accounting

OXFORD, Miss- “The economy has been playing a huge role in the number of jobs offered to students graduating from the school of accountancy, Dr. Riley Shaw said.

The University of Mississippi School of Accountancy has seen a drastic drop in the number of jobs students are offered after graduating.

Dr. Shaw said, “the demand for accountants has gone down quite a bit in the past years, but the supply (students graduating) has risen.”

Dr. Shaw graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Ph.D. in accounting. He started teaching here in the fall of 2002. He is now an Associate Professor of Accounting.

There are about 750 students in the school of accountancy, 120 of those are working on their masters degree, in hopes of ensuring themselves jobs.

“It use to be if you could walk and talk you could get a job, but the economy and demand has really put a halt to students receiving jobs,” Shaw said.

Erin Elliot, a student who graduated from the masters program for accounting at Ole Miss said, “it’s been tough, but somehow I stuck through and got what I was striving for.”

As a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the greek organization for students in the school of accounting, her job offers increased drastically.

“The emphasis of grades and also being involved in Beta Alpha Psi and other extracurricular activities plays a huge role in students getting offered jobs,” Shaw said.

Erin will be interning at IFAC in New York City this coming August, she is hoping to be offered a full-time job while interning.

IFAC, the International Federation of Accountants, offered Erin the position immediately following her graduation.

She will be interning for two months, while she also searches for other accounting jobs in the city.

Many alumni from Ole Miss get a chance to meet the students from the Beta Alpha Psi, which also boosts the number of jobs offered to students.

“If an alum has a spot open at his or her firm, they will call the school and ask for a student to come work for them,” Shaw said.

Students still seem interested in getting degrees whether the economy is playing on their side or not.

“There is a lot of regulation in firms today, if your performance isn’t good, you’re gone,” Shaw said.

The number of students in the school has risen over the past years. This past year alone the number of students in the school was an all time high.

The economy is slowly coming back, and jobs are starting to be offered to young, aspiring accountants. This could be the silver lining that graduating students are hoping for.

Game Fanatic Wins Six Consecutive Games against Friends

July 13, 2010, Ole Miss student Jeffery Johnson arrived at the midnight release of the new game “NCAA Football ’11” at the local Wal-Mart. Although he expected a big turnout for the release, he was shocked to find only a few people there.
“There were not many people there, which I expected more, “he says.
Johnson said he was very excited to be one of the first people to purchase this game. After he purchased this game, it consumed a majority of his day.
“I have played this game fifty percent of the day since I purchased it, but I have maintained my school work.”
Johnson said he is sure that this is the best football video game that he has ever played.
“The graphics are so realistic and very much improved form previous games,” he says.
Johnson says, “My favorite team to play with on this game has to be the Georgia Bulldogs.”
Johnson was proud to say that after a week of intense game play he was able to pull off a winning streak of six consecutive games against his fellow friends.
When asked if it was a challenge to dominate the game against his friends, Johnson says, “It was child’s play.”
Johnson does have future plans of remaining the undefeated champ of the “NCAA Football ‘11”. He plans to move in August to a place where he can play online video games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRscyc0GTXg

A Big Bad Breakfast Experience

On Sunday morning, July 18, a University of Mississippi student, Ave Mayeux, and her three friends went to Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford, to satisfy their hunger.

“There wasn’t a wait, which was surprising on a Sunday morning,” Mayeux said. “When we walked in it smelled like bacon, syrup, and coffee, my favorite smells.”

While scanning the menu, Mayeux chose the “big bad breakfast platter”. This dish comes with a choice of either bacon or sausage, grits or hash browns, two eggs cooked however you like them, and a choice of either toast or a biscuit. There also are three types of gravy to choose from on the Big Bad Breakfast menu, which include red eye gray, sausage gravy, or tomato gravy.

“It was amazing,” Mayeux said. “The atmosphere was hectic but still relaxed enough to eat your breakfast and not be rushed.”

Among Mayeux’s three friends was one visiting from Atlanta, Ga. It was his first Big Bad Breakfast experience.

“He enjoyed his experience,” Mayeux said.

The food was served rather quickly with consistent drink refills. The waiter was very friendly and only checked on his customers when he knew they needed something.

“I don’t like people coming up every five minutes,” said Mayeux.

