FRIDAY ReflectorFEBRUARY 1, 2013

TheTWITTER.COM/REFLECTORONLINEFACEBOOK.COM/REFLECTORONLINE

125TH YEAR | ISSUE 32

REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

READER’S GUIDEBAD DAWGS..............................2OPINION...............................3CONTACT INFO.......................3BULLETIN BOARD...................4

CROSSWORD.......................4CLASSIFIEDS...........................4LIFE....................................5SPORTS...................................6

ANY PERSON MAY PICK UP A SINGLE COPY OF THE REFLECTOR FOR FREE. ADDITIONAL COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE MEYER STUDENT MEDIA CENTER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY.

POLICY

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1884

FRIDAY4528

5836

SATURDAY SUNDAY5935

MONDAY5943

SEE SEARCH, 2

NASA engineers bring experiences, discoveries to MSU

COURTESY PHOTO | BETH WYNN

NASA engineers Bobak Ferdowsi, left, and Adam Steltzner, right, addresses a crowd of over 600 in the Colvard Student Union. Tuesday night, Ferdowsi and Steltzner spoke about the Curiosity Rover, the findings on the surface of Mars and the experience of working for NASA.

Students begin the search for fall semester housing demands

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

BY CANDACE BARNETTE

Copy Editor

The time has arrived for many Mississippi State Uni-versity students to make the transition from their current residence to a new one.

Step one for most is deter-mining where they want to live.

Brandon Ballou, commu-nity assistant at The Pointe at MSU, said there are sev-eral factors to take into ac-count when deciding where to move.

“You have to look at the way you’re billed. Like with us, you just pay one bill with your water and electricity included. Another thing to look at is if it’s furnished or not; moving furniture can be very diffi cult,” he said. “But in the Cotton District you can paint your walls, hang your TV, have pets, and here you can’t do that. If you abso-

lutely have to have your dogs or paint your walls red, you shouldn’t live here. It’s very subjective.”

Joe Tkach, local landlord, owns 46 properties across Starkville. He said there are defi nite advantages and dis-advantages to living in pri-vately-owned places like his versus an apartment complex from a larger contractor.

“If you live in a big com-plex, they offer some things we can’t afford to offer like a golf course or swimming pool. If that’s what you’re looking for, smaller private-ly-owned apartments don’t have those kinds of ameni-ties,” he said. “But some of our properties have yards, your own space and allow pets, which some of the big-ger contractors do not.”

Tkach said the buyer’s per-sonality can also infl uence living preferences.

“A lot of what I tell people

is if you’re the type of person who likes to go out and drink at all, you need to be some-where close enough that you can walk home,” he said. “A lot of our places are within walking distance to down-town.”

James Parker, an MSU alumnus who has moved fi ve times, said moving should not be a scary process if the buyer fi nds out as much as possible about the rental be-fore agreeing to a lease.

“You need to check it out fi rst. Talk to some people that live there. See not only what happens when you move in and what you have to pay but also what you have to pay when you move out,” Parker said. “You need to defi nitely speak to your landlord and get in good with them, too. Do some serious investigat-ing before you decide to bind yourself to a lease for a whole year.”

BY JAMES TOBERMANN

Staff Writer

NASA engineers Bobak Ferdowsi and Adam Steltzner delivered an address entitled “More Than Just Curiosity” as part of the Bagley Col-lege of Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series Tuesday night.

Ferdowsi, an aerospace engineer, held the title of fl ight director, while Steltzner played a key role in designing, building and testing the unique sky crane system that successfully de-posited the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover on Mars.

Ferdowsi said he saw numerous similarities between Mars and Earth, demonstrating such geological formations as mountains, foothills, and riverbeds in photographs taken by the Cu-riosity Rover.

“There are a lot of parallels between Mars and our own planet,” he said.

Ferdowsi also said Curiosity will puncture the surface of Mars to discover what is beneath the dust-coated surface of the Red Planet.

“Curiosity will drill on Mars, probably with-in the week, and we’ll be looking back into the history of Mars, not just what’s on the surface,” he said.

Steltzner said the work of the Curiosity Rover and NASA in general is deeply connected to the human experience, arguing that space explora-tion begs such philosophical questions as “Who are we?” and “What is our reach?”

“When we explore, we are exploring our limits,” he said. “I can look at a picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon, and that has meaning to me.”

Steltzner, now famous for his pompadour and sideburns, also drew numerous parallels between his own life and that of the Curiosity Rover. He described his days as a “listless 20-year-old wannabe rock star” and his decision to pursue

engineering based on his fascination with the constellations in the night sky.

Steltzner emphasized that we, as human be-ings, do not know where the future will take us, and would probably be paralyzed with fear and disbelief if we knew.

“Somehow, thank God, you never know where your curiosity’s going to take you; other-wise, you might not go there,” he said.

Using the sky crane as an example, Steltzner said the most brilliant ideas often seem foolish when fi rst conceived.

“Great genius and great folly may be indistin-guishable at the outset,” he said.

Ferdowsi said working as an engineer at NASA is no average job, and a special temperament is required in such a demanding environment.

“You don’t get this kind of job without some kind of quirky personality,” he said.

Ferdowsi also said his Mohawk was an effort to lighten the tension that accompanies such high-stakes missions as Curiosity.

“My hairdo was actually an effort to take off some of the stress of preparing for this mission,” he said.

Ian Ladner, senior mechanical engineering major, said both speakers conveyed information about the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover in simple, colloquial language.

“I thought it was very well-planned in the sense that they were able to present very high-level material in a down-to-earth manner,” he said.

Rachel McFalls, senior aerospace engineering major, said the speakers connected well with an audience that consisted of many non-experts.

“They did a really good job of explaining something highly technical to a group of stu-dents that may or may not understand,” she said.

The presentation can be viewed online at vi-meo.com/58591810.

BY JAMES TOBERMANN

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State University Student Asso-ciation Senate ratifi ed sweeping amendments to the election code in its constitution, specifi cally the articles governing executive elections.

Meredith Sledge, senior interior design major and chairman of the Senate Student Affairs Com-mittee, said the senate has discussed modifying the elections code for years.

“This year, we have a very driven SA Executive Council and a very driven group of senators,” she said in an email interview. “Our goal is to leave the elections code better than we found it.”

Daniel Fisher, graduate student in business ad-ministration and SA graduate school senator, said the previous election code suffered from ambigu-ity and redundant language.

“Prior to the recent changes, the elections code had some redundancy issues as well as gray areas which have caused complaints in past general elections,” he said in an email interview.

Sledge said the election code had become bloat-ed as successive generations of SA senators added to it.

“Since I enrolled at MSU, the elections code has evolved tremendously,” she said via email. “Over those years, the elections code has become very inconsistent and hard to comprehend.”

Fisher said the changes will have an impact on candidates and campaigners.

“The ultimate goal in the endeavor was to make the code more simple and straightforward, allowing any student to quickly become familiar with the requirements to become a candidate as well as the guidelines for general campaigning,” Fisher said via email.

Park Wynn, SA vice president, said many of the updates to the election code were superfi cial.

“I would say most of the changes are cosmetic changes,” he said. “They involved a lot of restruc-turing and cleaning it up.”

Fisher said the most substantial change to

the election code was the defi -nition of campaigning.

“The old code outlined ‘pas-sive’ and ‘active’ campaigning, detailing what was included within each type as well as an approximate timeline for when campaigning was allowed,” he said via email.

Wynn said the changes remove ambiguity and simplify the job of the election commis-sioner, especially in case of a violation.

