Photo Essay
By: Kathryn Abernathy
Thursday Night Lights
Month: January 2018
University reacts to ongoing efforts to contextualize Lyceum
The Lyceum: A Story of Prominence and Pain
When people think of the University of Mississippi, they often visualize the Lyceum. The oldest building on campus was constructed in the summer of 1848 and has since become a symbol for the university.
The Lyceum is the lone survivor of the six original buildings on campus. Even though it is such a staple for the university’s image, it is in the process of being contextualized. Language for contextualization plaques has been written, and it is now up to the administration whether the university will display the plaques.
“Contextualization is a process by which (the university’s) administration thought it was the best way to approach items on our campus, places on campus, locations, buildings that kind of have a troubled past in which they clearly have divisive racial connotation to them,” said Charles Ross, chair of the African-American studies program and a member of the contextualization committee on campus.
In March 2017, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context announced it would be changing the name of Vardaman Hall and working to contextualize seven other sites on campus. These include Lamar Hall, Barnard Observatory, Longstreet Hall and George Hall, as well as antebellum buildings, including the Lyceum, Barnard Hall, Croft and Hilgard Cut because they were built by enslaved people.
Architect William Nichols designed the Lyceum and used slave labor to construct it when work began in 1846. Ross said the story of the Lyceum’s construction needs be a part of the overall history of the building.
“It’s a symbol that represents the university on letterheads and corresponding literature, but the side of the story about how this structure actually came about and the individuals that were directly involved in helping create it and the sacrifices they made, that is something that is not a part of the mainstream narrative, so that is why the particular building was included,” he said.
Due to its longstanding history, the Lyceum has become a prominent building on campus. The building was used during the Civil War as a hospital for Confederate and Union soldiers and became an important place during the 1962 riots regarding the enrollment of James Meredith.
During the civil rights movement, Meredith was the first African-American student to integrate the University of Mississippi. His enrollment sparked controversy and riots in October 1962.
“The Lyceum was the centerpiece of the James Meredith riots because the registration office was in the Lyceum at that time,” said Dewey Knight, associate director of the Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience. “In order to register for class, he had to go into that building, and the two sides of people, people who supported his admission and those who didn’t, gathered and we got into this riot.”
Due to this association with the civil rights movement and the building’s 169-year-old age, the Lyceum was named a United States national landmark in October 2008.
“That’s the reason why when we restored it in 1999 and 2000. It took a year longer because when you do a historic restoration, you have to put the building back to the original as closely as you can,” Knight said. “The sheer presence it bears on that circle, every student that has ever been to this university, they identify with that building”.
This significant title has made some people feel it is even more important to have the Lyceum contextualized.
“It’s not simply white Southerners but African-Americans and other individuals that are very aware of the history of the Confederacy, what it stood for and how it was created,” Ross said.
There have been discussions about placing a plaque on the Lyceum that will tell the story of those individual slaves.
“Our committee has not been given the responsibility of making sure that these plaques are constructed and seeing that those plaques are placed in certain locations,” Ross said. “Our committee was given the responsibility of coming up with the language.”
Ross said it gave the university’s administration its wording for the plaques this May and now it will be the administration’s job to to make the plaque a reality, to tell this story of the Lyceum.
Junior psychology and nursing major Amelia DeWitt, an Ole Miss ambassador, is required to bring tour groups inside the Lyceum. Once inside, it’s up to her what stories she wants to tell.
“I think people have the right to know what has happened within the Lyceum walls, and during the past three years of giving tours, I have never had negative feedback about any of the stories I have told about the Lyceum,” DeWitt said. “It is an important part of campus, and most people are intrigued by the past of it.”
The university has been known to have a controversial past when it comes to race, and Ross feels that the university needs to do more than just contextualize.
“I’m ambivalent because I think that contextualization has been used as a justification for not doing more,” Ross said. “For people, like myself, who have been here for a number of years, the one thing that is very frustrating is this continuing perception the University of Mississippi has, that it drags its feet and is reluctant and not very proactive on issues of race.”
Ole Miss business students participate in Warren Buffett conference
Last weekend, 20 Ole Miss students traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, to visit for a group Q&A session with Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
This was the first time Ole Miss was invited to attend the Q&A session and tour three Omaha-based businesses owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Students toured Nebraska Furniture Mart, Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Oriental Trading Company.
Ten universities and business schools attended the event, and each school was given the opportunity to ask Buffett two questions.
