Students of Latin, one of USM’s ill-fated initiatives in the pending budget cuts, are petitioning to resuscitate the dead language.

Senior history major and classics minor Davis Morgan is one of the advocates for the program.

“� e petition I participated in was a short, very tastefully written paragraph to Dr. Ly-man, respectfully asking for a reconsideration about the Latin department’s termina-tion,” Morgan said. “It stated that we knew the decision was not made rashly but asked for further consideration.”

Provost and Vice President for Academic A� airs Bob Lyman is a member of the Southern Miss administrative team and is one of the people who assist in the decisions made on the budget cuts.

Morgan and other students learned of the petition from email or during class and then volunteered to help with the petition. Morgan took

his petition to di� erent Latin classes to get signatures from anyone who would sign it and eventually got 130 signatures by himself.

“Southern Miss has an amazing connection to high school Latin teachers across the state and region that no other university in the area has,” Morgan said. “I love the university and want it to always have a thriving Latin department.”

USM senior Shardae Foley is working on a minor in Lat-in and wants to help save the department as well.

“I am a third year Latin student,” Foley said. “Latin is essential if students are ma-joring in paralegal studies or political science. My advisers recommended I take Latin, and I have faith Latin will continue to be at Southern Miss, so I encourage you to take it, too.”

Chair of Foreign Lan-guage and Literature Leah Fonder-Solano is thankful to the students for trying to make a difference.

“We’ve been touched by students and alumni,” Fond-

er-Solano said. “We dis-agree strongly with the cuts. Latin thrives today, and our 150-student statistic proves that Latin is very useful. I am so proud to know that our students care enough to try to make a di� erence.”

� ough he disagrees with its current decision, Morgan has respect for and faith in the administration. “One of Dr. Saunders’ best accom-plishments has been bringing the university family togeth-er, and I know she is com-mitted to the Southern Miss family,” he said. “With Saun-ders as President, we have a great opportunity to appeal to an administration that values education and the Southern Miss community above all.

“I encourage anyone who has not done so to write a respectful letter to her or Dr. Lyman, or sign a peti-tion, or find some way to get involved and save Latin at Southern Miss.”

If you want to sign the peti-tion, call the Foreign Language Department at 601-266-4964.

TODAY

83/53

TOMORROW

85/55

INDEXCalendar ...................... 2Sports Briefs ................. 2News ............................ 3Opinion ......................... 6Feature ......................... 7Sports .......................... 8

STUDENT PRINTZThe

Tuesday, September 28 , 2010 Volume 95 Issue 11SERVING SOUTHERN MISS SINCE 1927

www.studentprintz.com

ON CAMPUS

SHOES ON A MISSIONTOMS:

READY, SET,

DATE Students protestproposed budget

At the height of the demon-stration outside the adminis-tration building, 11 students showed up to protest the uni-versity’s recently announced budget cuts.

A Facebook event publicizing the protest had 15 people marked as attending the event, 78 of the invitees said they would not at-tend and 178 did not respond to the invitation at all.

Amelia Steadman, who orga-nized the group, is an alumna of the International Studies program in Spanish from 2006.

Steadman said she found the turnout to the event somewhat disappointing but said, too, that she hadn’t been on campus to personally promote the event.

“Part of that is the fact that I put it together, and I’m off cam-pus, so I only relied on Face-book and I really encouraged people to spread by word-of-mouth,” Steadman said.

Steadman said she expected the group to grow as the protest went on.

They didn’t, however, but Steadman said the students who showed up still made a point.

“I think that the fact that these students are out right now is extremely important and shouldn’t be undermined,” Steadman said.

Katie Danes, a psychology major from Daphne, Ala., was another protester.

Danes said she came out in support of her major, which she feared was on the chopping block.

Jonathan AndrewsPrintz Writer

Latin sends SOSEarvin Hopkins

Printz Writer

READ OUR

SAINTS RECAP

Jordan Morrow, a senior psychology major from Florence, Miss., shops for fresh produce at the farmers market on Thursday, Sept. 16. The market it located in downtown Hattiesburg and is open from 3-6 every Thursday through the months of April and October.

