Delta State Football: Hugh Ellis Walker :Statesmen win Heritage Bell Classic 27-3

Remembering the legacy of a beloved alumnus

THE DELTA STATEMENT DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY

Serving the Delta State community since 1931

Thursday, November 20, 2014Volume 83 Issue 10

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Taylor Holland was crowned Delta State’s 2014 Homecoming Queen on Nov. 15. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro

Elisabetta ZengaroEditor-in-Chief

“ I have a keen sense of support for student journalism and applaud our students on the

great job that they do on the paper,” Delta State University President Bill LaForge said in an article about National News-paper Week published in The Delta Statement on Oct. 9, 2014. “I look forward to reading The Delta Statement each week.”

“The paper gives the whole DSU community a journal of events and happenings from around our campus,” LaForge also said in the article. “It gives us that voice from the Fourth Estate.”

However, that “voice from the Fourth Estate” received a $10,000 budget cut in a move to “transition to digital,” and Delta State’s journalism program was also cut, decisions unanimously approved by the President’s Cabinet.

These cuts were announced in an email LaForge sent out to students on Nov. 5, 2014, where he attached a copy of the “Campus Update: Budget Reduction Plan” and “Budget Reduction Plan: Q&A.”

The journalism program was identifi ed for possible elimination in July 2014 based on the following criteria: According to the Academic Program Review document for Low-Enrolled/Low-Producing Programs during Phase I of the program review process, programs that were identifi ed for review were undergraduate programs with less than 20 majors and graduate programs with less than 15 majors, had less than 10 graduates from 2012-2013 and generate less than 300

credit hours. In July (which was after

spring semester graduation and before the offi cial start of the next academic year), there were 15 journalism majors. However, by September 2014, when students had fi nished registering for fall classes, the journalism program had 21 majors, according to the program’s defense document.

As for the second point, the provost and the cabinet reviewed programs that had less than 10 graduates from 2012-2013, but according to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), undergraduate programs need to produce only 15 graduates over a three-year span, which was not taken into consideration, according to the “Academic Program Review.” While journalism had only fi ve graduates within the 2012-2013 academic year, it was within IHL standards and one of four programs with fi ve graduates that year. An additional 14 programs on the list had less than fi ve graduates.

According the defense for the journalism program, journalism, “unlike many larger programs, has in recent years met and/or exceeded the IHL requirement of fi ve or more graduates per year. The offi cial numerical goal has been met even though graduates who double major are often not included in the statistics.”

The third point addressed in the program review was credit hour production. Out of 22 programs identifi ed as having less than 300 credit hours, journalism produced the most credit hours during the 2013-2014 academic year, and seven programs produced zero credit hours in 2013-2014.

On Nov. 6, 2014, LaForge

Delta State cuts iconic journalism programaddressed the program and budget cuts approved by his cabinet to faculty and staff in a forum.

“Let me start by saying that the decisions made in everything in front of you in the matrix you have are numbers, data and metric driven,” LaForge said in the faculty forum. “It’s all institutional. Everything we did went to the Institute of what’s good for Delta State.

“None of it, from our aspect of it, was aiming at a program per se or a person per se. It had nothing to do with that.”

But based on the criteria given, the journalism program should not have undergone review, since the program did meet IHL requirements for producing graduates and had over 20 majors.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. David Breaux said the bachelor’s degree in environmental science and the master’s degree in natural science had been identifi ed by the IHL for having low numbers and were placed on the list for further review, but neither of these two programs was one of the fi ve programs that were ultimately cut. In addition, Breaux said the rubrics used in the budget review and the curriculum review were “separate from IHL requirements or rubrics that are used.”

The programs under review were also asked to undergo a “Narrative Analysis.” According to the “Narrative Analysis” portion of the program review process, programs under review were asked to address the following questions: “1. Does the identifi ed program Support General Education? 2.

Chiquita WilliamsStaff Writer Previously Published on April 10, 2008

Six years ago, Mississippi sportswriter S. Wayne Thompson (DSU ’43), left his life savings to Delta

State to strengthen journalism education.

On Monday, April 14, at 2 pm, friends and colleagues of the late Mr. Thompson will gather on the second fl oor of the H.L. Nowell Student Union to dedicate one result of that legacy: the new S. Wayne Thompson Journalism Lab, home of both the Delta Statement newsroom and a collaborative journalism classroom.

