Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Crowns Miss Black and Gold 2011

The annual  Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant allows the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to show their appreciation for the talents beauty and intelligence of women.  Contestants competed in swimwear, talent, formal wear, and interview.  The winner will go on to compete in the fraternity's regional, district and national pageant, representing the Ole Miss Chapter of the fraternity. Contestants and fraternity members received special awards for their commitment to the  pageant and their dedication to success.  Poinesha Barnes is crowned 2011 Miss Black and Gold. CLICK HERE TO WATCH

University of Mississippi and The men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. host the national Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant every year. The goal of the pageant is for the women who participate to gain confidence, self esteem and a relationship with the other contestants and brothers of the fraternity.

Ole Miss Students Are Cracking Down For Finals

The University of Mississippi is preparing for final examinations. Students and faculty are taking every advantage of the J.D Williams Library more than usual. All students have different study shou habits and need different environments. Students can also chat a librarian online if they need to find something out. To see what Ole Miss students are doing to prepare for finals, click here.

New Taylor Bend Apartments coming to Oxford, MS

Warren and Andy Callicutt have decided to turn their 7 acre lot located on Old Taylor Road into a 96 unit Apartment Complex. The Taylor Bend Apartments are sure to be the newest and nicest apartments in town. This process will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase consisting of 84 units and the second phase will include the last 12.

Patton&Taylor Construction Company from Germantown, TN will be doing everything from the dirt work of the apartments to the swimming pool and workout facilities.

The apartments will make room for hundreds to move into Oxford, MS.

For more info click here

Athletes Focus Taken By Homesickness

Many student athletes at the University of Mississippi are from places far away. Mental anxiety torments athletes as they have to stay in Oxford for the holidays. Oxford clears out during breaks from school and leaves the athletes feeling lonely and homesick. The athletes that are left here rarely see any family year-round.

By: AJ Hawkins

Oxford Lafayette Humane Society's efforts to increase adoption rates

With the building of their new shelter in just less than a year, the Oxford Lafayette Humane Society hopes to increase their pet adoption rates. This animal shelter is a great addition to the community, showing that Oxford and Lafayette County are serious about the care of the people and animals in local neighborhoods. Communications Director, Sarah Turcotte says, "With the location of the shelter being so close into town, we have seen more volunteers". The new and improved animal shelter is located at 413 McElroy Drive.

Ole Miss Students Prepare for Finals

With finals week right around the corner it is that time of year again at Ole Miss where students pile into the library to finish up last minute assignments and start studying for finals as their fall 2011 semester is coming to an end. Many Ole Miss students destination spot for studying is in the JD Williams library located in the heart of campus. With the hectic week approaching many students are stressed with the great amount of work they are facing and are eager to find the perfect study spot. Laptops, notebooks, textbooks, and coffees sprawl across the desks of Ole Miss students as they prepare for the week approaching.

The library is open 24 hours the week of and the week approaching finals for students to have full access to the library and their resources. Not only are their multiple floors with desks, chairs, and rooms to find the perfect study spot but there is also a Starbucks to get the caffeine needed to keep studying.

For more on the story click here.

Tradition of Graffiti in Oxford, Miss.'s Tunnels

There's a hidden canvas in Oxford for local artists. 

Just beneath Jackson, University, and many roads in between, rests tunnel walls that high school and college students use for art.

The draw for students to what are just ordinary drainage tunnels started with curiosity - myths of James Meredith roaming through the tunnels had one Ole Miss student and graffiti artist, Rebecca, wondering what lies beneath. Graffiti now lines miles of walls throughout the tunnels.

The penalty for vandalism in Mississippi is nothing to fool around with, including a fine and jail time. Yet, year after year, students keep coming back, passing the myth and tradition to their friends.

For more on the story, click here.

Senior Casey Silberman prepares for her last fall finals

With fall 2011 semester finals just around the corner Ole Miss student Casey Silberman talks about how she prepares for finals. With this being her last fall semester Casey seems to have her study regimen down. Silberman says studying in the JD Williams library is her favorite spot to go. She said while some people can’t study there the library it’s the only place she can get completely focused and get stuff done. With the copy machine, printer and tons of books at her finger tips Casey finds the studying process a breeze. The library is open 24 hours during the week of finals. The new Starbucks located on the second floor is a nice study break for Casey. She has been studying a lot more this semester to help ease the stressful week of finals. Casey is finishing her last fall semester at the University.

