This year”s event brought Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey to the historic university. Other authors featured this year were Tony Earley, Pearl McHaney, Becky Gould Gibson, Jim Murphy, Bridget Smith Pieschel, Stephen Robert Pieschel, Ken Wells, Jesmyn Ward and Kendall Dunkelberg.
Roses also go to Andy Murray Coffey, his wife, Katherine, and son, Glenn H. Coffey, who donated a collection of 270 Welty works to the university. MUW President Dr. Claudia Limbert announced the donation during the Thursday opening of the symposium.
Local Reps. Jeff Smith and Gary Chism and Sen. Terry Brown admit they”re not very fond (to say the least) of the proposed name, chosen after more than a year of meetings and research. Chism has said he doesn”t want a name change at all, but Smith and Brown say the name change is needed to keep the school its own entity.
It also is disappointing to see a 2000 “W” alum and lawmaker, Rep. Esther Harrison, choose to voice no opinion on the matter.
Smith said to “not merge it with any other university, a name change is essential.” He also admits there”s no silver bullet to save the university from those who”d like to see it become a satellite for State or Ole Miss. A name change, he said, is just part of the solution.
Fortunately, making the school an arm of another college doesn”t seem to be an option for lawmakers.
And while we agree with Smith — the name is just a tiny part of the elephant — it”s a significant part that needs to be addressed immediately.
The team arrived Sept. 2 to paint, caulk, put in cabinets and build an adobe shed in the front yard. The nine-bedroom house on East Cherry Street will be home to 10 boys as they continue in their education and look for jobs, until they transition into their own homes.
Members of the school”s Sigma Beta Club and CPD visited businesses across the city this past week to place stickers on beer and other alcoholic beverages to remind adults not to provide alcohol to underage youth.
The stickers read: “Know the law. It is illegal to purchase or provide alcohol to people under 21.”
Local administrators have noted underage drinking is a widespread problem, with investigations of incidents of underage drinking almost always leading back home, to parents.
Many juvenile felony cases heard in local courts indirectly involve alcohol use, ending with kids paying large fines, being placed on probation or serving jail time.
It”s good to see high school students encouraging adults to look out for them and their peers.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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