We are on day 32 of March, or April 1 as the rest of the world knows it. If you are like me (and thankfully many people aren't), you're contemplating 30 more days without a haircut and debating how much hair does one need during a pandemic. 

One person who doesn't seem to be worrying about his hair is MTSU President Sidney McPhee, who just received raise for his work. I'm sure all the hourly workers at MTSU who are at home without a paycheck would like a slice of that $15 grand a year bump Sidney got. 

But McPhee did make a difficult decision to cancel Spring Commencement. That's why he makes the big bucks.

Here's what he said:

Following most recent guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Governor Lee regarding large group meetings, we must cancel our Spring Commencement Ceremonies, originally planned for May 8 and May 9.

To provide every graduate with an opportunity to walk across the stage, and for their families to share the experience, our Spring graduates will be invited to march in any future commencement exercises, including our Summer ceremony set for Aug. 8 and our Winter ceremony set for Dec. 12. We will be sending additional information regarding these upcoming exercises in an email to our Spring graduates.

We will celebrate the achievements of our Spring graduates by preparing a special care package, which we will mail in late May along with the diploma. The package will include a mortar board with a special tassel; a unique commencement program that lists our May graduates and chronicles the year; a DVD with commencement themes and messages of support; and other surprises. We know this package will not truly fill the hole created by this cancellation, but we want to make every effort for this special class of graduates to know how proud we are of their accomplishments.

It's the right thing to do. We shouldn't be cramming all the grandparents' of students into Murphy Center right now. Hopefully it will save some lives.

COVID-19 Reported Cases in Tennessee

To donate masks, email COVID.PPEDONATIONS@tn.gov or check TEMA's site for private sector PPE donations.

As of 2:30 p.m. April 1: