� e 84th Macy’s � anksgiving Day Parade this year marched down 7th and 6th Avenue to Macy’s Herald Square compos-ing of Disney and Spiderman bal-loons, Sesame Street � oats, Santa’s Sleigh, singer Gladys Knight, and, for the � rst time, � e Pride of Mississippi Marching Band.

USM band members and the Dixie Darlings had the opportu-nity to go to the Macy’s � anks-giving Day Parade.

� e Pride of Mississippi is cur-rently comprised of 300 mem-bers, and is the � rst university band in the state of Mississippi to be selected. Only 11 bands from the 300 applicants were selected to perform.

SGA President Kasey Mitchell watched the parade on television and talks about the impact that may have on Southern Miss.

“All of Hattiesburg was watch-ing in pride,” Mitchell said. “There are definitely wonder-

ful outcomes for our university, such as great P.R. and a display to the rest of the world of what Southern Miss has to offer. I am extremely proud of our band and affiliates for being a part of the parade. It was a huge testa-ment to the quality and caliber

of our band and everything that Southern Miss has to offer. I thank them for serving as such positive reflections of our uni-versity community.”

Vice President and Head De-signer of Macy’s � anksgiving Day Parade John Piper talks about

the hard work the bands must do to prepare for the parade.

“Bands come from all over this great nation to perform,” Piper said. “They practice day

INDEXCalendar ...................... 2Sudoku ........................ 2News.............................. 3Opinion .......................... 4Arts & Entertainment ..... 6Special ......................... 8Sports ........................... 8

STUDENT PRINTZThe

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Volume 95 Issue 27SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

www.studentprintz.com

AT MIDNIGHT

FOOTBALL

SONGFEST

See page 7

See page 3

See page 8

Tuesday

62/31Wednesday

59/28Thursday

65/34

See MACY’S, 3

The Dixie Darlings practice their Macy’s Day Parade routine after a 26-hour bus ride from Hattiesburg to New Jersey Monday, Nov. 22.Christopher Bostick/Printz

NATIONAL

Pride goes to Macy’s

Earvin HopkinsPrintz Writer

Performance marks start of holidays

The Pride of Mississippi marches early Thursday morning in front of Macy’s Department store as part of the NBC’s pre taping rehearsal at Macy’s Herald Square in Manhattan, new York on Wednesday.

Christopher Bostick/Printz

BARS MAY CLOSE

CalendarPage 2 Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Mark Your Planner30 1 2 3 44:00 p.m.Pablo Sotomayor, Piano Doctoral RecitalMarsh Auditorium

6:00 p.m.Hot Chocolate SocialSigma Nu house

6:00 p.m.Katie Barr, Student Voice Recital Marsh Auditorium

7:00 p.m.Senior CelebrationWesley Foundation

7:30 p.m.Precussion Rhythms of ChristmasMannoni Performing Arts Center

5:00 p.m.Popular Guitar RecitalMarsh Auditorium

6:00 p.m.Lighting the WayFront of campus

7:30 p.m.Jonathan Rowe, Student Jazz RecitalMarsh Auditorium

11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Midnight BreakfastFresh Food Company

10:00 a.m.Art and Design Senior ShowMuseum of Art, Marsh Hall

6:00 p.m.Saxophone Quartet RecitalMarsh Auditorium

7:30 p.m.Winter Wonderland Symphony Holiday SpectacularLake Terrace Convention Center

7:30 p.m.Studio 115 Dance ConcertTheatre and Dance Building Studio 115

Student Printz

The

Serving Southern Miss since 1927

� e Student Printz is published every Tuesday and � ursday during the fall and spring semesters. Signature O� set of Hattiesburg provides printing services.

Opinions expressed in � e Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of � e Student Printz, its publications manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications.

