TUESDAYReflectorOCTOBER 30, 2012

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POLICY

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1884

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WEDNESDAY THURSDAY6743

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BY TEVIN FOWLER

Contributing Writer

Cheating is an issue prev-alent in educational institu-tions nationwide; the role of the student honor code and the upcoming events is to help reduce this number at Mississippi State University.

Monday was the start of Academic Integrity Week at MSU.

Academic Integrity Week is hosted by MSU’s Hon-or Code Offi ce, library and several other departments throughout campus.

The purpose of the week is to educate students on the importance of following the Honor Code and to show students proper ways of fol-lowing the Honor Code to avoid violations.

The events end Thursday at 7 p.m. at Taylor Auditori-um in McCool Hall.

Symone Bounds, fi rst year graduate student obtaining a master’s in public policy and administration, is the assis-tant program coordinator of

Academic Integrity Week. Bounds said this is the fi rst

year MSU is having a week dedicated to educating stu-dents of the honor code.

The idea of having a week dedicated to promoting the Honor Code started when the department looked at other universities such as Texas A&M, University of Virginia, Duke University and Maryland University.

James Orr, director of the Honor Code Council, said since the Honor Code was installed at MSU in 2005, keeping up with students who have violated the Honor Code has been more orga-nized because there is a cen-tral location to keep up with sanctions.

“The idea behind having an honor code at MSU is not to punish students for violating the honor code,” Orr said. “With the Honor Code we are also looking to educate our students and promote outreach program which can help students avoid violations and academic misconduct.”

BY CHRIS PEREZ

Contributing Writer

Mississippi State University’s Staff Council was presented a proposition earlier this month to revise the current tobacco policy on campus.

Bill Kibler, vice president of Student Affairs, has proposed a revised policy that would allow tobacco use in designated areas around campus.

The policy would make MSU 100 percent tobacco-free begin-ning fall 2014.

Kibler said the proposed re-

vision would provide a small increase in restriction, but not enough to be noticed at fi rst.

“We want to provide the campus community a period of transition rather than abruptly prohibiting smoking,” Kibler said. “The main thing is getting everyone on board by commu-nicating with them about the fact that campus will be tobac-co-free in 2014.”

The current MSU tobacco policy on campus requires to-bacco users to stand 25 feet from anything that would have the likelihood of allowing second-

hand smoke. Kibler’s proposed revision would designate areas located 25 feet from each build-ing, primarily at each entrance.

Kibler said when the campus goes tobacco-free in 2014, all forms of tobacco will be prohib-ited.

“If someone wants to smoke a cigarette on campus, the only exception would be if they smoked in their own personal vehicle,” Kibler said.

Kibler said he knows there will be tobacco users that will be upset with this revision.

BY MASEY SMITH

Contributing Writer

Preparation is the key to a successful advising meeting. Many students, especially freshmen, reach the advising period without researching major requirements or com-piling a list of necessary class-es.

Wesley Ammon, director of academic advising, addresses students’ lack of forethought when compiling a schedule for the upcoming semester.

“Students should come to the advising session with a sample schedule and let the adviser evaluate their work,” Ammon said. “Demonstrat-

ing that they made the effort shows maturity and makes the session go much smoother.”

A popular way to create an accurate schedule before meeting with an adviser is to utilize the CAAP Compliance feature, located underneath the “banner” tab of the MSU student homepage.

“Probably the best thing a student can do to prepare is to run a CAAP and see where they stand,” Ammon said.

The CAAP Compliance generates “what-if ” evalua-tions for any student’s major.

It provides information concerning credit hours and highlights the areas that have not been completed and what

a student needs in order to complete the criteria.

Barbara G. Stewart, aca-demic coordinator, said stu-dents should also develop a relationship with their advis-ers.

“It is so important from the beginning to make contact with the adviser and make the relationship more personal,” Stewart said.

Some students do not ad-dress all areas of concern when meeting with an adviser.

Jennifer Spears, junior so-cial work major, said she feels that she did not rely enough on her adviser during her freshman year.

REGISTRATION FOR NEXT SEMESTER

NOV. 5 - 15

STEPHANIE GODFREY | THE REFLECTOR

MISS MSU PAGEANT | Top: Jasmine Murray of Starkville is Miss MSU 2012. Murray is a freshman communication major and the daughter of Lisa Murray and Samuel Murray. Right: Lindsey Bishop of Conehatta, left, was selected the second runner up, while Laura Lee Lewis, right, of Brookhaven is the first runner up. The Miss Mississippi State University pageant was held Thursday in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium.

Students prepare for academic advising

MSU Staff Council considers changes to tobacco policy

SEE ADVISING, 2

SEE SMOKE, 2

MSU reinforces honor code with integrity week

SEE HONOR, 2

ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

DORM DAZEIS NOT OVER

LIFE | 5

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin spoke with students in McCool Hall Monday to begin academic integrity week.

Soccer season ends with double overtime win over Ole Miss

Sports I 7

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BADDAWGS

Friday, October 26• 1:47 a.m. A student reported being assaulted by three unknown males outside the ATO house.• 2:25 a.m. An Aramark employee was arrested in Starkville for no seat belt and no insurance.• 4:07 a.m. A student was arrested in Starkville for hit and run and driving under the influence.• 3:27 p.m. A student reported his calculator was stolen from Thompson Hall on Oct. 18.• 4:31 p.m. A student reported his vehicle was burglarized while parked in the Griffis Hall parking lot.• 11:40 p.m. A student was arrested in Starkville for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Saturday, October 27• 12:00 a.m. A student was arrested for driving under the influence.• 12:09 a.m. A student was intoxicated in Hathorn Hall parking lot. The subject was transported to OCH.• 11:03 a.m. An employee reported two books were stolen during a book signing at Cullis Wade Depot.• 3:33 p.m. A student reported his bicycle missing from the bike rack at McCain Hall.• 11:53 p.m. A student reported being threatened by his roommate in Magnolia Hall. Student referrals were issued.

Sunday, October 28• 1:46 a.m. A student reported the lion outside the SAE house was vandalized.• 4:36 p.m. A student reported being assaulted by two unknown males on Bully Boulevard.

Citations:• 9 citations were issued for speeding.• 2 citations were issued for running a red light.

NEWS THE REFLECTOR2 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR

MSU’s current tobacco policy limits smoke near campus buildings but does not eliminate its side effects.

The Honor Code at MSU sets the universi-ty apart from other colleges. MSU is the only public university in Mississippi that has sys-tem set up to keep track of violations.

