Ole Miss from the International Perspective

The university's effort to expand diversity has paid off as foreign students flock to be a part of the campus.

The Martindale building is where the Office of International Programs is housed and is a great resource for students

As the United States continues to grow in diversity, so does the University of Mississippi. On account of the International Studies Program that fosters exchange students and faculty members from other countries, Ole Miss has begun to show its intentions of creating an open environment for its students and expanding their horizons.

This past year, the University has welcomed a record breaking 804 international students and 180 staff members from 94 different countries. At the helm of these opportunities for foreign students is the Office of International Programs (OIP), which facilitates undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as opportunities for those who wish to join the exchange program.

"We have a variety of partnerships with universities worldwide," said Molly Fryman, an international student advisor. Some of these countries include Germany, Korea, and Brazil. 

Whether the international student chooses to be in an exchange program or degree-program (which registers them as full time students at Ole Miss) the application process is the same as the average U.S. citizen. Although all international students have to apply for visas and social security numbers, student athletes who are being recruited from overseas face different challenges.

"The main issues these students have is dealing with NCAA regulations," said Fryman. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association, student-athletes from foreign countries have to take the SAT and ACT, and have a passing score that is acceptable in order for them to be allowed to compete at a college or university. Even all these obstacles did not stop freshman track and field distance runner Sean Tobin from making the journey from Ireland to compete at Ole Miss.

"As soon as I got the call I had been cleared, I was ready to get over here as soon as possible," said Tobin.

When asked what the draw to Ole Miss was, Tobin stated not only did he love the campus, the culture of Oxford was the big reason for his commitment. "I love the passion the students here have for the SEC." he said. 

"Everyone is really nice and welcoming," said Daniel Bulmer, a graduate student from Australia completing his final years of eligibility with the distance squad. "I have been treated well here and haven't had any issues with my classmates or professors." 

"I try to encourage younger runners I know back home to give this place a look," said Tobin. "It's very good academically, athletically, and socially. I love it here."


With the continuous expansion of Ole Miss's international students and faculty population, comes a new era of diversity that will continue to grow the university and promote acceptance for new ideas and cultures.

ROTC Grads React to Ft. Hood Shooting

Ole Miss ROTC Graduates, Lieutenant Colonel Sheldon Morris and Second Lieutenant Brady Fortenberry share their perspective on the recent shooting at Fort Hood.

Ole Miss Army Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC), which is housed in Bernard Hall, pictured above, 

prepares students for success as a military officer.  

Lieutenant Colonel Sheldon Morris and Second Lieutenant Brady Fortenberry joined the Army ROTC program while at Ole Miss for different reasons. 

Morris, who played football while at Ole Miss, wanted a career that would serve him well.  Fortenberry said he joined ROTC because he wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself. 

“I think a lot of the reason I joined was based off of 9/11, and I wanted to do my part for the country,” Fortenberry said.

Still, both had the intent of becoming an officer, knowing they would face difficult and risky occurrences. 

Fortenberry and Morris explained they knew that being in the Army would not be easy, but something like the recent shooting at Fort Hood always feels unexpected. 

Fortenberry, explained this feeling by saying, “If you have joined the Army since 2001, you have joined in a time of war; so, you know the risk that you are willing to take.  I would say it is just a shame that you have to be aware of the people in the same uniform.”

According to Morris, the scariest thing in life or in combat is the unknown. 

“The hardest thing to deal with is the unknown.  You don’t know who or what unit the active shooter is targeting.”  Morris said this goes for active combat or for this recent type of event on the base.

When asked if he was scared when he heard the news, Morris, who was stationed at Fort Hood for several years, said he was mostly concerned about his friends and fellow soldiers there. 

Morris said his wife, Chelsea, actually knew about the incident before he did and texted him to get in contact with one of his closest friends stationed there to make sure he was okay. 

“Chelsea understands that we [the Army] cannot be everywhere but that we put systems in place to disrupt or detect these types of horrific events from occurring.  More importantly, identifying what were the root causes of such attack and were there any indicators that would have allowed the leadership the opportunity to intervene.  A true army wife.”

And that’s exactly what the Army has tried to do.  After the 2009 incident, which Morris says had multiple indicators that weren’t acted upon, the Army has tried to better prepare for this sort of event. 