“We gave one single defi nition of campaign-ing and defi ned major violations and minor vi-olations and the budget reductions that go with each of those,” he said. “It makes it easier for the election commissioner.”

Sledge said the SA Senate will now turn its attention to homecoming and senate elections.

“This semester we will be reviewing and re-vising the homecoming, Mr. and Miss MSU and Senate elections process,” she said via email.

Fisher said the current constitution will gov-ern the February executive elections, but any new revisions will not effect next month’s vot-ing.

“Any new changes within the next month will have no effect on the SA Executive Council election,” he said via email.

Fisher said he hopes students will participate more in the electoral process as a result of the changes.

“Hopefully, the students can become more involved in the process, either assisting a can-didate or keeping candidates accountable,” he said via email.

Wynn said the election system should respect the rights and freedoms of candidates and vot-ers alike.

“We don’t want students to get mobbed by campaigners as they walk across the Drill Field,” he said. “We have to walk a fi ne line between free speech and the responsibility of allowing students an academic environment.”

SA alters election code, preps for votes

Wynn

STUCK

IF YOU ARE IN SEARCH OF OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING FOR NEXT YEAR, BE SURE TO SAVE THE DATE TO ATTEND THE MSU SPRING OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING FAIR

ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6.

IN YOURSEARCH?

Not Your Average

life | 5

beauty queen AQ&Rugby returns to the pitch for its 35 season

Sports / 7

NEWS THE REFLECTOR2 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

SEARCH continued from 1

BADDAWGS

Tuesday, January 29• 12:47 p.m. An employee reported he was assaulted by a student behind the Industrial Education building.• 1:00 p.m. An employee reported a portable projector and a carrying case missing from his vehicle while parked near Magruder Street.

Wednesday, January 30• 8:18 a.m. An employee reported the gate arm in the Lloyd Ricks parking lot was damaged.• 12:03 p.m. A student reported identity fraud that began in the spring of 2011. • 1:47 p.m. An employee reported items missing at the Agriculture and Bioengineering building while doing a self audit.• 2:19 p.m. An employee reported a stolen computer from Howell Hall.• 5:36 p.m. An RA reported the smell of marijuana in Magnolia Hall.• 6:11 p.m. A student reported a suspicious incident at the Zeta Tau Alpha house. A student referral was issued.

Thursday, January 31• 12:18 a.m. A student was having seizures at the Pi Beta Phi house. The subject was transported to OCH.

Citations:• 16 citations were issued for speeding.

CLARIFICATION: MSU police said in Tuesday’s edition of The Reflector, the 4:05 a.m. arrest at the Tri Delta house was in reference to the 2:25 a.m. incident at the Tri Delta house.

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

Once students have a place in mind, most landlords allow for tours of their houses or apartments.

Ballou said calling fi rst is essential to see if appointments are required.

“On our property, we’ll show an apart-ment from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You just come in and we’ll show you,” he said. “Some other properties might work off you calling in and setting up and appointment, but we (the Pointe at MSU) just have a walk-in sys-tem.”

Ballou also said he would advise choosing

future roommates wisely for any place is a big factor in having a successful move.

Parker said through his experience mov-ing, he could verify roommates made a huge impact on his living arrangements.

“Having a crappy roommate for a whole year is miserable,” he said. “Having an amaz-ing one for a whole year, even in a crappy place, can make up for everything.”

Although some places have already fi lled their vacancies for the following school year, Ballou said it is not too late in many other apartments.

“We’re more of a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve type leasing. We get really busy around spring break,” Ballou said. “After that every-one realizes, ‘Oh God, I don’t have anywhere to live’ and we have a rush until summer, but by then we have a waiting list. But at a place like Glen Hollow, they’ll have a waiting list about two years long, so as soon as someone moves out they’re already leased up.”

For students still searching for a place to live next year, several rentals in Starkville are advertised in the newspapers and on websites such as craigslist.com, according to Tkach.

EDDIE MAC HUDDLESTON: JOHN WILLIAMS:

SA ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATESQ&A

Q: What are some things you would like to improve on in the attorney general position?

A: “The fi rst priority of any attorney general has to be to maintain the integrity of the SA constitution and that will certainly be my priority as well. In addition to that I just want people to know what exactly the senate does and how much infl uence the senate can really have when u t i l i z e d p r o p e r l y, and I want to really e m p o w e r people to be able to use the sen-ate and the senators to their full potential. Additionally, I’ve worked with Freshman Forum the past two years, and I want to make sure as many freshmen on campus as possible get the opportunity to have a good running start as far as leadership goes on this cam-pus, and so that’s why I want to implement a freshman mentor-ing program as well.”

Q: What are some issues or roles you would like to reform?

A: “I think that I’ve had a lot

of good role models as far as SA Executive Council goes. As for my background, I have served as a cabinet member before and attorney general works closely with the senate so I think that I’d be able to bridge the gap well between the executive branch and the legislative branch to create a more well-rounded and more productive SA that com-municates better between the

branches.” Q: If elected

attorney gen-eral, how can your position better the over-all student ex-perience?

A: What I would like to

do with the infl uence of attor-ney general is to create a men-toring program where these students can easily connect with SA leaders and other leaders from organizations from across campus so that any questions they may have can get answered. They can get advice on how to get involved and how to inter-view and things like that, so that they can really become good leaders on this campus from an early stage.”

Q: What are some things you would like to improve on in the attorney general posi-tion?

A: “Well, defi nitely trans-parency. Just going to the SA website you’ll see that there haven’t been any updates as far as legislation, bills and amend-ments since Rhett Hobart was president. That was much over a year ago. I defi nitely want to improve the transparency of the SA.”

Q: What are some is-sues or roles you would like to reform?

A: “Well defi nitely try-ing to check up on other organizations on campus. I know, being president of an-other organization, we never hear from SA except whenever they need help with program-ming. I think SA, especially attorney general, has potential to be like a legal adviser to a lot of other organizations. I think that’s something that a lot of organizations need.

Some of them have bare min-imum constitutions or bylaws and the attorney general can provide insight as far as legal issues and different thing in-volving the constitution.”

Q: If elected attorney gen-eral, how can your position better the overall student ex-perience?

A: “I think, fi rst of all, let-ting people realize that SA is

obviously an organizat ion, but it’s also the student gov-erning body. It’s kind of like the big um-brella over ev-erything. Most people look at it as just another organization so I want them to know that SA is

another organization, but it’s also the governing body. They are here to promote them-selves, but they are also here to help other organizations by reaching out saying ‘We are here for you as well, for you and your organization. So let us know what we can do for you.’”

Want to advertisewith us?

CALL325-7907

I think SA, especially attorney general, has potential to be like a legal adviser to a lot of other organizations.”John Williams

“The fi rst priority of any attorney general has to be to maintain the integrity of the SA constitution.”Eddie Mac Huddleston

“

VISIT THE REFLECTOR ONLINE @

reflector-online.com

FOLLOW US!ON TWITTER@twitter.com/sportsreflector

& FACEBOOK@facebook.com/sportsreflector

OPINION the voice of MSU studentsInDesign is very

friday, february 1, 2013 | 3REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

CONTACT INFORMATIONEditor in Chief/Hannah Rogers

325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu

Managing Editor/Kaitlyn Byrne

325-8991 managing@reflector.msstate.edu

News Editor/Emma Crawford

325-8819 news@reflector.msstate.edu

News tips/John Galatas

325-7906 news@reflector.msstate.edu

Opinion Editor/Mary Chase Breedlove

opinion@reflector.msstate.edu

Sports Editor/Kristen Spink

325-5118 sports@reflector.msstate.edu

Life Editor/Zack Orsborn

325-8883 life@reflector.msstate.edu

Photography Editor/Kaitlin Mullins

325-1584 photo@reflector.msstate.edu

Advertising sales/Julia Pendley

325-7907 advertise@reflector.msstate.edu

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor should be

sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to edi-tor@reflector.msstate.edu.