Dusty Mercier/Printz

See PROTEST, 3

ON CAMPUS

See page 3

See page 7

studentprintz.com

CalendarPage 2 Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Classifi eds 2 BR, 1 BA apartment close to campus. $200 deposit and $350 per month due by the 10th of each month. Call 601-310-1296 and leave message or email mistermark@mac.com

Place your Classifi eds at w w w . s t u d e n t p r i n t z . c a m p u s a v e . c o m /

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

Web EditorNathan Johnsonnathan.johnson@eagles.usm.edu

Managing EditorMeryl Dakinmeryl.dakin@eagles.usm.edu

Art DirectorBryant Hawkinsjohn.hawkins@eagles.usm.edu

Chief DesignerChristopher Bostickchristopher.bostick@eagles.usm.edu

WebmasterChris Greenechris.greene@eagles.usm.edu

News Content AdvisorChuck Cookchuck.cook@usm.edu

WritersJonathan AndrewsEarvin HopkinsStormy SpeaksAshlyn ErvinAshton PittmanCade MorrowHannah JonesMary Margaret HalfordMichelle HolowachDeonica DavisSarah RogersKurt Cavataio

PhotographersJordan MooreAdam RittenhouseMyesha ArringtonDusty Mercier

DesignersLisa GurleyTaylor Fesenmeier

www.studentprintz.comFind us online at

Executive Editor601.266.6431

News Content Advisor601.266.4288Advertising Manager601.266.5188

Advertising e-mailprintzad@usm.edu

Mark Your Planner28 29 30 1 28:30 a.m.Voter Registration DriveLAB and Cook Library Lobby

All dayLast Day to drop full-semester classes without academic penalty

8:30 a.m.Voter Registration DriveLAB and Cook Library Lobby

7:00 p.m.Speed DatingPower House

8:30 a.m.Voter Registration DriveLAB and Cook Library Lobby

7:30 p.m.Marat SadeMartha R. Tatum Theatre

8:30 a.m.Voter Registration DriveLAB and Cook Library Lobby

7:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer at UAB Birmingham, Ala.

7:00 p.m.Volleyball vs. TulsaHattiesburg, Miss.

7:30 p.m.Marat SadeMartha R. Tatum Theatre

8:00 p.m.Friday Night at the Fountain Centennial Green Space

1:45 p.m.Softball vs. Baylor at the College ClassicSpring, Texas

4:15 p.m.Softballl vs. Texas A&M at the College ClassicSpring, Texas

7:00 p.m.Football vs. MarshallHattiesburg, Miss.

� e Southern Miss men’s tennis team posted eight wins of nine matches played in the Southern Miss Fall Invitational over the week-end.

Jan Burmeister � nished the weekend with an undefeated record of 4-0, including a win in doubles. Burmeister defeated Adam Bernstein (Tulane), 6-3, 6-3, then knocked o� Anton Klochkov (William Carey), 6-0, 6-1. On Sunday, he downed Shaye Wali (Tulane) in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (2). Burmeister teamed with Alex Doleac in doubles and de-feated Morton Horvath and Dusan Kavkoic (Lamar), 8-2.

Freshman Paulo Alvarado defeated Etham Frankel (Tulane), 6-1, 6-1. He then posted a win over Takuma Ohashi (Tulane), 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Doleac posted a 2-1 record in singles over the weekend with wins over Alanin Antoine (William Carey), 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 and Devin Harley (Lamar), 6-2, 6-4. His only loss came against Etham Frankel (Tulane), 6-0, 6-4.

� e Golden Eagles will play in their � nal tournament of the fall Nov. 3-5 in the Alabama Invitational.

Cross country team wins Gulf Coast Stampede Meet

Sports In Brief:

USM junior Ashley Mell blocks an attempted kill from Rice’s Laurie McNamara during their matchup on, Sept. 24, 210 at Reed Green Coliseum. The Lady Eagles fell to Rice 3-1 on Friday, but turned around and beat Rice 3-1 on Saturday, placing the team with a 8-5 record.

Bryant Hawkins/Printz

VOLLEYBALL

Men’s tennis team posts eight wins in the Southern Miss Fall Invitational

� e Southern Miss women’s cross country team placed � ve runners in the top 10 in Pensacola, Fla. on Saturday. � is is their second cross country meet title of the season at the Gulf Coast Stampede Invitational.

Stephanie Ledgerwood was the top � nisher for the Golden Eagles, � n-ishing third overall and covering the 5K course with a time of 18:37.80. Zuna Portillo-Rodriguez � nished fourth with a time of 18:41.40, fol-lowed by Krista Moylan in � � h with a time of 18:52.80. Kara Moylan ran a time of 19:19.50 for tenth place.