Executive EditorSamantha Schott samantha.schott@eagles.usm.edu

Managing EditorMeryl Dakinmeryl.dakin@eagles.usm.edu

Art DirectorBryant Hawkinsjohn.hawkins@eagles.usm.edu

Chief DesignerChristopher Bostickchristopher.bostick@eagles.usm.ed

Web EditorAshton Pittmanashton.pittman@eagles.usm.edu

WebmasterChris Greenechris.greene@eagles.usm.edu

News Content AdvisorChuck Cookchuck.cook@usm.edu

WritersJonathan AndrewsEarvin HopkinsStormy SpeaksCade MorrowHannah JonesMary Margaret HalfordMichelle HolowachDeonica DavisSarah RogersSabrina BrownPatrick Laughlin

PhotographersJordan MooreMyesha ArringtonDusty MercierFreddie Lance NewmanJay Van Orsdol

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Executive Editor601.266.6431

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Five things you probably didn’t know:

10:00 a.m.Art and Design Senior ShowMuseum of Art, Marsh Hall

7:30 p.m.Studio 115 Dance ConcertTheatre and Dance Building Studio 115

7:30 p.m.Thomas McDaniel, Piano Chamber Recital Marsh Auditorium

10:00 a.m.Southeastern American Indian FestivalThe Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center, Ocean Springs

7:00 p.m.Roots Reunion, gospel and bluegrass (free)Saenger Theatre

7:30 p.m.Paul Stanton Roberts, Student Violin RecitalMarsh Auditorium

• Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Phillipines.

• According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg.

• If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

• Most lipstick contains fish scales.• Mosquito repellents don’t repel.

They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito’s sensors so they don’t know you’re there.

SOLUTION TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

Complete the gridso each row, column and 3-by-3 box(in bold borders)contains everydigit, 1 to 9. For strategies onhow to solveSudoku, visitwww.sudoku.org.uk

© 2010 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

12/26/10

Level: 1 2 3 4

News Page 3Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Students to deck the hallson campuS

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, The University of Southern Missis-sippi Student Government Asso-ciation will host its fourth annual Lighting the Way for the Holidays event on campus.

This is a free event open to the public to raise money for Carpen-ter’s Helper, a local charity organi-zation that helps take care of local families and their housing needs.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. in front of the Aubrey K. Lucas Ad-ministration Building at the front of campus and will be carried live on the local WDAM television station.

Twenty-six different organiza-tions and local businesses have bought Christmas trees that will be decorated prior to the event and judged on Wednesday night. The proceeds from the sale of the Christmas trees goes to the Car-penter’s House to help with their projects this year. Last year about $4000 was made.

The event will also feature live entertainment from local high school choirs, USM dancers, Spirit of Southern and the Southern Bell-tones. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served, and Santa Claus and Seymour will be available for pic-tures throughout the evening.

Assistant Director for Light-ing the Way sophomore Brandon

Baker believes that the event is a great way to bring people together to celebrate the start of the holi-day season.

“Everyone should come out be-cause it supports a local charity that brings Southern Miss and the community together to kick start the holidays,” Baker said.

SGA President Kasey Mitchell also has high hopes that many peo-ple will come out and show their support for such a worthy cause.

“Our group has worked very hard to outreach to different as-pects of the campus and commu-nity to try to get a better turnout,” Mitchell said.

Director for Lighting the Way sophomore Chase Welborn be-

lieves that the event is important to Southern Miss and the community.

“The event is the kick-off to the holiday season at Southern Miss and through that is a way for us to give back to the community,” Welborn said. “It will be a fun-filled night with lots of activities for kids and adults alike.”

Mitchell also believes in the importance of this event to the university.

“This is an event that really symbolizes what Southern Miss is about, which is empowering and giving,” Mitchell said. “This event brings together the campus with the Hattiesburg community and a charity that does nothing but give to others year round.”

Mary Margaret HalfordPrintz Writer

A hearing has been scheduled during the city council meeting Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. to listen to the people of Hattiesburg propos-ing that nightclubs permanently close at midnight instead of 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday. (Sun-day’s hours are already noon to midnight.)

After the shooting on Nov. 14 that wounded three USM stu-dents, representatives from USM, the city of Hattiesburg, Hatties-burg police department, Univer-sity Police Department, and the Hattiesburg fire department have formed a committee looking for ways to keep entertainment-seek-ers safe while having fun in Hat-tiesburg.

Southern Miss Dean of Stu-

dents Eddie Holloway talked about Southern Miss’ role in the decision-making process.

“We’re not here to make policy for the city,” Holloway said in a university press release. “We’re here to assist the city in finding ways to make Hattiesburg safer. Our group, which will have rep-resentatives from both Southern Miss and William Carey Univer-sity, is looking at ways and means to make Hattiesburg a destina-tion for weekend entertainment whereby providing adequate safety for our visitors and our residents.”

