Springtime in Oxford.
As a Mississippi State graduate and devoted bulldog, even I can admit that spring is special in this small town.
The flowers are blooming, and everyone is stirring. People are finally emerging from one of the longest winters to date and trying to stay outside for as long as possible. Spring parties are gearing up — or at least I hope that’s the justification for the droves of awfully short jorts and boots I saw this past Saturday.
From Super Bulldog Weekend in Starkville to the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale or Double Decker here at the end of this month, communities around the area are stirring up fun activities to bring music, art and sports all together.
I could write several articles on how great these events are and why you should attend, but for this article, I am going to ask you do something more this spring.
In the idyllic community of Oxford, it’s easy to get swept up in that F. Scott Fitzgerald-type madness of celebration.
Living off the Square, springtime means seeing Mercedes filled with college kids speeding to the Square to drink on a balcony. It’s music blaring for fraternity parties. It’s everyone gathering around coolers to celebrate the setting of the sun at Sardis.
This spring, however, I’ve seen another side of our community.
Past the nice cars and access to dad’s bank account that Oxford is somewhat notorious for are local families in dire need of help. Their already limited funds have been depleted trying to keep their homes warm during the long winter. The kids have outgrown their clothes from last spring and are faced with ridicule from their more affluent classmates. Even on campus amidst the parties and the reveille are students whose lifeblood, their student loans, are running low and likely not to make it through the end of exams.
I encourage you to take time off from the frenzy of celebrating spring and ground yourself to the plight others face at the coming of spring.
The dean of students website has a whole page dedicated to volunteer services. Scroll through and find something that interests you and get connected. The United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County are always in need of help and volunteers.
Volunteering brings smiles, hope and relief to those that need a helping hand. And for those who volunteer, well, you know that by giving back you’ve gotten more out of this spring than any season before it.
Anna Rush is a third-year law student from Hattiesburg. She graduated from Mississippi State in 2011.
