BY HANNAH ROGERS

Editor-in-Chief

Twenty thousand students. Five elected Student Association Execu-tive Council members represent the expanding and increasingly diverse Mississippi State University stu-dent body for one year. These stu-dent leaders, along with four other members of executive council, 40 cabinet members and 37 senators make decisions that affect their peers on a day-to-day basis.

Over the past few years, SA has overseen reforms, including pro-posing the student email switch to BullyMail, forming the Dawg Pound, discussing possible tuition increases, reforming student elec-tion codes, resurrecting The Reveil-

le, working to move teacher evalu-ations online and choosing Bulldog Bash headliners.

Despite the large role the SA plays in event programming and administrative advocacy, less than a quarter of the student body votes to elect its representatives. In 2011, only 22.1 percent and 22.4 percent of students voted in the senate and executive council elections respec-tively, and last year, those numbers fell with only 16.5 percent of the student body voting to elect its sen-ators and 20.1 percent voting in the executive election.

Eddie Keith, associate dean of students, said on every campus he is aware of, student government faces similar challenges. Student govern-ments face misperceptions and low

participation in elections across the country.

“I think on every campus there’s that challenge of getting people to feel like this is my government,” he said. “Of course, we look at Amer-ica and the percentages of people who vote across the country; of course student governments are not the only governments that have that challenge.”

Ben Davidson, senior political science major, said he thinks SA elections tend to be a popularity contest, and that candidates may need the backing of a large organi-zation to win, which is not neces-sarily bad.

“I usually vote because some-times something on a candidate’s platform will catch my eye,” he

said. “They (the SA) do make a dif-ference. The biggest thing (I’ve seen them do) is reform the emails — it’s the best thing I’ve seen them do.”

Coleman Kimbrough, senior political science and philosophy double major, said he only votes for people who are in his fraternity and the only time he learns about can-didates is when they visit his chap-ter meetings.

“It is absolutely a populari-ty contest … who can get their name in the subconscious of the most people,” he said. “I don’t know how much power (the members of SA) have, in terms of what they actually can do … It would be nice to publicize what they do and how much power they have.”

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POLICY

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1884

TUESDAY5146

5234

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY6235

FRIDAY5632

TUESDAYSEE SA, 2

BY JAMES TOBERMANN, KAITLYN BYRNE

Staff Writer, Managing Editor

As local bats continue to make campus buildings at Mississippi State University their home, uni-versity offi cials attempt to elimi-nate the problem.

Since January, the MSU Depart-ment of Housing and Residence Life has been working to eradicate a bat infestation in Hathorn Hall.

Ann Bailey, director of Housing and Residence life, said in a letter her department is cooperating with a number of experts to remove the bats from the dormitory.

“We are working closely with a wildlife biologist bat expert, the MSU Longest Student Health Center director and the Mississippi Department of Health,” she said in a letter mailed to parents of Ha-thorn Hall residents.

Bailey said housing staff have fi lled in crevices with expandable foam and fi tted Hathorn Hall with mechanisms that block bats’ re-en-try into the building.

“We have installed devices where

bats are entering and exiting the building,” she said in the letter. “These devices allow bats to exit, but not reenter the building.”

Sid Salter, director of Universi-ty Relations, said estimating how many bats are in the residence hall is diffi cult, but that MSU considers even one bat to be too many.

Salter said the Department of Housing and Residence Life of-fered to place Hathorn Hall resi-dents in different campus housing locations if the residents felt un-comfortable.

There have been requests to be relocated, Salter said.

“Parents and students have been advised that the university is do-ing everything possible under the restraints of federal law to get the problem under control,” Salter said. “Any time our students are uncomfortable or frightened is serious business to the university. That’s why Student Affairs, (the Department of Housing and Resi-dence Life) and basically every uni-versity asset has been thrown in at dealing with this problem.”

SEE HOGAN, 3

Student Association combats misperceptions, apathy

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

Bats found inside campus buildings

SEE NIX, 3

SA PRESIDENTIAL SHOWDOWN

BY HANNAH ROGERS

Editor-in-Chief

Hayden Nix said if elected Student Association pres-ident, he wants to bridge the gap between the SA and the general student body by showing stu-dents the SA is not just a organization that works behind the scenes but is there to work directly with students.

“One of the things I’d like to see better im-proved upon is the connection between the Student Association and the students. I feel that right now, that there’s really not a good relation-ship and to build upon that, to make it better. I want to be out there with every one of the stu-dents,” he said.

Nix, a junior broadcast meteorology major, has worked with the SA for the past two years as assistant director and director of Environmental Affairs on cabinet.

Through his experience running programs such as Dawg House Deals and working on oth-er SA programs, he said he believes he knows how to improve the student experience.

“With being in the Student Association for two years, I have been under two different ex-ecutive-style leaderships. From that viewpoint, I can see what has and has not worked and maybe work from there to try to do something better,” he said. “I have had a lot of knowledge with be-hind the scenes, especially with Bulldog Bash and Cowbell Yell and other different events.”

If elected, Nix said he hopes to work with the Mississippi State University administra-tion to see adding a full-week Thanksgiving break and a Mardi Gras holiday to the aca-demic calendar is a possibility.

“I have heard a lot of people argue back and forth about which holiday they want more — a fall break or a full week off for Thanksgiving,” he said. “More than likely, the administration will not give us both because of the number of days we are required to have per semester. The best way I feel that we need to do is put it to a vote to clarify to the students who wants a fall break and a Thanksgiving break.”

