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POLICY

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BY KAITLYN BYRNE

Managing Editor

The Mississippi State University Police Department is investigating a voyeurism in-cident that occurred in the women’s restroom in Davis Wade Stadium during the MSU vs. Tennessee game on Oct. 13.

A sophomore MSU student reported a per-son in masculine work boots attempted to take a photo of her in a stall in the women’s restroom near the student section.

The Refl ector does not identify victims of sexual crimes.

“My friend and I left the end zone (student section) and went to the restroom near there, and I noticed the person in the stall next to me had work boots on, which I thought was strange,” she said. “When I stood up, I no-ticed the camera barely visible under the stall, and then he shot out of the stall too quickly for me to be certain what he looked liked.”

Sid Salter, director of University Relations, said this is the fi rst time an incident like this has been reported at MSU.

The MSU Gameday Committee has met to review existing gameday security policies and discuss possible measures to prevent similar

incidents in the future, Salter said.Currently, MSU employs over 200 people

in the security business on gamedays, he said. In addition to security personnel, Salter

said custodial staff often checks the restrooms while restocking items.

Salter said all restrooms in the stadium are locked prior to the start of the game to pre-vent people from hiding inside.

“This is a bizarre incident because the (vic-tim) said this incident occurred when the bathroom was full of other people,” he said. “Our security efforts are comparable, if not surpassing, other institutions.”

Salter said the university is actively work-ing on the case, although it currently does not have useful information about the perpetra-tor.

“The determination so far is there’s not a lot more the university can do to stop something like this from happening, although we are cer-tainly open to change if we can continue the conversation to learn any additional concrete steps we can take to prevent this,” he said.

Georgia Lindley, chief of MSU Police De-partment, said if anyone has any information regarding the incident, contact the MSU Po-lice Department at 325-2121.

MSU police investigate voyeurism incident at football game

ReflectorTheReflectorTheReflectorSPORTS | 8SPORTS | 8SPORTS | 8

Dogs gear up for bout with Tide

BY HILLARY LAPLATNEY

Staff Writer

Mississippi State University’s Residence Hall Association will put on this year’s Haunted Horse Park Oct. 30 and 31 from 8-11 p.m at the Missis-sippi Horse Park.

Mydarian Booker, programs and activities di-rector for RHA, said the Horse Park will be sec-tioned into different scenes for the event.

“We’ll have 11 scenes, including an insane asy-lum, “The Ring” and different things of that na-ture,” he said. “We’ll try to incorporate different aspects to make it scary, even on the ride to and from.”

Booker said shuttles have been reserved to transport visitors from the front of the Union to the Horse Park in 15-minute rotations. The fi rst shuttle will leave the Union around 7:45 p.m.

John Williams, RHA president, said the RHA has previously put together Haunted Herbert, which was located on campus in Herbert Hall.

“We kind of did a snake trail last year where you went through and it curved around,” he said, “But this year, we wanted to do something different. The scenes are going to be set up like a maze, and it will be free will. You really don’t know what to expect.”

Williams also said he is very excited for the event to take place in the new location.

“Now that we’re doing it off campus inside the Horse Park, it’ll allow more off-campus and on-campus people to come,” he said. “So we’re re-ally excited about that. We’re doing a lot of things differently.”

Claire Taylor, RHA treasurer, said she hopes this year’s relocation to the Horse Park should bring in more off-campus students as well as Starkville residents.

RHA preps for Haunted Horse Park

SEE PARK, 2

Myths surround campus in fall seasonBY LACI KYLES

Staff Writer

There is a certain feeling that comes with the fall season. With shorter days and cooler nights comes a sense of various traditions — football and Halloween among them.

Robert Wolverton, professor in the Mississippi State University department of classical and modern languages and literature, said so much of people’s lives are bound by legend, tradition, superstition and myth we rarely even notice, let alone think twice about it.

“A one-word synonym for myth is story. They always start by being spoken, changes (to the story) lead to tradition,” he said, adding oral traditions even-tually become history.

A good example of tradition connected to history is the story behind MSU’s gloried cowbell.

It is tradition for Bulldog fans to cheer with the help of cowbells and most

know it is considered a sign of good luck but not everyone knows the whole story.

According to Lindsey Storey, director of orientation and events, in the 1940s a cow wandered onto the fi eld during the Egg Bowl from the barn, or Giles Hall. After the MSU victory, the cow was used as a good luck charm but was decided later to bring just its bell instead of the cow to games. In the 1960s, Earl Terrell and Ralph Reeves, MSU professors, began welding han-dles to the cowbells and the bookstore started selling them in 1964.

The story of the cowbell is sacred to avid Bulldog supporters, and Wolver-ton said traditions have multiple meanings and have been the glue of civiliza-tion, or rather, a common factor all peoples could relate to worldwide. People from all walks of life who favor MSU have the love of maroon and white, as well as reverence for the cowbell in common, a “glue” that connects them, no matter who they are or where they come from.

Just as football in Starkville ignites memories of various traditions, fall brings about legends, folklore and superstition of another kind — Halloween.

SEE MYTHS, 2

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

NEWS THE REFLECTOR2 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012

COURTESY PHOTO | THE REFLECTOR

The Horse Park will soon be made haunted by the MSU RHA.

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BADDAWGS

Friday, October 19• 9:19 a.m. A student reported his homecoming float was damaged at the Kappa Alpha house.• 1:22 p.m. A student had a seizure at South Hall. Subject refused medical treatment.• 1:29 p.m. A student reported being harassed via text message by an unknown subject.• 4:24 p.m. An employee reported two office doors in Allen Hall had been tampered with. Nothing was missing.• 4:38 p.m. A student reported he was in a traffic accident on Stone Boulevard.• 9:27 p.m. A student was arrested on Louisville Street for possession of marijuana.• 9:31 p.m. A student was arrested on Louisville Street for possession of marijuana.

