Friday, February 25, 2011

Get Fit and be Happy

Many statistics are saying the American public is gaining too much weight, but with the help of Master Trainer and business owner Dennis Montgomery who has opened a new gym in Oxford for the new year, is here to help.

Motgomery began the ideas for the gym in September, but the gym itelf started in December. It has been perfected for the past six months and opened only a few weeks ago.

“I’ve loved athletics all my life and I began to see how my body started to change,” said Motgomery. “It made me want to study the chemical in the body and what caused all of that change.”

He chose Oxford because it is a fun, innovative town with people who are attractive to fitness and the desire to get better Motgomery said.

Each piece of equipment is designed to focus on the abdominal region with flexible movement while the individual uses it.

“We are hands on and ready to assist anyone that has a desire for fitness,” Motgomery said.

There are four trainers working there including Motgomery through hard work design a preventative health care program for anyone interested in complete changes Motgomery said.

UDCFit offers discounds for university students, military, and seniors.

www.udcfit.com

Thursday, February 24, 2011


Ole Miss Track & Field


by: Sam Cumbee


The Ole Miss Track & Field team plans for great success this weekend at the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.


Competition will begin tomorrow afternoon at 1 pm.

The Rebels have been training hard and looking forward to this weekend all season. The Pole Vault team in particular hope to place top 3 this weekend. Last season, the height of 17-7 won SEC champion. Top Ole Miss pole vaulter Jason Anderson hopes to place around 16-5. This is a short clip of Jason Anderson, junior pole vaulter at practice last week.


Men’s Pole Vault will compete Saturday at 12 pm.


The Arkansas Razorbacks are hosting their second consecutive SEC Indoor Championship at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Recently named one of the fastest indoor racing surfaces in the world. The Rebels hope they can take advantage of these surfaces, and have a successful weekend. This article, has a quote from head coach Joe Walker.


Competition will end Sunday around 4:15 pm with the awards presentation.



































Guns on Campus



After Gabrielle Giffords was shot outside of a market in Arizona, there has been a big push for the relaxation of gun laws across the country.  One of the issues that have arisen from this shooting has been whether or not fire arms should be legal on college campuses.

While the heat has picked up following the Giffords’ shooting, those in favor of allowing guns on campus are citing the incident at Virginia Tech, where a student shot and killed 32 students and faculty, while injuring 15 others. They say that if guns were legal on campus that the students and faculty would have been able to defend themselves, and possibly saved some of the lives lost. 

University Chancellor Dan Jones, believes that Ole Miss is prepared for a situation, even without allowing guns legal on campus. ““We have a disaster management plan in place,” Jones said. “And we go through exercises on a regular place for implementing that, and we certainly hope and pray that we won’t have to go through anything like that. But that plan is reviewed on a regular basis, it includes communicating as quickly as feasible with current technology with all students and faculty and staff and so forth, but there are disaster management plans in place and we would execute those plans if needed to.” 

38 states currently do not allow guns on college campuses, while 11 others leave it up to the school to decide. Currently Utah is the only state that allows students and professors to carry firearms with them on campus. States such as Idaho, Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, Colorado, South Carolina and Arizona are pushing bills that would allow students and professors to carry fire arms on campus. Georgia, Texas, and Arizona are very close to legalizing guns on college campuses.

Just last April, Colorado allowed a lawsuit to be filed against the campus firearm ban, while South Carolina recently took a step closer to allowing them to be legal on campuses, by letting students check their weapons into the campus authorities, and keeping them in a locker at the police station. 

Senior History Major David McDowell, believes that if other states make it legal for students to have firearms on campus, that it affects not just those students, but students everywhere else. 

“I suppose if the University of Texas allows students to have guns on campus, that might affect my decision for grad school.” McDowell said. “Texas has a top 25 law school, but if at any point I may feel unsafe, that changes things. You don’t want to live in a neighborhood if you feel unsafe, if that becomes an issue that definitely changes things for everyone.”

McDowell doesn’t understand why the University of Mississippi would need to legalize guns on campus. “If someone is knocking on your dorm room door, and you think they are going to beat you up, and you meet them at the door with a .22, then you’ve got more problems,” McDowell said. “And you’re probably not at the University of Mississippi because we are a safe place like that. If things get more dangerous I guess we’ll address that issue, but this is a safe campus, why add the lethal ingredient.”

