19 infections, transmissions, and has been medically reviewed and approved by our country’s leading scientific experts,” said Starr. “However, the Board does not deem it prudent to require it as a condition of employment or enrollment, except at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and other clinical settings.” The announcement came a little after the Pfizer vaccine got full approval from the FDA, which is expected to cause a
sharp uptick in vaccinations across the country. But said approval has added fuel to a long running debate across the country on whether or not the Biden administration should mandate the COVID vaccine. This debate has gotten particularly heated around the topic of schools and, even more specifically, in elementary schools. No one under the age of 12 is allowed to be vaccinated, and a growing number of children have been hospitalized for COVID-related symptoms. Though younger children are unable to receive the vaccine, more and more cities have begun mandating vaccines for the adults teaching them. Officials in New York City, one of the hardest hit cities during the initial COVID-19 surge, have mandated that all teachers and staff members in public schools must be fully vaccinated to be able to go to work. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone is safe,”
Mayor Bill de Blasio explained in a virtual news briefing. Various universities around the country have also begun mandating vaccines on campus, with severe consequences – including disenrollment – for those who do not comply. “I don’t see the online alternative as something that’s going to be offered in most cases for somebody who makes a choice to not be vaccinated,” said Peter McDonough, the Vice President of the American Council on Education, to USA Today. “If a person chooses to not meet a requirement they will, in all likelihood, have the same outcome of any other enrollment requirement that’s not being met, and not be invited to campus.” Though the IHL decided against this same statewide mandate, it is still in full support of the vaccine. In the same press release from before, the IHL praised the efforts of universities across the state to get their students, faculty
and staff fully vaccinated. The University of Southern Mississippi, for its part, has set up a long-running vaccine incentive program, promising a variety of prizes to fully vaccinated students. University President Rodney Bennett sent a schoolwide email to explain how Southern Miss will react to the news going forward. “We are all continuing to work closely with state health officials, the IHL system office, and other universities in our state to determine the best path forward, together,” said Bennett. “We are grateful for your continued partnership in achieving our goals, and we ask each of you to continue to Do Your Part.” Anyone still looking to get vaccinated can look for and schedule an appointment through www.vaccines. gov, or can call the on-campus Moffitt Health Center at 601-266-5390.
NEWS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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National Pan-Hellenic Council hosts Southern Miss Welcome Week A’DARUIS MCCORMICK PRINTZ REPORTER he Southern Miss National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) just finished hosting a week of events from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29. It welcomed students back to the campus, leading up to the main informational session for interested students. However, because of the pandemic at large, this welcome week looks different from past years. The NPHC followed Southern Miss’s reinstated mask mandate, which was set by the Mississippi State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for College and University Settings. Each event was held in a larger area, such as in the Fresh Food Company, or outdoors around campus. The NPHC hosts and all attendees wore masks for each
event, but the masks did not stop a great turn out throughout the week. DeMari Blakely, a member of the Lambda Theta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, thought the events were important for students that attended. “Every organization of the Divine 9 [NPHC] is coming together and actually collaborating [so] the rest of the students [do] not feel so nervous talking to us,” said Blakely. All the chapters within Divine 9 participated last week, welcoming a variety of students to their organizations. Some of the events involved included small festivals, ice cream, showcases, profit shares and much more. Anyone could attend the events, and each event was free of cost. All the events led up to the informational on Sunday evening. The informational was for the students that were interested in joining one of the fraternities or
sororities. The events acted as an overall positive opportunity for students to interact with the NPHC. The mask mandate just made this important week for fraternity and sorority life more safe. MarQuan Lewis, a member of the Epsilon Psi Chapter of Iota Phi Beta, believed the events helped with morale of attendees while teaching the importance of the NPHC at the same time. “In order to inform, you got to entertain,” Lewis said. “You’ve got to show them a little something, a little razzle dazzle.” Lewis felt the events and the informational were important for the interested students because the welcome week displayed more than just fun. He also felt that they were “showing young fellas that you can make a change in your community” by expanding on the volunteer opportunities through frater-
nities and sororities. Southern Miss’s NPHC stuck with their usual annual plans for the welcome week and the informational, as various events throughout the week explained Greek Life on campus. Fraternity and sorority members alike believed the welcome week was the best decision for the NPHC. The students built a relationship with members of each fraternity and sorority, which was the goal for the welcome week. Students cannot join any of the Divine 9 organizations this semester if they did not attend the informational. The informational acted as a ticket for students to join the Divine 9, but the selection process varies for each fraternity and sorority. For more information about the fraternities and sororities on campus, please visit the Office of Fraternity and Sorority’s website at www.usm.edu/fraternity-sorority-life.
