Download - Volume 81, Issue 1
THE PURPLE & WHITE
Recently, the Purple & White sat
down with Millsaps President Dr.
Robert Pearigen to discuss the newest
developments and impending impli-
cations of Millsaps’ newest Strategic
Plan and fi nancial assessment. The
Strategic Plan, “Across the Street and
Around the Globe: Partnerships and
Infl uence at Millsaps College,” con-
sists of six goals and nine committees
aimed to enhance every aspect of life
at Millsaps. The goals are as follows:
1. “Achieve excellence” in all that
we do.
2. Utilize our location in the capi-
tal city of Mississippi and in “the com-
munities we touch globally” with the
help of a new leadership program.
3. Create a more “sustainable
campus environment.”
4. “Reinforcing our ethical heri-
tage and strengthening church rela-
tions.”
5. “Expand and diversify” the
Millsaps student body.
6. Increase our endowment and
ensure fi scal strength.
Pearigen’s primary goal in every as-
pect of the new plan and as president
of Millsaps is to “make changes that
need to be made to make this a better
experience (for everyone).”
P&W: Can you defi ne your vision of an
excellent institution?
Pearigen: Ad Excellentiam, this is
what we claim to be. Excellence, in all
of its parts, is fulfi lling this mission of
why we exist. We have to be attentive
to our vision for success (going for-
ward) and take the steps to pursue it.
Excellence is intrinsically connected to
that mission and doing everything pos-
sible to fulfi ll that mission. Excellence
is never an end mission. While our
goal is excellence in all that we do, we
know that it is a never ending process.
P&W: How is the Strategic Plan related
to our claim of Ad Excellentiam?
Pearigen: The strategic plan
breaks it down. We ask, what does
excellence look like in each one of
these areas? What does excellence
look like in the political science ma-
jor? In the Purple & White? In the
physical presence of our campus?
P&W: How will this breakdown begin to
contribute to Millsaps as a whole?
Pearigen: It zeroes in on each part
(of the college) and says here is what we
are expecting. What are the means by
which we obtain it? How do we evalu-
ate it? What further steps can be taken?
P&W: What progress has been made so
far on the Strategic Plan?
Pearigen: The Strategic Plan has
six strategic goals and under each one
there is a series of initiatives. This sum-
mer we outlined a path of action steps
under each initiative to effectuate these
major goals. Each initiative requires
accountability, cost and a timeline. We
are at a stage now where we are do-
ing further research to fully develop
the process for making these things
happen. I’m not just saying it’s time
to sit down and plan more though.
We are anxious to get moving on this.
MILLSAPS CONTINUED ON PAGE 6.
VOLUME LX X XI | AUGUST 30, 2012
MILLSAPS COLLEGE
“Porter focuses on ‘potentializing’ students by show-ing them that it can be fun to read.” PAGE 5.
Freshmen, find advice from true Millsapians. PAGE 3.
Backyard Brawl XIII returns to Millsaps amidst the impending threat of Hurricane Issac. PAGE 7.
BY KENYA STRONG JOHNSTONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF
| Photo by Allie Jordan
Enhancing the Millsaps experience
FEATURES ARTS&LIFE SPORTS
Welcome to the Class of 2016
Surround yourself with people you
admire. It might sound cliché, but
it’s a good way to stay grounded.
SENIOR KENNY ARTIGUES
OPINIONS | August 30, 2012
2
Disclaimer: Views expressed in
visual and written content printed in
the Purple & White do not necessar-
ily reflect those of the editors, Publications
Board, Millsaps College, The United Method-
ist Church or the student body. Complaints
should be addressed to the Millsaps College
Publications Board. Contact Kendall Gregory
or Dr. Pat Taylor.
Letters to the EditorSubmit letters to the editor to the Purple and White at Box 15070 or e-mail Kenya Strong-Johnston, at [email protected]. Letters should be turned in before 12 p.m. on Sunday prior to the !ursday publication. Anonymous letters will not be published.
PURPLE&WHITE
THE
Editor-in-Chief | Kenya Strong-Johnston
Managing Editor | Lana Price
Visuals Manager | Sonum Sanjanwala
Business Manager | Juan Fernandez
Photo Manager | Genny Santos
Section Editors
Layout Editors
Caroline Brandon
Salvo Blair
Genny Santos
Maryam Qureshi
Allie D’Andrea
Contributors
Staff Advisor | Woody Woodrick
E-mail corrections to Editor-in-Chief Kenya Strong-Johnston, [email protected].
Advertising rates available upon request. E-mail
Juan Fernandez at [email protected].
The Purple & White is published weekly.
!is publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the
Editor-in-Chief.
Kendall Gregory
Allie Jordan
Hirni Patel
Adam Shubert
Welcome back! And to our new stu-
dents, in case you haven’t heard it
enough, welcome. We are so excited to
finally have you on campus. All around
campus, this is a very exciting time—one
of great and positive change. The same is
true for your Student Body Association.
As you may have read in a letter that was
placed in your mailbox, SBA is imple-
menting some significant changes within
the structure of our organization. While
a lot of the changes that you read about
may seem to only affect the actual SBA,
the ultimate hope is that these changes
will facilitate a SBA that is more im-
pactful and beneficial to our students.