He said he would work with Information Technology Services to create a question that would be asked of students during the registra-tion process to see what students would be most interested in.

Mardi Gras holidays, if added to the academic calendar, would give students a break between Martin Luther King, Jr., Day and spring break to help alleviate the burnout students face during that period.

The role Nix has played in SA’s environmental affairs division has infl uenced his campaign. He said he hopes to establish a recycling program for sorority and fraternity and revamping the cur-rent on-campus recycling system.

Nix said he would work with Jeremiah Du-mas, assistant research professor who is involved with the Physical Plant Administration, to initi-ate the Greek recycling program.

BY HANNAH ROGERS

Editor-in-Chief

As an out-of-state student from Memphis, Student Association pres-idential candidate Michael Hogan said he understands the fi nancial problems non-state residents face paying for summer tuition.

Although he has out-of-state tuition waived for him during the normal school year, he was unable to afford taking classes in the summer of 2012 while working at Mississippi State University for the SA and as an orientation leader.

If elected SA president, Hogan said he hopes to begin working toward getting students with a fall and spring out-of-state tuition waiver a sum-mer waiver, as well. He said, at the moment, 11 percent of students in summer school are out-of-state and pay full tuition.

“I heard word that policy was getting pushed through just to see if it would be even possible, or if it would be even fi nancially OK for the admin-istration to sign-off on allowing that spring and fall (scholarship) to be checked on in the sum-mer,” Hogan said.

He said the administration is looking for some-one to prove that fi nancially the administration would be able to afford giving those students the waiver.

“They’re looking for someone to prove that point, spearhead that, survey those experiments to bring that percentage to about 20,” he said. “And that should even the playing fi eld of what should fi nancially stabilize for tuition.”

As president, Hogan wants to be the point man on this project and per-sonally survey students.

He said once he receives numbers from students, he would hope to build relationships with the administration

and lobby for this issue.In addition to working toward summer tui-

tion waivers, Hogan wants to provide a 24-hour library wing.

He said he would hope to have trial runs in a small section of the library to test if students would put it to use.

“I just think it’s important to put those aca-demics fi rst, and if that helps in the least I would love to push for it,” he said.

This year, Hogan served as chief programming offi cer in the SA, which gave him programming experience after Campus Activities Board was ab-sorbed into SA, and he oversaw that part of the cabinet.

He said in some aspects, his previous experi-ence in SA and on campus, has infl uenced his platform points to revive the use of Amphithe-ater.

In conjunction with athletics, Hogan said he wants to revamp the pep rallies during football season.

“There’s no involvement from the football team, there’s no band. They have the cheerlead-ers, they have the pom squad, which was great. They have a special guest speaker, which is al-ways a good thing but the locations would switch around,” he said.

Editor’s note: Students can vote in the SA executive elections today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. via their myState account.

ELECTION RESPONSE RATE

20.1 percent

29.5 percent

16.5 percent

22.4 percent

32.5 percent

22.1 percent

SA Exec ‘12

Homecoming ‘12

SA Senate ‘12

SA Exec ‘11

Homecoming ‘11

SA Senate ‘11

Hayden Nix

Student Association Executive Council Elections are today. Inside: candidate platforms and information | News 2

Vote online via myState.

Michael Hogan

SEE BATS, 3

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSIT Y SINCE

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Shelby Balius, current SA president, said students on SA committees or general students may see SA do very little work, even though that is not the case.

“But once you get into the trenches of being on cabinet or exec, you see the Student Association not only does programming for students’ entertainment but does an incredible amount of advocacy for stu-dents,” she said.

Rhett Hobart, former SA president, said social me-dia has allowed students at Mississippi State University to feel more connected to the SA and what’s going on and to feel they can have more of an input in decisions.

“I feel like there defi nitely is an apathy towards the Student Association,” he said. “A lot of people have the idea that SA doesn’t do anything to help their concerns when in reality … people really underestimate the in-volvement of the SA in every decision that takes place on campus.”

Field Brown, philosophy and English double ma-jor, said he thinks the SA carries a Greek stereotype and, giving tours as a Roadrunner, receives questions from potential students about the importance of being Greek.

“Do you have to be Greek? … That’s what most families ask me — do you miss out on getting in-volved?” he said.

Morgan McDowell, SA senator for the College of Business and Balius’s opponent in last year’s presiden-tial election, said leadership and experience should be the deciding factor in how students choose to vote.

“Shelby and I, we both had to run a campaign, we both had a certain amount of money we had to spend … Shelby spent less money than I did and she won,” he said. “Shelby’s non-Greek. She put in her time, she put in her effort, she gave all she had and she beat me fair and square, absolutely nothing to it. So a Greek stereotype? No, no. There is the idea of a Greek stereo-type, but I don’t think it’s existent.”

Hank Flick, professor in the Department of Com-munication, worked with the SA since the ‘70s and acts as the parliamentarian at senate meetings. Since the senators dress in business-attire, Greek letters do not appear as the senate conducts business.

“I don’t have numbers because we don’t take count (of the number of Greeks and non-Greeks in senate).

It’s a demographic we’re not concerned with,” he said. “I was in a fraternity, and it’s very, very important that leadership is part of that training. Leadership in the house, leadership here, in different organizations on campus. They take it very, very serious. It’s empha-sized.”

Becoming involved in other areas on campus, such as Greek organizations, can provide students with ex-perience that translates into the decisions made in the SA, Flick said. Over the years, a more serious and di-verse group has run for offi ce.

“We’ve had such quality people here not get elected president that they don’t take it personal, they go in with high self-esteem and channel themselves off in other directions,” he said. “It’s never been any concern (that Balius isn’t Greek) because she acts so skillfully with any group. ... The person with the best ideas, with the most heart, soles on the shoe to get the work done should get elected.”

Balius said she is one of two pres-idents in the 14 SEC schools who is non-Greek, which surprises advis-ers, presidents and other executive members in the SEC.

“They can’t believe we have a non-Greek president, much less an exec member. But then to look at a non-Greek female in that position makes them not believe who I am … and that’s so depressing to me because I don’t think it should be about the organization you represent going into an exec election,” she said. “It should be about the person who can best serve the students whether it be from the knowledge they have, from the passion they have for the position, but also the ideas that they have to better the experience. It’s so disappointing to me that that’s the only thing people can look at or think that is the only thing people look at because it is so much more important to look at the person and not what they have on their resume.”

Keith said in the past, MSU has had women, Afri-can-Americans and non-Greek members serve on the

executive council and as SA president. Sixteen percent of MSU undergraduates belong to

fraternities or sororities, which have about 250 mem-bers each, he said. He said 250 out of 20,000 students is a fairly small number – and even if chapters join together that is only several thousand potential votes and not all members are guaranteed to vote the same way. Non-Greek affi liated students should be able to run and campaign more easily through advances in social media and email because it does not require as much manpower.

“I’ve talked to some of my colleagues at other uni-versities that are more Greek than we are — that is to say they have a larger percentage of their under-

graduates that are fraternity and sorority members. They talk about the distinction of Mississippi State …. you don’t have to be a fraternity or sorority member to participate in governance and activities on this campus,” he said. “I think maybe other people realize it more than we do, people at other universities, neighboring universities.”

Non-Greeks serve on SA, Balius said, but the turnout of people ap-plying for positions or running for elections in the non-Greek commu-nity is few and far between.

“I hate to see (the lack of non-Greeks participating) because I hap-pen to be one of those in the non-Greek community who said, well, I mean I’m going to give it a shot,”

she said. “ Did I think I was going to win? … When Morgan and I were running, it was an every day oc-currence that I would look at my campaign manager and go, the system is going to take over, there’s no way I’m going to win. But I still wanted to give it a shot.”

McDowell said, although he didn’t win, running for president last year was one of the best experiences of his life thus far because of the friendships he gained and experiences he had.

“What I think every student needs to understand is if they want to run for any type of offi ce they need to do so and not worry about the funds, the funds will come. … If they want to do it, they need to do it,” McDowell said. “If you have the appropriate leader-ship experience and you’re passionate about this uni-versity, you need to run for offi ce and you need to give it your all. That speaks volumes for your character.”

Courtney Harris, senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, said it is incredibly easy for anyone to become involved on campus, especially through SA committees, which can give students a taste of SA in-volvement. She said she believes the apathy students show toward the SA comes from more the fact that they do not know about the issues.

“Saying student government, it scares people off, but there’s some people out there who will try ... who want to make a difference,” Harris said. “I think that’s what the Student Association is — a group of students who want to impact the student body, and they want to make a difference and they want to leave this school better than it was when they came in. And I think a lot of Student Association members have done that.”

When looking at potential representatives for SA executive positions, Hobart said students should look to see if candidates have experience in the SA, espe-cially since many of SA’s projects are completed by successors to positions. He also said students should look at platforms to see if they have new ideas and if those ideas are possible.

“I think you have to really take a hard look at that and oftentimes if it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. But so many of the things on the platform can be accomplished in normal years,” Hobart said.

Balius said because SA has now absorbed Campus Activities Board, voters need to understand the SA is now in charge of governance, student advocacy and entertainment programming. She also said voters need to see if platform points are important enough to all 20,000 for the SA to spend time on because of SA’s time shortage.

The importance of having a plan to accomplish platform points, a candidate’s transparency to the student body and the ability to represent students’ concerns at all levels of the university should affect voters, Hobart said.

Hobart said he does not think winning a major SA position without having a diverse group of voters backing a candidate is possible.

“I think that’s a great thing because it speaks to our candidates, it says they are endorsed by a large part of campus, by all parts of campus,” he said. “If a student thinks that their vote doesn’t matter, that’s not true. Every vote in these elections count. I’ve seen elections in past … where one person won by 12 votes. A lot of times, these votes are close … so every single vote matters.”

SA continued from 1

We’ve had such quality people here not get elected president that they don’t take it personal, they go in with high self-esteem and channel themselves off in other directions.”Hank Flick,Communication professor

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BADDAWGS

Friday, February 8• 4:35 a.m. A student reported her shirt was stolen from her room in Rice Hall.• 12:21 p.m. A student was found coming out from under a house on Morgan Avenue.• 12:47 p.m. A non-resident/visitor fell going down the steps at the Templeton Athletic Complex. The subject was transported to OCH.• 4:09 p.m. A student reported her vehicle was hit while parked on Coliseum Drive.

Saturday, February 9• 1:30 p.m. A student dislocated his shoulder while playing soccer at the Rex-Plex Soccer Field. The subject was transported to OCH.• 11:03 p.m. A non-resident/visitor was arrested on Hardy Road for speeding and driving with a suspended driver’s license.

