Contact: Kay F. Jones
The tradition of a Homecoming parade returns to Mississippi State.
With some 40 entries reflecting this year's theme of "Hail State," the Oct. 27 event will formally launch the university's 2000 Homecoming Weekend. The MSU Alumni Delegates and Student Association are parade sponsors.
Beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Barr Ave. near the Bost Extension Center, the floats travel east on Barr Ave. to East Lee Boulevard. Turning right onto Lee, the maroon and white caravan moves through the heart of campus to the Five Points intersection for a concluding pep rally at the MSU Amphitheater. (Rain will cancel.)
Alumni Delegate Brooke Bliss of Somerville, Tenn., said suggestions and survey results from students and alumni indicated a strong desire to revive the parade. "Our goal is to return Homecoming to the way it was in the past," Bliss added.
While possibly the most colorful and certainly the most moving, the parade is only one of nearly 50 activities planned Oct. 23-29 to celebrate Homecoming. Another major activity will be the presentation on the 28th of the Homecoming Queen and her Maids of Court.
Senior Mareshia L. Cole of Kosciusko is this year's queen. Class maids include seniors Elizabeth A. Cope of Clinton and Natalie J. Seymour of Gulfport; juniors Jennifer B. Nichols of Gillett, Ark., and Leanne Scruggs of Tupelo; sophomores Laura M. Buchtel of Metairie, La., and Lynn Parker, also of Gulfport; and freshmen Jana C. Golson of Starkville and Kimberly A. Murray of Columbus. Their formal debut takes place at Scott Field during halftime of the MSU Bulldogs' football game with Middle Tennessee State University.
For complete Homecoming 2000 information, contact Libba Andrews at (662) 325-3479 or landrews@alumni.msstate.edu.
A complete schedule of Homecoming events may be found via the "Alumni and Friends" icon on the MSU homepage at www.msstate.edu.