University of Mississippi eGrove Daily Mississippian 2-14-2020 February 14, 2020 The Daily Mississippian Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/thedmonline Recommended Citation The Daily Mississippian, "February 14, 2020" (2020). Daily Mississippian. 50. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/thedmonline/50 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Daily Mississippian by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE Daily MISSISSIPPIAN Friday, February 14, 2020 theDMonline.com Volume 108, No. 54 Sheriff Back at Swayze clears local schools of threats Students report two threats of violence at Lafayette High School this week ANNE FLORENCE BROWN [email protected] The Lafayette County Sher- iff’s Department cleared La- fayette County Schools after they were put on a “low-threat” lockdown early Thursday morning because of threats of a shooting and bombing. At 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, several Lafayette High School (LHS) students reported re- ceiving a threatening picture through AirDrop on their phones. The message in the photo read, “I’m going to bomb all Lafayette schools today. Be careful and watch your back.” The Oxford Police Department, University Police Department FILE PHOTO: KATHERINE BUTLER / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN and K-9 units then arrived at the high school to initiate a It’s opening day. Ole Miss Baseball will see its first matchup of the season against the Louisville Cardinals at two-hour lockdown. Swayze Field at 4 p.m. today. The Rebels and the Cardinals are both ranked in the preseason top 25, with the The sheriff’s department had already increased law en- stable of Rebel pitchers including several experienced underclassmen and high-profile prospects from the No. 2 forcement presence in and recruiting class in the country. Fans rushed to the right field on Thursday to set up tents and claim their spots for around Lafayette Schools as a precautionary measure after a the upcoming season. shooting threat was found in SEE BASEBALL PAGE 5 an LHS boys’ bathroom stall on Tuesday. The message threatened a shooting and was written next to Thursday’s date, accord- ing to a press release from the ASB starts textbook scholarship for students sheriff’s department. As a result, the sheriff’s de- partment decided to “increase first issues that kept coming back up ership and merit, while the other two law enforcement presence in ANNABELLE HARRIS in the discussions I was in, in this case were based on merit and need for finan- [email protected] and around Lafayette Schools textbooks, and ran with the idea.” cial aid. as a precautionary measure,” Mannery wanted to emphasize the “So whether that was being a student Joshua Mannery, the Associated Stu- the press release said. positive effects this kind of scholarship leader, community change agent or even dent Body (ASB) director of campus out- “During the lockdown, we has on students, providing them with just someone who succeeded against reach, introduced a new scholarship op- were a little shaken up. Teach- the chance to offset the rising costs of hard conditions, we took all of that into portunity for students to help them pay ers did not keep teaching, so college. account,” Mannery said. for textbooks this semester. we just talked and hung out Mannery also sought to promote Bass said she is grateful for the schol- Four recipients — Claudia Chambliss, through it. I assumed it was a ASB, highlight the untold stories of cer- arship because it allowed her to be re- Eliza Peters, Alexis Bass and Juanisha false alarm, but we were still tain students and focus on issues that imbursed for the money she had already Finnie Kennedy — received $250 each to aware of how big (of) a deal it are relevant to the average student. spent on books. either pay for or reimburse them for the was because of how many offi- The application process was simple, “I was able to put the money into sav- money they had spent on textbooks and cers were there,” Willa Burger, according to Bass, who was one of the re- ings, and I will be using it next semester supplies this semester. an LHS senior, said. “You just cipients. She saw information about the for books,” Bass said. “It helped a lot. I Mannery came up with the idea after don’t expect something like scholarship on Instagram and decided to have already taken out so many loans for seeing the impact and the success of the that when you walk into school apply. She said the application required so many other things, I just wanted less Parade of Beauties Scholarship, which is in the morning.” putting together a basic Google docu- debt. Books are expensive here.” the entry fee and dress, funded by ASB. Once the lockdown went ment about herself, including her major Kennedy, one of the other winners, “I appreciated the goodwill behind into effect, administrators no- and what her plans are for her future. agreed. She said she has spent over $500 the (Parade of Beauties scholarship), tified parents that they could Mannery said the application was on books in previous semesters. but I realized that extending that idea to pick up their children if they open to all students. The Office of Fi- “It has been a blessing not having to some issues on campus like affordabil- were able to do so, according nancial Aid decided upon the recipients; ity could potentially benefit a lot more two of them were chosen based on lead- students,” Mannery said. “So, I took the SEE TEXTBOOKS PAGE 8 SEE THREATS PAGE 8 PAGE 2 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 14 FEBRUARY 2020 Mississippi floods BILLY SCHUERMAN [email protected] A student watches the rain lash down outside of Martin- dale Hall on Wednesday. This February has already been the eighth wettest February in Mississippi since weather was first recorded in the state in 1896. Northern Mississippi has seen regional flooding as a result of the inclement weather including minor flooding in the Oxford area. Are honor societies too expensive? Still, many of the societies do not administration, the website and ELEANOR HOOVER list their required dues in their re- scholarship funds distributed at a [email protected] spective constitutions and bylaws national level. Additional funding With over 30 chapters of hon- or on their websites. goes toward covering local chap- or societies on the University of Ally Adcock, a sophomore ex- ter events like spring and fall ini- Mississippi campus, students ercise science major, is a standing tiation ceremonies. The universi- have a wide range of options for member of Sigma Alpha Lambda ty chapter also gives discounts to membership. However, the ma- — an honor society dedicated to students who can prove financial jority of these societies require leadership and service. She said need. payment for membership, which the financial requirements have Others, like Sigma Tau Delta, can hinder students’ financial deferred her from joining more only expect a single payment at abilities to join. organizations that could poten- the time of application. With many of the societies at tially be beneficial to her. Sigma Tau Delta, an honor the university extending their in- “I don’t agree that academic society for English majors, re- vitations to new members in the organizations on campus should quires a $60 membership fee at spring, students are beginning to require payment. They reach out the time of applying. make the decisions of which to to students and promote them- Caroline Wigginton, associate buy memberships. selves, but then make students professor of English and presi- “There are so many (honor pay to get in,” Adcock said. dent of the university’s chapter societies) offered here, and I want Sigma Alpha Lambda is one of of Sigma Tau Delta, said that to to be in all of them, but at the the less-expensive options, with a her knowledge, no student has Above are nine of over 30 honor societies that have chapters at the same time, I don’t have the funds one-time $75 membership fee, ever deferred application to Sig- University of Mississippi. to be in all the ones I want to,” but Adcock said she sees how this ma Tau Delta because of financial Kaitlin Haines, a junior account- could be exclusionary to students constraints. said. While the task force did not ing major, said. “You kind of have with little expendable funds. Like other societies, though, She said that joining the specifically research the ability to pick and choose and decide Some societies like Phi Kap- Sigma Tau Delta provides schol- group and paying the $60 was of students to pay the dues of an which one is really beneficial.” pa Phi require students to pay by arship opportunities to supple- worth it because of the commu- honor society, Weaver said he has Haines said the direct benefits the year. Phi Kappa Phi requires ment students’ abilities to pay. nity for writers it establishes and recognized the prices that stu- of certain societies are difficult to an annual membership renewal “Generally, our membership the opportunities it provides to dents have to pay to join an honor quantify, and when she pays the fee. Members can choose to make is small — about 10 per gradu- serve that community and foster society can cause problems. money to join one, she wants to payments of $35 every year, $60 ation year. We consider Sigma literacy. “I do believe their high costs make sure it actively advances for a two-year membership or Tau Delta to be the honor society In fall 2018, Nick Weaver, can be a hindrance for low-in- her academic career.