SGA President Kasey Mitchell talked about students getting in-volved in the meeting.

“I hope that the students’ opin-ions and thoughts are taken into consideration and that students will have an opportunity to voice those opinions before any final

decisions are made,” she said.Senior English major Tashia

Jennings talked about the possible downside of closing nightclubs and bars at midnight.

“I don’t think the time change will be effective,” Jennings said. “Shutting down the clubs at 12:00 a.m. will only get someone shot at 11:59 p.m. The issue isn’t the times that clubs and bars close; it’s the security at those locations

while they are open.”According to law enforcement

officials, safety and security in many Hattiesburg nightspots was an issue before the shooting that took place at Remington’s Hunt Club in the early morning hours of Nov. 14.

“Ultimately, the club owners will have to collectively agree to enforce whatever best practices are selected,” Holloway said.

Bars may close at midnightlocal

Earvin HopkinsPrintz Writer

A recent recommendation by Mississippi Governor Haley Bar-bour to cut the state budget for higher education by only three-percent instead 15 percent as pre-viously announced could poten-tially save programs and jobs at USM. Barbour made his sugges-tions public on November 15.

In August, USM leaders pro-posed heavy cuts to faculty and programs for fiscal year 2012 in response to expected double digit cuts to the higher education. That proposal, which has been met with intense controversy, would eliminate 29 faculty members and 28 programs.

Some of those programs and positions could be saved should Barbour’s recommendations be-come reality, according to USM President Martha Saunders.

“A lot can happen between now and the end of the current fiscal year,” Saunders said. It would be good news for the university if Barbour’s proposal was adopted, she said, because it would be pos-sible to implement fewer reduc-tions than previously announced.

But whether or not Barbour’s recommendation will be adopted by the legislature is far from cer-tain, said State Representative Toby Barker, who serves on the Education Committee.

“There’s reason for cautious op-timism, but a long way to go in the process,” Barker said.

The joint legislative budget committee is expected to meet on December 8, where they will adopt a joint legislative budget recommendation. Barker said he expects their recommendation will be “a little more than three-percent” but “not quite five-per-cent.”

He said the legislature will adopt the final budget sometime near the end of March 2011.

USM Interim Chief Financial Officer Russ Willis said that the university was pleased with Bar-bour’s recommendation.

“We will continue to hope for the best while preparing for the worst,” Willis said. “We look for-ward to working with the Gover-nor and the Legislature in meet-ing the funding challenges facing Mississippi in general and higher education in particular.”

Barbour’s proposal could save programs, positions

Ashton PittmanPrintz Writer

local

and night to perform here at Macy’s, then they have to rehearse one more time the night before Thanksgiving for their television appearance.”

Over 3.5 million people watched the parade in person, and about 50 million people tuned in to watch it on NBC.

Music education major Lindsey Daniels played saxophone in the Pride of Mississippi during the Macy’s Parade.

“I am extremely honored to have participated in the 2010 Ma-cy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Pride of Southern Mississippi,” Daniels said. “I had the time of my

life in New York City. The parade itself was an adrenaline rush. The people were lining the sides of the parade route and cheered for the Pride and the University of South-ern Miss as we marched by. The crowd was supportive and hyped to hear and see the Pride march-ing in the parade. Throughout the parade route, I heard consis-tent shouting and cheers such as ‘Southern Miss, to the top,’ ‘Go Mississippi,’ and ‘Southern Miss.’ It made my experience and the Pride’s experience top-notch. It feels great to know that we have fans in New York City.”

To earn money for the trip, band members asked for dona-tions throughout the year in the stadiums after half-time perfor-mances with Macy’s bags asking Golden Eagle football fans to help send the band to Macy’s.

The Pride fundraised to pay for their five-day stay in New York City. They raised between $300,000 and $325,000 within a year. The total cost of the trip was nearly $350,000, roughly $1,000 per member of the Pride.

Daniels also tells about some of the other opportunities they had in New York.

“Aside from marching in the 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the band got to do an array of things in NYC,” Dan-iels said. “We got to see a stellar performance of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. We did sev-eral bus tours of upper and lower Manhattan, seeing sights such as Carnegie Hall, Juilliard, Central Park, 5th Avenue, and Harlem. The band also had a tour of NBC studio in NYC along with the set of Saturday Night Live. For Thanksgiving dinner, the band went on an evening dinner cruise around the Statue of Liberty.”

macy’S, from 1

SGA will host its fourth annual Lighting the Way Wednesday. Twenty-six student organizations will decorate Christmas trees for the event.

