In the last nine months, Mississippi State University has named a president, survived two major storms and defeated the University of Mississippi on their court and our own. This year we saw buildings reach completion, restaurants open and the city of Starkville really come to life. What a year!
Many MSU students rejoiced the first week of school when the Board of Aldermen and Mayor Mack Rutledge agreed to a new beer ordinance. The ordinance allows bars and restaurants to sell beer and light wine until 1 a.m.-one hour later than the midnight limit of the previous ordinance.
The ordinance was in effect just in time for students to take advantage of Starkville night life at the Student Association’s Bulldog Bash in September. Starkvegas lived up to its nickname as thousands of students gathered for this college town’s own version of Mardi Gras or the Memphis in May Music Fest. The Bash kicked off the school year and the football season. Ingrim Hill, Dr. Zar’s Amazing Funk Monster and the Patrick Smith Band each took a stage in the Cotton District for a night of live music. The Bulldog Bash turned out to be a success and something students requested to have more of in the future.
In the same week, students paid tribute to those lost in the tragedy of Sept. 11 by participating in candlelight vigils and watching ROTC students raise the flag at half-staff on the Drill Field. The community united as well as nearly 1,000 students at a near-silent vigil in front of the Swalm Chemical Engineering Building on the night of Sept. 11.
However, the Bulldogs weren’t silent for long. MSU fans caused quite a stir, claiming they would “ring their cowbells until the cows came home.” The SEC’s attempt to confiscate the bells was not 100 percent successful at any of State’s SEC games, especially the ones at home. Despite the loud bells, the Dawgs lost more than they won last fall. A 42-14 loss against the Auburn Tigers was only the beginning to a long season of despair. This was not the only football trouble MSU got into; in late September MSU students were caught stealing helmets from the Rebels. The charged students told UM Police they were taking them as souvenirs but MSU dean of students Mike White said the action was a bad decision and hoped the students learned their lesson. This happened after the NCAA had visited MSU due to other investigations concerning the football team.
The ‘Funny Money’ scheme didn’t uncover until well into the season when MSU freshman running back Nick Turner was charged and later pleaded guilty to using counterfeit money at Remington’s Hunt Club. Sherrill said Turner would be back on the field for the 2003 season.
Turner wasn’t washed away, but MSU sure was when Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili left quite a flood on campus. Isidore brought 65 mph winds and a heavy rainfall while Lili brought nearly 100 mph gusts of wind. She was classified as a Category 4 hurricane. MSU students in the geosciences major chased the storm out of Mississippi and into Louisiana to observe and use the experience as a learning tool.
The storm moved out and so did all the residents of Hamlin Hall. Bats had infested Hamlin Hall to the point that residents were mandated to relocate to other on-campus housing. The infestation was discovered after students’ complained of strong odors and unusual droppings in the dorm. The problem was taken care of almost immediately.
Many building projects were completed this year. These include the completion of the new landscape architecture building, and the Hunter Henry Alumni Center, as well as the addition to the Student Health Center and the renovation of McCain Hall.
It was just recently that Henry Hunter cut the ribbon for the formal opening of the Hunter Henry Alumni Center, but the building has been in use since last fall.
Another engineering building will be built in the near future, partly due to James W. Bagley, who gave MSU the largest-single monetary gift ever of $25 million.
Bagley said he is glad to give back to the university that allowed most of his success. The money will go toward teaching and research in the university’s engineering college.
Like Bagley, another alumni gives credit to MSU when he is return is named interim vice president for the university’s division of Student Affairs. Jimmy Abraham gets ready to meet the challenge of interim VP as MSU basketball player gets ready to meet the bench after a long battle with NCAA over high school transcripts. Austin was announced ineligible by the NCAA but was back on the court by the end of the season.
The men’s basketball team bounced back and even dominated their division with a string of big wins against Georgia State, Oklahoma, South Alabama and UAB. The men were not the only team dominating on the court; MSU’s Lady Dawgs beat Illinois making them 8-1. The men’s and women’s team joined Duke and Connecticut in having both teams ranked in the top 15 at the same time.