Bill Kibler, vice president of Student Af-fairs, said having the Honor Code at MSU and educating students about the importance of following and respecting the Honor Code is benefi cial to the student and the university.

Kibler said the ultimate goal for the honor code is to have students realize the impor-tance of integrity once they graduate and be-gin their careers, so they will be aware that cheating will not be tolerated at their jobs and also the students’ actions will refl ect the uni-versity from where they graduated.

SMOKE continued from 1

HONOR continued from 1

“Not everybody is going to agree with this,” Kibler said. “No matter what we do, how we do it, or when we do it, you’re not going to have everyone agree with it.”

Robert McMillen, project director of the National Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control, said even though people may not agree with this propos-al, there are benefi ts of a tobacco-free campus.

“Numerous research studies demon-strate that tobacco-free environments lead to substantial reductions in the number of people who smoke, the amount of tobacco products consumed, and the number of people exposed to tobacco hazards,” McMillen said.

A recent study published in the on-line journal Preventive Medicine com-pared students at Indiana and Purdue University after Indiana implemented a tobacco-free campus. The study found that a tobacco-free campus policy changed social norms and reduced to-bacco use among college students.

“A 100 percent tobacco-free campus is the best option for the health and quality of life of the students, faculty, staff and visitor’s to MSU’s campus,” McMillen said. “The current policy

only provides protection from tobac-co smoke near buildings and does not reduce exposure, eliminate toxic litter, improve air quality or infl uence social norms for the majority of the campus area.”

Kibler said he believes this revision will send a strong message showing MSU’s continuing commitment to health and wellness on campus.

This ongoing effort to increase health and wellness is something other schools have been doing across the country.

“There are over 700 colleges and uni-versities across the nation that are 100 percent tobacco free,” Kibler said.

Southeastern Conference universities that have implemented tobacco-free campuses include Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida and Ole Miss.

McMillen said he believes that as with all policies, education is the fi rst step in enforcement and implementation.

“One of our goals is to make sure that MSU students, employees and visitors are all aware of the policies,” McMillen said. “Creating an atmosphere where everyone is responsible for the better-ment of their school is key to imple-menting and then enforcing the tobac-co-free ban.”

“I felt confused and did not ask my adviser everything that I wanted to during my freshman year, but now I have a plan and a goal when I come to advising,” she said.

Due to the nature of the advising process, students often can become con-fused or intimidated when meeting with their advisers.

Ammon said students should be com-fortable asking questions and gathering necessary information from their adviser.

“Students should feel free to ask what-ever questions are on their mind, regard-less of whether they think the question is dumb,” he said. “It’s much better to ask than to leave with unanswered ques-tions.”

Undergraduate advising started on Oct. 23 and extends to Nov. 9.

ADVISING continued from 1

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OPINION the voice of MSU studentsInDesign is very

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 | 3REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

CONTACT INFORMATIONEditor in Chief/Hannah Rogers

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sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to edi-tor@reflector.msstate.edu.

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CORRECTIONSThe Reflector staff strives to maintain the integrity of this paper through accurate

and honest reporting. If we publish an error we will correct it. To report an error, call 325-7905.

Editor in ChiefHannah Rogers

Managing EditorKaitlyn Byrne

News EditorEmma Crawford

Campus News EditorJohn Galatas

Multimedia EditorEric Evans

Life EditorZack Orsborn

Sports EditorKristen Spink

Opinion EditorMary Chase Breedlove

Photography EditorJay Johnson

Copy EditorCandace Barnette

Copy EditorRachel Burke

ReflectorThe

Capital punishment is a dangerous and in-effi cient solution to

a non-existent problem. As a country, we have the resources to imprison criminals who have committed horrible crimes for life without possibility of pa-role. We also have the resources to confi ne them in such a way they can do no further dam-age. Why, then, do we insist on death as a suitable punishment?

No matter how carefully we use our judicial system, no matter how many appeals we allow, wrongful conviction will always be a possibility. Nation-ally, 139 people have been freed from death row after they were found to be innocent. As long as the death penalty is in place, we will risk executing innocent people. It is a simple fact of life and human error.

The argument I most often hear for keeping the death pen-alty is it is cheaper than hous-ing criminals in jail for the rest of their lives. In the past, this may have been true. Howev-er, under the current system, criminals on death row typi-cally cost taxpayers much more than prisoners spending life without parole. This is because capital punishment cases re-quire more expensive trials and more appeals with a public de-fender in order to cut down on wrongful convictions.

In 2011, a study of the death penalty in California reported the cost of housing a death-row inmate was $1,000,000 per year more than the cost of housing criminals with life sen-tences without parole. The idea that killing our criminals is less expensive than feeding them is simply untrue.

Beyond the impracticality of the death penalty, I have never understood why it should be seen as a just punishment at all. Life after death is debated in pretty much every religion, but as far as I can tell, no matter your religious affi liations, you believe after we die we either (1) go somewhere bad or some-where good; (2) come back to this earth or (3) just fade out

into oblivion. Let’s take these one at a time. For Christians, after death, a soul either goes to heaven or to hell. Sending a soul to a place of peace and plenty can hardly be seen as punishment. And Christians must have compassion, a trait that would never allow them to send a fellow soul to hell on purpose, nevermind that as be-lievers saving people from hell is their job.

Practitioners of Judaism and Islam have similar views on life after death and similar mandates of compassion which should prevent them from sen-tencing a soul to eternal dam-nation. The next group of belief is after death all people cease to exist.

Sounds permanent, but again, I fail to see how that is retribution for a crime like murder. To me, being forced to live in a prison, and be stripped of all freedoms and thinking

about your crimes, would be better punishment. Finally, prac-titioners of B u d d h i s m and Hindu-ism believe in reincarnation.

At fi rst glance, this is the fi rst belief in which I would be okay with sentencing someone to death. Karma brings the guilty back as a lesser creature: built in punishment, and we don’t have to do anything!

However, those of these faiths believe strongly in non-violence and compassion and believe even the guilty should be able to live out their current lives to the end.

Three different beliefs on life after death, none of which log-ically support the death penalty as a morally just punishment (which is not to say that they don’t do it anyway in many cases).

All this brings into question what exactly should be the “capital” punishment. What is the worst fate you can think of? To me, the worst punishment you could possibly give me is to take away every freedom I have.

To be confi ned in a room by myself, to be told when I could do the most basic hu-

man functions, would be a fate worse than death. Of course, the problem with punishing humans is no two humans will have the exact same fears. Still, I think in a country built on the idea of freedom in all pursuits, stripping our worst criminals of those rights is only poetic jus-tice.