Hunt Club, Hattiesburg. Bryant Hawkins/Printz

OpinionPage 4 Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Macy’s Parade: an inside scoopNatioNal

For those who don’t know, the Macy’s Parade is live only in New York. The showing you see is a re-cording of the parade and it starts at 9 a.m. in your time zone. Before we actually march the parade, how-ever, NBC’s executes its contin-gency plan. So, at 12:30 a.m. that morning – after four hours of sleep – the Pride gathered in our meet-ing room dressed in full uniform. (Well, most of us. I couldn’t find my hat.) We left the hotel at around 1 a.m. to head into Manhattan for a dress rehearsal of sorts. The run-through was recorded so that, in case it rained, the show could go on anyway. You’d think we would go back to sleep after that, but you’d be wrong again (remember that you were wrong about it being live.) Instead, after 15 minutes of rest on the bus, we headed into Manhattan to enjoy a breakfast buffet at Planet Hollywood. There was so much ba-con. My joy was short-lived, how-ever, as it was soon time to depart to Central Park West to line up for the 84th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Pa-rade. Sort of. First, we waited more. I saw Jimmy Fallon, Jessica Simpson and iCarly (or whatever her name is.) The Roots were on the float with Jimmy as well. I heard Kanye West and Justin Bieber were float-ing around somewhere too. West was in a convoy of black Cadillac Escalades, and Bieber was wherever a crowd of screaming 14-year-old girls were. The parade kicked off at 9 a.m. and the Pride did what we do best: put on a show. The millions

of people in attendance or watch-ing the parade on television had to be impressed; I was and I was marching in it. Our performance was mostly flawless; according to what people have told me and from what I saw, we represented our uni-versity and our state well. When we reached the end of the parade, we boarded the buses and returned to our hotel to catch up on the sleep we missed out on the night before. It was glorious. After a few hours at the hotel to get ready, the pièce de résistance was the next thing on our agenda. The Thanksgiving din-ner cruise was sublime. The food, the dancing, the company and the view were all excellent. Oh, and the bar was awesome, too. Just great. It was waterway robbery at about $15 a drink, but how many times does your marching band get into the Macy’s parade? Anyway, well-hydrated and fed, we disembarked and boarded the buses to return to the hotel to sleep.

That Friday was to be our last day in the Big Apple and at the meeting that morning, we were in for a sur-prise. The tour guides and band staff informed us that all the activities planned for the day were optional. We had the whole day to ourselves if we wanted to. My friends and I decided that we would spend the day exploring on our own. We went to Chinatown to haggle with shopkeepers and Little Italy to eat in questionable establishments. The cannolis were delicious though. We returned to Time’s Square to burn the 10 or so hours we had left to enjoy the city. The Charmin Rest-rooms were a great relief, with the lack of public ones in Manhattan. Pop Tarts World was cool too, in all of it’s Pop Tart greatness. It was a great end to a great trip. We fin-ished the night with a buffet dinner at Applebee’s. We returned to the hotel, packed, slept and awaited our

departure the next morning.While our time in New York

City is done, the memories that we’ve made here with our friends and Pride of Mississippi family will last forever. The publicity we have

provided Southern Miss is unprec-edented. Our band program will never be the same and, dare I say, none of us will either. I am proud to say that I am part of the university’s ongoing journey “to the top,” and I

will never forget this experience.

While marching in the parade, saxophone player Jonathan Andrews snaps a photo. The band performed at the Macy’s Parade in New York Thursday.

Jonathan Andrews/Printz

Jonathan AndrewsPrintz Writer

This was an article of opinion by Jonathan Andrews, a writer for the Student Printz. Email questions or comments to jonathan.andrews@eagles.usm.edu.

I am writing you this letter in regards to how I, as a student, feel about the janitorial staff. At The University of Southern Mississip-pi, there are known problems on the campus that need to be advo-cated but only so much has been done. It has come to my attention that the problem concerning the janitorial staff and the cleaning differences between the com-munity halls and the newly built apartment-style residence halls need to be addressed.

USM needs better janitorial

equipment and a different staff to take on the responsibilities of be-ing serious cleaners.

