BY HILLARY LAPLATNEY

Staff Writer

Mississippi State University students are encouraged to support their Bulldog football team and 2012 Homecoming court by at-tending Friday’s Dawg Rally at 4:30 p.m. in the Junction.

The Dawg Rally, hosted by the Student Association’s history and traditions commit-tee, is designed to pump students up for the Homecoming game tomorrow against Middle Tennessee.

Vijay Kannuthurai, co-director of the his-tory and traditions committee, said the main goal of the Dawg Rally is to promote MSU school spirit.

“We are very fortunate to have great coach-es and athletic programs, and we felt that our student body could do more to really support our athletes,” Kannuthurai said. “While we have several spirit events planned for the up-coming year, we would love to kick-start our fi rst history and traditions event with a lot of support for our Homecoming maids and our 6-0 football team.”

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BY JAMIE ALLEN

Staff Writer

Since the very beginning, Mis-sissippi State University students have exhibited school pride and spirit for athletics through a sym-bolic mascot.

According to MSU’s website, MSU students have answered to a couple of different nicknames be-fore being called Bulldogs.

The fi rst teams to represent MSU were known as the Aggies, and not long after that, were known as the Maroons.

It was not until 1961 MSU students were offi cially called the Bulldogs, however, since 1905, the nickname Bulldog was exchanged frequently for Aggies or Maroons.

According to Starkville News, on Oct. 11, 1935, Major Ralph Sasse, coach of the MSU grid team, went

to Memphis to get a bulldog to be MSU’s new mascot.

“The boys sent me here to get a bulldog as a mascot, and they issued warning they wouldn’t play against Alabama’s Crimson Tide next Saturday at Tuscaloosa if I came back without one,” Sasse said.

Today, MSU’s mascot, Bully, is a symbol of school spirit recognized by students, fans and alumni.

The role of the mascot Bully is played not only by the actual En-glish Bulldog named Champ, but also by seven guys who wear the Bulldog suit at sporting events, outside events such as kids’ birth-day parties and university func-tions.

George Salomon, senior biolog-ical engineering major, said he de-cided to be Bully as a way to give back to MSU in his last year

of being a student.“The fi rst four years I was doing

a lot of stuff here that would help me develop as a student, and now I wanted to give back,” Salomon said.

During game days, Bully has different responsibilities such as Fan Fare, where he takes pictures with fans; Dawg Walk and keep-ing high energy during games.

Jared Entrekin, senior sports studies and business major, said his favorite experience while in the suit was going into the stands with the fans during the games.

“Getting in the crowd is an ex-perience enough as far as getting into the games goes because if you’re up there everyone gets into it with you,” Entrekin said.

Reid Newton, senior sports studies and communication ma-

jor, said it is a strange

experience being Bully because the face behind the Bulldog is a mys-tery to most students and fans.

“It’s pretty weird because no-body knows who you are. You are like the most known-unknown person on campus,” Newton said.

Being Bully, Salomon, Entrekin, Newton and Ryan Wood, senior fi nance major, are given the op-portunity to meet a lot of people and go a lot of places they would have never been able to outside the suit.

Wood said one person he got to meet was a gentleman who used to be Bully in 1973.

“We met someone who was Bul-ly in ‘73, and it’s very interesting to hear about the suit that they wore,” he said. “They said that they had to put a cereal box in the head of the suit so it would s t a y on their head.”

BY JOHN GALATAS

Staff Writer

Due to unforeseen circumstances Neon Trees canceled the remainder of its 2012 fall tour and will no longer headline this year’s Bulldog Bash.

Student Association president Shelby Bali-us said the SA offi ce was notifi ed of the can-cellation earlier this week, and the offi ce is now searching for a replacement band.

“We have been working the last couple of days to fi nd a replacement act that could book within that quick turn around window,” she said. “We have some options open for us, and we’re currently trying to fi nd a logistical way to book them in time.”

Balius said she hopes a replacement act is found by the end of next week. She also said SA is searching for a new band to book with-in the same cost range as Neon Trees.

“We’re looking in the same price range that Neon Trees was in, and we’re hoping that we’ll have enough in the sponsorship budget to up that a little if need be,” Balius said. “We’re doing our best to fi nd another act to join Gloriana and Andy Grammer with Archnemesis opening up.”

Balius confi rmed Gloriana and Andy Grammer will still be performing, and the winner of the Battle of the Bands competi-tion will still be the opening act at Bulldog Bash.

Mystery behind the mascotNeon Trees cancels fall tour, will no longer be headlining Bulldog Bash

mirrorsREFLECTING ART AROUND STARKVILLE LIFE | B9

SEE RALLY, 2

Romney, Obama plan to address student loans, debt

BY ALEX HOLLOWAY Staff Writer

When students go to the polls on Nov. 6, they will be voting for candidates for many reasons, one of which may be how they plan to address student debt.

Although the topic has not been at the forefront of their campaigns, like fl ashier issues such as taxes or health care, student fi nance and the constantly-rising costs of higher education impact millions of students.

According to Mississippi State University’s Offi ce of

Institutional Research and Effectiveness, at MSU,

in-state tuition rose 7.9 percent between the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years, from $5,805 to $6,264.

For the four school years from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013, tuition has risen from $5,151 to $6,264, an in-crease of 21.6 percent.

Ten years ago, tuition was $3,874, representing a near-ly 62 percent rise in costs over the past decade.

The presidential candidates have dueled over many issues during the election cycle, including reform for stu-

dent fi nances, debt and loans. The Romney campaign has not yet revealed details on

what Mitt Romney plans to do to address student loans and debt problems, and a representative of the Mississip-pi Republican Party was unable to provide many details.

The Romney campaign’s website says the Republican candidate plans to “Strengthen and simplify the fi nancial aid system, welcome private sector participation instead of pushing it away, and replace burdensome regulation with innovation and competition.”

The Obama campaign offers a detailed plan for what President Barack Obama intends to do moving forward, if reelected.

One part of the president’s plan, introduced earlier this spring, is the student loan forgiveness plan.

This would cap payments that have to be made to repay loans at 10 percent of a borrower’s income, regardless of how much money he or she makes.

Interest rates would also be lim-ited accordingly.

Borrowers who have been re-paying their loans for a minimum of 20 years would be eligible to have the outstanding balance of their loans forgiven.

Dawg Rally excites students for game

- speech by Miss MSU 2010 and Mr. MSU 2010

- speech by Athletic Director Scott Stricklin

- speech by Megan Mullen

- surprise guest speaker

- introduction of Homecoming - introduction of Homecoming court

- business banner competition

- float competition

DAWGRALLY EVENTS

SEE LOANS, 2ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

It was not until 1961 MSU students were offi cially called the Bulldogs, however, since 1905, the nickname Bulldog was exchanged frequently for Aggies or Maroons.

According to Starkville News, on Oct. 11, 1935, Major Ralph Sasse, coach of the MSU grid team, went

Bulldog suit at sporting events, outside events such as kids’ birth-day parties and university func-tions.

George Salomon, senior biolog-ical engineering major, said he de-cided to be Bully as a way to give back to MSU in his last year

BY JOHN GALATAS

Staff Writer

Due to unforeseen circumstances Neon Trees canceled the remainder of its 2012 fall tour and will no longer headline this year’s

Student Association president Shelby Bali-us said the SA offi ce was notifi ed of the can-cellation earlier this week, and the offi ce is now searching for a replacement band.

“We have been working the last couple of days to fi nd a replacement act that could book within that quick turn around window,” she said. “We have some options open for us, and we’re currently trying to fi nd a logistical way to book them in time.”

Balius said she hopes a replacement act is found by the end of next week. She also said SA is searching for a new band to book with-in the same cost range as Neon Trees.

“We’re looking in the same price range that Neon Trees was in, and we’re hoping that we’ll have enough in the sponsorship budget to up that a little if need be,” Balius said. “We’re doing our best to fi nd another act to join Gloriana and Andy Grammer with Archnemesis opening up.”

Balius confi rmed Gloriana and Andy Grammer will still be performing, and the winner of the Battle of the Bands competi-tion will still be the opening act at Bulldog

Bulldog Bash

HANNAH WILLIAMS | THE REFLECTOR

Left: George Salomon is one of the many men behind our mascot, Bully. Far Right: Jared Entrekin poses like he would when he suits up as Bully for game day.

Gloriana, Andy Grammer still plan

to perform

Marketing staff benefi ts from performance on the fi eldSPORTS | B5

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The Obama campaign plans to enact a student loan forgiveness plan in addition to already increased Pell Grant funding.

The Romney campaign plans to strengthen and simplify the financial aid system, welcome private sector participation instead of pushing it away and replace burdensome regulation with innovation and competition.

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This would cover up to $45,000, as long as borrowers have paid at least 10 percent of the loan’s value.

This plan is aimed primarily at federal student loans, rather than those provided through pri-vate lenders.

The president has also enacted measures to expand the availability of funding for students.

In 2010, the Student Aid and Fiscal Respon-sibility Act was signed into law.

It expanded the funding for Pell Grants to $36 billion, nearly double previous levels and raised the maximum Pell Grant amount from $5,350 to $5,550.

Beginning in 2014, the maximum amount for Pell Grants will be allowed to rise on a set basis to keep pace with infl ation.

Paul McKinney, director of fi nancial aid for MSU, said MSU has seen a large increase in the number of Pell Grant recipients since the Pell Grant expansion.

However, McKinney said a budget shortfall has held Pell Grants from expanding further and has led to changes in the system for attaining

and maintaining grants. “There are some new restrictions to make up

for the shortfall,” McKinney said. “They (Pell Grants) used to be unlimited — available for as long as you were an undergrad — but now they can only be for 150 percent of your major.”

This means Pell Grants can only cover up to 150 percent of the course load for a major.

McKinney also said another change that enabled Pell Grants to be used year-round for spring, summer and fall semesters was also re-dacted after a year of being in effect, limiting them only covering the fall and spring semesters.

At a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 13, Gov. Mitt Romney offered insight into his own plans for student fi nance reform.

“It is very tempting as a politician to say, ‘You know what, I will just give you some money. The government is just going to give you some money and pay back your loans for you,’” he said. “I am not going to tell you something that is not the truth, because you know, that is just taking money from your other pocket and giv-ing it to the other pocket.”

THE REFLECTORA 2 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

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LOANS continued from 1

Kannuthurai, along with fellow co-director Taylor Williams, planned the Dawg Rally to include some exciting elements.

Williams said MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin will be speaking and a surprise guest will be speaking at the rally.

The event will also include new and familiar MSU cheers, songs performed by the pep band and a presentation of the 2012 Homecoming Court.

Miss MSU 2010 Libbo Haskins and Mr. MSU 2010 Price Davis will emcee the Rally.

Williams said she hopes for a good turnout at the Dawg Rally.

“Our goal for the pep rallies this year is to have more student involvement than (in) years past,” Williams said. “We are looking to have great giveaways for the Bulldog Bash pep rally and have some sort of theme for the student body to dress up to really get into the Dawg Rally.”

Sarah O’Quinn, junior biology major, ex-pressed her enthusiasm for the Dawg Rally.

“I think the Dawg Rally is a great way to get everyone pumped up for the football game,” she said.

