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At least one college not far from Mississippi wants to make sure you think twice before sharing cards with a guy or girl you may have your eye on this Valentine’s Day.

Growing up, you may remember Valentine’s Day as a fun holiday in elementary school. Maybe you would pass out Valentine’s card to classmates, saving the best or biggest card for the person we had a crush on. Maybe that card even had a special note in it that only a 10 or 11-year-old could think up.

It was innocent fun on a day that meant lots of pink or red hearts and chocolate to go along with it. Eventually, perhaps, Valentine’s Day became more serious.

But not at the University of New Orleans. It has been awarded the “speech code of the month” violator by the Foundation for Rights in Education (FIRE) for February. This public university has a speech code so vague that an unexpected Valentine could be considered sexual harassment.

One can wonder if a secret admirer might quickly be deemed a stalker by campus code.

UNO’s ambiguous speech code cites examples of harassment as “visual displays such as leering” and “displays of sexually suggestive objects” such as cartoons. The College Fix suggests that icky handshakes and some of The Simpson’s cartoons might meet this criteria.

A Valentine should only constitute harassment if it is part of a “pattern of conduct,” FIRE asserts. If the campus regulations are not clear for students, they will be forced to interpret the fuzzy rules as literally as possible.

In that case, it is safer not to pass out little love notes or cards with puns this Thursday.

This free speech issue at UNO is part of a pattern itself—a pattern of little respect for First Amendment rights. Not only have campus rules and the collective left possibly banned hearts day; they’re on their way to ban every traditionally American holiday.

Halloween? Costumes are offensive. 4thof July? America is a constant disappointment. Easter and Christmas? Get your patriarchal religion off their quad. Thanksgiving or Columbus Day? Imperialistic. Super Bowl Sunday? Don’t even think about it.

This upcoming holiday, Harvard students will be given 100 characters to specify their gender on an online campus dating program. This option became available following a student protest and a public apology from The Harvard Computer Society for originally creating a gender binary program. And conservatives are hostile to science?

To be clear, speech on college campuses is allowed as long as campus ideology agrees.

Free speech seems to be a reward on campus only for those who meet the ideological bandwagon standard in academia. That is not the way it should be. While the war on Valentine’s Day cards allows us to poke fun at the often-goofy campus speech codes, they are no laughing matter.

Free speech should not only be tolerated, it should be encouraged on college campuses. First Amendment rights cannot be limited to just a remote area deemed acceptable by administration far from any students. Stimulating curiosity and intellectual debate has long been a hallmark of American college campuses. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case on too many campuses.

That is why every state in the country needs legislation protecting free speech for college students. Because relying on college administrations is not working.

Last summer, tragedy struck in Oxford when 22-year-old Ally Kostial was violently murdered and found just miles from the Ole Miss campus. A member of the Greek community and active as a pilates and yoga instructor on campus, Ally’s death shook her community to the core. Mississippians, alum and students, have asked themselves since that day in July — How could this have happened at Ole Miss?

Some of Ally’s friends reported that Ally was pregnant with her alleged murderer’s baby. Some of her community believes her denying the choice of abortion led to the murderous rampage of her on and off-again boyfriend. It’s been reported that her own sorority sisters knew about her pregnancy, her choice to not abort, and the anger her alleged murderer felt that she was not planning on having an abortion. 

Whether or not this was the case for Ally or this was the motivation for her brutal murder, one thing is clear — the Ole Miss student body did not know where to send an unexpectedly pregnant student. 

Just miles from campus, a free, privately funded, confidential place for pregnant women offers life-saving services. Pregnancy Center of Oxford is a “warm caring, judgment-free environment” to receive medical-grade pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and options counseling that is designed to look for red flags in relationships like abuse and coercion. No matter the choice a mother makes — for parenting, adoption, or abortion, there are confidential and free services for women in Oxford. 

This is one of over 40 pregnancy centers like its kind across Mississippi, one that saved American taxpayers $44 million in 2018. 

In the wake of this tragedy, Ole Miss students Jack Dellinger and Lauren Moses were inspired to restart a pro-life group on campus that had died off in the last few years. The Ole Miss Students for Life exists to educate and dialogue with peers about abortion, provide resources to pregnant and parenting students, and empower the choice for life when their peers face unexpected pregnancies. 

Summer Farrell, the Executive Director of Pregnancy Center of Oxford comments, “We are so grateful that the chapter has been renewed, trained, equipped, and empowered to move forward and provide education to fellow students facing an unplanned pregnancy. We are grateful to Sarah Zarr, the Southern Regional Coordinator with Students for Life, for investing in the Ole Miss campus.”