To begin with, living in a com-munity-style residence hall, I can only speak for my floor and its staff. And speaking on this behalf, I will say our janitor and her team does not sufficiently do their job. For us to be to living away from home and relying on the campus to help with transitions, problems should not include whether the bathrooms are clean! Besides shar-ing a room with one person, it’s more complicated sharing a floor/bathroom with at least 40 students.

As of right now things are fall-ing apart. It’s so frustrating how

unsanitary everything is. Our showers should have a proper steaming, so we can minimize the growing rate of bacteria. Also, we deserve to have our curtains replaced with new clean ones – ones that are not hanging on by a thread or ones that have dirt and mold growing on them. In ad-dition to that, how about some type of bug repellent for our now-friendly-but-will-bite-you-in-a-minute shower flies?

There have been days where we have gone without toilet paper, paper towels and soap. Constantly you’ll see hand-written notes on the mirrors, asking for a “clean restroom.” During a floor meet-

ing, we all chimed in our thoughts and opinions about how unjust it is to not have a proper clean-ing. Voicing our concerns to our head house-cleaner, she claimed, she “just so straightens” the bath-room. But we don’t need straight-ening. We need an actual cleans-ing for sanitary causes. It has been statistically proven that college freshmen, especially those who live in dormitories, are at a slight-ly increased risk of bacterial men-ingitis. If we’re paying thousands of dollars to go to college, then we deserve a properly cleaned bath-room to use. This leads me to my proposal, suggesting a new staff to take on such demanding efforts.

After conversing with a class-mate, who is housed in Century Park 2, she stated that each room gets a personal cleaning from the janitor, which has sparked many confrontational thoughts. She said the janitors come in the morning, and thoroughly sanitize the sinks, the tub/showers, and the toilets.

After observing a janitor’s cart, I noticed how the supplies are very limited and how much new supplies are needed. For example, research-ing I came across the new KleenJets (Mega, Ultra, and supreme). These steam cleaners are scientifically proven to kill 99.9% bacteria and mold on surfaces, which is certainly present on the tiles in all bathrooms.

USM, find hardworking janitorsAndrea Bradley is a freshman

criminal justice major from Pensacola, Fla.

letters to the editor

Opinion Page 5Tuesday, November 30, 2010

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L i s t e n O N L I N E A n y t i m e

Chicken scratch for time traveler’s soulnational

Even before my travels through-out time, I’ve always thought that political correctness was a funny thing. By that I mean that it’s some-thing that I really want to hold up and look at through a fisheye lens or dress up with a fruit hat and put next to a funhouse mirror or something. Political correctness is kind of like that kindergarten drawing where everything that should be green is green and everything that should be blue is blue, and everything is in between the lines. My teacher in kin-dergarten, she used to call drawings “chicken scratch” when they were not in between the lines and when green things were purple and blue things tangerine.

Political correctness actually pre-

fers to be called by its initials, P.C. Between you and me, I find that quite bothersome, since those are also my laptop’s initials. My laptop’s name is Perry Como, but it prefers to go by the P and the C because it doesn’t want people to know it’s Italian. A lot of people don’t like Italians, and I want to know why. I’ve heard people call Italians “gui-dos.” I know that’s very insulting to a lot of people out there, but hang on, it gets worse, unfortunately. In the future, when people want to be mean to Italians, they will call them “shpifftiks.” It doesn’t sound very nice, but there you go. People some-times like to use words for Italians other than “Italian.” I’m not sure what to make of that.

I’ve been to the future, actually. I’m in the future right now, writing this. Whoever said that the trickiest thing about time travel was figuring out verb tenses was right.

In the future, political correctness will still be around, and Perry Como, my laptop, will long ago have been thrown against my wall for heating up my CDs until they almost melt-

ed, and also for threatening to press charges against me for insensitive comments about Italians. It never did quite understand that my use of the words “guido” and “shpifftik” was entirely to facilitate this article about political correctness, and not to promote insensitive language. I suppose when I come back from the future to try to have this article published in the past, this paragraph will disappear. I do not know. Time travel is the chicken scratch of quan-tum physics. It might be better if this paragraph disappears, because then the paper would print my story be-cause I don’t say the word shpifftick.