Rounding out the Golden Eagle runners was Brittany Ware (39) with a time of 21:25.10, and Valerie Remich posted a time of 27:52.00.

Southern Miss will travel to Clinton, Miss., for the Watson/Ford In-vitational on Oct. 8.

News Page 3Tuesday, September 28, 2010

SMAC hosts speed dating eventOn Wednesday, Sept. 29, the

Southern Miss Activities Council (SMAC) will host a speed dat-ing event at � e Powerhouse for USM students.

� is is the second year a speed dating function has been held at USM. � e idea originated two years ago in the Department of Psychology via the Experimetrix studies system. Experimetrix al-lows students enrolled in psychol-ogy classes to earn extra credit by participating in studies conducted by USM researchers. One of these studies concerned – you guessed it – speed dating.

Virgil Ziegler-Hill, USM assis-

tant professor of psychology, helped design the speed dating study with a graduate student, Katy Payne. Ziegler-Hill said previous research in the � eld indicated that physical attractiveness was the main factor in how many matches (potential future dates) a person received, but Payne’s experiment found that per-sonality also plays a signi� cant role.

“� e allure of speed dating is that it o� ers an opportunity for indi-viduals who are interested in � nd-ing a romantic connection to meet other individuals who are looking for similar sorts of relationships,” Ziegler-Hill said.

Rolanda � omas, the music and Powerhouse co-chair of SMAC, was a participant in Payne’s and Ziegler-Hill’s experiment. When SMAC began planning activities

at the beginning of the semester, � omas wanted to suggest some-thing unique; most students have never speed dated before, so � om-as put the option on the table.

“It was really fun,” � omas said. “I took one of my friends with me, and we had a blast, so I thought it would be a really cool event for the whole campus to partake in. It’s something to do instead of sitting around doing homework.”

Erick Weeks, the event produc-tions chair of SMAC, said SMAC’s main goal this year is to o� er fun, unique events that encourage stu-dent connection and increase stu-dent involvement on campus.

“Our biggest thing is to pro-vide variety,” Weeks said. “Not everybody is the concertgoer or the movie watcher. � is is one of those innovative events we have that’s not the norm, but it’s

something somebody somewhere might � nd interesting. It’s a way to meet new people.”

SMAC’s speed dating event will be held on the third � oor of � e Powerhouse on Wed., Sept. 29 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A sign-up sheet is available in the SMAC of-� ce in the Student Activities Hub. Participants are accepted on a � rst-come, � rst-served basis.

ON CAMPUS

Illlustration by Bryant Hawkins/Printz

  Find  out  how  to  ring  in  the  new  year  in  the  Caribbean  –  and  earn  USM  credit!  Thursday,  12:15  September  30th  International  Center  Room  101.    

Study Abroad in Jamaica

Offi ce of International Programs. International Center 401. 601-266-6809studyabroad@usm.edu

Stormy SpeaksPrintz Writer

“� ey’re cutting all the majors,” Danes said. “I mean, psychology is one of the majors that they’re going to cancel, and I’m going to have to start all over.”

Although eight professors in the Department of Education and Psychology are possibly being ter-minated, the school itself is not on the list of programs being cut.

Danes did not know anyone who was a� ected by the cuts per-sonally but said that she was there

to support those who were.Still, Steadman thinks the main

cause of the small turnout was not disinterest in the student popula-tion but the lack of publicity for the event along with the time it took place a� ected the atten-dance.

“I don’t think its that students are apathetic,” she said. “I think a lot of people didn’t know this was going on.”

On your marks, get set, date

PROTEST, from 1

FeaturePage 4 Tuesday,September 28, 2010

paid advertisement

NOWSouthern Missyour university, your news Visit us on the Web at www.usm.edu/news.

Dr. Abhishek K. Singh is a composites engineer with Crosslink, one of the start-up companies located in The Accelerator, an initiative of The University of Southern Mississippi. (Photo by Steve Rouse)

What began as an ambitious vision on the rolling fairways of a withering golf course has blossomed into a driving force for economic development in

the Hattiesburg area and beyond.On Friday, Sept. 17, The University of Southern Mississippi officially unveiled

its unique business incubator called The Accelerator which serves as the flagship enterprise of the innovation and commercialization park located a few miles west of the main campus.

“This state-of-the art facility represents opportunities for students, researchers and companies to take an idea and carry it to its fruition as a useful product or service,” said U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), one of many dignitaries on hand for the grand opening. “In the end, it is a process – which now has a home in The Accelerator – that can lead to more job creation and economic growth in Mississippi.”

Officially labeled The National Materials Science Innovation and Commercialization Accelerator, the incubator provides ample space for offices, laboratories and storage, the latest advances in technology and expert guidance for companies to grow a business from the ground up. Currently, the 60,000-square foot Accelerator is operating at approximately 60 percent capacity.

Four start-up companies have already made tremendous strides as anchor tenants, specializing in such fields as biotechnology, workforce development, polymer materials and forensic science. Two other anchor tenants include Noetic Technologies and the Mississippi Polymer Institute.

“In many ways this completes the cycling process where technology and innovation are concerned,” said Shelby Thames, university distinguished research professor. “For a long, long time Southern Miss has been a bastion of knowledge and a place to cultivate ideas. This Accelerator is enabling bright people to take those ideas and transform them into viable products and services for sale.”

A study by the National Business Incubator Association found that 87 percent of business incubator graduates remain in their founding communities.

Accelerator Executive Director Sunny Corral said the business incubator is strategically positioned to provide budding companies a blueprint for success in today’s highly competitive marketplace.

“If there is an opportunity to enhance a material’s performance, The University of Southern Mississippi is the place to do it, and The Accelerator is the facility that will equip industrial partners and early-stage companies with the tools required to do this,” said Corral.

Southern Miss President Martha Saunders said The Accelerator represents a brilliant example of the creative, bold and determined attitude demonstrated throughout the university’s 100-year history.

“The Accelerator stands as a lasting testament to the relentless pursuit of a vision that began as a simple idea more than a decade ago,” said Saunders. “I believe it is this attitude which makes Southern Miss attractive to entrepreneurs looking for an environment in which they can grow and thrive.” Story by Van Arnold

Acceleratorhelps fuelhelps fuelhelps fuelvisionvisionvision

for economicfor economicdevelopment

Page 5Tuesday,September 28, 2010

Retention and expansion of existing businesses is a key strategy in economic development in Mississippi, and in this knowledge-driven economy, universities are in a prime position to make significant contributions. At The University of Southern Mississippi, its Lean Enterprise Center (LEC) is already doing just that.

“We’re helping Mississippi companies improve their bottom line and in the process increasing awareness of the benefits of Lean practices,” said center director Ty Posey.

Founded in 2001 through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), the Southern Miss LEC is supported through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, which promotes innovation and industrial competitiveness.

Its mission is to help manufacturers in the state improve competitiveness through understanding and implementation of lean principles. Lean principles are components of a popular management strategy designed to meet customer expectations while reducing time and errors between an order and shipment.

The center’s services include consultation and customized on-site applications and workshops using Lean principles. Outcomes include reduced

inventory, production lead time and costs, thereby increasing capacity, productivity, profits and the potential for higher sales volumes.

The proof of its success is in the numbers. In a survey conducted by the MEP in the fourth

quarter of 2009, four Mississippi manufacturers who secured services from the Lean Enterprise Center reported a total quantified dollar impact of more than $4 million, including an increase in sales, retained sales and cost savings.

A jobs impact of 35, which includes positions gained and retained, was also reported, as were positive numbers in infrastructure investment and workforce practices.

Pioneer Aerospace in nearby Columbia, Miss., with 340 employees, is one of these companies. It produces parachute systems and other products for the U.S. military. According to the survey, it enjoyed a $500,000 increase in sales and creation of five new jobs.

“In 2000, we found ourselves struggling with changes in our industry and our customer demands,” said Chris Powell, director of operations for Pioneer Aerospace. After the company engaged the LEC’s assistance, Pioneer Aerospace went from a piece-rate manufacturing plant to a highly efficient, lean production facility.

“The experience and knowledge we’ve gained from the LEC has enabled our employees to be empowered with lean thinking and committed to improving the company’s performance,” Powell said.

Story by David Tisdale

paid advertisement

Southern Miss

aa/eoe/adai

The University of Southern Mississippi, a long-recognized leader in motivating and educating the next generation of economic developers and entrepreneurs, has enhanced its commitment to promoting and fostering economic development in the Gulf South region with the opening of the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship as well as the National Materials Science Innovation and Commercialization Accelerator.

Already a major economic force, the university impacts the quality of life in Hattiesburg and the surrounding South Mississippi region by offerings of arts, athletic and other events and services. Southern Miss generates dollars that are put back into the economy in the form of employee payroll, university spending, student expenditures, visitor spending, athletics, research grants and alumni donations. Direct university employment alone generates a payroll of approximately $94 million. Coupled with secondary jobs and related income, the economic impact swells to more than $125 million.

“Universities play a key role in economic development,” said Rick Duke, director, Trent Lott National Center. “We have a chance to take a giant step forward in finding the many ways Southern Miss can impact the community and standard of living for South Mississippi.”

The university vision and outreach mission are fundamental, yet crucial to the long-term growth and economic prosperity for those who live and work in this area. Southern Miss constantly strives to make a positive impact on the economic climate

by 1) creating an environment that provides more jobs for graduates, 2) nurturing ideas into viable businesses, 3) creating linkages with the state’s existing and prospective businesses and 4) linking university human capital and knowledge with the economic development community.

A major component of this important undertaking is the Department of Economic and Workforce Development.

“The Department of Economic and Workforce Development is an important component of the university’s mission to engage and empower individuals to t ransform l ives and communities in South Mississippi,” said Dale Ledford, interim chair, Economic and Workforce Development. “We work with communities on numerous projects including feasibility studies, community impact studies, strategic planning and project development. Essentially, we are facilitators working to provide holistic and sustainable development opportunities.”

Knowledge and human capital are the driving forces within the Southern Miss academic program. The department offers several programs including

a bachelor’s degree in applied technology. Graduate students may pursue a master’s degree in either economic development or workforce training and development, and a doctoral degree is offered in

human capital development. The department also features the Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute which offers a training and development certificate program aimed at human resource, trainers and development professionals. Story by Jana Bryant

southern miss lean enterprise center helps grow mississippi’s economy

southern miss economic development

lt. col. john h. dale sr. distinguished lecture series in international security and global policy“The Future of NATO” by Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

Tuesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. | Hattiesburg Saenger Theatre | Free and open to the publicFor more information, visit www.usm.edu/coal.

OpinionPage 6 Tuesday, September 28, 2010

“When I was in the military they gave me a medal for kill-ing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

So reads the epitaph on the tombstone of a Vietnam vet-eran in Congressional Cem-etery. Despite twelve years of honorable service in which he earned a Bronze Star and a Pur-ple Heart, Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich was dis-charged by the Air Force simply because he was gay.

The controversial Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was not in ef-fect in 1975 when Matlovich was discharged; it has only been 17 years since President Clinton signed that policy into law.

But in practice, the policy is no different from the one in place in the 70s. DADT only served

to officially state that a gay sol-dier might serve in the military so long as he keeps his sexual-ity hidden – as if that had not already been happening – as if gay soldiers had not been going to war alongside straight soldiers since the beginning of time.

Seventeen years later, our na-tion should be ready to repeal such an archaic law. Even Clinton now admits that signing DADT into law was a mistake. But when a defense bill that would have al-lowed for its repeal came before the Senate last Tuesday, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Senate Republicans successfully filibus-tered it before it debate could even commence.

The defeat came on the heels of a victory for those who favor repeal earlier this month when a United States District Court ruled in favor of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy group, deciding that DADT was unconstitutional.

Not only is DADT an uncon-stitutional policy, it is an affront to the very ideals our men and women in uniform fight for. For almost a decade now, our

soldiers have been fighting on battlefields across the Middle East against enemies whose very motivation for terror is rooted in absolute intolerance for any-one with a differing viewpoint.

Yet our government has the gall to tell the many gay soldiers fighting for the rest of us that they can serve as long as they continue to hide their sexual-ity. We ask them to do what we would never ask a straight sol-dier to do – to keep silent and never to speak of the loved ones back home for whom they are risking their lives.

Feigned concern for the safety of gay soldiers in the event that they are allowed to openly serve in the military is no excuse. Those who opposed integra-tion of blacks and whites in the military also expressed concerns that blacks would be mistreated if allowed to serve alongside whites. So far, it appears the ex-periment of integration turned out quite well.

No one denies that gays in the military will continue to face discrimination after the repeal of DADT; they face it regardless.

But breaking down the barracks of legally enforced discrimina-tion is one of the first steps to-wards breaking down the bar-riers of social discrimination. Besides, if there be any soldier who is ready to fight enemies abroad, it is one who is strong enough walk tall in the face of discrimination at home.

They face it back home for sure. U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, who represents Mississippi’s fourth district, opposes any attempts to repeal the ban on gays in the military. “To introduce openly gay men and women without serious regard for the conse-quences could severely damage the security and morale of our nation’s armed forces,” reads the statement on his website.

While Taylor assumes that gays would harm the effective-ness of the military, his state-ment also seems to betray a low opinion of our servicemen’s ability to cope with the presence of gay soldiers. Our soldiers can deal with bombs, bullets, and terrorists – but gays? Taylor, who is up for re-election in No-vember, is not so sure.

“Most Americans should be shocked to know that while the country’s economy is going down the tubes, the military has wasted half a billion dollars over the past decade chasing down gays and running them out of the armed services,” said a cer-tain Republican senator from Arizona in an op-ed once.

No, the writer of that op-ed was not John McCain. Nor was that op-ed written recently, but it could have been. It appeared in the Washington Post around the time of the adoption of DADT, and former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater penned it. Since that time, more than 13,000 soldiers have been discharged from the mili-tary because of their sexuality.

If McCain is interested in living up to the ideals America’s finest live, fight, and die for, he should consider the words of his prede-cessor, who in 1993 said, “You don’t need to be `straight’ to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”

Soldiers ask, ‘Why can’t I tell?’

Ashton PittmanPrintz Writer

This was an article of opinion by Ashton Pittman, a writer for the Student Printz. Email questions or comments to ashton.pittman@eagles.usm.edu.

natIonal

Colbert delivers message through satire

Stephen Colbert has raised more than a few eyebrows with his recent testimony before Congress concerning migrant workers taking American jobs. Colbert spoke to Congress about his “vast experience” working alongside migrant farm workers, all while playing the role of his character from The Colbert Report.

His testimony on behalf of Take Our Jobs – a program that allows everyday Americans to experience a day of work along-side migrant farm workers – has generated a massive amount of media attention. In fact, RT News reported that members of Congress haven’t seen this much media coverage on Capitol Hill – “not even close” – since the impeachment hearings for Pres-ident Bill Clinton.

Without a doubt, Colbert succeeded in using his star power to bring attention to the complex issue of illegal immi-

grants working low-paying jobs in America. But the ques-tion raised most since the hearing has been this: Was it appropriate for Congress to invite Ste-phen Colbert, a comedi-an, to testify in comedic fashion about a serious issue?

To answer that question, we must look to the past. Many activists in the past have used satyr to communi-cate a point. Perhaps the most well-known such satyr is Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Pro-posal,” in which the Anglo-Irish writer suggest-ed that, in or-der to solve the prob-lems of I r i s h star-v a -tion a n d

o v e r -population, the Irish eat their own infant children. The suggestion was, of course, not

a serious sug-gestion and

was intend-ed to be humorous parody of the issue. It brought a t t e nt i o n

to the is-sues at hand

through hu-mor. Since

t h e

essay is still well-known and referenced today, Swift’s efforts were successful.

In many ways, Stephen Col-bert is a modern Jonathan Swift. Colbert’s parodied ef-forts have brought important issues to the young, Comedy-Central-watching section of the population through humor. In this case, Colbert used satire – hilarious satire, at that – to bring attention to an issue that, as Colbert pointed out in a mo-ment of seriousness, should

have been addressed and dealt with by now.

Even so, was com-edy appropriate for the floor of Con-

gress? As some have pointed

out, the pro-ceedings on

the con-gressio-

n a l

f l o o r have been some-what comical to begin with. However, others – most no-tably Fox News – have at-

tacked the Democratic congress for making a mockery of the American government. After watching Fox’s response to the hearing, I was appalled as both a conservative and a journalist by this “news” network’s bla-tant bias in its reporting. While Fox is well-known for leaning toward the conservative in its coverage, their blatant disregard for basic principles of unbiased journalism is inexcusable.

Colbert’s testimony, while humorous, was by no means a joke as those at Fox News sug-gested. I firmly believe satire is one of the most effective forms of communicating a message and making it stick, as Stephen Colbert has shown time and time again through the mas-sive viewer responses to his show and the influence he has had through his show. Beneath Colbert’s act is an intelligent, sensible man who understands that sometimes, in order to get people’s attention, you have to make them laugh a little.

Ben SuttonPrintz Writer

This was an article of opinion by Ben Sutton, a writer for the Student Printz. Email questions or comments to ben.sutton@eagles.usm.edu.

natIonal

Feature Page 7Tuesday,September 28, 2010

TOMS club: shoes find purposeWith the purchase of any pair

of TOMS shoes, the company will donate a similar pair to someone in need.

This is the mission of TOMS’ One For One movement, an ob-jective that the TOMS Campus Club at USM hopes to represent and raise awareness for here in the school and local community.

The TOMS Club, which meets on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm at the Starbucks in Cook Li-brary, arranges events to draw attention to the fact that in de-veloping and developed coun-tries alike, many people cannot afford proper footwear.

“At meetings we’ve been brainstorming ideas for events we can hold this semester to spread the cause across cam-pus,” TOMS Club President Kristen Walker said. “A lot of people are aware of TOMS shoes, but they might not know much about the goal of the One For One campaign.”

According to Walker, a soph-omore English major, there are many plans to spread the word about the campaign across campus. This semester, the group plans to organize a bare-foot school football game, dur-ing which fans can attend the Golden Eagles game barefoot to bring attention to the sort of difficulty incurred by those un-able to buy shoes.

And if the event is not ap-proved? “If they won’t let us in without shoes,” Walker said, “we’re going to stand outside barefoot and try to get pass-ersby to notice. ‘We couldn’t do this without shoes. Imagine what you couldn’t do without shoes on a daily basis.’”

TOMS Shoes is a for-profit business founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, an entrepre-neur who, upon a visit to Ar-gentina, noticed the amount of children who daily went about barefoot. Mycoskie decided to take action by way of the One For One campaign, which now donates shoes to individuals in many different areas across the globe. The shoes themselves

are universally fashioned after a traditional Argentinean shoe called an alpargata.

Wearing TOMS shoes has since become something of a fashion statement in the United States, said sophomore politi-cal science major and TOMS wearer Missy Martinez, who admits that many people sport the shoes without much regard to the campaign.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there who don’t really know anything about the actual cause but wear TOMS shoes simply because it’s the cool thing to do right now,” she said.

But even the faddish nature of something can be used for good, according to Jessica Sny-der, the TOMS club’s vice presi-dent. “I think it helps a lot that TOMS are a bit of a fad right now,” she said. “For a lot of peo-ple who wear the shoes, they don’t know what it is they’re do-ing, that by buying them they’re sending another pair to some-one who needs them. With the club we’re hoping to take it fur-ther than just a fad.”

Snyder, a sophomore art ma-jor, said that in addition to rais-ing awareness, the club hopes to use the proceeds it collects to purchase shoes for the un-derprivileged children spon-sored by the McCarty Center. “Instead of membership fees, this year club members would be asked to sell ten or fifteen bracelets saying ‘I walked bare-foot’ on them for a dollar each.”

A similar fund-raising ven-ture is a planned barefoot relay, at which individuals can pledge a donation for every shoeless mile walked by those they sponsor.

But for all the barefoot trudg-ing the TOMS club has in its future, the focus remains stead-fastly on the belief that proper footwear should not be outside of anyone’s reach.

“I like the One For One cause because it is something easy to do – we all buy shoes,” Walker said. “And if you’re going to buy shoes, you might as well buy from a company with a con-science, one that is aware of social and economic problems in the world and is doing some-thing about it.”

Patrick LaughlinPrintz Writer

on campus

Mary Alice Truitt from Columbus, Miss. sports her pair of TOMS.Jordan Moore/Printz

Tell us your favorite section of the paper at studentprintz.com.

NewsOpinion

Arts and EntertainmentSports

SportsPage 8 Thursday, September 28, 2010

Student diScount dayS

With Valid college i.d.WWithithWWithWW V Validalid V Valid V V

$15off* any PurchaSeof $75 or more

For these and other top brands, visit a location near you.Also, ask about free gifts with purchase of select brands.

*Offer valid in Gander Mountain Company stores only, and may not be used for catalog, online, or other purchases. To receive this discount, you must show a valid college ID at time of purchase. Discount does not apply to prior purchases, gift cards, governmental licenses or fees, packaging, applicable taxes, or shipping and handling charges. Discount taken at register. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Cannot be combined with any associate or employee discount or any other coupon offer, discount, or promotion. Offer is good only while supplies last for purchased merchandise within a specific retail location. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Gander Mountain may, at its own discretion limit quantities purchased per person, per household, or per transaction. Brands and selection may vary by store. offer valid through october 3, 2010.

www.GanderMtn.com

Hattiesburg Gander Mtn.4501 Hardy Street

Hattiesburg, MS 39402

(601) 268-6845

Visit Us on:Stop by for food, games, tailgating fun, vendor

demos and more! Native product experts on site

9/18 from 11-3. Stop by on 10/2 to see the Costa del

Mar Airstream and meet professional angler Brent

Chapman. Contact store for details!

September 14 - october 3, 2010

Golden Eagles defeat LA TechSouthern Miss had to fight

off the weather and a few mis-cues, but they were able to come away from Louisiana Tech with a win. The Eagles had to do it without wide receiver Dean-dre Brown, who didn’t make the trip due to ongoing trouble with his hamstring.

Southern Miss played the Bulldogs to a tie in the first half with both teams only scoring three a piece. The Eagles took control in the third quarter jumping to a 13-3 lead.

The Bulldogs had plenty of op-portunities in the fourth quarter to gain control of the game.

After scoring a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs held Southern Miss to a three and out. Southern Miss lined up to punt the ball when Louisiana Tech blocked the punt and almost recovered it for a touchdown. Rufus Porter attempted to jump on the ball to give Louisiana Tech the lead, but punter, Peter Boehme hus-tled down the ball and knocked it out of the back of the endzone for a safety to keep the lead at 13-12.

Louisiana Tech had many chances to jump ahead against

the Golden Eagles, but South-ern Miss’ defense played strong down the stretch and preserved the win against LA Tech.

Southern Miss made it slop-py, but they came away from Ruston with a win and Coach Larry Fedora was satisfied with the outcome.

“There is no such thing as a bad win,” Fedora said. “When you go on the road, it’s a good win anytime.”

Justin Wilson played a big role in the win against La Tech with an interception in the sec-ond half of the game. Wilson said he was proud of the win.

“It is very satisfying,” Wilson said. “It is never easy to come into someone else’s house and win.”

Fedora gave praise to his de-fense, who kept this game in

Southern Miss’ hands all night.“For us to have a blocked punt

for a safety, an interception and put the ball on the ground, it’s hard to win a game like that. That tells you how well our de-fense played,” Fedora said.

Southern Miss’ defense will look to stay sharp when they head into conference play against Marshall Saturday.

USM’s defense has only given up a total of 35 points in their last three games combined, af-ter giving up 41 points to South Carolina in week one.

“I think anybody that’s ques-tioned our defense got their an-swer,” said quarterback Austin

Davis. “Those guys were ready to play, and they’ve played well every week so far.”

Southern Miss will return home to face the Thundering Herd on Saturday at 7 p.m. at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

The Golden Eagles are 5-9 when playing away games in the Fedora Era. However, they are 11-3 when playing teams at home and currently have a 10-game winning streak at home dating back to the 2008 season.

Marshall will bring in a 1-3 record and are coming o� a win against Ohio. � is will open up conference play for Marshall as well.

Cade MorrowPrintz Writer

Southern Miss Sports: Upcoming Games

Friday 7:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer at UAB7:00 p.m.Women’s Volleyball vs. Tulsa

Sunday 9:30 a.m.So� ball vs. Texas State in Spring, Texas1:00 p.m.Women’s Soccer at Memphis1:00 p.m.Women’s Volleyball at SMU

Saturday 11:45 a.m.So� ball vs. Baylor in Spring, Texas4:15 p.m.So� ball vs. Texas A&M in Spring, Texas7:00 p.m.Football USM vs. Marshall

Southern Miss Weekend Box Score

FOOTBALL

Softball:9/25 vs. Southeastern Louisiana W, 7-0 9/25 at William Carey W, 4-1

Soccer:9/25 vs. Marshall L, 1-0

Volleyball:9/24 vs. Rice L. 3-1

9/25 vs. Rice W, 3-1

Football:9/25 vs. Louisiana Tech W, 13-12

Senior linebacker Martez Smith tackles junior wide receiver Lennon Creer causing him to drop the pass. Smith also forced a fumble in the fourth quarter of the Southern Miss/Louisiana Tech game Saturday night.

Christopher Bostick/Printz