A rose to Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman, who was chosen by the Mississippi Democratic Party to deliver the Democratic Response to Gov. Phil Bryant’s State of the State address Wednesday. The selection of Wiseman was a break from tradition; previously the minority party selected a member of the Legislature to respond to the governor’s address. Regardless of their political leanings, Starkville residents should take pride in the choice of their mayor to stand on such a prominent stage. Wiseman, elected to his second term as mayor in July, is considered a rising star in state Democratic Party circles. He acquitted himself well during Wednesday’s brief response.
A rose to the roughly 35 New Hope High football players who drew in-house suspension for skipping a mandatory P.E. class as a means of protesting the school’s decision not to bring back their football coach, Shawn Gregory, for another year. While we certainly don’t condone skipping class, nor do we know enough to comment on Gregory’s non-renewal, we applaud the players for accepting the punishment that resulted from their protest. There are often costs associated with standing up for what you believe in. That the players accepted their punishment while maintaining the belief their protest was justified is an experience they can draw on throughout their adult lives.
A rose to the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science students who spent part of their day Friday introducing preschoolers to the world of science. MSMS students worked with children at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church daycare on a variety of fun science projects. In an age where U.S. students have declined in the world rankings for science in recent decades, it’s never too early to expose our children to what science has to offer. At an early age, that means showing children that science is fun. The enthusiasm shown by the children at St. Paul’s strongly suggest that the MSMS students achieved that goal Friday.
A thorn to state representative Jeff Smith, R- Columbus, who couldn’t say why he sponsored a bill to ban human cloning this week. Smith initially told The Associated Press he didn’t sponsor the bill, but after being shown his name on the legislation, he admitted he sponsored it, but couldn’t explain why. “I get a lot of people who ask me to do stuff,” Smith told The AP. That’s not good enough, quite frankly. That sort of cavalier attitude about the job voters sent him to Jackson to do is an embarrassment to voters and a blow to Smith’s credibility as a state leader.
Do you have a submission for Roses and Thorns? Send your submission of 75 words of fewer to managing editor SlimSmith at [email protected] by noon Friday.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.