At a Mississippi Center for Public Policy panel discussion just a month after Ally’s death, a question came from the audience regarding resources at Ole Miss for pregnant women on campus. This question was like a call to action for Jack.

“My co-president and I have always been pro-life, but that tragedy was a wake up call to Lauren and me. It showed how abortion affects so many people around us. We just don’t normally see it.”

Since then, the Ole Miss group has held campus events, had meaningful, peaceful dialogue with those who agree and those who disagree on campus. They’ve had dozens of peers interested in joining their group. 

Just last month, the co-presidents attended the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This 47-year-old march was the largest ever, attracting over 225,000 people, with half of marchers estimated to be younger than 30 years old. President Donald Trump spoke at the event this year, becoming the first president to speak at March for Life.

The students then received apologetics and practical training for their group at the annual, National Pro-Life Summit, held by Students for Life of America, Live Action, Heritage Foundation, and Alliance Defending Freedom. They were joined by students from other campuses in Mississippi like Pro-Life MSU and Mississippi College Students for Life.

Less than a year later, this brutal tragedy has ignited a fire in our state. Oxford as a community and Ole Miss as a student body are prepared to serve women in a crisis like Ally Kostial may have been. The hope of these students and the pregnancy center community is that students know where to send their friends facing unexpected pregnancies. Pro-Life students at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Mississippi College, and the over 40 pregnancy centers sprinkled across our state are free market resources, providing help to those in need.

The sun light provides the best opportunity for our flowers to blossom. The warmth and light are critical for repair, growth, and blooming. Such is the case with another Mississippi treasure; our public higher education system and its eight colleges and universities. Perhaps nothing is more important to the future of our state than developing and preparing our best and brightest. 

Yet, we have had very little meaningful discussion about how we do that. I think that is because Mississippians treasure their colleges and universities at a deeper level than many other places. In many ways, these schools and towns represent our fondest memories and strongest bonds. We are reticent to question, challenge, or critique them because they are like precious heirlooms. But like our most valuable heirlooms plants, a pruning is necessary for a longer, healthier, more bountiful future. 

In an effort to provide both sun light and guidance for pruning, our organization, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, began a collaboration with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) about six months ago. The goal was to produce an independent, non-partisan review and analysis of higher education in the Magnolia State.

The results of that project will be presented to the public and to the media on February 5 at a luncheon at River Hills Club in Jackson. Tickets to the event can be purchased here. ACTA is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to academic freedom, excellence, and accountability at America’s colleges and universities. 

The reason we chose to work with ACTA is because of their outstanding reputation and their critical mission: “the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across America to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of idea on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives a philosophically rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.” Amen.

I encourage you to visit their website, examine their work, and look at their Board of Directors.

Some national trends should alarm us. According to the OECD, we spend more per student than any other country except Luxembourg, but we rank 22 of the 36 countries measured in terms of the percentage of young adults who have completed college.

Student loan debt in America is greater than $1.6 trillion, which is $600 billion more than our credit card debt. More than eleven million college borrowers are in forbearance or default.

In 2015, colleges and universities spent $11.5 billion on construction and maintenance, increasing higher education’s footprint by 21 million square feet. We’ve tripled space per student since the 1970s. Utilization data and future costs analysis portend financial problems.

We’re seeing big growth in non-academic employees on campus, without corresponding student body or faculty growth. This is happening all across the country as the administrators and non-academic programs proliferate. Long-term misallocation of resources leads to bad results. We should all be interested in reforming higher ed.

The report from ACTA will focus on four areas: corporate governance, curricula, financial stewardship, and freedom on campus. A few key issues to be discussed at the luncheon:

At the end of the report, there are 18 policy recommendations. Our job is to first make sure as many people as possible are aware of this study and then to work with leaders across the state, which includes trustees, alumni, donors, students, parents, and the legislature, to make sure policy ideas are turned into actions that can ensure Mississippi’s public colleges and universities are prepared for a long, healthy, bountiful future.

Our heirloom treasures deserve nothing less.

And we owe it to future generations to give them a chance to make their own fond memories and to build their own strong bonds. In a place with such powerful Southern Exposure and rich soil, we should be producing beautiful booms.  

The battle to preserve our natural rights of life, liberty, and property is as arduous today as it was 243 years ago, when George Washington and his men made a daring defense.

Though we do not fight our would-be rulers with muskets and bayonets today, we remain in a war to defend our constitutional rights from those who would continue to challenge them. Our weapons today are different but our commitment to win must be no less earnest.

Our founders understood the high purpose and necessity of such a defense. They knew the opportunity of a constitutional republic was won by their generation but that it would also require an ever-vigilant citizenry to defend it from well-meaning but power-seeking governments, generation after generation.