Although we are very happy with the
progress made in the spring semester,
we are working doubly hard to make
sure the fall semester is even better.
The first big event that we are working
on supporting is the Backyard Brawl.
For those of you who do not know,
the Backyard Brawl is the first football
game of the season and pits Millsaps
against our cross-town rivals, Missis-
sippi College. This game is unique
in that it is the first game that will be
held on a Thursday night, as opposed
to the traditional Saturday game. Your
Student Body Association will be pur-
chasing tickets for all students so that
everyone may attend the game. In ad-
dition, we will be giving away lots of
Imagine a picture of 25 bodies of Af-
rican descent sprawled lifeless across the
ground with their faces hidden. Their
clothes are worn and torn, andII behind
them is an eroding, paint-chipped build-
ing. In the middle of this picture is a man
carefully trying to step over the bodies;
his hands are in the air to help him bal-
ance as he desperately tries to make
his way through the awful consequenc-
es of what appears to be a massacre.
Not horrified yet? At the bottom of this
picture in bold, white letters appears: “Ex-
cuse me … pardon me … excuse me…”
This is a prime example of an image
macro, a picture with overlaid text often
pointing out characteristics of the depicted
character or ideal displayed in the picture.
I stumbled upon this image as I scrolled
through my Facebook news feed a few
weeks ago. Seeing these types of im-
age macros on social networking sites
is common, and websites such as red-
dit.com and 4chan.org cater to people
who create and share image macros
and memes.
By definition, a meme is an idea, be-
havior, style or usage that spreads from
person to person within a culture. They
can be shared rapidly through the In-
ternet—causing the memes to “go vi-
ral.” In turn, countless people form new
ideas about that meme and the culture it
stemmed from. Often when joke image
macros go viral, they become memes.
Viewing image macros like the one I
described, can make people desensitized
to what the picture is displaying which,
in this case, is a massacre. In other cases,
it can perpetuate stereotypes of races,
women, religions—the list goes on, and
none of these people or groups can
defend how they are being displayed.
All too often, image macros and memes
are humorous only at the expense of
another person or group of people.
This is a call to hold humor to a higher
standard. If a joke can’t be made without
it being at the expense of another person
or group, how will we ever resolve our dif-
ferences and become a more unified hu-
man culture? Image macros and memes
may not aim to cause divisions between
Coming back to Millsaps as a junior.
What does that even mean? I only have
two years left of college. I only have two
years until I start real life. Although,
in reality, I suppose this is real life. It’s
all a matter of perspective. My goal
for this year: live life by the moment.
After spending my summer between
Ridgeland, Colorado and Costa Rica
I was ready to settle back into the
rhythm of Millsaps life. So many of
my colleagues claim, “summer wasn’t
near long enough.” On the contrary, I
found the length to be quite adequate
for adventure – not leaving me bored
and longing to return nor scampering to
squeeze in the last few minutes of vaca-
tion. Summer 2012 was indeed a success.
Early in the summer I rediscovered the
importance of family—family of every
kind. After returning home I truly un-
derstand what it means to be grateful
for a small mountain town where I was
raised. For the short two weeks I was
there, I gaped in awe at the towering
mountains and perfectly green trees. I
soaked my feet in the chilling spring wa-
ter that refreshes your body from the tips
of your toes to the ends of your eyelashes.
I concluded my summer with a trip that
I thought was only to be a credit for my
Spanish major. However, it turned out to
be so much more. It was five and a half
weeks that provided me with an opportu-
KENYA STRONG JOHNSTONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ALLIE JORDANCONTRIBUTOR
Living in the Millsaps moment
SBA plans to refocus on students
Some things are never funny
An example of a meme that desensitizes viewers from important social or cultural messages. | Photo Contributed
KENDALL GREGORYCONTRIBUTOR
JORDAN CONTINUED PAGE 8.
GREGORY CONTINUED PAGE 8. STRONG JOHNSTON CONTINUED PAGE 4.
Photos by Allie Jordan and Genny Santos
CLASS OF 2016 | August 30, 2012
3
34%18%6%
6%
19%13%4%
Inte
rnat
iona
lAR, CA, CO, GA, IL,
AR, CA, CO, GA, IL, 13%
AR, CA, CO, GA, IL, 13%
KY, MA, MD, NC, NY,
SC, TN, VA, WA
’16 BREAK-DOWN
46% | 54%*Statistics have been
rouonded.
Data received from Mill-
saps College Student Life.
Get plenty of sleep, go to class and
think outside the bubble.
Senior Jordon Hammons
Don’t part your car under the Aca-
demic Complex when it rains because
security goes on a ticket rampage when
the whether gets bad. They cost 20 dol-
lars each. It’s the pits.
Junior Claire Herndon
Word gets around fast on a small cam-
pus, so think before acting. Alcohol is
a dark force to be reckoned with. Take
opportunities and roads that would nev-
er have been considered before because
they might just lead you to the place
you don’t know you want to be yet.
Senior Austin Deskewies
When all else fails, reach for the add/
drop form. Problem solevd. A Good
reputation is easier lost than gained.
“I’m not uncedided—I’m open-mind-
ed” is a mantra to keep as long as you
can.
Junior Anna Nations
What we think you should
know:Words of wisdom
from your upperclassmen
August 30, 2012 - September 5, 2012Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Arts&Life:
In the Lewis
Art Gallery:
Mary Jane Parker,
“Tracings”
Student Life:
12:00 p.m.
SBA Interest Meeting
Last day to add/
drop classes without
a grade
Sports:
2:30 & 8:00p.m.
Volleyball @ home
5:30 p.m.
XC @ Choctaw
Trails
Greek Life:
Men’s formal
recruitment, final
party
Sports:
2:00 & 4:00p.m.
Volleyall @ home
2:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer
vs. Fontbonn @
Memphis
4:00 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
@ LeTourneau
3:00 p.m.
Backyard Brawl
Greek Life:
Boy’s bid day
Sports:
2:00 p.m.
Men’s Soccer vs.
Westminster @
Memphis
Student Life:
NO CLASSES,
Labor Day
Greek Life:
6:00 p.m.
Panhellenic Re-
cruitment Kick
off
Arts&Life:
7:00 p.m.
The Mairtin de
Cogain Project,
“Stories and
Songs, From Cork
with Love”
AC Recital Hall
Greek Life:
Women’s
formal recruit-
ment begins
Sports:
Intermural entry
forms due
7:30 p.m.
Intermural
Captain’s meeting
Skybox
Student Life:
8:00 a.m.
SBA elections begin
(end at 8:00 p.m.
Sept 6)
6:00 p.m.
Pre-Health Students
- Meet Dr. Steve
Case
Olin Hall Atrium
COMMUNITY | August 30, 2012
4
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ssifi
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Polls open at 8:00 a.m.Check your email
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STRONG JOHNSTON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.
nity to discover a passion
I had hiding deep inside. I
fell in love with the Span-
ish language. As I had ear-
lier gaped in awe at the
Colorado Mountains, I now
ogled at the rich texture of
the Costa Rican culture. I
never wanted to leave. Ev-
ery corner of the country
I visited brought more and
more depth to my passion.
Even now, as I reflect
on my experience, it is
growing and becoming a
part of my entire being.
Luckily, when I returned
to the United States and to
Millsaps I knew I wouldn’t
be leaving a single mean-
ingful part of my summer
behind. I was returning to a
place that would allow for my
continued exploration into
the meaning of family. I de-
cided to challenge myself in
the growth of my friendships
and professional relation-
ships. I want to expand my
family beyond just branches
of my own family tree. I was
retuning to another place
where I consider myself to
have been raised. Like the
small mountain town where
I spent my childhood, this
small college in the middle
of Mississippi makes me so
grateful for all it can offer.
I hope to find time to sit
on a bench in the bowl, as
cliché as it may be, and soak
up the wonderful place that
this is. I also knew, thanks
to the ever supportive and
encouraging Spanish de-
partment, that my passion
for Spanish wouldn’t have a
chance to cease growing. I
could say for certainty that
when I returned to Millsaps,
nothing would be missing.
Coming in as a junior, an
RA and editor in chief of the
Purple & White, is a feeling
that is incredibly reassuring. I
know for certain that I can put
myself out there in all these
ways and the most fundamen-
tal elements of my being can
continue to grow. If for noth-
ing else, Millsaps is a special
place for that reason alone.
There’s still a lingering
sense of anticipation and a
small bit of fear building up
around the idea that I only
have two years left. However,
there are multiple ways to
alter my perspective on this.
Option one: wow, I only have
two years left! How on earth
am I going to fit it all in? I like
to call this incredibly anxious
excitement about the future.
Option two (yet again a cli-
ché): I cannot wait to expe-
rience every instant of the
next two years, regardless of
what they bring. I like to call
this living in the moment.
Senior philosophy and history ma-
jor Jayson Porter reclines on his couch
wearing a black shirt, which reads “Got
Philosophy?” in broad white text across
the chest. Porter places both hands
on piles of colorful children’s books
stacked like miniature castle turrets.
A zealous glint echoes through his voice
as he says, “This is what I did this summer.”
This summer Porter worked with
Americorp by teaching philosophy les-
sons to children at a local Jackson School.
“The wage made it feel like an in-
dentured servitude, but I would do it
again in a heartbeat,” Porter reminisces.
He grabs a slim book entitled “Lady-
bug Girl.” He leafs through the tales of
a girl dressed as a ladybug, who in con-
stant combat with boredom, flies across
canyons and battle aliens. This book
reminds Porter of his summer students.
“They ask questions without presupposi-
tions which leads to the most imaginative
solutions,” he recollects with a wide smile.
Having finished flipping through “La-
dybug Girl,” Porter he plucks a thick
blue and white book from the bottom of
the stack. The book features an elephant
struggling with a dilemma concerning
his reality of existence. After a few mo-
ments reading about the elephant’s ex-
istential crisis, it becomes apparent that
this stack of children’s books was not an
ordinary pile of Dr. Seuss and “Every-
body Poops,” but it is a carefully select-
ed reading list for young philosophers.
Porter speaks with a sense of person-
al responsibility for the reading list. He
wishes that the simple plots of these books
evoke “potentiality” in the children, and
allow them to become resilient in pursu-
ing new resolutions. Porter says he feels
that other Teach for America (TFA)
educators may be focusing too much on
educating about the conflicts that will
comprise their future adult lives, rather
than reinforcing systems that allow chil-
dren to produce their own, imaginative
solutions for complex moral problems.
TFA encourages workers to read Paolo
Ferrae’s book “Pedagogy of the Op-
pressed,” which leads Porter to believe
“(TFA educators) come into schools
like they are saviors.” Although an
avid reader of Paolo Ferrae, Porter be-
lieves this is a contradictory practice.
When Porter works at Operation Shoe-
string on Bailey Avenue or Project In-
novation on Adelle Street, he does not
believe it is his task to empower the chil-
dren, because by empowering children,
a teacher forces adult presuppositions on
them. The lack of presuppositions is just
what Porter cherishes in young minds.
“So many teachers, in general,
are bringing children into conversa-
tions with fiction books about slav-
ery, I just can’t do that,” says Porter.
Porter tackles this problem by seeking
to “potentialize” his children. While he
is reading “Ladybug Girl” with his class,
Porter does not seek to empower his pu-
pils to become meticulous readers; but
rather, he focuses on “potentializing”
them by showing that it can be fun to read
and find new solutions to old problems.
“We learn through our experiences, and
when [young people] experience conver-
sations, through dialogue, their ability for
skeptical thinking increases,” he continues.
Porter’s method begins to emerge as
Not your ordinary children’s book
PORTER CONTINUED ON PAGE 7.
FEATURES | August 30, 2012
5
SALVO BLAIRSECTION EDITOR
Senior Jayson Porter proudly displays the philosophically-based children’s books that he used this summer for his Americorp teach-ing position. | Photo by Salvo Blair
Wottle the Throttle
The cap probably did not make
him more aerodynamic. Dave Wottle,
1972 Olympic gold medalist, laughs,
“I’m sure there’s people wander-
ing why I wore it, you should shave
your head like a swimmer I guess.”
Wottle offers no definite explanation
for why he wore the cap. It could be
to keep his longer than usual hair out
of his face while he bolted down the
track, or a well-worn lucky charm, or
even some sort of individualist protest.
There may not have been a clear mo-
tivation for Wottle, but the cap became
a legend and is archived at the USA
Track and Field Sports Hall of Fame.
Dave was raised in Canton, Ohio
less than a mile away from the Profes-
sional Football hall of fame. He grew
up with four siblings, and still has fam-
ily residing there. Looking back on his
youth Wottle remembers, “beating the
kid named Buddy in a summer race.”
If one event could foreshadow his fu-
ture as an Olympian, it would be his
first taste of triumph after winning a
foot-race around his neighborhood.
During high school, there had been
no indication that he would become an
international track star. “I don’t even
remember watching the Olympics in
1968,” Wottle says. The high school he
attended did not have an indoor track or
cross-country team, but that did not ham-
per his inborn enthusiasm as an athlete.
“In my years in high school I tried every-
thing; football, soccer, baseball, all of it.”
Wottle explains, “Ive never been much
of a sports watcher but I’ve always been
a sports doer.” Individualism comes
across as an important agenda for Wot-
tle, who does not adhere to any athletic
paradigm. “I’ve never been a hero wor-
shipper, back when I was running there
wasn’t that star athlete that I wanted to
copy…I really became a distance runner
by trial and error.” Wottle seems reminis-
cent of the passionately pursued world
of distance running, which has become
incredibly calculated and precise in re-
cent Olympiads. Wottle seems to remem-
ber a time when what was style in the
now scientific sport of distance running.
Wottle explains he found his own unique
method at Bowling Green University. At
Bowling Green, a school of 16,000 in
west Ohio, Olympic scouts picked up
Wottle’s ability, and he was selected for
the Olympic trials. Wottle qualified for
the Olympics, and began training. Dur-
ing intensive pre-olympic workouts, de-
spite advice from his trainers Wottle got
married just days before the competition.
Wottle describes the 1972 Olympics
having, “a grey mist hanging over it.” He
competed in two different races at Mu-
nich—the 800 meter and the 1500 meter.
The 800 meter race took place before the
Arab-Israeli incident, and the 1500 meter
took place after. Wottle noticed a palpa-
ble difference between the two competi-
tions. “They may have kept their feelings
close to their chests, but yea, the [second]
race was not as upbeat,” he remembers.
After the olympics, while running
professional track Wottle began coach-
ing at Welsh College in the off sea-
son. Slowly Wottle began drawing
back on his professional track respon-
sibilities and put a heavier focus on
his career in academic management.
Soon Wottle retired from distance
running, and put full time focus on his
career in liberal academia. Wottle pre-
viously worked for Rhodes College in
Memphis and recently retired from his
position there to move to Jackson, Mis-
sissippi to work for Millsaps College as
Interem Vice-President of admissions.