Mississippi is one of the 38 states that do not allow guns on college campuses. Mississippi law 97-37-17 says that it is a felony to carry any weapon on a college campus, unless authorized, police for example, and if caught with a gun on campus the person could be looking at a fine of up to $5,000 or three years in federal prison. Concealed weapons can be kept in vehicles.

Camille Lesseig, a Junior History and Spanish, believes that the current laws should remain the same.

“I think the current laws are fair, I don’t have a problem with someone keeping a gun in their car, if they’re licensed to carry a gun that’s fine, they can have that gun,” Lesseig said. “But I really don’t understand the rationale of carrying one on a school campus, the risk of someone carrying a gun far outweighs any kind of benefit you could have. There’s no legal use for a gun on campus, you can’t hunt, the self-defense issue is really kind of muted by the fact that we have a police force on campus, and ideally they would take care of any issues that you could come across.” 

The problem does not just lie with students. In February of 2010 Amy Bishop opened fire during a Biological Sciences Department faculty meeting, killing three while injuring three others, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. 

The number of gun related incidents on college campuses continues to rise according to SecurityMagazine.com. Since 2007 there have been 25 major incidents involving guns on college campuses in which someone was either seriously injured or killed. Those 25 incidents, which include the shootings at Virginia Tech and UAH, have resulted in 64 deaths and 52 injuries.

Dr. William Shughart, F. A. P. Barnard Distinguished Professor of Economics, believes that if guns we’re legalized on campus, there would be less chance of something like Virginia Tech, or UAH, happening.

“There is a substantial body of evidence from economic research that shows that violent crimes, murder, rape and robbery, rates are lower in states that allow people to carry concealed weapons on their person.” Shughart said. “Basic explanation is if you’re a criminal and you don’t know whether your victim is armed or not and could blow you away if he wants to, then you are less likely to commit the crime. Where the real significant reduction comes is rape, if women can carry guns in their hand bag, and a criminal knows that there is a possibility that if they try to assault a woman there is a chance they’ll pull a gun on them, that deters crime. Criminals know that a school is a gun free zone, and that makes it an inviting target. We’ve been fortunate that it hasn’t been much of a problem in this state, but there have been lots of other events on campuses, where graduate student has been mad at his dissertation advisor and comes in and blows him away, or confronts a faculty or staff member and to be knowingly unarmed makes you vulnerable.”

Junior Biology major, Hunter Morris, can understand why we would want to allow guns on campus but also sees the risk as well. 

“On the one side, you have the benefit of having guns on campus, because our students have the opportunity to protect themselves in situation like what happened at Virginia Tech.” Morris said. “Anybody who is going to want to come have some shootout and massacre is going to do it. If they really want to, they’ll figure out a way to make it happen. By saying we can’t have guns on campus, we’re not creating a lesser chance of that happening. However, when you think about how much alcohol is consumed on this campus, it seems to me that there would be a much greater risk of their being an alcohol related gun injury or death, then there would be if someone decided to come shoot up Ole Miss.”

While Mississippi has been relatively lucky when it comes to gun violence, we are still no stranger to the dangers that it can cause. Earlier this month a student at a Jackson, MS, high school brought a gun to school, and while showing it off to his friends in the bathroom, he accidentally discharged it. Luckily no one was hurt. In 2009 a young woman brought a gun with on a bus in Yazoo County, but the actions of a brave student kept her from being able to injure anyone on the bus. 

Of the aforementioned 25 incidents the University of Mississippi, which is consistently ranked in the top five safest campuses in the United States, does make an appearance on the list, with the fatal shooting of Ole Miss track star Rodney Lockhart at his apartment. 

Chancellor Jones hopes that nothing changes. 

“As an administrator that I find the current gun law in Mississippi to be healthy and glad to see that in place. I’m not aware of any movement to change the law in Mississippi and hopefully we won’t change it.”

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Plaque and Sign Placed to Mark Historic Site

by J.B. Cole

On April 14, 2010 Jerry Mitchell of the Clarion Ledger introduced the University of Mississippi as a National Historic Site for Journalism. The Society of Professional Journalism declared the University campus a historic site in recognition of French journalist Paul Guihard. The plaque commemorating Guihard’s life and legacy is located in the lobby of Farley Hall and the sign remembering the reporter is at the corner of Sorority Row outside of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

Mr. Guihard was covering the riots that raged after James Meredith was admitted to Ole Miss. On September 30, 1962, the French reporter was shot in the back at point blank range near the Student Union and was later found dead near a women’s dorm on campus. Before Guihard was slain, his observations were sent to Agence France-Presse, the news agency that printed his story for the world to see.