Saturday, October 20• 1:45 a.m. A student was arrested on Nash Street for disorderly conduct.• 4:48 a.m. An officer responded to Rice Hall for a student who wanted to commit suicide. The student was OK when the officer arrived.• 5:12 a.m. A student reported his bicycle stolen from Howell Hall.• 3:29 p.m. A non-resident/visitor fell in a hole on Bully Boulevard. The father of the subject did not want an ambulance called.• 6:40 p.m. A non-resident/visitor was arrested on Bost Drive for public drunkenness.• 6:57 p.m. A non-resident/visitor had a seizure in the Davis Wade Stadium. EMTs assisted the subject at the first aid station.• 7:28 p.m. A student reported an officer used unnecessary force on him inside the Davis Wade Stadium. EMTs assisted the subject at the first aid station.

Sunday, October 21• 1:28 a.m. A student was arrested on Old West Point Road for driving under the influence, careless driving and no seatbelt.• 1:29 p.m. A student lost his wallet at Davis Wade Stadium.

Citations:• 3 citations were issued for speeding.• 2 citations was issued for obstructing traffic.

“I’m really excited about it, and it goes to a good cause, so that should hopefully bring out people,” she said.

Visitors to the Haunted Horse Park will pay $5 each to get in, and the money will go directly to Angel Tree and Compassion International ministries.

Williams said 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward the two or-ganizations.

“We’ll have nine Angel Tree chil-dren, and they’ll be divided among the residence halls and (the RHA),” he said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds will go toward buying them Christmas presents.”

According to AngelTree.org, An-gel Tree is a ministry designed to give Christmas gifts to children whose parent(s) are incarcerated,

and according to Compassion.com, Compassion International is a pro-gram that helps bring children out of poverty.

Taylor said the Haunted Horse Park will include some frightening scenes which may not be suitable for children.

“We are making people sign li-ability forms before they go in,” Taylor said. “We’re also (requiring) that if the child is 10 or younger that they have to have an adult with them. It’s going to be a little scary.”

Booker said volunteers are still welcome to help with Haunted Horse Park.

“If you want to volunteer, you can contact me at mjb382@saffairs.msstate.edu,” he said. “We’ll take volunteers at any point, and they can fi ll in where needed.”

“We take (so much) for granted because we don’t know the background,” Wolverton said. “A part of it is the tradition in so many of our holidays — Easter, Hal-loween, Christmas — they’re still alive.”

He said Halloween, or “All Hallow’s Eve,” began as a religious holiday, noting the only other place you’ll hear the word “hallow” is in The Lord’s Prayer.

“That was the time when people who had died might come back to visit and help you along at the beginning of the Jewish New Year,” he says. “This is a marvelous ex-ample of how the Christian church took over (pagan) holidays. We have a festival that churches are condemn-ing because they don’t know the origins.”

Halloween has encouraged localized superstitions, myths

and folklore, which he clas-sifi es as homegrown tales or legends. One such example would be stories of haunted locations on campus.

Storey said the beliefs and assumptions by some stu-dents that George Hall is haunted are left up to the students themselves to decide if it is believable or simply super-stition.

“You can make it really creepy,” she said. “Back in the day, (George Hall) was the infi rmary. The infl uenza hit and our guys started get-ting sick. The creepy factor was people were dying and they were embalming them in the basement.”

According to Storey, in

1918, MSU lost 37 students to the infl uenza epidemic, with 1,200 other students also affected by the fl u in some manner.

The second fl oor of George Hall was used for the seriously ill students, and the fi rst fl oor kept the crit-ically ill.

The base-ment was used for the embalming chamber.

George Hall is not the only place on campus that might have some things go bump in the night, either.

Shelby King, senior music education major, said he has witnessed peculiar happen-ings in Lee Hall.

“I’ve actually seen the lights on the Lee Hall stage

go on and off on their own. Plus there were noises and a huge boom that literally scared the mess out of me,” he said. “I have heard big ru-mors that the fourth fl oor of Lee Hall is haunted.”

King said the tunnels run-ning below the Drill Field that connect to the cafete-ria can be frightening to a wandering mind, especially since they are quite small and sometimes contain standing water or water ominously dripping from the pipes.

Wolverton said the com-mon understanding of myths, stories, traditions and folklore are what tie people together and it helps to know their background stories, far-fetched or not.

“They’re all sort of the same genre, all imaginative, could be from true stories,” he said. “Real or fi ction? Who knows?”

PARK continued from 1

MYTH continued from 1

I’ve actually seen the lights on the Lee Hall stage go on and off on their own.”Shelby King, senior music education major

“

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012 | 3REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

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Editor in ChiefHannah Rogers

Managing EditorKaitlyn Byrne

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Opinion EditorMary Chase Breedlove

Photography EditorJay Johnson

Copy EditorCandace Barnette

Copy EditorRachel Burke

ReflectorThe

Classical music has merit, important Scripture is not political propagandaMahler, Wagner,

Tchaikovsky. Do any of these names

ring a bell? How about Mozart, Beethoven or Chopin? These should help. Bottom line: they are a bunch of old, dead, white Europeans who wrote music. Sure, we have all heard these names on PBS growing up (and hopefully our kids will, too) and might even be familiar with a tune or two.

Chances are, though, you hear the music from these guys more than you think, and some still have their melodies weaving their way into our movies and commercials. Can you name a tune, though?

Before I jump into this article fi ngers fi rst, I want to bring up I am not a music snob writing to condescend on your musi-cal choice. Chances are you like music; you will be hard pressed to fi nd someone who doesn’t. I just want to share with you some of the greatest musicians to put a pen on staff paper and my favorites as well. This can be easily done with Spotify since you can listen to nearly anything except The Beatles.

By the way, if you don’t have Spotify you are missing out. I am not expecting you to like what I suggest, but just try. It’s free.

My favorite piece is Gus-tav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Though the whole piece might be a little over-stimulating to new listeners, the Adagietto from this symphony is a must for new listeners. It isn’t long; it is sim-ple and fl at out gorgeous. If you only listen to one piece from this paper let this be it. If you want a great example of how music can induce emotions, this is a fantastic case. Next, check out Chopin’s Nocturne in E fl at mi-

nor. This elegant waltz popped up in a car commercial last year. Though Chopin wrote for the piano, Mattias Jacobsson’s cover on classical guitar is superb.

