Faculty Senatediscusses budget cuts, tuition increases

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BY LAUREN CLARK

Staff Writer

Students at Mississippi State University will be able to order a new copy of the Reveille this spring for the fi rst time in three years.

MSU Student Association President Rhett Ho-bart said the new Reveille will be available this sum-mer, but pre-orders will begin in February.

“Because of the time restraints we are under to get the yearbook completed for this year, the 2011-12 edition will be mailed over the summer to each student who orders one,” Hobart said.

Laura Touchstone, co-director of history and tra-

ditions, said several changes are being made to the Reveille to make it appealing to current students, including a move to high-quality printing and all-color pages.

“We are taking out the class photo section, this being the yearbook trend across a lot of colleges and universities,” she said. “We are hoping that by taking out this section, more organizations and clubs will want to have a page and put in their own photos of representation appealing to more stu-dents.”

Clark Cutrer, co-director of history and tradi-tions, said the summer release of the new edition also allows the Reveille staff to include events that

occur late in the semester, including baseball and graduation, which are not usually part of the Reveille.

The new edition of the Reveille will also include a section that will highlight the events at MSU since the last issue three years ago, Touchstone said.

“We feel that every year is important in MSU history, and the Reveille is the way to preserve that and without it being around for those three years those important happenings in our history as a University will be forgotten, otherwise,” she said.

Jen Nguyen, Reveille co-editor, said she feels it is important to have a yearbook this year so all MSU students will have a yearbook to document their time on campus.

“By releasing an issue this year, there will be no graduating class at MSU that will go without a yearbook,” she said. “I wouldn’t want any graduat-ing class to go without a yearbook because they are so important nowadays. Not only do they hold memories for us, but they are also a history refer-ence.”

Nguyen said she thinks tradition is also an im-portant reason for the Reveille to return.

“It is one of those traditions that I really love about State. There is so much tradition that lies in the Reveille, and letting it die would be a part of MSU that is missing,” she said.

Reveille pre-orders begin in February

Laura Touchstone, co-director of history and tra- on campus.

BY MICAH GREEN

News Editor

As I walk up to meet Miles Byrd in the Union on Wednesday, he is standing next to a table with a handful of fl iers talking to Grant Beatty, front man of local band The Jar Heads, and discussing the pos-sibility of booking the band for some up-coming dates.

Of course he is.As the founder and CEO of The Five22,

a self-proclaimed networking consulting, booking and promoting conglomerate here in Starkville, pretty much every per-son he meets is either a potential client or a potential partner. The man never leaves the house without his A-game.

Since May 22 (or April 19, no one is sure which) of last year, networking, for Byrd, has become a lifestyle. It was on one of those days Byrd and some friends fi nally decided they were going to put

into action the plans he had been mull-ing over for months.

“We had all these grand ideas and they were all back-end things,” Byrd said. “We were all, ‘Let’s create an app,’ ‘Let’s create a website,’ and when we launched it we wanted it to be as good as Facebook and blow everybody’s mind.”

Byrd’s enthusiasm propelled him through long nights of spitball sessions, looking for something to stick, and there were defi nitely some breakthroughs. But production on both the app and the web-site began to slow and the innocent ex-citement followed.

“That’s when I decided that I would just put up the website myself,” he said.

One sleepless night and a Blogger ac-count later, thefi ve22.com was live.

“It at least gave me something to show the people who were helping me out, you know, that what they were working on was real.”

Website offshoot strives to bring the 411 to Starkville, beyond

The Five22 introduces whatshappen.in

Keenum addresses $500 million funding shortfall

BY LACI KYLES

Staff Writer

The Robert Holland Faculty Senate of Mississippi State University discussed potential budget cuts and tuition increases as well as future campus construction projects during their meeting on Friday, Jan. 13.

President Mark Keenum said he spoke with new leaders in Jackson and the state budget is at the top of the agenda. Currently, the state is experiencing a $500 million shortfall from funds not available this session that were available last session, and there is less money received from the state today per student than 10 years ago.

“We’re doing a whole lot more with a whole lot less,” Keenum said. “It’s quite evident.”

For fi scal year 2013, a 3.4 percent cut was proposed for the Mis-sissippi Institution of Higher Learning (IHL), and a 2.6 percent cut was submitted by Gov. Haley Barbour, even though IHL has taken budget cuts for the past three years in a row, Keenum said. MSU’s total appropriations are one-third higher than what the university actually received during a shortfall over a fi ve-year period, and enrollment ex-perienced a 46 percent increase over that time period.

Reflector THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

SEE FIVE22, 7

SEE SENATE, 3

SEE REVEILLE, 2

WANT TO ROLL WITH THE

BRAWL STARS?LIFE | 6

ROAD RAGEDSPORTS | 9

BY WILL HAGER

Staff Writer

On Tuesday, the Missis-sippi State University Stu-dent Association Senate met. Here are some high-lights from the meeting.

SA Budget

Rhett Hobart, SA president, released the fi gures from the 2011-

2012 SA budget. SA has been budgeted $125, 510. Of that number, $116,104.41 has been realized in total. This includes the $20,000 planned for the Old

Main Music Festival.

Tobacco Cessation Task Force

Joyce Yates and David McMillen of the tobacco cessation task force gave a presentation proposing

strategies for implementing a new anti-tobacco policy

across campus. Halston Hales, vice president of SA, said a new policy is

coming along and should be enforced next fall.

“They’re handling it them-selves, but they want student input, and so they wanted to hear from the senate,” Hales

said.

Senate RedistrictingThe senate examined Bill 7, which proposed

parameters for the redistribution of SA Senate seats for the 2012-2013 school year. Bill 7 asserts that students will be represented by their colleges and schools, rather than by residence halls. Each college or school’s number of seats will be determined by its amount of students. There will be a senator for every 650 students. Using statistics from the 2010-2011 school

year, under the proposed plan, there would be 36 senators. Halston Hales, SA vice president, said he believes redistricting senate seats to the specifi c colleges and schools would add prestige to the senate.“It implicitly adds age to the senate to where

you have upperclassmen that are in those posi-tions, which leaves you with a more knowl-edgeable, more understanding set of repre-sentation who can actually pass things in your favor,” Hales said.

Freshmen would still have access to senate seats, but the exact number is undetermined, he said. If passed in the senate, the constitutional referendum would be presented before the student body during the general election.

SA SENATE BRIEF

MICAH GREEN | THE REFLECTOR

Miles Byrd, CEO and founder of The Five22, does some work at his office in the basement of an old photography studio on University Drive. Byrd, Keatzi Gunmoney, Blair Edwards and James Kastrantas run the entire company here.

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Campusalendar

Recruit & Retain

Diverse Faculty

Date: Jan. 24

Time: 12 to 2 p.m.

Location: Colvard Student

Union room 324

Contact: Latoya Bishop

325-2493

Women’s Basketball vs. AuburnDate: Jan. 22Time: 2 to 4 p.m.Location: Humphrey ColiseumContact: Chad Thomas 325-9847

MSU Softball Open PracticeDate: Jan. 20 and 21Time: 2 p.m. and 10 a.m.Location: MSU Softball Field

Contact: Kyle Niblett325-0972

iPads for ScholarsDate: Jan. 23Time: 3 to 4 p.m.Location: Mitchell Memorial Library Giles ClassroomContact: Deborah Lee 325-0810

Delta Xi Phi

Multicultural Sorority

Spring Rush

Date: Jan. 23-30

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: McCool 215

Contact: Shaughnessy

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Guided Meditation Group

Date: Jan. 23

Time: 3 p.m.

