THE PURPLE & WHITE

Recently, the Purple & White sat

down with Millsaps President Dr.

Robert Pearigen to discuss the newest

developments and impending impli-

cations of Millsaps’ newest Strategic

Plan and fi nancial assessment. The

Strategic Plan, “Across the Street and

Around the Globe: Partnerships and

Infl uence at Millsaps College,” con-

sists of six goals and nine committees

aimed to enhance every aspect of life

at Millsaps. The goals are as follows:

1. “Achieve excellence” in all that

we do.

2. Utilize our location in the capi-

tal city of Mississippi and in “the com-

munities we touch globally” with the

help of a new leadership program.

3. Create a more “sustainable

campus environment.”

4. “Reinforcing our ethical heri-

tage and strengthening church rela-

tions.”

5. “Expand and diversify” the

Millsaps student body.

6. Increase our endowment and

ensure fi scal strength.

Pearigen’s primary goal in every as-

pect of the new plan and as president

of Millsaps is to “make changes that

need to be made to make this a better

experience (for everyone).”

P&W: Can you defi ne your vision of an

excellent institution?

Pearigen: Ad Excellentiam, this is

what we claim to be. Excellence, in all

of its parts, is fulfi lling this mission of

why we exist. We have to be attentive

to our vision for success (going for-

ward) and take the steps to pursue it.

Excellence is intrinsically connected to

that mission and doing everything pos-

sible to fulfi ll that mission. Excellence

is never an end mission. While our

goal is excellence in all that we do, we

know that it is a never ending process.

P&W: How is the Strategic Plan related

to our claim of Ad Excellentiam?

Pearigen: The strategic plan

breaks it down. We ask, what does

excellence look like in each one of

these areas? What does excellence

look like in the political science ma-

jor? In the Purple & White? In the

physical presence of our campus?

P&W: How will this breakdown begin to

contribute to Millsaps as a whole?

Pearigen: It zeroes in on each part

(of the college) and says here is what we

are expecting. What are the means by

which we obtain it? How do we evalu-

ate it? What further steps can be taken?

P&W: What progress has been made so

far on the Strategic Plan?

Pearigen: The Strategic Plan has

six strategic goals and under each one

there is a series of initiatives. This sum-

mer we outlined a path of action steps

under each initiative to effectuate these

major goals. Each initiative requires

accountability, cost and a timeline. We

are at a stage now where we are do-

ing further research to fully develop

the process for making these things

happen. I’m not just saying it’s time

to sit down and plan more though.

We are anxious to get moving on this.

MILLSAPS CONTINUED ON PAGE 6.

VOLUME LX X XI | AUGUST 30, 2012

MILLSAPS COLLEGE

“Porter focuses on ‘potentializing’ students by show-ing them that it can be fun to read.” PAGE 5.

Freshmen, find advice from true Millsapians. PAGE 3.

Backyard Brawl XIII returns to Millsaps amidst the impending threat of Hurricane Issac. PAGE 7.

BY KENYA STRONG JOHNSTONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

| Photo by Allie Jordan

Enhancing the Millsaps experience

FEATURES ARTS&LIFE SPORTS

Welcome to the Class of 2016

Surround yourself with people you

admire. It might sound cliché, but

it’s a good way to stay grounded.

SENIOR KENNY ARTIGUES

OPINIONS | August 30, 2012

2

Disclaimer: Views expressed in

visual and written content printed in

the Purple & White do not necessar-

ily reflect those of the editors, Publications

Board, Millsaps College, The United Method-

ist Church or the student body. Complaints

should be addressed to the Millsaps College

Publications Board. Contact Kendall Gregory

or Dr. Pat Taylor.

Letters to the EditorSubmit letters to the editor to the Purple and White at Box 15070 or e-mail Kenya Strong-Johnston, at stronkk@millsaps.edu. Letters should be turned in before 12 p.m. on Sunday prior to the !ursday publication. Anonymous letters will not be published.

PURPLE&WHITE

THE

Editor-in-Chief | Kenya Strong-Johnston

Managing Editor | Lana Price

Visuals Manager | Sonum Sanjanwala

Business Manager | Juan Fernandez

Photo Manager | Genny Santos

Section Editors

Layout Editors

Caroline Brandon

Salvo Blair

Genny Santos

Maryam Qureshi

Allie D’Andrea

Contributors

Staff Advisor | Woody Woodrick

E-mail corrections to Editor-in-Chief Kenya Strong-Johnston, stronkk@millsaps.edu.

Advertising rates available upon request. E-mail

Juan Fernandez at fernajd@millsaps.edu.

The Purple & White is published weekly.

!is publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the

Editor-in-Chief.

Kendall Gregory

Allie Jordan

Hirni Patel

Adam Shubert

Welcome back! And to our new stu-

dents, in case you haven’t heard it

enough, welcome. We are so excited to

finally have you on campus. All around

campus, this is a very exciting time—one

of great and positive change. The same is

true for your Student Body Association.

As you may have read in a letter that was

placed in your mailbox, SBA is imple-

menting some significant changes within

the structure of our organization. While

a lot of the changes that you read about

may seem to only affect the actual SBA,

the ultimate hope is that these changes

will facilitate a SBA that is more im-

pactful and beneficial to our students.