Letters must include name and telephone number for verification purposes. The editor reserves the right to edit or refuse to publish a letter.

EDITORIAL POLICYThe Reflector is the official stu-

dent newspaper of Mississippi State University. Content is determined solely by the student editorial staff.

The contents of The Reflector have not been approved by Mississippi State University.

CORRECTIONSThe Reflector staff strives to maintain the integrity of this paper through accurate

and honest reporting. If we publish an error we will correct it. To report an error, call 325-7905.

Editor in ChiefHannah Rogers

Managing EditorKaitlyn Byrne

News EditorEmma Crawford

Campus News EditorJohn Galatas

Multimedia EditorEric Evans

Life EditorZack Orsborn

Sports EditorKristen Spink

Opinion EditorMary Chase Breedlove

Photography EditorKaitlin Mullins

Copy EditorCandace Barnette

Copy EditorRachel Burke

ReflectorThe

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but the kids I grew up with in suburban

Atlanta starting exploring their bodies in the fifth and sixth grade. Being raised in a tradi-tional southern home, I was a bit more naive. Heck, I was

still watching “Scooby Doo” at that time. This is why when a girl in the fifth grade slyly asked me if I had ever hit a home run, I replied: “Girl, I play travel baseball. I hit ‘em all the time.” I had no clue.We live in a society that is

marked by the freedom to pur-sue sex.

In this freedom, we’ve begun to worship it. In fact, I think we’re addicted to it.

If you don’t believe me, just visit the Junction on game day. But seriously, since the ‘60s and ‘70s, with the advent of the pill, we’ve exchanged the old, worn-out ways of chastity for the ex-citing hedonistic life that is sex-ual freedom.

But it’s only natural, isn’t it? We’re supposing to be having sex, right? Sure.

I won’t pretend to think it’s unnatural for us to have sex, and I don’t think anyone would. But at the same time, I

have to wonder whether the de-gree to which we’re pushing and promoting sexual liberation is actually natural.

Think about it. The porn in-dustry rakes in billions of dol-

lars each year. People pay

hundreds of dol-lars to watch strip shows. As college students, we’ve made an art out of pre-marital hookups. School boards are pro-moting safe-sex education to kids

in elementary school. (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.

My point is that it is absurd we have arrived at a place where we have to offer such education to 10-year-olds.)

Again, I understand sex is as natural of a function as eating. But why don’t we treat them the same? When someone spends his or her life savings at Kroger, we know he or she has a prob-lem.

We see such obesity as a so-cial ill, and we fight to stop it. But thanks to our addiction to sex, when someone spends their time and money at a strip club, we think nothing of it.

Why the double standard, I wonder?

Now is there a cure to our addiction?

I think there might be one.

But to find it, we’d have to stop and ask, “What question is sex trying to answer?”

Because although this is a rel-atively new revolution, it’s just the latest in a string of attempts to find true happiness.

And just like our other at-tempts, such as technology, suc-cess or alcohol, sex will contin-ue to fail us. Why?

Because we need something more. And until we find it, we’ll just keep partying and partying and downing drink after drink.

This is the paradox of the hedonistic soul — the more pleasure we imbibe, the more we thirst.

Reminds me of a story in John 4, where a carpenter talks about true thirst.

Check it out sometime if you’re curious. In this chapter, I find you, myself, and our addic-tions. In it, I find the questions I don’t want to ask. Maybe be-cause I’m scared of the answers.

MusINgs | bEN hEsTER

Sex addiction consumes our nation

Ben Hester is a junior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

BEN HESTER

In his article, “Social science needs to get its act together,” Cameron Clarke claims social

science/political psychology does not push its influences into gov-ernment and other people with power, as well as other people tend to believe that they know much about how people work while realistically, they know very little. While I do not claim to be the most re-searched in social science literature, I would say with my background in social psychology, I feel I am more than qualified to respond to this article. Social sciences include sociology, social psychology and counseling, just to name a few, and have in-fluenced many social changes over the past decades.

Although it may not be as ob-vious as a political party saying it has many psychologists and so-ciologists on their staff influenc-ing their social policy decisions, social science has had major im-pacts on society.

One change social science has had on society is police are now trained to work against their in-ternal prejudices in order to not discriminate. This program was started because of experiments in social science that revealed people had the tendency to be more like-

ly to shoot at a black male than white male. Social science has also made great strides researching the cause and effects of stalking, relationship formation and many other aspects of human interac-tion. Think of us as the Apple Store. If it’s a part of the human experience, we’ve got a research experiment for it.

Getting back to the points Clarke made: saying psychology does not take part in political issues, or if it does it is biased, is simply not true. Social psy-chology has a very

rigorous peer evaluation process and only once something is a well-established theory or exper-iment with strong evidence to support it does it become pub-lished in an American Psycho-logical Association journal. This may make many of you cringe, but social psychology is one of the driving forces behind movements like gun control and the gay rights campaign. Clarke also said social science research has a chance to be biased, which is true for any sci-entific field.

To avoid biased results, psy-chology has multiple “safety nets.” The peer evaluation of results and publications, re-creations of ex-periments and statistics to rule out chance occurrences. However,

there’s a reason why this research took a long time to start having programs and laws enacted upon it. One reason is people often dis-count research from psychology due to people not understanding psychology uses the same scientif-ic method as any other scientific field, whether it is engineering, physics or biology.

Another reason is our political structure is not the best. Most of Congress does not use social science advisors nor do they have scientific backgrounds, instead they are mostly lawyers or busi-ness people.

While sometime they do tend to go to academic sources such as the APA or consultants who have performed research in the area, government officials don’t tend to go to the right sources due to another issue: money.

I’m not suggesting politicians don’t have money, I’m suggesting money gives you a louder voice to be heard. In science, there are always arguments about various results in an experiment or people who refuse to listen to new evi-dence (see the Flat Earth Society) that would interfere with a world view. There are a few groups from the field of psychology who do just that; and unfortunately for much more credible researchers or organizations, such as the APA, they tend to have money and a

platform. One of these groups would be the Family Research Council, a socially conservative group that are often given the chance to voice their opinions on local or national news when they have little to no data to support what they claim and instead just list biased opinions.

This has a negative effect on all the correct and accurate data that social science has found over the decades because they are not given an equal opportunity. While we would like to have a larger voice in government policies, when our voice is ignored by politicians and ruling parties who instead only listen to the groups who have a political platform and money, it becomes rather difficult.

One cannot simply say it is the researchers’ fault when the high-er-ups don’t listen; it is a problem with the higher-ups.

All the social scientists can do is continue to submit their results and hope that one day politicians and the world will take notice.

I agree with Clarke’s statement that many people assume they know about social science and how it works just because they go through social interactions every day. I believe this is important to discuss, as it is dangerous and foolish to assume we are experts in a topic, when in actuality, we know very little of the topic.

LETTER TO ThE EdITOR | aNdREw NOvOTNy

One issue that often arises is of religion and its re-lationship with empiri-

cal judgments and reason. One may be surprised to discover this issue is not new or peculiar to our present time but has, in fact, confounded great minds since the inception of the Christian Church. Saint Augustine, Gal-ileo and Rene Descartes are just some people who were convinced that empirical judgments should be given deference over religious traditions and scriptural interpre-tations within Christianity. I am not at all trying to disprove reli-gion, I am merely trying to open up the possibility that what we see around us is true; scriptures are not intended to deny nature and nature should not be used to deny the scriptures.

