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May 3, 2004 Volume 28, Issue 34 |
Greek organizations fund new flagpole
Flying above the Drill Field is a 25-by-15-foot American flag unfurled April 26 as part of a new permanent monument.
Funded entirely by fraternity and sorority members at the university, the $30,000 redesigned and re-landscaped seating and gathering area replaces an older and smaller flagpole mount. The Drill Field Flagpole Project provides "a more prominent focal point for the central campus," said Robert E. Rice, interim director of campus landscape.
New lighting now enables a 24-hour display of the Stars and Stripes. Previously, the flag was raised and lowered at dawn and dusk.
Centered amid a brick seating area are sections of flowers in rotating annual colors, Rice said. "As an example, we'll feature red, white and blue petunias this summer," he added.
Heidie Lindsey, assistant director of student life, said Greek student leaders representing nearly 30 social sororities and fraternities launched the project following a 2003 leadership retreat with campus administrators.
"Students saw this, first, as an opportunity to give back to Mississippi State and secondly, a chance to provide a much nicer, larger structure to display our nation's flag," Lindsey said.
Work on the project was completed by campus landscape technicians based on a design provided by former landscape architecture major Colin Brock. A 2002 graduate from Raymond, Brock currently works for Regen-Bogen Associates of Charlotte, N.C.