Looking Back at the Grove Bowl

Grove Bowl: What the Fans are Saying (Internet Edition)

The Ole Miss Rebels wrapped up the annual Grove Bowl almost two weeks ago. There were many questions that needed to be answered and SEC columnist for ESPN, Chris Low, thought the Rebels answered some of those questions, but also had some other areas that need to be addressed. Read his article HERE.

Some fans and students at Ole Miss have mixed feelings as to what they witnessed at the Grove Bowl. You can read my essay on what some of the fans are saying by clicking HERE.

You can also visit olemisssports.com for their complete wrap-up, stats, and photos of the 2011 Grove Bowl.

Print Version

Hip Hop Dance At Ole Miss

April 28th, Beyond Movement, a new hip hop dance group marked their spot at Ole Miss. Beyond Movement was started by Jasmine Harris a senior at the University. Harris has tried to start a successful dance group for the 3 years she has attended Ole Miss. This is the first year that a group she started has a actually had show. April 28th Beyond Movement had there showcase to display the dances they worked so hard to perform. The group consist of 19 members, 14 girls and 5 boys.

The group’s main focus is hip hop, but they are thinking of expanding their style of dance. “We have the most dedicated group of dancers and students that we can’t help but to grow as a team, family, and individually” the head choreographer, Taylur Avery stated. The group members are truly dedicated. Beyond Movement practiced six times a week starting in January up until the showcase. Balancing a demanding practice schedule and school work was difficult for the members at times but they got it done.

The showcase was a great success. The show was located in the Luckyday Residential College’s commons. For their first show they had a huge audience of 250 people. Beyond Movement performed four different routines with the theme of the show being America’s Best Dance Crew. Between each performance they had younger female dancers from ages 5 to14 perform from a dance school in Oxford. “Hard work pays off and you can tell through the Beyond Movement showcase it was a great show”, an audience member, Jonathan Pender said. The show overall had great feedback.

Every song that Beyond Movement had a routine too was up to date and a crowd pleaser. For example 6 foot 7 foot by Lil Wayne and Look at Me Now by Chris Brown were two songs they had a routine. The group really showed their skills by doing back flips and complicated stunts in some of their routines. There were videos to kick off each performance to tie in to the ABDC theme. Beyond Movement went outside of Ole Miss to make their team a success. They went to Mississippi State to watch and learn from another hip hop group that has been around for years. During Spring Break Jasmine Harris took dance classes so that she could help the group with new material that she learned.

Beyond Movement came together by word of mouth. It started off with seven members. They asked around for people that wanted to dance and found the rest of there group. They held practice in the Residential College and Luckyday Residential College weight rooms. The space was very tight, but no other place on campus would let them practice in a bigger area. By starting a new group they battled a lot of obstacles. Not knowing how or where to get their costumes and finding a venue was apart of the biggest battles of putting on the show. It was a great learning experience for them next year. The showcase will now be an annual event because of the great success. The group admitted that they grew closer as friends and more like a family. Beyond Movement will be holding the first and last auditions in fall. “We are not going anywhere, so look out”, Victoria Ray said.

Online Version

Hip Hop Dance At Ole Miss

April 28th, Beyond Movement, a new hip hop dance group marked their spot at Ole Miss. Beyond Movement was started by Jasmine Harris a senior at the University. Harris has tried to start a successful dance group for the 3 years she has attended Ole Miss. This is the first year that a group she started has a actually had show. April 28th Beyond Movement had their showcase to display the dances they worked so hard to perform. The group consist of 19 members, 14 girls and 5 boys.