Students who come to the Dawg Rally are expected to bring their school spirit.

RALLY continued from 1

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NEWS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 | A 3REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

BADDAWGS

Sunday, October 14• 1:26 a.m. A non-resident/visitor reported his rental car was damaged by a male driving a golf cart on campus.• 4:31 a.m. A student was arrested for driving under the influence and careless driving.

Monday, October 15• 7:52 a.m. An employee strained his right side going over a handrail. Subject did not seek medical assistance. • 10:05 a.m. A student reported his bicycle stolen from the bike rack by the post office.• 9:42 p.m. A resident director reported the smell of marijuana in South Hall.• 11:23 p.m. A student was arrested in South Hall for possession of paraphernalia.

Tuesday, October 16• 8:13 a.m. A non-resident/visitor reported his flat-screen television was stolen from a tailgating tent on Oct. 13.• 2:05 p.m. An unknown caller reported by phone he overheard Pike members brag about stealing televisions from the Junction on Oct. 13.• 3:42 p.m. An Aramark employee was arrested for driving with a suspended license.

Wednesday, October 17• 7:30 a.m. A student received a student referral for driving his motor scooter on a sidewalk.• 7:57 a.m. An employee was arrested in Hand Lab parking lot for driving with a suspended license.• 9:59 a.m. A student reported his bicycle missing from the bike rack outside of Griffis Hall.• 1:06 p.m. A student injured his hand at the Sanderson Center. Subject was transported to OCH.• 2:16 p.m. An employee reported a suspicious incident in Hathorn Hall.• 3:17 p.m. A student reported his motorcycle was moved from one location to another behind Cresswell Hall.• 4:45 p.m. An employee passed out on the bathroom floor in Carpenter Hall. Subject refused transport to OCH.

Citations:• 11 citations were issued for speeding.• 2 citations was issued for expired tag..

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BY LIZZIE SMITH

Staff Writer

The Palmer Thrift store, located on Highway 12, has some of the best re-purchased items in town, but many of its customers might not know 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to Palmer Home for Children in Columbus.

Palmer Home for Children was founded in 1895 and provides a home and a fam-ily-structured environment for children who normally would not have a desirable home environment.

The campus currently has six cottages with a host parent in each.

They also have had a sep-arate Hernando campus for the past 12 years that hosts around 30 kids.

Katherine Hewlett, direc-tor of marketing and com-munication, said most of the children who come to stay at the campus are privately placed.

“Most children are placed here by grandparents who can’t care for them either through fi nancial or health reasons or their parents can’t take care of them because they are either incarcerated or have drug or alcohol prob-lems,” she said.

The Palmer Home, which

houses 60 children ranging anywhere from two years old to college-age young adults, not only provides a safe home environment, but is also an advocate for edu-cation.

They continue to support a child three months after his or her furthest point of edu-cation.

“We had a student who graduated with his MBA from Ole Miss back in May. He recently moved to Atlan-ta and got a job so he was a Palmer’s child until he fi n-ished his master’s degree,” Hewlett said. “We also have a student who is in nursing school and she came to us when she was eight or nine years old.”

Palmer Home also hosts a therapeutic horse-riding program that services special needs members of the com-munity.

“It helps them with not only emotional and behavior problems, but it also helps out kids on the autistic spec-trum,” Hewlett said.

The program is free, and the Palmer Home children often help out with the ser-vices to give back to the com-munity and to see the joy on another child’s face from get-ting to ride the horses.

“We really try to meet the

full spectrum needs of a child between emotional, spiritu-al, physical and educational needs,” Hewlett said.

Although Palmer Home goes through many lengths to care for the children and their community, only 30 percent of their income is privately funded, leaving them to raise 70 percent on their own.

“Thankfully, the thrift stores provide about 17 per-cent of our annual budget so when you buy things at the thrift store, it supports our children and we then are able to take that money and pro-vide for them,” Hewlett said.

Mike Montgomery, dis-trict manager who has been working for Palmer Home for 13 years and overseeing it for six years, said over 85 to 90 percent of the store’s stocked items come from do-nations.

He said the store signifi -cantly discounts clothing items and accommodates those who wish to donate clothes or furniture.

“We offer 30 to 60 per-cent off all of our clothing and that’s for everyday. If you want to donate your items, we are open Monday through Saturday, 9-5 p.m.,” Montgomery said. “We also offer standard pick-up deliv-

ery for larger items.”Palmer Home mails

around fi ve items per year to people who make donations to the store, including mag-azines and a calendar show-ing photographs of some of the children who live at the home.

“Even if you donated a T-shirt or whatever you will get a magazine so that you know that when you donat-ed, you supported Palmer Home,” Hewlett said.

The store also sells poin-settias in the winter and fl owers in the spring.

Volunteers are always needed to work in the green-house, the horse program, tutoring or even to play with the kids when they come home from school in the af-ternoon.

“We hope to service more children in the future and hope we can help twice as many,” Hewlett said. “If we could just help a few more every day and provide a home for them so that when they grow up, they can pro-vide a home for their chil-dren and not perpetuate the cycle they grew up in.”

For more information about the Palmer Home Thrift Store and the Palmer Home in Columbus, visit palmerhome.org.

MICAH GREEN | THE REFLECTOR

Justin Glover, former Mississippi State University student, spends time at the Palmer Home thrift store on Highway 12.

Palmer Home gives back to community

NEWS THE REFLECTORA 4 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012

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BY ALIE DALEE

Staff Writer

Shelby Sims, now well into her current term as Student Association Secretary, ran unopposed in April with her platform prom-ising to help utilize organization, transparen-cy and communication within SA.

Sims said she became aware of student complaints regarding transparency between SA and its student body.

She said she felt the SA executive coun-cil have done a better job this year of being transparent with mistakes and what exactly is happening within SA.

She also said transparency is a tough issue, but that she felt that this year’s council has done an excellent job of making the SA as transparent as possible.

Sims said one of the main focuses of her job is the SA senate.

The secretary’s role works heavily along side Vice President Park Wynn and student senate.

Sims said when working with senate, as well as cabinet, communication is key.

“Communicating with the senators and just making sure they know how to write legislation, and know they can ask ‘Do you know what can I do?’ and being more acces-sible,” Sims said.

Last year’s senate passed legislation restruc-turing the Senate, which lead to a downsize in the amount of elected senate seats.

Sims said communication between her and the senators has been easier this year with a smaller senate.

Sims described her position as the “catch-

all” of the SA executive council and said orga-nization is a pivotal attribute of the position.

She said her job involves helping President Shelby Balius with anything she needs, along with the other elected positions.

However, her main role involves keeping the attendance at cabinet and senate, along with the voting, legislation and minutes at senate.

“My main focus is being everywhere, and making sure everyone has everything they need,” Sims said.

Sims said she has been assisting Wynn with planning a Senator Outreach Day, a day ded-icated to the SA senators going out into the Starkville community and giving back.

Additionally, Sims has been working on and publicizing for a Meet Your Senator Night.

“I feel like people do not realize if they have

a problem they can go talk to their senators and they can write legislation,” Sims said. “This past year and this year have been mon-umental years for Senate and they really are gaining power and utilizing that power.”

Along with the Meet Your Senator Night, Sims said she is also trying to encourage sen-ators to go and speak to student groups on campus associated with their senate seat’s col-lege and making senators more accessible.

Overall, Sims said she has enjoyed her time as SA Secretary and it has been an excellent learning experience.

“I have loved being secretary. It has been a huge learning experience,” she said. “I do not feel like any of the five of us who are elected are really that more knowledgable about stu-dent government than anybody else, but we have learned so much through this.”

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

Student Association Secretary Shelby Sims said she has been working on communication with the current executive council as well as familiarizing the student body with SA senators.

SA Secretary values time on executive council

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friday, october 19, 2012 | A 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM NEWS

By James ToBermann

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State Bull-dog Chapter of Ducks Unlim-ited will host its annual Fall Banquet fundraiser at Rick’s Café on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Stephen Leininger, senior wildlife and fisheries major and chair of the DU Bulldog Chapter, said the banquet will comprise a buffet-style pork tenderloin supper, numerous raffles and a live auction.

L e i n i n g e r said the event is open to all, including those who do not hunt wa-terfowl them-selves.

“You don’t have to be a redneck to en-joy the event,” he said. “The b e a u t i f u l thing about it is that you’ll see doctors and lawyers there with farmers and every-one else.”

Justyn Foth, PhD student in the College of Forest Re-sources and silent auction co-ordinator for the DU Bulldog Chapter, said DU is success-ful because a wide variety of people are willing to support its mission of preserving and protecting waterfowl.

“A big key to DU is getting your community involved,

and half the fun is the cama-raderie with your peers,” Foth said.

Foth said college students have come to play a highly important role in DU over the past decade.

“The college chapters are great for recruitment. College students, who may not have a lot of money now, will look for local DU chapters and do-nate later in life,” he said.

According to Megan Anni-son, senior wildlife and fish-eries major and co-chair of

the DU Bull-dog Chapter, students from across cam-pus and from various back-grounds have shown an in-terest in DU.

A n n i s o n said a grow-ing number of girls are on the committee for the Bull-dog Chapter. She also said the raffle will

include a ladies’ table with items ranging from purses to gift certificates to clothing.

Leininger said the Bulldog Chapter has won the Duck Bowl, a fundraising compe-tition among MSU, the Uni-versity of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mis-sissippi, for the past two years.

Leininger said attendees will be able to bid on items such as guns, wildlife prints,

coolers, decoys, calls, knives, watches and more. He also said attendees will hear from the DU director for the state of Mississippi about the orga-nization’s recent activities.

According to Leininger, a single student ticket costs $35 in advance and $45 at the door. Similarly, he said a student couple’s ticket costs $55 in advance and $65 at the door. He also said attendees can purchase a drink cup ($5 pre-sale, $10 at the door) for all-you-care-to-drink beverag-es during the event.

“Also, if you buy your ticket during the pre-sale, you get a shot at winning a Yeti cooler in a drawing,” he said.

Annison said the reaction from students who have at-tended the event in the past has been very positive.

“A lot of my friends loved it and are asking if it’s time for the DU Fall Banquet again,” she said.

She also said the purchase of a ticket includes a one-year membership in DU with a magazine subscription and decals.

Leininger said the Bulldog Chapter has high expectations for this year’s Fall Banquet.

“Our goal is for this to be a fun, well-organized event where people can relax, see their friends, and enjoy a good meal,” he said.

The Bulldog Chapter can be found on Facebook at Ducks Unlimited Bulldog Chapter and on Twitter at @DUdawgs.

The college chapters are great for recruitment. College students, who may not have a lot of money now, will look for local DU chapters and donate later in life.”Justyn Foth Silent auction coordinator for DU

“

MSU Ducks Unlimited chapter prepares for seasonal banquet

By Jamie allen

Staff Writer

The Student Association will host the 40th annual Halloween Carnival on the campus of Mississippi State University on Oct. 25.

This event will be fun for the whole family with inflat-ables, pumpkin decorating, a parade and booths hosted by 60 different student organiza-tions.

Meagan Bray, co-director of Special Events on the Student Association cabinet, said the event has grown every year bringing the Starkville com-munity closer together.

“The event started as just a nice way for MSU’s faculty and staff to have their fami-lies on campus and the even has just grown year after year from there,” Bray said. “We invite approximately 7,000 children from Starkville, West Point and Columbus.”

As a part of this event,

student organizations set up booths and play various games with the children as well as give out candy.

Mara Smith, president of Gamma Beta Phi said her organization is participating with a booth in the carnival. She said she likes the event because it promotes unity between the organizations on campus.

“All the organizations are out there to provide candy for the children during the Hal-loween Carnival and there’s no competition between any-one,” Smith said. “It’s not about competition, it’s about the kids getting the candy”

Amina Bahammou, co-di-rector of Special Events on the Student Association cabi-net said that the student and faculty of MSU play a vital role in the production of this event.

“The students and faculty of Mississippi State are able to play a vital role in the carnival

through their participation in setting up individualized booths that, often, correlate to the objective of their orga-nization,” Bahammou said.

Bray and Bahammou said the event is also a great way to bring families together on a budget.

“For just $1 admission, children are able to participate in over 50 different games, a bouncy castle, parade of costumes, and even decorate pumpkins to take home as a souvenir,” Bahammou said.

The Halloween Carnival will last from 5-7 p.m. at the Junction with trick-or-treat-ing starting at 4:30 p.m.

Bahammou said the success of this event can be attributed to her committee, SA and the faculty at MSU.

“None of this would have been possible without the help and guidance of our committee, the Student As-sociation, and the wonderful faculty,” she said.

SA presents annual Halloween Carnival

By mary Chase Breedlove

Opinion Editor

The 2012 Mr. and Miss Mississippi State Uni-versity are seniors Morgan McDowell and Sara Vance. They were chosen to represent MSU by the student body during the Homecoming elections.

McDowell is a marketing major from Indiano-la. After graduating, he plans to attend MSU to pursue an MBA.

As an undergraduate, he has been involved in many organizations on campus including SA, SEC Exchange Committee, SA senator for the College of Business, MSU road-runners, Honor Code Council Committee, Campus Crusade for Christ and Sigma Chi Fra-ternity.

McDowell said he feels hon-ored and privileged to represent the university as Mr. MSU.

“There is no greater feeling in the world than to be able to give back to the university that has done so much for me,” he said in an email. “In being a lifelong Bulldog, it will be very special to stand on the field and look up at 55,082 members of the Bulldog family and know that I am representing this great university.”

McDowell said the greatest lesson he has learned at MSU is to become invested in the pro-grams and organizations the school has to offer. He also said serving others is the best advice he could share.

“One of my teachers in high school gave me ad-vice before I even came to MSU. Her wise words were, ‘Morgan, always remember one thing: ser-vice over self. I have kept those words with me

throughout my tenure at Mississippi State, and I will for the rest of my life,” he said. “Always put everything you can into everything you do and you will not be disappointed with the outcome.”

Vance is a political science major from Jack-sonville, Fla. After graduation, her plans include to pursue either an MBA at MSU or attend law school.

As an undergraduate, she has been a part of MSU roadrunners, SA and Zeta Tau Alpha soror-ity, as well as serving as a Gamma Chi for panhel-

lenic recruitment and an orienta-tion leader in 2012.

Vance said in an email her idea of Miss MSU is someone who loves the school and is a represen-tative of the whole student body.

“It is such an incredible honor to be voted Miss MSU. I would have never expected to be able to represent the student body in this role when I came here as a fresh-man,” she said. “Being a student at State has given me so many oppor-tunities for personal growth, and I feel so humbled to have been given

such a great privilege.” Vance also said her parents have been her big-

gest influence during her time at MSU. “My parents are incredibly hard working and

loving. They instilled a strong work ethic in me, and they taught me the importance of dedication. My parents are also a great example of how to love and serve others. They both give more than will-ingly of their time to our community, our church and our family,” she said.

McDowell and Vance will be honored during halftime on Saturday’s game against Middle Ten-nessee.

Mr. and Mrs. MSU announced

It is such an incredible honor to be voted Miss MSU. I would have never expected to be able to represent the student body in this role when I came here as a freshman.”Sara Vance

“

zack orsborn | the reflector

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.

2005 Jeep Liberty 4x4 Limited 3.7L Auto all records. Always garaged. Looks and drives great. Mostly highway miles. Must see, non-smoker, one owner. One year tires with hazard warrant. Scheduled maintenance. Call or text 571.249.5678.

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.

Two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom townhouse for rent. Quiet complex on South Montgomery. Grad students, professionals and families. Available now. Call 312.4722.

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.

10-19-12AN IN-CLASS DISTRACTION ...

Solutions for 10-16-12

A6 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

OPINION the voice of MSU studentsInDesign is very

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 | A7REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

CONTACT INFORMATIONEditor in Chief/Hannah Rogers

325-7905 editor@reflector.msstate.edu

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325-8819 news@reflector.msstate.edu

News tips/John Galatas

325-7906 news@reflector.msstate.edu

Opinion Editor/Mary Chase Breedlove

opinion@reflector.msstate.edu

Sports Editor/Kristen Spink

325-5118 sports@reflector.msstate.edu

Life Editor/Zack Orsborn

325-8883 life@reflector.msstate.edu

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor should be

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

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

EDITORIAL POLICYThe Reflector is the official stu-

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

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

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

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

Editor in ChiefHannah Rogers

Managing EditorKaitlyn Byrne

News EditorEmma Crawford

Campus News EditorJohn Galatas

Multimedia EditorEric Evans

Life EditorZack Orsborn

Sports EditorKristen Spink

Opinion EditorMary Chase Breedlove

Photography EditorJay Johnson

Copy EditorCandace Barnette

Copy EditorRachel Burke

ReflectorThe

Other than breast can-cer awareness, Octo-ber is often referred

to as the best time of the year for sports. Let’s take a look at what we have: professional football is hitting the grid iron hard, the BCS is keeping the steam rolling in college ball, the long awaited MLB post- season is in full swing, NA-SCAR racers are keeping their engines tuned and running for the sprint cup, World Cup soccer qualifying matches are being played, NBA training camp is tipping off and the NHL is just starting to scratch the ice. However, this year is a particularly special year for sports fans.

Just as the World Cup and the Olympics take place every four years, so has a new, ex-citing sport: the presidential debates.

Yes, this is by far the most interesting event on TV right now (not to mention it carries the most weight as the winner will lead our country for the next four years). Some may shy away from comparing this to a sport, but with the media holding the cards, it doesn’t take much imagination to see the connections.

Since the fi rst televised de-bate between Kennedy and Nixon, it has been extreme-ly apparent the public perception of a candidate is almost just as important as the platform for which he is running.

Many would say appearance helped secure Kennedy the victory. However, this year the line between two politi-cians debating the best way to lead our country has turned into nothing short of a slug fest.

The much anticipated Romney vs. Obama bout has been in talks all this year and has received more hype than a Bama and LSU match-up. I am actually surprised we are able to watch the debates for free and not via pay-per-view. Luckily we get to watch a best two out three (in true post-season baseball fashion) for the win of the popular vote for free.

So here are the rules: the debate starts off with a coin toss just as any normal foot-ball game to decide who gets the fi rst or, more importantly, the last word. The candidates then, as in any civil boxing match, “tap gloves” as a sign of respect for each other.

Here is where I wish there was an ESPN sound crew with the half-domed microphones that pick talk on the football fi eld in the audience; I would love to hear what Romney has to say to Obama when he shakes his hand with that smug smile.

The debate is then moder-ated by a ref whom every spec-tator thinks does a God- awful job.

The only addition I would make here would be for he or she to have the power to throw penalty fl ags: “Un-sportsman-like conduct, Gov-ernor Romney. Thirty second penalty, resume rebuttal.”

By the way, I love how they have a shot clock and think they shouldn’t be penalized for going over.

When the debate ensues, it resembles a childhood game of HORSE. Each candidate gets to try a shot dictated by the moderator or an audience member in order to best the other; whenever a candidate missteps, he gets a letter and the fi rst to spell DEBATE los-es the match.

At certain points in the de-bate you might actually think it will turn into a boxing match; the drama is real and I keeping thinking Obama is

going to slap the smirk off of Romney’s face at some point.

Once the debate ends, the candidates again shake hands with re-spect toward

each other in similar fashion to football coaches, but we all know they hate each other’s guts at that point; just smile and wave.

I am eagerly waiting the day Vegas releases odds and opens the fl oor for betting.

How funny (or sad I guess) would it be to fi nd out Rom-ney is a 10 percent underdog with the popular vote going into the election?

With the amount of ana-lysts out there, I can’t imagine it would be hard for them to come up with an algorithm to give the public a spread just like a football game.

I think taking Romney against the spread would be a tough bet right now.

Though I might have used a bit of imagination in these past comparisons, it is what goes on before and after the debates that brings a sport to mind the most.

The candidates are the front runners of a party (that even

have specifi c team colors) who are prepared by their cam-paign managers in much the same way a coach does for any team. There is a great bit of strategy in the preparation of debates, and a failure to have tact can easily lose votes.

What is more similar is how the pundits scrutinize every play just like sports analyst. They have numbers and direc-tions each candidate should take in order to make each run successful.

Lastly, as in any game, strat-egy is key for victory. In the fi rst debate on Oct. 3, Rom-ney came out swinging hard. This left Obama on the ropes for most of the debate and hurt him throughout as he seemed unsure how to react toward Romney’s offense. 1-0 Romney.

In the weeks leading up to this past Tuesday, Obama knew he had to stifl e the skepticism of his oral success predicated by his use of a teleprompter and work on his offense in order to gain possession of the clock to avoid a sweep. This is exactly what happened.

A strong Obama executed a great debate as he held his ground to secure a close win and tie the series at 1-1.

This leaves our drama- fi lled society salivating as we cannot wait to see what happens when the two meet up for a fi nal bout in Boca Raton on Oct. 22.

Now I know the debates are no laughing matter and hold serious implications.

However, with all the ads and hype, it is hard to deny the infl uence the media has on an event like this. It is simply a refl ection of our society. We may say we don’t like the su-perfl uous drama but 67 million viewers don’t lie. That is nearly a quarter of our nation!

However, with a little per-spective we can have the best of both worlds.

We can enjoy the fanfare and not let it skew our views by fact checking the candidates to make a truly informed deci-sion.

We don’t have to let this ruin the experience for us because the drama is real.

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

MATT TAYLOR

THE WORD ON JOHNSON STREET | MATT TAYLOR

With all the ads and hype, it is hard to deny the infl uence the media has on an event like this. It is simply a refl ection of our society.”

“

Debates resemble sporting events

The Search for Extraterres-trial Intelligence, better known as SETI, is run by

a private, nonprofi t organization called the SETI Institute, which is dedicated to scientifi c research, education and public outreach, according to www.seti.org. Also stated on its website, “the mis-sion of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.”

