Lauren Trimm
Reporter
Enrollment has gone up 11 percent. Fall 2016 has the largest group of international students yet. More students are obtaining degrees, with a 206 percent growth since 2011.
Recent awards include the highest-ranked Mississippi university on Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for the Buck” list, a fifth year on the Washington Monthly’s list of Top 100 Master’s Schools in the nation and another year on U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 public Southern regional universities.
Lauren Trimm
News Editor
Several projects are being planned on campus in order to continue making improvements, including remodeling The W's Demonstration School and demolishing Taylor Hall and Keirn Hall.
The first major project is the renovation of the Demonstration School. Originally home to the state's first laboratory school for teaching, the school provided education for students in kindergarten through fourth grade as well as university students seeking degrees in education. The demonstration school was also home to the first African-American member of the W faculty in 1970.
Monica Kizer
Reporter
Mississippi University for Women will honor the first six African-American women who integrated the school 50 years ago with the “Those Who Dared” celebration.
The first African-American women to attend the school were Laverne Greene Leech, Barbara Turner Bankhead, Diane Hardy Thompson, Jacqueline Edwards, Mary Flowers and Eula M. Houser Thompson. Students, faculty and staff are all encouraged to attend the events.
Kathleen Gartman
Reporter
The W Theatre Department will present a readers’ theatre version of Michael Farris Smith’s short story, “Chasing Rabbits,” on Sept. 22.
Smith is a published author and associate professor of English at The W. He has two published books and two more set to be published in 2017 and 2018.
Casanda Anderson
Reporter
Stark Rec Center hosted a one-day badminton tournament for W students on Sept. 1.
Similar to tennis, badminton is played with a racket and net but uses a birdie or shuttlecock instead of a tennis ball. The objective of the sport is to use the racket to hit the birdie over the net in the hopes that the opposing player will be unable to hit it back.
Lauren Trimm
News Editor
The W’s Student Programming Board sponsored 100th Night in Pope Banquet Hall on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
100th Night honors W seniors and takes place 100 days before graduation. It has been a tradition since 1992. In the past, this event occurred once in the fall for December graduates and again in the spring for May and August graduates. However, this 100th Night is different.
Asia Duren
Reporter
MUW has been dealing with how to implement a state law regarding firearms on campus.
The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning charged public universities with defining non-sensitive areas where visitors with an enhanced concealed carry permit would be allowed to bring firearms in February of this year.
Lauren Trimm
Reporter
The MUW Department of Music presented an opera and musical theater workshop on April 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The workshop featured performances by the voice students of Dr. Cherry Dunn and Elizabeth Jones. Performances included excerpts from various musicals, including songs from “The Sound of Music,” “Carousel,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Baker Street” and “Ragtime.” Arias from “Parade ed Elena,” “L’italiana in Algeri” and “Trouble in Tahiti” were also performed.
Liz Bosarge
Senior Reporter
The MUW Students for Life chapter hosted its first Celebration of Life Summit on April 21 in the Cochran Hall Assembly Room.
The event featured speakers from 11 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. The speakers addressed different aspects of pregnancy, abortion, adoption and the conception of life. Several of the speakers shared their personal stories and explained the laws surrounding abortion in Mississippi.