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.

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/golf/

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/