Mortuary Science Undergrad Assists in Grandmother's Embalming

When a loved one dies, every person has their own special way of grieving: most cry, some paint or busy themselves with menial house work, or even buy expensive sports cars. For 22-year-old Alice Whitaker, upon the death of her grandmother in June 2010, there was only one way to relieve the pain: to assist in the embalming and preparation of her grandmother for the funeral.

“She could be the most aggravating person, but there was just something about her that you loved,” says the redheaded from across her kitchen table, nodding slowly as she recounts her late namesake, Alice May Adams Latham. “I don’t have many childhood memories that don’t involve her.”

A student at Holmes Community College in Jackson, MS, Alice Whitaker is pursuing her Associates Degree in Mortuary Science. Under the supervision of Trey Sebrell of Sebrell Funeral Home, Alice has helped successfully embalm and dress dozens of cadavers in the last two years of her internship.

Alice fights to find the right words to explain what it is that fascinates her about her chosen profession, when the thought of dead bodies and formaldehyde typically repulses most people. “Being able to let people see their loves ones look good—peaceful—especially when they’ve been sick, it warms your heart.”

When most children were out riding bikes and playing in sprinklers, Alice Whitaker was busy studying human anatomy. With every funeral she went to—starting at age nine, with the death of a grandfather—Alice insisted on being toured around the hosting funeral homes and embalming rooms. Embalming eventually became not only a set career goal, but a positive outlet for the grief she still struggles with.

Alice Latham, her last remaining grandparent, struggled with pancreatic cancer for many years—the last six months of her life spend in a hospital under heavy sedation, attached to feeding tubes and unable to speak.

“It was more disturbing seeing her in the hospital bed than it ever was to assist in her embalming,” she admits with a shrug.

At the beginning of her internship with Sebrell Funeral Home in the fall of 2009, Alice was the sole employee to a blossoming business. Even two years—and several more employees—later, Alice assists Trey Sebrell in every embalming and dressing of a body, carrying the massive oak caskets up and down flights of stairs, managing funerals, and picking up cadavers at any hour of the night.

Her eyes alight with mischief, Alice coos, “I’ll never be out of a job; there are always dead people!”

Video here.

The Stress of Finals

Over the next few weeks students at Ole Miss will be taking finals in addition to many projects and papers that are the most critical portion of their grades, and students are well aware. The stress that goes along with these important grades can be very uncomfortable and in some situations dangerous.

Students do many things to try to combat these stresses through prescription medicines such as ADHD medications, drinking as much coffee as possible, or just buckling down and working as hard as they can. However, it is often impossible to get through these weeks without getting too stressed out.

Madison Mcguire, a Sophomore business major at Ole Miss is no different, "The work just adds up and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. I try to just take it one day at a time and get as much work as possible done. The main thing I try to do is just keep telling myself that all I can do is the best I can."

Stress can add up and become a dangerous situation and according to the University Counseling Center here at Ole Miss, "Too much stress can seriously affect your physical and mental well-being. When you are feeling to stressed out you should take a deep breath, manage your time, and connect with others."

Along with stress, anxiety can become an issue as well, "The anxiety I feel leading up to the test is often worse than the actual final itself, and I try to remind myself, but its hard. I really just cant wait for these next two weeks to be over and I can finally give my mind a rest," says Taylor Young, a senior accounting major.

According to the University Counseling Center it is important to know you particular stress signals which are separated into four categories feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and physical symptoms.

To help relieve stress many students try to find a quiet and calm setting to get their work and studying done, like the Ole Miss library or just the peace and quiet of their own homes.

Stress is one of the biggest problems for all students this time of year and to make an appointment at the counseling center call 662-915-3784.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeoUYrQJVJo&feature=feedu

The Making of the Grove in Oxford, MS

              On the campus of Ole Miss, in Oxford, Mississippi, the grove is well known to be the number one tailgating spot in the nation. With its great southern tradition of many tents and the best food, one can see how the grove is so popular. The grove is also surrounded by the beautiful campus of Ole Miss. Have you ever wondered how the grove is made? What goes on before that makes the groves how it looks on game day?

               A student at Ole Miss, named John Jordan Proctor, is the head of his tent service for the grove. Proctor took over the business this year after working in the business for two years. He is one of many people who own tent services for the grove. Most tent services do not only provide tents, but also provide tables, chairs, coolers, and more. Some tailgaters pay to have their tent set up for every home game, and some people may just rent a tent for one game. Some people will pay a good amount to the service to have a certain spot in the grove for every game, which is not easy to provide by the service.
              