Sunday, February 10• 12:06 a.m. A student was arrested at Rice Hall for public drunkenness.• 2:15 a.m. A resident of the city/county was arrested on Hardy Road for driving under the influence and improper equipment.• 4:32 p.m. An employee found illegal drugs on the south west side of Perry Cafeteria.• 7:07 p.m. A student was arrested on Hurst Lane for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and having a suspended driver’s license.

Some species of bats are protected under fed-eral law as part of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Salter said, so MSU must follow specific protocols while trying to remove the bats.

“We can’t go in and use chemicals or things of that nature,” he said. “Primarily what has to be done is figure out points of entrance where bats are going in the building and fitting the entries with devices that allow bats to leave and not re-enter.”

Dante Hill, area coordinator for Residence Life, declined to comment.

Nicole Blackmon, sophomore psychology major and Hathorn Hall resident adviser, said the housing staff has been instructed not to share any information about the bat problem with the media.

Sarah Caitlin Wheat, sophomore special ed-ucation major, said she came face to face with a bat in her hallway in Hathorn Hall.

“It spread its wings and took off down the hall,” she said.

Wheat also said she was alarmed by the com-pact size of the bats, which allows them to enter and exit the building through tiny openings.

“Once I saw how little it was and that it could get under a door, I started freaking out,” she said.

Abigail Hartman, sophomore biological sci-ences major, said an acquaintance of hers killed one of the bats in Hathorn Hall.

In an email to Hathorn Hall residents, Bailey advised residents not to personally interfere with any of the bats.

“Please do not attempt to handle, capture or disturb the bat. Leaving it alone and undis-turbed makes it much easier for our staff to catch it,” she said via email. “If one enters your bedroom, please leave the room, turning off the lights and closing the door as you leave.”

Paul Hogue, sophomore microbiology major and Hathorn Hall resident, said he finds the MSU’s response to the plague of bats problem-atic.

“It’s a major issue that a major university would have a bat infestation and not do some-thing about it quickly,” he said. “It’s not fair to the students.”

Hogue said he is undisturbed by the bats and has no plans to move out of Hathorn Hall.

“It doesn’t bother me, but some people it does bother,” he said.

According to Melanie Harris, instructor in the Department of Communication, McComas Hall has long housed a small population of bats.

“There have always been a couple of bats in the very top part of McComas,” she said.

Harris said the bats in McComas Hall have never presented a problem.

“They’re not worth worrying about,” she said.

Ann Bailey, Director of Housing and Resi-dence Life, said a trained animal control profes-sional is leading the effort to rid campus build-ings of bat infestations.

“We are working with a U.S. Fish and Wild-life Services bat expert,” she said via email.

Bailey said her department is following na-tional protocol in resolving the bat issue.

“USDA Animal Damage Control Bat Management Guidelines are focusing our ef-forts,” she said via email.

Harris said the bat expert inspected McCo-mas Hall to ensure the building is not hous-ing the bats leaving Hathorn Hall.

“I spent two hours with an expert making sure that while they’re cleaning up the mess at Hathorn, they’re not creating one at McCo-mas,” she said.

Harris said the expert found that McCo-mas Hall is not bat-ridden.

“McComas is not infested,” she said. “Ha-thorn is infested.”

According to an email notice from Brenda Grebner, administrative assistant to the dean of the Bagley College of Engineering, bats have also been found in McCain Hall.

“We are currently experiencing a problem with bats inside McCain Hall,” the email said. “If you should find a bat in the building, please do not pick it up.”

The email instructed recipients to notify the MSU Police Department, MSU Biosafety Officer, Patricia Cox or Facilities Manage-ment.

Editors Note: The Reflector News Ed-itor, Emma Crawford, lives in Hathorn Hall, and Campus News Editor, John Gala-tas, works for the Department of Housing and Residence Life.

He said he would like to have the pep rallies at the Am-phitheater not only to provide consistency but also to utilize a beautiful but underused part of campus.

In addition to pep rallies, Ho-gan said he wants to give stu-dent talent a chance to use the Amphitheater as a venue and an opportunity to play before large crowds.

Hogan, a junior business man-agement major, said he wants to market the Business Bin in McCool, which has professional clothing from Joseph A. Banks and Belk for students to borrow for free for a day’s use.

The Health Center, which Hogan said is underused but a wonderful part of campus, could combine initiatives with the SA in health-related programs.

He also hopes to restructure The Big Event, a student-run community service project, in

order to add on campus proj-ects.

In order to promote away football game travel, Hogan wants to work with a company to see if shuttle services could be provided to offer students travel options.

Hogan also said he hopes to implement an open-door pol-icy where SA officials would provide students advice on implementing programs. He would also request senators, cabinet members and execu-tives to have office hours week-ly and post those, along with a biography of themselves on the SA website.

He said he wants to create a freshmen mentoring program, in which freshmen can contact members of the SA to ask for advice on how to become in-volved on campus and in the SA.

In addition to revamping

and creating new programs, Hogan said he hopes to have cellphone charging areas avail-able on campus for students in high-traffic buildings whose doors are open late.

“Different SEC schools do this. It’s an emergency situa-tion initiative as well as a con-venience for dead batteries,” he said.

He said he is looking for sponsorships through Sam-sung, and if those do not work out, he would be interested in starting a program to see if MSU’s engineering programs would be interested in con-structing something.

Hogan, who said he is a student first, looks forward to serving his peers if elected.

