From football games to parades to tailgates, high school homecoming weeks are a time of celebration for local high schoolers, college students and alumni.
But after four homecoming celebrations across the state last week turned deadly from acts of gun violence, the Mississippi High School Activities Association is encouraging schools to increase safety efforts and eliminate tailgating.
“All these events seem to stem from tailgates so we recommend, from advice from our attorney, that we stop having tailgates,” MHSAA Executive Director Rickey Neaves said on the MHSAA podcast Monday. “That’s just a … recommendation. If you have tailgates, know that these must be supervised by school personnel or by security, and (be aware of) what’s going into those areas.”
The recommendation comes after at least nine people were killed last week in shootings at homecoming celebrations for Alcorn State University, Heidelberg High School, Jackson State University and Leland High School, according to the New York Times. In response, some local high schools have made changes to their homecoming festivities and discussed improved safety methods as their own homecoming week festivities approach.
Superintendent Washington Cole IV said in a Tuesday press release Noxubee County School District is cancelling tailgating activities for the Noxubee High School homecoming game Oct. 17 following an order from the Mississippi Department of Education to comply with the MHSAA recommendation.
NCSD is under a state conservatorship as a “district of transformation,” meaning MDE acts as the district’s school board.
Richard Baliko, chief administrative officer for NCSD, said safety plans for the district’s usual homecoming tailgate and other events were made Monday before the district received the directive from MDE.
“We planned for about two hours, every nook and cranny for homecoming,” Baliko told The Dispatch. “We were looking at an aerial map. We thoroughly planned everything out, because in the past, we’ve had good success in keeping homecoming activities safe.”
Apart from cancelling the tailgate, the district’s plan moving forward is to continue the rest of the homecoming events. That plan will be finalized Friday, Baliko said.
Around the region
Starkville High School will still be hosting a tailgating event before the school’s homecoming game on Oct. 24 in the north end zone of the school’s football field, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Communications Director Haley Montgomery told The Dispatch. The tailgate will be limited to faculty and their families as it typically is, she said.
“Most of the time our older students, in particular, high school students like to be in the stands in the student section, and so there’s not a lot of students (in the tailgate area),” Montgomery said.
The district will have additional law enforcement officers present at other homecoming festivities throughout the week to curb loitering outside the events. The school is also continuing its typical security screenings and clear bag policies, Montgomery said.
“Most of the security protocols are things that we already have implemented this year for athletic events across our venues, and also some of our other just general open-to-the-public events,” Montgomery said.
With West Lowndes High School’s homecoming game scheduled for Friday and Caledonia High School set for Oct. 24, Lowndes County School District Superintendent Sam Allison said security remains a top priority for schools in the district, especially after last week’s shootings.
“While tailgating is not prevalent on our campuses, we recognize that prior classes sometimes gather at homecomings,” Allison said in a statement to The Dispatch. “We have not experienced issues at these reunions and we will continue to monitor all activity and adjust as needed.”
Both Allison and Montgomery agreed security at schools isn’t just a priority on gamedays but is a top priority for both districts year-round.
“We tried to pay attention to what’s going on around us, and really, our heart does go out to those communities that were impacted by violence at school events,” Montgomery said. “… We all want our kids to be able to go to a football game and be safe and feel safe.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