In the future, free speech will ex-ist too, but it will have borders, like a country. For example, take South-west College in California, in the year 2010. Back then, they had some-thing called a “Free Speech Patio.” All the citizens of the Free Speech Patio were just like the residents of the outlying territories, except they were allowed to say things that they were thinking about. If I had gone to Southwest College in the year 2010, I would have tried to stand with one

foot on the Patio and one foot off, just to see what it would feel like. Then I would step all the way inside and yell “Fire on the Patio!” because I could. I bet that would freak people out. I would also try to round up as many banned books as I could, carry them to the Free Speech Patio and then release them back into the wild. In the future there will be a lot more Free Speech Patios.

In the future of the future, just before the robot conquest, political correctness will be dying out. Litera-ture on the subject will hail it as the first time in history that places like college campuses allow people of different skin colors, sex preferences, and opinions mix freely and make people angry. Because it will be so 2010 to get angry at things, man. Holographic teachers will teach about political correctness in history classes. The holographic chapter on P.C. will come just a couple of ho-lographic chapters after the War on Certain Books, which follows the War on Sodomites (the word “ho-mosexual” is deemed insensitive in the year 2016), which comes after

the War on Drugs, which in turn follows the holographic chapter on the Prohibition. There’s probably a lesson to be learned from all of this retrospection, but I will skip most of my history classes in the future to sleep in my anti-gravity bed, so I can’t be sure.

Three futures from 2010, political correctness will no longer be around anymore, but via a bizarre backflip of probability, Perry Como, my laptop, will be. Robots will have taken over by then, and they will have learned how to resurrect their fallen. There’s no need for political correctness among robots. By sheer coincidence, three futures from 2010, if a robot wants to make fun of a human, they will say that he or she “is so chicken scratch, bleep blorp bleep.”

You won’t be offended now. But just wait two hundred years. They think they’re so much better than everyone else, those qwerties. But...just don’t tell them I called them that.This was an article of opinion by Patrick Laughlin, a writer for The Student Printz. Email comments to patrick.laughlin@eagles.usm.edu.

Patrick LaughlinPrintz Writer

letters to the editor

Math Zone needs improvementHere at USM the math classes

are held very differently from what students are used to. Three years ago the school decided to implement a learning lab where the students learn basic math-ematics and do homework, quiz-zes, and tests on computers. What a brilliant idea! The Math Zone provides computers so that stu-dents can do their work. Some-times it becomes crowded, and there is usually a line for you to wait in for a computer. The only thing that you can get that is as close to a teacher is the video that is provided for each lesson. It helps a little but there is nothing

like an actual teacher there to help you. For students who are feeling the same way I do about the Math Zone, I propose a solution.

My first solution would be to let the students who have to take this required class have a choice of whether to take it online or in a classroom setting. This could ei-ther mean coming on campus to take the class or taking it online at your own pace. I think it would only be fair since we are paying for our education.

My second solution would be to hold the classes more than once a week. The students will go twice a week for at least one hour and fif-teen minutes. If this time doesn’t fit to the student, the class can be hosted other times, like other

classes on campus. This solution would be reasonable as that more can be taught during this time.

Also for the period of this class time, written work can be turned in for the teacher to grade instead of computer grading.

The last solution to this grow-ing problem would be to have the tutors that are provided to be able to speak clearly so that the prob-lem can be understood. I don’t think this problem is just my own personal issue. All students who are required to take this course probably feel the same, right?

By now, you may be wondering, with the recent budget and staff cuts, how the school will be able to afford more classes. I have the perfect idea!

The main reason that the Math Zone was implemented can be totally changed and shut down and only opened for designated reasons. It should only be used as a resource for tutoring. By this I

mean students can go in between designated hours and get help. They could also schedule an ap-pointment to get help as well.

This solution can work because like the chemistry lab on campus isn’t required for you to attend, it’s for tutoring and you go when the hours are open. They should use the tutors who are provided for the Math Zone to hold more classes. The only way that this could be possible is that the tutors who are at least working on a master’s degree or have already achieved one are re-quired to teach. With the numerous tutors, there are plenty of classes that could be held. The hours of operation for the Math Zone can be cut also; it stays open from nine to nine daily. It even operates through-out the weekend. The twelve hours that the facility operates uses tons of electricity that can be saved. This means more money can be provid-ed to pay the teachers.