The main logical problem with capital punishment is the question of what exactly makes it okay for us to murder some-one, when that’s often exactly what we are punishing them for? Taking a human life is al-ways wrong. No matter how sanitary the needles for execu-tion are, or how far removed the executors are from the gritty facts of reality, those who sen-tence people to death are still taking a life. The life of a per-son who under a life sentence might still be able to repent and do some small amount of good.

What it really comes down to is whether or not you believe people who have done horrible things are still people.

We often strip those who commit violent crimes of their humanity, probably out of fear we could be capable of such atrocities. But criminals are still people, and no one ever gave us the right to play God with their lives.

As long as we have the re-sources to house criminals and keep them from hurting more people, we are morally obligat-ed to use a punishment that is just and adjustable in case new evidence can exonerate them. Maximum security prisons can offer a fate much worse than death in retribution for society’s worst crimes. Eliminating the death penalty can save money, provide a quick fi x for the jus-tice system and help a lot of us sleep at night.

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is one of the

most hotly debated topics in our country. Some argue the death penalty is constitutional and is an appropriate punish-ment for capital crime, murder in particular.

Others believe the death penalty is unconstitutional and qualifi es as cruel and unusual punishment and see it as re-venge. Those individuals feel the death penalty represents “an eye for an eye” analogy that should not exist in a civilized society. In my opinion, capital punishment should remain le-gal and not be abolished.

However, I understand and can even identify with argu-ments oppo-nents of capital p u n i s h m e n t present. Let’s an-alyze the other perspective for a moment. Op-ponents of the death penalty claim the capital punishment is unfair and inhu-mane.

Those who say capital pun-ishment is unfair claim the courts use capital punishment to discriminate against mi-norities and underprivileged citizens. Based on extensive re-search, reviewing many crimes and court cases and even wit-nessing this discrimination, sadly, their claim is true. There are more cases of minorities convicted in homicide cases and receiving the death penal-ties than there are of caucasians convicted of homicide and re-ceiving the death penalty. We also know homicides involving parties of different races result in an uproar and usually in-cludes very harsh sentencing of the minority party. To ignore these facts would be delusion-al. They also claim innocent people have been executed, and keeping the death penalty in tact risks more innocent people being executed.

Although this is hard to stomach, I’m afraid that this is true, as well. With our broken and fl awed judicial system, we all know sometimes innocent people are wrongly convicted, mainly because those individu-als lacked a fair trial and were

poorly represented (usually by a public defender) because they couldn’t afford to hire a good attorney.

There are a number of cases that can prove this. Opponents of capital punishment also claim the death penalty is in-humane and cruel because they see death as the worst kind of punishment.

While these are very accurate and convincing arguments, I don’t think abolishing the death penalty is a good idea. I think the abolishing of the death penalty is mostly centered on ideology. I recognize death sen-tencing is executed unfairly, but abolishing it is not a wise deci-sion either.

Much of the reasoning be-hind my stance is my empathy for victims and more impor-tantly, their families. I know some families of victims by ho-

micide disagree with the death penalty and vehemently oppose it. Then again, there are fami-lies whose loved ones have been slaughtered (in very vicious ways in some cases, I might add) who support the death penalty.

Who’s to say who’s right and who is wrong? Can you real-ly say a family of a deceased victim is wrong to want their loved one’s killer sentenced to death given the vicious way the loved one’s life was taken away? Yes, I know there is a possibility the court can convict the wrong person, but what if that person really did do it? Can you really call the pursuit of justice “ven-geance?”

Think of the pain, anguish and grief the family feels as a result of a loved one’s untime-ly death. People react to grief differently and have different feelings.

While some believe seeking death against the perpetrator who murdered a loved one is vengeance, some see it as jus-tice. It is only natural to want the criminal to pay for what he or she has done.

I know the death of the criminal won’t bring the victim back (because nothing will) but the death penalty may provide

some closure for the victims’ families (heavy emphasis on the word “may” because this is too complex to be certain). Families of those who were murdered by someone on death row may fi nd it easier to live knowing the person who killed their loved one is deceased, instead of hav-ing tax dollars pay to keep him or her alive.

Other families of victims feel otherwise and think seek-ing death may make them feel worse or make them feel venge-ful. The point here is no one can decide this but the families themselves.

I’m sorry, but I just can’t stomach the idea of saying a grieving family is wrong, im-moral or evil for wanting their loved one’s killer executed, just as the loved one was killed. Imagine if this situation hap-pened to you. It’s easy to judge when you’re on the other side of the fence. One can never know how he or she may react to a tragedy until it actually happens to them.

Now if you have experienced a tragedy like this and you still feel as though capital punish-ment is nothing short of re-venge and you have “forgiven” the person who took your loved ones life, then I am happy for you (although I am very sorry for your loss).

However, to force that ideol-ogy and belief on other families is wrong. They are different and feel differently than you do, and it is wrong to assert that you are right and they are wrong.

I agree our criminal justice system is very fl awed along with procedure of the death penal-ty and something needs to be done about it, but I think trying to outlaw capital punishment is too rash and may cause more harm than intended.

Whitney Knight is a junior majoring in English education. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

WHITNEY KNIGHT

ONE LITTLE SPARK | WHITNEY KNIGHTDARK ANGEL | KIMBERLY MURRIEL

Kimberly Murriel is a senior majoring in communication. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

KIMBERLY MURRIEL

When I came to Mis-sissippi State, I didn’t quite understand

football. (And, by that, I mean I didn’t realize the offense and de-fense were separate entities and, on occasion, mistook college football for the NFL. You don’t have to tell me, I understand how pathetic that truly is.)

Then, throughout two years as a student and Refl ector staff member, I began to not only understand the nuances of a football game, but also why our football team matters to us.

As I read and participated and interviewed and edited, I came to realize our football team — and the coaches and the athletic department — believe in the team’s potential and working to be better. Naysayers may crit-icize dreaming of the Bulldogs winning the SEC West or fi nd the idea we believed we could beat Alabama laughable. I fi nd it inspiring.

From the local businesses to the student organizations to alumni, the people who partic-ipated in the We Believe: 8-0 movement did so in support of a team that believes in itself, its coaches and its fans.

And, even though the score-board clearly didn’t go the way we desired, it doesn’t mean we

still don’t have faith in this team or each other.

I’m no sports analyst, but there’s no shame in losing to the number one team in the na-tion. And it’s a compliment to Dan Mullen and his program that every year since he became head coach, expectations for the Bulldogs have risen and we’ve consistently improved. Not all of the SEC West teams can say that.