Big Bad Breakfast is located on 719 N. Lamar Blvd. It was named “best breakfast” in Oxford by readers of the Oxford Eagle. Hours are from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends. Both breakfast and lunch menus are available.

http://citygroceryonline.com/restaurant.php?bbb

Ole Miss Student Encounters "Almost Fight" at Atlanta Concert

Tim Hadaway says interesting things don't usually happen to him but last weekend could be classified as an exception.

The University of Mississippi journalism student visited family and attended a concert in his hometown of Atlanta. The concert featured one of his favorite bands, 311, who performed with The Offspring and Pepper at Lakewoods Amphitheater.

Hadaway says 311 and The Offspring were two of the many bands he listened to while growing up.

While standing in the crowd he saw a woman get shoved by a man.

“This kid came up and just shoved one of our friends,” Hadaway says. “She probably weighed 80 pounds.”

Hadaway says someone “got in (the kid’s) face” and almost started a fist fight, which some of his friends almost joined.

Hadaway says he had to attempt to be a “mediator” so a fight would not actually break out and hurt others.

Hadaway says that no one was kicked out of the concert as a result of the incident since small arguments and fights are hard to monitor when the amphitheater is crowded.

Hadaway says he enjoyed the weekend visiting friends and family in his hometown. He says he visited a bar located in the Highlands area of Atlanta with some of his friends on Friday night. His Saturday activities included a round of golf and lunch with his parents.

Hadaway returned to Oxford Sunday after attending church.

To learn more about the band 311, click here.

Small Engineering School Offers Big Advantages

Although the University of Mississippi Engineering School is small, students are drawn from a wide array of interests and given many opportunities to work with faculty and staff on community projects.

Annie Chapman, of Jackson, Miss, began at Ole Miss as a math major

“When I started classes I realized I liked physics as well as math, and I started talking to people in the civil engineering department,” Chapman said.

Chapman decided to stay on at Ole Miss for graduate school because, although the engineering sector is less affected by the nationwide economic downturn, having a master’s degree would give her an edge.

“I can choose my job, instead of taking the first job offer I get,” Chapman said.

Chapman is planning to get her PhD in civil engineering and become a professor. She focuses most of her graduate work on concrete.

“I’m interested in making things stronger,” Chapman said.

Cole Fowler, of Batesville, is also a graduate student at the engineering school and also did his undergraduate work at Ole Miss.

“My dad owns a construction company so I’ve grown up around construction. I’ve wanted to be an engineer since the eighth grade,” Fowler said.

Fowler plans on becoming a professional engineer and channeling his fascination for building materials into construction.

“I’ve always been around building supplies. So that’s what I like,” Fowler said.

The Ole Miss engineering school is small in comparison to other engineering schools, but has a long history and a low student to teacher ratio, of 12 students to one faculty member, according to Scott Kilpatrick, assistant to the dean. “The engineering school at Ole Miss is the oldest school of engineering in the state,” Kilpatrick said.

Fowler and Chapman agree that the small size is a plus. Everyone thinks we have a disadvantage, because we’re small, but being small gives us the advantage,” Chapman said.

“I like having the small, tight-knit atmosphere,” Fowler said.

Another advantage to the small size is the hands-on research and projects the students get to take part in.

According to Cristiane Surbeck, an assistant professor with the school, students can focus on anything from explosions to water pollution. “Students get involved with faculty projects with the federal government and the state,” Surbeck said.

Fowler and Chapman’s senior class helped to design a new community center in Abbeville, renovating an old high school and elementary school. The class separated into groups and each group submitted a design. Ultimately, one design was picked and used in the building of the center.

“We’ve gotten a lot of experience,” Chapman said.

Bringing Tradition and Spirit back to Ole Miss

The sign above was purchased and erected by the Cardinal Club of 1940, a time when this club was considered one of the most prestigious on campus.

On September 19, 2009 over 650 new freshman students ran across the football field at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium just before kick-off at the seasons first home game. A tradition that just one year prior, only had roughly 100 students participating. However, with the involvement of one campus club, participation skyrocketed.

The Cardinal Club, which started in 1927 and lasted through 1969, was at one time considered one of the most prestigious organizations on campus. With the hopes of reviving this tradition, alumni Sovent Taylor got a group of students together to revive this once well known spirit organization.

