Attention all queens and colonels: ads aren't free

The grade point average requirement for Homecoming Queen wasn't raised when the Associated Student Body Senate raised the requirement from 2.0 to 3.0 for Miss Ole Miss and Colonel Reb last year. But we're finding that Homecoming Queen candidates are just as smart as everyone else when it comes to campaigning.

On Tuesday, someone scrawled "Sarah Beth Bailey 4 Queen," in red ink on 250 issues of The DM. Well, we think that's downright clever.

Obviously Sarah Beth or someone who works for Sarah Beth or maybe even an opponent of Sarah Beth is quite bright. Someone recognizes that The DM is the easiest way to reach students, and instead of paying for an advertisement for Tuesday's paper, someone made up her own. And if that wasn't enough, it was scrawled on the comics pages, where people as bright as "the scrawler" would look.

Unfortunately, since we spotted the ad Monday morning, we're going to have to charge Sarah Beth, whether she wrote the message or not. We've talked to the folks in our advertising office and they tell us that a black and white ad this size would cost no less than $60. Ordinarily, the ad office would also have to charge for color since the ad was in red ink. But, out of respect for this act of pure genius, we're going to cut some slack and just charge 60 bucks.

So, if anyone sees Sarah Beth today, please tell her to stop by 112 Farley Hall between the hours of 8 and 5. The check should be made out to Daily Mississippian Advertising Office.

And if anyone is circling advertisements that he or she has already paid for, then we're going to have to charge you extra for that. You can come down with Sarah Beth.

Watch the debates

While some Ole Miss students sat outside waiting to find out who the next Miss Ole Miss was, they missed the first half of debates that could help them choose their next president.

The first of three presidential debates aired Tuesday night beginning at 8 p.m. on CBS, ABC and PBS and on the cable channels CNN and MSNBC. These debates, though heavily scripted, will give voters a chance to see the candidates face off. This year's race is closest going into the debates since 1960, according to the New York Times. The public, then, should be especially interested in seeing the candidates.

Ole Miss students got a chance to see mock debates Tuesday, but they should make sure to watch the real thing.