Football, like all sports, isn’t just about winning. Sports are mirrors of life. They’re a microcosm of the world around us. And for our team to believe in itself, to work hard, to strive to be better — that positively refl ects our town and our university.

Until I came to MSU, I was a pessimist. (To some degree, I still am.) But everyone here be-lieves in something greater than themselves — they believe in a community.

And, since I’ve arrived here in the fall of 2009, community has been what I have experienced on a day-to-day basis.

I’ve seen professors dedicate themselves to an individual student in order to better his or

her future — even if it requires extra hours and no additional incentives for the professor. I’ve seen local businesses come out in droves to support student or-ganizations and charity events.

I’ve seen true friendship be-tween students. And through all this, I’ve learned what it is to be part of the Bulldog family.

The world, despite what it may appear at times, isn’t a ter-rible place.

And it’s places like MSU, places that exhibit faith, hope

and opti-mism, that i l l u s t r a t e the good. The sup-port for We

Believe, which spread across the United States and the globe, shows beyond our years phys-ically here, there’s something worth holding onto after we leave.

To me, believing isn’t about winning. (Of course, we can still go 11-1. I really think that is possible. But if we don’t, it won’t make me lose hope in our program or love the Bulldogs any less.) It’s about more than a game or a season. It’s our con-victions.

It’s what makes our fan base True Maroon. We do things

together; we need each other. I believe that losing to Alabama won’t dim fan support for our team. I believe when football season is over, no matter what the record shows, we’ll still be anticipating next season, ex-pecting better things. I believe that, beyond football, we all come together and support each other because we’re Bulldogs and that’s what we do.

And, win or lose, I will always hail State.

And, as long as I’m here and beyond, I will do my best to give back to my university for all it has given me in the class-room and out. Because State has given me the courage to hope for a better future and to take the gifts given to me here and help build it. And that’s why I believe.

THE SNITCH | HANNAH ROGERS

Hannah Rogers is editor in chief at The Reflector. She can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate.edu.

HANNAH ROGERS

Sports are mirrors of life. They’re a microcosm of the world around us.”“

Win or lose, always hail State

Death penalty needed in society

As long as the death penalty is in place, we will risk executing innocent people. It’s a simple fact of life and human error.”

“

The death penalty may provide some closure for the victims’ families.”

“

Death is not our decision to make

FACE-OFFLET’S TALK ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

DO YOU SUPPORT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?28 VOTES ONLINE

YES. NO. I’M NOT SURE.18 7 3 Zack Orsborn | The Reflector

BULLETIN BOARDCLASSIFIEDS POLICY

The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; the deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifi eds are $5 per issue. Student and staff ads are $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found: found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed for standard ad cost.

HELP WANTED

Bartending. Up to $300 / day. No experience necessary. Training available. Call 800.965.6520 ext. 213.

Seeking two female students to assist with a sampling program before the football game on Nov. 7. Work is for four hours up through 30 minutes before kickoff. Pay is $18 per hour. Email work@brandextensionstaffi ng.com for more info.

Personal assistant needed to organize and help. Basic computer skills needed, good with organization. We are ready to pay $870 per week. Interested person should email resume for consideration: markthompson147@aol.com.

Personal assistant is urgently needed with a good salary. He or she must have good qualities to work. Interested applicants should contact: ronaldjuan1212@gmail.com.

FOR SALE

Classic comics and albums. The largest collection of comic books and albums in the area. Also movie posters, sports memorabilia, DVDs, CDs and beer signs. Located in Ziggy’s Buy & Sell, 434 Highway 12. Details on Facebook.

New and used vehicles. First time and college student purchase programs. Contact Anthony Lowe at 327.3673 or 418.9107. Premier Ford-Lincoln, Inc. 2120 Highway 45 North, Columbus. idontlietoyou.com.

FOR RENT

100 King Richard Road, 3B, 2B brick house near campus. Two-car garage, fi replace, fenced yard. $1250.00. Call 228.324.2289 after 4 p.m. Available Dec 15.

MISCELLANEOUS

Think you might be pregnant? Free testing and confi dential counseling is available. Call LifeChoices Pregnancy Care in Columbus at 662.327.0500.

CLUB INFO

The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. MSU student organizations may place free announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to club_info@refl ector.msstate.edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Refl ector offi ce in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Refl ector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability.

WESLEY FOUNDATION

Insight Bible study and worship on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at the Wesley Foundation Worship Center on East Lee. Boulevard next to Campus Book Mart.

MSU CATHOLIC STUDENT ASSOCIATION

The MSU Catholic Student Association invites you to join us for Sunday mass at 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 607 University Dr. All are welcome to $2 Tuesday night dinner at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/msstatecsa

MSU STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF

MICROBIOLOGY

Contact msuasm@yahoo.com or like

us on Facebook, “MSU ASM,” for membership information.

SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.

PaRHOnormal Activity costume contest: Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. on the Drill Field. First place prizes for winners in categories of funniest, scariest and school spirit. For more information, email djk84@msstate.edu.

YOGA MOVES CLUB

School or work stressing you out? Get moving into Yoga Moves! Try our moves to get into shape and our relaxation techniques to handle the stress. Yoga Moves meets at the Sanderson Center in Studio C, Thursday evenings 5 to 6:30. Like Yoga Moves Club-MSU on Facebook.

STARLIGHT DANCERS HIP HOP TEAM

Starlight Dancers will be hosting their fi rst event, called The Knockout: Pink Edition, on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Colvard Student Union Ballroom. It is a breast cancer awareness program. Other MSU organizations will be performing. Donations are accepted.

SOCIOLOGICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION

The Sociological Student Association is based in the Department of Sociology. Undergraduates of all ages are welcome. Meetings are held the last Thursday of every month in Bowen Hall room 250 at 5 p.m.

STUDENTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS

SSC meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in McCool room 212. Come and meet really cool people who all share interests in saving the environment. Don’t forget to opt-in for the Green Fund.

10-30-12AN IN-CLASS DISTRACTION ...

Solutions for 10-26-12VISITreflector @reflector-online.com

4 | TUEDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

LIFE & ENTERTAINMENTtuesday, october 30, 2012 | 5REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM

By Kali HormanContributing Writer

Students on campus may be getting to the phase where they are looking for a change within their living arrangements. For the approximately 4,500 stu-dents on campus, options for decorating are more limited than those off campus, but both groups can do several things to make a room appear brand new without spending a lot of mon-ey.

Ann Bailey, the director of housing, said she believes Pinter-est is a great place to start look-ing for new ideas.

