Mississippi State University - Reveille Yearbook (Starkville, MS)

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has been known as the resort area of the state. Early in its history, Southerners escaped from the sultry heat on their inland plantations to the soothing breezes from the Gulf. During more recent times, North- erners have found the Mississippi Gulf a welcome escape from the bit- ter, biting winter cold of the north- ern states. Because of its breathtaking natural beauty, the Coast was initially more an ornamental than agricultural asset to the state. Today, the Gulf Coast is the center of Mississippi ' s commer- cial fishing industry, and it has become more competitive with New Orleans and Mobile for foreign trade. Industry has also moved into the Coast region, many of them associated with the exploitation of the long-leaf pine forests of the coastal area and the adjoining back country. Mississippi State boasts 1,064 students from this area of the state. Summer houses located along the bayous of Pass Christian provide seclusion from the cares and worries of everyday life. Mississippi Lifestyles 17

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Mississippi State University was established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1878. From her hum- ble beginning in 1878 to her years of dynamic growth in the 1970 ' s, Mississippi State has taken pride in her title, The People ' s College. Each year this University attracts students from every state in the United States as well as foreign countries. The changes in Mississippi State University have paralleled the changes in the State of Mississippi. When emphasis was focused more on agriculture, MSU was identified as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi. As the state grew and the different regions in the state began to diversify and expand from agriculture, so did Mississippi State grow and diversify. In 1932 the Legislature approved a petition of the student body to change the name of the institution to Mississippi State College, and in 1958, the Legislature further changed the name to Mississippi State Univer- sity. Mississippi State serves the peo- ple of her state by providing quality education. The Gulf Coast area of Mississippi The Mississippi Capital, symboliz- ing our state ' s political power, passes legislation which has far- reaching effects upon this ty and its students.

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The Natchez Pilgrimage and round tours of the antebellum r sions draw thousands of vis Often called the Old Black Belt, the Heartland brings to mind the lavish plantation homes and ostentatious lifestyles. It was this area of Mississippi that cast the pattern for the setting of countless novels and movies. The Mississippi Heartland was cultivated recklessly in the early days by the cotton planters, and the soil was rapidly exhausted. Today new methods of cultivation and new crops have re- juvenated the farming industry in this area. Although the Heartland is geographically distant from Mississippi State, 1,911 MSU students are from that area, and they contribute a depth to the University because of the rich background from which they come. The Plains are often sectioned into the Central Prairie, the Tombigbee Prairie, the North-Central Sand Clay Hills and the Flatwoods. MSU has 1,189 students from the Plains region Mississippi. The prairies were among the f: areas to turn to raising livestock. 1 Tombigbee Prairie was introduced dairying in the 1850 ' s, and the area 1 become a major dairying center. 1 rich black soil of the prairies prov the best pasturage in the state. Hills and poor soil dominate North-Central Sand Clay Hills, mak cotton farming unprofitable. The a has largely turned to industry beca of the many industrial uses for area ' s clay. The Flatlands experience many the limiting factors of the Sand C Hills but to a greater degree. Flatlands may eventually offer m opportunities for economic devel; ment with exploitation of its clays industrial uses.