Location: Hathorn Hall 115C

(separate, left of residence

hall)

Contact: Ari Oliveros

325-2091

MSU groups may send information for campus calendar to news@reflector.msstate.edu. Additional campus events can be found online at msstate.edu/web/news.

NEWS T H E R E F L E C TO R2 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012

REVEILLE continued from 1

The emphasis of tradition at MSU is important to many of the Reveille staff members, in-cluding Touchstone, who said her grandfather still shows her his copies of the Reveille from more than 50 years ago. She said bringing the Reveille back will increase school spirit and pride in MSU, especially after graduation.

“The Reveille is one of the oldest and greatest traditions we have on campus before it was stopped due to funding,”

Touchstone said. Hobart said he feels the Rev-

eille is a way to bond alumni and students at MSU in a way that carries on many long-standing traditions.

“It is great to be able to look in the offi ces and homes of alumni and be able to look through their Reveilles,” he said.

Cutrer said he also thinks the Reveille is important for documenting a student’s time at MSU.

“It gives us an opportunity to cherish the memories that we’ve made here at MSU in a way that social media cannot. Also, it means the return of one of our oldest and greatest tra-ditions, which is so important here at MSU where tradition runs so deep,” he said.

Touchstone said pre-sales and information about purchasing a spread for student organiza-tions and clubs will be available in February.

Hobart said the price of each yearbook will be around $44, including tax and shipping and can be charged to a student ac-count or credit card.

RHETT HOBART | COURTESY PHOTO

Information on ordering a copy of the Reveille will be ready in February.Be in the know:Follow the news section on twitter

@NewsReflector

Dietary needs met at MSUBY KAITLYN BYRNE

Copy Editor

Mississippi State University Dining Services strives to provide quality food options for all students — including students with special dietary needs.

Dana Clemmons, sous chef at the Marketplace at Perry, said students should utilize the information available at the counters in Marketplace at Perry to make informed dietary decisions.

“We have signs that warn of the most serious food allergens, such as nuts and seafood. We strive to have accurate nutritional signs placed for all food items that include a list of ingredients — taken directly from our recipes — so that all customers know exactly what they are eating,” she said.

For gluten-free students, Clemmons said MSU Dining Services has developed a working model program that she hopes to be able to expand to in-clude others customers with special diets, such as a vegan diet.

“We have some gluten-free dry goods, such as bread, cereal and muffi ns available every day, as well as a range of vacuum-sealed meals that we prepare,” she said. “The meals are vacuum sealed to prevent any cross-contamination and then frozen so that we can provide a wider range of availability for our cus-tomers without sacrifi cing the quality of the food.”

Kathy Ashworth, MSU Dining Services C-Store manager, said the P.O.D in the Union also carries a variety of gluten-free products.

Clemmons said students with concerns should always ask questions about the food.

“The best tip I can give to anyone with a spe-cial dietary need who wants to eat anywhere out-side their own home is to ask as many questions as they need to in order to feel comfortable about the food,” she said. “At the Marketplace at Perry, we strive to make sure that all of our servers know what is in the food, but we also have a sous chef on site at all times that can answer any questions the customers have about any of the food. We re-alize that for some of our special-needs customers, avoiding some foods is a life or death situation, and we take our responsibility very seriously.”

Amy Stevenson, nutrition analyst and sustain-ability leader, said the number of students with

special dietary needs has grown.“In the past three years, we have grown from help-

ing one gluten-free student to helping 15 students. The amount of students with an allergy or diet re-striction is on the rise, and we have made it possible for these students to (eat) meals on a daily basis,” she said.

Stevenson said students can use nutrition resourc-es at Longest Student Health Center.

“(Students can use) resources on campus such as Mandy Conrad, our dietician on campus at Longest (Student) Health Center,” she said. “She helps with allergies by making sure they are getting proper nu-trition. Our staff is always willing to support those with special dietary needs. We are here to help.”

Jennifer Barnette, MSU Dining Services market-ing manager, said Templeton Dining offers healthy food options and exercise incentives for students.

“Templeton Dining is taking on healthy initia-tives by adding a smoothie station with fresh-made smoothies, along with grab-and-go salads, wraps and energy drinks,” she said. “These grab-and-go items can be purchased with fl ex dollars or other forms of payment and are great options on the go. In part-nership with the Sanderson Center, we are offering half-off entrée coupons to those who work with a trainer there.”

Clemmons said MSU Dining Services is continu-ously striving to improve options for students with special dietary needs.

“We’ve been gathering feedback from the students so that we can tailor future menu items to the desires of our customers,” she said.

ARAMARK | COURTESY GRAPHIC

NEWS FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 | 3

DAWGSBAD

R E F L E C TO R - O N L I N E . C O M

“We are at 70 percent of the tuition of our peers (in the SEC). We’re a very good bargain for our students and their parents,” Keenum said. “Students don’t come here to get a cheap edu-cation; they come here to get a quality Mississippi State educa-tion.”

Keenum said MSU could be forced to raise tuition if MSU does not receive additional funds from legislature. However, the tuition will be conditioned on legislative support and, if the state helps, there will be no increase. Keenum maintained that a high-quality program can-not exist with diminishing state support.

“Our university is one of the best investments for the state,” he said. “One of my highest priorities for this campus is that we don’t let the quality of this institution de-teriorate.”

Keenum was optimistic despite the grim fi nancial outlook.

“We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, can we sustain it?” he said. “We’ve got big gaps to fi ll.”

Jerry Gilbert, MSU provost and

executive vice president, spoke of the status of campus construction projects, including the recent de-lay in the Aiken Village remodel-ing project, as well as the construc-tion plans for the new classroom building on campus.

The Aiken Village project has been delayed until fall 2014 as devel-opers decide what mix of apartments are needed to serve i n t e r n a t i o n a l , merit and graduate students on cam-pus, he said.

“We had a plan that was tentative, and we decided not to implement that plan because

we were not comfortable with it,” Gilbert said, adding that he and Keenum believed it best to take time and get the project right in-stead of rushing through and not meeting the needs of the students.

An underlying cause of the de-lay is the sudden price jump of the demolition project, he said.

Originally, it was slated to cost approximately $14 million, but due to further asbestos testing, the actual project is now valued at approximately $26 million.

Gilbert said questions sur-rounding the construction of the new building include how the space is going to be allocat-ed and how large the classrooms will be in relation to current classroom sizes.

Up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology and classroom essen-tials like seating will be a part of the planning process, but MSU offi cials want to be frugal while getting the best materials, he said.

“We want the biggest bang for our buck out of it,” Gilbert said.

Julia Hodges, associate vice president for administrative ser-vices and member of the plan-ning committee, said changes have been made and submitted to the campus architect so that visualizations could be made regarding the layout of the building, which will then be

discussed by the planning com-mittee. More classrooms and study space for students have been suggested, as opposed to a mixture that includes student support offi ces.

“The classroom building is moving much more toward be-ing a classroom-only building,” she said.

SENATE continued from 1

“Our university is one of the best investments for the state.” MARK KEENUM, MSU PRESIDENT

Financial aid applications to begin Feb. 1

BY LINDSAY MCMURTRAY

Staff Writer

Students seeking fi nancial aid for the 2012-2013 school year should begin the ap-plication process for student fi nancial aid in February in order to receive the maximum funds available to them.