“From what I have seen from Pinterest, everything old is new again,” Bailey said. “You can do a lot of creative things with old items.”

From an old trunk to store clothes and bedding, to the plas-tic tubs one can buy at Walmart, there are plenty of decorating ideas that double as storage.

Libby Durst, sophomore ag-ricultural information sciences major, said a good idea is to pur-chase multi-purpose items.

“I have a storage container from Walmart that also func-tions as a chair or footstool,” Durst said. “I also have an over the bed shelf that makes use of

the limited space we have. Since it’s above my bed, it doesn’t take up any extra space, and it’s where I put my books and dec-orations.”

Durst also said using the wall space to make your room more personal is important.

“Kirkland’s usually has pretty good deals on their decorations like mirrors and picture frames that are cute. Posters are also an easy way to add a personal touch,” Durst said.

Abigail Wellman, fresh-man marketing major, said students should utilize all of the space given to them when

storing items in a dorm room.“I lofted my bed and put

my dresser underneath it. Then, I added an extra set of drawers from Walmart,” Wellman said.“In my closet, the ceiling’s really high so you can stack boxes up there. And on my nightstand I put dif-ferent baskets and boxes for decoration and storage.”

Ria Bennett, freshman ar-chitecture major, may have the cheapest way to redeco-rate, though.

“Just mix up the furniture,” Bennett said. “Or switch sides with your roommate to give the room a different feel.”

stephanie godfrey | the reflector

Try our new Turkey

Roasters!10% Off with MSU I.D.

By Catie marin martinStaff Writer

This is what they call “hard- hitting journalism.” I’m not afraid to tell it like it is. I know I’m going to step on some toes with this, but if we’re being hon-est here (and I intend to be), I don’t really care because I recent-ly did a background check of my own insta-history, and it turns out I have committed every in-sta-crime in the book.

Let’s just take a minute to re-ally investigate what Instagram is all about. Instagram started out as a cool and different way for people to document special mo-ments via snapshots and share them on social media. But no longer is it a harmless new way to keep a photo-journal. Like so many other social networks, In-stagram has become yet another method of putting pressure on society to lead picture-perfect lives; lives that display what the Internet deems photogenic. This is exhausting. I should be able to drink a cup of coffee without

wondering what it would look like behind an Instagram filter; I should be able to enjoy a night out with my friends without worrying if the notorious iP-hone red-eye is going to show up on social networks; I should be able to read a book without f e e l i n g obligated to docu-ment it online in a desperate a t t e m p t to feel cul-tured. So, w i t h o u t f u r t h e r a d i e u , here are some things that, in my humble opinion, should remain off Instagram.

1. Food/coffee — We know how proud you are of your Pin-terest-inspired treats, but there is no reason to turn Instagram into a food porn site. I don’t want to check Instagram after a nice long workout and be bombarded with pics of your hearty holiday

meal or your tasty triple-choco-late brownies. That is cruel and unusual punishment, especially for those of us who burn water. Not to mention Instagramming your morning cup o’ joe. I’m pretty sure coffee has been dark and hot since its creation, and

I’m pretty sure it will continue to be so until the apocalypse. It ain’t going nowhere.

2. Texts — So you’re hav-ing a rough week, and your parents are technologically

advanced enough to master the art of composing an encouraging text message. Congratulations! But, it’s a text message. It’s pri-vate. Putting a filter on a “Good morning, beautiful” message from your boyfriend does not make it any less sickening. And if your parents wanted the entire world to know they are proud of you, they would have written

it in the sky with an airplane or broadcast it on the Jumbotron.

3. Sunsets — This one is up for debate. As an out-of-stater, I will be bold enough to make the statement Starkville sunsets are among the loveliest I have seen. That being said, discretion must be used where sunset pictures are concerned. There is nothing more annoying than scrolling down the insta-feed and seeing 10 pictures of the same sunset through 10 different filters. So, sunsets are generally appropriate Instagram material but not in excess. Instagram at your own risk.

4. Throwback Thursday — You can ask anybody who knows me. Throwback Thurs-day is literally the bane of my existence. We don’t need an alliterated day of the week to celebrate how cute we were as children. Yes, that picture of you with your mom on your first day of kindergarten is adorable, and you did look beautiful at your senior prom, but, please, spare us the shame-

less self-promotion. 5. Feet — This one is like

a bad Dr. Seuss story. One foot, two foot, red foot, blue foot. Feet in Chacos (which makes you granola), feet in oxfords (which makes you hip), feet in cowboy boots (which makes you Southern), bare feet (which makes you a free spirit). We all know what they look like. A filter doesn’t change the fact feet are feet are feet are feet.

6. Selfies — No. Just… No.

Redecorating dorm rooms gives extra space

How not to Insta-suck, social network no-no’s

Instagram has become yet another method of putting pressure on society to lead picture-perfect lives; lives that display what the Internet deems photogenic.”

“

McKenzie and Rachel Woods shows off their personality and use of space in her dorm. By rearranging a dorm room, students can acquire more space.

THE BEST

YOUTUBEVIDEOS

aaording ttMary Chase Brrdlove

LIFE THE REFLECTOR6 | tuesday, october 30, 2012

By Catie Marie MartinStaff Writer

When did Halloween cos-tumes go from ghosts and ghouls to sexy animals and apathetic T-shirts? Honest-ly, probably about the same time “Mean Girls” became a cult classic, and Regina George’s bunny costume became the standard for a quality costume. It’s time to take it up a notch. Slutty an-imals have seen better days; let’s not beat that dead horse any longer. Here are some ways to transform some of the worst Halloween cos-tumes of all time into some-thing fresh, new and unique.

1. Animals — Why? Why, why, why, why, why? When did being an animal for Hal-loween become so taboo? At this age, the slightest indica-tion of considering being an animal for Halloween earns you a condescending glance

and an eye roll. All because Regina George has given bunny rabbits a bad rap. You know what’s way funnier than a slutty cat? An actual cat. I was a cat for Hallow-een in the third grade, and it was freaking adorable. Plus, last time I checked, real cats don’t show much skin. They’re furry! If you’re going to dress up like a cat, wear clothes.

2. Sarcastic T-Shirts —Halloween is nothing if not an opportunity to share your individuality with everyone in your neighborhood. If your costume of choice is a plain white tee with the words “This Is My Cos-tume” hastily scribbled on the front, what message are you sending? Have some dignity. Show some self-re-spect. If a legible T-shirt message really is your cup of tea, harness the oppor-tunity to display that witty

one-liner you’ve been saving all this time. Or better yet, wear regular clothes and tell everyone you’re a Muggle. Keep it clever; keep it sim-ple.