“I work hard to serve and to lead other students, and that’s been a blessing in my life to be able to serve in so many differ-ent entities,” he said.

“I feel that there are 3,000-plus students who live over there and that is just not utilized to its fullest potential,” Nix said. “That’s a lot of recycling that could happen, but it’s just not being used right now.”

He said he also plans on work-ing with Dumas to spread aware-ness of the current recycling pro-gram.

“I’m adamant about recycling programs and I feel this univer-sity has a great initiative started, but I feel like there’s always room for improvement. I have seen a lot of problems with the current recycling program as far as public knowledge,” he said.

In addition to his work with recycling, Nix hopes to work with Aramark to extend dining services that cater to students who require gluten-free items and special dia-betic meals.

He said a dining committee has been recently set up and, as

SA president, he can address those issues in the committee and work with Aramark. Nix said he wants to see statistically how many stu-dents would have special dietary needs so he can show these are students who need representation.

Parking in commuter east, ac-cording to Nix, needs its limited parking issues resolved. He said he wants to work with Mike Harris, director of Parking Services, to re-zone the gravel lot that was moved to the south parking zone this year back to commuter east with-in the next semester.

He also said, in order to pro-mote pedestrian safety, he would like to work with the adminis-tration to see if crosswalks could be placed in high-foot traffic ar-eas behind Burger King and the Health Center lots in commuter east.

Nix said if elected, he hopes to balance between policy and pro-gramming because they both play

a vital role in executive positions.“I’m doing this because I feel

that this is what is best as far as being able to make an impact here at the university,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of something great, and I always take everything that I do whole-heart-edly. I’m not doing this just for a title. I’m doing this for the stu-dents at the university … to make a difference.”

BATS continued from 1

HOGAN continued from 1 NIX continued from 1

OPINION the voice of MSU studentsInDesign is very

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2013 | 3

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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

We, the editorial board of The Refl ector, believe there are changes to be made to the campaign process of Student Association elections, and those changes are

absolutely necessary for the progress and integrity of our dem-ocratic process.

The SA serves students of this great university. Its job is to hear our voices and serve as a representative for each of us. The members of SA have a direct say in many matters that greatly impact the student body.

Therefore, as the student body, our job and obligation is to vote for members of the executive council who we believe will serve us in the best possible way. In the weeks prior to elections, The Refl ector publishes the platforms of each candi-date for offi ce and provides the student body with information regarding the debate.

A responsible student should carefully read the platforms of each candidate, listen to the remarks in the debate and proceed to vote for the candidate he or she believes will represent the student body well.

Students who do not cast a vote or who vote ignorantly abuse the process of elections.

A responsible student does not vote for a candidate because he or she received a free T-shirt or a brownie on the Drill Field. The campaign process should be focused to inform students, not bribe them.

Various students, including ourselves, believe SA elections shouldn’t be a popularity contest. We hear that statement said every year. However, the campaign process will continue to be a popularity contest if volunteers for candidates continue to treat the process like a popularity contest — focusing only on placing a candidate’s name in the minds of voters along with a free Coke or donut in their hands.

The SA should host multiple debates and events to hear the candidate’s platforms straight from his or her mouth. Aside from allowing students to personally send questions to the debates, we think students should be allowed to directly ask candidates questions about their platforms and policies during the debates.

A responsible student does not blindingly support and vote for a candidate simply because of the expectation of his or her campus organization. We do not think there is anything wrong with being an involved member of a campus organiza-tion, including Greek life.

We recognize Greek organizations value leadership among its members. We also do not think there is anything wrong with supporting a fellow member of an organization, as long as you personally agree with his or her platform.

We do, however, believe pressuring members of an organi-zation to vote for a candidate violates the First Amendment rights of its members.

Each student has the right to decide whom he or she will support and whom he or she will choose to vote. Students should never compromise that freedom by pressuring mem-bers of an organization to campaign for a candidate he or she may choose not to support.

Members of an organization who choose to support candi-dates from a different organization should feel no shame or fear in doing so; rather, the organization should respect its members’ decision and right to vote for whomever they please.

If the SA desires accountability and transparency among the members of executive council, it must be prepared to be called out and criticized by members of the student body.

And if the SA listens, they will be able to change the process of elections into something that betters the entire university.

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EDITORIAL

The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Mary Chase Breedlove, news editor Emma Crawford, campus news editor John Galatas, sports editor Kristen Sprink, entertainment editor Zack Orsborn, photo editor Kaitlin Mullins, copy editors Rachel Burke and Candace Barnette multimedia editor

Eric Evans, managing editor Kaitlyn Byrne.Editor-in-chief Hannah Rogers did not participate in

the writing, editing, reading or the discussion surrounding this editorial.

***

SA campaign strategies need change, reform

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | BAILEY HANSEN

A new Student Association president comes and goes every year. Often, the

grand ideas of his or her plat-form seems phased out just as fre-quently.

If a quarter of the bullet points post-ed outside the Union’s back door right now are recognizable on campus in fi ve years time, I would be shocked.

I don’t think this has anything to do with the com-petence or the drive of the SA, which attracts some of the best students on campus to its exec-utive positions, but things just don’t seem to work out some-times. Even when the incoming SA president is a well-placed

member of the former presi-dent’s administration, there are inevitably ideas that fall by the wayside, occasionally ideas that

the former pres-ident was pas-sionate about.