As active and engaged citizens, we have a role as defenders of the blessings of liberty for all Mississippians. Whether a lawyer representing an entrepreneur who is prevented from starting a business by unnecessary and burdensome regulations, a policy advocate working with members of the legislature to push for limited government, a community activist working to ensure equality under the law, or an ordinary citizen writing an op-ed for the local newspaper, we’re all defending our shared blessings of liberty.

Government did not grant these blessings to us; they are natural to each of us as individuals. And none of us can be denied these blessings or given any modifier that makes our blessings preferable or subordinate to any others.

As we celebrate the eternal blessings of the Christmas season with family and friends, let us take the time to think about that incredible crossing on Christmas night, 1776.

When the hopes of independence lay in the balance, our country’s first president planned and executed the bold attack on the British. George Washington led famished, cold, tired men across the Delaware in the darkness as rain turned to sleet and then to snow, and the winds blew without relief.

The American colonists prevailed in that fight at Trenton and eventually, thanks to a spirit that would not be subdued, our independence was won.

With that enduring spirit in mind this Christmas season, we should take the time to recognize how rich our blessings are and how worthy of a robust defense is liberty.

In this episode of Unlicensed, we break down the best Christmas movies of all time while diving into the important topics of the day such as Die Hard's role in Christmas movies and why the boy in a flannel shirt always gets the girl in Hallmark movies.

A well-cooked turkey, the Macy’s Day parade, the Detroit Lions losing a football game, these are Thanksgiving traditions of which many of us hold fond memories. This classic American holiday beckons in the beginning of the winter holiday season, and yet it has a history that is often largely forgotten.

It was October 3, 1863, shortly after the devastating Battle of Gettysburg, that President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of thanksgiving. Amidst much bloodshed and division, the holiday was meant to recall how blessed we are as a nation. His words ring true as a beautiful reflection on why we celebrate all these years later.

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

Now, Lincoln did not start this American tradition, but he did revive it. In 1789, Congress asked President George Washington to declare a national day of thanksgiving. Washington would routinely request days of thanks following major victories in battle. It was one of his early acts as president to set the precedent of giving thanks to God as a nation, stating:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now, President Washington did not start this American tradition, but he did institutionalize it through the power of the American presidency. To find the roots of this day, one must look almost 400 years back on our history, when a group of pilgrims and Native Americans joined together to give a celebration of thanks to God for their safety and friendship. The event commonly cited as the “First Thanksgiving” was a praise of the successful harvest, made possible by instructional support from the local tribe.

There is something remarkably unique to this American holiday upon which we give thanks to God for the gifts we have. The day is a chance to not only offer thanks, but to recall that we have a responsibility to give unto others and serve our fellow man as well. America is set apart from the rest of the world by its dramatic generosity. A deep culture of philanthropy was laid at the heart of our foundation, and continues to this day.

America has consistently been found to be the most generous country in the world, donating an unprecedented amount of time and money. Americans gave $410 billion to charity in 2017, more than the GDP of the vast majority of countries. And, within that, Mississippi is one of the most charitable states in the union. We also top charts when it comes to the percentage of people that volunteer or donate.

In his preeminent book, Democracy in America, Alexandre De Tocqueville offers the insight that “Americans group together to hold fêtes, found seminaries, build inns, construct churches, distribute books, dispatch missionaries…They establish hospitals, prisons, schools by the same method.” Americans come together to solve problems and serve each other in order to build a better life. We gratefully look back on all that we have, and are ultimately made great by our ability to look ahead and question how we can best serve others.

For those to whom much is given, much is expected. America has taken this call to heart and is, for this reason, the most generous nation in the world. The holiday, perhaps more than any other, forces us to take pause and recall the gift of life that God has blessed us with, as well as the friends and family which surround us.

We live in a culture of materialism, focused on passing fads and the procurement of goods. Thanksgiving is more important now than ever as an institutional reminder of to whom we give thanks and how we are expected to display that gratitude through action.

The call to action of both thanks and service, which Lincoln offers stands the test of time, and is just as poignant as with this celebration of Thanksgiving as it was 150 years ago:

And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

The chicken was good, but what drove many through the doors of one of America’s most popular fast-food joints was the values the brand stood for. 

It wasn’t just fried poultry; it was a large restaurant chain that unabashedly stood with their Christian foundation. They singlehandedly changed the game of fast food simply by introducing a bit of kindness to the process. And now, they’ve abandoned that foundation by relenting to the demands of the faith-hating progressive mob.

The CEO of Chick-Fil-A announced that they would cut their donations to two organizations after a range of LGBT protests. Now, who were these hate-filled, evil organizations, so clearly bent on darkness that all support had to be cut? They were the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. What kind of a world do we live in when the Salvation Army, which serves 25 million people around the globe annually, is treated as some despicable hate group?

