Give the Gift of Life this Holiday Season

Unlike most 18-year-olds, George McEwen has more on his Christmas list than a new Xbox or the latest Apple gadget. Instead, McEwen, 18, is hoping for a blood transfusion this Christmas.

McEwen suffers from Sickle Cell Disease, which affects one out of 300 African Americans in Mississippi, according to Mississippi Blood Services, and between 70,000 and 100,000 Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control.

His need for a blood transfusion is not only at Christmas-time, since he needs transfusions every four or five weeks. Yet the holiday season can be a time of more need and less supply of blood, according to Lolita Gregory, Operations Manager for Mississippi Blood Services.

Mississippi Blood Services has standing orders with hospitals for blood for people like George, who need monthly transfusions, but they must be able to provide for both the foreseen and unforeseen things, Gregory said.

Meeting these needs can prove more difficult during the holidays.

The holiday season means schools are closed and many people are traveling. This causes blood donation levels to decrease since people are out of their normal routines. Holiday travel can also mean that accidents are more prominent, which increases the need for blood.

The Oxford location of Mississippi Blood Services credits University of Mississippi students for being a very large part of its donor base.

During the Transylvania Bowl in October, Ole Miss students donated 320 units of blood over five days. These donations have the capacity to save almost 1,000 lives, according to Gregory.

But of the 60 percent of people in Mississippi who can give blood, only 4 percent are blood donors, Gregory said.

Many people are scared to give blood, but there is nothing to be afraid of, according to technician Bridget Austin.

“My advice for people who are afraid of donating blood is that it is not at all as bad as they make it out to be…It is just like a little sting, and that’s it,” Austin said.

By donating blood, you can start the holiday season by giving someone the most special gift of all—the gift of life for George McEwen and others like him.

“People giving blood over the holidays or anytime is a gift that will stay with a person,” McEwen said.

To find out more about giving blood, watch technician Bridget Austin, below, talk about requirements for donating and visit Mississippi Blood Services at www.msblood.com.

Sources:

George McEwen

Student at Oxford High School

Contact info: 662-202-2697 (his mother, Marsha McEwen's phone number)

Lolita Gregory

Operations Manager, Mississippi Blood Services

lgregory@msblood.com

Bridget Austin

Phlebotomist/Technician, Mississippi Blood Services

baustin_lilmama@yahoo.com

Links:

Sickle Cell Disease - University of Mississippi Health Care

Center for Disease Control - Jan. 21, 2010 CDC.gov

Others like him - June 9, 2010 Success stories from msblood.com (MS Blood Services)

Nutt, Students Address UM Football Changes

The fans and football team at Ole Miss have all noticed the need for improvement after this past season.

With this rough season finally coming to a close and rumors flying that Coach Houston Nutt and other team staff may be on the chopping block, students and coaches alike have become even more opinionated as to what changes the football program should make in the coming year.

“When you had a year like we just got through having, you start all over,” Nutt began at a press conference Monday.

“I’ve had one thing on my mind since the last second ticked off, and that was how we are going to get better,” he continued.

As for coaching rumors, Nutt finds them “ridiculous”, and he explained that he hasn’t made any concrete decisions about next year’s coaching staff.

“I don’t know that yet […] I look at it as what is best for Ole Miss and how we are going to get to Atlanta and win an SEC Championship.”

Freshmen Evan Brewster and Tucker Glenn agree that the Rebels’ offense met expectations this year, but both feel that the defense needs some work.

“We need more picks, more interceptions next year,” Glenn said.

Coach Nutt shared similar thoughts.

“[The defense] didn’t do a good job this year. That’s the bottom line. We expected much better.”

Recruitment also plays a major factor in the success of the coming season.

“We need to get Usain Bolt to be our primary recruit for next season, Glenn joked.

Coach Nutt’s main recruits will be safeties, corners, linebackers, defensive tackles, and wide receivers.

“We are looking for speed, playmaking and character,” Nutt said.

Nutt, Brewster, and Glenn all feel hopeful about next year’s fresh start.

“I’m excited about the guys we have coming back. I’m excited about our program. We are ready to get going, roll up our sleeves and go to work. We are excited about the future,” Nutt said.

Glenn remains an optimist, holding out for a 14-0 season.