So what can a presidential hopeful do to leave a legacy with longevity?

For a policy to last a mere four years, stu-dents who hav-en’t even begun to think about where they’re going to col-lege, and some who can’t even

drive, will have to be involved. This leads me to believe the

SA president’s passion for his or her goals, while important to initial success, is less important to the continued success of what he or she leaves behind.

For an SA policy to last, it

must fulfi ll a need that will be around for a long time.

Last year, the SA made a mas-sive push to re-brand the stu-dent section as the Dawg Pound at home basketball games.

The amount of work that some very driven, intelligent people put into it is frankly un-imaginable.

If you’re a freshman, and reading this, the odds are you have no idea whatsoever as to what I’m even talking about.

What was seen as a need last year wasn’t seen as necessary by the student body this year.

And the result is the Dawg Pound has vanished completely. Conversely, a few years ago, a SA presidential candidate pro-posed a GPS system to track the shuttle system on campus, providing a map that updates in real time and projected arrival times of shuttles at each stop.

The candidate who proposed this actually lost the election, but that system was still imple-mented and exists today. Quite

simply, the idea is too useful to die.

Current projects of the SA, such as the push for online teacher reviews, fall into this category as well. The need for convenient student services that keep pace with current technol-ogy is unlikely to be a tempo-rary matter.

So, my advice to the current SA candidates is this: don’t think about what you’re going to do next year. Think about how what you’re going to do next year will be doing when you’ve stepped down or gradu-ated.

Think about how the Bull-dogs who came after you are going to carry the torch that you lit or took from your pre-decessor.

Think about how students in fi ve years will remember what your administration has done, even if none of them know your name.

If you can do these things, I think you’ll be successful.

The SA president’s passion for his or her goals, while important to initial success, is less important to the continued success of what he or she leaves behind. For an SA policy to last, it must fulfi ll a need that will be around for a long time.”

“

Candidate platforms should reflect long-term goals

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REFLECTIONS“Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. Mythology distracts us everywhere. For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, contrived and dishonest. But the myth: persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.”

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THE REFLECTOR4 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013

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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. Classifieds 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

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FOR SALE

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FOR RENT

Apartments for rent close to campus. One bedroom, one bathroom. Appliances include microwave, refridgerator, stove, washer and dryer. No pets. Call 648.9519, 323.5186 or 341.5186.

MISCELLANEOUS

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

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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@reflector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Reflector office in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Reflector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability.

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.

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.

MSU PRE-VETERINARY CLUB

The MSU Pre-Veterinary Club is having a general body meeting on Feb. 13 in the Wise Center room 2005. Food will be served at 6:30 p.m. All people interested in animals are invited to fellowship.

MSU STUDENT DIETETIC ASSOCIATION

SDA meeting Tuesday, Feb. 12. Dinner at 5:45 p.m. and meeting starts at 6. Speaker is Lydia West from the Office of Child Nutrition, Mississippi Department of Education.

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REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM tuesday, february 12, 2013 | 5

MIRANDA DEMPEWOLF

“I dress in the dark,but at least I brushed my hair last night.”

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MISSISSIPPI STATESTYLE

THE REFLECTOR6 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Life & EntertainmentSymphony warms up for concert

BY DANIEL HART

Staff Writer

If nothing else, the Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Association sure knows how to design fl yers for a fundraising gala. Posters around campus bearing an im-age of composer Johann Sebastian Bach wearing shades, backed by the event title, “A Bach to the Future Affair” (styled af-ter the event’s namesake fi lm’s logo) have

cropped up. The Symphony Association con-

tains the Symphony Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, with the former conducted and directed by Michael Brown, professor and head of the MSU Department of Music. Brown said the Feb. 16 event will be a social evening, in-formal and entertaining.

“The State Messengers, a dance band, will be there; someone comes

in and does some sort of humorous act. It’s not a concert at all,” he said. “Not formal at all, but a good time had by all.”

Clifton Taylor, associate pro-fessor and associate director of bands will be leading The State Messengers in the ab-sence of Brown at the event.

He said the band, consist-ing of a rhythm section and a

couple of horns, will be playing jazz standards, in swing, Latin,

and ballad styles.

Tickets to the gala, held at the Starkville Country Club, are $60; the proceeds will help keep alive the repu-tation Brown said the orchestra holds of stemming successfully from a very small community.

“(Starkville) is supposedly the smallest town in the country to have a profes-sional symphony orchestra. I don’t know if it’s still true, but one of the founding members got mentioned on the Johnny Carson show as the leader of the orches-tra in the smallest town in the United States,” he said.

The support the orchestra receives allows for events like the Sympho-ny Orchestra’s upcoming full perfor-mance March 2 at First Baptist Church Starkville. Brown said “The Best of Bee-thoven III,” while free to the public, takes work and donation behind the scenes.

“It’s very unusual to have a profession-al orchestra that gives free shows; the shows are free to the public but cost us a lot of money to put on,” he said.

With Lee Hall currently under ren-ovation, Brown said the concerts have relocated from Lee Auditorium to First Baptist Church.

“The audience ranges from 900 to 1,000 people. There is not another place on campus that would seat 1,000 people, so we used to fi ll up Lee Hall and now we fi ll up First Baptist,” he said.

Brown said the Symphony Orchestra is composed of mostly professional players from various neighboring states, which keeps practices confi ned to the weekend

before a performance.“If we have a Saturday concert,

we’ll have a Friday afternoon re-hearsal, a Friday night rehearsal and a Saturday morning rehears-al,” he said.

