How important is Valentine’s Day?

Tevin Arrington

Senior Writer

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and most people typically view the holiday as a day reserved specifically for couples to express their feelings of love for one another. Ideas of the day usually involve presenting loved ones with a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates and an extravagant night on the town with dinner and a feature film.

The W has quite a few faculty couples who all had an opinion when asked questions concerning Valentine’s Day. Their answers were interesting, due to the fact that many couples do not place a lot of emphasis on the holiday.

“I kind of see it as a fake holiday, in some ways — and so you feel compelled to do something just because everybody else is, but really you just don’t have a lot of time,” said Dr. Melissa Smith.

A Murder Mystery is Afoot at the W

Ryan Lake

Reporter

The W Leadership program will be hosting a Murder Mystery at the Puckett House at 5 p.m. on Feb. 13.

The program is the brainchild of the director of Student Life, Jessica Harpole, and Kelsey Bowman, a W Leadership intern, who wanted to follow up their success with the haunted house the W Leadership program produced for Halloween.

“We really enjoyed doing the haunted house last semester. So we tried think of something like that. Something that would incorporate everyone. We thought of the game Clue, where everyone would have a chance to develop,” said Bowman.

MUW Takes a Strong Stand against Hazing

Pedro AcevedoPhoto courtesy of Chris Jenkins

Managing Editor

Hazing is nothing new. The action of hazing — broadly defined as any activity that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers any individual being initiated into a group — has existed for centuries. Yet, it remains today as one of the prevalent problems among universities throughout the country.

Far from disappearing, hazing-related incidents during pledging and initiation events have caused the death of at least one college student each year since 1970. According to www.stophazing.org, more than half of all college students involved in a club, team or organization experience or have experienced hazing.

According to university president Dr. Jim Borsig, the Mississippi University for Women has not been an exception to this trend.

Je Suis Charlie: Between Freedom of Expression and Respect for Others

Ryan Lake

Reporter

On the morning of Jan. 7, in Paris, two militant Islamists opened fire on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring 11 others.

Charlie Hebdo was well-known for its irreverent and anti-religious cartoons and articles and had been attacked before in the past. However, such a brazen attack on freedom of speech did not go unnoticed. Four days later on Jan. 11, more than 2 million people including 40 world leaders met in Paris for a rallying day of unity with the rallying cry “Je Suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”).

Several students at MUW expressed their thoughts on the attacks and its implications.

MUW working toward a tobacco-free campus

Daysha Humphrey

Campus Editor

At this spring’s faculty convocation, Dr. Jim Borsig had an announcement that he saved for last, and the repercussions from it are still rippling through campus.

He announced that he wanted the MUW campus to be tobacco free by July 1, 2016.

While it may not have come as a total surprise, given that other universities have been making this type of change, it was the first official word that the university is moving in this direction.  

Faculty, staff and students who smoke already have some limitations on campus. The MUW Student Handbook 2014-2015 states in section 7.11 that “smoking is prohibited in all campus buildings. Smoking is allowed only in designated areas, which must be at least 20 feet from all building entranceways. Discarded cigarettes should be placed in appropriate containers.”

Some people who have heard discussions about the upcoming change in the tobacco policy on campus have strong opinions about this strategy — especially students.

“American Sniper”: What Does Campus Think?

Charlie Benton

Features Editor           

“American Sniper” follows the story of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. The film has been controversial throughout its run, with some critics lauding the film for its realistic, gritty view of the wars in the Middle East and some believing the opposite, going as far as saying that the entire film is based on lies. Even with the controversy, or perhaps because of it, the film has grossed more than $316 million worldwide so far during its run, according to Boxofficemojo.com.

Here is what six W students had to say about “American Sniper.”

Question: Did you like “American Sniper,” and do you feel like it is an accurate depiction of the war in the Middle East?

Faculty spotlight: Wesley Garrett

Asia Duren

Reporter

Wesley Garrett, the director of legal studies at the W, is a practicing lawyer and a professor. She is from Dyersburg, Tenn., and graduated from the W with a degree in Legal Studies. She went on to pursue law at the University of Alabama’s School of Law.  Garrett is the MUW Alumni Association Parliamentarian, a member of the Lowndes County Bar Association, and a member of the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers program. She completes more than 20 hours of pro bono legal services a year and says finds helping people rewarding in many different ways.

Students for Life Aims to Influence MUW

Velvet Case

Religion Editor

The Students for Life organization at MUW is stepping out to support new mothers and educate students about pro-life options.

This new campus organization has teamed up with the local Life Choices Pregnancy Center. Charitable events throughout the year have been planned by Students for Life to show its support for the center.

The group will kick off its first group function in February by holding a Baby Shower for Life Choices. This “shower” will provide the campus with an opportunity to give traditional baby shower items to new mothers and their babies. Students will be able to drop off baby shower gift items at specified collection box stations around campus on Feb. 9-11. Items such as pacifiers, baby socks, baby bottles, diapers, baby clothes and maternity clothes are welcome.

Blue Line Shakespeare’s production “Twelfth Night” delayed

Daysha Humphrey

Campus Editor

MUW’s theater department has moved the date of its “Twelfth Night” production to April 23-25.

“Twelfth Night” is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare that Blue Line Shakespeare is presenting. It was originally due to be presented Jan. 23-25. Blue Line Shakespeare is MUW’s first Shakespeare festival and is a result of alumni working with the theatre department to share their love of Shakespeare.

David Carter, chair of the theatre department, said that it had to be pushed back because of an unexpected circumstance with the director of the play.

“We had to postpone it because the director had a sudden family tragedy, which is all I can really say,” Carter said. “It was unavoidable.”