Paul McKinney, director of fi nancial aid at Mississippi State University, said the ear-lier students begin to apply for fi nancial aid, the better results they will receive.

The fi rst step in receiving fi nancial aid is completing the Free Application for Fed-eral Student Aid available online from the U.S. Department of Education. The FAFSA will determine how much need-based aid is available for a student, McKinney said.

According to the department of educa-tion, American citizens enrolled in a degree program as a regular student who show fi -nancial need for aid are eligible to receive federal aid.

McKinney said in addition to Pell grants, subsidized student loans and college work-study opportunities, there is also the Student Equal Opportunity Grant that is available on a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve basis for qualify-ing students.

“If you qualify for SEOG and your FAF-SA is complete, you get the money,” he said. “So those that complete their FAFSAs the soonest are more likely to get more aid.”

The Department of Education and the Offi ce of Financial Aid are working to make the process of applying for federal aid as

easy as possible, McKinney said.“When students are completing the FAF-

SA, it will ask them if they would like to re-trieve their tax information from the IRS,” he said. “We hope this will make it easier to fi ll out the FAFSA.”

One issue he said students need to know about with this new system is that students chosen for verifi cation by the department of education will no longer be able to bring their tax returns to the Offi ce of Financial Aid.

“Students chosen for verifi cation can do one of two things: they can go to the IRS offi ce and get a copy of their tax transcripts, or they can log back in and do that data match,” he said. “They cannot bring their tax returns to me anymore.”

McKinney said with the change in the tax information procedure, students should al-low two weeks after they fi le their taxes be-fore completing the FAFSA to give the IRS time to update its database. The ideal date to complete the FAFSA is soon after Feb. 1.

Jon McLeod, junior history major, said he applies for fi nancial aid early and has not ex-perienced issues receiving aid.

“I fi lled out everything for receiving aid as early as possible and was pleased with the Pell grant I received. Information on the loans was readily available and applying for them was very easy,” he said.

Students can access their fi nancial aid in-formation throughout the process on their myState account, McKinney said. If the stu-dent is subject to verifi cation, he or she can check the status through the fi nancial aid tab on the myState banner.

“The best things students can do, especial-ly during the fall, is to check their myState account,” he said. “Any form that students need is on the Offi ce of Financial Aid web-site.”

McLeod said he uses myState and the fi nan-

cial aid website to complete necessary forms.“I am able to do everything I need to do on-

line, and the fi nancial aid offi ce is very good about sending information and notifi cations through email,” he said. “My fi nancial aid ex-perience at MSU has thus far been simple and stress-free.”

Aid Awarded to EnrolledUndergraduates at

MSU 2010-2011Need-based

$ (lnclude non-need-based aid used to

meet need.)

Non-need-based $

(Exclude non-need-based aid used to

meet need.)

Scholarships/grants

Federal $29,182,165 N/AState $3,620,189 $2,962,809

Institutional $8,469,269 $8,945,486Scholarships/grants from

external sources

$6,450,098 $1,873,045

Total Scholarships/

Grants

$47,721,721 $13,781,340

Scholarships/Grants

$8,945,486$6,450,098 $1,873,045

$47,721,721 $13,781,340

Information taken fromMississippi State University

Common Data Set 2011-2012

PIPER REAVES | THE REFLECTOR

Apply early for optimum aid award

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Saturday, January 14• 1:48 a.m. A student was arrested for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness at Cowbells.

Sunday, January 15• 12:58 a.m. A student was arrested for driving under the influence on Miss. Highway 182.• 3:02 a.m. A student was arrested for DUI and driving with a suspended license on Miss. Highway 182.

Tuesday, January 17• 8:18 a.m. A student passed out at the Herzer Building. Subject refused transport to OCH Regional Medical Center.• 9:07 a.m. A student reported his or her wallet missing, last seen at Perry Cafeteria.• 12:52 p.m. A student had a seizure in Hand Lab. Subject was transported to OCH.

Wednesday, January 18• 12:33 p.m. An employee reported five Dell computers missing from dining services.• 6:42 p.m. An RA reported drugs in Hull Hall. • 9:28 p.m. A student was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute at Hull Hall.• 10:57 p.m. A student smelled something burning in the hallway of Rice Hall. Starkville Fire Department was called.

Citations:• 12 citations were issued for speeding.• 3 citations were issued for expired tag.• 4 citations were issued for no seatbelt.

CORRECTION: In Friday’s edition of The Reflector, in the article “MSU Ice Hockey wraps up home season,” R.C. Mar-tin was misidentified as R.C. Morgan. The Reflector regrets this error.

OPINION

CONTACT INFORMATIONEditor in Chief/Hannah Rogers

325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu

Managing Editor/Julia Pendley

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News Editor/Micah Green

325-8819 news@reflector.msstate.edu

News tips/Megan McKeown

325-7906 news@reflector.msstate.edu

Opinion Editor/Wendy Morell

opinion@reflector.msstate.edu

Sports Editor/James Carskadon

325-5118 sports@reflector.msstate.edu

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325-8883 kmullins@reflector.msstate.edu

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Editor in ChiefHannah Rogers

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Managing EditorJulia Pendley

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ReflectorThe

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Happy New Year, fellow pupils. The time has come once again. Time

to reflect, appreciate, learn and grow. Time to buy that new cal-endar with even cuter puppies than the previous year’s edition. Time to pretend you decided on that New Year’s resolution months ago, rather than as soon as the clock struck midnight 20 days ago.

Unlike any other year in his-tory, 2011 took us on a remark-able and eventful trip around the sun, one that has moved us even closer to the end of times. At this point, it seems like less of a skepti-cal theory and more of a proven fact: the world will end Dec. 21. The real mystery lies in the days leading up to this ensuing apoca-lypse. Will these days be filled with anguish? Ecstasy? Heroism? Zombies? Probably, and hope-fully, on all counts. In fact, I have had a vision I must share with you good, wholesome people.

Michael Jackson will be brought back to life. His resur-rection will be at the request of Kim Yong-nam, eldest son of the late Kim Jong-il, former supreme leader of North Korea. Yong-nam, still scorned by his younger brother, Kim Jong-un, who was chosen as their father’s successor, will have commissioned a sect of ninjas to steal Jackson’s body from its resting place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

After successfully extracting the body from the United States it will be taken to a secret laboratory, not unlike the one in “Frankenstein,” on a secret island, not unlike the one in “Austin Powers,” off the coast of Antarctica where work will begin on bringing the King of Pop back from the dead.

After many failed attempts and a near fatal moonwalking acci-dent, Michael Jackson will pass back into this world in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 26.

Only at this point will the rest of the world be alerted to Yong-nam’s plan. For years, he has been secretly collecting the bodies of dead stars like Kurt Kobain, Bernie Mac, Brittany Murphy, Amy Winehouse, Aaliyah “Left Eye” Lopez and, for some rea-son, Russell Brand (Koreans have weird taste in comedy) (Spoiler Alert!!! Brand dies in a tragic double-decker bus next week), and after resurrecting them, he will commence their training to be generals in his heavily-armed, dancing, flash-mob armies.

Once all seven generals have

risen from their slumber, Yong-nam’s plan will be put into motion immediately. He will send one general, backed by a dance-happy group of Koreans, to each con-tinent. They will captivate and decapitate every man, woman and child with their violently beauti-ful and oddly synchronized dance moves. With leaders like Jackson and Lopez, the world will never stand a chance. Even with the advances in weapon technology, no poor soul will be able to look away long enough to pull a trigger or press a button that could, at the least, stall the fleets.

It will take months for the be-bopping brigades, moving on foot, to cover each continent but, being so enthralled by the detailed coverage of the damaging danc-ers, most people won’t be able to look away from their televisions/iPhones/tablets/computers until it is just too late. Yong-nam will require certain people, mainly celebrities, be spared so he can have some friends after he wipes out 99 percent of Earth’s popula-tion (he loathed the Occupy Wall Street protests).

On Dec. 20, after aquiring all the nuclear weapons on the face of the planet and doing a little over three ounces of cocaine, Yong-nam will mistake the moon for an enormous meteor streaking toward earth and take aim. Since no one dare question him, the strikes will be carried out and the moon will explode incredibly and ferociously, not unlike the Death Star in Star Wars.

The ramifications will be immediate. The tides will be thrown out of sync, causing mas-sive flooding across the globe. The recently resurrected Aaliyah “Left Eye” Lopez, will take advan-tage of the chaos, hastily board-ing one of Yong-nam’s yachts. Along with a captive Kobain (for reproduction reasons), two crab-eating Macaques, three lions, the first season of “Community” on blu-ray, an earthworm and two baby elephants, Lopez will set sail. Godspeed, Left Eye.

Godspeed. May the wind be at your back.

2012 predictions:resurrection, floods

the real read | mIcah greeN

Micah Green is the news editor for The Reflector. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

Editor’s Note: This letter was written in response to the recent addition of a sex and relation-ship column to the opinion sec-tion of The Reflector.

I’ve never had sex, and I’ve never regretted it — 20 years of no more than kissing. I

can testify it is awesome, and I am proud of it. I will never have to worry about STDs, unex-pected children or “emotional baggage.”

To top those, I can go to bed on the night of my honeymoon (God willing I have one) and be able to honestly say I’ve never given myself away to anyone. I’m all his. I will have no one to compare my husband to in this arena. Therefore, he will always be the best. No competition. He wins. I will award the prize to no one else. I know that choos-ing to maintain sexual purity outside the covenant of mar-riage is one of the best decisions I will ever make.

The decision for purity is like choosing a legitimate theme park over pathetic fairs. I could

spend my money on little dinky carnivals with creepy employees and sketchy rides. I could ride those same rides over and over, and have loads of fun, but it would only last while the carni-val was in town. I’d know I was missing out on something bet-ter. I’d rather save that money and have a season pass to Disney every year, where Mickey is my best friend and I can trust and enjoy all the park has to offer.

I’m not say-ing Disney or sex within mar-riage is perfect. Nothing earthly is perfect. But there are always better choices than oth-ers. Why would anyone choose the counterfeit over the real deal? Only one is actually worth something.

Anything in life worth having is worth waiting for. That doesn’t

always seem like the “most fun” idea, but we all know it’s true.

I would like to counter the opinion that one night stands and the like are wonderful because you are “risking your reputation, throwing caution to the wind and liberating yourself from the repression of cultural

norms.” This is misguided. I could say those three things about murder if I wanted. Does that make mur-der a good idea?

Sex outside of marriage is like eating Ramen noodles every night. Sure, in the beginning it seems great – it’s cheap, eas-ily accessible and

there are several flavor choices. But after awhile, you really can’t tell the difference between the chicken or the shrimp, you risk getting a disease from the lack

of nutrition, and your friends notice you’ve suddenly gotten fat. You might try to add some more exciting ingredients, but the fact is you’re still eating some cruddy stuff. Instead, you can prepare for some real slow-cooked meals that really fill you up and keep you pleased. They’re more expensive and take some patience, but like I said, it’s worth it. Roast or Ramen?

If you’re one of the roast-ers, you’re in for the meal of your life. I’m proof life before marriage is perfectly bearable without sex; you’re not the only virgin on this campus. There is no law against such things as self-control, patience and faith-fulness.

Ladies, don’t you want to be desired solely? Gentlemen, don’t you want to be the only one who can satisfy your lady? Deny it all you want, but you know that’s what you long for. One relationship. One commit-ment. One flesh. I cannot think of anything sexier than that.

Choice for purity still allows fun timesletter tO the edItOr | amaNda duNcaN

NathaN backes

“Anything in life worth having is worth waiting for. That doesn’t always seem like the ‘most fun’ idea, but we all know it’s true.”

very disappointed

disappointed pleased

pleased

How do you feel about Dan Mullen’,s2012 Recruiting Class

neutra

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7% 14%

15%

18%

47%

Total number of votes: 74

Do you think there are enough options for students with special dietary needs in Perry Cafeteria?

Yes No I’ve never noticed. .

T H E R E F L E C TO R4 | friday, january 20, 2012

How have our social net-works impacted our ability to form deep

and meaningful relationships? Has Facebook changed the way we meet, date and hookup? In 2012, can we truly commit our-selves to another person, or are we too jaded as a generation raised in cyberspace? Rihanna may have found it in a hopeless place, but can we find love on the Internet?

With the majority of students using it, Facebook is the col-legiate equivalent of hanging out by the lockers. Scrolling through the news-feed, we can filter through updates from our closest several hundred friends. Without making eye contact or a phone call, we can discover who’s single, who’s taken, who’s stressed out about tests, who’s pregnant, who’s eating at Chili’s tonight, who’s wearing their favorite shirt, who’s so sick of fake people and even more.

As the line between the Internet and the interpersonal becomes increasingly blurred, our needs from our social net-works have matured. But when each of us becomes split between the self and the online persona, what’s at stake?

Facebook has radically altered traditional “dating” practices. Thanks to Facebook, the “first date” is obsolete. Traditionally, first dates are a test run. Two people would embark on such a challenge as dinner. During this time, they would engage in a series of questions, in hopes of garnering a response similar to the one he or she would have made. Typical first date banter would include talk of home-towns, likes and dislikes.

Facebook has made first date conversa-tion irrelevant as scrolling through a potential part-ner’s page can fulfill all inquisi-tions. Facebook has streamlined the dating pro-cess.

If Facebook can eliminate the first date, what else can it take from us? In eliminat-ing our need for social interaction,

social networks have weakened our capability for it.

Navigating our personal lives through the realm of social networking has mandated we adopt new etiquette. We must ask questions our parents never did. For instance, if I meet someone I like, how long must I wait before adding them as a friend? Is it the male or the

female who should initiate said friend request? At what point in a relationship do we become “Facebook official” and what does that title imply? What does “It’s Complicated” mean? How can I tell if a girl is actually a lesbian, or if her “domestic part-nership” with that other girl is some sort of strange joke? Why is my self worth so directly relat-ed to how many “likes” I get?

We must be careful to use social networks to our romantic advantage. If you like some-one, consider posting a link to a music video they might like on their wall. Well-crafted wall posts are appreciated, but go easy on the Facebook chat. Making a Facebook page for your pet is only a little creepy. Making a page for your baby is pretty creepy. Making a sec-ond page for yourself so you can be “In a Relationship” with yourself is really creepy, and really hilarious. Don’t be a jerk. Be careful on Craigslist. Don’t invite me to Farmville.

Wading the web’s waters has

provided our generation with a series of obstacles never dealt with by older generations. The pressure is on us to determine the consequences of our hyper-space happenings. I say it’s about balance. I’m a fan of social net-works. They’re convenient and entertaining. As we create our online personas, we must type and tag with caution.

While social networks have certainly switched up the game, I see no reason to believe they’ve harmed us. Dating rituals are subject to change. Two hun-dred years ago, a man would be required to court a woman. Sixty years ago, a girl hoped to get “pinned.” Twenty years ago, women waited by the phone for a man’s call. Today, we chat, message, @ reply, poke, text and sext. Our generation’s courting rituals may seem less intimate, but they’re undeniably more instant.

If Facebook takes away our possibility for romance, we have no one but ourselves to blame. We’re a generation who grew up alongside the Internet. As it evolved and matured, so did we. From Yahoo to Google, from AOL to Chrome, from Xanga to Twitter, we’ve survived. We’re not Generation X or Y. I don’t know what we are. Maybe we’re Generation @.

We still maintain the facilities for romance. I believe in us. In a world full of “likes,” we can still find love.

Social networking changes game of lovegettINg Off the recOrd | rachel PerkINs

Rachel Perkins is a senior majoring in English. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

“How can I tell if a girl is actually a lesbian or if her ‘domestic partnership’ with that other girl is some sort of strange joke?”

piper reaves| the reflector piper reaves| the reflector

I’m thinking Arby’s

Try Our Value

Chicken or Beef for $1!

Across1 __ facto5 Cut in stone9 Carell of “The

Office”14 Tex-Mex snack15 “That’s not

enough!”16 Reason for a skull-

and-crossbones warning

17 *Artsy-sounding microbrew

19 Spoke (up)20 Sci-fi computer21 Crumpled into a

ball23 Unhappy times24 Newspaper big shot26 “Fantastic!”28 Honeybunch29 *Brains, informally34 High-pitched winds36 “La __”: Puccini

opera37 Muslim pilgrim40 Spot for a facial42 Like pulp magazine

details43 It’s held underwater45 __ salts47 *Officially restricted

yet widely known information

49 Gave the go-ahead53 Sonnet feature54 Basic chalet style56 Cookie used in

milkshakes58 Security request,

briefly61 DVR button62 Pitcher Martinez64 *When night owls

thrive, or where the last words of the starred answers can go

66 Humiliate67 Sound from Simba68 Play to __: draw69 “See ya!”70 Taxpayer IDs71 Mix

Down1 Bugged, as a bug bite2 Event with floats3 Justice Antonin4 Gut-punch response

5 Ban on trade6 See 18-Down7 Believability, to

homeys8 Joan of Arc’s crime9 Sponsor at some

NHRA events10 *Many “South Park”

jokes11 Overseas trader12 Hillside house asset13 Finales18 With 6-Down, kind

of sloth22 Not bright at all25 *Classic Greek ruse27 Renaissance painter

Veronese30 High-__ monitor31 “__ your

instructions ...”32 Brit. record label33 Lobster color35 Itsy-__37 “The Wire” airer38 Dadaist Jean39 Derided41 Orangutan or chimp44 Prefix with sphere

46 Rubberneckers48 Trees used for

shingles50 Discipline with

kicks51 “Kick it up a

notch!” chef52 Floored with a

haymaker55 Depression era pres.56 Down Under gem57 McEntire sitcom59 Corp. cash mgrs.60 __ earlier time63 Opposite of ‘neath65 River blocker

BULLETIN BOARD

1-20-12 Solutions for 1-13-11

friday, january 20, 2012 | 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

CLASSIFIEDS POLICYThe 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.

for rent1 bedroom condo, stove, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer/dryer. Walking distance to campus. No pets, lease required. $385 per month. 323-5186.

HeLP WAnteDBartending. Up to $300 / day. No experience necessary. Training available. Call 800-965-6520 ext. 213.OCH Regional Medical Center has a part-time pharmacy technician position available. Previous hospital or retail pharmacy experience preferred. Strong math and science skills reguired. Nights and weekends required. Benefits eligible. OCH Regional Medical Center, 400 Hospital Road, Starkville, Miss. Visit our website och.org. Apply online at careers.och.org. Equal Opportunity Employer.

misceLLAneousFOUND: Textbook - email: msstate.edu7@yahoo.com to identify.

CLUB INFOThe 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.

BAPtist stuDent unionThe BSU at Mississippi State invites all students to our weekly worship service, PRIORITY, on Tuesday nights at 6:15 p.m. You are also invited to a $5 home-cooked meal, called NOONDAY, on Wednesdays at noon. The BSU Center is located directly across the street from Campus Book Mart. All students are welcome. Visit msubsu.com for more information.

cAmPus BiBLe stuDentsIntensive Bible study Mondays from 7 to 8 p.m. in room 324 of the Union. All are welcome. Email tns54@pss.msstate.edu for more information.

cAtHoLic stuDent AssociAtion

The CSA invites you to join us each week at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Student mass is on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Good food and fun fellowship can be had at $2 dinners on Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by weekly /Bible study at 7 p.m. Come to one of these events and learn more ways to get involved! For more information, simply “like” our Facebook page: “Mississippi State Catholic Student Association.”

fAAmsuCome join us for lively discussions. Believers welcome! Every Thursday, starting Sept. 8, in the Union room 226 from 6 to 9 p.m. Twitter: @SAUCEFORALL. We are the Freethinkers, Agnostics and Atheists of MSU.

femALe GrADuAte stuDents

New group for female graduate students in science, engineering and mathematics: Please email msu.gwise@gmail.com

LiGHt BeArers Yeah! We Bear The Light! Come join us for fellowship, dynamic worship and inspirational

devotions every Thursday at 7 p.m. Union 3rd floor, room 329.msu AmericAn society for

microBioLoGy - stuDent cHAPter

Interested in microbiology? Come to our meeting on Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. in Harned 102. For more information email us at msuasm@yahoo.com or be our friend on Facebook, MSU ASM.

msu cAnterBury ePiscoPAL feLLoWsHiP

“Spiritual but not religious?” Spirituality and home-cooking at the Episcopal Church (“Canterbury”). Free dinner, activities each Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Canterbury Lodge, 105 N. Montgomery St., Starkville. For more information, contact Chaplain Carol Mead at 694-1178. Sponsored by Canterbury Episcopal Fellowship.

msu sHootinG sPorts cLuB

Looking for all kinds of competitive shooters. Rifle, shotgun, pistol and multigun competitors needed. Contact Tyler Tharp at 601-618-5137 or Mike Brown at mike.brown@msstate.edu.

triAtHLon cLuBLearn more about MSU’s new Triathlon Club by visiting MSUTC.com or on Facebook @Mississippi State Triathlon!

rufReformed University Fellowship (RUF) is a campus ministry that has been on State’s campus since 1976. Our large group Bible study meets Thursdays from 7 to 8 p.m. in Dorman Auditorium. For further information and for upcoming events, visit msstate.ruf.org. All are welcome to come.

yoGA moVesStressed out? Try hatha yoga to soothe the body and the mind. Yoga Moves meets every Tuesday from 5 to 6:10 p.m. in Studio C at the Sanderson Center.

FOLLOW thenews deskon twitter@NEWSREFLECTOR

Solutions for 1-13-11

OCTOPUzzLEDirections: Place the numbers 1 to 8 in each of the octagons such that the numbers are not repeated in any octagon, row, column, or diagonal. The sums of the minor diagonals (diagonals that contain either four or six numbers) are provided at the beginning and end of each minor diagonal. The sum of the four numbers that border a diamond are provided in that diamond. The numbers that border diamonds do not have to be unique.