Doug Browning, composer and director of the Symphony Chorus, said the workings of the chorus are different from those of a professional orches-tra.

“Choral music is the ulti-mate amateur sport. There are professional choruses in the world, but the vast majority are ama-teur,” he said. “The majority of peo-ple are in the public sector. People do it because they just absolutely love it, and they fi nd a way to do it.”

As well as practicing more often due to the nature of amateur groups, Browning said there are opportuni-ties for MSU students to get involved with the Symphony Chorus.

“There are opportunities for what we would call a scholarship or intern-ship within the chorus,” he said. “We really are interested in MSU students interested in using their voice.”

Information about student oppor-tunities in the Symphony Chorus can be found through Browning at 601-826-9952. Information about the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association can be found at starkvillemsusymphony.org.

ANDREW FINNEGAN | THE REFLECTOR

2 Beef or Turkey Cheddar

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Symphony warms up for concert If nothing else, the

Starkville-Mississippi State University Symphony Association sure knows how to design fl yers for a fundraising gala. Posters around campus bearing an im-age of composer Johann Sebastian Bach wearing shades, backed by the event title, “A Bach to the Future Affair” (styled af-ter the event’s namesake fi lm’s logo) have

cropped up. The Symphony Association con-

tains the Symphony Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, with the former conducted and directed by Michael Brown, professor and head of the MSU Department of Music. Brown said the Feb. 16 event will be a social evening, in-formal and entertaining.

band, will be there; someone comes in and does some sort of humorous

jazz standards, in swing, Latin, and ballad styles.

EntertainmentSymphony warms up for concert

“If we have a Saturday concert, we’ll have a Friday afternoon re-hearsal, a Friday night rehearsal and a Saturday morning rehears-

Doug Browning, composer and director of the Symphony Chorus, said the workings of the chorus are different from those of a professional orches-

“Choral music is the ulti-mate amateur sport. There are professional choruses in the world, but the vast majority are ama-teur,” he said. “The majority of peo-ple are in the public sector. People do it because they just absolutely love it, and they fi nd a way to do it.”

As well as practicing more often due to the nature of amateur groups, Browning said there are opportuni-ties for MSU students to get involved with the Symphony Chorus.

“There are opportunities for what we would call a scholarship or intern-ship within the chorus,” he said. “We really are interested in MSU students interested in using their voice.”

Information about student oppor-tunities in the Symphony Chorus can be found through Browning at 601-826-9952. Information about the Starkville-MSU Symphony Association can be found at

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SPORTSREFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM tuesday, february 12, 2013 | 7

Softball run-rules two teams in opening weekendBy Brittany young

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State soft-ball team opened its 21st season by hosting five teams for the 14th annual Bulldog Kickoff Classic last weekend.

The teams included MSU, South Alabama, Troy, Geor-gia State, Tennessee State and SIU-Edwardsville. The Bull-dogs were a combined 16-2 all-time against the teams in the tournament, including a 10-1 record at home.

The Bulldogs debuted transfers Alison Owen (right-handed pitcher), Julia Echols (third baseman) and Logan Foulks (infielder/cen-ter). Owens has pitched in the Women’s College World Series while at the University of Georgia, and Echols also has SEC experience playing with Owens at Georgia.

Foulks finished second in the Atlantic Coast Confer-ence last year in slugging per-centage at North Carolina.

The home opener for the Bulldogs featured a battle of 2012 NCAA Tournament teams as MSU fell to the USA Jaguars by a slim mar-gin of 3-2. Owen broke the school record for strikeouts in a season opener with nine and walked none, marking a complete debut.

Junior Sam Lenahan put the Bulldogs on the board with a two-run home run in the first inning, but it would not be enough as Farish Beard picked up the win for the Jags with two earned runs given up in four innings. Senior Jessica Cooley, junior Heidi Shape and sophomore Ashley Phil-lips also collected hits for MSU.

The Bulldogs bounced back Friday night with their

first win of the 2013 season as they defeated Troy 5-2. MSU stole eight bases for the first time in 11 years, fin-ishing two shy of the school record. Phillips nabbed three

of the eight steals herself, becoming the seventh player all-time to ac-complish the feat.

Head coach Vann Stuede-man said in an interview with Hailstate radio it felt good to get the first

victory of the season.“It’s great to get that first

win under our belt,” Stuede-man said. “To bounce back after a tough loss Thursday showed our competitive,

mental toughness.”Freshman shortstop Kayla

Winkfield tailed her first hit of her college tenure and had three put outs.

Winkfield said after falling short in the season opener, Stuedeman told the team to play MSU softball and the team would defeat Troy.

“The game against USA was a battle of two excellent teams, and unfortunately we fell short,” Winkfield said. “But coach told us to just come out, play our game, do what we know we can do and we would win.”

In a doubleheader on Saturday, the Bulldogs out-scored opponents Georgia State and Tennessee State in a 17-1 sweep. The Bulldogs beat TSU 8-0 in six innings and followed up with a 9-1 five-inning win against GSU.

The pitching staff threw a one-hitter with 12 strike-outs, marking the 15th time in 21 seasons MSU struck out 12 or more batters, with four of those occasions under Stuedeman’s headship.

In the triumph over the Panthers, Owen continued her hot pitching, clinching her first victory as a Bulldog with four shut-out frames of one-hit ball, striking out five and walking none. Senior left-handed pitcher Stephanie Becker, who had seven strike-outs in the win over Troy, sealed the win, fanning three Panther batters.