In the end, Brewster accurately sums up Ole Miss football fans’ hopes and expectations.

“We’ll be better next year.”

Sources:

Freshmen Evan Brewster (interview attached in email due to upload failure)

Freshmen Tucker Glenn

Houston Nutt press conference: http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112910aaa.html

A Troubled Semester For Wireless Internet At The RC

Since the beginning of the semester, students and faculty alike have complained about the reliability of the Ole Miss wireless network. The Daily Mississippian ran a column in September of this year pointing out the seemingly lackluster state of the network and its capabilities, and things got so bad at one point that students at the Residential College actually began to petition the housing committee to do something about the wireless situation. 

The UM Residential College

The petition, which was started by Adam Kronenberger, the co-chair of the Residential College’s involvement committee, aimed to call out the housing committee to fix problems involving both slow and sometimes completely broken internet in the building. 

“If you want to help out [with] getting the internet connection faster, email housing at housing@olemiss.edu with your complaint,” read Kronenberger’s call to arms, which was distributed via email to all students. “The more complaints there are the more likely it becomes that there will be a change.”

It seems that there has been a change recently, as many students are reporting that videos and other content now load at an acceptable speed, and they're finally able to access their online homework using the building's wireless connection.

“My connection was never like a dinosaur,” said RC resident Clinton Simon. “But it has definitely gotten better.”

Dr. Daniel O’ Sullivan, The UM Residential College Senior Fellow, says that a rearranging of network load was the major reason that the internet connection improved for those living at the RC. 

“The IT guys moved certain rooms in the building like the Classroom, Dining Commons, and Computer lab onto different network access points,” he told me. 

But not everyone living in the RC has noticed a major improvement in the network. Take for instance RC student Austin Lavinghouse, who says that he has seen almost no improvement in the network:

Earlier this semester I asked John Supple, a UM Network analyst, about the situation, and he attributed the problem to a small budget and lack of attention from higher ups in the university. He simply suggested that students continue to petition, in order to try to draw attention to the issue.

Mr. Supple was unavailable for comment about the continuing state of the wireless problem for certain students. 

Sources:

John Supple

Network Analyst

662-915-5306

pssupple@olemiss.edu 

Daniel E. O'Sullivan, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow of the UM Residential College

662-915-669

deosullivan3@gmail.com

Adam Kronenberger

Involvement Committee, Co chair, Residential College

dakronen@olemiss.edu

Students React to Rutgers University Suicide

Question: Based on the recent Rutgers University suicide, do you believe Tyler Clementi's roommate (Dharun Ravi) should be punished---why (and how) or why not?

Interview One: Freshman John Wetzel

Interview Two: Senior Rochelle Wright

Inspired by September 30, 2010 CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/30/new.jersey.student.suicide/index.html?hpt=T2

"All politics is local"...or is it?

The well-known saying "All politics is local" does not apply to Delaware's Republican Senate Candidate, Christine O'Donnell, which should help her in November, according to Trey Nordan (top), a public policy student at the University of Mississippi. Others, like Toran Dean (bottom), also a public policy student at the University of Mississippi, feel that the focus should be on local constituents and their needs. Dean warns that O'Donnell's absence from the local scene may hurt her in the upcoming mid-term elections.





Question:

According to a recent article in the New York Times, Christine O'Donnell, the Republican Senate candidate in Delaware has been campaigning on a national level for the Delaware seat, unlike her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons, who has been making appearances on a local level, saying, "This is a job interview. In Delaware, if you want the job, people want to meet you."

Do you think that the well-known saying "All politics is local" still holds true today, or do you think that "All politics is national"?


Inspired by: Sept. 29, 2010 New York Times article "Delaware Race is Bellwether: All Politics Is National" by Matt Bai
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/us/politics/30bai.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=o%27donnell&st=cse

Ryan Rigney Journalism Interview Question Subject 2

Of the five rights guaranteed by the 1st amendment – that's freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly – which do you think is most often threatened in 21st century America, and do you feel that you have ever had one of those rights personally violated by someone?

Ryan Rigney Journalism Interview Question Subject 1

Of the five rights guaranteed by the 1st amendment – that's freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly – which do you think is most often threatened in 21st century America, and do you feel that you have ever had one of those rights personally violated by someone?