This is live coverage of a meeting of the student senate of the University of Mississippi where the body will decide whether to pass a resolution supporting the removal of the state flag (which contains the Confederate battle flag) from campus.
For more context, read this: Ole Miss Students Want To Take Down Racist Mississippi State Flag
10:35 PM EST- Ole Miss student senate votes to remove state flag from campus by a vote of 33-15-1.
10:28 PM EST- Motion to have a roll call vote fails.
10:27 PM EST- Debate ends.
9:18 PM EST- Watch the Senate Debate here
9:11 PM EST- So its sort of a tough debate.
As the flagship university, we should keep the state flag and honor the citizens of Mississippi. – Senator Soper
— Ole Miss Senate (@OleMissSenate) October 21, 2015
8:58 PM EST- 30 minutes for debate starts now. 8:54 PM EST- Student Senator Andrew Soper started a Change.gov petition opposing the resolution. Over 500 people signed on to it. 8:45 PM EST- Motion to extend debate has passed. Debate will continue for 10 more minutes according to the Daily Mississippian. 8:43 PM EST- Greek student senators indicate hostility to resolution.
What if fraternities fly the flag? Well, their houses are on campus, Coon says. You can guess how the rest of that went. — Sierra Mannie (@SKEEerra) October 21, 2015
8:31 PM EST- Vote moves closer. Authors of the resolution are now being questioned for the next 15 minutes.
Authors of the resolution 15-13 giving defense, mentioning KKK appearance on campus last week pic.twitter.com/JkBmwRDuJ3 — Royce Swayze (@royce_swayze) October 21, 2015
8:24 PM EST- Read the resolution up for debate tonight below: 
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Century-Old Mystery Shipwreck Found Under New Jersey Ocean Jetty
ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK –In the seven decades since the Barnegat Inlet was shored up to protect mariners from dangerous shoals, scores of ships have passed through its impressive rock wall jetties. But it wasn’t until Hurricane Sandy that one of those jetties revealed its hidden mystery: a shipwreck preserved under tons of sand for nearly… Read More
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Announcing the RISE NEWS Fellowship Program
Ever wanted to improve your writing and reporting skills while learning more about how new media works?
Ever wanted the chance to be treated like a professional reporter and have the opportunity to work on stories that can make a change?
We have something cool to tell you then.
RISE NEWS, a fast growing and highly impactful millennial focused news organization is seeking intelligent, hard-working young people to join our team as editorial fellows.
We are based in Miami, FL but you don’t have to be in order to be a fellow.
Here’s what you need to know:
Our fellows will be treated like professional reporters and will be expected to:
– produce at least three stories per week
– commit to at least 15 hours of RISE related work per week (You can do more of course)
– participate in a weekly team Skype call
– follow news and build relationships in your coverage beat areas.
– promote your stories on social media.
A quick bit on pay:
Our fellows will earn 70% of whatever their stories make from advertising or other means. Don’t do this fellowship for the pay as you probably won’t be making a whole lot. Think of the pay as a plus. And if some of your pieces go really viral, then we want to be able to properly compensate you.
The program will be starting on March 28, but we will be accepting applications on a rolling basis until June. You can start at any time and the fellowship can run for as long as you want it to. (End dates will be discussed during interview process)
What will you be doing?:
You will act as a beat reporter focusing on either a geographical area (South Florida or Alabama if you are from either one of them) or a specific thematic topic if you don’t live in one of our local focus markets (including Culture, American Politics, International Affairs, Tech, Human Interest, etc).
How to apply:
Send an email to [email protected] to the attention of our publisher Rich Robinson with the following:
1) updated resume
2) three writing samples (academic papers accepted, but published journalistic work preferred)
If you have any questions about the process, shoot an email to [email protected] as well.
Cover Photo Credit: www.miamism.com/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Someone Chalked “Vote Trump” All Over Emory University And It Might Have Been Racially Driven
Students at Emory University in Atlanta woke up to their campus defaced with pro Donald Trump chalkings and graffiti.
According to multiple students, the chalkings were reported all over the campus and are suspected by some to be racially motivated.
According to Emory student Zoe Lampru, some of the chalkings were found on each step leading up to the office of the newly created Centro Latino, which according to its website seeks to “provide inclusion for the Emory community and support the intellectual, personal, leadership and social development of the Latin@/Hispanic community at Emory.”
Showing how widespread the chalkings were on the campus of the small private university, the Tab reports that the graffiti was located on every title surrounding Asbury Circle, another gathering place.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Presidential nomination has come to the political fore in part by inflaming racial divisions in the country and by attacking Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans, disabled Americans and women among other groups.
Photo Credit: The Tab
Emory is not new to controversy on matters involving race.
The university’s President James Wagner is still not trusted by many minority students according to Lampru because of the 2013 research paper he authored that included a section lauding the Three-Fifths Compromise in the Constitution that relegated slaves to sub-human status for matter of census counting.
Wagner thought the Compromise was a good example of how to work towards incremental change.
A screenshot of an Instagram video showing the amount of pro Trump chalkings on the stairs leading up to the Centro Latino office on the Emory Campus. Photo Credit: Jonathan Peraza/ Screengrab
LatinAction, a grassroots student activist organization at Emory issued a statement condemning the university for allowing the chalkings to happen.
“Throughout campus, Black and Brown students, and other affected student populations, have spoken out in outrage and distress,” the statement reads in part. “We NEVER get to have a break. We NEVER get an escape from the daily violence and marginalization that we consistently experience on campus.
“And now we are being attacked by the very real danger we feel of a Nazi reincarnate potentially rising to power in this country,” the statement continues. “We are outraged and distressed with this rhetoric and these attacks on minority students at Emory. Therefore, we at LatinAction stand in solidarity with the NAACP and the Black, Latinx, Muslim, Jewish, and disabled communities who are affected and face consequences with Trump as a presidential candidate.”
Kainath Merchant is a Emory student who came upon the chalkings this morning on her way to class.
Photo Credit: The Tab
“At first I didn’t pay much attention to it because students frequently write messages on the ground in chalk to advertise events or organizations, but when I paid closer attention, there were messages that said “TRUMP” or “TRUMP 2016” or “TRUMP FOR PREZ” every five feet,” Merchant said in an interview with RISE NEWS. “They were on benches, sidewalks, and even on every single step going up the the Dobbs University Center. I was so furious I felt myself trembling.”
Lampru said that she was disappointed that the university didn’t respond to the chalkings and believes that it “has selective ways to react” when dealing with racial issues on campus.
“We are angry and determined to bring to light the violence that we experience,” the statement from LatinAction reads. “We are demanding that Emory University speak out and act on this attack on students and the vandalization of our university. We will not be silent. We are here and we deserve to feel safe in this institution of learning that claims to uphold the values of diversity and inclusion. Emory, your call. #EmoryYourInnerRacistIsShowing #StuckIn1836 #EmoryAgainstTrump #EmoryAgainstRacism”
Do you have a tip about this story? Want to write an opinion piece about it? Send us an email to [email protected]
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us!
Cover Photo Credit: The Tab
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