His story included the observation that the riots following the integration of Ole Miss were “the most serious constitutional crisis ever experienced by the United States since the war of secession.” The observations of Guihard and the over 300 journalists covering the riots preserved history and their stories showed the volatile nature of the segregated South to a naive world. Guihard is the only known journalist to lose his life covering the Civil Rights Movement.


The University of Mississippi campus was a war zone on the 30 of September, and reporters covering the chaos became easy targets to the angry mob. The dangers of reporting were taken to a new level, with tear gas and gunfire showering the sky. “It was a dangerous situation for anyone. As a journalist, I couldn’t imagine covering a race riot and ithappen before your eyes, somehow still being objective,” remarked Madison County Journal reporter Matt Stuart. Stuart commented that covering breaking news stories can always be unexpected and potentially dangerous.

Paul Guihard is remembered as a dedicated journalist whose sacrifice showed the world what happened on a late September segregated, Southern campus. "There is a natural connection between SPJ's commitment to the First Amendment and Guihard's sacrifice," said Kathleen Wickham, associate professor of journalism and SPJ adviser in a 2009 University press release. Guihard’s commitment to the journalism profession is a cause for remembrance and reflection.

The SPJ also dedicated a bench in memorial of Mr. Guihard outside Farley Hall on April 17, 2009. The date was chosen to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the SPJ. "The SPJ has done a lot for the advancement of journalism, and has set a standard that all journalists should use throughout their careers," said senior journalism major Lee Smith. In a recent development, the plaque that adorned the bench was reported stolen in a letter to the editor on January 25, 2011. The plaque was purchased by the student chapter of the SPJ and the culprit is still at large. The SPJ is the largest professional journalism society in the nation.



Links:

DM Letter to the Editor(1/25/11)
http://www.thedmonline.com/topics/Paul Guihard

Missing Plaque
http://www.mpbonline.org/content/memorial-plaque-paul-guihard

Background
http://www.newseum.org/scripts/Journalist/Detail.asp?PhotoID=863

University Arrests On The Rise



The number of arrests on the campus of the University of Mississippi tripled from 2009 to 2010, causing many Oxford residents to become quite concerned. University Police Chief Calvin Sellers had reason to be proud, not worried. "The more drivers we take off the streets that have been drinking or using drugs, the safer our campus and community is," Sellers said.

Speculations have been made by the public that UPD has been "out to get" drunk drivers. Sellers said that UPD's primary job is to keep the students on this campus safe. "We're not out to see how many arrests we can make," Sellers said, "we are just trying to create a safe atmosphere for anyone that steps onto this campus."

Head Resident Advisor at Stockard Hall, the largest male dorm on campus, Josh Guisser, is not surprised by the increase of arrests. “Things obviously get wild at Stockard, and the number of arrests at Stockard alone increased last year. I think that UPD has handled themselves professionally and they are making our campus safer as a whole.”

According to UPD, drug-related and DUI arrests each tripled from 2009 to 2010. The number of drug-related arrests rose from 33 in 2009 to 111 in 2010. The number of DUI’s rose from 20 in 2009 to 71 in 2010.

An increase in patrolling officers and students enrolled also played a huge role in the increase of arrests. In 2009, there were no more than 3 UPD officers on patrol at any given time in the week. In 2010, that number was almost doubled to 5 regularly-patrolling officers. In the 2008-2009 school year, the university's enrollment was 13,685. In the 2009-2010 school year, that number had increased to 14,346.

According to UPD, no plans have been made for 2011 to crack down even harder to further increase the number of arrests. Sellers did say that plans were being made to improve general education about drug and alcohol use and about the public transportation systems that are available to any student that is under the influence.


http://www.olemiss.edu/police/



Ole Miss Housing Problems

Ole Miss Housing

With a growing population at Ole Miss, the Housing Department has the need to update and build new Residences Halls. There are plans in the works to tear down existing Halls and build new ones in their place.

