SPECIAL REPORT INSIDE
THE
Daily
MISSISSIPPIAN theDMonline.com
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Brick by brick: Building a bigger UM
Volume 112, No. 28
Construction of classrooms, residence halls and a parking garage keeps pace with a growing student population. DENTON JENKINS
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With numerous construction projects underway at the University of Mississippi, facility planners and students alike are looking forward to what is in store for the 2024 fall semester. Some students have come to view construction as a new norm. “In a way, it’s a good thing that we have the construction because it’s a positive sign of growth that people want to come to the university,” sophomore history major Nina Poiroux said. “We see that with the increasing student population the campus is going to have to expand even if it means we live with construction projects for a short time. The complaints about construction are really just growing pains that we have to deal with in order to keep the university beautiful and welcoming for students.” Among the bigger construction projects is the demolition of Kincannon Hall to make way for three residential dorms. The construction and replacement of Kincannon Hall have been underway since last summer. Dem-
olition of the dormitory, which had been abandoned since 2015, began in August 2023. Since completion of the demolition in Dec. 2023, students have awaited news of the project’s continuation. During a Jan. 18 Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a budget of $165 million for new student housing. Chad Hunter, director of facilities planning and university architect, explained that although demolition of Kincannon Hall took longer than expected, the project is on schedule. “The plan all along was to take advantage of summer months for both demolition and construction,” Hunter said. “Due to complexities within the Kincannon structure, it didn’t come
Beach ball invites free speech VIOLET JIRA
PHOTOS: ASHTON SUMMERS, ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: MILO GILDEA / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN MAP COURTESY: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT / OPENDATACOMMONS.ORG
down as fast as we had planned, but to be this upcoming summer 2024.” we were still able to finish demolition Hunter said construction on the on time. We wanted to get it done by three-building dormitory project summer 2023, but construction of the to replace Kincannon Hall is to benew dorms was never intended to be SEE CONSTRUCTION PAGE 3 that summer; it was always intended
MatchStick Bakery introduces a new sweet treat to campus Donna McComb and Maddy Underwood bring a taste of France to campus in the form of macarons. CLAIRE REYNOLDS
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It is not yet summer, but students walking the Union Plaza on Tuesday, April 30, were met with the unusual opportunity to write on a giant beach ball. There was no common theme or ideology behind what students chose to inscribe. Some wrote their names. Some wrote words of affirmation. Others expressed political positions. The intention behind the demonstration, freshman history major Jackson Behuniak said, was to give students a chance to exercise their right to free speech. “They can write things that we don’t agree with, and that’s their opinion. That’s their free speech. They have every right to do that,” Behuniak said. Alongside Behuniak, sophomore finance major Musa Thomas facilitated the activity representing
SEE FREE SPEECH PAGE 4
Grandmother and granddaughter duo Donna McComb and Maddy Underwood have been adding a little sweetness to students’ days in the form of a French delicacy — macarons. McComb, founder of MatchStick Bakery, has been making macarons for four years, a skill she picked up after illness prevented her from returning to her job. Recently, her 16-year-old granddaughter, Underwood, has taken to the craft. “I was working for Toyota, and my asthma got so bad they wouldn’t let me go back to work. I started learning and just watching
SEE MATCHSTICK PAGE 3
KHARLEY REDMON / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN
Donna McComb and Maddy Underwood with their MatchStick Bakery stand on Business Row on May 1.