Fortenberry said he thinks the Army is doing all it can to take care of its soldiers’ mental health and to make sure these events don’t happen again.

“I think the biggest thing that everyone is starting to focus on is the mental health and treatment of soldiers with PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder] and how that can be improved.  The security is about as tight as it could possibly be, with the base still being able to function.  With that being said, the military is focusing on how to better treat soldiers and make sure these instances do not occur.”

Lieutenant Colonel Sheldon Morris

Courtesy of: www.alumni.olemiss.edu

Second Lieutenant Brady Fortenberry

(No Picture Available)

Green Week 2014 kicks off next week

The city of Oxford and the University of Mississippi host Green Week next week to teach the community about sustainability.

Last year at Green Week, UM Green Fund awarded money for H2otty Totty Hydration Stations to be built across campus. The hydration stations help students practice sustainability through decreasing the amount of plastic bottles used and wasted.

The city of Oxford and the University of Mississippi will hold different events next week in honor of sustainability.

Green Week is a community partnership looking to inform students, residents, and visitors about eco-friendly and sustainability practices. The week features different activities to engage participants of all ages.

First, on Jan. 22, the Sustainable Business Panel Discussion will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center. Panelists include Alex Rosenthal, the Sustainability Project Leader of International Paper, and Margot McNeeley, Executive Director of Project Green Fork.

Also on Jan. 22, Robert Nixon, the Rachel Carson Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will be giving a lecture. He will discuss the dramatic infusion of artistic efforts within emergencies. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Overby Center.

On Jan. 23, the Sustainability Fair will be held in the Ole Miss Union Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The fair will feature local food vendors, arts and crafts, giveaways, and contests.

The final event, the EcoFashion Gala, will be at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 in Bryant Hall. The

gala will show off sustainability within the clothing industry while displaying the creative, eco-friendly designs and artwork that students and local businesses have produced.

Walker BoBo, a freshman International Studies major, is most excited about attending the EcoFashion Gala and the Sustainability Fair. BoBo appreciates how Green Week is offering interesting ways to learn more about sustainability.

“Going green is not just about recycling, it is about saving our environment for future generations,” said BoBo, recognizing that many students only consider the basic ideas of environmentalism.

Sailer Perkins, the Sustainability Chair for Alpha Omicron Pi, shares this concern.

“The biggest problems Ole Miss faces is apathy and ignorance. People don't know what's going on. They don't know what they need to address. Apathy comes when they hear things about how to get involved but they don't do them,” said Perkins.

Perkins believes that Green Week will help resolve this problem, stating that all its activities will make sustainability practices “engaging and easily available to students, making it a popular, fun, and fashionable cause.”

Perkins also looks forward to modeling in the EcoFashion Gala and leading her sorority to be more environmentally conscious.

Ole Miss sororities and fraternities are currently participating in the Green Cup Challenge. One component to the competition is participation in Green Week.

“The Greek community has so much potential. They have a place to make changes, and I think they can be really guiding in sustainability practices,” said Perkins.

The Office of Sustainability will also continue to ask for donations to the UM Green Fund this week in order to continue funding environmental projects on campus.

Honors students begin thesis defenses

               Seniors of the Honors College put the final chapter on their thesis projects.

Thesis defender Cara Thorne smiles as she answers questions.  She was being tested by a grading committee member on her knowledge on what would happen if a variable in the experiment was altered.

 With graduation just around the corner, seniors of the Sally McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College must begin to defend their theses.  Each senior in the Honors College will present their project to a grading committee. 

                The committee listens to the presentation and then asks questions of the student.  The purpose of the questions is to gauge the understanding of the presenter.  It also serves to show that one cannot be a complete expert and they still have a ways to go.

                Each field of study must complete a different type of project.  For a musician it is a performance and for an artist it is a sculpture.  An engineer works on a senior project with other engineers, and a science major joins in a lab with a professor as a sophomore or a junior.  English majors, a creative writer for example, must put together seven creative writings.

                Each student works with a thesis adviser, and the adviser is the one who makes the final call on the grade of the project.

                According to Dr. Douglas Sullivan-Gonzalez, the dean of the Honors College, the thesis is written on a question that is driving the student, not a professor.

                “The expectation is for you to gauge the material in ways unlike any of your other colleagues in undergraduate,” Sullivan-Gonzalez said.