Wottle has been in Jackson for about
seven weeks, and is open to sugges-
tions for good places to have dinner.
Wottle may be a newcomer to Mill-
saps, but he has major plans to boost the
school’s admissions. First, he plans to
start with “modifications in our com-
munication plans with prospective
students.” Millsaps will begin send-
ing out hardcopy brochures and let-
ters at a higher frequency in addition
to the normal electronic correspon-
dence. Wottle hopes these modifications
will “broaden our outreach across the
states.” He believes “the future of a lib-
SALVO BLAIRSECTION EDITOR
Millsaps College welcomes 1972 Olympic gold medalist Dave Wottle as the new interum vice-president of admissions. | Contributed Photo
WOTTLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 7.
| August 30, 2012
6
Going Greek?
Men and women participating in Panhel-
lenic and Intrafraternal Council (IFC) Re-
cruitment are anxious as the events begin.
Nearly 60 percent of the Millsaps stu-
dent body is involved in the Greek system
and all students are encouraged to at least
participate in the recruitment process.
According to Megan James, direc-
tor of campus activities, the recruit-
ment process is an “exciting time
and also a great opportunity to meet
freshmen and upper classmen.”
IFC formal recruitment began on Aug 27.
and will continue until Bid Day on Sept 1.
The IFC recruitment process is three
nights of formal recruitment. Most
events are formal, and the men are
required to wear either a coat or tie.
All freshmen and interested, unaffili-
ated men are encouraged to attend for-
mal recruitment activities for the pur-
pose of meeting other Millsaps students.
Senior Garrett Wilkerson, IFC president,
says, “I still encourage guys who didn’t
go through rush to go Greek. It provides
academic, philanthropic, social and
leadership opportunities at Millsaps.”
Monday evening unaffiliated women
who are going through the recruit-
ment process will meet the Panhellenic
Recruitment team—which consists of
members from each soror-
ity—at recruitment kickoff.
Panhellenic recruitment
counselors are sorority women
who have disaffiliated from
their respective chapters for
the recruitment period. They
are trained to remain neutral as
they answer any questions that
potential new members have
during the recruitment pro-
cess providing listening ears as
potential new members decide
which sorority, if any, to join.
Senior Taylor Scyster,
president of the Panhellen-
ic Council and recruitment
counselor, encourages fresh-
men to “definitely go though
the process open-minded”
and to “ignore stereotypes.”
The formal process consists of events
hosted on three nights. After each event,
the women who are going through re-
cruitment will rank the sororities in an
order of their preference after each event.
The Philanthropy Round on Sept. 4, in
which each potential new member cre-
ates a craft affiliated with each sorority’s
charity, is the first event of formal recruit-
ment. The event is casual, so the girls
are not required to wear formal attire.
On Sept. 6 the women may be invit-
ed back to up to three houses to watch
skits that the affiliated women have pre-
pared. The skits incorporate various
details about each sorority. This night
is more casual than the Philanthropy
Round, so girls are expected to wear
either a skirt and blouse or a sundress.
On Sept. 7, girls may be invited
back to up to two houses for Prefer-
ence Night which is the most formal
of the three events, and potential new
members are expected to wear cocktail
dresses. The potential new members
rank a last time before Bid Day, which
will be held on Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. All other
members of the Millsaps community are
encouraged to support the Greek wom-
en during their run, which is the first
time they welcome their new members
“Recruitment is great for those who nev-
er thought they would go Greek. Greek
life focuses on community service, phi-
lanthropy, and scholarship,” says James.
HIRNI PATELCONTRIBUTOR
PHI MU DELTA DELTA
DELTA KAPPA DELTA CHI
OMEGA KAPPA ALPHA
KAPPA SIGMA LAMBDA
CHI ALPHA PI KAPPA
ALPHA SIGMA ALPHA
EPSILON
MILLSAPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.
P&W: What are the immediate
steps that will be taken to begin imple-
menting the new plan?
Pearigen: We are full of plans
that we can be working on this
year. We are working to increase,
promote and continue com-
munication with religious orga-
nizations on and off campus.
Strategic goal number three
in the plan is campus enhance-
ments. One of our first goals is
to reclaim the north east corner
of campus where the Texaco
now is. For now, I have become
a big fan of pressure washing. It
makes an amazing difference. Of
course, we ultimately need things
like a new performing arts center,
but we can pressure wash now.
P&W: Speaking of campus enhance-
ment, what’s the deal with Franklin?
Pearigen: I had hoped that while
no one was living there we could go in
and renovate it. I asked for a cost to
do a major renovation that would in-
clude things like the bathrooms, carpet
and paint and ceiling tiles. The total
cost was $2.5 million. I don’t want to
just go in there and throw paint on the
walls; the building needs new things
like plumbing. Our students deserve
that. But for now, we have to raise
the money to complete that project.
P&W: Can you explain some of the recent
changes in the academic departments?
Pearigen: We had to consider every
department and ask if it is a core element
of the Millsaps experience and there-
fore has the potential to drive students
into it. The only department we cut was
computer science. This does not mean
we are walking away from technology.
We are continuing to teach classes.