Becker said Stuedeman called great pitches through-out the tournament, and she and her fellow pitching staff responded well.

“The main goal while pitching is to make moving pitches that hit the location you want it to. Coach called some great pitches, and Lo-gan Foulks did a great job catching behind the plate,” Becker said. “Also, A.O. (Owen) and Kylie (Vry, se-nior LHP) did really well pitching, and it was a great team effort overall.”

Senior Jessica Cooley was a perfect 2-for-2 at bat with a grand slam, Foulks went yard with a two-run dinger and Phillips continued her hot-hitting with two hits and a pair of RBIs.

The final three games of the Kickoff Classic scheduled for Sunday were canceled due to the impending storm and

flood watch for Oktibbeha County. Phillips was named the 2013 Bulldog Kickoff Classic MVP. Phillips, Shape and junior outfielder Jessica Offut received All-Tourna-ment Team honors for the

Bulldogs over the weekend.The 3-1 Bulldogs return

to the diamond Wednesday at 6 p.m. when they travel to Lafayette, La., for a non-con-ference battle against No.12 Louisiana Lafayette. courtesy photo | msu media relations

Heidi Shape was named to the Bulldog Classic All-Tournament team along with Jessica Offutt and Ashley Phillips for MSU.

It’s great to get that first win under our belt. To bounce back after a tough loss Thursday showed our competitive, mental toughness.”Vann Stuedeman,head coach

“

- e MSU pitching staff had averaged 10.9 strikeouts per seven innings.- Junior Alison Owne recorded 14 strikeouts and zero walks, and opponents hit only .100 against her.- Ashley Phillips baaed .417 with four stolen bases, three RBIs , two runs, two doubles bases, three RBIs , two runs, two doubles and two walks.- In just four games, the Dogs recorded two run-rule wins, compared to the eight they had through 57 games last season.- e team has stolen 16 bases in its first four games. It took 11 games for the Dogs to steal 16 bases last yeasteal 16 bases last year.- With her grand slam Saturday, senior Jessica Cooley became the only player in MSU history to hit a grand slam in three different years.

zack orsborn | the reflector

8 | tuesday, february 12, 2013 THE REFLECTOR

SPORTSCollege Hoops:

Missouri at MsuWednesday, 7 p.M.

seC netWork

Short-handed Dogs seek to end eight-game losing skid without Steele

Stat of the day: Softball Senior jeSSica cooley hit a grand Slam Saturday and became the only mSu player to hit a grand Slam in three different SeaSonS.

By Alden Thornhill

Staff Writer

After falling at No. 2 Florida Saturday, the Mississippi State men’s basketball team looks to end its eight-game losing streak Wednesday against Missouri.

The 17-6 (6-4) Tigers visit the Hump in search of their first SEC road win of the year.

This is the third meeting be-tween the two teams with Miz-zou leading the all time series 2-1.

MSU head coach Rick Ray said some despite the recent struggles, his team has a good mentality.

“Our freshmen need someone to look up to. Right now, to be honest, we don’t have that.” I’ve got really good kids. I just don’t have enough of them.”

MSU’s already-thin roster became even thinner last Satur-day when State announced the suspension of junior guard Jalen Steele for violating team rules.

The Dogs now have six schol-arship players and just eight play-ers total on their roster.

Ray said Steele’s lack of dis-cipline screwed the team and screwed his teammates.

“We’re already in a situation with a short rotation. Anything

you do outside of the program like that — that’s bad,” Ray said. “It’s a selfish act now you’re taking away a chance for guys to go out, compete and win because you’ve now shortened the rotation.”

Due to Steele’s suspension, walk-ons Baxter Price and Tyson Cunningham saw extended min-utes against Florida. Ray said the walk-ons have stepped up and taken responsibility in the ab-sence of Steele.

“He (Cunningham) is our best communicator, and it’s conta-gious. Tyson is a smart kid,” Ray said. “I was really proud of Bax-ter Price, talking about a kid who

goes into No. 2 Florida and hasn’t played very much but does what he needs to do.”

The Tigers come in with one of the nation’s hottest players in point guard Phil Pressey, who is averaging 6.9 assists per game, which is good enough for eighth in the nation.

Ray said he has been planning for this matchup defensively.

“The key for us defending against Pressey and the ball screen action — we need both guys, the guy on the ball and the guy on screen, got to get that stop,” Ray said.

But Pressey is not the only threat in Mizzou’s arsenal. Laurence Bowers, who aver-ages 14.9 points and 6.2 re-bounds per game, and Jabari Brown, averaging 14.7 points per game, present the Tigers with multiple scoring oppor-tunities.

Bowers and former UCo-nn Husky Alex Oriakhi lead a Tiger team that ranks third in the nation averaging 41.9 rebounds per game.

MSU freshman guard Fred Thomas said he believes the Bulldogs’ struggles could per-haps end Wednesday night and praised the team’s hard work as of late.

“We are still going to have to come back and play hard. Com-ing up, we should get this win. We’ve been working hard in practice and watching film. We

are gonna try to get this win,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t say sad or mad — we can’t be that way. If we want to win games, we have to stay positive.”

barton dinkins | tHe refleCtor

Junior guard Jalen Steele was suspended last weekend for a violation of team rules, reducing the Bulldog roster to eight players.