Now, many people immedi-ately discredit anyone who takes the idea of intelligent aliens seri-ously. Admittedly, pretty much all claims of alien abductions and unidentifi ed fl ying objects are completely ungrounded and lack even the beginnings of cred-ible evidence. The argument for intelligent life existing in the universe somewhere, anywhere besides just here on Earth, is grounded in statistics and logical reasoning, not on wild tales of ab-duction, vivisection and impreg-nation. Frank Drake, who used to work in the astronomy depart-ment at Cornell, developed an equation to model the probable number of advanced, communi-cating extraterrestrial civilizations within the Milky Way Galaxy. Although there are several ways to calculate this, according to Carl Sagan’s book “Cosmos,” the

Drake Equation is: N = N* * Fp * Ne * Fl * Fi *

Fc * FL N = Probable resultant num-

ber of communicable civilizations within the Milky Way.

N* = Best estimate of the num-ber of stars in the Milky Way.

Fp = Fraction of these stars that have planetary systems.

Ne = Average number of plan-ets in a planetary system that are suitable for life in some way.

Fl = Fraction of those suitable planets where life actually arises.

Fi = Fraction of life bearing planets which give rise to intelli-gent life.

Fc = Fraction of intelligent civ-ilizations that are able to commu-nicate with each other.

FL = Fraction of the planet’s lifetime that a communicable civi-lization is alive.

According to an interview with Mississippi State Astron-omer, Angelle Tanner, these are some ac-ceptable edu-cated estimates for Fp at .5, one out of two stars have planets, and Ne at about 3 planets per solar system. Tanner warns the variables get compli-cated and that the Kepler Space Telescope program she is work-ing with is currently trying to

decide some of the variables. We should consider many

earth-like planets may be out-side of the habitable zone, but they could still harbor life due to other sources of energy, all judg-ing from our own solar system. Therefore, a group of probable values, many of which are still under research and debate, are N* = three hundred billion stars, Fp = 1/2, Ne = 3 planets, Fl = 1/100, Fi = 1/100, Fc = 1/100, and FL = 1/1,000 (assuming one out of a thousand civilizations are either new or have never de-stroyed themselves violently).

Multiplying these numbers together yields a possible number of civilizations in the galaxy of about 450. Obviously the lower boundary for this number is one, because we exist, but it could also be the probability for all the correct factors to come into play for the development of life

is much harder than we think and that con-sequently life only pops once

in just a few galaxies. Regardless of the range of numbers, from thousands per galaxy to one in every thousand galaxies, it should be apparent that due to the sheer size of the universe (which con-tains billions of galaxies, each

with billions of stars etc.) it is not unlikely that there are aliens somewhere out there.

I have tried to show barring some complicated philosophical argument it is nearly impossible there are not any aliens out there; it would be more remarkable we were alone as the only sentient beings, or even the only life in the entire universe than if there were aliens on Mars waiting for us.

Until we make fi rst contact we must wait, but while we wait we can invest in astronomy and as-trobiology, actively pursue hypo-thetical philosophy and continue sending out probes and rovers into our own solar system to discern the possibility and prob-ability of alien life so we will not be taken by surprise if and when aliens show up on our doorstep, or even better, when we show up on theirs.

WHO SPEAKS FOR EARTH? | CAMERON CLARKE

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

CAMERON CLARKE

Life outside our planet is not unlikely

It is nearly impossible that there are not any aliens out there.”“

RED HERRINGS | CLAIRE MOSLEY

Writers deserve better treatmentOn Oct. 11, 2012,

Laura Siegel Larson, daughter of famed

Superman co-creator Jerry Sie-gel, wrote a letter addressed to “Superman fans everywhere” concerning her family’s fi ght to restore her father’s rights as co-creator to her family.

The gist is this: Jerry Siegel’s rights reverted back to the family in 1999, but the family has yet to see a large percent-age the profi ts that — under the copyright act — the fami-ly is entitled.

In 2008, the U.S. District Court ruled Laura Siegel and her mother had successfully r e c l a i m e d her father’s S u p e r m a n rights and were entitled to profi ts since April 1999. So, happy end-ing right?

Wrong. As of writing, there is still a major battle going on between Warner Bros. fi ling a suit through DC against Siegel’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff.

Warner has also, in the words of Siegel,“…spent about $35 million on corpo-rate lawyers to fi ght my fam-ily…instead of investing in a fair settlement.”

These are the basic facts of a case that is long and ugly, and one that brings up some important question: Where do the writers stand when it comes to the rights and profi ts of their creations?

Do comic creators, screen-writers, etc., earn a decent profi t from their creations?

Well, the answer seems to be, typically, nope. Writers Guide of America-West esti-

mates working members tend to make $40,000 to $110,000 annually, which doesn’t even amount to much once one factors in cost of living (par-ticularly in large cities such as New York or Los Angeles) and then this sum dwindles quite a bit.

Considering these writers are responsible for some of your favorite movies and TV shows, most of them average the same salary (or less) than an elementary school teacher.

When you watch TV, you are watching an actor portray-ing a character.

Perhaps the portrayal is a b r i l l i a n t one (Who could ar-gue Nick Offerman’s p o r t r a y -al of Ron S w a n s o n is anything but bril-liant?), but it’s import-ant to keep

in mind in the end these are portrayals of characters.

Sure, the actor animates these characters, but the fl esh and bones were created on pa-per.

The Dowager Countess of “Downton Abbey,” Ron Swanson of “Parks and Rec-reation” and Walter White of “Breaking Bad” are written characters.

Every line and action is written by people who es-sentially (either in a group or singlehandedly) have created the characters we know and love.

Without the writers for movies, TV, comics and more, some of your favorite shows might not even exist. With-out Jack Kirby, we wouldn’t

have Thor, the X-Men and countless other Marvel char-acters (not to mention the subsequent movie and televi-sion adaptations), and how is this creativity rewarded?

In other words, without Thor we wouldn’t have mov-ies of actor Chris Hemsworth prancing around in tights.

With a court ruling in fa-vor of Marvel claiming Kir-by’s creations were created as “work for hire” and thus-ly owned and controlled by Marvel.

Pretty bum deal for the man who helped create some of the most iconic superhe-roes of the day.

Remember the writers’ strike, way back in 2007-2008, and the disastrous ef-fect it had on television, fi lm and radio?

The total estimated loss, ac-cording to UCLA Anderson School of Management was $380 million. Three-hun-dred eighty million in just 14 weeks and two days.

Nobody wants another en-tertainment drought, so let’s support the writers and cre-ators who make the charac-ters and stories we love.

Because Lord knows no-body needs another TLC monstrosity (I’m looking at you, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”)

Claire Mosley is a sophomore majoring in accounting. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

CLAIRE MOSLEY

Considering these writers are responsible for some of your favorite movies and TV shows, most of them average the same salary (or less) than an elementary school teacher.”

“

Zack Orsborn | The Reflector

A8 | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOROPINION

We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel

everyone; the election will be upon us in just a few weeks. Until then, we have one more debate between President Obama and Candidate Rom-ney. The fi rst debate I thought was just a poor showing from both sides, granted Romney did come out with more en-ergy than President Obama showed all night. However, Tuesday’s debate between the president and his challenger took on a new tone: unprofes-sionalism. In a town hall setting with un-decided voters all around them it seemed at times Obama and Romney were going to come to blows. Does this not bother any-one the president and the man who has a very good chance to become the president could not debate and act like adults in front of, not only the coun-try, but the many millions of people watching all over the world? The president and governor

Romney would use the ques-tions the 82 voters were al-lowed to ask as a spring board to get into what they want to do in offi ce or to throw blame on the other for actions in the past. It was disrespectful.

When I think about this in detail I think back to a politi-cal science class that I took last spring called “the presidency,” and we studied the differ-ent presidents, their policies and the elections throughout American history.

I remember my professor saying some-thing along the line of, “in de-bates candidates seldom answer the questions asked of them, rather they an-

swer the question they wish had been asked.”

I think President Obama and governor Romney did a great job of sticking to that plan of not really answering the voter’s questions directly.

A good example of this is when one of the voters asked the question related to gas prices; Romney attacked the president’s policies and then said what his energy poli-cy will be, Obama defended

himself and then proceeded to say what his policy on en-ergy will be in the next term all while never answering the voter’s question.

I think what America got to see last night was a microcosm of what is going on at all levels of government in the United States; politicians getting too wrapped up in politics and rhetoric to do their jobs.

I hope in the next debate we see the president and governor Romney show a little restraint and act like adults.

Will this fi nal debate be enough to give Governor Romney or President Obama the lead in the race?

Probably not because I think most voters’ minds are already made up, but its going to be a very interesting home stretch.

A lot of people have been bandying around the terms “separation of church

and state.” However, much like Vizzini in “The Princess Bride,” I’m not sure they know what it means. Under-standable, since it’s a pretty big concept which some of our greatest leaders have struggled with. Unacceptable, be-cause it is historically the biggest win the U.S. has ever claimed. It’s so important it is the fi rst amend-ment to the Constitution.

To begin, we should probably defi ne what freedom of religion means to the citizens who are lucky enough to have it. Having freedom of religion means the leaders of our country are charged with making it as easy as possible for all people, regardless of how many other people practice their religion, to freely worship whatev-er they want.

That does NOT mean your principal should be able to pray over the loudspeaker at the high school football game. It DOES mean groups of students should be able to gather to talk together about whatever faith they want. Freedom of religion is the free-dom to practice whichever faith

you choose, however you choose, as long as it does not affect the rights of others. This means Tom Cruise can jump up and down

about Scientolo-gy as much as he wants on your television, but he can’t come to your house and force you to watch it.

Because separation of church and state means government of-fi cials should not be using their personal beliefs to make decisions that affect the American people, the term “public servant” is inti-mately attached to the concept. Congressmen, local and executive offi cials are meant to serve the people who elect them. I don’t care which religion my president is, as long as I am sure he is going to serve my interests and those of the people around me. Because that’s his job. That doesn’t mean because the predominant religion of the U.S. is Christianity, the government serves only the inter-ests of the Christian people.

Separation of church and state requires the president, and all other leaders, to make judgments based on protecting the freedoms of the constituents, not on per-sonal biases from their faith. It is not the president’s job to make

sure everyone in America acts in a way that suits his morals. It is his job to make sure that you can express your morals and practice your religion anywhere, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of others.

This is why it should not mat-ter whether Lincoln was Deist or JFK was Catholic or Obama is Christian or Romney is Mormon. From the Constitution, it is im-perative the president not use his faith to lead the American people. In his personal life, I would sin-cerely hope the president is free to worship whomever he chooses and follow the direction he is led by his religion. However, when he puts on his president hat and sits down in the Oval Offi ce, he must be led by the people, not by his religion. To do otherwise would not make him a good Christian. It would make him a bad president.

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James Arena is a senior majoring in political science. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

JAMES ARENA

Will this fi nal debate be enough to give Governor Romney or president Obama the lead in the race?

“

It is not the president’s job to make sure everyone in America acts in a way that suits his morals.

“Whitney Knight is a junior majoring in English education. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

WHITNEY KNIGHT

ONE LITTLE SPARK | WHITNEY KNIGHT

Religion of president is irrelevant EARTH TO AMERICA | JAMES ARENA

Candidates acted childish in debate

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By Austin ChAnCeStaff Writer

As homecoming arrives, the Bulldog nation is halfway through the 2012-13 football season without a blemish. No. 12 ranked Mississippi State will host Middle Tennessee

State University (4-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) on Saturday in hopes to con-tinue its winning ways in search of the first 7-0 season since 1999, when State finished the year at 10-2, winning its first eight games.