These next guys knew how to paint a picture with music. Strictly an operatic compos-er, Wagner has many familiar tunes. His “Ride of the Valky-ries” helped set the scene in “Full Metal Jacket” and “Watchmen” while the Bridal Chorus from his opera Lohengrin (undeniably familiar) is heard at nearly every wedding. The excerpt Sigfried’s Funeral March from his Ring Cycle as well as his overture from Tannhauser are great examples of how powerful music can be. The only American composer on this list is John Williams.

If you have seen “E.T.,” “Ju-rassic Park,” “Jaws” and “Star Wars” and pick out a tune then you know his music. For all of

you muggles, mudbloods, wiz-ards and witches, “Harry Potter and the Sorcer-er’s Stone” was all him. The great thing with John Williams is

how well the music fi ts with the movie; it paints a live picture. Though you may not remem-ber “Schindler’s List,” this work landed him one of his fi ve Os-cars.

Lastly, Tchaikovsky’s Nut-cracker Suite will surely put you in the Christmas mood. This piece is the most performed bal-let today with Swan Lake (an-other popular ballet of his) close behind.

I’ll end strong with the heavy hitters to clean up my article. Bach’s Cello Suite in G major: Prelude is a fantastic piece to show how music has a direction it wants to move. You can’t go wrong with Yo-Yo Ma perform-ing it either. Like it?

Check out Bach’s Partitas. Does his style sound familiar?

The fi rst eight notes of Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue in D minor is littered in horror movies and will put you in the Halloween spirit.

For Mozart I would suggest listening to Symphony No. 40 in G minor: Menuetto.

If you like this, listen to the whole work and last sympho-nies as well. Though Mozart’s music might be a bit stuffy, it is clean and simple. His “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” are some of his most popular tunes. Beetho-ven takes the cake for writing the most recognized piece with the fi rst four notes of his Fifth Sym-phony.

Remember the mythic Greek scene with the fl ying horses and centaurs from “Fantasia?” That was from his Sixth Symphony. Beethoven got the ball rolling on thematic music and helped inspire composers that write for movies now. Yes, nearly every-one I mentioned writes in a dead style. Yes, music has evolved by way of people’s taste. This doesn’t make the new stuff or the old stuff bad though. These works are sta-ples in the music realm and have stood the test of time for a reason: it continues to inspire and teach young musicians. Maybe you don’t like this kind of music. That is completely fi ne.

I just encourage everyone get their headphones and go music surfi ng on Spotify to get out of your comfort zone. There is no harm in listening to something new for free.

My friends had a nick-name for my old phone — the roach.

It was one of those tenacious little Nokia go-phones that could eat a nuclear winter for breakfast.

I’d had it since my junior year of high school, and only got it then because the girl I was dating told me to stop calling her from my home phone. So demanding.

Girls aside, phones cer-tainly do demand. You can’t go anywhere without seeing someone glued to his or her iPhone. In fact, if you’re read-ing this in a public setting, I bet if you look around right now you will see that al-most ev-e r y b o d y is doing something on cell phones.

T h e y m i g h t be doing something we would consid-er to be useful, like checking emails or sending someone a text.

Or they might be checking Facebook or Twitter, reading

up on all those vital feeds. These capabilities are the

result of technological ad-vancements for sure, but I think too often we forget not all progress is good progress. At the very least, we don’t think critically enough about it.

So why do we spend so much time on our phones and on the Internet? I think it’s because we’re scared of bore-dom.

In fact, I think we’re ter-rifi ed of it and have tried to kill it. The Internet and the computer dealt boredom a major blow, but due to porta-bility issues, it survived. The

advent of the smart-p h o n e , howeve r, f i n i s h e d the job.

W h e n -e v e r there’s a m o m e n t of silence in our day,

what do we do? We instinc-tively grab for our phones.

Then we check Facebook or Twitter, or we text somebody — anybody, it doesn’t matter who at that point. We simply

will not settle for boredom.Gone are the days where

we sit down, with nothing to do, and merely think about things.

(Seriously, next time you get on a bus, I dare you to turn your phone off and see if you can make it without reaching for it.)

Our minds are constantly pulled here and there, as we try to digest a hundred differ-ent thoughts fed to us by our smartphones.

It’s no wonder our best and brightest ideas come when we’re in the shower or when we’re driving.

Only then can we give our minds a rest, and, funny as it is, the result always seems positive. In a way, I think our obsession with our new tech-nologies describes a part of our human predicament, in that we are always searching for that which will satisfy us.

But nothing ever does. We always want the next phone, the next gadget and the next big thing. We are never con-tent; we always grasp for more.

Of course this is an age-old problem, but it is especially highlighted today by things like new iPhone releases.

Because unfortunately, as

sweet as SIRI is, no Apple product will ever bring us ful-fi llment.

At some point we need to realize by investing so much of ourselves into the latest and greatest, we are only blanket-ing ourselves in a sort of tech-nological comforter. If we fail to realize this, we’ll just have to wait around to be fooled yet again.

Neil Postman, almost 30 years ago, wrote: “There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloak-ing ourselves in technological glory.”

Our new iPhones might be neat, but I think we miss our old little phones more than we know.

Matt Taylor is a senior majoring in mechanical engineering. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

Classical music has merit, important

MATT TAYLOR

THE WORD ON JOHNSON STREET | MATT TAYLOR

If you are anything like me, you did not watch the Super Bowl last year, nor do you remember who even played in it. Along with a good por-

tion of America, I tune in for the commercials and halftime show.

However, lately it has been harder and harder for me to actually watch that much of the Super Bowl. With all the cutest and wittiest commercials being posted on the Internet before the night is over and the halftime shows being almost too unbearable to watch, I feel like there is no need for my eyes to ever have to settle on the actual Super Bowl.

But things have changed for me this season. La-dies and gentlemen, Beyoncé is performing in the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show. I think I speak for most people when I say I believe Beyoncé is a gift from the heavens to grace our headphones with empowering songs about what it takes to be a strong woman and how to tell if our man is cheat-ing on us.

From the Destiny’s Child days to the era of Sasha Fierce, I have loved her. She was there for me when we were both “Crazy in Love” and supported me during my fi rst break up by singing “Single Ladies” alone with me in my car.