“There are plans to tear down Miller and build a new dorm in place of it,” said Kevin Morris, a RA in Deaton Hall. The plan for the new dorm is to have around 720 new beds in the Residence Hall.

Along with the deconstruction of Miller, there are also possible plans to tear down Kincannon and Guess and build dorms on their location. Morris was unsure of a time line of when the construction will begin.

Morris was unaware whether only freshman would be allowed to live on campus next semester. “It usually depends on the year and the mount of incoming freshman. Housing placement is guaranteed as long as there is room,” said Morris.

With the increase in freshman it is also forcing upperclassman living in the dorms to find new living arrangements. “A good friend of mine that has lived in Deaton Hal for the last three years has to find a new place to live for his senior year,” says freshman Alex Nichols.

Nichols also noted that living off campus is far less convenient because of transportation issues. The new bus system on campus should alleviate some transportation problems but the increase in off campus commuters could put a strain on public transit.

There are plans in the works for future expansion of the Ole Miss housing system, which will offer room for the next generation of Ole Miss students.

For more information on dorm details for 2011-2012, you can visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/stu_housing/


Ole Miss Idol is at it again

This month the Ole Miss Campus Programming department is hosting its annual Ole Miss Idol, based on FOX-TV’s “American Idol.” For the past several years some of the best singers on campus have gathered to compete for this title.

The competition is place every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for four weeks, which started February 16th, in the Student Union. Each week a predetermined percentage of the competitors is allowed advancement to the next round. In the end, an Ole Miss Idol will be named and awarded a $500 prize.

‘The atmosphere was very competitive, and having an audience kind of upped the ante because it wasn’t just in front of the judges; it was in front of our peers, the people we see every day, which made it a lot harder. But it was a great experience and I enjoyed it,” said last year finalist Jacob Hickman.

Each week’s competition follows a different theme for singers to choose their songs within. Week 1 was a cappella auditions, and began with over 40 singers. Once cut down to only 20 performers, week 2 followed a 70’s theme. Now with only 12 singers left, week three will be an 80’s theme. Week four, the final level of competition, the song will be at the singer’s choice and will have 6 contestants competing.

“It’s been so much fun singing the student union transform into a super star filled arena,” said Ole Miss student Katy Rodgers.

For more information contact the Campus Programming office at (662) 915-1044 or in room 419 of the Student Union. To find out about more events on campus check out the campus programming department at http://www.olemissdcp.com/

There Is No Place Like Home
















There Is No Place Like Home

By: Jory Tally

The latest news on The University of Mississippi is where the future sophomores in sororities are going to live next year. It has been a tradition for numerous years for the girls to live in the dorm Crosby right by Stewart which houses incoming freshman. It has not been required for the sophomore pledge classes to live in Crosby but the girls who want to be involved more with their sorority choose to live there.

The reason for this latest disrupt with housing is due to the upcoming freshman class of 2015. It has been said that the upcoming class is going to grow by four hundred more students. The class of 2014 is the largest freshman group to enter Ole Miss and due to the fact of how the incoming freshman classes are growing it was only fair to force to the sophomores planning to live on campus in the fall to find their own places.

Another issue with why the girls will not be able to live on campus in the fall of 2011 is because of the school deciding to tear down the dorm Miller, which houses 122 students. With the growing incoming students and the housing on campus decreasing this is the only decision that made sense for Ole Miss to do in order to make room.

However, the issue has been solved on where the sophomores will live for the upcoming school year. Due to the fact of the school announcing the living arrangements for next year during the spring semester of 2011, the sororities took action fast on where they are going to find places for their future sophomore girls to live. The main places the sororities have made deals with are The Connection off Old Taylor Road and Campus Creek which is right near campus.

The news hit the upcoming sophomores fast and there were many mixed emotions about the situation. A future sophomore who had planned on living in Crosby had up and downs about the issue. Maggie Bankston, a Tri Delta who will be living in Campus Creek said, "The part that makes me sad is not being able to share clothes with my pledge sisters or get to pre-game with all of them before we go out. The good thing about not living in Crosby is the fact that we will have our own rules and own place."