Although we are very happy with the

progress made in the spring semester,

we are working doubly hard to make

sure the fall semester is even better.

The first big event that we are working

on supporting is the Backyard Brawl.

For those of you who do not know,

the Backyard Brawl is the first football

game of the season and pits Millsaps

against our cross-town rivals, Missis-

sippi College. This game is unique

in that it is the first game that will be

held on a Thursday night, as opposed

to the traditional Saturday game. Your

Student Body Association will be pur-

chasing tickets for all students so that

everyone may attend the game. In ad-

dition, we will be giving away lots of

Imagine a picture of 25 bodies of Af-

rican descent sprawled lifeless across the

ground with their faces hidden. Their

clothes are worn and torn, andII behind

them is an eroding, paint-chipped build-

ing. In the middle of this picture is a man

carefully trying to step over the bodies;

his hands are in the air to help him bal-

ance as he desperately tries to make

his way through the awful consequenc-

es of what appears to be a massacre.

Not horrified yet? At the bottom of this

picture in bold, white letters appears: “Ex-

cuse me … pardon me … excuse me…”

This is a prime example of an image

macro, a picture with overlaid text often

pointing out characteristics of the depicted

character or ideal displayed in the picture.

I stumbled upon this image as I scrolled

through my Facebook news feed a few

weeks ago. Seeing these types of im-

age macros on social networking sites

is common, and websites such as red-

dit.com and 4chan.org cater to people

who create and share image macros

and memes.

By definition, a meme is an idea, be-

havior, style or usage that spreads from

person to person within a culture. They

can be shared rapidly through the In-

ternet—causing the memes to “go vi-

ral.” In turn, countless people form new

ideas about that meme and the culture it

stemmed from. Often when joke image

macros go viral, they become memes.

Viewing image macros like the one I

described, can make people desensitized

to what the picture is displaying which,

in this case, is a massacre. In other cases,

it can perpetuate stereotypes of races,

women, religions—the list goes on, and

none of these people or groups can

defend how they are being displayed.

All too often, image macros and memes

are humorous only at the expense of

another person or group of people.

This is a call to hold humor to a higher

standard. If a joke can’t be made without

it being at the expense of another person

or group, how will we ever resolve our dif-

ferences and become a more unified hu-

man culture? Image macros and memes

may not aim to cause divisions between

Coming back to Millsaps as a junior.

What does that even mean? I only have

two years left of college. I only have two

years until I start real life. Although,

in reality, I suppose this is real life. It’s

all a matter of perspective. My goal

for this year: live life by the moment.

After spending my summer between

Ridgeland, Colorado and Costa Rica

I was ready to settle back into the

rhythm of Millsaps life. So many of

my colleagues claim, “summer wasn’t

near long enough.” On the contrary, I

found the length to be quite adequate

for adventure – not leaving me bored

and longing to return nor scampering to

squeeze in the last few minutes of vaca-

tion. Summer 2012 was indeed a success.

Early in the summer I rediscovered the

importance of family—family of every

kind. After returning home I truly un-

derstand what it means to be grateful

for a small mountain town where I was

raised. For the short two weeks I was

there, I gaped in awe at the towering

mountains and perfectly green trees. I

soaked my feet in the chilling spring wa-

ter that refreshes your body from the tips

of your toes to the ends of your eyelashes.

I concluded my summer with a trip that

I thought was only to be a credit for my

Spanish major. However, it turned out to

be so much more. It was five and a half

weeks that provided me with an opportu-

KENYA STRONG JOHNSTONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ALLIE JORDANCONTRIBUTOR

Living in the Millsaps moment

SBA plans to refocus on students

Some things are never funny

An example of a meme that desensitizes viewers from important social or cultural messages. | Photo Contributed

KENDALL GREGORYCONTRIBUTOR

JORDAN CONTINUED PAGE 8.

GREGORY CONTINUED PAGE 8. STRONG JOHNSTON CONTINUED PAGE 4.

Photos by Allie Jordan and Genny Santos

CLASS OF 2016 | August 30, 2012

3

34%18%6%

6%

19%13%4%

Inte

rnat

iona

lAR, CA, CO, GA, IL,

AR, CA, CO, GA, IL, 13%

AR, CA, CO, GA, IL, 13%

KY, MA, MD, NC, NY,

SC, TN, VA, WA

’16 BREAK-DOWN

46% | 54%*Statistics have been

rouonded.

Data received from Mill-

saps College Student Life.

Get plenty of sleep, go to class and

think outside the bubble.

Senior Jordon Hammons

Don’t part your car under the Aca-

demic Complex when it rains because

security goes on a ticket rampage when

the whether gets bad. They cost 20 dol-

lars each. It’s the pits.

Junior Claire Herndon

Word gets around fast on a small cam-

pus, so think before acting. Alcohol is

a dark force to be reckoned with. Take

opportunities and roads that would nev-

er have been considered before because

they might just lead you to the place

you don’t know you want to be yet.

Senior Austin Deskewies

When all else fails, reach for the add/

drop form. Problem solevd. A Good

reputation is easier lost than gained.

“I’m not uncedided—I’m open-mind-

ed” is a mantra to keep as long as you

can.