Now it is my time to support Beyoncé as she takes the stage for Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013. Maybe I am just a little biased, but I believe having Beyoncé as the headliner for the halftime show is the best thing the producers of the Super Bowl could have ever done. She has been fl ourish-ing in recent years.

Even giving birth to her daughter Blue Ivy with husband Jay-Z managed to make her even more famous. However, Beyoncé has not been teaching girls to run the world for free. Her total net worth is approximately $300 million. Last year approxi-mately 111 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. I can only imagine how many more people like myself will tune in just to watch our

girl Beyoncé during the halftime show. Over the years, the halftime shows have typically been a hit or miss. In the early 2000s, performers varied from Phil Collins to Shania Twain and U2 to Ben Stiller.

Then in 2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson shocked the world with the wardrobe malfunction of the decade.

From that point on, the top dogs in charge of the Super Bowl half-time show made sure to never let anything scandalous happen again. So for several year later the world suffered together and watched our parents’ and grandparents’ favor-ite performers try their hardest on stage for us. Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and The Who all joined the ranks of the others who had gone

before them on the coveted Super Bowl halftime stage. Word must have gotten out the general pub-lic was bored because in 2011 The Black Eyed Peas graced the stage. We rejoiced in having a perform-er from our generation, but later regretted it after

Fergie and her crew made our ears bleed. Apparently Madonna is not drawing Social Security yet because she showed up last year to perform with LMFAO, Nick Minaj, M.I.A and Cee Lo Green.

Even though my eyebrows au-tomatically rise when Madonna is mentioned, I feel like 2012’s Su-per Bowl halftime show was a step in the right direction.

As for 2013, I know Beyoncé will be a hit and do wonders on that stage. Maybe this year I will watch the actual Super Bowl instead of putting in my “Pride and Prejudice” DVD again.

Why do we spend so much time on our phones and on the Internet? I think it’s because we’re scared of boredom. In fact, I think we’re terrifi ed of it and have tried to kill it.”

“

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

BEN HESTER

These works are staples in the music realm and have stood the test of time for a reason.”

“

We rejoiced in having a performer from our generation, but later regretted it after Fergie and her crew made our ears bleed.”

“

The 2012 presidential elec-tion has turned our lap-tops, smart phones and

tablets into an interesting public forum allowing us to say anything and everything we feel about the presidential candidates we choose to support or berate. Facebook is a collaboration of opinion after opinion, no matter how educat-ed or completely absurd. We’re allowed to say anything we want. We put our fi rst amendment rights to full use. The election is sensational.

I can handle the bantering for the most part. Freedom of speech means freedom of speech of the people I don’t agree with. My opinion is my own, and I like to think I have informed my-self as much as I possibly can. I try to choose wisely what I share with the world.

The one thing I can’t stomach, though, is seeing fellow Christians use scripture to push their own ideas on politics.

Christians believe the Bible is the infallible, inspired word of God. I agree with that statement, and I’d be happy to share why I believe, but that is another article for another time.

In my opinion, twisting scrip-ture to fi t a political idea is just about the worst thing you could do with God’s word. Christians taking scripture out of context is not the best way to make others to be willing to listen to their views. Those who quote scripture out of context create a dangerous spark that can fan into something that will forever taint their witness to the world.

I’m specifi cally talking about a verse in Proverbs. “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.” I saw this verse blow up my Facebook news feed after the vice presidential debates, in reference to Joe Biden. Wheth-

er or not you agree with Joe Biden as vice president, I think it is dis-respectful to use scripture to fur-ther sensationalize your opinion of the debate and see how many likes you can get from your sta-tus. I also can’t help but wonder if these individuals would react the same way if Paul Ryan was the candidate to whom everyone was referring.

However, if you truly believe Joe Biden is the fool in question from the context of this verse, I’d like to remind you of a few more passages in the Bible.

Romans 13:1-2 says, “Let every person be subject to the govern-ing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been insti-

tuted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed.”

We have to be careful in toeing the line of expressing our opinions and disrespecting those in author-ity.

No matter who wins the 2012 election, if you consider yourself a Christian, you are to be subject to governing authorities.

If you fi ll Facebook with cruel comments ripping our command-er in chief to shreds, not only are you showing you don’t trust God, you’re also disrespecting His com-mands.

If you think the platform of the candidate you support is un-fl awed, you are wrong.

Scripture also tells us to pray for our leaders. 1 Timothy 2 says, “First of all, then, I urge that sup-plications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, god-ly and dignifi ed in every way.”

I talk with my father a lot about religion and politics. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever known, and I’ve always admired

his ability to hear both sides of a story before a decision is made. He made a very valid point to me the other day. Some may fi nd it diffi cult to wrap their heads around. He told me, “You can’t legislate morality.”

Christians refusing to respect their nation’s president will not resolve moral issues in our nation. Showing hatred toward others who differ in views.

For example, those who sup-port gay marriage and abortion and other divisive issues will not make them change their minds.

I see a lot of Christians saying things like “this country has to turn back to Jesus,” and I couldn’t agree more. But let’s take a sec-ond to examine what exactly that means. Jesus helped those in need. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He didn’t worry about their social class or if they were a Democrat or Republican (well, not then at least). He obeyed his heavenly father. He obeyed his earthly authorities.

Above all, Jesus calls us to love one another. Love our enemies. Love those who persecute us. Love the people who are different than we are. Love the people who dis-agree with our religion, politics and views on issues.

Christians, I encourage you all to pray for our leaders. Pray for our current president (he’s still president, by the way.) Pray for the man who will become our presi-dent in November.

Pray for Congress, senators and those who are responsible for gov-erning our nation.

Mary Chase Breedlove is the opinion editor at The Reflector. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

MARY CHASE BREEDLOVE

CONTRIBUTING WRITER | STEPHANIE NOKES

Super Bowl producers made wise choice of halftime act

MUSINGS | BEN HESTER

Our generation is addicted to technology

Showing hatred toward others who differ in views will not make them change their minds.”

“

THE CONSTANT | MARY CHASE BREEDLOVE

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.