The group’s main focus is hip hop, but they are thinking of expanding their style of dance. “We have the most dedicated group of dancers and students that we can’t help but to grow as a team, family, and individually” the head choreographer, Taylur Avery stated. The group members are truly dedicated. Beyond Movement practiced six times a week starting in January up until the showcase. Balancing a demanding practice schedule and school work was difficult for the members at times but they got it done.
The showcase was a great success. The show was located in the Luckyday Residential College’s commons. For their first show they had a huge audience of over 250 people. Beyond Movement performed four different routines with the theme of the show being America’s Best Dance Crew. Between each performance they had younger female dancers from a dance school in Oxford perform. “Hard work pays off and you can tell through the Beyond Movement showcase it was a great show”, an audience member, Jonathan Pender said. The show overall had great feedback.

[for more info on the group visit http://beyondmovement.jimdo.com]

Hawley Martin

April 27, 2011

Journalism 102 Project

Internet Version

Lower Textbook Costs Shot Down

A bill to lower textbook costs proposed by Rep. Bob Evans was shot down earlier this year in the House Committee for reasons about which people can only speculate.

The proposed bill, Bill 158, would have lowered the cost of textbooks for college students in Mississippi, and thus increase chances for more students to attend college and increase productivity of students. With rising costs of textbooks, more people are discouraged from attending institutions of higher learning due to financial binds. In addition, those who do attend college often opt not to buy a textbook because of the high price. This decision leads to poor grades because the student does not have the necessary means for studying, and it makes students less inclined to go to class altogether, and grades suffer even more. Full Version. Textbook fact sheet. Textbook prices.

Hawley Martin

April 27, 2011

Journalism 102 Project

Print Version

Lower Textbook Costs Shot Down

A bill to lower textbook costs proposed by Rep. Bob Evans was shot down earlier this year in the House Committee for reasons about which people can only speculate.

The proposed bill, Bill 158, would have lowered the cost of textbooks for college students in Mississippi, and thus increase chances for more students to attend college and increase productivity of students. With rising costs of textbooks, more people are discouraged from attending institutions of higher learning due to financial binds. In addition, those who do attend college often opt not to buy a textbook because of the high price. This decision leads to poor grades because the student does not have the necessary means for studying, and it makes students less inclined to go to class altogether, and grades suffer even more.

There are methods of lowering the educational costs. Two methods are unbundling and textbook rentals. Bundling is when a textbook comes with a pass code or CD to accompany the textbook for online homework and other assignments. Some teachers only require the student to purchase the pass code or CD and do not require the student to own a textbook. Many textbooks are available to rent for a much cheaper cost than as opposed to outright purchasing the textbook. This concept saves students money, but it is flawed.

It is cheaper to buy a used textbook and sell it back at the end of the year than to rent one. Richard Lowe of Rebel Bookstore defends this statement as he has in-depth experience with both options.

The requirement for the latest edition of textbooks also makes it impossible sometimes for student to buy a used textbook. Textbooks are revised and edited often from year to year, and a new textbook is significantly more expensive than a used one. The method of buying used textbooks is therefore often not an option. Much of the time, it is difficult or impossible to avoid paying an extremely expensive price for a textbook. It is for this reason that a bill to lower textbook costs would be particularly beneficial to students.

“I haven’t bought a few of my textbooks because of the ridiculous prices. I often struggle to borrow one from a friend, or I try to photocopy pages in order to study. Sometimes my grade suffers.” Freshman Conrad Helms said.

“I wasn’t aware that this bill was a reality. I can’t believe they didn’t pass it.” Sophomore Matt Loomis said.

The bill has come up more than once and has never made it out of the House Committee. Many proponents of the bill speculate that book sellers are to blame for negative feelings towards the bill which has lead to such poor progress.

Eating in Oxford, as a college kid

Coleman Smith

Ole Miss students living off-campus who receive a monthly check from their parents, quickly discover how important it is to incorporate their food budget for the month.

This may sound strange to freshman students living off food meals and flex money and also to non-traditional students who may live on their own or with their family. But for all you students who scrap meals at the end of the month, mooch bites of your buddy’s sandwich, and have mastered the dollar menu this article will relate to you.