Stress and Uncertainty is Prevalent Among Senior Ole Miss Pre-Med Students

Senior year can be stressful for all students. Pressure from exams and plans for after college can be widespread throughout the student body. However, for Pre-Med students, senior year is the most stressful time of the year, especially during the fall. Four years of non-stop work does not guarantee entrance into medical school. A long and arduous process comes with applying to medical school.

Not only is a high GPA required for acceptance, each student must also be involved in extracurricular activities. MCAT scores also play a major role in getting accepted. The application process can take months and then interviews take place soon after. One of the more popular schools that students apply to is Ole Miss’ medical school. Not everyone that applies is guaranteed an interview, and once the interviews are over, nothing is certain. The pressure of applying to medical school, taking the MCAT, and focusing on undergrad classes can be a burden that not many other students have to endure.

Click here for the video

Oxford Studio Cinema Christmas

Going to the movies just got better. Every Saturday until Christmas the Malco Oxford Studio Cinema will have Santa Claus available for children to sit with and tell him what they want for Christmas. Along with Santa the Malco has put up Christmas decorations for the children to admire. Click here to see the promotion for Arthur Christmas, held by the Malco on November 26,2011

Houston Nutt, Rebels Finish Disastrous Season

On November 7th, Chancellor Dan Jones and Athletic Director Pete Boone announced that Ole Miss Head Football Houston Nutt was fired. Nutt would be allowed to coach the final three games of the season.

In the first game following the announcement, the Rebels fell to Lousiana Tech 27-7 before a sparse crowd of 44,123. Coach Nutt admitted following the game that the announcement of his firing the previous Monday had a "snowball effect" on the teams struggles. The Rebels stand at 2-8 on the season. In the rugged SEC conference, the team has lost 13 straight games.

The Rebels next had to face the #1 LSU Tigers before closing the season on the road Saturday in the annual Egg Bowl vs. Mississippi State.

To see a recap of both games click here

Ole Miss's Campus could be going Smoke- Free

The University of Mississippi's campus currently has designated smoking areas but this could change. Some students would like to see the campus go completely smoke-free.

There is a survey on the Ole Miss Associated Student Body's Facebook, where students can express their opinions on this topic and help ASB decided whether or not they should take this matter further. Many other Universities have already passed this initiative.

Studies have shown that one in five college students smoke. Smoking is a result of over 440,000 deaths in America each year and over 50,000 deaths from second hand smoke.

For more information on Ole Miss's thoughts about a smoke free campus, click here.

Penn State Scandal Raises Abuse Awareness in Lafayette County

Child abuse is nothing new in this world, but recent scandals such as the Jerry Sandusky case have put child abuse in the spotlight.

The media attention on Penn State brings attention to child abuse on a local level. Lora Leigh Cockrell with the Lafayette County Department of Human Services says that child abuse cases are relatively small compared to the rest of the state, but they do exist. Part of this reason is the small population of Oxford and Lafayette County.

No matter the number of cases, the fact that child abuse is still prevalent in today's society is a problem. Oxford Police Investigator Jimmy Williams says that waiting too late to tell a child about the privacy of their bodies could result in abuse.

"Waiting until they are five or six years old... is way too late," Williams says.

The answer to combatting the rising number of child abuse cases is education, according to both Cockrell and Williams.

"We must educate our communities," says Cockrell. "A lot of people don't realize that this is a problem right here."

To learn how you can prevent or report child abuse, visit the National Child Abuse website.

The Daily Mississippian at Ole Miss: Hard Workers and SEJC Winners

The staff of the Daily Mississippian plans future issues in daily meetings.

The staff of the Daily Mississippian is always hard at work, publishing articles about campus and city events relevant to the Ole Miss student body. This student publication, based in the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center won a number of awards in the 2010 Southeast Journalism conference.

The editors and managers contribute great amounts of effort to keep the newspaper running smoothly, and it's the enjoyment they get from the job that keeps them going.

"What makes the job fun is the people I work with," Campus News Director Jacob Batte said. "I wouldn't have stuck around for as long as I did if it weren't for the people."

The only thing that the staff sees as an obstacle is having to manage both the newspaper and their academic careers. Editor-In-Chief Cain Madden said the job would be much easier if he didn't have to go to class and do homework.

Below are the thoughts from a few of the staff members.