Personal assistant needed to organize and help. Basic computer skills needed, good with organization. We are ready to pay $870 per week. Interested person should email resume for consideration: markthompson147@aol.com.

Representative service is needed for developing strong customer relationships and meeting aggressive sales goals. Successful candidates must be reliable and possess excellent communication skills, both oral and written. No job experience can also apply. Send your resume to: ronaldjuan1212@gmail.com.

Personal assistant is urgently needed with a good salary. He or she must have good qualities to work. Interested applicants should contact: ronaldjuan1212@gmail.com.

Earn good money at every game. Now hiring energetic workers for walking vendors position at Mississippi State University games. For more information, call 404.512.0822.

FOR SALE

Classic comics and albums. The largest collection of comic books and albums in the area. Also movie posters, sports memorabilia, DVDs, CDs and beer signs. Located in Ziggy’s Buy & Sell, 434 Highway 12. Details on Facebook.

New and used vehicles. First time and college student purchase programs. Contact Anthony Lowe at 327.3673 or 418.9107. Premier Ford-Lincoln, Inc.

2120 Highway 45 North, Columbus. idontlietoyou.com.

FOR RENT

100 King Richard Road, 3B, 2B brick house near campus. Two-car garage, fi replace, fenced yard. $1250.00. Call 228.324.2289 after 4 p.m. Available December 15.

MISCELLANEOUS

Think you might be pregnant? Free testing and confi dential counseling is available. Call LifeChoices Pregnancy Care Center, Columbus at 662.327.0500.

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 Dr. 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.

SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.

PaRHOnormal Activity costume contest: Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. on the Drill Field. First place prizes for winners in categories of funniest, scariest and school spirit. For more information, email djk84@msstate.edu.

SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.

Join us as we educate youth on Halloween safety at the Boys and Girls Club on Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. Contact djk84@msstate.edu for more 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.

STARLIGHT DANCERS HIP HOP TEAM

Starlight Dancers will be hosting their fi rst event, called The Knockout: Pink Edition, on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union Ballroom. It is a breast cancer awareness program. Other MSU organizations will be performing. Donations are accepted.

SOCIOLOGICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION

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

Bully’s 5K for United Way Run and Walk. Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m. Race day registration begins at 5:30 p.m. in the back parking lot of McArthur Hall, 245 Barr Avenue, on the MSU campus. For additional information, please facebook.com/MSUUnitedWay5K.

10-23-12AN IN-CLASS DISTRACTION ...

Solutions for 10-19-12

4 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

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LIFE & ENTERTAINMENTtuesday, october 23, 2012 | 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

By Daniel HartStaff Writer

Unconventional, risk-tak-ing photography will be crop-ping up in workshops, exhi-bitions and lectures around Mississippi State University on Oct. 25-28 as the Society for Photographic Education South Central Regional Con-ference is hosted here for the third time in the span of over two decades, co-hosted by the Department of Art and the Department of Communica-tion.

The society is a nonprofit organization that conference co-chair and assistant profes-sor of photography and new media Wendy Roussin said “provides a forum for the dis-cussion of photography and related media as a means of creative expression and cul-tural insight.” According to Roussin, this year’s conference theme “Nothing Ventured/Nothing Gained: The Cre-ative Risk” focuses on innova-tions in photographers’ work and processes, especially in the South.

“(Professor of art) Marita

(Goote)’s idea was that some-times people don’t expect much out of Mississippi. Oh, going to school in the South, you’re in Mississippi. It’s about the creative process, taking a risk through that,” she said.

Keynote speaker Todd Hido and featured speakers Susan Burnstine and Kelli Connell will be giving lectures free of admission as part of the con-ference.

Assistant professor of art Dominic Lippilo, conference co-chair along with Gootee and Roussin, said the three art-ists chosen represent a breadth of innovation and interesting risks taken in photography.

“They address the three ma-jor physical sectors of photog-raphy: Todd Hido would be more traditional, Kelli Connell digital and Susan Burnstine alternative processes, through the making of her own cam-eras. They all take major risks in their work to unsafe levels, which takes it out of control,” he said.

Susan Burnstine will speak in Giles Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Thursday. In McComas Theater, Dornith Doherty will

speak at noon on Friday, Todd Hido will speak at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Kelli Connell will speak at 5:30 p.m. on Sat-urday.

As well as lectures from the photographers, the conference brings a canon of innovative work hanging on campus un-til Nov. 2. Along with Dor-nith Doherty, SPESC honored educator and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the featured speakers will have a combined show of their works, “Nothing Ventured/Nothing Gained: The Creative Risk” hanging in the McComas Gallery. The “SPE Members’ Exhibition and Antiquarian Avant-Garde Photography: Works by the North Texas Al-ternative Process Group” exhi-bition will hang in the Visual Arts Center Gallery. As well as national and professional level work, student adviser and se-nior photography major and Riley Reid said Society of Pho-tographic Education students from across the south central region will have an exhibition of their work hanging in the Colvard Student Union Gal-lery.

“A group of 10 students cu-rated; there are several pieces that are alternative processes, they did very unique things and submitted with that in mind. There are a lot of Missis-sippi State students who have work in there,” she said.

The conference grows the seeds that have been planted with the Maroon Edition and Betty Press’ “African Wisdom in Image and Proverb” photog-raphy exhibition; Lippilo said Rather than existing exclu-sive to a specific audience, the conference is a way of creating commonality.

“Photography is a commu-nication system, bringing dia-logue and idea to an audience. You can still enjoy that even if you’re not behind the lense,” he said.

For uninhibited conference attendance to all talks, panel discussions, workshops and a jazz party, Department of Art and Department of Commu-nication students pay $15 and students in other departments pay $25.

For more information and a more detailed schedule, visit southcentral.spenational.org.

By SHelBy PeranicHStaff Writer

The Student Association’s Late Night Events group paired up with Music Maker Productions to put on Pla-zapalooza: a battle of the bands on Oct. 18. Plazapalooza gave four bands the opportunity to play and be judged by “The Weeks,” a well-known band from Jackson, Miss.

Thomas Fitzner, sophomore international business and French major, is Music Maker Productions’s publicity chair. According to Fitzner, the event was a tremendous success that not only showcased wonderful talent, but also showed what Mississippi State University has to offer to those with musical interests.