Galileo, a Christian defending his scientific opinions from the papal authority, wrote a letter in which he described his view on religion and its interaction with natural law. Galileo states his understanding of how God uses scripture and nature as his tools: “God reveals Himself no less excellently in the effects of nature than in the sacred words

of Scripture … and so it seems that a natural phenomenon which is placed before our eyes by sense experience or proved by necessary demonstrations should not be called into question, let alone condemned, on account of scriptural passages whose words appear to have a different mean-ing.”

Since God has control over all revelation, the apparent discord is simply a product of misun-derstanding which deserves to be heard out or disproven. Ob-viously, there is a good deal of weight put on the power of the mind and good evidence, but this too is part of Galileo’s conviction, that we are capable of making sense out of the universe; he says, “since [reason] too is a gift from God, one must apply it to the in-vestigation of the true meanings of the Holy Writ at those places which apparently seem to read differently.” Galileo thus sees rea-son as a lens for gaining insight rather than as a stumbling block to understanding doctrines.

Additionally, scriptures should not be read as a textbook on sci-ence because much of what was written was not trying to make

claims about natural law. The original readers of the Old Tes-tament were ex-slaves living in the deserts of the Middle East, the last thing they were con-cerned with was whether or not the Sun was at the cen-ter, how long creation took or any oth-er issues that pop up from a literal reading of glossed-over physical descrip-tions of the world. Galileo says the biblical authors were so un-concerned with making scientific claims that they avoided writing about them at all, “(they) delib-erately refrained from doing it, even though they knew all these things well.”

Descartes’ explores our ability to have knowledge in his “Dis-course on Method,” implicitly re-marking on our understanding of truth in religious tradition. Des-cartes had a low opinion of sense perception or appeals to author-ity because he acknowledges the ability for anyone to have wrong ideas that sound good or for our

senses to be deceived by illusions; he says, “We should never allow ourselves to be persuaded except by the evidence of our reason.

And it is to be observed that I say ‘of our reason,’ and not ‘of our imagi-nation’ or ‘of our senses.’”

Descartes himself for-

mulated a large number of com-pletely wrong scientific theories, but what counts is he endeavored to explain phenomena from nat-ural law.

He believed with God main-taining the universe through the same miraculous power that started it, utilizing natural law as a mechanism, the workings of the universe over time are open to our understanding and our use of scientific reasoning is useful for getting a better understanding of religion.

Galileo puts it eloquently when he urges us not to force scientific meanings on scripture, “I should think it would be very prudent not to allow anyone to

commit and in any way oblige scriptural passages to have to maintain the truth of any phys-ical conclusions whose contrary could ever be proved to us by the senses or demonstrative and necessary reasons. Indeed, who wants the human mind put to death?”

Saint Augustine, early in the Christian Church’s history, de-termined reading literal meaning into scripture’s physical descrip-tions of the world was a bad idea. To anyone who has difficulty believing the words of scripture because they differ from reality, Augustine wrote this in his book “The Literal Meaning of Gene-sis,” “Since the issue here is the authority of the Scripture… it should be said that our authors did know the truth about (the shape of heaven), but that the Spirit of God, which was speak-ing through them, did not want to teach men these things which are of no use to salvation.”

Therefore, in addition to the impropriety of using scripture in a scientific debate, arguments should also not be made for the invalidity of the scriptures due to alleged scientific inaccuracies

in the text or in a certain group’s interpretation.

From a biblical standpoint, re-ligious views must be compatible with rational demonstrations be-cause both come from God. In the case of Christianity, the Holy Spirit’s revelations from scripture and from natural phenomena are not able to disagree except in their interpretation.

Therefore, since reasoning is such a useful tool and has this use as a corrective lens, I would even urge people who have already made a judgment against religion to reconsider, to take the overar-ching message that is the real fo-cus of the scriptures and examine what is really being said.

Cameron Clarke is a sophomore majoring in physics. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

CAMERON CLARKE

whO spEaks FOR EaRTh? | CaMERON CLaRkE

Religious truths do not negate scientific information and discovery

Social sciences influence our world

CONTRIbuTINg wRITER | aNNa wOLFE

Let’s not stress a sound bite

Thanks to our addiction to sex, when someone spends his or her time and money at a strip club, we think nothing of it.”

“

I am not at all trying to disprove religion, I am merely trying to open up the possibility that what we see around us is true.”

“

social science has had major impacts on society.”

“

Four American men in-cluding Ambassador Chris Stevens were killed

in Benghazi, Libya, during an assault on the American mission on Sept. 11, 2012. The Libyan group who planned and execut-ed the killings and their motives are unknown.

That does not, however, stop conservatives from criticizing the president and secretary of state for failing to do everything they could to prevent the attack, and then failing to provide ac-curate information afterward. Speculation has come up re-garding who is responsible and why there was such a slow mili-tary response.

Fox News has grilled the Obama administration, making accusations of a cover-up in an outlandish conspiracy to hide the truth. It was first announced that the attack was a result of a protest surrounding an Amer-ican-made video called “The Innocence of Muslims,” which crudely depicts Mohammed and mocks the religion.

According to an interview by The New York Times, Abu Khattala, a suspected ringleader, confirms this claim. It is now believed there were no protests in Benghazi, leaving some to suspect a calculated misrepre-sentation of the violent act by our nation’s leaders.

I make no excuses for our country’s failure of security

and intelligence in this circum-stance; although I don’t believe Obama’s administration inten-tionally mislead the American people. The fact remains we simply don’t know all the facts.

On Jan. 23, Hillary Clinton made her long-awaited testi-mony regarding the Benghazi tragedy. She sat poised in front of Congress as she gave her opening statement. She spoke eloquently, answering each sen-ator’s questions to the best of her ability, despite being aggressive-ly challenged by them.

Not without many com-plaints from conservatives, Clinton had postponed the hearing until the end of January due to a concussion she suffered in December. Instead of appear-ing nervous before her peers, she wore a slight smile and nodded during many of their hostile in-quiries.

She became emotional when describing her time with the victims’ families, showing her humility. During this tedious meeting, our secretary of state presented herself with class.

Without actually watching the testimony, a viewer may have found its essence insensi-tive and possibly offensive due to the sound bite repeatedly played on Fox News. After be-ing excessively asked the reason for the attack, Clinton said, “What difference does it make?”

When I heard the sound bite

for the first time, I cringed. By itself, it suggests investigating the cause of the attack would be pointless.

I have now heard the phrase numerous times followed by commentary including, “She appeared to indicate that it doesn’t matter who’s behind the attack,” from Sean Hannity.

Well, of course it makes a difference. The four victims’ families deserve to know who is responsible for the deaths, and the circumstances in which their lives were taken.

Looking at the bigger pic-ture, it is essential to understand what happened and who was involved to prevent similar trag-edies in the future.

We should certainly inquire about the events that left four American men dead and work to bring those to justice who acted so brutally.

If you listen to her entire re-sponse, you will hear what Clin-ton was really saying. “What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do every-thing we can to prevent it from ever happening again.”

She said we should focus on finding the terrorists, discover-ing their motives in the process.

And that is exactly what the American people needed to hear, not a sound bite to be mis-construed for the conservative agenda.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AD REP

SO WE CAN SUPPORT YOU....

Call 662-325-7907for more information

BUY AN AD TODAY!OUR AD REPRESENTATIVES:

Campus A to L - Sarah Beth HintonCampus M to Z - Wendy Morell

Downtown and Co� on District- Farrah MillerHighway 12 East - Alex Anthony

Highway 12 West and Tupelo - Lindsay BotwinickHighway 182, Highway 82, West Point and Columbus - Yance Falkner

2 Beef or Turkey Cheedar Sandwhiches

for $5

10% Off with MSU I.D.