1-20-12

AN IN-CLASS DISTRACTION ...

LIFE THE REFLECTOR6 | friday, january 20, 2012

By Mary Kate McGowan

Staff Writer

Epic tales of heroes and war-riors and their triumphs have ex-isted even before a written alpha-bet was established. The stories of Odysseus and Hercules have been retold to enchanted audi-ences for centuries, well more like millennia. However, presently, most people do not believe in the presence of modern day epic he-roes. These people have not met the Mississippi Brawl Star Roller Derby team. These ladies dem-onstrate super strength as well as leadership, teamwork and com-passion even while precariously skating.

The Mississippi Brawl Stars’ mission is to attract attention to and encourage the sport of women’s flat track roller derby in the Golden Triangle area, and the power, beauty and awesomeness of women in general.

Juna’uh Allgood (referred to in the roller derby world as Sadie Word), blocker and recruitment chair for the team, said she fell in love with the sport as soon as she strapped on a pair of skates.

“The uniqueness of a sport that promoted women so thoroughly, a team that was so accepting of women from all walks of life and the sport itself drew me in com-pletely,” Allgood said.

On Jan. 22, the Brawl Stars are giving any willing woman warrior a chance to fall in love with the sport during ‘‘Skate for the Stars,’’ a recruitment event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Skate Zone in Co-lumbus. The team is looking for more volunteers and referees as well as new skaters.

Emily Griffin (Full Metal Fio-na), event coordinator, said that the team wanted to hold the try-outs at the beginning of the year to help people succeed in their New Year’s resolutions of getting fit or meeting new people.

“It is also before the season starts, so we can focus on teach-ing, and college aged skaters are less busy, more time to start something new,” Griffin said.

In addition to being known for empowering women, the sport of roller derby and its players are famously renowned for having strong personalities.

“We have had quiet girls play who come out of their shell and moms who use derby as an out-let,” Allgood said.

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association said the ‘‘do it your-self ’’ attitude drives roller derby leagues and players to create their own unique identities and adapt their structures to reflect their lo-cal communities. Thus, players don skating names such as ‘‘Sadie Word’’ and ‘‘Full Metal Fiona.’’

Founded Easter weekend of 2010 by team members Megan Dareing (Linchpin Luci), Dena Ryan (Mabel Scrape) and Isa Stratton-Beaulieu (Babs Havok), the Brawl Stars wanted to bring some-thing new and exciting to the area and have a hobby Allgood said.

Since then, the team has grown in number and has become a member of Derby South, an indepen-dent Southern roller derby organization. The Brawl Stars brawl against teams from Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee, as well as other teams from differ-ent states and other Mississippi teams including the Magnolia Roller Vixens and the Pearl River Swamp Dolls.

“Besides the athletic side, there are so many other benefits to play-ing roller derby. You meet new

people of all ages and from all walks of life,” Allgood said. “You learn a lot about yourself as a per-

son, and grow a lot, too.”

Roller derby as a whole em-powers wom-en to accept themse lves , i n c l u d i n g ever-present body image issues, and to push the boundaries of their lives.

“The team was so ac-cepting of ev-eryone’s body type that I saw myself through that pe r spec t i ve and the self image issues went away,” Allgood said.

The Mississippi Brawl Stars’ mission statement states: We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds and abilities and we are all strong, beautiful, smart, tough, sexy, tenacious and capa-ble in our own ways.

The Brawl Stars live by the phrase, “Moderation is for regu-lar people.”

INTERESTED INADVERTISING?

Call 325-7907

L i fe

“The uniqueness of a sport that promoted women so thoroughly, a team that was so accepting of women from all walks of life and the sport itself drew me in completely.”

Juna'uh allgood,brawl star recruitment chair

brawl stars seek new members for

emerging sport

POP UP RESTAURANTOn Wednesday, Restaurant Tyler and Zorba’s Greek Tavern created a new meaning to the word ‘‘pop.’’ Both restaurants were transformed into Mexican eateries for the night; thus, the pop up restaurant. Brian Kelley, owner of Restaurant Tyler, Zorba's Greek Tavern, Bin 612 and Rock Bottom Bar & Grill, said the pop up restaurant con-cept is something different and original for Starkville.

“A pop up restaurant for us is just a temporary installation, a one night ‘food exhibit’ so to speak,” Kelley said.

Ty Thames, the chef of Restaurant Tyler, said a lot of people like Mexican food for one day, and one day only and the concept is a way to be ‘play-ful’ with the menu.

“I think Mexican cuisine is so universally popular, it was a good starting point to let Chef Ty put his spin on,” Kelley said.

Of course, the spontaneous Mexican theme comes with food with influence from south of the border.

“The menu is going to be smaller than usual and all Mexican with lower prices ranging from $3-5,” Thames said. “People can order different things and not just one dish.”

“We plan to make the pop up concept inside of Restaurant Tyler a consistent occurrence,”

Kelley said. “It will let people try cuisines from a lot of differ-ent regions that we are not nor-mally able to offer at Restaurant Tyler.”

“Every week on a different day, there will be a pop up theme for different meals like brunch,” Thames said.

courtesy photos | the brawl stars

The Mississippi Brawl Stars roller derby team based in Columbus is holding tryouts Jan. 22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Skate Zone.

courtesy photo | the reflector

BY ASHLYN WATKINS

Staff Writer

Starkville’s Bin 612 and Mug-shots will be making renova-tions this semester.

Both restaurants are in the process of updating their spaces to keep up with growing busi-ness. Bin 612 and Mugshots are making small and large changes to better serve their customers.

Bin 612 plans to move and expand the kitchen next door where Desert Rose was located and add more seating on the other side where District Salon was previously located. In ad-dition, Bin 612 is adding on to the front patio to allow for more outdoor seating. An upgraded bathroom is also in the works for the new space.

New televisions will be hung and a gated back patio with a bar and tables will be added. Not only is the space expand-ing, but the menu as well. Bin 612 will eventually offer an even larger variety of menu items and will be open for lunch hours. Menu changes include a blue plate menu and Sunday brunch buffet. Paul Brasfi eld, general manager of Bin 612, said the restaurant has always had to

deal with having a small kitchen with limited room for space and seating.

“These changes are things that we have wanted for a long time and somehow the stars aligned for the perfect time to expand and get the connecting suites,” Brasfi eld said, “Get ready for a bigger and better Bin 612.”

Mugshots has already made several renovations to their res-taurant, including adding fam-ily-oriented booths and a new bar top in the upstairs space, as well as upgrading the bath-room with new tile. Upcoming plans include adding several 22-inch and 32-inch televisions on both fl oors and a new front entrance.

“Our customers can continue to expect great service and a

great place for people to come together and enjoy the best burger in town,” manager John Dean Swift said.

Mugshots plans to fi nish the changes by the end of January, and Bin 612 plans to fi nish by the end of March.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 | 7R E F L E C TO R - O N L I N E . C O M

BIN 612, Mugshots undergo renovation

Those productive, sleep-less nights have become staples in Byrd’s life for the past 10 months. To say they have paid off would be a severe understate-ment. In those 10 short months Byrd and his crew have pretty much swept Starkville, getting the nod from nearly every note-worthy restaurant and bar to post all specials and upcoming shows in one convenient place.

And why would they stop him? It’s free advertising for them, and for The Five22, named for Byrd’s address on University Drive, it’s free con-tent.

Old Venice, The Veranda, Rick’s Café, Zorba’s and Mug-shots are just a few of the busi-nesses backing Byrd’s project.