“We did relatively low publicity for this, but it was really user-driven. Those bands wanted a good turnout just as much as we did, and they really pulled their end as far as promoting the event goes. It showed a lot of local talent to the Starkville area and gave State exposure,” Fitzner said.

Plazapalooza also gave the four bands a chance to be heard and presented the winner of the competition with an opportunity to play at Bulldog Bash, along with some other prizes. The winning band, Surviving Allison, with its lively stage presence and original songs, has only been together for three months.

Chris Ekiss, lead vocalist and pianist for Surviving Alli-son, said he does not think how long they have been a band matters because their future together is bright.

“This thing has been going on for three months, and we have been preparing for this competition since Monday. We just wanted exposure. We don’t do this for the mon-ey. If we cared about money, we would’ve quit before we started. We are just excited to get to play together for ev-eryone,” Ekiss said.

Surviving Allison will not be close to Starkville again until the weekend of Nov. 2 for Bulldog Bash, but Ekiss revealed a release date for the band’s first album.

“We start recording our CD this Sunday, and it will be done in February. We are hoping to have a release party on Feb. 16,” Ekiss said.

For more information on Surviving Allison, its website is SurvivingAllison.com

Battle of the bands competition successful, Surviving Allison wins

Photography expo to be hosted at MSU

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jay johnson | the reflector

allison beth newman | courtesy photo

Surviving Allison placed first in the Plazapalooza competition.

PLAZAPALOOZA RESULTS1. Surviving Allison2. Jarnigan Gypsies3. The Beats

“Virtuoso” by Riley Reid (digital print) and “Open Door” by Kaitlin Mullins (cyantotype) are showcased in the Colvard Student Union.

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LIFE

This tale is as old as time, yet we Mississippians still insist on our sweet tea at breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a result, we end up spending $5 or $6 a day on drinks. That’s practically enough money for an entire meal. Drink water, folks. Your body and your bank account will thank you. Speaking of water….

I know, water fountains can sometimes be gross. But you know what’s grosser? The fact Americans spend over $15 billion on bottled water per year. That’s obscene. Tap water is cheap, easy and better for the environ-ment. It’s 2012; it’s time to go green.

Starkville is a small town. If you can’t walk there, odds are you can bike there, and if you can’t bike there, odds are someone else is going the same direction. Hitch rides, split gas, save cash.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I’m drinking a Starbucks latte as I type this, and guess how much it cost me? $3.50. If I do that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during my 10:00 break, I spend over $10. I know how cute that picture of your Einstein’s coffee looks through a well-placed tilt-shift and a complimentary filter, but there’s no way it’s as cute as the new shirt you could buy with all the cash you could save if you brewed your own beans.

Since coming to college, I have befriended a chef, a DIY enthusiast and a painter. In exchange for their food, fashion and friendship, I proofread their papers and embellished their resumes. It’s a beautiful, mutually beneficial relationship. With such a diverse campus, there’s no reason you can’t save a little cash in addition to gaining a great, different new friend.

How many of us have skipped lunch to make a quick trip to Piggly Wiggly only to arrive at the cash register with a box of Zebra Cakes, a bag of Chee-tos, a Diet Coke, and maybe an apple in addition to our usual grocery items (bread, peanut butter, orange juice, etc.)? Going to the grocery store while your stomach is empty is more tempting than Ryan Gosling offering you one of those fancy, over-priced lattes mentioned above.

Set aside a certain amount of cash for your next trip downtown. It’s entire-ly too easy to buy an entire outfit on credit without blinking an eye — until you go home and check your balance; then you must continually blink your eyes to keep from bursting into tears. Deliberately leave the house with only a few dollars. Despite what America would have us believe, we are not finan-cially invincible, and the monetary rug gets pulled out from naïve college students every single day.

To avoid the shock that comes with refraining from checking your bank account, get an app for your phone so you can check it anytime, anywhere. I know, ignorance is bliss, but since we are now responsible adults, we can no longer afford to be ignorant.

iTunes is a great and terrible beast. It’s the best and worst invention of the 21st century. Who would have ever thought that we would be able to purchase music track by track 50 years ago? And who would have thought how easy it would be? How accessible? How expensive?? My advice to you is simple: think about the music you’re purchasing. If it’s a quality album that’s worth $10, then by all means, buy it. But if it’s the latest Maroon 5 single, odds are Starkville radio will overplay it anyway, and you’ll get so sick of it you will want to die when it randomly plays on your iPod, and you will be so angry that you spent that $1.25 on it instead of that load of laundry for which you are still hoarding quarters.

THE REFLECTOR6 | friday, october 23, 2012

$ $catie marie martin

9$ money in college

ways to save$$

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

GET WATER AT RESTAURANTS

DRINK TAP WATER

BIKE IT, WALK IT, CARPOOL IT

BREW YOUR OWN COFFEE

ACQUIRE FRIENDS WITH SKILLS

DON’T GROCERY SHOP ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

LEAVE THE CREDIT CARD AT HOME

GET A BANK APP FOR YOUR SMARTPHONE

PANDORA/SPOTIFY/JANGO IT

SUBMIT YOUR POEMS, SHORT STORIES, PHOTOGRAPHY OR ARTWORK TO ZORSBORN@REFLECTOR.MSSTATE.EDU.

mirrors REFLECTING ART AROUND STARKVILLE

HAVE YOU FOLLOWED@LIFEREFLECTOR YET?COME ON, WHAT AREYOU WAITING FOR?

If you’re like me, you had a steady, well-paying job this summer, and you totally made bank. You worked hard five days a week, laid out at the pool on the weekends and woke up early Monday morning only to repeat the warm, summery cycle once more. You returned to Starkville with fistfuls of cold, hard cash, and thought, “Wow, I am such an adult. I am so responsible because I have my own money now.”

But alas, our funds have fallen with the leaves, and we have begun to hoard quarters for laundry like squirrels in hibernation mode. With every pumpkin spice latte and every pair of woolen socks we purchase — because our feet get so cold in Starkville — we practically force money into the cold, greedy claws of winter and out of the warm.

