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MC Starts 184th Academic Year with Fall Classes


Mississippi College's winning basketball team and strong academic programs attracted Lawanski Newsome to the Clinton school.

As MC launched its 184th academic year with thousands of students showing up for the start of classes Wednesday, the Pinola resident believes he made a wise choice.

"I like the new faculty," said Newsome, 20, a Copiah-Lincoln Community College transfer student. "I feel welcome here."

Newsome, who plans to major in kinesiology at MC, wants to play small forward for the MC Choctaws when the hoops season starts in late fall.

Amid sunny skies and mild weather for late August, MC students paraded to the cafeteria, spent their money at the campus bookstore and visited the library to begin the new academic year.

Last fall, MC enrolled a record 4,847 students and officials expect the final number to be around the same when final registration ends Monday. MC reports its MBA classes are packed, and transfer enrollment is up. Residence halls are jammed. Parking spaces remain at a premium. It was hard to find a seat at Jazzman's cafe Wednesday morning as students gulped coffee and feasted on giant blueberry muffins.

Thousands of miles away from home in Seattle, MC freshman Amy Grantham said so far so good after her first day as a music education major.

Moving her books, backpacks, clothes and other belongings cross country from the state of Washington made sense in her case. MC Choctaw family traditions run deep. Grantham's grandparents attended the Baptist-affiliated college decades ago.

Grantham and her new-found friend, freshman Dianna Shelton of Nesbit spent their first study session outside the B.C. Rogers Student Center. There would be many more to come. Shelton is also a music education major.

On his first day of classes, MC football player Cedric Jackson, a 23-year-old Vicksburg resident, slowly got around campus with the help of two crutches. He hurt his leg in practice and will have to miss a few games while he recovers from a torn tendon. The first game of the season is the Sept. 5 Backyard Brawl in Clinton where MC faces rival Millsaps.

While Jackson will cheer from the sidelines at Robinson-Hale Stadium, the offensive and defensive lineman is happy to be enrolled as a kinesiology major.

"My cousin plays football here and he said this is a good place to come," said Jackson, who wore the No. 21 football jersey touting the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.

The annual fall arrival of the undergraduate and graduate students is keeping the university's 460 faculty and staff members busy - from teaching classes at Self Hall, home of the School of Business, to keeping tabs on the books at Leland Speed Library. After classes, many students worked out at the Baptist Healthplex.

"We signed up a ton of students," said Keith Montgomery, marketing director at the Baptist Healthplex. "We gave away iPods to students signing up."

The Healthplex enrolls about 3,000 people from the Clinton- Jackson area, including up to 1,200 MC students. He recommends that students join the fitness crowd and lift weights, play basketball or try aerobics classes to reduce calories and deal with the stress of school.

It's also been a lively Welcome Week for new students with a volleyball tournament, a picnic on the Quad with President Lee Royce, a trip to see a Mississippi Braves game, a concert, boat ride at the Reservoir, plus seminars with school leaders.

"This group of freshmen is really enthusiastic about MC," said Cam Armstrong, coordinator of student activities. "We've had great participation in Welcome Week."

Also making the students, faculty and staff feel at home, Clinton area businesses and restaurants showered them with cost-saving coupons, free slices of pecan pie, drink bottles and much more at the MC cafeteria.