Junior Anna Nations

What we think you should

know:Words of wisdom

from your upperclassmen

August 30, 2012 - September 5, 2012Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Arts&Life:

In the Lewis

Art Gallery:

Mary Jane Parker,

“Tracings”

Student Life:

12:00 p.m.

SBA Interest Meeting

Last day to add/

drop classes without

a grade

Sports:

2:30 & 8:00p.m.

Volleyball @ home

5:30 p.m.

XC @ Choctaw

Trails

Greek Life:

Men’s formal

recruitment, final

party

Sports:

2:00 & 4:00p.m.

Volleyall @ home

2:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

vs. Fontbonn @

Memphis

4:00 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

@ LeTourneau

3:00 p.m.

Backyard Brawl

Greek Life:

Boy’s bid day

Sports:

2:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs.

Westminster @

Memphis

Student Life:

NO CLASSES,

Labor Day

Greek Life:

6:00 p.m.

Panhellenic Re-

cruitment Kick

off

Arts&Life:

7:00 p.m.

The Mairtin de

Cogain Project,

“Stories and

Songs, From Cork

with Love”

AC Recital Hall

Greek Life:

Women’s

formal recruit-

ment begins

Sports:

Intermural entry

forms due

7:30 p.m.

Intermural

Captain’s meeting

Skybox

Student Life:

8:00 a.m.

SBA elections begin

(end at 8:00 p.m.

Sept 6)

6:00 p.m.

Pre-Health Students

- Meet Dr. Steve

Case

Olin Hall Atrium

COMMUNITY | August 30, 2012

4

Cla

ssifi

eds

Classified

They are first come, first serve

You must have paid to be published

Pricing Information Below

To purchase: email Kenya Strong Johnston at stronkk@millsaps.edu ORPut money & add in box 150708 -Classifieds won’t run without pay-ment

TEXT COST: $0.25/word

OPEN HOUSE

Come to the Purple & White open house Wednesday, September 5 @

4p.m.

Housing

Need a roommate/suitemate? Or a place to live?

BUY A CLASSIFIED!

Advertise Here

Have a special event coming up?Low on cash?

BUY A CLASSIFIED!

Like to Tweet?

Follow us on Twitter@purple_n_white

SBA

Vote in the Student Body Associa-tion elections on Sept. 5

Polls open at 8:00 a.m.Check your email

Classified

The P&W Staff can choose not to publish your classified.

We invite you to be creative and respectful

Personal Ads

Need a date to formal? Have someone special in mind?

BUY A CLASSIFIED!

Education

Studying for an exam? Want to find a tutor?

BUY A CLASSIFIED!

Books

Need a textbook?Have old ones lying around?

BUY A CLASSIFIED!

STRONG JOHNSTON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.

nity to discover a passion

I had hiding deep inside. I

fell in love with the Span-

ish language. As I had ear-

lier gaped in awe at the

Colorado Mountains, I now

ogled at the rich texture of

the Costa Rican culture. I

never wanted to leave. Ev-

ery corner of the country

I visited brought more and

more depth to my passion.

Even now, as I reflect

on my experience, it is

growing and becoming a

part of my entire being.

Luckily, when I returned

to the United States and to

Millsaps I knew I wouldn’t

be leaving a single mean-

ingful part of my summer

behind. I was returning to a

place that would allow for my

continued exploration into

the meaning of family. I de-

cided to challenge myself in

the growth of my friendships

and professional relation-

ships. I want to expand my

family beyond just branches

of my own family tree. I was

retuning to another place

where I consider myself to

have been raised. Like the

small mountain town where

I spent my childhood, this

small college in the middle

of Mississippi makes me so

grateful for all it can offer.

I hope to find time to sit

on a bench in the bowl, as

cliché as it may be, and soak

up the wonderful place that

this is. I also knew, thanks

to the ever supportive and

encouraging Spanish de-

partment, that my passion

for Spanish wouldn’t have a

chance to cease growing. I

could say for certainty that

when I returned to Millsaps,

nothing would be missing.

Coming in as a junior, an

RA and editor in chief of the

Purple & White, is a feeling

that is incredibly reassuring. I

know for certain that I can put

myself out there in all these

ways and the most fundamen-

tal elements of my being can

continue to grow. If for noth-

ing else, Millsaps is a special

place for that reason alone.

There’s still a lingering

sense of anticipation and a

small bit of fear building up

around the idea that I only

have two years left. However,

there are multiple ways to

alter my perspective on this.

Option one: wow, I only have

two years left! How on earth

am I going to fit it all in? I like

to call this incredibly anxious

excitement about the future.

Option two (yet again a cli-

ché): I cannot wait to expe-

rience every instant of the

next two years, regardless of

what they bring. I like to call

this living in the moment.

Senior philosophy and history ma-

jor Jayson Porter reclines on his couch

wearing a black shirt, which reads “Got

Philosophy?” in broad white text across

the chest. Porter places both hands

on piles of colorful children’s books

stacked like miniature castle turrets.

A zealous glint echoes through his voice

as he says, “This is what I did this summer.”

This summer Porter worked with

Americorp by teaching philosophy les-

sons to children at a local Jackson School.

“The wage made it feel like an in-

dentured servitude, but I would do it

again in a heartbeat,” Porter reminisces.

He grabs a slim book entitled “Lady-

bug Girl.” He leafs through the tales of

a girl dressed as a ladybug, who in con-

stant combat with boredom, flies across

canyons and battle aliens. This book

reminds Porter of his summer students.

“They ask questions without presupposi-

tions which leads to the most imaginative

solutions,” he recollects with a wide smile.

Having finished flipping through “La-

dybug Girl,” Porter he plucks a thick

blue and white book from the bottom of

the stack. The book features an elephant

struggling with a dilemma concerning

his reality of existence. After a few mo-

ments reading about the elephant’s ex-

istential crisis, it becomes apparent that

this stack of children’s books was not an

ordinary pile of Dr. Seuss and “Every-

body Poops,” but it is a carefully select-

ed reading list for young philosophers.

Porter speaks with a sense of person-

al responsibility for the reading list. He

wishes that the simple plots of these books

evoke “potentiality” in the children, and

allow them to become resilient in pursu-

ing new resolutions. Porter says he feels

that other Teach for America (TFA)

educators may be focusing too much on

educating about the conflicts that will

comprise their future adult lives, rather

than reinforcing systems that allow chil-

dren to produce their own, imaginative

solutions for complex moral problems.

TFA encourages workers to read Paolo

Ferrae’s book “Pedagogy of the Op-

pressed,” which leads Porter to believe

“(TFA educators) come into schools

like they are saviors.” Although an

avid reader of Paolo Ferrae, Porter be-

lieves this is a contradictory practice.

When Porter works at Operation Shoe-

string on Bailey Avenue or Project In-

novation on Adelle Street, he does not

believe it is his task to empower the chil-

dren, because by empowering children,

a teacher forces adult presuppositions on

them. The lack of presuppositions is just

what Porter cherishes in young minds.

“So many teachers, in general,

are bringing children into conversa-

tions with fiction books about slav-

ery, I just can’t do that,” says Porter.

Porter tackles this problem by seeking

to “potentialize” his children. While he

is reading “Ladybug Girl” with his class,

Porter does not seek to empower his pu-

pils to become meticulous readers; but

rather, he focuses on “potentializing”

them by showing that it can be fun to read

and find new solutions to old problems.

“We learn through our experiences, and

when [young people] experience conver-

sations, through dialogue, their ability for

skeptical thinking increases,” he continues.

Porter’s method begins to emerge as

Not your ordinary children’s book

PORTER CONTINUED ON PAGE 7.

FEATURES | August 30, 2012

5

SALVO BLAIRSECTION EDITOR

Senior Jayson Porter proudly displays the philosophically-based children’s books that he used this summer for his Americorp teach-ing position. | Photo by Salvo Blair

Wottle the Throttle

The cap probably did not make

him more aerodynamic. Dave Wottle,

1972 Olympic gold medalist, laughs,

“I’m sure there’s people wander-

ing why I wore it, you should shave

your head like a swimmer I guess.”

Wottle offers no definite explanation

for why he wore the cap. It could be

to keep his longer than usual hair out

of his face while he bolted down the

track, or a well-worn lucky charm, or

even some sort of individualist protest.

There may not have been a clear mo-

tivation for Wottle, but the cap became

a legend and is archived at the USA

Track and Field Sports Hall of Fame.

Dave was raised in Canton, Ohio

less than a mile away from the Profes-

sional Football hall of fame. He grew

up with four siblings, and still has fam-

ily residing there. Looking back on his

youth Wottle remembers, “beating the

kid named Buddy in a summer race.”

If one event could foreshadow his fu-

ture as an Olympian, it would be his

first taste of triumph after winning a

foot-race around his neighborhood.

During high school, there had been

no indication that he would become an

international track star. “I don’t even

remember watching the Olympics in

1968,” Wottle says. The high school he

attended did not have an indoor track or

cross-country team, but that did not ham-

per his inborn enthusiasm as an athlete.

“In my years in high school I tried every-

thing; football, soccer, baseball, all of it.”

Wottle explains, “Ive never been much

of a sports watcher but I’ve always been

a sports doer.” Individualism comes

across as an important agenda for Wot-

tle, who does not adhere to any athletic

paradigm. “I’ve never been a hero wor-

shipper, back when I was running there

wasn’t that star athlete that I wanted to

copy…I really became a distance runner

by trial and error.” Wottle seems reminis-

cent of the passionately pursued world

of distance running, which has become

incredibly calculated and precise in re-

cent Olympiads. Wottle seems to remem-

ber a time when what was style in the

now scientific sport of distance running.

Wottle explains he found his own unique

method at Bowling Green University. At

Bowling Green, a school of 16,000 in

west Ohio, Olympic scouts picked up

Wottle’s ability, and he was selected for

the Olympic trials. Wottle qualified for

the Olympics, and began training. Dur-

ing intensive pre-olympic workouts, de-

spite advice from his trainers Wottle got

married just days before the competition.

Wottle describes the 1972 Olympics

having, “a grey mist hanging over it.” He

competed in two different races at Mu-

nich—the 800 meter and the 1500 meter.

The 800 meter race took place before the

Arab-Israeli incident, and the 1500 meter

took place after. Wottle noticed a palpa-

ble difference between the two competi-

tions. “They may have kept their feelings

close to their chests, but yea, the [second]

race was not as upbeat,” he remembers.