So, for your benefit and mine, here are a few helpful hints on how to make your fall frugal and make what’s left of your summer savings last until Christmastime.

BY FORREST BUCK

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State University soccer team dropped two more confer-ence games this past week-end, despite giving a valiant effort in both games, espe-cially against Arkansas on Sunday.

The two losses over the weekend drop the team’s re-cord to 8-10-1 and 1-10-1 in SEC play.

After starting the season 7-0 and going into confer-ence play with high hopes, the Bulldogs’ season will end Thursday with their fi nal game against rival Ole Miss.

This past Friday, MSU played Georgia and lost 0-3. State was outshot by a wide margin of 22-5, which points to a huge discrepan-cy in possession of the ball throughout the game.

Head coach Neil Mac-Donald said he was not pleased with the team’s per-formance on Friday.

“I thought we were very lackluster and didn’t play at a high enough tempo throughout the 90 min-utes,” MacDonald said. “It was just a poor team perfor-mance.”

Sophomore C.J. Winship fi lled in for Skylar Rosson as the goal keeper in both games this past weekend as Rosson was out because she received her second red card in the previous game. However, despite allowing three goals Friday, Winship played well and she made quite a few incredible saves.

Junior captain Morganne

Grimes said the loss was not on Winship but the team as a whole.

“I think C.J. was out-standing tonight, and I trust her behind me 100 percent,” Grimes said. “None of the goals can be put on her. The ball has to go through 10 people be-fore it gets to the keeper.”

The Bulldogs fared much better in Sunday’s contest against the Razorbacks, de-spite failing to come away

with the victory. State jumped out to a 1-0

lead in the fi rst half and maintained the lead un-til the 62nd m i n u t e when Ar-kansas tied the game. The Razor-backs then scored the game-win-ning goal in the fi nal two minutes on a shot off of a defl ection.

Junior Elisabeth Sullivan scored MSU’s lone goal in that game. Sullivan is tied for second on the team with four assists, and she leads the team with 10 goals on the season, leaving her one goal shy of tying the school record.

Sullivan downplayed the signifi cance of the goal and said she has just been focus-ing on playing the game to

the best of her ability. “I haven’t really been

keeping up with all the r e c o r d s , ” she said. “I’ve just been trying to help my team the best I can.”

T h u r s -day, the B u l l d o g s hope to put

this weekend’s games be-hind them and end the sea-

son on a positive note by beating Ole Miss at home for the Magnolia Cup.

Sullivan said she wants

to send the seniors out on top since Thursday will be senior night.

“I’m really looking for-ward to the game on Thurs-day because obviously it’s Ole Miss, and that’s our biggest rival,” she said. “We know we can win.”

Regardless of the sport or how well either team is do-ing, when MSU battles Ole Miss, bragging rights will be on the line, and the soccer team hopes to win the Mag-nolia Cup in Starkville this year.

SPORTSREFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012 | 7

Bulldogs drop two over weekend, host Ole Miss Thursday

BY KRISTEN SPINK

Sports Editor

For the average freshman student-athlete, the thought of breaking records does not cross his or her mind during the season.

But over halfway through the 2012 volleyball season, Mississippi State freshman libero Roxanne McVey was leading the SEC in digs and on pace to break multiple MSU records.

However, when junior set-ter and co-captain Paris Perret left the team for personal rea-sons, State was left with only inexperienced setters to fi ll the position and just two up-perclassmen on the team.

Having lost seven straight conference games, McVey said she knew a change needed to be made if MSU was to see any success this season.

“I told her (head coach Jen-ny Hazelwood), ‘If you need me to fi ll water bottles all practice, if that’s what it will take to win, I’ll do that. If you need me to play libero, if you need me to set, whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it if it’s going to make us win,’” McVey said.

So Hazelwood moved

McVey, who had never played setter in her life, to the setter position in hopes of seeing different outcomes for the Dogs.

For someone who had al-ready broken the MSU record with 42 digs in the match against Kennesaw State and the SEC record with 50 digs against LSU, McVey’s willing-ness to move positions for the betterment of her team dis-played her true character.

Hazelwood said she hesi-tated to take McVey out of her position because she was doing so well, but having her initiate the conversation with the coaches about being will-ing to change positions was neat.

“That was one of the big-gest things we said as a coach-ing staff that she could have just said, ‘I want to make sure I’m still getting good num-bers,’ and that kind of stuff, but she doesn’t care about that stuff,” Hazelwood said. “She wants to help the team win.”

In high school, McVey played either outside hitter or setter, and on her club team, she played libero alongside one of the best setters in the nation.

In her fi rst match in her

career at setter, McVey tallied 18 assists, and in her second match against Missouri, she nearly doubled that number with 34 assists (both matches went only three sets).

Although State failed to pull out a win in her fi rst few matches at setter, McVey said her teammates have helped her out in this diffi cult situ-ation.

“The fi rst match was pretty interesting because I was put-ting everything together, and I was completely out of my comfort zone,” she said. “But my teammates have made it super easy for me to feel re-laxed and confi dent in what I’m doing because they’re al-ways giving me positive feed-back.”

McVey’s maturity and lead-ership ability were evident early in her career as she grad-uated high school a semester early to join the team last spring in preparation for the season. Instead of enjoying her last semester as a high school senior, McVey chose to join the Dogs for off-season training.

Often called the “quarter-back of a volleyball team,” the setter is responsible for every second ball every time the ball

comes on her team’s side of the net.

Senior captain Chanelle Baker said McVey has stepped into the “quarterback” role, even though she was not a set-ter by nature.

“I think everyone’s really ex-cited Roxanne wanted to step up into that position, and ev-eryone’s been real positive. I feel like it shows what this team has to come in the future with her being a freshman and stepping up like that,” Baker said. “She’s done a great job with leader-ship, and I think it’s defi nitely made her stand out being that extra leader we need out there.”

Although the Dogs are still struggling to scratch the win column in SEC play, McVey’s desire to put the team before herself as only a freshman may be just what MSU needs to steer the program in the right direction.