301 Brooks Rd. (off North Lehmberg Rd.)662-329-4311

Saturday Worship 9:30 am

Sabbath School 10:30 am

Wednesday Prayer Meeting 6:30 pm

Columbus Seventh-day Adventist Church

11:15 am

9:30 am

BULLETIN BOARDCLASSIFIEDS POLICY

The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; the deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifi eds are $5 per issue. Student and staff ads are $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found: found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed for standard ad cost.

HELP WANTED

Bartending. Up to $300 / day. No experience necessary. Training available. Call 800.965.6520 ext. 213.

FOR SALE

Beautiful hilltop location. Large, open living area, oversized den, landscaping. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms. For sale. Contact 324.0059 for more information.

1.5-carat past, present and future engagement ring. Paid $500, will take $300, fi rm. Call 617.0111 and ask for Angela.

FOR RENT

Three bedroom, two bathroom mobile home, private lot, fenced-in backyard, new carpet and paint, $600 per month plus $600 deposit. Rental application is required. Call 769.7407 or 312.6238.

MISCELLANEOUS

Learn to scuba dive. Be PADY-certifi ed by spring break. Call 418.7489 for more information.

Think you might be pregnant? Free pregnancy test and confi dential counseling. Life Choices Pregnancy Care Center. Call 327.0500. mslifechoices.org.

CLUB INFO

The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. MSU

student organizations may place free announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to club_info@refl ector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Refl ector offi ce in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Refl ector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability.

WESLEY FOUNDATION

Insight Bible study and worship on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at the Wesley Foundation Worship Center on East Lee Boulevard next to Campus Book Mart.

MSU CATHOLIC STUDENT ASSOCIATION

The MSU Catholic Student Association invites you to join us for Sunday mass at 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 607 University Drive. All are welcome to $2 Tuesday night dinner at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/msstatecsa

MSU STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF

MICROBIOLOGY

Contact msuasm@yahoo.com or like us on Facebook, “MSU ASM,” for membership information.

YOGA MOVES CLUB

School or work stressing you out? Get moving into Yoga Moves! Try our moves to get into shape and our relaxation techniques to handle the stress. Yoga Moves meets at the Sanderson Center in Studio C, Thursday evenings 5 to 6:30. Like Yoga Moves Club-MSU on Facebook.

STUDENTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS

SSC meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in McCool room 212. Come and meet really cool people who all share interests in saving the environment. Don’t forget to opt-in for the Green Fund.

SOCIOLOGICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION

The Sociological Student Association is based in the Department of Sociology. Undergraduates of all degrees are welcome. Meetings are held the last Thursday of every month in Bowen Hall room 250 at 5 p.m.

LADIES SOCIAL CIRCLE

Ladies Social Circle spring 2013 recruitment Feb. 4, 5 and 6 in McCool room 202 at 7 p.m. Join us for fun, food and friends. lsc.org.msstate.edu.

MANIFESTING GLORY

Manifesting Glory is currently looking for musicians on a temporary or permanent basis. All who are interested, please call 518.1456.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION CLUB

Are you interested in talking about the deeper questions of life? If so, come and join us on Thursdays at 5 p.m. in Union Room 227. Email msu.philosophyandreligion.club@gmail.com.

SCUBA DAWGS

SCUBA Dawgs presents Discover SCUBA. Come out on Feb. 5 and 6 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanderson pool to learn how to SCUBA dive. Cost is $5. Bring a towel and swimming attire.

2- 1-13AN IN-CLASS DISTRACTION ...

Solutions for 1-29-13

THE REFLECTOR

FOLLOWthe

NEWS DESK@newsreflector

Call 325-7907Call 325-7907

TO ADVERTISETO ADVERTISEWITH

�e Reflector

FOR EVERYTHINGSPORTS RELATEDFOLLOW

@SPORTSREFLECTORon twitter

ADVERTISE(WITH)

THE REFLECTORCALL 325-7907

4 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013

VISITreflector @reflector-online.com

FOLLOW @REFLECTOPINION ON TWITTERADVERTISE

(WITH)

THE REFLECTOR

CALL 325-7907

Life & EntertainmentFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 | 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

Let he who is without a pair of Uggs be the fi rst to con-demn. We’ve all seen our

share of fashion no-nos – rang-ing from bubble shirts to crocs to those gosh-awful blue jeans with the knees cut out. However, some of us are a little too quick to hurl insults at our fellow stu-dents’ fashion faux pas. Consider this an informal appeal to the fashion cynics in all of us.1. Leggings as pants – I get it.

It’s curious to see size 2 girls wear-ing triple extra large T-shirts, but cut them some slack. Something has to cover their little booties in their too-tight Under Armour leggings. You can’t knock this one until you’ve tried it. It might not be the most fl attering trend, but I don’t see anything wrong with college girls c h a n n e l i n g their inner 80s athlete for their early morning walks to their 8 a.m. classes. It’s quick, it’s comfy and it’s becoming a classic faster than you can say “sorority.”2. Wearing your boyfriend’s

clothes – The walk of shame is never cool, but I will be the fi rst to say that men’s style jeans are among the most comfy I have ever worn. Katie Holmes and Reese Witherspoon wore them, so it’s got to be acceptable, right? Boyfriend jeans have all the ver-satility of skinnies without the self-hatred that accompanies a freshly washed and dried pair of skinny jeans. They’re also day-to-night transitional. Wear a pair of sneakers for class, and trade them for a pair of classy black pumps for nighttime. Blazers, suspenders and bow ties are also making the transition from male staples to female statements. If you’re afraid to take the plunge and actually buy these masculine accessories, ask to play dress up in your boyfriend’s closet one af-ternoon. In addition to your chic new accessories, you’ll get a fun date out of the mix. 3. Bright colors – When did

painting with the colors of the wind become so taboo? Wasn’t it Pocahontas’s artistic individu-

ality that snagged John Smith? In an age where drab is the new fab, color has become a thing of the past. Anything brighter than maroon is considered child-ish and attention seeking, but I

stand by what my mother has always told me. Wearing bright clothing enhances one’s natural color-ing, while wear-ing 50 shades

of gray does nothing but cause you to blend in with the cloudy winter skies. Brighten up the long January days with a splash of color, if only by donning a fl o-ral scarf or a neon belt.4. Fake glasses – You know

hipster glasses as a statement are over when Taylor Swift starts wearing them in her “I Knew You Were Trouble” music vid-eo, but these things are freaking adorable. Ever since Zooey De-schanel set the “adorkable” trend ablaze, it has gained speed and has found its way onto less than obscure celebrities like Justin Bie-ber and Selena Gomez. Honestly, can you blame angsty teenagers and quirky 20-somethings for wanting to bat their eyelashes be-hind a pair of these fashionable frames? Not only do they portray an appealing lifestyle, but they’re also an easy out for those of us who don’t like to wear eye make-up on a daily basis. Slip on a pair of non-prescription glasses and you immediately look in Vogue and intelligent. So, hipsters, lay off of those of us who are wearing lens-less glasses. We just want to be as cool as you.

Fashion fa pauxs are not as badas many think, offer convenience

MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING | CATIE MARIE MARTIN

Catie Marie Martin is a sophomore majoring in English. She can be contacted at zorsborn@reflector.msstate.edu.