3. Couples costumes — When did couples costumes like “plug and socket” be-come a thing? Come on. What is your grandmother going to say when she sees those pictures on Facebook? She’ll probably have a heart attack on the spot. There are so many less offensive ways to get creative with your significant other. Celebri-ty couples, literary lovers and Disney darlings are all fair game. Pick something unique to your relationship; don’t be afraid to show your personality as a couple.

4. Pretentious TV char-acters — Nine times out of 10, if your costume is obscure enough to warrant a nametag, it’s verging on

pretentious. Dressing up as your favorite “Downton Abbey” character is creative, but if you have to explain your identity to every oth-er person at the party, odds are, you are trying too hard. Don’t try to outsmart your friends with an overly witty costume. Sometimes less is more.

5. Decades — Cool! You put on a tie-dye T-shirt! So you’re, like, a hippie! No. If you’re going for a decade’s theme, pick an actual his-torical figure from an actual decade. Anyone can throw on a poodle skirt and call it a night, but it takes some-one special to claim the identity of Sandra Dee from “Grease.” Pick a historical figure you admire and im-personate him or her for the night. Elvis may have left the building, but you can still purchase his costume for $64.99 at Party City.

THE JUMBOTRON

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80’S MOVIE CHARCHARACTER

HALLOWEEN COSTUME IDEAS FROM THE REFLECTOR STAFF

RACHEL BURKE,COPY EDITOR

HANNAH ROGERS,EDITOR IN CHIEF

EMMA CRAWFORD,NEWS EDITOR

ZACK ORSBORN,LIFE EDITOR

JAY JOHNSON,PHOTO EDITOR

KRISTEN SPINK,SPORTS EDITOR

CANDACE BARNETTE,COPY EDITOR

KAITLYN BRYNE,MANAGING EDITOR

MARY CHASE BREEDLOVE,OPINION EDITOR

ERIC EVANS,MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

By Christine BowManStaff Writer

Several haunted houses are locat-ed just a short drive away from Starkville to start a Halloween night adventure.

Alabama is home to two haunted at-tractions: Sloss Fright Furnance and The Atrox Factory.

According to the Sloss website, this entertainment venue occupies an old oil factory. Sloss offers options to make your experience especial-ly frightful. The first is called “Furnance Trail,” which is about half a mile long, and the second option, “Woods Trail,” is shorter. It is $20 to do both routes.

Sloss also offers a waiting area environ-ment, called RoadKill Café, with all sorts of activities, includ-ing palm readings, fire-eaters, illusionists and horror movies shown on a 25-foot screen.

The Atrox Factory, in Leeds, Ala., is $18 a ticket and $23 on

Halloween night.Caitlyn Atkins,

sophomore biological engineering major, has been to both Sloss and Atrox.

“Atrox was defi-nitely scarier because it was more realistic. They can also reach out and grab you, where at Sloss this is not the case,” Atkins said.

Atkins said both experiences were over-laid with eerie mu-sic and horror films playing in the back-ground.

“If going to Sloss, make sure to research it first, because it’s in an old factory and they incorporate parts of the history of the building into the ex-perience to make it more creepy. It scared me, but I still want to do it again,” she said.

She said the most intense part of Sloss was when partici-pants ventured down into the underground area. “It is such an adrenaline rush, and everyone should give it a try. You don’t have to go to an extreme house; there are plen-

ty of options that are more fun than scary,” Atkins said.

The House of Shock in New Orle-ans, La., is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and it was featured on Good Morning Amer-ica earlier this month. It is $25 a ticket. Ac-cording to its website, the House of Shock offers an Outdoor Halloween Festival open all October long. They serve food from Hell’s Kitchen and have a variety of music acts lined up for each night. On Halloween, Jason and the Krugers are set to perform their unique genre horrorcore.

C h a t t a n o o g a , Tenn., presents Ruby Falls Haunted Cav-erns which charges a $23 entrance fee and is located 250 feet un-derground, creating a terrifying attraction.

Devil’s Dungeon in Nashville, Tenn., extends over 25,000 square feet of spooky action, guaranteed to give everyone who dares to enter an un-forgettable experi-ence.

By Christine BowManStaff Writer

YouTube is sweeping the nation with some top-notch videos this fall.

First, there is Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back To-gether,” which shows yet again her girl power style of bashing those ex-boyfriends, who seem to have done everything wrong. This ar-tistic video complements Taylor’s older look and the song could probably go on to stand with the rest of her break-up anthems in-cluding “Picture to Burn” and “Should Have Said No.”

“Felix Baumgartner’s Superson-ic Freefall” will give viewers the chills, as the man is shot into out-er space and free falls back down to earth. In doing this, he breaks a world record. The video is worth a click.

Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iP-hone 5 have been the talk of the technological world with clever advertisements that have resulted in a duel between the two compa-nies’ marketing departments. The “iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 Drop Test” video is sure to raise curiosity among the American public, who are trying to decide which phone they cannot live without.

“First World Problems” by Nigahiga pokes fun at this gen-eration’s habit of posting #first-worldproblems on social media

sites for petty issues. An example of a first world problem is when the remote control is all the way across the room from the man sit-ting on the couch who wants to watch TV. Viewers cannot help but get a chuckle out of this one.

October is national anti-bully-ing month and “Amanda Todd’s Story: Struggling, Bullying, Sui-cide, Self harm” is an earth shat-tering video about a girl who was bullied and the results were dev-astating. This video’s purpose is to raise awareness about bullying, especially cyber bullying. It has received quite a lot of views. On Oct. 21 the number was already up to 11,202,351 view.

As surprising as it may be, the Ohio State Marching Band does deserve that second place spot. Their flawless formations depict scenes from video games includ-ing Zelda, Pokemon, Mario, Halo, Pacman and Tetris. The im-pressive halftime entertainment had received 13,499,086 views on Sunday, and at the 6:00 mark the band members form a horse that “gallops” across the field. This draw-dropping feature makes this band stand out from the other college level musicians.

Finally “Gangnam style,” which had 518,368,080 views on Sun-day, has taken center stage of the pop culture world. This South Korean singer, Psy, made this video’s bright colors and strange dance moves convey a sense of constant dancing and high energy. The dancers never stop moving and the words are indecipherable to the American ear, other than the phrase “Gangnam style” and “hey, sexy lady.” This video con-tains explosions, horses, group dance numbers and crazy outfits.