We reduced the number of peo-
ple teaching in French and Spanish.
We didn’t have the student enroll-
ment to support it, but we have the
student interest to add a language.
The shifting allows us to cover
what we need to cover while we
search for strengths in that area.
*Note: There were also changes made
in the Chemistry and Biology depart-
ments, the Else School of Manage-
ment and the History and Computer
Science departments. These changes
were accompanied by modifications in
different administrative staff positions.
P&W: What are your plans to address
continued student concern about the meal plan
and cafeteria environment?
Pearigen: We have not had
a discussion about that. That
will be on the staff agenda.
*Note: Pearigen recently re-
leased information on the most
recent staff meeting, reporting the
agreed upon changes to return the
old, wooden chairs to the cafeteria.
P&W: How can students be involved
in the Strategic Plan?
Pearigen: The first and fore-
most thing is to encourage prospec-
tive students to enroll. We need to
get our enrollment up. Also, aca-
demic performance of students
has a lot to do with the strength
of the institution. It has an affect
on the overall campus climate.
As I mentioned in my speech
at convocation, student involve-
ment is crucial. I invite your
voice and your activism. We
have a large group of student
leaders who are doing everything, but
I want to see more students ramp up
their level of engagement on campus.
P&W: Anything else?
Pearigen: Ask questions. I am
always available to listen to your
concerns and advice. My email
Pearigen addresses students at Fourth Night Ceremony. | Photo by Genny Santos.
Last fall, in the midst of Tropical storm
Lee, Millsaps College freshman kicker
Beau Brady looked at a potential field
goal to win the Backyard Brawl. The
damp field and heavy winds made the
kick look impossible. The kick went
up, but sailed too far to the left. The
Majors fall to the Mississippi College
Choctaws 33-27 in Backyard Brawl XII.
The rivalry returns to campus this
year, amidst the impending threat of
Hurricane Isaac. The annual Back-
yard Brawl will take place at 3 p.m.
this Saturday at Harper Davis Field.
The rivalry began in 1920 with a Choc-
taw victory. The teams played annually
until 1959, except for during World War
II. The rivalry was rekindled in 2000,
when they played each other at Veter-
ans Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Mill-
saps defeated Mississippi College 20-19.
Since 2000, the two schools begin
each football season playing one an-
other, alternating between the two
campuses. Millsaps hopes home field
advantage helps break Mississippi
College’s three-year winning streak.
“It has been on our mind since
spring practice that we have to be
able to finish out a close game,”
says Head Coach Aaron Pelch.
Senior Charlie Sagan agrees, “It has
everyone really focused on the game.
It has been a huge emphasis through-
out the off season and fall camp that
our goal is to beat MC. We even have
a countdown timer in the locker
room. That is our focus right now.”
Pelch has faith in his returning play-
ers, specifically junior Jonathan Moore,
senior Jeb White and senior Kegan Jop-
lin. Moore is a second-year starter who
Pelch thinks will have a
good season. White was
recently named to sec-
ond team preseason All
American Team. Pelch
is confident that Joplin’s
abilities will be helpful to
the Majors this season.
“Home field advan-
tage is huge for Mill-
saps. Everything is set
for Millsaps. Anytime
you play at home is a
huge advantage,” says
Coach Norman Joseph,
Mississippi College’s
head football coach.
Backyard Brawl has al-
ways been a close game.
The last three games
were won in overtime
and only by a margin of
a few points. Mississippi
College leads the current
rivalry with a 7-4 series
advantage. The Majors
last win was in 2008
when they defeated
the Choctaws 42-6.
“Our game with
Millsaps, if you look at the history, has
two blowouts—one we [MC] won and
one Millsaps won. All the other games
are in the last minute of play or in over-
time or double overtime. Every time we
play Millsaps is going to be a battle, a
war. We have the mindset to play to the
end, finish the game and fortunately
we’ve come out on top but they could
have gone the other way,” says Joseph.
The Choctaws three-year winning
streak will not affect their prepara-
tion for the game. “We don’t look at
last years game or the year before.
We are getting ready for this year,
for this year’s game,” says Joseph.
The Millsaps team has been working
tirelessly to prepare for this game. “I
think we have grown astronomically in
terms of offense, defense, and as a team.
We are much closer than we were. It’s
always a learning process to get a team
ready for a season and the past two weeks
we have really come together. Things
are starting to click for us,” says Sagan.
The Mississippi Sports Coun-
cil will be filming the Backyard
Brawl for the movie The Grudge
Match, which is based on the rivalry.
The long-standing rivalry has many
different aspects. “For me person-
ally, it’s that I’ve never beat them. It’s
such a motivation for me. I want to
beat them terribly, and the games have
been lost in heartbreaking fashion. I
want to make up for missed opportuni-
ties from previous year,” says Sagan.
Pelch says he loves how good the games
are. “Every game is hotly and tightly con-
tested. You always see the best of both
teams, and it comes down to the last quar-
ter to determine the winner,” says Pelch.