CATIE MARIE MARTIN

HANNAH WILLIAMS | THE REFLECTOR

BY CASEY SMITH

Staff Writer

In the spare moments you fi nd between rushing to class, procrastinating the com-pletion of your homework and making the world a better place, you should be soaking up the awesomeness found on the website tumblr.com. I have made it easier for you by outlining a few of my favorite accounts.

First up is the very popular “What Should We Call Me” Tumblr account. This account is often frighteningly accu-rate when describing typical human be-havior. It takes pictures and videos from pop culture and adds expressions such as “When I run into my ex at the bar” or “When everyone else is starting their New Year’s resolutions.” Many of us have found ourselves in some type of situation similar to these so the images are often relatable and hilarious.

“Mean Girls” has become a cult classic. “Mean Girls of Capital Hill” takes quotes from the movies and mashes them with political pictures. The most recent is a picture of Hillary Clinton with the phrase “Stop trying to make Benghazi happen. It’s not going to happen.” People who en-joy political humor and fans of the movie

will love this Tumblr account. Anyone who has ever ordered at Star-

bucks knows they ask for your name after you place your order. More often than not, when the beverage is presented to the cus-tomer the name is tragically misspelled on the cup. “Starbucks Spelling” is complete-ly devoted to these funny misspellings. One example is “Bess” spelled “Mess” or “Pheobe” spelled “Vibi.”

The Onion is a satirical newspaper, which makes up ridiculous stories and tries to pass them as news. It is obvious these are all fake, but sometimes readers who are not familiar with the website believe the news is real. Enter “Literally Unbelievable: Stories from The Onion” as interpreted by Facebook. This blog shows what happens when people post these fake news stories on Facebook believing they are real. The result is hilarious comments leaving you wondering how the human race became so gullible.

What if our forefathers had the Inter-net and could blog about juicy celebrity gossip? Well “Perez Hamilton” gives us an answer. This website is set up similar to Perez Hilton’s celebrity blog, but with historical pictures and stories. From a historical “Who Wore it Best” to “Major Hottie George Washington” getting sassy

with the French, Perez Hamilton really breaks down the comings and goings our forefathers for us.

These are just a few examples of Tum-blr accounts waiting to be laughed at. The weather may be gloomy in Starkville, but that does not mean you have to be sad. What are you waiting for? You have got time to waste.

Tumblr provides pop culture hilarity

BY CATIE MARIE MARTIN

Staff Writer

From the fi rst soaring note of “You and I” to the music box melody of “Bowery,” Hummingbird sets up the Local Natives as one of the most in-fl uential indie bands of 2013. The Los Angeles-based band has spent the three years since the release of its fi rst album, Gorilla Manor, fre-quenting the music festival circuit and performing alongside folk/pop sensations Coldplay, Modest Mouse and Foo Fighters. This live exposure heightened the anticipation for the sophomore album, and the three-year writing and performing spree appears to have paid off. Humming-bird is currently the No. 3 album on iTunes, and fans show no sign of waning enthusiasm.

Hummingbird picks up where Goril-la Manor left off: surfi ng the Orange County waves through sublime, tightly bound harmonies and driving percus-sion. Kelsey Ayers’s voice transitions smoothly between the powerful verses and the subdued choruses and the heav-

ily percussed tracks implore the listen-er’s heartbeat to alter its rhythm and to fall in line with the mission the Local Natives are trying to accomplish with its music.

The mission presented by the lyrics on Hummingbird is more complex than that of Gorilla Manor. The confi dence gained

by the group after the success of its fi rst album and the avid and loyal fan base incited the Local Natives to tack-le heavier themes on this album than the last. “Columbia” is actually a trib-ute to a member’s late mother, and it begs an answer from the listener to the repetitive question, “Am I giving enough?” The album is also charac-terized by blatant lyrics, such as the harsh “I don’t have to see you right now” repeated time and time again in “Mr. Washington.” Metaphorical lyrics are also dappled throughout the album, especially on the most pop-ular track “Breakers” – “waiting for my words to catch like/I’m trying to strike a match that’s soaking wet.”

The new-fangled folk sound of Local Natives is revived once more in Hummingbird. It fl its about in a surprising fl ow, just like the bird of

its title. This album is an investment for fans of the Fleet Foxes, Freelance Whales and Passion Pit, because the Local Na-tives have proved it’s no longer the new kids on the block. The band members are here to stay with their clever evasion of the sophomore slump.

Local Natives releases new album

FOLLOWon tumblr

When did painting with the colors of the wind become so taboo? Wasn’t it Pocahontas’s artistic individuality that snagged John Smith?”

“

beauty queenLife & Entertainment

HANNAH WILLIAMS | THE REFLECTOR

beauty queenbeauty queenBY CHRISTINE BOWMAN

Staff Writer

Jasmine Murray is serving as Miss Mississippi State University this year and will go on to represent the campus in the Miss Mississippi Pageant this summer.

Last year, she was awarded fi rst alternate as Miss Spirit of the South and was also a preliminary winner in talent.

Murray, a sophomore communication major from Columbus, said she is thrilled to be returning to the Miss Mississippi stage.

“I’m looking forward to the entire week. I loved my fi rst year competing, and now I know what to expect.

Our week in Vicksburg is packed with autograph sessions, rehearsals and inter-views. It is not just a pageant; it’s a whole show,” Murray said.

Since the pageant is fi ve to six months away, Murray’s life has been fi lled with all things pageant.“Preparing for the Miss Mississippi

pageant is a job within itself, and hopefully, if it’s meant for me, I’ll win this year. I’ve been working very hard,” Murray said.

Various measures have to be taken for con-testants who wish to compete in a pageant

as big as the Miss America preliminary, Miss Mississippi.

“I’ve been training at the Sanderson with a personal trainer. I have a vocal coach and various interview instructors. I’ve also been trying to stay in the know of current events for the interview portion,” Murray said.

Kimberly Martinez, Murray’s sister, said Jasmine is always well-prepared and a

go-getter. “Jasmine came over to watch the Miss

America pageant a few weeks ago, and we had so much fun. I hope that she can be Miss

America one day because she already heals people through her music, and she could touch so many

lives through her performance for the audience,” Martinez said.

Murray was on the eighth season of “American Idol,” and now she has turned her focus toward the Miss America program.

“I love being up on stage, and it doesn’t matter where. It almost feels as if I’m invincible. I love show-ing everyone what God gave me, and I’m constantly trying to get better. It’s what you make it, and I try to make it come to life,” Murray said.

Music has always been one of her passions. Locals might have even caught a glimpse of her performing at Pinelake Church, where she is involved in the music ministry.

Amina Bahammou, sophomore human science and family development major, has been on the Pinelake worship team with Jasmine and said she loves to be around her kind-hearted spirit.

“Jasmine is the most amazing woman of God that I know. My favorite song to hear her sing is ‘Break Every Chain,’” Bahammou said.

Murray is also passionate and involved with her platform, “13 Going on 30.” The program is centered on teenagers and issues such as peer pressure, self-es-teem, bullying and cyber bullying.

“‘13 Going on 30’ is just making sure that teens don’t grow up too fast. I want to be a positive encour-ager for them, and I’m looking forward to the day camps that are coming up,” Murray said.

Murray recently posted her fi rst “13 Going on 30” newsletter to her Miss MSU fan page on Facebook en-tailing all of the information regarding her platform. She said she has enjoyed trying to be a positive leader in this community, and it is all because of the Miss America pageant program.

“Miss America helps contestants be well-rounded, and it primarily focuses on scholarship. My whole fall semester was paid for, just for being fi rst runner-up last year, and I am so thankful for that,” Murray said.

Her advice for young girls who watch the show is to believe in themselves.