McVey puts team accolades above her own

COURTESY PHOTO | THE REFLECTOR

Freshman Roxanne McVey set the MSU and SEC record for digs in a match but willingly moved to setter to help her team succeed.

UP NEXTThe volleyball team will travel to Florida and LSU this weekend in hopes of securing MSU’s fi rst SEC win.

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STEPHANIE GODFREY | THE REFLECTOR

Halee Heltsley has two goals on the year and is the only other player besides Elisabeth Sullivan to score a goal in an SEC game.

I haven’t really been keeping up with all the records. I’ve just been trying to help my team the best I can.”Elisabeth Sullivan,junior forward

“

8 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

SPORTS STAT OF THE DAY: 8: MSU HAS WON EIGHT

STRAIGHT GAMES AGAINST TEAMS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE.

ON THE TUBE:NO. 18 CLEMSON AT

WAKE FOREST

THURSDAY, 6:30 P.M. ESPN

At 7-0, Dogs can finally focus on BamaBY KRISTEN SPINK

Sports Editor

The SEC is unpredictable. On any given day, any team can beat any team. Just ask the top teams in the East.

This weekend, No. 11 Mis-sissippi State travels to Tuscalo-osa to take on No. 1 Alabama for a battle of fi rst place in the SEC West.

Head coach Dan Mullen said this week is huge for his program and right where the team wants to be.

“It’s a position we wanted to be in when I took the job here,” Mullen said. “These are the type of games we wanted to play in, and our guys are going to be excited for the opportuni-ty to go play the No. 1 team in the country.”

Two years ago, no one pre-dicted Auburn to be much of a threat in the SEC, much less the nation. Often times, the teams not receiving much hype before the season be-gins creep up and make some noise during the year.

This year’s Mississippi State squad may be the least-hyped top-15 team in the country.

No one mentioned State in SEC talks before the season, and, to be honest, no one is mentioning the Dogs now, ei-ther.

For example, after the Dogs beat Tennessee two weekends ago, Sportscenter tweeted a video of Malcolm Johnson’s game-sealing touchdown catch and said, “Malcolm Johnson, we just re-served a spot for you in the #SC-top10 #TENN-vsMSU.”

So, of c o u r s e , S t a t e f a n s s t a y e d up to watch the top 10 plays that night, and was John-son’s catch on there? No. That catch should be nominated for catch of the year, yet Johnson received no acknowl-edgement for it.

Now that MSU has made it through to the oth-er side of its schedule without a blemish, the Dogs can fo-cus solely on the Tide. Junior quarterback Tyler Russell said the team had a feeling in the offseason this could be two 7-0 teams battling but has done a good job not getting ahead of itself.

“We just have to clean up some stuff we messed up on in the last couple of games, whether it be knowing the pro-tections or anything like that. We just have to keep playing our football,” Russell said. “To have an opportunity to go in there and take something that belongs to them with us both being 7-0 trying to get fi rst place, it’s going to be unbeliev-able.”

Although Alabama is cur-rently ranked fi rst in team defense, only allowing 8.3 points per game and

195.6 yards per game, the Tide has yet to face a passing at-tack such as the one MSU brings.

Arkansas’ B r a n d o n Allen, Ole Miss’ Bo Wa l l a c e , M i s s o u -ri’s Corbin Berkstresser

and Tennes-see’s Tyler Bray are not in the same

category as Russell.

Nor h a s

B a m a p l a y e d

against a group of wide receivers as diverse as MSU’s core receivers. Oppos-

ing teams cannot focus on any one Bulldog receiver because on any game day, multiple Dogs could come up with big plays.

Whether Chad Bumphis, Chris Smith, Arceto Clark, Brandon Heavens, any of the tight ends or even the full-backs and running backs are open, Russell has a plethora of receivers to make big-time catches for him.

Mullen said with any of the receivers, when given the op-portunity, they will make the play.

“The balance of our receiv-ers allows you to do some great things. We have some experi-ence out there on the fi eld, so Tyler doesn’t always hone in on one receiver,” Mullen said. “The maturity helps with that. Our guys are ready, and when their number is called, they’re going to make the plays, and if it’s not, they’re going to do their job anyways.”

Running back LaDarius Perkins, who is quietly hav-ing a big year for the Dogs, said Bama always seems to be having a great year, and MSU knows how good the Tide are.

“They (Alabama) are going to see a team that’s going to work hard always and fi ght to the end no matter what,” Perkins said. “We’re going in there knowing we can win as long as we just play our game, make sure we’re consistent on offense and defense makes the stop, we’re going to be fi ne.”

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“I’m pleased with how we performed coming out of the locker room in the second half. Going into halftime, you look statistically, and there wasn’t anything sticking out to you. What stuck out to me was we didn’t score a touchdown in two red zone opportunities and came away with three points. We had a turnover that obviously killed a drive for us and had a couple silly penalties and mental errors in the fi rst half. Overall, I thought we played O.K. just had some mental errors in the fi rst half...What I’m most pleased about is when guys got an opportunity, they took advantage of it...Once Perk (LaDarius Perkins) broke it and (Johnthan) Banks got the interception and got back up, our guys seemed to be, ‘You know what, let’s stop worrying and just relax and go play and execute,’ and we started making a ton of plays from that point on...Chris (Smith) is our hardest working guy. He’s the leader of the receiving group. You watch his demeanor, how he attacks it in his complete game of route running and blocking. He believes in the program and has bought into what we’re doing.”

DAN MULLENHEARFROMHEAD COACH

MSU-MTSU POSTGAME NOTES- MSU has scored at least 25 points in seven straight games for the first time in school history.- Johnthan Banks tied Walt Harris for the MSU record with his 16th career interception. Banks is also tied with David Amerson of N.C. State for the lead among active FBS players.- Tyler Russell is one of three FBS quarterbacks with 15 or more touchdown passes and less than two interceptions. Alabama's A.J. McCarron and LouisianaMcCarron and Louisiana Tech's Colby Cameron are the other two quarterbacks.With his 28th passing touchdown, Russell tied Chris Relf for fifth-most in MSU history.- LaDarius Perkins is one of just two FBS running backs with a rushing touchdown in every game this season. San Diego's Adam Muema is the other running back.

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR