Welcome Week 2010 Kicks off MC Academic Year

A boat ride at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, a picnic with President Lee Royce, and a Mississippi Braves baseball game are part of the jam-packed Welcome Week lineup as MC students begin a new academic year.

Welcome Week kicks off on August 21 with students moving into residence halls from 8 a.m. until noon with lunch served at the MC cafeteria starting at 11 a.m.  Other activities that Saturday include a 2 p.m. convocation for new students and parents at First Baptist Church Clinton.  Christian comedian and author Dennis Swanburg is the guest speaker.  Look for “The Swan” to bring his hilarious impressions of TV deputy sheriff Barney Fife and U.S. presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton.

Here are some of the events during the rest of the busy week as MC’s launches its 185^th academic year:

The hour-long picnic with Dr. Royce will be held on the Quad at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 22 followed by a worship service.

Monday’s activities include the cookout and boat ride at the Rez beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The schedule Tuesday includes campus tours at 10 a.m. on the Quad, a student leadership reception at 2 p.m. at the B.C. Rogers Student Center and a Baptist Student Union welcome back party at 6:30 p.m. in Anderson Hall.

Wednesday is the start of MC’s fall semester day classes, but there’s room for other Welcome Week activities such as a business fair at the campus cafeteria at 10:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. That evening there is a 9 p.m. gathering at the university’s cafe that soon will be serving Starbucks coffee. The site was formerly known as Jazzman’s.

On Thursday, MC students are invited to kick back, sample the food and attend a concert in the Bowl at 5:30 p.m.

On Friday, students will learn about the churches in metro Jackson with a “meet the churches” event in the campus cafeteria beginning at 10:45 a.m.  There’s more in store a few miles away off I-20 in Rankin County. Students are invited to cheer for the Mississippi Braves at their Southern League baseball game that begins at 7:05 p.m. at Trustmark Park in Pearl.  It’s followed by a fireworks show.

There’s no rest on Saturday, August 28 as Welcome Week winds up. Students are expected to rack up plenty of strikes and spares as they bowl at MC Night at Indian Lanes in Clinton. And there’s an intramural softball tournament earlier in the day on the Clinton campus.

Although it’s not part of the university’s welcome week, the City of Clinton, the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, and Main Street Clinton are joining forces to throw a block party in Olde Towne for MC students.  This “Back to the Bricks” celebration is set for Thursday, September 2, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.  Students will get an official welcome from Clinton Mayor Rosemary Aultman.

The Cup’s deck will serve as the stage for live music.  Lots of area businesses will hand out coupons and promotional items to MC students.

“It is our hope that this event will grow and that the Mississippi College community will feel a welcome to Clinton,” says Tara Lytal, manager of Main Street Clinton.

T.J. McSparrin, executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, says the event lets students “know how important they are to our city and offer them a fun evening on the historic brick streets of Clinton.”

The event comes two days before the MC Choctaws open the 2010 football season on the road with the Backyard Brawl against rival Millsaps in Jackson.  Kickoff on Sept. 4 is set for 7 p.m. The Choctaws finished with a 9-3 season in 2009 and won the American Southwest Conference championship.