Anna Katheryn Ward had mixed emotions about the news as well. She will be living in a wing of the Exchange next year with most of her pledge sisters of Phi Mu. "I am excited to get out of the dorms and have my own bathroom."-Ward. The traditional living arrangements for the upcoming sophomore sorority girls was a devastation but it is currently now worked out from the progress of the sororities working quick and making good deals with the apartment complexes.






http://www.assetcampushousing.com/portfolio/the-connection-at-oxford

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/stu_housing/crosby.html



Susie Tucker

Campus Housing
by: Quentin Winstine

The University of Mississippi is preparing itself for an increase in student body size in upcoming years. The University will be constructing three new dormitory buildings on the grounds where Miller Hall is right now. These buildings will give the campus 720 new bed spaces when construction is completed by the fall of 2012.

The University managed to house all the freshman this past year even though, according to student housing director Lorinda Khrut, they were "very full this past year." This will not be the case next year because of the increase of freshman applications recieved this past year. Students have different perspectives on this as indicated in these interviews I had with students last year and this article from The Daily Mississippian last week.

The combination of the increase in incoming freshman, lack of dorm space, and the requirement that the University house these freshman has lead to the University to require all the upperclassmen apply only to Campus Walk and Northgate appartments so that there will be enough room in the dorms.

Housing applications opened this past Monday to upperclassmen with little difficulty for students. Several students living in the Kincannon Dorm complained how slow the internet was that morning because of the large increase of traffic on the MyOleMiss website. By the end of the day, though, most of the rooms had been filled with very little trouble.

This situation is also having an effect on parking for some residents of Kincannon and Stockard. Ground has already broken on construction for the three new dorms and on February 25, 2011 current residents of those buildings will not be able to park in the lot west of Kincannon.

The University had already informed students affected by this parking change that they will have room up the hill from Kincannon. Students have been told about both of these changes through the Ole Miss Today emails and can expect to stay updated the same way in the future.

Baseball Newcomers Make Their Mark

Baseball Newcomers Make Their Mark



The Diamond Rebels are off to a 5-0 start to their 2011 campaign and several new faces have seen the field. The early win streak can directly be attributed to those newcomers. Seven freshmen and five junior college transfers have already helped the Rebels in the first five games.

Freshman Preston Overbey has already made his presence felt in this Ole Miss lineup. The Jackson, Tenn., native is batting .368 (7 for 19) with one home run and 7 RBI. His stellar play at third base has helped anchor a solid defensive infield. Senior Matt Smith was impressed with the freshman’s play over the weekend. “He hit the ball well and just looks the part. He was comfortable. You’d never know he was a freshman,” Smith said.

Junior Blake Newalu won the starting job at shortstop over freshman Austin Anderson after a lengthy battle this fall. He has been errorless in his four starts this season. His steady glove up the middle has already helped turn four double plays.

Another junior college transfer Zach Kirksey has had his ups and downs already this year. After receiving the start in left field in the season opener, the junior from West Monroe, La., dropped a pop fly in the first inning that led to a run. In Tuesday’s game against Memphis, Kirksey redeemed himself by throwing a runner out at home to end the top of the second and launching a towering home run in the sixth inning. Head Coach Mike Bianco was pleased with Kirksey’s ability to bounce back. “Zach Kirksey made the play in the outfield that was the turning point of the game. It gave our dugout momentum which was important in putting things together today,” said Bianco.

Ole Miss continues their season this weekend with a three-game series at the University of Houston starting Friday. The Rebels return home for games Tuesday and Wednesday against Austin Peay. Their next weekend series will be at home against Tulane.


Article from Opening Day - http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/021811aaa.html

Video from Tuesday against Memphis - http://www.olemisssports.com/allaccess/?media=232307

New animal shelter is finally here.

Much needed new shelter finally here

By

Michael Prestwich

The animal shelter that Lafayette county has needed and deserved for a very long time is finally here. The new location of the Oxford Lafayette humane society moved from its prior location off of Highway 7 to a much nicer and more centralized location at 413 Mcelroy Drive, which is right off of college hill road. This location is approximately one mile from the campus of the university of Mississippi.

This new move has many animal lovers excited. According to one Shelley Moss “ This is great, the previous location was barely appropriate for the needs of the county”. The prior location was little more than a double wide trailer with a few chain link fences used to house the animals.

The new location is almost double that of the previous one, at almost 4000 square feet. This includes large communal outdoor cages for the animals as well as smaller inside cages that house one to two animals at a time. There are separate rooms for cats and dogs. This is also includes separate office for the bureaucratic side of things. There is also a large field located outside the shelter for volunteers to be able to walk the animals.