CAROLINE BRANDON & ADAM SHUBERT SECTION EDITOR & CONTRIBUTOR
Photo Contributed
SPORTS | August 30, 2012
7
The rivalry continues,Millsaps takes homefield advantage
PORTER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.one of dialogical engagement. He
says the most valuable skill he’s taken
away from working with young people
is better understanding ways to form
dialogue. When attempting to convey a
moral issue to children Porter finds him-
self in a constant challenge to choose
words and body language to enter con-
versations with children on their level.
“(This) has definitely helped me with con-
versations in the adult world,” says Porter.
The key to sustaining these conversa-
tions in the classroom Porter believes is
to “show when you’re not sure. Learning
is not something that ends when you get
out of school. (Educators) should show
that change is not bad, but greet a change
as a new chance for more learning.”
A self-described “too-serious-of-a-
dude,” Porter notes how being silly and
reading a child’s story like a broad-
way thespian has “made (him) more
permeable to human sentiment.”
Just as Porter encourages children to ap-
proach problems in their own way, his pupils
reciprocate the favor by encouraging him
to take in serious academic work and pro-
duce simple, and often comical dialogue.
During the last portion of summer break,
Porter was chosen to attend a conference
for the advancement of philosophy for chil-
dren at Mont Claire State in New Jersey.
“It was founded in the 1970s by a man
named Matthew Lippman. He essen-
tially was very Dewien in his pragma-
tism towards education,” says Porter.
Porter describes the conference as an
international event. Attendees ranged
from PhD’s from Turkey to Canadian
schoolteachers. There was even a Sin-
gapore Army veteran in attendance as
a freshman philosophy undergraduate.
A wide range of thought experiments
was conducted at the conference. These
experiments test the validity of a school-
scenario dialogical system. This system is
supposed to accentu-
ate a group’s “poten-
tial” to listen, speak
and converse in what
Porter calls a “com-
munity of inquiry.”
The conferences at
Mont Claire provided
Porter with a practical
system that promotes
groups’ cohesive-
ness. He is eager to
be back with his pu-
pils to see this meth-
odology in praxis.
“We don’t learn as
individuals. We learn
as groups. Without
listening to other
people, we wouldn’t
even have language,”
Porter acknowl-
edges in retrospect.
Exuberance intones
his voice as he imag-
ines returning to work holding up a pa-
per clip and asking, “How many different
shapes could you bend this paper clip in?”
“A typical answer for an adult could be
something around 50, but a child might
ask instead, ‘Can it be eight feet tall and
made of Styrofoam?’” Porter continues.
WOTTLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.eral arts college is to start
throwing out a larger net.”
Wottle compares his life to that amazing
race in ‘72, “Even though it seems cliché,
there are a lot of lessons I learned from that
race,” he says. Footage from his race shows
a shaggy-haired underdog rise up from
the back of the pack to become the clear
winner within the last 15 meters. Show-
ing a tortoise-versus-the-hare ethos, Wot-
tle relates, “Life’s an even pace, it’s about
not giving up when you’re so far behind.”
Majors gear up for fresh fall seasonsSPORTS | August 30, 2012
8
ADAM SHUBERT CONTRIBUTOR
VOLLEYBALLAfter a strong season in 2011
the Majors volleyball team
looks ahead to a potentially
historic season. “We should do
very well based on last season,”
says Coach Jamie Fisher, “We
have a solid group of returners
and also seven new freshmen
that are very strong and will
help contribute.”
From the returning players,
Raven Scott and Casey Laird
were all conference last season
and are among the seniors
looking for a conference title.
“This has the potential to one
of the best seasons in Mill-
saps history,” says Fisher, “We
could win conference but just
have to do all the right things.”
The team anticipates hosting
Birmingham Southern at 7:00
p.m. on September 12. “They
have become one of our big-
gest rivals and are a team that
we will be competing with atop
the conference,” says Fisher.
CROSS COUNTRYCoach Andy Till is excited
about his runners’ outlook for
this season.
“Last fall we made good
improvements finishing ninth
in conference. With our new
freshman runners, we could
place in the top three,” says
Till.
In a preseason time trial two
freshmen boys were in the top
five. He also expects big things
from sophomore Ben Parva,
who will serve as the men’s
team captain. On the women’s
side, junior Sara Sacks will
serve as captain. Junior Haley
Brown had a strong season last
year and will play an important
role this season. The team will
have four meets at Choctaw
Trails in Clinton, MS. Millsaps
will also host the conference
championship at Choctaw
Trails.
“I would love to encourage
the student body to come out
to Choctaw Trails.” Says Till.
WOMENS SOCCERAfter a 4-12-1 season the
Majors women look to improve
on their record. “With only
four wins it is easy to go up.
The girls are willing to work
hard and are excited,” Coach
Amanda Paschall says.
Paschall enters her first year
as head coach after Coach Paul
Van Hooydonk resigned just
before practices started.
“Being a former player my-
self, it’s a good opportunity to
duplicate the same experience
for these girls,” says Paschall.
The team lost four seniors last
year, which included the team’s
top goalkeeper. Freshman Elise
Davis will step in to fill the role.
The game to look forward to
is September 11 at Belhaven.
“The game is right across the
street, we would love to have
the stadium filled with Millsaps
purple,” says Paschall.