NEWS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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Students excited for, relieved over campus-wide reinstated mask mandate A’DARIUS MCCORMICK PRINTZ REPORTER
outhern Miss announced that it would reinstate its indoor mask mandate mere days before the fall semester started. Said announcment came much to the delight of students as they returned to classes. Southern Miss followed the lead of the Mississippi State Department of Health (MDSH) in reinstating the policy. The MDSH released the official MSDH COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for College and University Settings, which updated the school’s COVID-19 protocols on Aug. 6. These guidelines aligned with other public areas, such as restaurants and department stores. According to the reinstated mandate, face coverings will be worn indoors
by students, faculty, staff and visitors, regardless of a person’s vaccination status. If a person is exposed to COVID-19, the person should be tested within three to five days after the exposure. If the person is not fully vaccinated, the person should quarantine for at least 10 days. Fully vaccinated people should get tested, but they do not have to quarantine. The newer mask mandate, along with these other precautions, has caused controversy around the country, with many mixed on the precaution. Although many Americans do not agree with the decision, many college students felt, and still feel, that the mask mandate is necessary. This is the case for Southern Miss students, too, as many appreciated the changes made for their safety. For many students, they
felt more safe in an environment that requires masks or pushes for vaccinations than one that did not. They understand that this semester will look different from the past semesters, and are willing to adapt accordingly. In fact, students seemed excited and relieved to hear the new protocols set in place for the new semester. Sophomore Erin Collins believed the environment on campus will be safer with the mask mandate. “USM is taking precautions to keep everybody safe,” said Collins. “I’m really happy about it.” Collins also emphasized the importance of masks for the upcoming year, especially now that the COVID-19 Delta variant is making the rounds. “If you look at the cases, you’ll see that cases are skyrocketing as if they did in January,” Collins said. “Cases are even higher than at the first surge, so I think they [masks] are very necessary.” Transfer student Gustavo Ramirez-Cordoba also felt
enthusiastic about the reinstated mask mandate. “I thought it was a good thing because it made me more optimistic about being able to participate in events this year,” said Ramirez-Cordoba. One of the major complaints about the reinstated mandate is that it will remove some of the wonder of the “college experience”. However, Ramirez-Cordoba, as a rising junior, feels that his college experience is not in trouble because people have to wear masks again. “I don’t think there would be much of a difference,” Ramirez-Cordoba said. “It’s a necessity to me, considering there is this new Delta Variant, and overall, it’s just safe.” In addition to the mask mandate, campus events should be scheduled in large or outdoor areas, and Southern Miss will reevaluate each of the protocols if instructed to by the MDSH Public Health Guidance for College and University Settings.
PHOTO GALLERY
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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Women’s volleyball dominates Southern Miss Classic MARIAH REED AND CHARLIE LUTTRELL PHOTOGRAPHERS
ENTERTAINMENT
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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Lorde taps into nostalgic feeling of change with brand new album ‘Solar Power’ MORGAN LAWRENCE PRINTZ REPORTER fter a four year hiatus between albums, New Zealand alternative pop singer/songwriter Lorde returns to the spotlight with her third studio album ‘Solar Power’. Lorde first hit stardom with her 2013 single “Royals” when she was 16 years old, becoming the youngest female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 26 years. Now Lorde, at age 24, has released ‘Solar Power’ to the public on Aug. 20 of this year. She was assisted in production by American musician Jack Antonoff, who also aided in her previous album ‘Melodrama’. Upon first picking up/streaming the album, perhaps the most notable feature would be the vulgar album cover. The cover, showing Lorde wearing only a yellow long sleeve shirt, angles the camera from the ground up, showing off Lorde’s naked bottom half as she walks along the beach. Whenever the album needs to be shown on a family television show, like on her recent performance on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’, a solar flare will be placed over her exposed bottom. The blunt cover, as well as viewer’s reactions to it, speak volumes about feminism. However, it mostly serves as a statement about how
Photos courtesy of Good Morning America
she is a grown woman now, with the freedom to do what she wants with her music and her body. Age is a pretty consistent theme throughout the album, especially considering how she and many of her once young fans have changed over the years. In “Stoned at the Nail Salon”, for example, she sings about how “all the music you loved at sixteen, you’ll grow out of / and all the times they will change, it’ll all come around”. And again, in the track “Mood Ring”, she asks, “Don’t you think the early 2000s seem so far away?”