The new space also has a direct impact on the flow of animals to and from the humane society. The shelter has already seen an increase of animals being dropped off. According to Sarah Turcott, “We took in 15-20 animals the first two days at the new location”. Much of this can probably be attributed to the fact that the new shelter is now much closer.

One issue however is that the humane society only offers animal control within the oxford city limits, which could potentially cause problems for the citizens of Lafayette county outside those limits.

For donation info, check online at http://www.oxfordpets.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=59

. Here you have the option to either donate electronically or print out a physical donation form. All donations are accepted and encouraged.





No More Flex at UM Club House
Students are no longer allowed to spend their flex dollars at the UM club house restaurant. Up until this past November students were able to spend flex dollars there. It was nice because every undergrad at Ole Miss gets $200 of flex dollars at the beginning of each semester, included in the tuition. It’s a great concept for freshman and sophomores living on campus, who spend the majority of their flex at The Union or the C Store.
Those of us not living on campus, or have been here long enough, know The Union and Johnson's Commons are not the best food choices around town. But where else do people spend that money? Java City, vending machines, Einstein’s Bagels, and until recently the UM golf course.
The UM club house isn't at the top of Oxfords finest dining either, but after a day on the links, maybe a few beers; a burger and fries paid for with, essentially, monopoly money sounds perfect. "The amount of people we have coming in here, ordering, finding out we no longer take flex and cancel their order is astonishing." One Club House employee, Diana, said.
"I told them this would happen, back in November, when they told us we no longer accept flex" she continued. She said the schools’ reasoning behind the cancellation was because the golf course is off campus, they must charge a sales tax. Something other places on campus that accept flex don't have to do.
"I have heard a handful of people complain about this while out on the range and course" University course member and Senior Jeff McCurty said. “Ole Miss is going to lose some money on this one. I don’t understand why we have been able to do this for the past 3 years but now we can’t” said McCurty.
Flex dollars do roll over semester to semester and once you graduate you can collect what is left. Some people may choose to do that. The majority of us however would like to spend this money while in school. The UM club house was the perfect place to do that. But it looks like students won't be able to spend flex at the course, at least for this semester.

Overcrowded Union





http://www.thedmonline.com/article/empty-bowls-fundraiser-set-today

http://www.emptybowls.net/


The New Grading System


The New Grading System

by: Kaitlyn Oates

Many students on the Ole Miss campus may be unaware that the University plans to implement a new plus/minus grading system starting as early as the Fall 2011. While some students may see this as a negative thing, several people on campus believe it will boost the morale of the campus. Those who have worked hard for an A in a class but have just fallen short and then receive a B will now find new hope to know that they can be rewarded with a B+.

I talked with Andrus Ashoo who is an Advisement Specialist for the Office of National Scholarships in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. “Now, there is incentive for the person who can get into that range to try and give a better, more well-thought out answer and get a B+.” He believes that it will help that person who skates by in class, giving average answers, and will motivate them want to step up to earn that B+. A B+ will be awarded a 3.3 as opposed to a B- which would receive a 2.7. Grades in the D and F range will not have a plus/minus system and an A+ would earn the same as an A.

This isn't the first time this grading system has been considered. Back in 2006, Ashoo was the Director of Academic Affairs when the issue was brought to the table. It was then recommended to Chancellor Khayat that the system not be approved because their wasn't a solid plan on how this grading system would be implemented. The new plan however has been in the talks for several years since.

Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, Dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, believes that it will negatively impact those students making straight A's. Some may be unhappy earning that A- instead of an A. He doesn't think it is going to impact the overall GPA of the campus though. “Will the overall GPA change because of the system? I doubt it.”

Honors College students will probably be impacted the most. As an Honors student you must keep a 3.2 GPA your freshmen year, 3.4 your sophomore year, and a 3.5 your junior and senior years. Those students may have a harder time reaching that benchmark.

In an older article of The Daily Mississippian, it was reported that of the top 20 research institutes and the top 20 liberal arts schools, as many as 90 percent of them used the plus/minus grading system. Overall, Ashoo hopes it will help with accuracy in grading for teachers and make us more well respected on a national scale because we now grade with more accuracy.

http://www.honors.olemiss.edu/index.asp



Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flanneljgary/1464904245/in/set-72157602221577301/