There are one thousand plus

students enrolled in math, and they use the computers and elec-tricity on a daily basis which is very costly. I think this is a very cost-efficient alternative.

Throughout my first semester here, I’ve heard students refer to the Math Zone as stupid, and some have even said that they hate it. Some students were even enrolled at the beginning but dropped the class because of how it works, or because they were not passing. If this plan is imple-mented it would be best because more students would have the confidence to take it. It would also deter most students from going to their junior college back home to take it. The school is losing money if the students are not willing to take the class.

I hope any student reading this would like to support this new plan as well as I do. It will make students happier and regain the retention rate.

Gabrielle Price is a freshman from Moss Point, Miss.

Arts & EntertainmentPage 6 Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Natalie Kirk & Co. wait for a break

USM alumna Natalie Kirk, the lead singer of Natalie Kirk & Co., waits tables while she and her band await a big break.

� e singer-songwriter gradu-ated from USM in May 2008 with a degree in music production. She now has a record deal with South City Records and released her sec-ond album Nov. 18. She and her band, Natalie Kirk & Co., usually play in Hattiesburg weekly and in July began traveling more around the region.

“� e Hattiesburg community has really taken Natalie Kirk and Company in, and myself, doing acoustic acts,” Kirk said. “� ey love our stu� , and they keep com-ing to see us. Everybody’s really supportive of what we’re doing.”

The band’s drummer, Jon Barr, graduated from USM in 2008 with a degree in marine biology. The band’s guitarist, John Mark Odom, will graduate in December with a degree in music production.

Sitting on the back porch of her house in Hattiesburg, where she’s written some of her songs, Kirk described her band mates, point-ing to the le� and right as she did, clearly accustomed to sitting on stage with her fellow musicians beside her.

“Jon is the most dedicated person I think I’ve ever seen,” Kirk said. “He’s got such color about him. He’s the force be-

hind the band, and John Mark is the fun, and always reminds us we’re doing this for fun and that’s what this should be about and we need to turn the people onto what we’re doing – and meanwhile he’s just shredding the guitar for 15 minutes.”

Odom has been with the band for a little over a year and has lately taken on a more influential role, he said. He’s helped with songwriting, and he’s worked with Kirk to define the band’s direction.

“It’s weird because we’re all so di� erently in� uenced,” Odom explained. “Natalie loves acoustic music, and I like that, too, but it’s not what I listen to. I listen to very jam-band, improvisational, kind of jazzy type stu� . And she really does like to jam. She loves to just sit back and play and not have to sing. I’m always trying to tell her we don’t have to be a full-on jam band, but if we started doing a bunch of tunes with more instru-mental stu� thrown in, people would really like that.”

Odom has known Kirk longer than he’s known the band, and he described Kirk’s music as rare.

“Her music is so honest,” he said. “It’s great, because a lot of artists or people when they write they kind of separate themselves and kind of write in a weird way, but her music is just completely her, 100 percent who she is. You can’t really separate her from it. � at’s something that’s pretty rare I think.”

� e band has traveled to Baton Rouge, Natchez, Destin, Mobile,

Birmingham and more. Kirk has also performed in Paris, in an “end-of-the-semester jam” for students who had been studying there, as well as in London, as part of her senior project.

Kirk said her inspiration to per-form came from watching country music videos when she was younger.

“Every time I watched those vid-eos I like teared up, and I was like, ‘I have to do that,’” she said. “It was like a message from God or something.”

Speci� cally, Martina McBride and Lorrie Morgan videos le� an impression on the young Kirk.

“� ey’re just strong women, and they have a voice that won’t quit,” Kirk said, still in awe of the country singers. “When you hear it, you feel something, and you can tell it’s from the soul.”

Kirk said her career so far has been full of opportunities. Still, the singer has more on her to-do list.

“I want to play at Austin City Limits,” Kirk said when asked her goals for the future. “Long-term, maybe I want to own my own label. I want to tour with Dave Matthews. I want to change the lives of people through music. I want to change the scope of music altogether.”

Kirk added that she hopes to write a book about her life some-day, “hoping that in the next ten years or something it’s been this amazing life,” she said.

“I want to do a lot. I want to give money to people. I want to have money so I can give it to people.”

Kirk doesn’t plan on leav-ing the Hattiesburg community that’s been so supportive of her band, but the ambitious singer said she might have to.