               For Proctor, the tent service starts well before the season even begins. The whole process starts by sending out cards, making phone calls, and meeting people to try and get his business known to as many people as possible so that he can have a lot of costumers when the season begins. Then Proctor rents out a storage shed for the season, where he keeps all of the tents, tables, and chairs.He is always calls each costumer before they go out to double check with everything so nothing will get messed up. "Getting organized each game is the key to getting in and out as quickly as possible, because there are so many other people and businesses trying to get a spot in the grove as well," says Proctor. 

               Each Friday before they get ready to set up the tents, Proctor calls and makes sure that his crew will be ready to go that night. He assigns different people to different spots in the grove so they will get the spot before anyone else does. No one is allowed with a tent until 9:00 p.m. Friday night. Proctor and his crew get prepared to go in the Gertrude parking lot and head to campus tent minutes before nine, so they can get a little head start with the tents on the trailer. Some of the people are assigned to run tents and some ride with the trailer. Proctor's gets guys on his crew that are in some kind of shape and they need to be pretty strong. Some guys have to carry two tents on big games, when there is more costumers. "It feels pretty cool to be a part of something so popular," says Phillip Olivy, one of Proctor's crew members.

               This is how the grove is created over night to make it the number one tailgating spot in the nation. If you ever get the chance to go the grove, you will enjoy it and appreciate the people who make it all happen like Proctor and his crew. It is a great place to have fun and hang out with all your friends and family. The atmosphere is unbelievable and no matter if we win or lose it is a place to look forward to after the game. "It feels good to be able to provide people with fun and entertainment each Saturday in the grove. There is just nothing else like it," Proctors says.

      
To watch video click here.
  

Bob Harrison and The Rebel Tent Company

For Bob Harrison, tailgating at the Grove is more than just a tradition, it's a business. What started as a simple favor for friends has turned into an easy money-maker for Harrison, a Jackson, Mississippi resident and Ole Miss alum.

"For me, it's not about the money. It helps, but at Ole Miss, everyone's friends, and when I'm out here setting up, I feel like I'm setting up for my own friends. It's a great feeling."

Harrison's business, the Rebel Tent Company, started about twelve years ago when he and some friends from college decided to set up a tent to tailgate together in the Grove. After a few games, Harrison and his friends were setting up a few more tailgates. "Some friends of ours asked us if we would set up their tents for them, and it all sprung from there. Just by word of mouth we got a lot more people asking us to set up tents for them, and what was first just a free favor slowly became a steady business. I figured if I was already here putting up a tent already, setting up a few more wouldn't be bad at all, especially if I'm getting paid to do it."

The Rebel Tent Company's process is simple. By Wednesday of a home gameday week, Bob confirms how many customers want tailgates set up and taken down for them and calls his extra help to deal with saving spots and setting up tailgates. His main source of help comes from current Ole Miss students looking for a way to make some extra spending money. These students arrive at the Grove early Friday afternoon in order to save the spots requested by Harrison's customers. They sit and save these spots until 9 p.m. when the University Police Department (UPD) allows tailgates to be set up. At this time, other students run tents from cars parked near the Grove to the saved spots to help set up. Once the tents are set up, the tables and chairs are brought to each tent and the tailgate is officially set up minus only what the customers bring with them the next day.

Students who work with Bob Harrison rave about working for him. "Working with Bob has been a great experience, and he is a pleasure to get to know," says Reed Kerwin, a sophomore from Charleston, SC who has worked for Harrison all season long. "He always makes sure we get done working at a decent hour so we don't lose our entire Friday night, and always makes sure we work only as long as we work. Plus he pays us well for a pretty easy job, you just can't beat working for him."

The Rebel Tent Company has stayed quite busy for the last twelve football seasons, even through the toughest years, most notably this season. Bob Harrison has helped create an enjoyable Grove experience for many fans over the years, as well as creating easy money-making jobs that get students involved in Ole Miss' #1 ranked tailgating tradition. "To be a part of this rich tailgating tradition every home weekend like this, it's an awesome feeling. I love being a part of it, and when everyone else here shares the same passion, it's undescribable. It's unlike any tailgating experience I've ever had and I believe no one can compare," said Harrison.

For more on this story click here.

Black Friday: Ready, Set, Shop

Thanksgiving is not just for eating and spending time with family anymore. It is now a major shopping holiday that draws people out from their homes in the search of major discounts.

Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, marks the start of the holiday shopping season. Many products are marked down from their original price in the range of 20 to 50% off. Bargain shoppers take this day seriously. Websites have been dedicated to Black Friday and have all the information on every sale, including store hours and product lists. Some of these Black Friday websites even offer online sales on Black Friday.