After the olympics, while running

professional track Wottle began coach-

ing at Welsh College in the off sea-

son. Slowly Wottle began drawing

back on his professional track respon-

sibilities and put a heavier focus on

his career in academic management.

Soon Wottle retired from distance

running, and put full time focus on his

career in liberal academia. Wottle pre-

viously worked for Rhodes College in

Memphis and recently retired from his

position there to move to Jackson, Mis-

sissippi to work for Millsaps College as

Interem Vice-President of admissions.

Wottle has been in Jackson for about

seven weeks, and is open to sugges-

tions for good places to have dinner.

Wottle may be a newcomer to Mill-

saps, but he has major plans to boost the

school’s admissions. First, he plans to

start with “modifications in our com-

munication plans with prospective

students.” Millsaps will begin send-

ing out hardcopy brochures and let-

ters at a higher frequency in addition

to the normal electronic correspon-

dence. Wottle hopes these modifications

will “broaden our outreach across the

states.” He believes “the future of a lib-

SALVO BLAIRSECTION EDITOR

Millsaps College welcomes 1972 Olympic gold medalist Dave Wottle as the new interum vice-president of admissions. | Contributed Photo

WOTTLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 7.

| August 30, 2012

6

Going Greek?

Men and women participating in Panhel-

lenic and Intrafraternal Council (IFC) Re-

cruitment are anxious as the events begin.

Nearly 60 percent of the Millsaps stu-

dent body is involved in the Greek system

and all students are encouraged to at least

participate in the recruitment process.

According to Megan James, direc-

tor of campus activities, the recruit-

ment process is an “exciting time

and also a great opportunity to meet

freshmen and upper classmen.”

IFC formal recruitment began on Aug 27.

and will continue until Bid Day on Sept 1.

The IFC recruitment process is three

nights of formal recruitment. Most

events are formal, and the men are

required to wear either a coat or tie.

All freshmen and interested, unaffili-

ated men are encouraged to attend for-

mal recruitment activities for the pur-

pose of meeting other Millsaps students.

Senior Garrett Wilkerson, IFC president,

says, “I still encourage guys who didn’t

go through rush to go Greek. It provides

academic, philanthropic, social and

leadership opportunities at Millsaps.”

Monday evening unaffiliated women

who are going through the recruit-

ment process will meet the Panhellenic

Recruitment team—which consists of

members from each soror-

ity—at recruitment kickoff.

Panhellenic recruitment

counselors are sorority women

who have disaffiliated from

their respective chapters for

the recruitment period. They

are trained to remain neutral as

they answer any questions that

potential new members have

during the recruitment pro-

cess providing listening ears as

potential new members decide

which sorority, if any, to join.

Senior Taylor Scyster,

president of the Panhellen-

ic Council and recruitment

counselor, encourages fresh-

men to “definitely go though

the process open-minded”

and to “ignore stereotypes.”

The formal process consists of events

hosted on three nights. After each event,

the women who are going through re-

cruitment will rank the sororities in an

order of their preference after each event.

The Philanthropy Round on Sept. 4, in

which each potential new member cre-

ates a craft affiliated with each sorority’s

charity, is the first event of formal recruit-

ment. The event is casual, so the girls

are not required to wear formal attire.

On Sept. 6 the women may be invit-

ed back to up to three houses to watch

skits that the affiliated women have pre-

pared. The skits incorporate various

details about each sorority. This night

is more casual than the Philanthropy

Round, so girls are expected to wear

either a skirt and blouse or a sundress.

On Sept. 7, girls may be invited

back to up to two houses for Prefer-

ence Night which is the most formal

of the three events, and potential new

members are expected to wear cocktail

dresses. The potential new members

rank a last time before Bid Day, which

will be held on Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. All other

members of the Millsaps community are

encouraged to support the Greek wom-

en during their run, which is the first

time they welcome their new members

“Recruitment is great for those who nev-

er thought they would go Greek. Greek

life focuses on community service, phi-

lanthropy, and scholarship,” says James.

HIRNI PATELCONTRIBUTOR

PHI MU DELTA DELTA

DELTA KAPPA DELTA CHI

OMEGA KAPPA ALPHA

KAPPA SIGMA LAMBDA

CHI ALPHA PI KAPPA

ALPHA SIGMA ALPHA

EPSILON

MILLSAPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.

P&W: What are the immediate

steps that will be taken to begin imple-

menting the new plan?

Pearigen: We are full of plans

that we can be working on this

year. We are working to increase,

promote and continue com-

munication with religious orga-

nizations on and off campus.

Strategic goal number three

in the plan is campus enhance-

ments. One of our first goals is

to reclaim the north east corner

of campus where the Texaco

now is. For now, I have become

a big fan of pressure washing. It

makes an amazing difference. Of

course, we ultimately need things

like a new performing arts center,

but we can pressure wash now.

P&W: Speaking of campus enhance-

ment, what’s the deal with Franklin?

Pearigen: I had hoped that while

no one was living there we could go in

and renovate it. I asked for a cost to

do a major renovation that would in-

clude things like the bathrooms, carpet

and paint and ceiling tiles. The total

cost was $2.5 million. I don’t want to

just go in there and throw paint on the

walls; the building needs new things

like plumbing. Our students deserve

that. But for now, we have to raise

the money to complete that project.

