MSU cites potential for ‘negative’ impact by new federal guidelines for international students
Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum on Wednesday issued a formal statement following new federal guidelines issued on Monday as the university has joined others in asking for reconsideration of the policy.
The university said in a release the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued new guidelines that prohibit international students from returning to or remaining in the country this fall if the universities they attend deliver all their academic content online.
MSU previously announced its intent to host a
mindful of. We’re living in extraordinary times.”
Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk also voiced her support for the Streatery.
“I think that anything that gets more people downtown, especially gets more people visible downtown, benefits the local businesses downtown,” Sistrunk said. “I think one of the things we need to do, particularly right now when businesses are struggling, is to do benefit however we can, having people downtown.”
However, not all were enthralled with the idea. Starkville attorney Charles Bruce Brown made a public appearance at the meeting to speak against the idea.
Brown primarily expressed concerns regarding parking downtown and the nine spaces the Streatery would take up in front of his law office.
“One of the basic rules of governmental authority is you cannot use public property to benefit a private business or a private industry,” Brown said.
He brought the board a list of some other downtown businesses, primarily law offices and similar businesses that were against the Streatery.
“How about you use the parking behind Starkville Café that the city already owns? Put your tables back there,” Brown said. “It’s more shaded and they’re less likely to get hit by cars back there.”
Brown also expressed concerns about favoritism to
Restaurant Tyler, which is owned in part by Starkville Municipal Judge Brian Kelley. However, City Attorney Chris Latimer said it wasn’t a concern since the Streatery was a public space open to all.
“It’s a repurposing of public space for a different public use,” Latimer said. “It’s legal as long as it’s a like-for-like swap.”
Carver voiced agreement with Brown, saying the board should listen to its downtown business owners.
“I’ve looked hard at those names of many individuals we know personally, going down this list,” Carver said.
However, Spruill said the Main Street Association backed the concept. She also mentioned that the Sreatery would take only nine of approximately 525 parking
spaces in the vicinity.
“The Main Street Association, which consists of the other merchants downtown, the actual merchants and not just the lawyers, the people who are actually wanting this to come down for retail purposes, said they were in favor,” Spruill said. “Let me be really clear about that.”
The board also approved returning department heads to full pay beginning on the July 17 pay period. The board also voted in the same measure on the consent agenda to begin returning furloughed employees to work if the city’s sales tax numbers were 20% or less, or less than $135,000 down from the previous year when they come in on July 15.