                The project is a month long project that students must work on.  Sullivan-Gonzalez called it “a dragon” that students have to ride to graduation. 

                On Tuesday, senior Chemistry major Cara Thorne presented her thesis “Evaluating the Efficacy of Small Basis Sets and the Counterpoise Procedure to Reproduce Complete Basis Set Limit Higher-Order Correlation Corrections for Weakly Bound Molecular Clusters.”  She said that the process of gathering the information is overwhelming.

                “For me there are just a lot of life lessons bundled into writing the thesis,” Thorne said.  She also stated that it teaches you about time management and knowing oneself and how one works. 

                Thorne gave her presentation in Coulter Hall in front of faculty and friends and was congratulated afterwards.  Her thesis adviser, Dr. Gregory Tschumper, congratulated her on a great presentation. 

                According to Dr. Sullivan-Gonzalez about 2 percent of graduating seniors are from the Honors College and have completed their thesis.  He said that the thesis is one of two top reasons that students drop out of the honors college. 

                “It means you are one of 2 percent of the kids in the University of Mississippi who have written a thesis and you have distinguished yourself in performance by going the extra mile when you didn’t have to do that to graduate,” said Sullivan-Gonzalez

                Sullivan-Gonzalez accredits his thesis writing process to leading him to holding a doctorate in Latin American History.

                “It really is an eye opening.  It’s one that forces you to see the questions as a participant and not as a spectator.”  Sullivan-Gonzalez said.

The remaining thesis defenders for this week are: 

• Wednesday
• Jim Burt, Accountancy
• CJ Jenkins, Civil Engineering and Public Policy Leadership
• Caroline Borland, Exercise Science
• Lance Ezell, Chemistry
• Cipriano Apicelli, Biology
• Thursday
• Amanda Hardwick, Chemistry
• James Conner King, Managerial Finance
• Daniel Roberts, Public Policy Leadership

Sudden changes in Fall Recruitment leaves sororities scrambling

The schedule for University of Mississippi sorority Fall Recruitment (Rush) is changing the 2014 process, leaving sororities practicing new rounds and trying to accommodate the changes. 

The 2013 pledge class of Pi Beta Phi practices their "door stack" during a Rush practice. Door stacks are part of the process of Fall Recruitment and typically occur during Philanthropy round, but the new schedule changes may alter this plan. 

The Panhellenic Council at Ole Miss has decided to change the Fall Recruitment process for sororities in a major way. This is in reaction to the addition of new chapter Alpha Delta Pi this past year, and the prospect of new chapters in the near future. These changes have the potential to help sororities and new hopefuls alike. 

In past years, Rush has consisted of several rounds: Water Parties, Philanthropy, Skit and Preference ("Pref") rounds. Each round is designed to let the active sorority members meet the Potential New Members (PNMs) registered for Rush.

In general, Recruitment is designed to introduce PNMs to which organizations they may be interested in joining. Jenell Bukky Lanski, the Coordinator of Greek Affairs at Ole Miss, said "The focus of formal recruitment is creating an environment where potential new members can interact and engage with active members to learn more about their sorority, its values, and benefits and responsibilities, such as academics and finances, of sorority membership."

After each round, girls rank the chapters based on what they liked best, determining where they may go the next day. Sororities can also dismiss girls from their consideration based on factors such as grades, etc.

This Fall, however, the schedule is changing to the "10-8-5-2" system, which modifies how girls and sororities rank and dismiss from the process. The system is self-explanatory: girls will go to 10 houses for the first round, eight the second, and so on. 

"Panhellenic formal recruitment is evaluated each year to assess if the program and structure meets the needs of students and community, National Panhellenic Conference guidelines and policies, and goals of the Panhellenic community." Lanski explained in regards to the new changes. 

The Rush week will be held in September rather than October, leaving sororities with much less time to practice. "It's hard, because it's not giving us as much time to prepare," said Maddie Todd, a freshman in Alpha Omicron Pi. "We all will have a lot of homework...it's going to take a toll and there will be a lot more practicing."

With approximately 1700 girls expected to come through Recruitment this Fall, the process marks one of the largest groups Ole Miss has ever had for Rush. The active members of each sorority, especially the newest Pledge Class, are hard at work preparing for the process to come.