“Be everything you want to be, dream dreams bigger than anything you’d think possible. Being in pageants is not an unreachable goal, and the same goes for my experience with ‘Idol.’ I’m still actively pursuing my music career and hopefully if my dream comes true, I could be the next Miss America,” Murray said.

Murray is appreciative of all of the staff and students and their support in her endeavors. She said she seeks to shine a positive light on the university.

“I am so thankful to serve as Miss MSU, and I can’t wait to compete and represent our wonderful cam-pus,” Murray said.

NOTYOURAVERAGE

COURTESY PHOTO | THE REFLECTOR

6 | friday, february 1, 2013 THE REFLECTOR

SPORTSSaturday hoopS:

LSu at MSu4:30 p.M.

fSN

By Kristen spinK

Sports Editor

Last year, Stuedeman recorded the highest winning percentage by a first-year coach in MSU softball history (.579). She led the team to its best April in school history at 13-1, and the Dogs finished the year with a re-cord of 33-24, advancing to the first round of the NCAA Region-als. Even though MSU had the fourth toughest strength of sched-ule in the country, State finished with more than 30 wins for the first time since 2008.

Various reporters asked these questions at softball media day.

Q: Do you think the team will be able to build off the successful April it had last year?

A: Not to be cliche, but everything is a process. I tell them all the time, ‘Today plus today plus today equals your career.’ I hope the players that are here build on last year and their knowledge base. Noth-ing trumps experience; even athleticism doesn’t trump the experience card. The experi-ence we built last year and the relationship building, I would hope would remain with them. They started at one place, and they learned a lot; now they’re starting from a higher level, and they contin-ue to do that. I hope it does carry on into the new season.

Q: Take us through the

strong points of your lineup.A: We are fast. Last year, we

were 22nd in the country in stolen bases per game. Before I got here, they were in the 40s in total stolen bases and we jumped to 98 with basi-cally the same personnel. This year, we did not lose speed and added two very fast fresh-men as well as a redshirt from last year who’s a sophomore who also has a lot of speed. Speed never slumps. I think we’re going to create some chaos on the bases with that. Hopefully we can get on base or if they’re not getting on base, we can pinch run with runners that can get on base and be fast. I’m excited about that. I think it’ll be fun for the fans to be able to see us run-ning and taking extra bases.

Q: You mentioned speed. What areas offensively do you think you can make a jump in this year?

A: Assistant Coach Alan Reach talks about the goal of the hitter is to cross the dish as much as you can. We lost Brittany Bell and Ka’ili Smith, and they were both in the top-10 in the SEC in bat-ting average. We need a cou-ple of people to step up to fill those holes. We want to get those kids in scoring position and score when they’re there. Last year, we would hit when there was no one in scoring position. Hopefully we’ll put a big emphasis on improving that. Now, we’re focusing on

crossing the dish as much as we can and hit when it mat-ters the most. We need some kids to step up.

Q: What did you want to do with the pitching staff, and how have you tried to de-velop them?

A: I wanted them to know how incredible they were and how good they were. I want-ed to teach them that we were going to utilize a staff mental-ity. When I played, you could go around the country and name one dominant pitcher on each team, and the scores were 1-0. We all came up with about seven around the country that are dominant pitchers and the starter plays the whole game. Seven, that’s all? We’re going to a base-ball mentality with a starter, a closer and a middle reliev-er. We did that last year. We talked about the staff mental-ity and how each person sets the other one up for success. I wanted to create a culture of confidence and a culture of a staff.

In the bullpen, I want-ed them to have an attitude that they can fail and it be OK because I wanted them to try out lots of thing that work for them instead of be-ing in a cookie-cutter type of pitching. They’ve exper-imented with a lot of ideas, and we’ve tried to pick what works for each different one to make them better. I think it was them just buying into

the staff philosophy and their willingness to experiment and learn and grow. It’s been incredible to work with them.

We added Alison Owen and a freshman (Jacey Punch-es). We lost two and added two, so I feel good about the depth. We have three starters that can go in at anytime, and all three of them are very competitive and want the ball and want to take on the staff mentality. That will help Jac-ey Punches get her feet wet in the league. I wish it was like football where they can come in and take that redshirt year. But I think we have some depth in the circle for sure.

Q: Do you feel like this team is close to becoming a top team in the SEC?

A: The whole objective this year has been higher ex-pectations of yourself, your support staff and everyone around you so that we can be a contender. They know that that is the coaching staff ’s goal. Last year at LSU, the box scores were the same for both teams, but the score is 4-0 LSU. I think that says a whole lot. They have a gor-geous stadium so they should win? It’s about expecting to do well. We talk about being winners and not necessarily judging by the scoreboard. We can go home every night - we call it the pillow test - you put your head on the pillow and say, ‘Did I do everything in my power to win the day?’

Q&A WITH SOFTBALL HEAD COACH VANN STUEDEMAN

Fact oF the day: Former bulldogs anthony dixon oF the san Francisco 49ers and and pernell mcphee oF the baltimore ravens will square oFF against each other in super bowl xlvii sunday at 5:30 p.m. on cbs.

By ray Butler

Staff Writer

Before hosting the LSU Ti-gers on Saturday afternoon, the Mississippi State Bulldogs took on the Texas A&M Ag-gies Wednesday night at Hum-phrey Coliseum.

Looking to snap a four-game losing streak, the Bulldogs opened up a double-dig-it halftime lead before s u r r e n d e r -ing the lead late in the second half. MSU fresh-man guard Craig Sword banked in a three-pointer in the waning moments of the second half to send the game into overtime, but State only managed to score two points

in the five-minute extra period and dropped the decision to the Aggies 55-49.

MSU head coach Rick Ray said his team struggled at times offensively but guarded the Aggies well, which is the most important aspect.

“(I am) disappointed with the loss because I thought

our guys really came out and fought hard and compet-ed,” MSU head coach Rick Ray said. “Maybe our guys played too many min-utes (down the stretch), but we don’t have much of a choice when we’re playing an overtime game

and have a seven or eight man rotation.”

Statistically, the Dogs shot 66.7 percent from the field

and 57.1 percent from down-town in the first half, but the second half was a different story. State shot 26.3 percent from the field and 28.6 per-cent from three-point-land in the second half. In overtime, the Dogs went just 1-6 and did not make a three-point shot.

Junior guard Jalen Steele, who scored all of his nine points in the first half, said the guys must practice the simple things to get better at them.

“I guess mentally, we ran out of gas,” Steele said. “But phys-ically, we were good. We just made little mistakes towards the end of the game.”

Freshman big man Gavin Ware led the Dogs with 14 points, eight of them in the first half. Ware said the Dogs need to rely on their principle of playing good defense, which they failed to do in the second half.

“Coach said that Texas A&M is a good defensive

team, so there is going to be times where we won’t be able to get good looks,” Ware said. “In the first half, I was able to get around the basket and score more. In the second half, they began to start closing in, so I have to rely more on my low cuts.”

MSU freshman Fred Thom-as had been averaging over 11 points in conference play but finished with just two points on two free throws.

The Dogs held Aggie super-star Elston Turner five points be-low his season average, but Ag-gie guard Fabyon Harris stepped up and scored 17 points.

But it was Turner who had the ball in his hands late in over-time and made a jumper to put the Aggies up by four with 30 seconds left.

Turner said he was frustrated in the first half but was able to come back and make the key shot.