But this change is not treated as a bad thing. ‘Solar Power’s’ focus on summer delights in the nostalgia that time might bring. Everything about the album immediately gives off calm, summer vibes, with every little detail adding onto that feeling. In the title song, she reminds the listener that things can, and will, change: “Forget all of thе tears that you’ve cried / It’s ovеr [...] / The girls are dancing in the sand / And I throw my cellular device in the water”. Lorde’s gloomier lyrics contrasting with the album’s summer feel allow the listener to remeber that things have changed, and that they will still change. Though Lorde has been making world-renowned music for years now, her new album has gained her new fans. Loren Jones, the Entertainment/Features editor for the Student Media Center, has recently given the album a listen. Despite being a relative newcomer to Lorde’s music, Jones believes ‘Solar Power’ has a different, transcendent sound from Lorde’s previous hits. “I think that she has changed her genre from a funk pop to more soulful in a way[,] with her lyrics having more meaning than before,” said Jones. This is definitely the case in her
final track, “Oceanic Feeling”. In it, Lorde circles back to the nostalgia of growing up and changing in a song directly dedicated to her younger brother: “Baby boy, you’re super cool. / I know you’re scared, so was I / But all will be revealed in time”. Her calm voice, even as it turns into echoes, is both fully aware and fully accepting of its limits. To know yourself is to know your limits, and, even though that can be a frightening prospect, it can also be a reassuring one. François Bérubé, a longtime fan, noted the album’s themes while commenting on Lorde’s Facebook post about the album: “‘Solar Power’ is now a self-growing album, […] a recovery, a spiritual and existential contemplation and therapy by [its] nature. It feels like how [we come] to know our personal limits.” Bérubé hit it right on the nose. In life, we change. We get hurt and we grow in many ways. Lorde is not 16 anymore -- she is a woman who has been in the spotlight for years because of her musical talents. She has grown a lot as a person, and the melancholy of that change shines through. With ‘Solar Power’, Lorde seems to hope her fans and listeners embrace change as much as she has.
SPORTS
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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Southern Miss Volleyball jumps to 4-0 start after Southern Miss Classic AUSTIN LINDSEY SPORTS DIRECTOR outhern Miss Volleyball hosted and won all four of its matches against Mississippi Valley State University, Southern Illinois University, University of South Carolina Upstate and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the annual Southern Miss Classic. After the weekend, the Golden Eagles boast a 4-0 record for the first time since 2015. “It was a great tournament, it was great for our program and team with the strong competition here,” Southern Miss Head Coach Stephanie Radecki said. “Our players did a nice job of staying level-headed.” In the first match of the season, Southern Miss won easily in a 3-0 rout of Mississippi Valley State University. The Golden Eagles had a total of 43 kills on 99 attacks and struck 13 aces in the match. Junior outside hitter Liana Guillemaud
lead the way with 12 kills on 24 attack. On Friday against Southern Illinois, the Golden Eagles 1-0 record was put at stake after dropping the first set 25-22. However, Southern Miss swept the remaining sets against the Salukis of Southern Illinois. Duquesne Moratzka had a stellar match with 11 kills and six blocks on a .312 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles ended the match on a kill by Sophomore Mia Wesley (13 kills on 50 attacks). Wesley went on to lead the Golden Eagles in the tournament with 52 kills and seven blocks. On the defensive end, the Golden Eagles would tally 13 blocks and 81 digs led by 26 from Aliah Giroux. “It was a team effort,” Giroux said. “It wasn’t just me and it took a lot of grit and grind to finish it out strong.” On Saturday, Southern Miss