This season, State features a group of unlikely stars on the field. In recent years, the quarterback play on offense, as well as the run-ning backs, has dictated the way the game has been played.

This season, the tight end play has created a new vision for this year’s team.

Tight ends Malcolm Johnson, Brandon Hill and Marcus Green have combined for 230 yards on 19 catches, as well as scoring six of the 13 receiving touchdowns State has scored all season. Only one positional receiver (Chad Bumphis) has caught a touchdown pass this season.

Bumphis has six touchdowns receptions and fullback Adrian Marcus has one touchdown catch, rounding out the receiving touchdowns for the Bulldogs this season.

Green is ranked third in the country in receiving touchdowns this season behind Nevada’s Zach Sudfeld (6) and Marshall’s Gator Hoskins (7). Green said he strives to be the leader of the tight end core, leading the pack in both experience and statistics.

“I am trying to show the guys (Hill and Johnson) some things that I hope will help them in the future,” Green said. “They know how to make plays, so we just have to go out on the field and get wins.”

CONSISTENCY IS KEYBaker Swedenburg has been a huge part of MSU’s success this season on special teams. PAGE B2

ATHLETIC MARKETING With the second smallest budget in the SEC, the athletic marketing staff creates innovative ideas. PAGE B5

CLUB SPORTS FEATUREThe club shooting sports team is one of the fastest growing club sports on campus. PAGE B4

FROM CANADA TO MSUSoccer sophomore Shannen Jainudeen has made her mark on the team in just two years. PAGE B3

see FOOTBALL, B4

By Ray ButleR

Staff Writer

Anytime a team is undefeated at the halfway mark of the regular season, there is no question spe-cific players will garner national spotlight and media attention due to their on-field performances or high profile position.

Other players, ones who still play a large role in a team’s success but from a less popular position, often go unmentioned in game recaps and are unheralded by the general public.

This perfectly describes Baker Swedenburg, a junior punter for Mississippi State University, who is having an outstanding season for the Bulldogs.

With the Bulldogs being unde-feated and currently ranked No. 12 in the BCS, Swedenburg, a na-tive of Columbus has been noth-ing less than magnificent when his number is called. The junior has averaged 40.7 yards on 26 punts, 11 of which have been downed in-side the 20-yard line.

Last Saturday’s game against the Tennessee Volunteers epitomized the punter’s first-half performance when Swedenburg had punts downed at the 12-yard line and the 4-yard line during the fourth quarter of the SEC contest.

Head coach Dan Mullen said Swedenburg’s punts were crucial in the game.

“We made plays in the kicking game when we needed it,” Mullen said. “We had some big punts.”

In MSU’s last four games, Swe-

denberg has placed four punts in-side the opponent’s 20-yard line. On the season, the junior has forced 12 fair catches by the oppo-sition and has three punts of over 50 yards.

Another shining aspect of Swe-denburg’s skill set is the amount of hang time on the junior’s punts. MSU ranks second nationally with negative four punt return yards al-lowed.

This feat is largely due to Swe-

denburg, who adds height to his punts as well as distance, which allows his teammates to run down-field before a return can be made.

Although he is only a junior, Swedenburg is easily one of the most veteran players on State’s spe-cial teams unit. The punter said he attributes his success to his experi-ence and maturity as a player.

“Going out there and doing it a bunch of times really helps me,” Swedenburg said. “If I let it, I can

get myself worked up. But (my ex-perience) helps me control those nerves.”

As an upperclassman with multiple years of in-game expe-rience, Swedenburg also plays a vital role in the development and maturation of younger kickers on MSU’s special teams. Having now played in 19 games at MSU, Swedenburg’s maturity has had a direct impact on Devon Bell, a true freshman place kicker who has made eight field goals midway through his first collegiate season.

Bell, whose performance has progressed with each game, said Swedenburg keeps him focused during games and is a source of motivation for the young kicker.

“He’s one of the main reasons why I’ve been so calm lately,” Bell said. “Going into the first game, he could tell I was a little nervous, he just gave me some advice on what to do and how to approach each kick. He’s been a big benefit to me.”

Swedenburg succeeds off the field as much as he does on the field. He is currently in graduate school, where he said he hopes to obtain multiple degrees involving computers and information tech-nologies.

Surprisingly, the punter said while his studies have increased in difficulty, balancing schoolwork and football has become simpler over time.

“I would say it’s almost easier now,” Swedenburg said. “It’s more time consuming, but I really think my undergrad helped with that.”

Once his career at MSU comes to a close, Swedenburg said he hopes to pursue a career playing football professionally. Punting in the NFL will certainly be a pos-sibility, but Swedenburg said he is keeping all options open when looking at the future.

“I’ve got one more season left, and then I’ll pursue the NFL,” Swedenburg said. “I’m not going to put all of my eggs in one basket. I’m really flexible, and I want to keep my options broad.”

B2 | friday, october 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

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SPORTSREFLECTOR-ONLINE.COMfriday, october 19, 2012 | B3

By Forrest Buck

Staff Writer

The 2012 season has been up and down for the Missis-sippi State University soccer team. But through the highs and lows, there have been a few stand-out players on the team this year who have man-aged to play consistently well.

Sophomore Shannen Jainudenn has been one of the most consistent players this year.

The 5’11” Ontario, Cana-da, native anchors the defense at center back. In her second season on the team, she has remained a full-time start-er and an impact player on the team, just as she was her freshman year.

Head coach Neil MacDon-ald said Jainudeen means so much to the Bulldog defense.

“She’s very committed,” Macdonald said. “She’s grow-ing into a leadership role for the team, starting to lead the back line. I feel like she’s been one of our most consistent

and outstanding players all season.”

Junior captain Morganne Grimes, who also plays on the back line, said Jainudeen is one of the best players on the team.

“I trust her more than I trust any other player on the field,” Grimes said. “She’s so aggressive, so competitive and so aggressive on the ball.”

Jainudeen is aware of her talents and said she has been pleased with her per-sonal perfor-mance so far this year.

“It feels great to be an important part of the team so ear-ly in my ca-reer,” Jainu-deen said. “I have a lot of pressure on me, but I like the pressure because it keeps me motivated to play well and keep playing well. Hopefully,

when I play well, it motivates the rest of the team to play well.”

Earlier in the year, Jainu-deen suffered a concussion, which forced her to miss some games. While she was out, the defense was not the same and further proved just how valuable her presence on the field is to this team.

MacDonald said the de-fense lacked strength without

Jainudeen and missed her stat-ure to win balls.

“Offensively, she’s also good enough to car-ry the ball out of the back and create things when we have the ball,” he said. “When you lose a play-er like that, it

makes things very difficult, and I think it has a psycho-logical effect on the team when a player of that stature and ability is missing.”

Though Jainudeen is far away from home, she has ad-justed quite well and said she loves being in Starkville.

“I love the southern hos-pitality. People are a lot nicer down here than in Canada,” Jainudeen said. “My visit made me want to come down here, and I just loved the campus, the coaching staff and the atmosphere.”

During the summer, Jainu-deen returns home. While she is there, she plays on a Canadian national team to help keep her in shape.

Being so far from home, Jainudeen said she has become close with her teammates to help her with the transition.

“I love my teammates,” Jainudeen said. “They are like a family away from home.”

Jainudeen has carried her success from freshman year to lead her team this season. As she continues to improve, she will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the future potential success of the MSU soccer program.

Canada native Jainudeen finds home at MSU

Volleyball hosts South Carolina, Arkansas at the HumpBy Brittany young

Contributing Writer

The Mississippi State University volleyball team is looking for its first cou-ple of conference wins this weekend as it hosts South Carolina and Arkansas. But this weekend’s homecom-ing matches will be played at Humphrey Coliseum in-stead of the usual venue of the Newell Grissom Build-ing.

Head coach Jenny Hazel-wood said having a strong fan base is imperative more than ever this weekend.

“If we can get as many MSU fans at Humphrey Coliseum as possible, it adds to that big home-court advantage,” Hazelwood said. “These girls work hard day-in and day-out, and it means a lot to have peo-ple come out and support what they do because a large crowd has a large impact on a game.”

Other exciting events will take place during the vol-leyball games. This year’s Homecoming court will be introduced at tonight’s game against South Caroli-na, featuring Mr. and Miss MSU as guest coaches.

Sunday’s game at 1:30 p.m. against SEC West foe Arkansas is the “Dig Pink” game for Breast Cancer Awareness month, and 250 pink “Hail State” sunglasses will be given away.

The Bulldogs have been practicing at the Hump all week, and Hazelwood said this is vital going into this weekend’s matches.

“It’s a lot different when you get into an open arena, so it’s important for us to be able to practice in the facil-ity and have an edge going into this weekend,” she said.

Hazelwood and the play-ers said they are excited about playing at the arena, because in the past they have been victorious there. In October of 2011, the

Bulldogs defeated then No. 25 Kentucky for their first win against a ranked oppo-nent. The match drew an MSU and state collegiate at-tendance record 4, 525 fans to Humphrey Coliseum.

Sophomore Alex Scott, who was recently moved from defensive specialist to

the libero position, said she believes the team can carry the momentum from last year’s victory over Kentucky into this weekend’s matches.

“I think it’s all about a confident mindset with each of us because we are starting to unify as a team and put things together,” Scott said. “Since we did something great in this arena last year, it’s going to motivate us to do it again because we don’t want to be the team that didn’t get it done.”

Senior outside hitter and co-captain Chanelle Baker said not only was home-court advantage important but also the main focuses in practices are the scouting reports and being prepared for South Carolina tonight.

“Right now we are look-ing at what we’re going to

see against South Carolina and what they like to do, because knowing the other team’s tendencies will really help us.” Baker said.

Hazelwood said there is no doubt the effort and intensity is there from the girls, but the girls have to trust themselves more in or-der to be able to play at a higher level.

“We (the coaches) want them to understand that they are too hard on them-selves and they have to re-lax, because the more tense you are the more you will struggle,” Hazelwood said. “They have to learn what works for them and find ways not be frustrated men-tally.”

Besides trust and frustra-tion, Hazelwood also said youth and most impor-

tantly passing has been the team’s biggest issue. She said although last week’s match against Missouri was close throughout, the team’s struggle to make good pass-es was the determining fac-tor.

In addition to its strug-gles, the team also has to finish the season without co-captain and starting ju-nior setter Paris Perret, who recently left the team for personal reasons.

Baker said initially the team’s performance strug-gled, but the girls are slowly bouncing back.

“Although our play has improved, it’s still not where it needs to be because we have to win games,” Baker said. “Hopefully practices this week will help us get our first SEC win.”

ian prester | the reflector

Last year, the MSU volleyball team defeated then No. 25 Kentucky at the Hump, and the girls are hoping for similar results this weekend.

ian prester | the reflector

Sophomore Shannen Jainudeen has made multiple big-time plays for State, leading the Bulldog defense this season.

I have a lot of pressure on me, but I like the pressure because it keeps me motivated to play well and keep playing well.”Shannen Jainudeen,sophomore defender

“

SPORTSB4 | friday, october 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

By Forrest Buck

Staff Writer

The shooting sports club is one of the fastest growing club sports at MSU. At the end of last semester, the team had 15 members, and it cur-rently has 45 members.