Ty Thames, owner and oper-ator of multiple successful res-taurants in Starkville, said he is excited to see what The Five22 and Byrd will do for the city.

“What he is doing is incredi-ble for Starkville,” said Thames. “He is really working on bring-ing the local artists and the ven-ues together, and I think it will pay off.”

Though his success is an easy excuse for an enlarged ego, Byrd has a solid head on his

shoulders and is quick to thank his team.

Blair Edwards, James Kas-trantas and Keatzi Gunmoney keep Byrd from trying to do too much. Each plays a differ-ent role: Edwards is dubbed the company’s street team coordi-nator and promotion manager; Kastrantas serves as the in-house software architect; and Gunmoney is the company’s studio and booking manager.

“They are all willing to put forth the effort on the front end,” Byrd said. “They see the potential in what we are doing, and we really believe we can

make this thing work.”The group has moved from

the living room of the house at 522 University Drive, right down the road to an empty photography studio. Byrd ap-proached Dan Camp last se-mester and understood what they wanted to do. The layout

is perfect for what the The Five22 needs: everything you need an offi ce to be, none of the aesthetics. Byrd hopes to begin recording local bands at no cost in order to a preview couple tracks from each on the upcoming app.

“I wanted people to be able to listen to the bands performing at the different venues around town before they go see them,” he continued. “I know I would use it.”

That’s one thing that he al-ways goes back to: would he use his own services? The an-swer has been an emphatic yes. Everytime.

Until recently, when you vis-ited The Five22 website, you would merely get posts on up-coming events in Starkville — simply put, a glorifi ed blog. Tuesday that changed. Byrd launched whatshappen.in. The goal for the new site is to un-dertake the duties the original site handled. The original site, along with The Five22 name, will take on the role of ‘‘mother company’’ for all of Byrd’s other ventures.

“The Five22 didn’t seem like a very marketable name to us, but we needed something to fi le paperwork. We stuck with The Five22 until something hit us.”

The idea was that the Five22 would focus on the network-ing consulting and business side of things. Whatshappen.in became the “public service” website and will focus solely on events and specials.

Byrd plans on spreading to both Oxford and Hattiesburg as soon as later this semester.

“The entertainment and ven-ue contacts are both in places. It is just going to take manpow-er and funding,” he said. “Just information gathering that we can just turn around and put it straight into our app or web-site.”

The Five22 app is currently being developed by Infi nite Views Development of Tu-pelo and is headed up by Ti Simpson. Before he sent it off, though, Byrd and his team had already designed the majority of the app. Infi nite Views is just polishing it off.

“It’s basically ready,” Byrd said. “Defi nitely by the end of the semester. It could be pushed out, but we want as close to per-fect as possible. Half our traffi c comes from mobile phones, so we want to cater to that.”

Whatshappen.in launched Tuesday and within 48 hours had amassed over 1,000 hits. To Byrd, this is a promising start, and with The Five22 already experiencing this relatively early success, he thinks users will rec-ognize whatshappen.in for the tool that it is.

“Our main goal is progress,” Byrd said as we walked down University on Wednesday near-ing the end of our chat.

“We welcome all those who see the potential in our goals and would like to get involved.’’

Say no more, Byrd. Sign me up. Sign us all up.

MICAH GREEN | THE REFLECTOR

The Five 22 launches its new website to keep Starkville residents in the know about events and more.

FIVE22 continued from 1

WINTER CAROLYN HAILEY

LIFE

SPORTS STAT OF THE DAY :9-1 – MISSISSIPPI STATE’S RECORD IN

GAMES WHEN ARNETT MOULTRIE HAS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE

8 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

SATURDAY SPECIAL:MISSISSIPPI STATE

VS. VANDERBILT

6 P.M. ESPN2

Tennis looks to build off of SEC West championshipBY KRISTEN SPINK

Staff Writer

Only one Mississippi State team won the SEC West last year, and the men’s tennis team is aiming to have back-to-back titles heading into this spring. After defeating Florida State in the fi rst round of the NCAA Team Championship last sea-son, State fell to Georgia Tech in round two.

However, the Bulldogs racked up numerous honors at the end of the year. George Coupland, Artem Ilyushin and Louis Cant were named All-SEC their junior year while head coach Per Nilsson was the SEC Coach of the Year, and freshman Malte Stropp was named SEC Freshman of the Year.

Since they had no seniors on the team last year, the Bulldogs are back with no losses look-ing to build on their surprising 2011 fi nish. Nilsson said the experience of this team puts them in position for another good year.

“This is defi nitely the stron-gest team I have had since I have been here,” Nilsson said. “We’ve been doing a lot of hunting and trying to up-set other teams, and now our ranking has improved quite a bit, so there’s a little bit of a difference; but our goal is still to be much higher than we are now, and we still feel like there are plenty of teams out there that we need to try to beat.”

In the fi rst road trip of the season, the No. 16 Bulldogs ousted UC-Santa Barbara 5-2 and the University of Hawaii 7-0. Although all the Dogs

recorded strong performances, the doubles duo of Cant and Ilyushin defeated Hawaii’s top doubles team in a close battle, 8-7.

These matches were a good

warm-up for MSU as the team travels north this weekend to take on No. 53 Michigan State and No. 3 Ohio State. Junior James Chaudry, the 79th-ranked player in the country,

said it will be fun playing at such a good program like Ohio State and is expecting a close match.

“We don’t prepare any dif-ferently because we take every match the same way regard-less of their ranking,” Chaudry said. “We feel like we have a really good chance if we can get off to a good start in the doubles, then we have some

really good fi re power in the singles.”

Leading the way this week-end for the Dogs will be the trio of seniors who also led the team last year. Thirty-second-ranked Coupland, 45th-ranked Cant, and Ilyushin, who along with Coupland, played in the NCAA Individual Champion-ship last season, are looking to end their fi nal season on an-other winning note.

Coupland said there is a very positive attitude on the team this year, but everyone is always striving for better things.

“We’re trying to stick to-gether more as a team, support each other more and do the things the coaches are empha-sizing,” Coupland said. “As se-niors we are trying to empha-size that to the other players on the team, and I think that’s an important job for us lead-ing them and guiding them to do what’s right. It doesn’t come easy, though; you always have to work to be a success in life.”

While the target in the SEC is on the back of the tennis team, the team is only getting better and stronger as they move forward. Chaudry said a lot of hard work must be done in order to keep the crown, but they have the team to do it.

“The whole team atmo-sphere is really good; the in-tensity every time we get on the court is really high as a team,” Chaudry said. “Every time we go other places around the country we see how other teams work, and our work eth-ic here has been a lot stronger than most of those schools, so I think we’re going to be a re-ally strong team this year.”

MSU’s fi rst home match is Feb. 3 against TCU and home SEC play begins March 2 ver-sus Alabama.

FILE PHOTO | THE REFLECTOR

Senior Artem Ilyushin readies himself for a return during last seasonʼs win over Ole Miss. The Bulldogs return all key players from last seasonʼs SEC West champion team and are currently ranked No. 16 in the polls.

Alabama atKetucky

12 p.m. CBS

South Carolina at

Auburn

1:30 p.m.

SECNework

Michigan at Arkansas

2 p.m. CBS

Connecticut at

Tennessee

4 p.m.