Last year was their first year back in full force and they began with a bang, turning out the highest attendance for a Rebel Run to date, as well as a pep rally that “even though it was raining, had fairly good attendance” said Tara Brando, club member.

Like many members Brando got involved as a freshman in order to be more involved on campus. As a member she loved “seeing a different side of athletics” that she feels she would not have seen is she was not involved in the club.

“Football games became more fun when I felt like I had a part in planning them” said Brando.

The goal of the Cardinal Club, however, was not just to get students excited about football games but “the little appreciated athletic events like women’s basketball, volleyball, soccer…” Taylor said.

One way that Taylor hopes to increase attendance at lesser-known sporting events this year is with the new Spirit Cup. “The spirit cup is where student organizations get an chance to earn money towards their philanthropy by participating in the little appreciated sports” Taylor said.

Points will be rewarded to organizations (both non-Greek and Greek) depending on their participation at all sporting events. Both the cup and the money towards the winning groups philanthropy will be awarded to the organization with the most attendance at all sporting events.

“I am excited about this spirit cup because it will be a good way for my fraternity, as well as other organizations, to become more involved in new traditions, rather than be upset with the fact that we are losing some older traditions” said club member Sid Johnson.

Another event that the Cardinal Club is excited to plan this year is the Rebel Road trip. Rebel Road trip is a “Student Support Bus” said Taylor, which will go down to New Orleans for the LSU game in order to increase an Ole Miss fan base at an away game. Students will spend two nights in a hotel on Bourbon Street, receive a ticket to the football game at LSU, as well as transportation to Louisiana, to the game, and back to Oxford at the end of the weekend. It costs “$215 for students staying in a room with three people, and $265 for a two-person room” Taylor said.

Though there is an application and interview process to be a member of the club, any student can be involved “by participating in all Ole Miss athletic and spirit events” said Taylor.

To learn more about the Rebel Road trip or any other Cardinal Club events contact Sovent Taylor at sztaylor@olemiss.edu.

Sources:

Sovent Taylor

sztaylor@olemiss.edu

(662) 801-2046

Tara Brando

Tarab90@aol.com

318-564-4617

Sid Johnson

sajohnso@olemiss.edu

601-954-7576

Running...Without Shoes?

Imagine, waiting among a sea of hundreds, thousands of sprinters anxiously awaiting the beginning of race. As you observe those around you, one of the things that catch your eye is the variety of brightly colored running shoes each sprinter is wearing. A few of these people, however, stand out to you. They aren’t wearing shoes.

Barefoot running has gained popularity since the release of author Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run. According to Kevin A. Kirby, doctor of podiatric medicine on www.podiatrytoday.com, it’s just another passing fad within the running community.

Dr. Michael Dupper, assistant professor of exercise science at the University of Mississippi, has an interest in running shoe research.

“It’s a niche thing,” Dupper said when asked his opinion on barefoot running.

Barefoot running exhibits pros and cons when compared to running with shoes. Research has suggested that the extra cushioning in running shoes leads to an increased risk of injuries in the foot, ankle, and knees due to increased stress on these joints. When running with shoes, sprinters tend to land on the heel of the foot, exerting two to three times their body weight on the lower limbs. Running without shoes, however, allows the runner to land on the ball of their foot and then bring down the heel.

“Biomechanically we weren’t born with shoes so you would think that our bodies would adapt to it, but most of us have worn shoes since we were fitted with baby booties,” Dupper said.

“Your body builds up calluses over time, but there’s still going to be that soft tissue between the ball of your foot and the heel,” Dupper said. “The whole idea of running shoes is to act as a shock absorber, to decrease the amount of pressure throughout the entire foot. It’s important that you get shoes that fit your body and that are made for your particular running style.”

People turn their foot one way or the other when they’re planting their feet. There are also other factors to consider, such as if the arch of your foot is high, average, or low. This plays a major role in how much support the foot has. Also, body size must be considered when purchasing running shoes because lighter people will need lighter running shoes.

“It’s important to get shoes that not only fit you in size, like if you have a 7 1/2 and an 8, but also in width and in terms of the running style that you have in the foot placement,” Dupper said.

Whether to pursue this new trend and jog the trails barefoot, or sprint away with the shoe that’s right for you, the choice is yours.

Dr. Michael Dupper

Assistant Professor of Exercise Science

915-5564

mad@olemiss.edu