MSU continued to make history as All-American LaToya Thomas reached 2,500 points for her basketball career and was said to be unforgettable by anyone who watched her play.
Another man who made history, after being gone for nearly 40 years. Holmes first walked onto this campus as the university’s first black student and now has returned to serve as a physician in the John C. Longest Student Health Center.
Holmes is here to stay and so is Charles Lee. Lee served as interim president until early this semester when he was named MSU’s 17th president.
Other highlights of this semester include the approval of a Fall Break, Money Mate being expanded off campus and MSU theatre putting on several plays.
Fantastiks and Raisin in the Sun both turned out to be quite an act while the Indie Film Fest and Magnolia Film Fest were clearly “box office hits.”
While out for dinner and a movie, Starkville has provided more options for dining in the last nine months. Roxie’s, the Veranda, Mi Hacienda and Gentry’s are just four new restaurants in town that have opened this year. It doesn’t stop there; more people are drinking coffee in Starkville too. LJ’s Coffee Shop opened in the fall serving coffee drinks and dessert while the Dawg House coffee shop opened on campus on the first floor of the Colvard Student Union. The Dawg House hosted Starkville’s Miss USA 2002 Shauntay Hinton at the grand opening in January.
Missississippi State University has since crowned some of its own pageant winners and homecoming queen. Senior Jessica Sparks was named Miss MSU this year, Homecoming Queen was senior Kelly Flowers and Emily Davis was crowned Miss Reveille.
These are not the only students receiving praise this year, MSU athletes such as Derek Zimmerman, Pierre Brown and Romain Ambert have all excelled tremendously. Zimmerman won the game for the MSU Basketball team when he made a left-handed layup with 4.9 seconds left against Ole Miss with a 58-57 win at Ole Miss. MSU came home and beat the Rebels again at The Hump later this spring. Pierre Brown, an MSU track star, became the fifth male individual to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Junior Romain Ambert, MSU’s No. 1 tennis player, began the 2002 season at MSU ranked No. 3 nationally in singles, his highest ranking yet.
MSU’s Diamond Dawgs have also done well, at one point winning five straight and going 5-1 in SEC standing. In addition, MSU’s lady golfers finished 16th in their division this year.
MSU has been celebrating in more ways than one in the last nine months. Students and faculty alike enjoyed a picnic on the Drill Field at the end of March to celebrate MSU’s 125th anniversary with barbecue and MSU ice cream. Many students celebrated Super Bulldog Weekend by attending the Sgt. Lonely Hearts Club Jam or eating up the crawfish at parties across campus. International students also joined in the celebrations as MSU held its 13th annual International Fiesta on the Drill Field this spring.
Music is almost always a part of the celebrations and entertainment at MSU. All MSU students have enjoyed the live music in Starkville for the last year at one time or another. This year MSU has hosted musicians such as Edwin McCain, Coconut Cowboys, the Dirty Dozen, David Allen Coe, Jars of Clay, Caedmon’s Call, Tonic, Saliva, U.S. and the Laney Strickland Band to name a few.
However a few students were missing the music and celebrations. As of late March, 66 MSU students had been called to active duty in Iraq. Another student missing in action was MSU sophomore Tony Clark, who was reported missing after leaving his apartment during Spring Break and not returning. Clark contacted police in late March to say he was living and working in Tennessee. MSU student Hutt Hutton was not as lucky, Starkville Police Department officials and a group of students found Hutton dead in a concrete culvert near his Crossgates Apartments. Despite the circumstance, these students will be missed by many.
The year has come to a close with new Student leadership, new buildings and quite a future to look forward to. One thing students voted for that will be in effect next year is a student fee that will be distributed among all campus organizations, with the intentions of making them bigger and better. Students will also enjoy a whole week off during the week of Thanksgiving next year as MSU joins other schools in having a Fall Break.
This year has been quite a ride, most would say.