“I just couldn’t let my team down. We had 17 points in the first half, and we weren’t playing well defensively. I chal-lenged myself to step it up and pick it up for my team. It just changed everything,” Turner said. “It (overtime shot) was spur of the moment. I wanted the ball with the last couples of

seconds left in the game.”With four MSU players play-

ing 35 or more minutes against the Aggies, the Bulldogs will look to rest before preparing for the LSU Tigers, who pulled off an upset of the Missouri Tigers Wednesday night. LSU will go into Saturday’s game with an 11-7 overall record and are cur-rently tied with MSU with a 2-5 record in conference play.

With the Bulldogs certain-ly looking to get back into the winning column, Ray said he would spend the coming hours watching film and determining what MSU will need to do to be well prepared for the Tigers.

“I don’t know a lot about LSU at this time,” Ray said after the game. “I’ll stay up most of the night watching LSU and get up in the morning and watch LSU, but right now I don’t know much about them.”

courteSy photo | MSu Media reLatioNS

MSU coach Vann Stuedeman was one of only two first-time head coaches to reach the NCAA Tournament last season.

Dogs seek to snap five-game losing skid against LSU Saturday

G t Areen ree partmentsNewly available

1, 2, and 3 Bedrooms ready for immediate occupancy!

Apartments are located close to campus,spacious and affordable!

Phone-(662)323-2430 Web page- www.starkvilleapts.comWhere the green grass grows!

eMMa katheriNe hutto | the refLector

Baxter Price and the rest of the Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. State hosts the LSU Tigers Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in an effort to break back into the win column.

In the first half, I was able to get around the basket and score more. In the second half, they began to start closing in, so I have to rely more on my low cuts.”Gavin Ware,freshman forward

“

BY BRITTANY YOUNG

Staff Writer

Mississippi State’s club rug-by team will open its 35th sea-son at home against in-state rival Ole Miss on Saturday.

Rugby may be an unfamil-iar sport to students at State, but the team has been a part of MSU since 1978. The team continues to grow every year.

Adidas, the World Cup Rugby Shop and the South-eastern Collegiate Rugby Conference sponsor the club.

The SCRC is a division I-AA conference that hosts 11 of 14 SEC teams. Arkansas has partial membership with the conference, and Texas A&M and Missouri’s affi lia-tions with the league are to be decided, since they are new to the conference.

The SCRC is split into two divisions, west and east. The west consists of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and MSU. The east consists of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

The players compete year-round, and the sport has two variations: the winter/spring season is the 15 World Cup version (15s) and the sum-mer/fall season is the Olym-pics (7s).

Last season, during the Olympics, MSU placed fi rst in the social bracket of the Red Fish 7’s held in Baton Rouge. The Club also fi n-ished second in the Mississip-pi State Games held in Me-ridian, falling to the Jackson Dutch Barons in the champi-onship.

MSU was 2-4 last season in conference play with wins over Ole Miss and Auburn.

Second-year head coach Renaldo Arroyo said the team has made great progress, and he is looking forward to this season.

“The guys have worked extremely hard since last sea-son,” Arroyo said. “If we fi n-ish in the top four of our di-vision, we will have a chance at a national ranking.”

Junior fl y-half and team captain Omar McClendon said with the improvements the team has made, he be-lieves the team will make it into the SCRC champion-ships.

“We really have a solid backline,” McClendon said. “I think Khalid Wallace will really stand out with his speed and reaction time.”

The forward position is one

of the stronger positions for the Bulldogs and will be a key to their success. Arroyo said he is expecting great lead-ership and work ethic from junior forward and captain David Dickerson.

Dickerson said if his team builds off the momentum from last season, the Dogs will have a great chance to win.

“I expect us to build on our success from last year and win the SCRC West,” Dickerson said.

Sophomore scrum half Joe Pongetti said he is expecting to be a leader and key player for his team this season.

“I want to lead the team in tries (touchdowns) and assist on many others,” Pongetti said. “I want MSU to be one

of the top two teams in the conference.”

The Bulldogs must fi nish in the top four of their con-ference to be ranked national-ly and improve their chances of winning a national cham-pionship.

All home games will be played at 1 p.m. at the intra-mural fi elds by the vet school.

SPORTSREFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2013 | 7

On Sunday the Bal-timore Ravens will take on the San

Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.

The game will feature two former Bulldogs, running back Anthony Dixon for the 49ers and defensive end Per-nell McPhee for the Ravens, so no matter which team wins, a former Bulldog will be a Super Bowl champion.

The 49ers are a three-and-a-half point favorite to win the game, and I agree with this. On paper, the 49ers are the better team. They are perhaps the most talented defense in football, led by Patrick Willis, who is the best middle linebacker in the game.

This 49ers defense is com-ing off a game where it shut out one of the most explo-sive offenses in the NFL for the entire second half of the NFC Champi-onship game, so the Ravens will have their hands full try-ing to move the ball on this unit.

For the 49ers to win this game, they are going to have to stop the Ra-vens passing attack led by q u a r t e r b a c k Joe Flacco.

Flacco has turned into Joe Montana it seems this post season and is playing the best football of his life. He has not thrown an intercep-tion the entire playoffs and is really throwing the ball well.

The 49ers have the best front seven in football, and

I have little doubt they will play the run well. But the one area where they can be beaten is through the air, so stopping the pass will be crucial.

Offensively, throwing the ball will be key for the 49ers. They are known for running the ball, but the Ravens will have spent two weeks preparing for that and most likely will be keying on the run.

That should make them more vulnerable to the pass, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick has proven he can win games with his arm as well as his legs.

The Ravens are riding a tremendous wave of mo-mentum into this game. De-spite backing into the play-offs losing four of their last fi ve games to close the regu-lar season, the Ravens have found new life since Ray

Lewis has come back from an injury and announced he would retire after this season.

S i n c e then, it is as if every player on the Ra-vens team has raised his level of play and is

playing for the beloved cap-tain.

Right now, a big part of the 49ers offensive attack is the read option. It has be-come the staple of their of-fense, and if the Ravens are to win the Super Bowl, they must stop the read option and force the 49ers to de-

pend on their passing attack more.

No team has had success yet defending the 49ers read option, and unless the Ra-vens fi gure it out, they will not win this game.

The Ravens, however, have an excellent coaching staff and two of the smart-est defensive players in the league in Lewis and Ed Reed, and they will have had two weeks to prepare. If anybody can fi gure out how to limit the 49ers option at-tack it is the Ravens.

Ultimately, the Ravens will not be able to stop the 49ers run game. It is just too diffi cult to defend the 49ers option attack when Kaeper-nick is throwing the ball as well as he has been.

If the defense tries to fo-cus on Frank Gore, then Kaepernick beats it. If the Ravens try to focus on Kaepernick, then Gore beats them. And if they try to stop them both by putting extra defenders in the box, then Kaepernick beats them with his arm.

The combination of all that along with the 49ers defense holding the Ravens offense in check will be too much to overcome. I’m picking the 49ers to win 24-21.

Kaepernick, 49ers will not be stopped Sunday

CLUB SPORTS FEATURE:Rugby teams looksto build off success

from last year

THE COACH’S CORNER | FORREST BUCK

Forrest Buck is a junior majoring in sport pedagogy. He can be contacted at reflectorsports@gmail.com.

FORREST BUCK

COURTESY PHOTO | MSU CLUB SPORTS

The MSU club rugby team is in its 35th season on campus and hosts rival Ole Miss Saturday at 1 p.m.

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has proven he can win games with his arm as well as his legs ... No team has had success yet defending the 49ers read option, and unless the Ravens fi gure it out, they will not win this game.”

“

Download our iPhone or Android App today!2 Beef or

Turkey Cheedar Sandwhiches

for $5

10% Off with MSU I.D.

ADVERTISEMENT8 | friday, february 1, 2013 THE REFLECTOR