“I was incredibly impressed with our group. A significant amount of time and effort was required on the part of the students in order to ensure this would be a successful trip, and they were more than willing to accept the challenge,” Stephen Fier, associate professor of finance and the faculty adviser for the university’s Mu chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma, said. “Our students did an excellent job representing the School of Business Administration as well as the University of Mississippi.”
Fier got a chance to talk to the students who attended, and he said they seemed to have genuinely enjoyed hearing from Buffett and observing how some of the Berkshire Hathaway businesses operate.
“In my opinion, the primary objective of this trip was to provide our students with a unique opportunity that would enhance their educational experience, and I believe we succeeded,” Fier said.
Students who are members of the Financiers Club and Gamma Iota Sigma, a risk management, insurance and actuarial science honor society, submitted applications to participate and were selected on the basis of academic achievement, program and student organization involvement and the quality of their responses to questions on the applications.
“It was an honor and privilege to be chosen to attend this event,” senior managerial finance major Jocelyn Cropper said. “I have always admired Buffett, and this was definitely at the top of my bucket list, as it is for pretty much anyone interested in stocks and investing.”
Cropper and the other students were able to attend this event largely because of the work of Andrew Lynch, assistant professor of finance.
When Lynch was a graduate student at the University of Missouri, he taught a class called “The Investment Strategies of Warren Buffett.” While at Missouri, he accompanied students on visits to the Q&A sessions.
“While Ole Miss has never gone on one of these visits before, we believed it would be extremely beneficial for our students,” Lynch said. “I was able to get in touch with the executive assistant at Berkshire, who schedules these meetings, and we were fortunate to be able to get on the schedule this year”.
Cropper said she will remember much of what Buffet said, but his genuine advice about life was what stuck out the most.
“He said the best asset is a good group of friends, to surround yourself with good people and to ask yourself, ‘Why do you do what you do?’ and if you can’t answer that, find something else,” Cropper said. “As far as investing goes, his philosophies are that temperament is the most important investing characteristic and that being focused is essential to being a good investor.”
Travis Box, assistant finance professor, said he believes an event like this does a lot to highlight the university’s strength in the fields of investment and risk management.
“If a potential student has an interest in one of these areas, this trip demonstrates that the Ole Miss finance department is committed to providing them with the type of experiences that can lay the foundation for a wonderful career.”
Ashley Glennon, a senior managerial finance and Spanish double major, said Buffett answered every question in an insightful way.
“I thanked him for the opportunity he gave all of the students and universities that were chosen to attend,” Glennon said. “I’ve never been so excited and honored to be able to shake another person’s hand.”
International Justice Mission brings awareness to modern-day slavery
At least 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor.
The International Justice Mission is a faith-based international non-profit that works with governments, police forces and social workers to protect people from this slavery, rescue those affected and aid them in rehabilitation.
Ole Miss students had formed a campus chapter to shed light on sex crimes not only around the world but also right here in Oxford.
In April, a couple was arrested for kidnapping and transporting a woman from Georgia to Oxford. The FBI is currently investigating the incident.
“Human trafficking is an issue in the U.S. just as much as it is internationally and needs to be discussed more in our communities,” Caroline Bass, junior and treasurer of the Ole Miss IJM chapter, said.
While the chapter has been on campus for a couple of years, Bass said it is trying to build a stronger on-campus presence this year.
“While the issues of modern-day slavery and human trafficking have become more well-known in the past few years, awareness is still a huge deal,” she said. “The more conversations we have about these issues, the closer we will get as a society to bringing an end to these awful things.”
In order to spread the word about its mission, the Ole Miss chapter is participating in the IJM “Fast for Freedom” event Nov. 9 and 10.
Members of campus chapters across the nation will be fasting for 24 hours with the goal of raising $1 per hour to give back the cause. The event will begin with a worship night, followed by the 24-hour fast.
“We are hoping to raise money for the efforts of IJM but also to bring people’s attention to these issues,” Bass said.
Bass said the event will help start conversations in the campus and local community about these issues.
Mollie Bradford, junior and secretary of the chapter, said she joined the organization because she hopes to work with organizations made to help people who are suffering from injustice and cannot help themselves in the future.
“IJM is an incredible organization, and the victims they save are overlooked and abused by their traffickers and other people around them,” Bradford said. “IJM removes the victims from the situation and rehabilitates them so that they know they are worthy and important.”
Out of the Darkness Walk fundraises for suicide prevention and awareness
Sunday’s second annual Out of the Darkness Walk shed a light on suicide awareness and prevention by raising funds for research, education and support programs for those affected by suicide. The program included several speakers, a blessing from a local minister, a balloon release and a mile-long walk around campus.
