"Doing the Most Good" outside of Oxford, Miss.

In the wake of disasters, one organization is always known for “doing the most good.” After the deadly storms that tore through the south the last week of April, it was no surprise to see the Salvation Army living up to their “good” reputation in areas that were hit hardest by the storms, such as Tuscaloosa, Ala. What was even better was the fact that the Army had not forgotten about smaller areas, such as Pine Flat, Miss.

Pine Flat, a little town fifteen minutes away from Ole Miss, was hit extremely hard by the storms. Houses were torn apart and those left intact were without water or electricity. Devastation was visible on nearly every road.

Though Pine Flat has a much smaller population than Tuscaloosa, the need was still present. The Salvation Army saw they were needed and were quickly available to help.

They arrived the day after t storm with meals, clothes, water, and workers. Levon Johnson, a Salvation Army employee, was there to help clean up some of the mess.

He said that the storm was so powerful it, “turned pieces of plastic into bullets.” Johnson discovered a tree earlier that morning with piece of siding from houses that driven deep into the bark.

Pine Flat native, Russell Wells, was extremely thankful for the selflessness of the Army. “I am so thankful that they are here,” he said in an off camera interview.

The Salvation Army has made it a point to say they will be in Pine Flat and any other areas affect by the storms for as long as they are needed.

If interested in making donations, the University Residents Housing Association will be having drop off areas for “Lighten Your Load.” All donations go to the Salvation Army in order to help the storm victims. They are in need of lightly used clothes, toiletry items, and imperishable food items.

Storm Scare

Recent Tornadoes Raise Awareness on Ole Miss Campus

On April 27, 2011, what started out to be a normal day to most, University of Mississippi students and faculty found themselves face to face with a storm threat that could have potentially wreaked havoc across their campus. After seeing the devastation that this storm left around the Mississippi and Alabama area, students have become more cautious about the safety measures to take when a tornado watch or warning arises.

On Wednesday morning, before the storm even hit, dorm residents were not allowed to walk to their classes. Emily Moultrop, a sophomore resident of Crosby Hall, said "There was an older man with a panicked look on his face telling us that he wasn't going to let us go outside and that we needed to go ahead and walk down to the basement. I was so confused because it was just raining outside, and that was all." Minutes later, though, the tornado sirens began to sound and students across campus were ushered into basements and hallways. "Of course, now I am so thankful that we were told to get to safety. I didn't realize how bad it could have been", said Moultrop.

Though Oxford was not hit hard by the tornado, it left students thankful that they took the precautionary steps they, especially after seeing the devastation in Tuscaloosa. "I honestly could not imagine if Oxford got hit as bad as Tuscaloosa did", said Taylor Bilbo, a sophomore at Ole Miss." After seeing what happened to them, I won't take storms lightly anymore and I'll be in a basement as soon as the siren sounds."

A beneficial step Ole Miss takes towards keeping students aware of severe weather is providing "Reb Alerts". They are text messages sent out to student's phones to warn them about severe thunderstorms, tornado watches and warnings. These alerts can be extremely helpful, especially if a student cannot be reached by any other warning.

The recent devastation across the south has caused campus wide awareness among students, making it more evident than ever to be cautious during severe weather. Students are even reaching out by gathering donations for those who have lost everything and going to visit the cities that are in ruins.

Though Ole Miss prides itself in being one of the most safest campus's in the south, no one can ever be too aware of the desolation that storms can cause. Students have now seen firsthand what these storms can do and have every reason to be more aware than ever.

More Than a Meal

Giving Back to Oxford
"More Than a Meal Helps Children in Oxford Weekly"

Volunteers contribute to the community in a way that provides not only a delicious meal but an experience filled with friends and hope.

They do this every Tuesday by providing the children of Oxford with benefits beyond food.

It is a wonderful thing when a community can step up in any way and help people that are a little less fortunate. When you can mix a basic necessity like food with things like God's words, education, and friendship you get more than a meal. While doing so, they help the children study through tutoring as well as engage them in fun activities.

Because of this program, children are provided with everything Oxford has to offer.

Rush Is Hard Work For All

Excited new members of Alpha Omicron Pi on bid day

Every fall, freshman and sophomore girls that are interested in joining sororities participate in a week long event called Rush. The girls, known to active members of the sororities as Potential New Members (PNMs), are introduced to every house on campus and decide which one they like the most. However, a PNM may like a house, but the active members may not feel that is the right fit for them. Rush is a very overwhelming experience for many girls because they are introduced to so many new people and they have a really big decision to make that will affect their 4 years at the University of Mississippi. It is also a big event for the active members. Little do most people know, they work months in advance for this week. Starting in the spring months, such as March and April, the newest members of the chapter are required to attend Rush practices.

Jackie Taggart, an active member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, said that they started their Rush practices in March. She said that they usually last about an hour long and they talk about how to approach PNMs. There are many rules that the Panhellic council sets out that active members must abide by. They cannot ride in a car or hang out one on one with PNMs between the months of June until the week after Rush. This is to make sure that there is no “dirty rushing.” Which means that an active member tries to convince a PNM to go their sorority another time other than Rush week. These rules are enforced so all PNMs have an equal chance of picking a sorority.

Ginger Baldwin, an active member of the sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, feels that the practices before summertime are unnecessary. That over the summertime the information that they learned will more than likely be forgotten so it is a waste of time when they could be studying. Many other sorority girls feel this way too because all of the sororities hold a Rush workshop the week before school starts. The sophomore girls are required to come back to Oxford a week early and everyday from 9 to 5 they are trained on the appropriate way to rush PNMs. They also go into full detail about each night of Rush.

The first two nights are philanthropy round which is where are PNMs going to all 9 houses and learn about what each sorority does to help out the community. The third night, the PNMs narrow down 6 houses and go to each one to watch a skit the chapter puts on to help talk about what their sorority is all about. The fourth night is very personal, preference round. All PNMs go back to their final 3 houses and the active members give intimate testimonials about how much their sorority means to them and talk about sisterhood. Then after that the PNMs place the sororities in ranking order. The first choice being the house they want the most and the last one being the house they didn’t quite as like as the first two. This is a stressful decisions for many PNMs.

The final day is bid day! All the PNMs meet in the circle by the Lyceum and are given an envelop with a bid card inside it. After they open them up, they run to their new home! Its a great experience for many girls and on bid day, both the active members and the now new members breathe a sigh of relief from all the hard work they put into for one week.

http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/panhellenic/Ole_Miss_Panhellenic_Council/Welcome.html

http://dos.olemiss.edu/greek/

By Devin Savage

Rising Gas Prices Raise Concerns of University Officials

University officials discuss the effects on campus faculty and prospective students






College students across the country are clinging a little tighter to their wallets in the midst of rising gas prices, but they aren't the only ones being affected.

"I think students often forget that this University functions as a business," said University of Mississippi Dean of Students Sparky Reardon. "We have bills to pay and paychecks to write. The recent rise in gas prices may not have impacted us just yet, but it hasn't escaped our attention."

One of the primary concerns for Reardon is the effect rising gas prices could have on commuting faculty and staff.

"A lot of our students forget that not all of the University's staff live in the Oxford area. When you consider how expensive it can be to buy or rent a house in this area, it makes sense to hear that many of our faculty choose to live outside of the area and commute on a daily basis. They're just as upset about spending that extra buck at the pump as anyone else."

Reardon said that efforts have been made to make commuting to campus via alternative methods easier, such as encouraging the use of bicycles and the O.U.T. bus.

While Reardon focuses on current University residents, Associate Director of Enrollment Services Jody Lowe is more concerned with individuals who haven't even turned their high school tassel.

"The rising gas prices are a significant concern for the Office of Admissions and Enrollment Services. Thinking about the number of students who are coming from all across the country to visit Ole Miss, it's very frightening to think about how their decision to visit campus or enroll might be affected by the rise in gas prices."

Lowe said the prices at the pump are causing prospective students and their families to examine their budgets and make decisions about where their money goes.

"It's something every American is having to do. More money is having to be spent at the pump, so less is able to be spent elsewhere," said Lowe.

Concerned with prospective families sacrificing a campus visit because of gas prices, Lowe says he has had to reevaluate the way Ole Miss reaches out to out-of-state students.

"If a student cannot afford to come visit Ole Miss because of the gas prices, that only means we have to work harder to reach out to them. That means more letters, more phone calls, more effort. If you can't come to Ole Miss, we will come to you," said Lowe.

Both Reardon and Lowe said that they felt the University would not encounter any major effects from the recent rise in gas prices, but that is has made them realize the need to prepare for a day when it might.

Oxford commemorates National Day of Prayer

The national holiday proves to be important in Oxford

One of the two crosses placed on the table at the courthouse.

May 5, 2011 represents the National Day of Prayer. A day devoted to the sacred act of faith, and a relationship with God.

As you enter the Oxford Courthouse at noon on May 4, the building is slightly different.

Rounding the corner a room is set for those to pray, just behind the judges stand lies two paintings of a cross with a bible placed in between.

Throughout the next day, hundreds of people will find their way into this courtroom and will bow their heads in prayer.

"Prayer is vital," Ole Miss junior, John Bobo said. "Coming together as a nation on this day just makes it that much stronger."

The day is celebrated nationally, but Oxford started it's day 12 hours early. 

According to Janet Davis, the chairwoman for Oxford’s National Day of Prayer, a “Watch around the Clock” will begin at noon on Wednesday. 

The 24 hour prayer will end at 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Oxford, who will be hosting a luncheon for all who participated. 

Throughout the 24 hours, the courtroom in the center of Oxford will be open to those that would like to come and pray. Folders with city officials and officers names will be provided in order for participants to pray for authority figures by name.

The courthouse will not be without a guest prayer during the 24 hour prayer vigil. Several churches became involved, each church and ministry signing up for a certain time slot.

Young Life, a Christian ministry, chose to have their time slot be at midnight.

“We thought it would be special,” area director, Allen Hampton said.

The group filed into the courthouse and prayed together for over an hour, as did many of the other groups seen throughout the day and night.

Although the day is seen by some as slightly controversial, it has a strong existence in Oxford.  

This year is the sixtieth annual observance of the National Day of Prayer, which was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1952, and later set as May 5 by President Ronald Reagan.

Gas Prices on the Rise

The rise in gas prices continues to take a chunk out of students’ wallets.

A reoccurring theme over the past few months has been the steady increase in gas prices. The biggest problem is that gas prices rise much faster than they fall. Just this week, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Oxford will cost you $3.79, which can take a big chunk out of a student's wallet.

With the end of school right around the corner, students are left worrying over how they will pay for gas just to get back home for the summer. Most students are kept on a tight budget as it is, and with all the essentials that a college student must buy, a raise in gas price only makes life harder.

According to dailyfinance.com, a big reason why gas prices go up as fast as they do is because of contracts that gas stations have with their suppliers. When the wholesale price of a barrel of gas goes up, so does the price per gallon at the pump. Most of the time, a raise in prices at a gas station is in anticipation of higher wholesale prices. Daily Finance estimates that an increase of $5 per barrel from a supplier will yield to a 10 to 12 cent increase at the pump.

Jack Gerber, a freshman student here at Ole Miss, says that he has already cancelled a trip he had planned this summer because of gas prices.

I wanted to go visit some friends in Georgia this summer, but I’m not planning to go anymore because the gas will cost so much, said Jack.

And as of now, it does not look to be getting better. This will only hurt students more and more. The more money that students spend on gas means that they will have less money to pay for other things like food and household supplies. According to GPS Fleet Management, gas prices are about 75 cents higher than they were this time last year. The average price for a tank of gas raised almost 38 cents between February and March of this year.

This will mean that many students, like Jack, will have to alter some of their summer plans. Not only that, but if gas prices continue to rise into the fall, students may have trouble when they get back to school. One can only hope that the prices of gas will improve over the next few months.