I wish you could have been there. Southern Miss Gulf Coast's Convocation Day was the best I've ever attended. We held it at the newly re-opened Gulf Park campus, just two years after Katrina knocked it out of commission. We planted the university flag, then adjourned to the much cooler library where we heard from a variety of folks who have pledged to make our offerings on the coast stronger than ever. I was most proud of the Interim Provost and Deans. It is on their shoulders that the academic enterprise rests and they are more than equal to the task. After a moving inspirational talk from faculty member, Allan Eickelmann, we sang a personalized Gulf Coast rendition of This Land Is Your Land. Words Follow:
"This land is your your land, this land is my land; From John C. Stennis, to Jackson County; From the piney forest, to the gulf stream waters; Southern Miss was made for you and me.
"As I was walking the sandy beaches; I saw above me the golden eagles; I was below me the endless oceans; Southern Miss was made for you and me.
"This land is your land, this land is my land; From John C. Stennis, to Jackson County; From the piney forest, to the gulf stream waters; Southern Miss was made for you and me."
(What we lacked in singing ability, we made up for in volume.)