Key speakers at the event will be Mr. Thompson’s friend, Dr. Leroy Morganti, DSU vice president emeritus, as well as Delta native Hodding Carter, a prominent national journalist and commentator.

Benoit native Thompson died in 2002 at the age of 80 after a long career as sports writer for the Jackson Clarion Ledger and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. His many awards included Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year (1965), Mississippi Sports Writer Hall of Fame, and honorary membership in the PGA of America. Even though Thompson wasn’t a wealthy man his gift was large, according to Morganti.

“His best memories are of this campus, and walking on the quad one day he told me he would give something to DSU when he died. I had no idea it would be $350,000, his entire estate,” Morganti said. “He loved young people and because of that

wanted to help those that were in his chosen profession.

“Wayne Thompson was highly principled both in his life and career. He was the most unusual person I have ever known, and had the quickest wit of anybody I have ever known. His wit and personality reminded me of Don Rickels (American comedian and actor),” Morganti added.

“It seemed like the more he picked on you the more you liked him. His main loves in life were his wife, his profession, and gall,” Morganti said. “He infl uenced me and a lot of people, and I am honored to have known him, work for him, and call him my friend.”

The Thompson legacy also funds journalism scholarships in memory of Thompson’s parents, Silas Wayne and Lula Wilson Thompson, awarded annually to as many as ten Delta Statement staff members.

Morganti says the journalism program is a valuable part of the Delta State curriculum. “I think the journalism profession is more important then ever. The decrease in daily newspapers concerns me. The current generation seems less interested in what is going on in the world. The abundant use of TV and Internet is the problem. People don’t read newspapers like they use to. Now they have 30 second sound bites.”

According to DSU Assistant Professor of Journalism Patricia Roberts, both the new setting and the scholarship fund enhance what journalism students can accomplish at Delta State.

“I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Thompson, but in some ways I feel I know

Journalism lab to be dedicated, ceremony to name lab after DSU alum

LaPetra WilsonStaff Writer

Delta State University held its annual Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 15, and celebrated one of

its homecoming festivities by unveiling the 2014 Homecoming Queen.

This year’s Homecoming Queen, Taylor Holland, is from Grenada, Miss., and is the daughter of Bob and Kim Holland.

Holland, is a senior biology

/pre-physical therapy major, member of Kappa Delta Sorority, Omicron Delta Kappa, Beta Beta Beta, Alpha Epsilon Delta and the DSU Softball team.

Holland is also a member of the Catholic Student Association, Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Kappa Alpha Rose Court.

“I am so excited and thankful to represent Delta State as Homecoming Queen,” Holland said. “I was so overwhelmed and a little bit chilly.”

“Becoming DSU Homecoming Queen is such

an honor, and I am so proud to represent Delta State as a student athlete,” she added. “I am so thankful for everyone that voted and for all of the support [from my] sisters and Lady Statesmen softball teammates.”

Brinkley Henry and Shelby Tuttle were freshman maids. Katie Ann Locke and Dana Newsome were the sophomore maids. The junior maids were Allison Dale and Emilee Grem. The senior maids were Ericka Robinson, Whitney Crum, and Homecoming Queen Holland.

Taylor Holland crowned Delta State’s 2014 Homecoming Queen

him, through our mutual love of journalism,” Roberts said. “I feel a deep responsibility to use his legacy as he intended, to challenge a new generation of students to master the skills of the profession.

“Delta State already offers one of the best programs in print journalism in the state,” Roberts continued. “The S. Wayne Thompson Journalism Lab will enable us to continue to grow, to add more courses and more opportunities for journalism majors and minors.

“Our goal is to train a new generation of journalists who can utilize the new tools of the profession, as well as traditional professional skills. The Mississippi Delta offers an excellent setting, due to the rich heritage of great journalism from this region,” Roberts added.

The Silas Wayne and Lula Wilson Thompson Scholarship “helps Delta State students build solid professional skills, and also contributes to the life of campus community,” Roberts said. “Without this fi nancial help, many journalism students would need to spend their spare time working at off campus jobs, which wouldn’t promote their professional growth.”

BPAC director David Dallas, one of the many former Delta Statement editors who will attend the lab dedication event, feels journalism is a vital part of campus life.

“I’m excited about the dedication. This will be a great step for the journalism program,” Dallas said. “The journalism lab being named in Thompson’s honor gives the university a