People line up outside of stores for hours Thanksgiving night awaiting the sales. Traditionally, stores would open their doors at 4 am to crowds of people waiting to snatch up deals. However, 2011 marks the first time that many stores opened their doors at midnight.

Shoppers were drawn to Target for various reasons. Ole Miss graduate Mike Lawson took full advantage of the discounts. “I’m here because I recently got married and my wife told me I’m too old to get a video game system. So, I came out to get one for $150 and justify it by saying that it is a Blue Ray player.”

Target is one of the many stores that decided to open their doors to the public at midnight. People were lined outside the Dunwoody store as early as 10 pm to ensure they got full advantage of the discounts. The patient customers were lined up in front of the store by the hundreds. Many brought lawn chairs and blankets to be comfortable as they waited. The crowd continued to grow as midnight drew closer.

Target manager, Ross Baker, passed out store maps to customers and explained the procession into the store. “We plan to let groups of 20 in at a time. They will be required to be in single file and there will be a minute gap in between each group. We are trying to avoid a stampede into the store.”

Police were patrolling the crowd to make sure no violence took place. In the past, many injuries have occurred on Black Friday due to the mass of people and the rush into the stores. The police chief shared, “We are taking every measure to ensure the safety of all the shoppers and to maintain the order.”

As the doors opened, the crowd became much more alert. The procession into the store was orderly, but once inside the store it was chaos. The aisles were flooded with customers scavenging around for discounts.

Baker shared, “We do all we can to keep the order outside the store but once the customers are inside it is a free for all.”

click here to watch the video

Daddy's Little Girl

Kentrell Lockettt is the Senior Defensive End for the University of Mississippi. Kentrell’s final year of playing for the University was a season of defeat and struggle, but through the turmoil, He must focus on moving larger mountains. Kentrell has hopes of getting drafted or pursuing a career in broadcast journalism, but whichever his decision might be; Kentrell must keep his baby girl in mind.

Kentrell Lockett, a beast on the field but a loving father at home, is the father of two years old, Kinsley. Being daddy’s girl, she harbors the techniques of pulling the beauty out of the beast. The 6’2” and 255 pound football player claims he would not have it any other way. “You get the best of both worlds,” He says, “Get to be one way and leave all the frustration on the field, and then you get to come home and be mushy.”

With his wife Leighanne, they work to raise and love Kinsley in an environment any two year old child with love. From life- size Barbie cars to colorful pink and blue blocks, Kinsley has the world at her little feet. Her time with her father is the most valuable. She loves to sing, dance and occasionally play a game of Call of Duty with her daddy. “They’re great together, “says his wife Leighanne.

The excitement of Kinsley’s love for her father makes parenting worthwhile for Kentrell. “Coming home is the best part,” he states. After a long day of practice, Kentrell melts when Kinsley lights up and runs to the door and screams, “Daddy, Daddy ,Daddy.” Kentrell laughs because his wife gets jealous because she does not receive the same treatment. Mocking his wife he says, “I was the only one home all day and I don’t get this type of treatment.” Kentrell then chuckles and states, “What can I say she’s daddy little girl.” To hear more click here

New Twist on Homecoming Tradition a Hit Among UM Students

For decades, homecoming weekend at Ole Miss has been characterized by football, families, and a student favorite...the homecoming parade. This event has always included a competition among student organizations to build and "pomp" the most extravagant float. This year, homecoming officials decided to take a more cost-efficient approach to this long-standing tradition.

Instead of creating large homecoming floats to display in the parade, organizations on campus were challenged to create smaller 8-foot by 8-foot signs to be displayed around campus. Participants ranged from the ever-present Greek organizations to smaller, lesser-known societies.

One of these, the Ole Miss Residence Hall Association, went with a Monopoly theme, transforming the board game we all know and love into a residence hall-filled "Rebelopoly".

"It's all about unifying our campus." said freshman RHA representative, Josh Moore. RHA members, as well as RA's and residents from each dorm came together to work on the RHA sign. "Each dorm is its own little community, but RHA brings us all together. This competition is doing the same for all Ole Miss students: bringing us together."

The group worked over 15 hours on their giant game board, staying motivated by a little friendly competition. "We want to make our presence known on campus. We want to win!" continued Moore.

As for changing yet another Ole Miss tradition, RHA sign workers had nothing negative to say. "I think it's great. We're still getting in the homecoming spirit, that's all that matters. Smaller signs are more feasible to smaller groups. This lets everyone participate and have fun." said sophomore Alisha Seals.

Martin Hall RA Karen Davis echoed the sentiment, "Change is good. We're supporting our Rebels, and that's what it's all about."

RHA took third place in the competition.

Find more on the story here.