Halloween costumes should not be lame, be creative

YouTube offers laughs, gaspsHaunted houses scare

Single ladieS gone WrongI don’t know what I love most about this video: the accident that occurs, or the fact she’s wearing a freaky clown mask. Seriously, I don’t understand the mask.

dog TerriFed oF deer HeadThis dog is just precious. You should watch all of the videos involving him. I’m honestly not a fan of scaring ani-mals, but there is something hilarious about watching him freak out over taxidermy.

20TH CenTury Fox FluTe ediTionMaybe I love this so much because I play the flute, but I dare you to watch this and not laugh.

any Bad-lip reading involving poliTiCSLet’s lighten up the election season by laughing at what the candidates look like they were saying. I recommend “More Mitt,” and “Trick the Brides-maid,” followed up with “Eye of the Sparrow.”

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zack orsborn | the reflector

SPORTSREFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM tuesday, october 30, 2012 | 7

By Forrest Buck

Staff Writer

This past Thursday, the Mississippi State soccer team wrapped up its season on a high note as the Dogs beat Ole Miss 3-2 in a thrill-ing double overtime victory. With the win, State’s final record is 9-10-1 and 2-10-1 in SEC play.

Thursday’s game was a tough, hard-fought game as State had to overcome a lot to earn the victory. Early in the game, sophomore Shan-nen Jainudeen went down with an injury and did not return. Freshman Gracie Irby was also injured later in the game.

The girls also had to over-come the fact Ole Miss out-shot them 22-8 and seemed to control possession of the ball for most of the night.

Despite all of the adver-sity, MSU got out to a 2-0 lead with less than 20 min-utes to go, and the Dogs seemed like they had the game all but wrapped up. Then the Rebels came roar-ing back with two quick goals of their own to tie the game and force overtime.

Neither team was able to score, which forced a second overtime where Elisabeth Sullivan scored her second goal of the game and 23rd of her career to bring home the win and the Magnolia Cup for MSU.

Sullivan broke the record for career goals at State and was named the SEC player of the Week.

Sullivan’s performance was key, but goal keeper Skylar Rosson’s performance might have been even more crucial in the victory as she played what might have been the

best game of her career with 10 saves, including a very difficult save in OT on a shot that would have won the game for Ole Miss.

Rosson said she was thrilled with the victory and how she and her teammates played.

“This was great. Beating Ole Miss is what you want to do every single season. We played for each other, and we never gave up, even when they scored the two goals,” Rosson said. “This was really special to me, I’ve really enjoyed being a Bull-dog and playing for them for so long. This meant the world to me.”

Thursday night was also senior night and the last game the senior players will

play because the team did not make the SEC tourna-ment, so the players were emotional after the game.

Senior Captain Madison McKee said she was excited her team played so well and ended the season on a posi-tive note.

“Beating Ole Miss is the only way to go out. I just wished we played like this all season,” McKee said. “I wish we were still playing, but it was a fun season, and we did our best.”

Head coach Neil Mac-Donald said he was proud of his team and the season the girls had.

“We’ve had a lot of adver-sity throughout the season, but the girls have never giv-en up,” MacDonald said.

“I’m delighted for them. Great team performance, and they deserve it.”

Though the season did not go as well as the team had hoped it would, beating Ole Miss certainly alleviates some of the disappointment and shines a little bit of a bright spot on the season.

Next year, Sullivan and captain Morganne Grimes will be returning for their senior year, and a lot of young players played big minutes for the team this year. Also, goal keeper C.J. Winship was forced to start in some big games this year and played well.

All of this experience from this year will provide MSU with a solid base from which to build for next season.

Cross country finishes year at SEC championships

Soccer ends season with double overtime win over Ole Miss Rebels on senior night

By Forrest Buck

Staff Writer

The Mississippi State University men’s and wom-en’s cross country teams both competed in the SEC championships last Friday in Nashville. Neither team was predicted to finish in the top 10, yet both did.

The Lady Bulldogs fin-ished with 259 points, which earned them a 10th place finish, and the men finished with 237 points, which placed them eighth.

In a news release, head coach Houston Franks said he was OK with the finish but his team had higher as-pirations.

“It’s nice to finish higher than we were picked, but that’s far from our aspira-

tions and how good I think we can be,” Franks said.

In the women’s 6K, senior and team lead-er Renee Masterson led the way for the Bulldogs. She finished with a time of 21:46:47, which was the best of anyone on the team and 34th overall at the tour-nament among the women.

In a news release, Master-son said SEC competition is very tough and also shared

her coach’s point of view that the team could have done better.

“The SEC has a lot of fierce com-p e t i t i o n , and the difference between being fifth and 10th as a team is just a matter of a

few points,” Masterson said. “We gave it our all, but we didn’t execute the race exact-ly how we wanted.”

For the men it was ju-nior Cameron Vernier lead-ing the way with a time of 25:09:38 in the 8K, which was 41st overall among the guys.

Senior Phillip Johnson, who is one of the leaders

for the men’s team, finished fourth for the team and 51st overall at the tournament.

Johnson said he shared a feeling of unsatisfaction, de-spite the top 10 finish.

“I was proud of my team for moving ahead of our preseason ranking, but none of us are satisfied,” Johnson said. “I have not raced in-credibly well on an individ-

ual level, but our team has worked together very well to take care of business at most of the meets this season.”

Both the men’s and wom-en’s team had only one se-nior as top finishers in the race, so most of the team’s best runners will be back next season, which bodes well for the future of the program.

FOOTBALL continued from 8

The game was also the first time this season State lost the turnover battle. Russell threw only his second interception of the season on third and goal from the one-yard line.

Jameon Lewis lost a fum-ble on a kickoff return, and the Dogs turned the ball over on an Alabama punt. In addi-tion, State converted two third downs in the first half that were called back because of a penalty.

Head coach Dan Mullen said the little things, such as the turnover ratio, come down to attention to detail and com-plete focus.

“To win these games, you have to have complete focus and ex-ecute for 60 minutes. We o b v i o u s l y didn’t do that, and we made some critical mistakes,” Mullen said. “We didn’t score touchdowns in the red zone. All of the little things you have to do in great games, give them credit for. We didn’t do them tonight.”

A positive first for State came on the defensive side of the ball.

In the second quarter, MSU forced Alabama into three con-secutive three-and-outs, the first time the Tide has done that all season.

The State defense gave up just three yards on nine plays during that time. Lawrence said the guys got all the first-play jitters out of their systems and started playing normal football.

“It took us realizing these boys are the real deal, and they’re here to play,” Lawrence said. “We regathered our-selves, gathered our focus and

went back out there and knew what we had to do and just settled down.”