The team was started in 2010 by five members and coaches Jim Porter and Don Fields. MSU offers shooting sports as an intramural sport and those who participated got together and decided to start a club team. From there, the team has grown tre-m e n d o u s l y and turned into a pop-ular club sport.

On Oct. 10, the Mis-sissippi State U n i v e r s i -ty shooting sports club received a grant for $ 2 0 , 0 0 0 from the National Wild-life Turkey Federation. This money will be used to help grow the program, buy sup-plies needed and assist with traveling funds.

The MSU shooting sports

club meets every Wednesday at the Starkville Gun Club from 3:30-8 p.m. There is a $25 yearly fee to join the team. Starkville Gun Club provides guns for use, so own-ing a gun is not necessary.

Senior team president Sky-es Heard said he would en-courage students on campus to try the sport.

“We provide an environ-ment for students to come shoot and enjoy the sport of shooting,” Heard said. “Any-body can come out and try it, and if they like it, they can

join.” Porter said

the draw of the sport is because it is like a virtu-al video game.

“Not every-one is 6’5 and runs a 4.3 40 (yard dash),” Porter said. “This is some-thing anyone can do. You get to see the target fly, you pull the

trigger and you get to see the target break. Nobody comes and says, ‘I don’t want to do it again.’”

Senior secretary Aynne Swindell, who was the first female to officially join the

team, said shooting sports are very appealing.

“I came out with one of my friends who was on the team, I tried it and I’ve been hooked ever since,” Swindell said. “It’s a relaxed and fun environment, and there’s no pressure. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad, it is just about having fun.”

Porter said the sport is ex-tremely safe.

“We are the safest sport

in the nation. In 122 years, there has never been a shoot-ing fatality at an event,” he said. “When you go to a foot-ball game, you see trainers on both sides, and there is even an ambulance standing by sometimes in case someone gets hurt. We don’t have any of that out here because we don’t need it.”

For those worried about not being able to pick shoot-ing sports up, Swindell said

learning to shoot is not very hard.

“It really is a lot harder than it seems,” she said. “But we have great coaches, so the learning curve is not that challenging. “

The team offers three pri-mary shotgun events, which are skeet, trap and five stand.

Last May, the team sent a five-person squad to the Mis-sissippi State Trap Shoot.

The team composed of

Swindell, Austin Davis, Tyler Dixon, Dustin Caruso and Rome Johnson won the state championship in the collegiate division.

Those interested in learning more about the shooting sports team or finding directions to the Starkville Gun Club can contact Heard at msh200@msstate.edu or Mike Brown at mike.brown@msstate.edu for more details or for directions to the Starkville Gun Club.

club sports feature:

SHOOTING SPORTS CREATES FUN, SAFE ENVIRONMENT

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FOOTBALL continued from B1

Green said he strives to be the leader of the tight end core, lead-ing the pack in both experience and statistics.

“I am trying to show the guys (Hill and Johnson) some things that I hope will help them in the future,” Green said. “They know how to make plays, so we just have to go out on the field and get wins.”

The “three-headed monster” in the tight end position was espe-cially recognized in last weekend’s game against Tennessee. In what most people saw as this year’s most crucial game thus far, John-son, Hill and Green accumulat-ed 110 yards on nine catches, as well as scoring three touchdowns in the game, including Johnson’s one-handed touchdown catch with nine seconds left in the game to send Tennessee home with a 41-31 loss.

Last weekend’s game against the Volunteers was Johnson’s first appearance this season after tearing his right pectoral muscle during the off season. Linebacker Cameron Lawrence said John-

son’s catch was amazing.“That was a huge highlight

catch,” Lawrence said. “Malcolm has prepared well to come back, and I think he did a great job in his season debut.”

MSU quarterback Tyler Rus-sell is using this new threat to the offense to jumpstart a season in which he has thrown 12 touch-downs and only one intercep-tion. Russell said the tight ends have helped him spread the field this season.

“I trust those guys (Johnson, Hill and Green) to make plays, and they do,” Rus-sell said. “They work hard day-in and day-out, and it shows on the field.”

Tomorrow against MTSU, Russell will be going up against a defense that has allowed almost 300 passing yards per game on the road. This should allow every receiver the opportunity to make big plays and find the end zone.

The Blue Raider defense is also struggling in all other parts of the defense in October, allowing over 100 more total yards per game than in August and September combined.

All week in practice, State fo-cused on this week’s game instead of overlooking MTSU and strict-

ly focusing on next week’s game against Alabama. Af-ter throwing his first touch-down pass last Saturday against Ten-nessee, redshirt

freshman Dak Prescott said he is focusing on the present, not the past or future.

“Coach Mullen always tells us that you play like you prepare, so we are just focusing on our op-ponent this week,” Prescott said. “We’ll worry about our next op-ponent after we come out of this week with a win.”

Prescott hopes to continue his success this weekend with the

addition of a passing game that teams must now recognize after throwing his first touchdown pass of his college career to Green.

Historically, State has had the Blue Raiders’ number, winning every matchup against MTSU all-time, the last game being played in 2009 when the Bulldogs beat MTSU by a score of 27-6.

Also, the first game on the 1999 schedule was a 40-7 victory over MTSU to begin what most fans view as one of the best sea-sons in Mississippi State Football history, when MSU started off its season at 8-0 before losing to Alabama in its ninth game of the 1999 season.

It seems almost like fate that the Blue Raiders would be placed on our schedule on the week State hopes to become the first team since the 1999 season to begin its season 7-0. This week, the Dawgs are hopeful Homecoming will be a coming out party for every play-er on the field.

Kickoff for this weekend’s game at Davis Wade Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.

forrest buck | the reflector

The National Wildlife Turkey Federation gave the Mississippi State club shooting sports team a $20,000 grant Oct. 10.

Not everyone is 6’5” and runs a 4.3 40 (yard dash). This is something anyone can do...Nobody comes and says, ‘I don’t want to do it again.’”Jim Porter,shooting sports coach

“

jay johnson | the reflector

Sophomore tight end Malcolm Johnson made this game-sealing touchdown catch with less than a minute left in his first game of the season last week against Tennessee.

FOLLOW THE LIFESECTION ON TWITTER

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I trust those guys (Johnson, Hill and Green) to make plays, and they do.”Tyler Russell,quarterback

“

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friday, october 19, 2012 | A 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM NEWS

By James ToBermann

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State Bull-dog Chapter of Ducks Unlim-ited will host its annual Fall Banquet fundraiser at Rick’s Café on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Stephen Leininger, senior wildlife and fisheries major and chair of the DU Bulldog Chapter, said the banquet will comprise a buffet-style pork tenderloin supper, numerous raffles and a live auction.

L e i n i n g e r said the event is open to all, including those who do not hunt wa-terfowl them-selves.

“You don’t have to be a redneck to en-joy the event,” he said. “The b e a u t i f u l thing about it is that you’ll see doctors and lawyers there with farmers and every-one else.”

Justyn Foth, PhD student in the College of Forest Re-sources and silent auction co-ordinator for the DU Bulldog Chapter, said DU is success-ful because a wide variety of people are willing to support its mission of preserving and protecting waterfowl.

“A big key to DU is getting your community involved,

and half the fun is the cama-raderie with your peers,” Foth said.

Foth said college students have come to play a highly important role in DU over the past decade.

“The college chapters are great for recruitment. College students, who may not have a lot of money now, will look for local DU chapters and do-nate later in life,” he said.

According to Megan Anni-son, senior wildlife and fish-eries major and co-chair of

the DU Bull-dog Chapter, students from across cam-pus and from various back-grounds have shown an in-terest in DU.

A n n i s o n said a grow-ing number of girls are on the committee for the Bull-dog Chapter. She also said the raffle will

include a ladies’ table with items ranging from purses to gift certificates to clothing.

Leininger said the Bulldog Chapter has won the Duck Bowl, a fundraising compe-tition among MSU, the Uni-versity of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mis-sissippi, for the past two years.

Leininger said attendees will be able to bid on items such as guns, wildlife prints,

coolers, decoys, calls, knives, watches and more. He also said attendees will hear from the DU director for the state of Mississippi about the orga-nization’s recent activities.

According to Leininger, a single student ticket costs $35 in advance and $45 at the door. Similarly, he said a student couple’s ticket costs $55 in advance and $65 at the door. He also said attendees can purchase a drink cup ($5 pre-sale, $10 at the door) for all-you-care-to-drink beverag-es during the event.

“Also, if you buy your ticket during the pre-sale, you get a shot at winning a Yeti cooler in a drawing,” he said.

Annison said the reaction from students who have at-tended the event in the past has been very positive.

“A lot of my friends loved it and are asking if it’s time for the DU Fall Banquet again,” she said.

She also said the purchase of a ticket includes a one-year membership in DU with a magazine subscription and decals.

Leininger said the Bulldog Chapter has high expectations for this year’s Fall Banquet.

“Our goal is for this to be a fun, well-organized event where people can relax, see their friends, and enjoy a good meal,” he said.

The Bulldog Chapter can be found on Facebook at Ducks Unlimited Bulldog Chapter and on Twitter at @DUdawgs.

The college chapters are great for recruitment. College students, who may not have a lot of money now, will look for local DU chapters and donate later in life.”Justyn Foth Silent auction coordinator for DU

“

MSU Ducks Unlimited chapter prepares for seasonal banquet

By Jamie allen

Staff Writer

The Student Association will host the 40th annual Halloween Carnival on the campus of Mississippi State University on Oct. 25.

This event will be fun for the whole family with inflat-ables, pumpkin decorating, a parade and booths hosted by 60 different student organiza-tions.

Meagan Bray, co-director of Special Events on the Student Association cabinet, said the event has grown every year bringing the Starkville com-munity closer together.

“The event started as just a nice way for MSU’s faculty and staff to have their fami-lies on campus and the even has just grown year after year from there,” Bray said. “We invite approximately 7,000 children from Starkville, West Point and Columbus.”

As a part of this event,

student organizations set up booths and play various games with the children as well as give out candy.

Mara Smith, president of Gamma Beta Phi said her organization is participating with a booth in the carnival. She said she likes the event because it promotes unity between the organizations on campus.

“All the organizations are out there to provide candy for the children during the Hal-loween Carnival and there’s no competition between any-one,” Smith said. “It’s not about competition, it’s about the kids getting the candy”

Amina Bahammou, co-di-rector of Special Events on the Student Association cabi-net said that the student and faculty of MSU play a vital role in the production of this event.

“The students and faculty of Mississippi State are able to play a vital role in the carnival

through their participation in setting up individualized booths that, often, correlate to the objective of their orga-nization,” Bahammou said.

Bray and Bahammou said the event is also a great way to bring families together on a budget.

“For just $1 admission, children are able to participate in over 50 different games, a bouncy castle, parade of costumes, and even decorate pumpkins to take home as a souvenir,” Bahammou said.

The Halloween Carnival will last from 5-7 p.m. at the Junction with trick-or-treat-ing starting at 4:30 p.m.

Bahammou said the success of this event can be attributed to her committee, SA and the faculty at MSU.

“None of this would have been possible without the help and guidance of our committee, the Student As-sociation, and the wonderful faculty,” she said.