The record ought to be set straight on these two groups. For those who don’t know, the Salvation Army was founded by William Booth to provide ministry and support to thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and others who were often not accepted in traditional churches. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes provides support to tens of thousands of athletes and coaches around the world, binding them together in a community of faith.

Today, The Salvation Army helps to cure hunger, support those in poverty, fight human trafficking, support veterans, house the homeless, help disaster survivors, support the elderly, and end domestic abuse. They treat and support all people equally regardless of color, race, or creed. 

And yet, today some despise them because they hold traditional Christian views. It is these very views which built the organization that has deeply impacted millions of lives, it is these very views that laid the foundation of love upon which so many could feel the courage and compassion to sacrifice for others, it these very views which have guided and shaped countless men and women around the globe.

Chick-Fil-A’s succumbing to the demands of the mob sets a horrifying precedent. If one of the largest companies in the world can be forced to reject the Salvation Army, then what hope does any small Christian business have? 

Make no mistake, the Salvation Army will not be the last victim of the left’s relentless war against those of faith. If our modern cancel culture demands that even they be sacrificed on the progressive altar, then the mob will not relent until every religious-based foundation, mosque, hospital, synagogue, charity, and church closes its doors.

They would rather dismiss all the good that these organizations do on a global scale than see them hold an opposing idea. 

After Chick-Fil-A relented from its support of one of the largest global charitable organizations, LGBT protesters demanded that the company start donating directly to LGBT causes as a sort of penance within the church of the socially woke. It won’t end there, the goal line of the progressive movement shifts ever leftward, constantly demanding more as though it were some ravenous beast. Perhaps Chick-Fil-A should rethink their strategy.

Any fan and patron of Chick-Fil-A likely knows the restaurant well. When one walks in, they will undoubtedly be greeted by a sign showcasing the chain’s humble roots in a small town store, founded by Truett Cathy. The plaque typically boasts that he did not invent chicken, but he did invent the chicken sandwich. 

Today, I can only imagine Truett Cathy is rolling over in his grave on account of the betrayal by today’s company leadership and their decision to bow before the false god of potential profits.

Delta State University will be hosting their third annual celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month on October 17.

Under the theme, “Resistance and History,” the event will play host the first drag show on the Cleveland campus. On an interesting note, the drag show is being dubbed “family friendly.”

The event is being presented by DSU Library Services, DSU QEP, DSU Diversity Committee, DSU Office of Student Affairs, Delta Music Institute, DSU Art Department, DSU Department of Music, DSU Division of Social Sciences and History, and DSU Division of Languages and Literature.

Full details of the event can be found on DSU’s website.

Drag shows and similar LGBTQ+ events are pretty commonplace on Mississippi campuses or with allied organizations. 

Starkville Pride 2019 hosted Drag Queen Bingo and an off-campus drag show this past March.

A similar story can be found in Oxford during Oxford Pride Week. Ole Miss is also home to the Chancellor’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee.

Former Institutions of Higher Learning Commissioner Glenn Boyce will be named the next Chancellor of the University of Mississippi on Friday, according to multiple reports. 

As Ole Miss prepares for homecoming weekend and a winnable Saturday night game against Vanderbilt, the official announcement will be made tomorrow at The Inn at Ole Miss. 

Boyce will become the third chancellor in five years at Ole Miss after former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter stepped down in December with two years remaining on his contract. 

For multiple reason – a declining enrollment and endowment, poor performance on the football field and a half-empty stadium, and continuous decisions that alienate a large chunk of a conservative alumni base – this hire was viewed as one that had to be right. Now obviously an Ole Miss board was not the one making the decision, it was the IHL that oversees the eight public universities. Still, Ole Miss faithful could at least hope for the best. 

Regardless, and with no foresight into Boyce, what he will do, or what his plans for the university entail, this decision isn’t one that appears to have many people in Oxford celebrating. 

Boyce, after all, was hired by the University of Mississippi Foundation to be a consultant in the search. This was with the private foundation however, not IHL. His name was not included in a list of eight candidates that appeared in Mississippi Today earlier this week. 

For those that were hoping Ole Miss would step outside of the “good ole boy” system, it doesn’t pass the initial smell test. Rather, it is one that will raise eyebrows and leave more questions than answers. Such as, should a university be able to hire their own leader? Ironically, liberal professors seem as upset as members of the Make Ole Miss Great Again Facebook group.

This will be Boyce’s first involvement with a four-year university. Before running IHL, he was president of the Holmes County Community College, he served on various education-related boards, and he worked in the Rankin County School District.

He received his bachelor’s degree and doctorate from Ole Miss. He received his master’s from Mississippi College.    

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