October 11, 2017
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Mississippi eGrove Daily Mississippian Journalism and New Media, School of 10-11-2017 October 11, 2017 The Daily Mississippian Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/thedmonline Recommended Citation The Daily Mississippian, "October 11, 2017" (2017). Daily Mississippian. 207. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/thedmonline/207 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the Journalism and New Media, School of at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Daily Mississippian by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Wednesday, October 11, 2017 THE DAILY Volume 106, No. 29 MISSISSIPPIANTHE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI SERVING OLE MISS AND OXFORD SINCE 1911 Visit theDMonline.com @thedm_news Vitter, Bjork visit ASB Senate to explain Students mascot; Landshark resolution passes respond to statue, plaque repairs LANA FERGUSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Repair work began Monday on the Confederate soldier stat- ue that a pickup truck crashed into last month. Ryan Whittington, assistant director of public relations for social media strategy for the university, released a statement Monday morning about the re- pairs. A structural stability evalua- tion determined the statue did not sustain any structural dam- age, according to the statement. PHOTO BY: MARLEE CRAWFORD He said the base of the statue At the ASB meeting Tuesday, Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter and Athletics Director Ross Bjork speak about the recent announcement of plans to switch to the Landshark mascot. only suff ered cosmetic dam- age, but the contextualization RACHEL ISHEE Landshark closed Friday, Sept. 29, the rest of our analysis,” he said. “We and the university issued its offi cial an- also grabbed a lot of anecdotal evidence. plaque and its base were dam- MADDIE MCGEE aged beyond repair. NEWS EDITORS nouncement last Friday, a week later. We do what’s called a ‘Rebel Road Trip,’ Vitter said the university had been and everywhere we go, people ask us “A new plaque has been or- conducting research for changing the why we don’t just get rid of the bear. dered and will be installed upon A resolution to adopt the Landshark mascot, and the poll provided addition- For me, that feedback has been hap- receipt, which is expected to as the offi cial mascot passed 29-15 al support for the change. pening over the past 5 1/2 years.” occur before Oct. 20,” Whitting- -1 Tuesday evening on the ASB Sen- “The Landshark has grown, and it’s a Other senators asked how university ton said. ate fl oor. Before the vote, Chancellor commonly accepted symbol now,” Vit- offi cials planned to implement the mas- The university expects to Jeff rey Vitter and Athletics Director ter said. “We wanted an offi cial process cot change without turning the univer- complete all the repairs within Ross Bjork fi elded senators’ questions to bring people together and make a de- sity into a laughingstock. the next couple weeks. regarding Friday’s announcement to cision. We sought to fi nd a balance, and “We have to take extreme ownership No public funds will be used change the offi cial mascot to the Land- I think we reached that.” over the Landshark,” Bjork said. “It’s to repair the statue or the shark, eff ective for the 2018 football Bjork said the ASB-sponsored poll going to take a little bit of time, but we plaque, Whittington told The season. was only one facet of the research the think we can get back to the unifi cation Daily Mississippian on Tuesday Some senators wondered why the university used. piece and people can be positive about night. process to offi cially adopt the Land- “The ASB put out a four-day window, this.” “In addition, the university is shark seemed rushed. The ASB-spon- and we took the results and added it to exploring potential legal options sored poll to gauge support for the SEE ASB PAGE 3 SEE PLAQUE PAGE 4 LGBTQ fi lm project boosts minority student voice faced by people of color in outreach chair. to UM Pride Network’s out. Hear what I’m saying BRITTANY BROWN the LGBTQ community. Both the new position and meetings and show interest to you. Hopefully, after it’s STAFF WRITER QPOC is a new organiza- new organization came into in QPOC. She and Pridgeon done, you understand me tion on campus, started in existence around the same said their video project, ti- better.” March by Walker and Prid- time, and Walker said she tled “Hear Me Out,” has the Walker said arriving at Today is the 29th Nation- geon with the guidance of felt they were necessary. potential to give minority this mindset was not easy al Coming Out Day. In hon- Jaime Cantrell, a visiting “(UM Pride) is a very LGBTQ students a voice. and coming out can be a or of this year’s National assistant professor of En- welcoming space, but it’s “It’s all about visibili- challenging task for many Coming Out Day, students glish and faculty affiliate a very white space,” Walk- ty. Every effort we make in the LGBTQ community, Kristen Walker and Malik of the Sarah Isom Center er, a senior English major, is to show people we’re especially people of color. Pridgeon, along with UM for Women and Gender said. “I saw a need for more here (and) we have voices. Both Walker and Pridgeon Pride Network and Queer Studies. Walker also holds representation.” That’s why this project is faced criticism from their People of Color, are creat- a new position within UM Walker said she has seen very near and dear to me,” families after coming out. ing a video project to shed Pride Network as minority more people of color come Walker said. “Hear me light on the challenges SEE LGBTQ PAGE 3 IN THIS ISSUE... OPINION LIFESTYLES SPORTS SPORTS ‘I have family and friends there’ Word on the Street Leaders emerge among team Fall softball continues A letter to the editor addresses the hurricane Check out what students have to say After a rough three-game road trip, defensive Kaitlin Lee faces her former team tonight in Puerto Rico, responds to a recent column about Everybody’s Formal players on football team step up at the Ole Miss Softball Complex PAGE 2 PAGE 5 PAGE 7 PAGE 8 PAGE 2 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 11 OCTOBER 2017 OPINION THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN EDITORIAL STAFF: LANA FERGUSON editor-in-chief “When I first came out, [email protected] I was outed by my parents (and) my sister. My parents SLADE RAND are struggling with me being managing editor so visible,” Pridgeon, a se- [email protected] nior public policy and phi- losophy double major, said. MAGGIE MARTIN “Even though they would copy chief want me to be gay and not [email protected] be out about it, this proj- ect is important. It might not happen overnight, but RACHEL ISHEE I’m changing the heart and MADDIE MCGEE mind of someone.” news editors Walker’s coming out story [email protected] is different. She came out around this time last year. SAM HARRES “I recently came out af- GRAYSON WEIR ter, like, 10 years of not be- sports editors ing out about my sexuality. [email protected] It was a very big challenge but very liberating. Once I MARLEE CRAWFORD finally did, it was a big part TAYLAR TEEL of me to discover,” Walker photography editors said. [email protected] Pridgeon and Walker, who serve as QPOC exec- DEVNA BOSE utive director and deputy lifestyles editor director, respectively, have [email protected] interviewed eight students so far, and they have at JONATHAN GIBSON least three more interviews assistant lifestyles editor planned. Neither Walk- [email protected] er nor Pridgeon expected “Hear Me Out” to get as much interest as it has so LIAM NIEMAN far. opinion editor LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “I was nervous. It’s hard [email protected] The Second Amendment of the United States Consti- I am a native of Puerto Rico, an Ole Miss grad, to be out and to be a per- tution states: “A well regulated militia, being necessary a former AROTC cadet regimental commander son of color. There’s a lot HAYDEN BENGE to the security of a free State, the right of the people to and a former U.S. Army officer. I am submitting of stigma around being ETHEL MWEDZIWENDIRA out. I still don’t know how design editors keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Obviously this response to Mr. Dean’s opinion published in the need for a state militia has been replaced by the The Daily Mississippian on Oct. 4, 2017. big this could get, because [email protected] National Guard and Coast Guard whereby trained mil- It pains me to see misinformation and vitriol there are a lot of people who itary personnel are entrusted with the defense of this published for the purpose of politics by someone are afraid,” Pridgeon said. EMILY HOFFMAN country against domestic enemies. Their weapons are with neither firsthand knowledge nor “official” “Black culture is not very social media editor tightly controlled and safeguarded. reports. open to gay people.” The only two reasons for a citizen to own a firearm are Attacking a lady for trying to save her people, Walker said there is still hesitance and fear among ADVERTISING for hunting or defense of the household from intruders. especially those in hospitals without power, is In either case, ownership of a handgun, shotgun or rifle despicable. people of color to join the SALES MANAGER project, and she is mind- Blake Hein is more than adequate to satisfy these purposes.