SA presents annual Halloween Carnival

By mary Chase Breedlove

Opinion Editor

The 2012 Mr. and Miss Mississippi State Uni-versity are seniors Morgan McDowell and Sara Vance. They were chosen to represent MSU by the student body during the Homecoming elections.

McDowell is a marketing major from Indiano-la. After graduating, he plans to attend MSU to pursue an MBA.

As an undergraduate, he has been involved in many organizations on campus including SA, SEC Exchange Committee, SA senator for the College of Business, MSU road-runners, Honor Code Council Committee, Campus Crusade for Christ and Sigma Chi Fra-ternity.

McDowell said he feels hon-ored and privileged to represent the university as Mr. MSU.

“There is no greater feeling in the world than to be able to give back to the university that has done so much for me,” he said in an email. “In being a lifelong Bulldog, it will be very special to stand on the field and look up at 55,082 members of the Bulldog family and know that I am representing this great university.”

McDowell said the greatest lesson he has learned at MSU is to become invested in the pro-grams and organizations the school has to offer. He also said serving others is the best advice he could share.

“One of my teachers in high school gave me ad-vice before I even came to MSU. Her wise words were, ‘Morgan, always remember one thing: ser-vice over self. I have kept those words with me

throughout my tenure at Mississippi State, and I will for the rest of my life,” he said. “Always put everything you can into everything you do and you will not be disappointed with the outcome.”

Vance is a political science major from Jack-sonville, Fla. After graduation, her plans include to pursue either an MBA at MSU or attend law school.

As an undergraduate, she has been a part of MSU roadrunners, SA and Zeta Tau Alpha soror-ity, as well as serving as a Gamma Chi for panhel-

lenic recruitment and an orienta-tion leader in 2012.

Vance said in an email her idea of Miss MSU is someone who loves the school and is a represen-tative of the whole student body.

“It is such an incredible honor to be voted Miss MSU. I would have never expected to be able to represent the student body in this role when I came here as a fresh-man,” she said. “Being a student at State has given me so many oppor-tunities for personal growth, and I feel so humbled to have been given

such a great privilege.” Vance also said her parents have been her big-

gest influence during her time at MSU. “My parents are incredibly hard working and

loving. They instilled a strong work ethic in me, and they taught me the importance of dedication. My parents are also a great example of how to love and serve others. They both give more than will-ingly of their time to our community, our church and our family,” she said.

McDowell and Vance will be honored during halftime on Saturday’s game against Middle Ten-nessee.

Mr. and Mrs. MSU announced

It is such an incredible honor to be voted Miss MSU. I would have never expected to be able to represent the student body in this role when I came here as a freshman.”Sara Vance

“

zack orsborn | the reflector

B6 | friday, october 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

By Daniel HartStaff Writer

The Texas Rat Massacre is happen-ing here on campus, tonight in the Lab Theatre on the bottom floor of McComas Hall. The Lab Rats, Missis-sippi State University’s “one and only” (as they like to put it) improvisational comedy troupe will be holding their October, Halloween-themed perfor-mances at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets can no longer be reserved online but will be available at the show beginning as early as 45 minutes before show time.

Senior computer engineering major Matt Hoelter, Lab Rats head director, short form director and member for seven semesters, said this month’s show

will continue the same tradition of au-dience intimacy and participation.

“Improv has a leg up on a lot of oth-er entertainment medias as you have a very one-to-one relationship. Whether the audience realizes it or not, they are another actor; we feed off their energy, and they feed off ours,” he said.

According to Hoelter, the nature of an improvisational show means only about 5 percent of the show is actually written and practiced beforehand. Hoe-lter said the audience tosses suggestions when incited by the troupe and gets to watch the actors work through them, whatever they may be, resulting in un-predictable performances.

“When we ask for suggestions, the audience has often thrown us for a loop.

One of my favorites, we once asked for an emotion and got ‘blind fury.’ That’s something I could never throw out,” he said. “We don’t even know what to ex-pect. One of the beautiful things is that nobody has any idea what will happen.”

The level of interaction is even high-er this month, as Holter said the Oc-tober-specific theme (chosen in a Face-book-fan naming contest) will carry with it yet another special contest.

“It’s Halloween-themed; it is Oc-tober. We’re having a costume con-test; the winner will get a very special prize,” he said.

Senior international business major Ben Bailey, member of Lab Rats for six semesters, said despite the general themes, the crowd is the catalyst for

the direction of each performance.“Since most of our games rely on

suggestions from the audience, it is frequently up to the audience to influ-ence the style or theme of any scene,” he said.

Megan Kwasinski, junior English major, said although she’s comfortable not doing the shouting, at her three Lab Rats experiences, the ideas came loudly and frequently.

“I’m not really the type to speak out, but sometimes it’s hard to hear; they have to section it off because it gets so loud,” she said. “It’s really interactive and fun.”

Rather than existing exclusively, Hoe-lter said Lab Rats consists of a cross sec-tion of majors on campus, from engi-

neering and business to graphic design.Bailey said part of the inclusivity of

Lab Rats comes from the universal anti-dote they provide: laughter.

“We have Lab Rats at Mississippi State because people enjoy laughing. There is a demand for it. Lab Rats, being the industrious young minds that we are, recognize this demand. We thus supply laughter, fulfilling the exchange process,” he said.

For a dose of unpredictability and ca-maraderie, students can head to the Lab Theater tonight dressed in a Halloween costume. Just make sure to get there early enough to snag a ticket, as the Lab Rats seem to be pulling in demand faster than they can supply their improv-fueled laughter.

Improv group, Lab Rats, to perform Halloween-themed show

LIFE & ENTERTAINMENT

jay johnson | the reflector

LIFE

By Magan FordStaff Writer

Fall weather is an exciting time to express style and make a statement. During the colder weather, it can often feel like students have less of a variety of clothing to choose from.

Erin Ray, owner of Harmo-nie Boutique, had some great suggestions for how to style different pieces of clothing and stand out during the colder sea-sons.

S t a y i n g warm is a ne-cessity, and Ray has some advice for how to top off a cute outfit with a warm jacket and ac-cessories.

“ B l a z e r s are huge right now, from ba-sic black or white to loud col-ors. Bomber jackets are very in right now, too. Leather is huge this fall, in everything from jackets to skirts and even leath-er leggings,” she said. “Cardi-gans and scarves are also big ac-cessory items for every outfit.”

Ray said boots are a must for the fall season.

“Fall is boot season, and riding boots are back in full force again this fall, as are an-kle boots. Lace-up boots are a big trendsetter, too,” she said.

Lindsey-Jorden Cox, soph-omore business major, said it is fun to find unique pairs of boots.

“Since everyone wears boots this time of year, it can be

hard to find a way to stand out. Pick out unique pairs, like lace up or fringe boots that reflect your personal style without blending in,” Cox said.

B r o o k e G o l d m a n , sophomore el-ementary ed-ucation major and sales asso-

ciate at Deep South Pout, said layers are also in this fall.

“Layering your clothes is super cute for fall. It makes your outfit stand out more and keeps you warm. You can use cardigans or vests and defi-nitely scarves,” she said.

Although it is easy to just throw on a T-shirt for class, it is more fashionable to take advantage of the cool weath-er. Ray said it is simple to be cute and comfortable for class.

“For casual class days, take a pair of jeans and a simple tee, but dress it up with a clas-sic cardigan or sweater and a pair of boots. Or take a sim-ple oversized sweater paired with leggings and boots for a comfy-cute look,” she said.

Standing out during fall can be easy if you learn how to layer and pair different pieces together. Ray said it just takes a few key accesso-ries to make an outfit stand out.

“Statement pieces are key to making a wardrobe pop. Throw on a colorful scarf or cardigan to brighten up an outfit, or maybe a simple dress with bright leggings or big chunky jewelry. Purs-es make great accessories, as well. We carry Big Buddha handbags and the stylish colors of the bags can really make an outfit pop,” she said.

You can purchase these items at local boutiques in Starkville and surrounding areas.

friday, october 19, 2012 | B7REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

Movies based on books create inconsistenciesBy Mary Kate Mcgowan

Staff Writer

Movies based on books have a long-standing histo-ry of becoming blockbusters. From “Harry Potter” and “The Hunger Games” to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” movies in-spired by literature have been popular and have influenced our culture.

But which version is bet-ter? With “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of a trilogy of films about the prelude to the legendary tril-ogy Lord of the Rings, being released this December, fans have been speculating about the quality and similarities be-tween the film and the classic prelude.

Hannah James, freshman English major, said she is wor-ried about “The Hobbit” mov-ie not being like the book.

“The book is so long that it would be easy to cut out a lot of the book,” James said.

Because the anticipated hype about movies based on books can become intense and prove to be disappointing, some peo-ple choose to read the books before experiencing the movie screenplay.

Kelly Bonner, junior human sciences major, said she does not normally read the book

before she sees the movie, but her friends made her read “The Hunger Games” before she saw the movie.

“I’m actually glad they made me because the books are even better,” Bonner said.

While some movies fall short in the eyes of the devot-ed readers, others have been very successful. For example, the classic film “Gone with the Wind” was released in 1939 — three years after its parent novel was first published. The movie made box office records and became stuff of legend.

More contemporary litera-ture and film pairs exist as well. The cultural phenomenon of the Harry Potter book and movie series swept through the hearts of readers and watchers alike.

Cody Faulkner, sophomore poultry science major, said she liked the books better because they go into more detail, but also liked the Harry Potter movies because they are quick-er.

“Some parts of the mov-ies do not match up with the book, so it kind of upsets me,” Faulkner said.

Not only have movies been made from beloved books and literature, television shows have also used inspiration from the written word. Networks

such as ABC and NBC have run series such as “Once Upon a Time” and “The Firm,” based on John Grisham’s novel.

Based on famous fairy tales, ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” has given viewers a new per-spective on characters such as Snow White and Prince Charming.

Amanda Gilstrap, sopho-more kinesiology major, said she likes how the fairy tales and characters interact with each other.

“I like finding out about the characters’ pasts and learning why they developed into who they are,” Gilstrap said.

The major difference be-tween a story line for a book or a screen is one is read and the other is seen. Inconsisten-cies between the book and the screenplay are unavoidable for writers and directors. People enjoy learning more about their beloved story characters and seeing them embodied in a film. Because of this, people are bound to flock to movie theaters for movie adaptations.

“I am excited (for “The Hobbit”) because of the trail-er I saw,” James said. “It looks like the movie is going to be great. I don’t think I will be disappointed because I have loved the other Lord of the Rings movies.”

fromBOOKSCREENto

“SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION”

Mary Chase Breedlove (Opinion Editor)

“THE HELP”

Zack Orsborn (Life Editor)

“HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE”

Candace Barnette (Copy Editor)

“Q&“Q&A” - “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”

Hannah Rogers (Editor in Chief)

“FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”

Eric Evans (Multimedia Editor)

“A WALK TO REMEMBER”Kristen Spink (Sports Editor)

“THE HUNGER GAMES”Rachel Burke (Copy Editor)

“ONE DAY”Emma Crawford (News Editor)

“HOLES“HOLES”John Galatas (News Editor)

“JURASSIC PARK”Jay Johnson (Photo Editor)

“THE NOTEBOOK”Kaitlyn Byrne (Managing Editor)

Fall fashion breezes into seasonzack orsborn | the reflector

Statement pieces are key to making a wardrobe pop. Throw on a colorful scarf or cardigan to brighten up an outfit, or maybe a simple dress with bright leggings or big chunky jewelry.”Erin Ray

“

stephanie godfrey | the reflector

Katie Beth Walton shows off the newest trends in fall fashion from Harmonie Boutique.