MENS SOCCERThis season the men’s team
looks to improve on a 2-11-2
season last year.
“We are going to be better
no doubt. We are deeper and
more competitive,” says Coach
Lee Johnson. The team lost
three seniors but gained 10
freshmen.
“I am excited about the
class,” says Johnson, “The class
as a whole will make us bet-
ter. Taylor Harrison, senior, is
going to be a good leader on
the field as well as (sophomore)
Chucky Hayden,” Johnson
says. The team’s first kick off
at home is at 6:00 p.m. Sep-
tember 7 against Delta State
University.
GOLF“I have higher expectations
this year,” says golf coach
Eddie Brescher, “Our goal is
to finish in the top 40 in the
country.”
The rosters for both the
women and men include four
freshmen. Lauren was one of
the top golfers in Mississippi
last year and brings a welth of
experience to the team.
Sophomore Lauren Barattini
will lead the women, and both
senior Jake Sherrington and
junior Drew Richardson, who
was all conference last year, will
lead the men. The team will
host a home tournament Octo-
ber 22-23 at Deerfield Country
Club.
Photos Contributed
JORDAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.
groups of people, but some
of the images highlight con-
cepts that are inherent and
enduring cultural differences
between groups. Pointing out
the faults of another group of
people does nothing but make
the person viewing feel more
powerful and “right” for not
being a part of the culture or
group at the butt of the joke.
Another image macro to imag-
ine: a photograph of a young,
voluptuous woman. She’s all
dolled up with her hair and
make-up styled perfectly, wear-
ing a low-cut blouse. At the top
of the picture in bold letters
it says, “That awkward mo-
ment when …” In the middle
of the picture, just above the
young woman’s chest it says,
“when,” and at the bottom of
the picture it just says, “damn.”
The phrase, “that awkward
moment when …” is used in a
lot of memes; the phrase and
images became popular through
rapid digital sharing. There are
plenty of innocuous ones: a pic-
ture of a person with their fly
unzipped and the phrase, “that
awkward moment when … you
forget to examine your zipper.”
However, the woman in a low-
cut blouse is reduced to having
nothing of interest or worth but
her body. In reality, she has hopes,
dreams and thoughts. And she’s
probably never seen herself
displayed in this image macro.
We must recognize our privi-
lege when sharing and viewing
these types of images. Some
of us are fortunate enough to
own a computer and have In-
ternet access. Even if we do
something as simple as “lik-
ing” a picture on Facebook of
a discriminatory image macro,
we are perpetuating a stereo-
type, continuing to belittle those
unlike ourselves, and reduc-
ing human beings to nothing
but what the image and bold,
white letters makes of them.
When a friend of mine con-
fronted the person who posted
the two above described im-
age macros on Facebook, he
quickly responded, “It’s for
the LOLZ,” and continued to
post more degrading images.
That phrase, a meme-ified
version of the Web classic LOL
(laughing out loud), shows that,
to him and to whoever actu-
ally constructed the images, it’s
all just a joke. Our culture, and
especially our youth culture, is
unaware of the consequences
of these images. A joke is fun-
ny when it doesn’t hurt you
personally, but what about the
people that it does hurt? Image
macros that stereotype those of
Asian descent as overly studi-
ous or label African Americans
as “ghetto” perpetuate the op-
pression of those groups. Im-
ages are too easily available
for viewing by too many for
them not to have consequences.
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t
find some memes and images hi-
larious. I’ve looked through thou-
sands of them throughout the past
few years. But, needless to say, I
do not LOL upon viewing image
macros and memes that reduce
women as only valuable in the bed
or the kitchen, or images macros
and memes that make light of
genocide. These images degrade
and attempt to homogenize our
beautifully diverse cultures; and,
come on, there are just some things
that are never funny.
This article was original-
ly published in the Jackson
Free Press on August 8, 2012
GREGORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.
Millsaps items during the
course of the game, so please
make sure you come out!
Other goals that we have set for
the semester include installing a
printing kiosk in the library to
expedite printing and to free up
the other computers for students
to use. We also intend to work
with the College supporting
of their efforts to improve and
extend academic technology in
the classrooms. Additionally, we
will continue our work on capi-
tal improvements to the Col-
lege, such as adding a dedicated
student paint room on the third
floor of the College Center.
Finally, we are committed to
working with the College to
improve the policies that affect
dining services. We want to see
the hours in the cafeteria ex-
tended to better accommodate
our student athletes and all
students who enjoy their meals
in our cafeteria. A long-held
concern has also dealt with the
lack of variety in meal plans.
We intend to approach the
necessary entities of the Col-
lege administration in full sup-
port of adding another meal
plan option for our students.
As I hope you can see, the Stu-
dent Body Association remains
committed to serving you, the
students, in all that we do. We
have set some pretty steep goals,
but they are goals that we know,
in the end, will be of the benefit
to our student body. As always,
I encourage you to contact me
with any questions, concerns,
or comments that you have
about any aspect of what we
are doing. On a personal level,
I thank you for your continued
support of Millsaps and look
forward to serving you through-
out these next few months.