P&W: Can you explain some of the recent

changes in the academic departments?

Pearigen: We had to consider every

department and ask if it is a core element

of the Millsaps experience and there-

fore has the potential to drive students

into it. The only department we cut was

computer science. This does not mean

we are walking away from technology.

We are continuing to teach classes.

We reduced the number of peo-

ple teaching in French and Spanish.

We didn’t have the student enroll-

ment to support it, but we have the

student interest to add a language.

The shifting allows us to cover

what we need to cover while we

search for strengths in that area.

*Note: There were also changes made

in the Chemistry and Biology depart-

ments, the Else School of Manage-

ment and the History and Computer

Science departments. These changes

were accompanied by modifications in

different administrative staff positions.

P&W: What are your plans to address

continued student concern about the meal plan

and cafeteria environment?

Pearigen: We have not had

a discussion about that. That

will be on the staff agenda.

*Note: Pearigen recently re-

leased information on the most

recent staff meeting, reporting the

agreed upon changes to return the

old, wooden chairs to the cafeteria.

P&W: How can students be involved

in the Strategic Plan?

Pearigen: The first and fore-

most thing is to encourage prospec-

tive students to enroll. We need to

get our enrollment up. Also, aca-

demic performance of students

has a lot to do with the strength

of the institution. It has an affect

on the overall campus climate.

As I mentioned in my speech

at convocation, student involve-

ment is crucial. I invite your

voice and your activism. We

have a large group of student

leaders who are doing everything, but

I want to see more students ramp up

their level of engagement on campus.

P&W: Anything else?

Pearigen: Ask questions. I am

always available to listen to your

concerns and advice. My email

is Rob.Pearigen@millsaps.edu.

Pearigen addresses students at Fourth Night Ceremony. | Photo by Genny Santos.

Last fall, in the midst of Tropical storm

Lee, Millsaps College freshman kicker

Beau Brady looked at a potential field

goal to win the Backyard Brawl. The

damp field and heavy winds made the

kick look impossible. The kick went

up, but sailed too far to the left. The

Majors fall to the Mississippi College

Choctaws 33-27 in Backyard Brawl XII.

The rivalry returns to campus this

year, amidst the impending threat of

Hurricane Isaac. The annual Back-

yard Brawl will take place at 3 p.m.

this Saturday at Harper Davis Field.

The rivalry began in 1920 with a Choc-

taw victory. The teams played annually

until 1959, except for during World War

II. The rivalry was rekindled in 2000,

when they played each other at Veter-

ans Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Mill-

saps defeated Mississippi College 20-19.

Since 2000, the two schools begin

each football season playing one an-

other, alternating between the two

campuses. Millsaps hopes home field

advantage helps break Mississippi

College’s three-year winning streak.

“It has been on our mind since

spring practice that we have to be

able to finish out a close game,”

says Head Coach Aaron Pelch.

Senior Charlie Sagan agrees, “It has

everyone really focused on the game.

It has been a huge emphasis through-

out the off season and fall camp that

our goal is to beat MC. We even have

a countdown timer in the locker

room. That is our focus right now.”

Pelch has faith in his returning play-

ers, specifically junior Jonathan Moore,

senior Jeb White and senior Kegan Jop-

lin. Moore is a second-year starter who

Pelch thinks will have a

good season. White was

recently named to sec-

ond team preseason All

American Team. Pelch

is confident that Joplin’s

abilities will be helpful to

the Majors this season.

“Home field advan-

tage is huge for Mill-

saps. Everything is set

for Millsaps. Anytime

you play at home is a

huge advantage,” says

Coach Norman Joseph,

Mississippi College’s

head football coach.

Backyard Brawl has al-

ways been a close game.

The last three games

were won in overtime

and only by a margin of

a few points. Mississippi

College leads the current

rivalry with a 7-4 series

advantage. The Majors

last win was in 2008

when they defeated

the Choctaws 42-6.

“Our game with

Millsaps, if you look at the history, has

two blowouts—one we [MC] won and

one Millsaps won. All the other games

are in the last minute of play or in over-

time or double overtime. Every time we

play Millsaps is going to be a battle, a

war. We have the mindset to play to the

end, finish the game and fortunately

we’ve come out on top but they could

have gone the other way,” says Joseph.

The Choctaws three-year winning

streak will not affect their prepara-

tion for the game. “We don’t look at

last years game or the year before.

We are getting ready for this year,

for this year’s game,” says Joseph.

The Millsaps team has been working

tirelessly to prepare for this game. “I

think we have grown astronomically in

terms of offense, defense, and as a team.

We are much closer than we were. It’s

always a learning process to get a team

ready for a season and the past two weeks

we have really come together. Things

are starting to click for us,” says Sagan.

The Mississippi Sports Coun-

cil will be filming the Backyard

Brawl for the movie The Grudge

Match, which is based on the rivalry.

The long-standing rivalry has many

different aspects. “For me person-

ally, it’s that I’ve never beat them. It’s

such a motivation for me. I want to

beat them terribly, and the games have

been lost in heartbreaking fashion. I

want to make up for missed opportuni-

ties from previous year,” says Sagan.