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LIFEB8 | friday, october 19, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

Love. Lies. Scandal. Debauchery. If the first two episodes of “Gossip Girl” are any indi-cation of how the rest of the sixth season will go, the final season is set up for a beautiful resolution. Blair’s saucy rebuttals, Chuck’s precious plaid suits, Dan’s self-righteous bitterness (not to mention that haircut — come on, Dan, did you get attacked by a weedwacker over the summer?), Nate’s undeniable charm and Serena’s long legs are all back for the show’s final run around the block. But will faithful fans be satisfied? Will Blair and Chuck finally work things out, or will she choose Dan “Lonely Boy” Humphrey? Will Serena ever learn her pouty lips only bring trouble? Will Rufus and Lily reconcile their differences once and for all, or will Lily remain a frigid gold-digger, piggy-backing on Bart Bass’s success forever? Executive producer Josh Schwartz has promised to give us answers, but only time will tell if they are the answers we desire.

“GOSSIP GIRL”

Warning: This season of “Grey’s Anatomy” is not for the faint of heart. Many a time have I walked into my friends’ bedrooms only to find them sobbing into their sheets, completely dis-traught over the latest passing of a beloved “Grey’s” character. With two serious deaths preced-ing the current season, this fall promises to be an emotional roller coaster for long-time “Grey’s” viewers. “Grey’s Anatomy” writers have their work cut out for them in order to lift the spirits of viewers from the funereal pits they were tossed into last season. The ninth season finds all of the characters going their separate ways and completing fellowships in different locations, which leaves much to be desired by fans who just want a reunion of their favorite doctors. Despite the melancholy start, expectations for this season are sky-high. Hold onto your hats, folks, it’s going to be a bumpy, tear-streaked ride.

“GREY’S ANATOMY”

If you’re a college-age girl still fantasizing about white horses, poison apples and Prince Charming, then “Once Upon A Time” is for you. With all the fairy-tale fluff of a classic Disney film without the embarrassing reputation that comes with being “that girl” who knows every word to “Part of Your World,” “Once Upon A Time” is a whirlwind drama about what hap-pens when fiction and reality become indecipherably intertwined. This fall finds last season’s characters recoiling after the curse on Storybrook is broken. It also introduces new characters, revitalizing classic children’s heroes, heroines and villains like Hook, Mulan, Ariel, Aladdin, Ja-far and Jack (the one from the beanstalk) in a way that only “Once Upon A Time” can without getting too cheesy and cliché.

“ONCE UPON A TIME”

In an age of vampires and werewolves taking over every screen, zombies are still the way to go. “Walking Dead” is starting its third season this month and is looking to keep up the intense zombie thriller it has established the last two years. The show focuses on a group of survivors struggling to find supplies and shelter safe from “walkers,” the undead who have risen again. Last season ended with the main group of the show losing their only reliable shelter and several members of their group. Season three picks up several months into the future with the group still on the run. Desperate and scared, the remaining survivors attempt to take refuge in a pris-on over-run with walkers. What “Walking Dead” does perfectly is balance the human drama between the survivors with plenty of zombie action to fill the gaps.

“WALKING DEAD”

For a comedy, “How I Met Your Mother” is probably the most stressful show on television. In 2005, it was a show about a man dealing with his best friends getting engaged and looking for the woman of his dreams. Now on its eighth season, Ted’s story of finding his future wife has never been closer to an end. Last season ended with Marshall and Lilly having their first child and the audience learning about the relationship between Robin and Barney may not be completely over. This is still Ted’s story, though, and hopefully we will see the mysterious Mrs. Mosby by the end of the season. “How I Met Your Mother” has one of the best-developed group of characters on television and is just as funny as when it began eight years ago.

“HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER”

“Arrow” looks to rekindle the spark “Smallville” had over a decade ago with Oliver Queen, or Arrow, as the hero. Oliver Queen’s story starts with him being a spoiled billionaire who shipwrecks on an island. Upon returning five years later, Queen looks to turn his life around and seek vengeance for those who need it. It seems like “Arrow” hopes to have the same tone as “Batman Begins,” which gave legitimacy to all of the superhero media being produced these days. What this could be is a great jumping point for an eventual Justice League movie. “Ar-row” could set up a whole new world for these comic book characters, something the Batman trilogy failed to do. It is not impossible, but will it have enough steam to last for 11 seasons like “Smallville”?

“ARROW”

Not many years can compare to your freshman year of college. It is one of the most different and exciting times of your life. Although we love our “newbies” here at Mississippi State University, there are some stereotypical freshmen actions we all have had a good laugh at.

Because freshmen are still trying to figure everything out, it is usually pretty easy to spot one around campus. Since most of us have endured the freshmen jokes in the past, we have now gained rights to have our own laughs. Here are the top 10 ways to spot a freshman.

1. If they walked around the first couple of weeks of class with a lanyard around their neck.

2. If they carried a map to get to their classes.

3. If they got to class 30 minutes early.

4. If they wore a fitted T-shirt….

5. If you see numerous guys wearing sports coats or em-barrassing outfits.

6. If they are at every club interest meeting on campus.

7. If they travel in packs.8. If they use all of their

block meals at the Temple-ton.

9. If they do not respect the bell.

10. If everyone they meet is their new “BFF.”10

by magan fordfreshman

top

ways to spot a

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LIFEB9 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 THE REFLECTORLIFE

REFLECTING ART AROUND STARKVILLEmirrors

BY CHRISTINE BOWMANStaff Writer

Laurie Burton, a local Starkville artist, has always had a passion for art, and in 2007, she opened the doors to her current studio.

Burton’s studio, “Wild Rose Studio and Gallery,” houses her artwork and the artwork of other artists who make an effort to seek her out. Burton said she wanted a location to display her art.

“I’ve always wanted to open a studio and gallery so that I could have a place to showcase my art,” she said.

Burton has a day job in Starkville, but she said art is her favorite past time. She started to spend a lot of time painting once her children were older, which was about 15 years ago. Her main emphasis with her previous works has been landscapes and still life.

Burton uses a variety of mediums and likes to try new artistic forms. Her art includes paints, notecards, furni-ture, tables and painted windows. Her most recent addition to her collection of works is sculpture. She has been

working with the body as her main fo-cus for her sculpture pieces.

Burton said she is inspired by sev-eral outlets but especially by outdoor surroundings.

“Nature inspires me, I love to go on walks and see all of the colors outside. But a lot of different things give me in-spiration, such as traveling to unique places,” she said.

Her most recent adventure took her to Santa Fe, N.M. She said the land-scapes there captured her attention. When she returned to Starkville, Bur-ton was ready to go back to the studio because she had a wealth of new ideas.

Burton is very involved with the Starkville community. She is serving as a Cotton District Art Festival coach this year for the event in April. Burton also participates in the Starkville Area Art Council where she has a chance to meet a lot of other artists.

Burton’s works can be found at lau-rieburtonart.com and Wild Rose is open by appointment only. The studio can be reached at 662-694-1107 and is located at 302 S. Jackson St.

but what if none of it matters?that’s the thing, it has to. each day we breathe, we breathe --a gift of grace to make us free

if it doesn’t matter, the wind through the trees doesn’t

whisper the storythe branches don’t intertwinethe birds don’t sing when you stand at the tip of the

earth and reach for the sky’s hand,you won’t feel a moment of awe,

not even a sliver of enamored love for the air and the sun and your

eyes and this place under this blan-ket of sky

and for the person standing next to you with whom you would share all of your days,

counting them down, moon by moon and sun by sun,

sweet morning by sweet morning and even the dim corners of the eve-ning

and so you say, does it matter? when you’re a grain of sand drown-

ing in the bankwhen the river comes high and

you to your kneeswhen each inch of air that fi lls

your lungs only brings you pain

when it happens, yes it will. when your heart is weakwhen you close your eyes and

speakdoes it matter?

“They’ve got me all wrong,” she said wearily. Her words were accom-panied with a soft smile and a slow sigh, but it was a good-natured sigh, one that was singed with hap-py memories of which she alone knew. Her weathered hands clutched the edges of the rocking chair, holding on for dear life. The creak of the curved wood against the ground was oddly com-forting.

“They’ve read my books and they’ve interviewed what’s left of my friends and they’ve even ransacked my house, but those are just pieces of a huge puzzle that they know nothing about. They’ve tried to construct

my entire being out of hos-pital records and certifi cates and strings of words tied together in sentences, but they’ll never truly fi ll in all of the parts. What they have is an outline fi lled with noth-ing but air, a skeleton of my meaty life. “They’ll never know.” Here she looked up into the sky, her eyes tracing the clouds that she had de-scribed so many times in her poetry.

“They’ll never know that, on the day my father died, I ran for two hours straight; I ended up eleven miles from my house. They’ll never know that I loved my sec-ond husband more than I loved my fi rst. They’ll never know that my favorite fruit

is oranges because they re-mind me of the lots we used to buy our Christmas trees from. Do you know why?” She slowly brought her gaze down from the sky and looked me in the eyes.

“It’s because I never wrote them down. These are se-crets I kept just for the sake of keeping. It’s hard to have secrets when you’re a writer, because, as a writer, you’re only good when you’re thinking. You must continu-ally think deep, introspective thoughts that no one else has ever thought before. And when you discover some-thing substantial and half-way interesting deep in the concaves of your mind, you write it down and you tidy it

up and you ship it off to be published and you get paid to write down thoughts, both pretty and horrid. Your sinful desires can be masked in character development and nice poetry, but no mat-ter how you try to conceal it, all of your dirty characters and stories came from the creases in your brain. Do you understand?”

I nodded, because to speak would put a rift in her mag-nifi cent speech, and I didn’t know if either of us would be able to recover from such an interruption.

“They’ll never know,” she repeated once more, her smile now covering her entire face. “They’ll never know.”

THE WRITER’S LAMENT #2

LOCAL ARTIST SHOWCASES WORK

by Catie Marie Martin by Emma Crawford

HISTORY by Zack Orsborn

you learn about history in school

about warsabout bombshow countries stole other

countriesbut they never teach you how

people loved

it’s about how people fought on fi elds

not for each other’s heartsit’s about how soldiers marchednot how two lovers walkedit’s about how statues crum-

blednot how love was built

I want to learn your historyI want to know your atomic

waysyour corrupted states

your bills, your constitutionsyour rising empires andfalling kingdomsI want to study your battle

planswhat you will plot nextplace me here, in the line offi reso you and I can be written aboutin the history books.

Want to submit your poetry, short stories, artwork or photography? Submit at zorsborn@refl ec-tor.msstate.edu.

IAN PRESTON | THE REFLECTOR

Laurie Burton, local Starkville artist, displays her paintings and scultpures at her gallery “Wild Rose Studio and Galllery.”

POEM

POEM

SHORT STORY

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