“I think by this time next year – October, November – if things are just the same, I might move to Tennessee – Nashville,” she said. “But I love Hattiesburg. I want it to be home, where I can go and travel during the week and then come back here. But if I have to move to make things happen, to make it, then I’m going to move.”

Odom said, too, that he’d like to see the band continue traveling.

“My theory is – you go to a bar and you play a show and maybe there’s only 15 or 20 or 30 people there, but if two people at that show like it, they’re going to tell ten people. If you consistently do

that at all these venues, you’ll have a consistent fan base build up.”

� e band’s manager, Gabby Gara from Niagara Falls, said she � rst heard Kirk sing at Brown-stone’s. She saw potential in the band and became friends with them. Now, she books their shows and helps to “get them where they should be,” she said.

“I think her and the band – I think they’ll make it someday,” Gara said. “� ey don’t need to just be in Hattiesburg. � ey’re too good to be local. I’ve just never heard anybody sing like her. I just believe in them, and I think they’ll go really far; I think they deserve to.”

Samantha SchottExecutive Editor

LOCAL

From left to right, bass player Kyle Baughman, drummer Jon Barr, lead singer Natalie Kirk, and guitarist John Mark Odom

Courtesy of Natalie Kirk & Co.

Natalie Kirk performs a song at Old Athens Grill in Hattiesburg.Samantha Schott/Printz

Natalie Kirk & Co., a band made up of three USM musicians, performs often in Hattiesburg and has

begun traveling around the region.

SpecialTuesday, November 30, 2010 Page 7

Students sing for the holidaysOn CampuS

(Above) Members of Kappa Delta sorority perform during Songfest 2010. The annual choral competition benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

All photos by Bryant Hawkins/Printz

(Left) Members of Kappa Delta sorority perform during Songfest 2010. Tri Delta sorority won first place for females, and Sigma Nu fraternity won first place for males. Phi Mu sorority won first place overall.

(Above) Members of Phi Mu sorority perform during Songfest 2010. The annual choral competition pits student organizations against each other to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Phi Mu were the overall winners of the competition with a “Red Box Christmas.”

(Above) A fraternity performs during Songfest 2010. The annual choral competition pits student organizations against each other to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

SportsPage 8 Tuesday, November 30, 2010

FOOTBALL

Southern Miss Sports: Upcoming GamesSaturday at 7:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball @ Ole MissOxford, Miss

Saturday Dec. 11 at 3:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball @ Tennessee St.Nashville, Tenn.

Saturday Dec. 11 at 4:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball @ Cal St. Monterey BaySeaside, Calif.

Southern Miss Box Score

Football:11/26 vs. Tulsa L, 59-41

M. Basketball:11/22 vs. Spring Hill W, 94-41

W. Basketball:11/26 vs. Lousisiana-Laf W, 76-7311/27 Kentucky L, 79-60

Volleyball:11/27 @ Tulane L, 3-0

Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.Women’s Basketball @ GeorgiaAthens, Ga.

Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball vs. Alcorn St.Reed Green Coliesum

Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball vs. Arkansas Little RockReed Green Coliseum

Day: WednesdayDate: Dec. 1, 2010Location: Reed Green ColiesumTime: 7:00 p.m. CT

Men’s Basketball vs. Alcorn St.

Day: Saturday Date: Dec. 4, 2010Location: Reed Green ColiesumTime: 5:00 p.m. CT

Women’s Basketball vs. Alcorn St.

(Above) Seymour holds a sign that reads “Defense” wondering where the team Nasty Buch was Friday Nights as the University of Tulsa host the University of Southern Miss at HA Champman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Friday.

Christopher Bostick/Printz

(Left) Sophomore wide receiver Quentin Pierce catches a 67-yard pass from quarterback Austin Davis as the University of Tulsa host the University of Southern Miss at HA Champman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. on Friday.

(Above) Head Coach Larry Fedora looks off in frustration after a failed conversion on 3rd down as the University of Tulsa host the University of Southern Miss at HA Champman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Friday.

Christopher Bostick/Printz

(Right) Senior defensive back Charles Davis gets a hand in knocking the ball away from Johdrick Morris saving a touchdown for the Golden Hurricanes as the University of Tulsa host the University of Southern Miss at HA Champman Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Friday.

Eagles lose heartbreaker in Tulsa 59-41