Saturday was supposed to be the most festive day of the year on the campus of Mississippi State University, with commencement exercises and sporting events bringing thousands to campus.
While that spirit endured, the day was marked by a tragic event whose residue lingered through the weekend and into Monday at the now all-but-deserted campus.
Monday afternoon, MSU officials held a news conference to provide additional information on the death of MSU student Andrew Demboski, who died in the early-morning hours Saturday after falling from the massive video board at the south end of Davis Wade Stadium.
Demboski, 21, along with two fellow students, had scaled the locked fence at the stadium and gained entry to the towering video board through what officials believe to have been an unlocked door used to service the equipment.
Officials promised to review its security procedures in the wake of Demboski’s death, but it should be clear to all that Saturday’s incident was a tragic error in judgment from start to finish.
As long as there are young people, there are will be those who find the temptation to take risks too much to resist. Demboski appears to have been among this group. There is nothing to suggest that the well-liked and high-achieving student had any malicious intent in scaling the fence and ascending the video board. It was, most likely, an impulsive action, a bit of harmless thrill-seeking to celebrate the end of the school year.
Yet it turned out to be very harmful, indeed. We join Demboski’s family and friends and the broader MSU community in its grief.
Officials said Monday they intend to redouble their efforts in securing campus sites that can be a tempting target for dare-devils, but the greater message of Demboski’s untimely death should strike a note of caution to young people, who sometimes labor under the false assumption that youth makes them impervious to danger.
As we mourn Demboski’s passing, we hope it will serve as a cautionary tale for students.
Life has its dangers, many of which are unexpected and unavoidable. Tragedies occur.
There is nothing to be gained by taking unnecessary risk in the pursuit of a thrill.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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