Nov. 20th, 2009

merger talks official

Lizzie Locker
Managing editor

Governor Haley Barbour’s announcement on Monday of a proposed budget plan substantiated rumors of a possible merger between MUW and Mississippi State University. The proposal is still just that – a proposal. The final decision will be made by the Mississippi Legislature.

In state newspapers, many legislators have stated that they do not believe the merger proposal will go through. According to a story in the Commercial Dispatch, Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus said, “I think it’s really going to be dead on arrival,” of the governor’s merger suggestions. “The college and universities committee chairman (Rep. Kelvin Buck, D-Holly Springs) already indicated as much. The bill would be going through him and his committee. If he doesn’t want it, it’s dead.”

LIFESTYLES

Winter game round-up
Joshua Lee
Columnist

Once in a while we get a pretty good video game crop. We'll have about three months when all the fancy blockbuster titles will come out, and you only buy one of them because you are a college student and software costs outrageous amounts of money unless it is older than you are, in which case the graphics probably amount to colored bricks powered by the ghosts of dead development studios.

Luckily for you, though, I have entirely too much free time and have decided to do a round-up of the most important games released this season. They are not important based on any kind of issue like "whether or not you will have fun playing them" or anything good like that, but rather because nerds have a surprising habit of latching onto things that they have no firsthand experience with and cling to it like it's the life-raft that will prevent them from dying. Here’s the scoop on the three most hyped games of "that period of winter right before December" 2009.

OPINION

Merger means murder
Our View
Email the spectator

Letter from the editor

At the Spectator we typically do an “Our view” about an issue. This time, after talking to my staff, I wanted to express my personal view. I must preface it by saying that my view is supported by my staff and we are all against the merger. However, we all have very personal reasons for why the W merging with Mississippi State University would be a bad idea, and I wanted to share mine.

As the nation’s first public college for women, I was drawn to the W from the moment I started looking at colleges. I applied at many schools out of state, but the W was the only Mississippi Institution I would consider. This was due to the accolades that it had been given, and the respect I had heard from every professor and teacher I had spoken with about my college options.

CAMPUS

Active-shooter training held on MUW campus
Lizzie Locker
Managing editor

On Wednesday and Thursday, MUW hosted an Active-Shooter training course for area police officers. The course was offered through the Department of Homeland Security, and focused on training first responders in proper protocol and action in situations involving an active shooter (i.e., an individual actively firing a gun). The course will be taught by Chief of MUW Police Kennedy Meaders.

Criminal justice and security agencies from all over the state participated in the event, including the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Lowndes County Sherriff’s Department, Tupelo County and Lee County school districts, the Starkville Police Department, the Mississippi State University Police Department, and MUW’s police department.