first faced the University of South Carolina Upstate. The Golden Eagles won the match 3-0 and moved to 3-0 overall. Wesley, Moratzka and freshman Cara Atkinson accounted for 33 of the Golden Eagles’ 51 kills. The last game of the tournament versus Louisiana at Lafayette for the Golden Eagles was must-see action, as the team prevailed 3-2. The energy was unmatched as it came down to a deciding fifth set. The Golden Eagles won the fifth set 15-9 after scoring four consecutive points. “We were on a mission, we were like ‘we’re not losing this, this is our set,” Giroux said. “We even said, on the bench, we’re not going out sad after coming this far. It’s a huge win for us being it is the first four games and we just weren’t going to go down like that.” As a team, the Golden Eagles had 63 kills to the Ragin’ Cajuns 61. Wesley lead Southern Miss in
kills again with 21 kills, 15 digs and four blocks. Redshirt junior setter Kenzie Smith broke her previous career-high of 49 assists against Southeastern Louisiana last year with 50 and 11 digs. While Hurricane Ida slowed down the team’s work schedule, Radecki said the team looks to get back to working as soon as it can. “The main goal is to get back in the gym next week and get better every day,” Radecki said. Southern Miss Volleyball will return to action Sep. 3 in the Crimson Tide Invitational, with games against Buffalo, Troy and a match on Sep. 4 against Alabama. The Golden Eagles hold a 3-3 all-time record against Alabama, including a win against the Crimson Tide in the 2015 season, when the team last started 4-0.
Southern Miss Soccer routs Nicholls State in home-opener CHARLIE LUTTRELL SM2 NEWS DIRECTOR outhern Miss Soccer (2-1) dominated Nicholls State University (0-3) 8-0 in its home-opener with goals from six different players. After a rain delay pushed back the start of the match, officials called the match with 14 minutes remaining due to insufficient lighting. “I was excited that all week we’ve worked on our game plan, and to just come out and execute that way is a joy. I’m proud of the girls and everybody contributed,” Southern Miss Head Coach Mohammed El-Zare said. The Golden Eagles controlled the pace of the match, hardly allowing the Colonels to move the ball past its half of the field. Southern Miss outshot Nicholls 23-0. El-Zare credited the team’s defense for its success on attack. “Our offense starts from our defense because, in order to have the ball, you have to retrieve it quickly. It’s not only about attacking, it’s about counter pressing and winning the ball and our positioning allowed us to do that and get into the attack,” El-Zare said. Senior Ariel Diaz, the Conference
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USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, led the Golden Eagles in the match with two goals and an assist. “The start of the game went really smoothly,” Diaz said. “Our connection was outstanding and the rhythm of the game was really good.” Diaz got off to an early start, kicking a distance shot that curved past the keeper to strike first in the twelfth minute. She responded just three minutes later with another goal that slipped past the Colonels’
defensive line. Diaz described her approach for her final season of eligibility. “I’m going to go in and go home. I’m really excited for this season and seeing how far we can go this season,” Diaz said. Outside of Diaz and three other returning graduates, the Golden Eagles are surrounded by youth, including 14 freshmen. Many of the freshmen have made an impact in the season and continued to contribute in the match, scoring half of the team’s goals.
“I was nervous [about the freshmen] but they came out and showed us upperclassmen and their opponents that they are here to play,” Diaz said. “It’s really exciting for them to come out here and have them on our team.” Southern Miss took a 6-0 lead at halftime with two goals from freshman Ilana Izquierdo, along with scores from junior Madisyn Flammia and freshman Mia Sadler. Freshman Technayda Cobyte also added a goal early in the second half, with sophomore Elis Klein Spindola scoring the team’s final goal shortly after. “In the second half, we tried some few things that we wanted to work on leading into the future so when they were able to execute, I was really pleased with the outcome,” El-Zare said. Southern Miss has now won six consecutive home-openers with its victory against the Colonels. The 8-0 victory matched the team’s last highest scoring home-opener since a game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2013.