Pelch says he loves how good the games

are. “Every game is hotly and tightly con-

tested. You always see the best of both

teams, and it comes down to the last quar-

ter to determine the winner,” says Pelch.

CAROLINE BRANDON & ADAM SHUBERT SECTION EDITOR & CONTRIBUTOR

Photo Contributed

SPORTS | August 30, 2012

7

The rivalry continues,Millsaps takes homefield advantage

PORTER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.one of dialogical engagement. He

says the most valuable skill he’s taken

away from working with young people

is better understanding ways to form

dialogue. When attempting to convey a

moral issue to children Porter finds him-

self in a constant challenge to choose

words and body language to enter con-

versations with children on their level.

“(This) has definitely helped me with con-

versations in the adult world,” says Porter.

The key to sustaining these conversa-

tions in the classroom Porter believes is

to “show when you’re not sure. Learning

is not something that ends when you get

out of school. (Educators) should show

that change is not bad, but greet a change

as a new chance for more learning.”

A self-described “too-serious-of-a-

dude,” Porter notes how being silly and

reading a child’s story like a broad-

way thespian has “made (him) more

permeable to human sentiment.”

Just as Porter encourages children to ap-

proach problems in their own way, his pupils

reciprocate the favor by encouraging him

to take in serious academic work and pro-

duce simple, and often comical dialogue.

During the last portion of summer break,

Porter was chosen to attend a conference

for the advancement of philosophy for chil-

dren at Mont Claire State in New Jersey.

“It was founded in the 1970s by a man

named Matthew Lippman. He essen-

tially was very Dewien in his pragma-

tism towards education,” says Porter.

Porter describes the conference as an

international event. Attendees ranged

from PhD’s from Turkey to Canadian

schoolteachers. There was even a Sin-

gapore Army veteran in attendance as

a freshman philosophy undergraduate.

A wide range of thought experiments

was conducted at the conference. These

experiments test the validity of a school-

scenario dialogical system. This system is

supposed to accentu-

ate a group’s “poten-

tial” to listen, speak

and converse in what

Porter calls a “com-

munity of inquiry.”

The conferences at

Mont Claire provided

Porter with a practical

system that promotes

groups’ cohesive-

ness. He is eager to

be back with his pu-

pils to see this meth-

odology in praxis.

“We don’t learn as

individuals. We learn

as groups. Without

listening to other

people, we wouldn’t

even have language,”

Porter acknowl-

edges in retrospect.

Exuberance intones

his voice as he imag-

ines returning to work holding up a pa-

per clip and asking, “How many different

shapes could you bend this paper clip in?”

“A typical answer for an adult could be

something around 50, but a child might

ask instead, ‘Can it be eight feet tall and

made of Styrofoam?’” Porter continues.

WOTTLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.eral arts college is to start

throwing out a larger net.”

Wottle compares his life to that amazing

race in ‘72, “Even though it seems cliché,

there are a lot of lessons I learned from that

race,” he says. Footage from his race shows

a shaggy-haired underdog rise up from

the back of the pack to become the clear

winner within the last 15 meters. Show-

ing a tortoise-versus-the-hare ethos, Wot-

tle relates, “Life’s an even pace, it’s about

not giving up when you’re so far behind.”

Majors gear up for fresh fall seasonsSPORTS | August 30, 2012

8

ADAM SHUBERT CONTRIBUTOR

VOLLEYBALLAfter a strong season in 2011

the Majors volleyball team

looks ahead to a potentially

historic season. “We should do

very well based on last season,”

says Coach Jamie Fisher, “We

have a solid group of returners

and also seven new freshmen

that are very strong and will

help contribute.”

From the returning players,

Raven Scott and Casey Laird

were all conference last season

and are among the seniors

looking for a conference title.

“This has the potential to one

of the best seasons in Mill-

saps history,” says Fisher, “We

could win conference but just

have to do all the right things.”

The team anticipates hosting

Birmingham Southern at 7:00

p.m. on September 12. “They

have become one of our big-

gest rivals and are a team that

we will be competing with atop

the conference,” says Fisher.

CROSS COUNTRYCoach Andy Till is excited

about his runners’ outlook for

this season.

“Last fall we made good

improvements finishing ninth

in conference. With our new

freshman runners, we could

place in the top three,” says

Till.

In a preseason time trial two

freshmen boys were in the top

five. He also expects big things

from sophomore Ben Parva,

who will serve as the men’s

team captain. On the women’s

side, junior Sara Sacks will

serve as captain. Junior Haley

Brown had a strong season last

year and will play an important

role this season. The team will

have four meets at Choctaw

Trails in Clinton, MS. Millsaps

will also host the conference

championship at Choctaw

Trails.

“I would love to encourage

the student body to come out

to Choctaw Trails.” Says Till.

WOMENS SOCCERAfter a 4-12-1 season the

Majors women look to improve

on their record. “With only

four wins it is easy to go up.

The girls are willing to work

hard and are excited,” Coach

Amanda Paschall says.

Paschall enters her first year

as head coach after Coach Paul

Van Hooydonk resigned just

before practices started.

“Being a former player my-

self, it’s a good opportunity to

duplicate the same experience

for these girls,” says Paschall.

The team lost four seniors last

year, which included the team’s

top goalkeeper. Freshman Elise

Davis will step in to fill the role.

The game to look forward to

is September 11 at Belhaven.

“The game is right across the

street, we would love to have

the stadium filled with Millsaps

purple,” says Paschall.

MENS SOCCERThis season the men’s team

looks to improve on a 2-11-2

season last year.

“We are going to be better

no doubt. We are deeper and

more competitive,” says Coach

Lee Johnson. The team lost

three seniors but gained 10

freshmen.

“I am excited about the

class,” says Johnson, “The class

as a whole will make us bet-

ter. Taylor Harrison, senior, is

going to be a good leader on

the field as well as (sophomore)

Chucky Hayden,” Johnson

says. The team’s first kick off

at home is at 6:00 p.m. Sep-

tember 7 against Delta State

University.

GOLF“I have higher expectations

this year,” says golf coach

Eddie Brescher, “Our goal is

to finish in the top 40 in the

country.”

The rosters for both the

women and men include four

freshmen. Lauren was one of

the top golfers in Mississippi

last year and brings a welth of

experience to the team.

Sophomore Lauren Barattini

will lead the women, and both

senior Jake Sherrington and

junior Drew Richardson, who

was all conference last year, will

lead the men. The team will

host a home tournament Octo-

ber 22-23 at Deerfield Country

Club.

Photos Contributed

JORDAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.

groups of people, but some

of the images highlight con-

cepts that are inherent and

enduring cultural differences

between groups. Pointing out

the faults of another group of

people does nothing but make

the person viewing feel more

powerful and “right” for not

being a part of the culture or

group at the butt of the joke.

Another image macro to imag-

ine: a photograph of a young,

voluptuous woman. She’s all

dolled up with her hair and

make-up styled perfectly, wear-

ing a low-cut blouse. At the top

of the picture in bold letters

it says, “That awkward mo-

ment when …” In the middle

of the picture, just above the

young woman’s chest it says,

“when,” and at the bottom of

the picture it just says, “damn.”

The phrase, “that awkward

moment when …” is used in a

lot of memes; the phrase and

images became popular through

rapid digital sharing. There are

plenty of innocuous ones: a pic-

ture of a person with their fly

unzipped and the phrase, “that

awkward moment when … you

forget to examine your zipper.”

However, the woman in a low-

cut blouse is reduced to having

nothing of interest or worth but

her body. In reality, she has hopes,

dreams and thoughts. And she’s

probably never seen herself

displayed in this image macro.

We must recognize our privi-

lege when sharing and viewing

these types of images. Some

of us are fortunate enough to

own a computer and have In-

ternet access. Even if we do

something as simple as “lik-

ing” a picture on Facebook of

a discriminatory image macro,

we are perpetuating a stereo-

type, continuing to belittle those

unlike ourselves, and reduc-

ing human beings to nothing

but what the image and bold,

white letters makes of them.

When a friend of mine con-

fronted the person who posted

the two above described im-

age macros on Facebook, he

quickly responded, “It’s for

the LOLZ,” and continued to

post more degrading images.

That phrase, a meme-ified

version of the Web classic LOL

(laughing out loud), shows that,

to him and to whoever actu-

ally constructed the images, it’s

all just a joke. Our culture, and

especially our youth culture, is

unaware of the consequences

of these images. A joke is fun-

ny when it doesn’t hurt you

personally, but what about the

people that it does hurt? Image

macros that stereotype those of

Asian descent as overly studi-

ous or label African Americans

as “ghetto” perpetuate the op-

pression of those groups. Im-

ages are too easily available

for viewing by too many for

them not to have consequences.

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t

find some memes and images hi-

larious. I’ve looked through thou-

sands of them throughout the past

few years. But, needless to say, I

do not LOL upon viewing image

macros and memes that reduce

women as only valuable in the bed

or the kitchen, or images macros

and memes that make light of

genocide. These images degrade

and attempt to homogenize our

beautifully diverse cultures; and,

come on, there are just some things

that are never funny.

This article was original-

ly published in the Jackson

Free Press on August 8, 2012

GREGORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2.

Millsaps items during the

course of the game, so please

make sure you come out!

Other goals that we have set for

the semester include installing a

printing kiosk in the library to

expedite printing and to free up

the other computers for students

to use. We also intend to work

with the College supporting

of their efforts to improve and

extend academic technology in

the classrooms. Additionally, we

will continue our work on capi-

tal improvements to the Col-

lege, such as adding a dedicated

student paint room on the third

floor of the College Center.

Finally, we are committed to

working with the College to

improve the policies that affect

dining services. We want to see

the hours in the cafeteria ex-

tended to better accommodate

our student athletes and all

students who enjoy their meals

in our cafeteria. A long-held

concern has also dealt with the

lack of variety in meal plans.

We intend to approach the

necessary entities of the Col-

lege administration in full sup-

port of adding another meal

plan option for our students.

As I hope you can see, the Stu-

dent Body Association remains

committed to serving you, the

students, in all that we do. We

have set some pretty steep goals,

but they are goals that we know,

in the end, will be of the benefit

to our student body. As always,

I encourage you to contact me

with any questions, concerns,

or comments that you have

about any aspect of what we

are doing. On a personal level,

I thank you for your continued

support of Millsaps and look

forward to serving you through-

out these next few months.