Mississippi State University will celebrate its 128th birthday Tuesday with a picnic and entertainment on the Drill Field.
With the help of the Student Association, the Alumni Association will host the birthday festivities, Jimmy Abraham, director of the Alumni Association, said.
“We just decided that we need to celebrate this occasion,” Abraham said. “We just had the idea to have a party. To be 128 years old is significant, and we want to celebrate it in a special way.”
This is the first year for this event, and the Alumni Association wants to continue this tradition every year, he said.
The birthday celebration, which is sponsored by Cadence Bank, will be on the Drill Field with free food and entertainment from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Abraham said he expects a large turnout at the party. Everyone, from students and staff to alumni and friends in the Starkville community, is invited to attend the party, he said.
The Alumni Association hopes to give away 1,300 barbecue sandwiches, along with chips, cokes, MSU ice cream and a big birthday cake, which will be cut at noon, he said. The Alumni Association will also distribute 300 birthday T-shirts, Abraham said.
The celebration will be broadcast on MSU’s webcam, so anyone in the world will be able to watch it, Abraham said.
In the future, alumni chapters across the country will begin celebrating MSU’s birthday, so that the celebration will become a national event, SA director of history and traditions Brittany Martin said.
Freshman architecture major Madison Nobles said she plans on attending the celebration.
“I think the webcam will be really cool, and it will be a good way for people who are thinking of attending MSU to see what it’s all about,” she added.