More than 600 people registered for this year’s walk, and $24,711 was raised through donations, more than doubling last year’s numbers. Online fundraising is open through December.
Junior Maddy Gumbko, chairman for the walk, helped plan both this year’s and last year’s walk due to her personal connection with suicide.
“I lost a very close friend to suicide, and there are so many other people out there who have, too,” Gumbko said. “It’s an illness. These people are in a dark tunnel, but it’s 100 percent preventable.”
In Mississippi, suicide is the second leading cause of death for the ages 10-24 and is the 12th leading cause of death overall. On average, one person dies by suicide approximately every 20 hours in the state. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has worked to pass laws regarding suicide prevention in the state.
“This walk addresses the elephant in the room and lets people know, especially on college campuses, that they’re not alone and there are resources out there to help them,” Gumbko said.
AFSP board member Pam Smith’s son committed suicide two-and-a-half-years ago. In her role, Smith promotes awareness and educates others on suicide prevention by helping plan walks, events and various other programs with all the funds AFSP raises.
“Once in a while, I’ll look up to my son, and I thank him for giving me a second job,” Smith said.
In addition to the programs AFSP offers to high schools and universities, it has firearm awareness programs which provide free gun locks. AFSP also holds various events, including Strikeout for Suicide, Singing to Save a Life and its annual Survival Day, planned for next month at Saltillo City Hall.
AFSP also has the ASIST (Applied Suicide Invention Skills Training) program through which people can become trained caregivers and help prevent someone from committing suicide.
“I get calls constantly from parents if they think their child is suicidal and from people themselves who are struggling,” Smith said. “If I think it’s very serious and there could be self harm, I call an ambulance.”
Kathryn Forbes, senior president and founder of the Ole Miss Active Minds chapter, paired up with AFSP and helped promote this walk to help spread mental health awareness.
“Mental health and suicide awareness is really close to my heart and something that should be talked about,” Forbes said. “This walk promotes this talking and keeps these tough conversations happening.”
Active Minds is planning other events to help spread mental health and suicide awareness throughout the year. It also has a Mental Health week planned for April.
Associated Student Body President Dion Kevin was walking at the event to remember his fraternity brother who took his own life and said he believes there should be more events like this walk in the future.
“It’s important for the campus communities to seek adequate answers to this problem,” Kevin said. “It really falls on the younger generation, and it’s important to learn about suicide prevention.”
The group’s next planned Out of the Darkness walk is next Saturday in Tupelo.
Consent Carnival educates students, spreads sexual assault awareness
By: Kathryn Abernathy
Prevention Office and Rebels Against Sexual Assault partnered to hold the annual Consent Carnival on Tuesday in the Lyceum Circle.
Nathan Payne, graduate assistant for the Violence Prevention Office, said he hoped this event would get people talking about consent.
“Consent is something that we navigate daily and is very important to understand,” Payne said. “Some are not always conscious of consent and what that truly means in our lives.”
Event organizers created games and activities as ways to get students not only to talk about what consent means to them but also to get them to understand consent and its policies.
“We use events like this to press current policies about consent, such as the definition of consent and what qualifies as consent,” Payne said. “Students should be aware and know the reasons and policies behind it.”
RASA uses events like the Consent Carnival and its Sex Week activities to present to students important topics in a lighthearted and fun manner.
Freshman T.J. Bleeker, peer educator in training for RASA, volunteered at the event in hopes of spreading awareness about consent.
“I want to help out my community, and this is an issue we should be addressing,” Bleeker said. “Sexual abuse on college campuses is such a big issue, and it’s becoming more and more prominent.”
The American Civil Liberties Union estimates 95 percent of campus rape goes unreported.
Though some may consider sexual violence a common occurrence on college campuses, Bleeker believes Ole Miss has a bigger problem than usual with the issue.
“Every university has a sexual assault problem, but there has been a sexual assault happening every week since I moved in here,” Bleeker said.
According to the University Police Department Clery Daily Crime Log, six sexual offenses have been reported this year. All offenses were reported as sexual battery, with two reported as having happened at fraternity houses and the rest at on-campus dormitories.
Because of the number of reports, the Violence Prevention Office and RASA made it their goal to provide various awareness events for students.
The Consent Carnival has been a yearly event since 2015, and Payne sees this and other events as proactive for students and the university.
Oxford Religious Group Faces False Accusations due to Viral Media Posts
Unverified accusations against a religious organization in the Oxford area sparked viral social media rumors around the Ole Miss campus.
A religious group that originated in South Korea and consists of of 20 members in Oxford has had numerous false accusations of recruiting students on campus into human trafficking.
The religious group targeted is the World Mission Society Church of God. The rumors were fueled by social media posts going viral on Twitter and Facebook.
The pamphlets read, “Do all things testify about God the Mother?” and “Is God Male or Female?” Students said they have been approached by members of the church in the library and the Student Union.
Sophomore exercise science major, Mackensie Faulk, said she spoke to members of the church for a few minutes when they knocked on her door at The Connection apartment complex.
“They asked if I was religious and I said yes, but they sort of looked at me liked I had the wrong religion or something and kept trying to tell me about God the Mother,” Faulk said. “They invited me to Bible studies and when I said I was busy, they insisted I take a pamphlet and she wrote a phone number on it.”
Both the Oxford and University police departments have investigated the rumors, and they released separate statements.
“We have investigated and determined that the church, World Mission Society Church of God, is a legitimate church looking to expand to our area,” the Oxford Police Department said.
According to the Freedom of Religion Act, it is completely legal to go door to door sharing information about one’s religion. Oxford Police Chief Hildon Sessums said the group claims they are just trying to expand in the Oxford area.
“We have received numerous calls and messages about a religious group going door to door, but nothing incriminating has been reported,” Sessums said.
The 54-year-old religious group’s nearest church is located in Southaven. Ole Miss seniors Jake and Sheneria Miller have been members of the church for over a year and were alarmed to see the viral posts.
Sheneria said her first thought was, “How can we let everyone know it’s false”.
Jake said he was disappointed in how quick people were to jump to conclusions and discredit their religion
“People are hearing it and not giving it any thought, not researching it themselves,” Jake said.
Oxford encountered a human trafficking incident on April 27 last year. Two people were convicted of sex trafficking after transporting a victim from Atlanta to Mississippi for commercial sex purposes.
The topic of human trafficking appears to have been sparked by unfounded rumors on social media.
David Newman the president of International Justice Mission on campus shed light on the fact that even though the accusations are false, human trafficking remains an issue.
“However, incidents like the one we have just witnessed, despite the fact that they are false accusations, do shed light on the issue of human trafficking from which Oxford is not completely immune,” Newman said. “It saddens me that a church would be held suspect of such horrific crimes when trying to simply expand their sphere.”
Katie McLeod, a senior psychology major, was approached by members of church at the beginning of the semester.
“I thought it was odd being approached in Walmart, but being a religious person myself I thought they were doing what they thought was best,” McLeod said.
However, McLeod understands why some people might easily believe such allegations.
“I think people jumped to that conclusion because it is a popular fear among young women,” McLeod said. “Hearing of a potential secret cult that lures members via Bible study invitations causes anyone to jump to conclusions and it’s usually to the most extreme possibility.”
Rumors have spread rapidly on other college campuses such as the University of Louisville, Vanderbilt and the University of Georgia only to be confirmed as false by their local police forces.
The only reports throughout these states and campuses relating to the group have been about door to door visits from the members to talk about their church and invite people to their Bible study.
Jason Ahn the pastor of the Southaven church said that the members have been receiving texts and calls leaving them with an overall feeling of embarrassment.
“I realize how falsehood can quickly spread and people actually believe that deception,” Ahn said. “I wish people can see the truth and receive salvation.”
What Works- Week 1
Why isn’t there a universal flu vaccine?
I came across this story while on twitter. It popped up on my feed and it caught my attention due to the statement “37 child deaths reported”.
The lead is definitely a hard news lead because it get rights to the point. It starts out stating, “Health workers are facing a huge challenge trying to contain this season’s flu outbreak. It’s the most widespread in recent years, with at least 37 child deaths reported so far.” I like this lead because it states what’s going on, then backs it up with an actual fact.
I really like how the reporter explained why the flu vaccine isn’t working. He states that this years vaccine is “likely to be only about 30 percent effective”. He then goes into explaining this is happening because it has to do with the flu virus’ “drift” and “shift”. What’s called antigenic drift has to do with small changes in the genes of the influenza virus year to year, while an antigenic shift has to do with a major change, which can cause pandemics.
I think this is an important part of the story because I’m sure a lot of people don’t understand why people are still getting sick when maybe they’ve had the shot. This fact about the “drift” and “shift” also helps to further the argument of why there is a want for a universal flu vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the only source used in this story. I think he adds the credibility to the story, however I think it would of been better if there was another source, like a doctor or other specialist. I think this step would of added more value to the story.
An already added value in the article is the video up at the top. I think this adds to the story and gives the reader more information and insight.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this article. The flu epidemic is huge right now in our society and I was eager to learn what has been going on.
Kathryn Abernathy 