For many new members, the practices mark the beginning of a new perspective on their organization. "[Most of] of the stuff we are learning now I didn't know as a PNM, so it's interesting to see this side of it" said Kelly Loggins, also an active Alpha Omicron Pi freshman. 

Official registration for PNMs will be available in late Spring. In the meantime, active members are practicing and modifying their process to make way for new changes and new members. 

Johnson Commons creates new possibilities

The Rebel Market, also known as the Johnson Commons, is finishing construction this month.

The Rebel Market will include made-to-order meals from various kitchens. 

A loud roar envelops the room while students frantically search for a seat and dodge groups standing in line.  If you have ever been in the JC East on fried chicken Thursday, then you know this scenario well.

"People hate this one.  I only eat here because I have the unlimited meal plan," said John Robert Rombach, a freshman criminal justice major from San Diego, Calif. 

The JC East holds 350 seats.  Its menu includes a carving station, deli, grill, home zone, pasta station, salad bar and dessert table. 

Lack of seating in the JC East is a problem for customers.  "I have left because the JC has been too busy," Rombach said.  

The Johnson Commons will be open for the first time on May 16 for a faculty and staff luncheon.  It will open to students May 20 and will remain open throughout summer intersession classes according to Jason Phillips, food service director of Ole Miss dining services.  The Johnson Commons will hold over 1000 seats. 

A variety of food options will be added to the Johnson Commons. 

The lower level will include:

•   Freshii 

Freshii will have healthy food options like wraps, salads and smoothies. 

The Rebel Market (upstairs portion) will include:

•         Brick oven pizza
•         Full deli
•         Bakery station
•         Gluten free options
•         Salad bar
•         Sushi bar
•         Mongolian grill
•        Traditional grill
•         Noodle bowl station

Phillips believes the additions to the Johnson Commons will attract more students to eat on campus.  The retail concept and new style of service will mimic that of chain restaurants like Subway and Toss It Up in the Student Union.

"It gives a greater variety of things to eat," said Jasmine Thomas, a cashier at the JC East.  "Plus, we’ll have ice cream." Thomas also said she is looking forward to the job she accepted as a cashier at the Johnson Commons. 

The university will allow workers from other campus jobs to apply for a position in the Johnson Commons.  The Johnson Commons' retail environment is different from other residential dining areas on campus and will require workers to possess a different skill set. The Johnson Commons will add between 60 to 80 jobs to the university.  

The JC East will be open for its final dinner on May 8.  Between May 9 and May 16, the building will be vacated and renovations will begin on the JC East.  

    

The ASB senators uphold the approval voting act of 2014

Tuesday, The Approval Voting Act of 2014 was written to change the Ole Miss ASB voting election process.

Emerson George, ASB Vice President, discusses the benefits of The Approval Voting Act of 2014 on Tuesday, April 15 in the Overby Center 

The University of Mississippi currently uses a variety of voting systems for personality elections and run-off elections for government elections. The bill will change the voting system into an approval voting system. This allows students at the university to vote for as many candidates on the ballot. Also, it will give students the opportunity to write in one candidate as they so choose. 

The senates host a meeting every Tuesday night to discuss ways to improve the study body. Recently, The Approval Voting Act has been a main topic as the ASB senators agree to either pass the bill or not. Fifty-three senators voted in upholding of the bill. No one voted in denial, and one senator voted on nonparticipating.

Sen. Paul Neubert presented the bill and thinks to see a change in the student body by promoting fairness. Neubert said, “The Approval Voting Act of 2014 will support democracy as it will give each student on campus a chance to express themselves’ better.” This bill is opening new ways to improve the election process on campus.

Sen. Sam Hearn said, “ I find the current voting system has been working affectively for years now. It’s the one voting system predominately used in America.”

Sam Hearn, Vice Chairman of the committee on Education and Administration, discusses his opinion about not passing The Approval Voting Act of 2014.

Although Neubert and Hearn have very valid points, the bill will be brought back to the senate floor next Tuesday, April 22. If the bill is passed, the Ole Miss voting system will change for the following government elections on campus. On the other hand, Ole Miss will continue with their traditional voting methods.

This bill is reaching out to the Ole Miss student body by giving more of a democratic style to the voting process. However, other universities use this voting system too. For example, San Francisco State University has been using it for more than ten years in every student government elections. The University of Colorado Boulder has been using it for a couple of years, as well.