With the Mississippi State  University Bulldogs the No. 1 football team in the country,  people of the sports community are interested in capturing aerial footage of the atmosphere in Davis Wade Stadium. According to an MSU press release, that opportunity is now a thing of the past with the new policy prohibiting the use of unmanned aircraft vehicles in populated areas including Davis Wade Stadium.
David Shaw, vice president for research and economic development, said the FAA ruling is national and was implemented due to incidents that have happened around the country. This is also not just focused on drones causing harm, but the fact that they can cause interference to aspects of gameday. Shaw said the designation of national defense airspace helps to assure the safety of those in proximity. 
“This is a designation because often there are military flyovers at the beginning of a game, as well as aircraft that fly over for televised events,” he said. “There is also concern about unregistered aircraft flying over crowds like this from a safety and security concern.
For this purpose, all of central campus is declared off limits for unmanned aircraft. The city of Starkville is not included in the responsibility of the university. According to Shaw, MSU may use UAV for academic reasons. 
“We do a great deal of research on UAS technology,” he said. “We are very, very careful to closely follow all relevant FAA regulations. We regularly apply for Certificates of Authorizations for specific research activities with UAS.”
 JoJo Dodd, junior political science major and Picayune, Mississippi native sits on the committee that made the decision to uphold this new policy and said he has some insight into the new sentiment.
“There was previously no policy in place governing the use of drones on campus,” Dodd said. “So, now there is something in place to govern the use of unmanned air vehicles.” 
Dodd said he thinks the new policy is made not based off of personal experiences in Davis Wade, but of those that our administration has seen in other sports venues.
According to Dodd, the new policy was not made to target groups that use drones or other unmanned aircraft vehicles. It was made to help protect the interest and well being of the general public. 
“The policy isn’t made to completely eradicate the use of drones,” mentioned Dodd. “It is made for those who seek to fly these vehicles using the guidelines that the FAA has let and also being able to provide the university proper notice to gain the appropriate permission.”
This policy was nevermade or enforced on the sole decision making power granted by Mississippi State University officials. This was something that the Federal Aviation Administration saw to institute all over the country. 
Sheldon Rodgers, sophomore whose major is undeclared, said he has insight on what he has learned about drones from his dad, who serves as a pilot for Delta Airlines. 
“I was not aware that the three miles around and the 3,000 feet above Davis Wade were considered national defense airspace on gameday,” Rodgers said. “It makes since seeing how populated campus is on gameday, so the FAA makes this adjustment for people’s safety.” 
As far as drone restrictions go, Rodgers said he thinks only certain size drones should be restricted. 
“I think we should allow smaller size drones like the DJI Phantom drone to be allowed,” he said. “Because of the size, in the event of a malfunction, I don’t think it would cause much harm.”
According to the FAA, Certificates of Waiver or Authorization can be obtained from their website for public entities such as government agencies. For more recreational uses, smaller aircrafts are still held under the FAA guidelines. Unmanned aircraft vehicles are limited to “400 feet, away from airports and air traffic, and within sight of the operator,” according to FAA.gov. 
In addition to those restrictions, Mississippi State’s policy of staying away from unpopulated areas also applies.
 For those who seek to fly unmanned aircraft vehicles, contact the university administration to avoid any unnecessary penalties.