Woodson Ridge Farms Grows Locally in Oxford, MS

With a growing trend in eat fresh and buy local, the Oxford, MS community is supporting regional producers and the farm to table movement. Woodson Ridge Farms, a family owned vegetable farm on the outskirts of Oxford, provides some of the best restaurants in Oxford- such as City Grocery, Proud Larry's, and Boure- with produce harvested daily from their fields.

"Where is the one place that people always gather- it's the kitchen," said Finley Hewes, owner of Woodson Ridge Farms. Food brings people together, and buying locally only encourages community growth. In this way, Woodson Ridge focuses on using home grown vegetables in an effort to educate people about the benefits of choosing healthier options that support a lasting local economy. Local farmers such as Woodson Ridge preach "Eat fresh. Buy local. Build community."

Ole Miss Student Tommy Brooker Has a Peculiar Pet

After growing up with dogs for pets as a child, Ole Miss student Tommy Brooker heard about miniature pot belly pigs and was intrigued. Brooker researched the animals, and decided that a miniature pot belly pig was just the kind of pet he wanted.

Currently weighing around 30 pounds, Tommy's pig could weigh anywhere from 30-60 pounds as it grows up. Pig's like his are a far cry from true, full-size pigs that live on farms and in the wild.

Just like cats, dogs, and other household pets, there are adoption agencies, shelters, and pig rescue programs all over the United States for those interested in going outside the norm for their next pet.

For more on Tommy and his pet pig "Porkchop," click here

How could Initiative 26 fail in a state like Mississippi?

This November Mississippi voters took to the polls over the controversial Initiative 26, which could have banned most abortions in Mississippi. The bill was voted down, although early projections led many to believe 26 would pass.

Cy Rosenblatt, a UM political science professor, suggests that it failed because voters carefully examined the bill and felt it simply was not a good bill.

On the other hand, Ole Miss freshman Lizzie Zarich says "I believe that a woman has the right to her own body. I think that banning any kind of contraceptive is a bad idea, particularly since Mississippi has such a high teen pregnancy rate and 26 would have eliminated some inexpensive forms of the pill popular among young people."

Although 26 failed, Personhood USA, the group behind the initiative, have hinted at the idea they may make a comeback.

For the full interviews from Rosenblatt and Zarich, click here.

Ole Miss May Take Steps to Change Its Smoking Policy

The University of Mississippi’s smoking policy may see some changes in the future. The Associated Student Body has a survey link on their Facebook page asking students about the issues with smoking. While some students are in favor of a smoke-free campus, others are not. One of the main issues is that certain groups of smokers do not smoke in the designated areas. The other main issue is that the University Police Department has a hard time enforcing the smoking policy. Because of these issues, some students have been pushing for a smoke-free campus.

Smoking has been proven to show increases in coronary heart disease, respiratory disease, and lung cancer. It is the leading cause of deaths with about 450,000 people dying a year in America. College aged students have the highest smoking rate in America with 32.7 percent. Nothing is certain on whether or not smoking will be removed from the Ole Miss campus, but steps are starting to be made in that direction.

For more information on the Ole Miss Smoking Policy, click the link:
Video Link

Ole Miss Rebel Black Bear still awaiting acceptance from some fans

The Ole Miss Rebel Black Bear has completed his first season cheering on the Rebel football team from the sidelines. He had some notable moments during the season such as his "Nutt" costume for the game versus Arkansas, the wearing of a box over his head during the homecoming game against Louisiana Tech or his failure to be seen during the Egg Bowl game against Mississippi State.

While Rebel's antics this season might not endear him to some older fans, Michael Thompson, the senior associate athletics director for marketing and communications, says that the bear's main goal is to get more kids involved in and bigger fans of Ole Miss. The Rebel Kids Club allowed members to hang out with Rebel before the homecoming game and participate in the Walk of Champions with the football team.
"Rebel is at the Rebel Fanfare before the games and the kids want to line up and have pictures taken with him," Thompson said.
Older fans are skeptical of the bear and think that the black bear should be there as a symbol of the university geared towards the students, not the children of alumni.
"Are we trying to be like Penn State and recruit 10 year-olds now?" one fan asked.
For more on the Rebel the Black Bear's first season on the sidelines, click here.

MidSouth Food Bank Struggles and Black Friday Sales are Rising

The MidSouth Food Bank is dedicated to serving the less fortunate throughout the year and holiday season. Unfortnately this year, the food bank is struggling to meet the holiday demand. With unemployment on the rise, more and more families in the MidSouth area are needing help with the Thanksgiving groceries. More canned goods are being donated, which of course helps with filling Thanksgiving baskets, but the turkey shelves are growing more bare by the day.

Another business that has shoppers cleaning out the shelves is Target. Many vendors participate in Black Friday sales. Shoppers can rack up some amazing deals by following certain websites that offer coupons to help you save! Target opened its doors at midnight and the first shopper to walk through the doors waited for over nine hours to get her Christmas presents for her children. Target employees had shoppers stand in line that eventually wrapped around the entire building and into the parking lot. Shoppers were allowed into the building 30 people at a time, every 15 seconds. Electronics such as TVs, cameras, DVDs, and video games were some of the hot ticket items.

To learn more about the Thanksgiving festivities, click here.

LSU Game Last for Ole Miss Seniors

LSU's 52-3 rout of the Rebels was the last game the Ole Miss seniors would play at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The seniors leaving Ole Miss played through all four of head coach Houston Nutt's years in the program. Seniors such as Kentrell Lockett, Brandon Bolden, Bradley Sowell, Marcus Temple and Wayne Dorsey were apart of two winning seasons, including back-to-back Cotton Bowl victories in 2008 and 2009, and two losing seasons after going 4-8 in 2010 and 2-9 heading into the last game of this year. Full story below.

Ole Miss Campus Recreation Encourages Students To Stay Fit Over Holidays

The Turner Center, a recreational facility at the University of Mississippi is hosting a Holiday Weight Challenge sponsored by Healthworks and Campus Recreation. The challenge is open to all students, faculty and members of the Turner Center. The overall goal of the challenge is for you to maintain your current weight throughout the holiday season.

The first sets of weigh-ins were on Nov. 15-18 and final weigh-ins will be on Jan. 3- 6. Prizes will be given for those who complete the challenge over the longest period of time and to the best of their ability.

“This event will give students an incentive to make smart eating decisions and workout over the holiday breaks from school,” said Jenn Hall, Turner Center Fitness Grad Assistant.

Try not to be one of the average Americans who gains up to seven pounds this holiday season. Be sure to use portion control and remain active throughout the holidays. By doing this you will have a healthier and happier holiday season through the New Year!

To learn more information about the challenge, click here.

OLE MISS AOII RAISES MONEY FOR ARTHRITIS WITH PIE SALE

Sororities and fraternities at Ole Miss as well as on campuses across the country are most known for their parties, but Greeks give back to the community in many ways. At the University of Mississippi, Tri Delta has a pancake dinner benefiting St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Phi Pi has a chili cook off benefiting First Book, and Alpha Omicron Pi has a pie sale to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

Many people do not realize that women are the most prone to having arthritis. 41 million women in America are affected by arthritis in some way or another. The Arthritis Foundation is has special meaning to AOII, because of how many members of AOII that have been affected by the disease. Thanks to the money that Alpha Omicron Pi has raised throughout the years, many research grants have been given to fund arthritis related projects.

The AOII Pie sale raised over $10,000 dollars for the Arthritis foundation and this is just one event that the ladies put on in order to raise awareness as well as money for the Arthritis Foundation. In the spring, AOII will "Strike Out Arthritis" with a kickball game in which all proceeds will go directly to the Arthritis Foundation.

For more information on the Pie Sale, click here.

Holloway Returns To Ole Miss

Following the 2009-2010 Ole Miss basketball season, Murphy Holloway left the program to take care of some family issues that needed to be dealt with back at his home in South Carolina. After paying his own way and sitting out last years basketball season at South Carolina, Holloway decided that the issues at hand had been dealt with and with that decided to transfer back to Ole Miss. After arriving back in Oxford, Ole Miss requested that the one year residency required for transfer students be waived. The Ole Miss basketball program was notified in October that the NCAA had reviewed the request and had accepted their request, declaring Holloway eligible to play immediately for the Rebels. Through the first six games of the season Holloway looks to have not missed a beat on the court. Holloway is leading the team in rebounds per game while being third on the team in points per game. For more information click here.

Clarksdale MS Embraces Local Blues Club Ground Zero

Nestled in the north Mississippi plains lies a special relationship between a small rural town and their world-famous blues club. Since May 2001, Ground Zero has been treating visitors with crispy fried-green tomatoes and foot-tapping southern blues.
Ground Zero also supports local musicians (like the TCB &The Homeboyz Blues Band that plays in this feature) with an opportunity to play in front of large crowds.
Clarksdale, along with support from Ground Zero, also hosts two local annual blues festivals: JukeJoint (April 12-15) and the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival (August 10-12).
Ground Zero has also influenced other local bars, like the Stone Pony, to embrace the blues culture and give local musicians an audience to play for.
After meeting the locals and experiencing Ground Zero for the first time, it is clear why this place means some much to it's community and those passing through for a good time.

Click here for the link to the video

Ole Miss Students Deal with Stress During Final Exams

The end of the semester is right around the corner, and students at the University of Mississippi are looking forward to having no classes. However, before they head home for the holidays they must encounter the stress that comes with preparing for final exams. The campus library has its busiest hours during this time of the semester as students pile in and stay until early hours of the morning. Even though students find their own ways of dealing with stress during finals week, the university and the Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society team up to take studying off of students' minds. Each year during the end of the semester, the humane society brings volunteers to walk dogs in front of the Ole Miss Student Union. Students are allowed to pet and walk the dogs around campus and hopefully get their minds off of tests for a short time. For more information on how students deal with stress, click here.

Ole Miss Adopt-A-Basket Program

As Ole Miss students count down the days to vacation and a feast of turkey, other families are wondering how they will be able to put food on the table. That is where the Adopt-A-Basket program comes in. Ole Miss students and faculty come together to collect and package boxes of food for needy families living around the Oxford-Lafayette area.

This is the sixth year that the program has taken place. Hundreds of families have received food through adopt-a-basket,however, with the economy being so bad, even more families are in need of a helping hand. That is why this year, there was a goal of 500 hundred boxes of food. The office of the Dean of Students/Volunteer Services sponsors the event and has all of the important information.

For a link to this video click here.

Something About the Meek School of Journalism

This appears to be a meeting of some bigwigs from the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss. They must be bigwigs because Dr. Schultz is not present.

Remember, you do not want to overlink, like showing a picture of something really dumb or not related to the story.

Headline about J-School

This appears to be a photo of J-School faculty or bigwigs doing something. It's probably not very important. They are at Ole Miss. They work at the Meek School of Journalism & New Media.

Here is a story about the School's first graduation ceremony.

Acts 1:8 Mission Society Helps Oxford, MS Families

It may seem unusual for a church mission group based in St. Louis, Missouri to help people in Oxford, Mississippi. But that's exactly what the Acts 1:8 Mission Society has done, and is still doing. "Our work has no boundaries," says group director Pastor Randy Wilken. "We try to find people who have fallen through the cracks and help them, wherever they are."

A former contractor, Wilken and about a dozen or so teenagers find homes in need of repair and rebuild them. In the process, they also rebuild lives and families. "It's really more about creating community and fostering families," says Wilken.

The group got to Mississippi almost by accident. They were headed to a national Lutheran youth gathering in New Orleans, and saw that Oxford was about halfway. They contacted the local church, Peace Lutheran, and asked for a place to stay the night. The group has now been back to Oxford four times since that first visit in July 2010.

Now, the group is trying to raise money to do its work in South Africa. They are distributing a CD/DVD which includes South African Themba singers, singing together with American recording artist Erin Bode.

You can find information on Acts 1:8 and the DVD by clicking here.

Ole Miss Student Athletes Buckle Down as Semester Ends.

As the spring semester comes to an end at Ole Miss, student-athletes are cracking down on practice time and increasing on study time. The Fed-Ex is a place where the students athletes can go to receive tutoring or just a quiet room to study in. This is a busy time for all students due to the fact that final exams are quickly approaching.

For more information on this story click here.

Oxford's Lamar Park No Longer Conducive To Dogs, But New Dog Park Opens Nearby

Lamar Park is one of Oxford's largest and most beautiful recreational parks. Located off of Country Club Drive, it has long been a staple for residents and students looking to get outdoors. In years past, the park has been a haven for dog owners. As the park was once a golf course, its spacious, grassy fairways provide a great environment for dogs to run free.

Rampant dogs, however, have run themselves into new, strict leash laws. Several accidents ushered in the new law. One accident, which may have been the last straw, involved a loose canine knocking down an elderly woman, and breaking her wrist. While the park has certainly never had an issue with malicious dogs, the increasing number of dogs running free became hazardous to young children and other people trying to enjoy the park.

So, where in Oxford can dogs safely play? The answer has sprung up just down the street. Oxford's new Humane Society has built a completely fenced in dog park right next door. The grassy area is over an acre in size and open to the public. It allows dogs of all shapes and sizes to bark, wrestle, and chase tennis balls until they beg for the couch.