The Bull-dogs also had their longest drive of the season of 97 yards in the third quarter.

No. 18 MSU can build on these de-fensive and offensive highlights heading into this weekend’s game against No. 16 Texas A&M. Fittingly, this game will be the first top-20 matchup at Davis Wade Stadium since 2001.

1. ALABAMA 2. OREGON 3. KANSAS STATE 4. NOTRE DAME 5. LSU 6. OHIO STATE 77. GEORGIA 8. FLORIDA 9. FLORIDA STATE 10. CLEMSON 11. SOUTH CAROLINA

12. LOUISVILLE 13. OREGON STATE 14. OKLAHOMA 15. STANFORD 16. TEXAS A&M 17. MISSISSIPPI STATE 1818. USC 19. BOISE STATE 20. TEXAS TECH 21. NEBRASKA 22. LOUISIANA TECH 23. WEST VIRGINIA 24. ARIZONA 2525. UCLA

FOOTBALL TEAMS IN ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL25TOP

To win these games, you have to have complete focus for 60 minutes. We obviously didn’t do that, and we made some critical mistakes.”Dan Mullen,head football coach

“

courtesy photo | the reflector

Members of the soccer team celebrate their vicory over Ole Miss with the Magnolia Cup.

Vernier

zack orsborn | the reflector

Masterson

JUDGEMENT HOUSE@ Faith Baptist Church1804 S Montgomery St.

Starkville, MSFor more information or reservations, call 662.323.9333. A suggested

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Walk-ins welcome, but reservations recommended.NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER AGE 10

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Thursday, November 1 $5 Admission At The DoorChildren 10 and under get in free

The highly-anticipated matchup between the No. 1 Alabama Crimson

Tide and the then No. 11 Mis-sissippi State Bulldogs did not go as the Dogs, nor State fans, were dreaming.

While no one can pinpoint exactly what went wrong for the Dogs, fans have already put the game behind them and are look-ing forward to this weekend’s top-20 clash with Texas A&M.

I think the game was headed south for MSU before the clock even began to run. Here’s why. Alabama has played in countless big games against big opponents in the past few years. With one exception, the Tide has won ev-ery one of those games. Those guys know what it’s like to have a lot of hype building up to a game, and they know how to handle it.

On the other hand, this was the biggest game on the big-gest stage MSU has played in quite a while. The thought of knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation was on the forefront of so many minds, it almost seemed to become a reality be-fore the game even started.

While the “We Believe” phenomenon was one of the greatest movements to support a team by a fan base, I think it almost gave State fans the idea MSU was expected to knock off Bama.

Therefore, the loss was much more disappointing because of the extremely high expectations going into the game.

Don’t hear me wrong — I think the “We Believe” move-ment was incredible and clearly showed how much State fans support this football team. But I also think it unfortunately made the loss that much tougher to handle.

Watching the players warm up for the game, the Tide seemed calm and collected like it was any other game. The Bulldogs were excited, jumping around and getting themselves hyped up, which is great but can add pressure to a team.

The fi rst quarter showed just that. Alabama came out confi -dent and played like the No. 1 team in the nation. State came out tight, blowing coverages and missing uncharacteristic throws and catches.

I’m not bashing MSU by any means. I can’t imagine the pressure to perform when you go into one of the most hostile environments in the nation and play against the best team in the nation with a chance to go on top in the West.

I think our guys fought hard and never gave up, which is all a fan-base can really ask out of a team. And the cool thing to me is, I think our fan base believes that as well.

The support shown to the Dogs after the loss was just as great as the support for the team before the game. The encourag-ing tweets and the number of people who were at the Bryan Building at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning to welcome the Dogs home are just a few testaments to the amazing fan base at MSU.

To be honest, I really don’t think many other schools, in-cluding Alabama, have that sup-portive of a fan base as MSU. The unity brought by the “We Believe” movement seemed to encompass the country. Bulldog fans from all over came together to support their team. And even after the loss, those same fans are still supporting their team and believing in the Dogs.

So keep it up, Bulldog fans. This season is a long way from over, and the Dogs need your support now more than ever.

BY KRISTEN SPINK

Sports Editor

Saturday’s game was a game of fi rsts for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Along with the team’s fi rst loss of the season came nu-merous statistics uncharacteristic of the Dogs.

MSU won the coin toss before the game for the fi rst time this season, and from there, things went downhill fast.

Devon Bell’s fi rst fi eld goal at-tempt was blocked for the fi rst time this season on MSU’s open-ing drive.

Senior offensive lineman Tobi-as Smith said it was tough to start out so well and not get any points on the board.

“It’s hard to drive the length of the fi eld on any good team like that and just get a fi eld goal blocked,” Smith said. “It was kind of demoralizing, but I knew we had a lot of football left to play.”

It was the fi rst time Johnthan Banks did not look like one of the best cornerbacks in the country. A.J. McCarron’s fi rst two touch-down passes were thrown to a receiver within a few feet of the mid-season All-American.

Senior linebacker Cameron Lawrence said it was frustrating because the defense made silly mistakes.

“We’ve never had anyone come out and do that to us,” Lawrence said. “Just mental errors, not keeping proper leverage, not set-ting the edge on the run game, just simple things that we’ve done right all year long, and you can’t not do that against the number one team in the country.”

The fi rst half was the fi rst time MSU has been shut out in a half since last year’s game against Ala-bama. State’s offense just seemed a second slower than the Tide de-

fense in most aspects. Russell was hurried and

knocked down play after play, forcing him to throw some un-characteristic, off-target passes.

Smith said with more big games soon, a key focal point for the offensive line will be protect-ing Russell.

“Tyler is a tough guy, and every time he came into the huddle I could look into his eyes and tell he was ready,” Smith said. “We defi nitely need to protect Tyler better and keep him clean, and if we do that, I think it will be a different outcome.”

8 | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 THE REFLECTOR

SPORTS STAT OF THE DAY: 420: THE NUMBER OF DIGS BY

FRESHMAN ROXANNE MCVEY, LEADING THE SEC.

ON THE TUBE:KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

THURSDAY, 7:20 P.M. NFL NETWORK

Dogs fall, no longer undefeated

Kristen Spink is the sports editor of The Reflector. She can be contacted at reflectorsports@gmail.com.

KRISTEN SPINK

Loss only grows fansupport for Bulldogs

SPINK ON SPORTS | KRISTEN SPINK

MICAH GREEN | THE REFLECTOR

Johnthan Banks and A.J. McCarron show good sportsmanship after MSU recorded its first loss in Tuscaloosa Saturday.

SEE FOOTBALL, 7