Ole Miss at Georgia

4 p.m. SEC Nework

LSU at Florida

6 p.m. FSN

Mississippi St. at

Vanderbilt

7 p.m. ESPN2

This week in SEC

basketball(all games on

Saturday)

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Frustrating losses becoming the norm

Johnson leaving a markBY KELSEY HUGGINS

Staff Writer

For the Lady Dogs’ leading scorer senior point guard Diam-ber Johnson, the fi nal words of her narrative are being written as she ends her career at Mississippi State. As the road to the NCAA tournament becomes shorter and shorter, Johnson takes time to re-fl ect on her own rare story, one with a tragic beginning.

“How it all began really is the reason why this whole story will be great,” Johnson said. “Just coming from my whole background and dealing with all I’ve dealt with, and being able to turn it into some-thing positive. I guess you can see it as, how-ever you come up or whatever happens doesn’t mean you can’t be who you want to be or do what you want to do with your life.”

Johnson said when she was young, her par-ents were both arrested for drug use, so she was taken from them and sent to live with her grandmother. It was at her grand-mother’s home, under conditions that Johnson fell in love with bas-ketball.

“One day, I was outside playing on my own, and I found a basket-ball, and ever since then, I’ve been playing,” Johnson said. “It was something I learned on my own, picked up on my own and I guess it was always my getaway from ev-erything.”

Instead of dwelling on the hard-ships she faced, Johnson poured her time and energy into becom-ing the great basketball player she is today.

Johnson averages 17.2 points per game and leads the team in points and assists this season. In MSU’s recent loss against Georgia, Johnson exceeded the 900-point mark, making her the 21st Lady Bulldog to reach this mark.

During her four years at MSU,

Johnson has grown and developed as a player and leader. But more importantly, Johnson has had the opportunity to become more than just a member of a team; she has become a member of a family.

“We are defi nitely a family, of course every family goes through stuff,” Johnson said. “And that’s one of the reasons why I chose Mississippi State to begin with because of the family atmosphere. For me, it was about more than just basketball. The people here really care about you.”

All of her teammates recog-nize Johnson as the unmistakable leader of the squad, both on and

off the court. Senior forward Danielle Rector speaks highly of Johnson’s lead-ership.

“I don’t think anyone would dispute that this is her team. It’s pretty much known that where Diamber goes, the team goes,” Rector said. “She’s not always neces-sarily a vocal leader, but she leads by the way she plays

and by the way she conducts herself on and off the court. She’s defi nitely grown a lot. When she came on her fi rst visit, I remember thinking, ‘This girl is so tiny, what is she going to be able to do in the SEC?’ And now, you can see how she does lead us and how she plays. It has defi nitely been fun to watch her grow throughout the years.”

Head coach Sharon Fanning-

Otis said Johnson not only has the ability to lead but has taken seri-ously this demand required of her.

“I think that she’s beginning to shoulder the responsibility of leadership more and more. She’s starting to understand it, to under-stand the importance of it and to really appreciate it,” Fanning-Otis said.

While there remains a lot of bas-ketball to be played in the season, Fanning-Otis said she challenges Johnson to end her time as a Bull-dog strongly.

“As you start a career, there’s the date that you start and then there’s a dash. And it’s sort of, what are you going to do with the dash in your life?” Fanning-Otis said. “So right now, Diamber’s in the last few chapters of this book, and I hope that she wants to fi nish them with a really strong fairytale end-ing where this team is very success-ful.”

For Johnson, success obviously includes making it to the NCAA tournament. With that, how-ever, Johnson said she also hopes to make an impact on her team-mates.

“Go with the passion in your heart, no matter how hard things get,” Johnson said. “When things are tough, remember your pur-pose. Keep that in the back of your mind and always keep fi ghting.”

“However you come up or whatever happens doesnʼt mean you canʼt be who you want to be or do what you want to do with your life.”DIAMBER JOHNSON,SENIOR POINT GUARD

THE AGITATOR | MATT TYLER

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

W ikipedia was prob-ably not the only thing blacked out on

Wednesday night. After fi nally defeating their hated overlords, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, in a game of basketball, hundreds of bowtie-clad residents of Georgia and Texas probably descended upon the Square in Oxford for a night fi lled with Hotty Toddy chants and excited debates con-cerning whether their beloved Rebels would earn a two or three seed in this year’s NIT. Blackouts were sure to occur.

In Starkville, the weeping and gnashing of teeth would continue long into the night after the Bull-dogs lost yet another SEC road game to a supposedly inferior op-ponent. Lost amidst the juvenile smack talk that fl owed from both sides after the game and threat-ened to make Twitter unbearable was the fact State once again lost a game it could not afford to lose against a team it generally does not lose to. For State fans, this has sadly become the norm.

Inconsistency is the hallmark of the MSU basketball program, and it is losses like the Bulldog’s 75-68 setback to Ole Miss within the mordor-like confi nes of Tad Smith Coliseum that seem to keep MSU fans in a perpetual state of agita-tion. The Bulldogs have the talent to earn a relatively high seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, as in years past, bad losses may pre-vent this from happening.

Whether it is Rider, Akron, Florida Atlantic, LSU, Auburn or now Ole Miss, it seems as if MSU manages to lose several games every year that do serious damage to the Bulldogs’ seeding in the NCAA Tournament. For a fanbase that seems to desperately crave a Sweet 16 birth in order to ward off the malaise that seems to have settled over the program in the last few years under MSU head basketball coach Rick Stans-bury’s guidance, losses like the one to the Rebels are damaging on several fronts. For starters, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Bulldogs projected as the seventh seed in the West Region-al of the NCAA Tournament en-tering Wednesday’s game against the Rebels. As any avid college hoops fan knows, it is not a seed teams want to be awarded. State’s 2007-2008 squad learned this lesson fi rsthand as it went 12-4 in conference play but was awarded an eight seed due to a poor showing in non-conference play. As a result of being an eight seed, a very good MSU team was forced to play the eventual national runners up, Memphis, in the second round. The 2008-2009 squad also had bad losses, this time in conference play, and

squeaked into the NCAA Tour-nament as a 13 seed after win-ning the SEC Tournament. The 2009-2010 team was denied the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament primarily due to losses to Rider and Au-burn. In every aforementioned instance, MSU either missed the NCAA Tournament or did not survive past the fi rst weekend.

Not only do such losses harm a team’s RPI (there is a good chance both Arkansas and Ole Miss fi nish outside of the top 100 in RPI), but they aggravate the fans. Over the last few years there has been a lot of criti-cism directed at Stansbury by MSU fans and members of the national media for what is per-

ceived to be his team’s habit of underachieving every year. Well, such talk will not be going away. In an improved SEC featuring teams such as Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, it is imperative to beat the league’s weaker teams on the road when you have a chance to do so. MSU has had two such chances so far, and the Bulldogs have crashed and burned both times.

There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but this may prove to be a loss that comes back to haunt the Bulldogs in March. With road games against Vander-bilt and Florida coming up, MSU is in the unenviable position of having to beat at least one of them on the road in order to keep from falling in a huge hole early in SEC play.

It is mystifying losses such as the one Wednesday that make it diffi cult to become emotion-ally invested in MSU basketball and keep many fans wondering if the “Hump” will ever regain the raucous atmosphere that used to make it such a feared venue. After all, even the most diehard fans can only take so much disap-pointment.

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

Freshman Rodney Hood scored 13 points in Wednesdayʼs loss to Ole Miss, the third game in a row MSU has lost on the road.

Matt Tyler is a senior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at reflectorsports@gmail.com

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