READ MORE with Full Article

Eating in Oxford, as a college kid

Coleman Smith

Ole Miss students living off-campus who receive a monthly check from their parents, quickly discover how important it is to incorporate their food budget for the month.

This may sound strange to freshman students living off food meals and flex money and also to non-traditional students who may live on their own or with their family. But for all you students who scrap meals at the end of the month, mooch bites of your buddy’s sandwich, and have mastered the dollar menu this article will relate to you.

There are four ways a student may pay for food around Oxford. They are: flex and meal plans for on-campus stores, express for off-campus stores, and finally old fashioned money. Flex and meal plans are crucial freshman year. Mainly because you are living in the dorms and hot meals are in walking distance from your bed. Ole Miss offers a variety of on campus stores. They have hot fast food joints such as Chik-Fil-A and Subway, fancy coffee shops like Starbucks, healthy stores such as Bleeker Street, and for students living in Martin, Stockard, or Crosby can walk downstairs to the C Store located in their lobbies All of these stores along with the many others on campus are convenient not only because of their location but also because they have meals ready to serve fast. Because of this their quality lessens hence getting the name “campus food” or “union food.” Justin Ray, a Journalism Major, says, “After I burned up all my flex money on union food, I could tell my stomach was relieved.”

Express money may seem meaningless to some parents but for those students who receive Express know how Express is quite crucial when it comes to managing their spending money. There are only certain stores who take Express and certain gas stations who take express, when it comes to tobacco. Restaurants who take Express include, Abners, Newks, Huddle House, Backyard Burger, KFC, Chilis, Dominos, McCalisters, New Hunan, Panini, Pizza Hut, Smoothie King, Zaxbys, and Proud Larrys. Express is convenient when it comes to managing your spending money, but also can turn into a hassle when you want to spend that part of your allowance at the bar.

Finally we are down to the cold hard cash section. Oxford like many other unique small towns has a divided variety of restaurants. Restaurants range from cheap low-end food to expensive quality food at high-end restaurants. There are not too many restaurants that meet in the middle pricewise. It may seem tactical to eat cheap meals every day in order to budget your bank account, but after doing the math it proves otherwise. Eating 2 to 3 fast food meals is at least $15 and mulitiply that by 7 for the week ends up being a hefty $105, then add that by 4 for the month and it is a staggering $420. Geology major Payton Mann said, “I got to a fast food place like Wendys or McDonalds and can confidently call myself a master of the dollar menu.” Now not all people can go a month solely on fast food unless you’re Morgan Spurlock from Super Size Me, but many students cannot recount their fast food visits for the week. Yes there are restaurants that can be categorized as moderately priced. Freshman undecided undergrad Patrick Herms said, “It’s my first year here and I can’t really think of many restaurants besides the ones on the square.” Obvious restaurants such as Chilis, Oby’s, and Applebees; these restaurants hover the borderline in terms of quality of low-end restaurants and price range of high-end restaurants. The best way to go out is relative to the best way to go out, chase the deals and seek out the best bang for your buck.

There are many restaurants in Oxford that are both delicious and relatively cheap. It may take time to find these restaurants but after eating a meal your taste buds and wallet will never forget. For instance if you want some fresh mouthwatering meat you can go to LBs located off Jackson Ave. Lunch hours begin at 10a.m. and go through 2p.m. during which time items such as hand-formed Black Angus beef burgers are offered up alongside sandwiches stuffed with smoked brisket, smoked sausage, Philly cheesesteak, or pulled pork. Or if you want some fresh authentic Mexican Tacos for around $1.50 a piece you can go to the taco shop right behind Oby’s. Crispy cat fish along with homemade potatoes can be served at Handy Andy’s off N Lamar. And if you want something similar to Big Bad Breakfast and don’t have the wallet for such expense then The Beacon off Jackson Ave will suite your needs. Those restaurants along with several others will satisfy your stomach along with keeping your food budget intact. But the best way to manage your food budget at the beginning of each month is to learn how to cook and how to shop at your local grocery store.