STUDENT GATHERING KICKS OFF SCHOOL YEAR

Though it's his fourth year at Southeast Missouri State University, Lee Ferrell says he still looks forward to the first week back.

Ferrell and thousands of other students returned to Cape Girardeau Sunday and over the weekend to begin fall classes today.

At Capaha Park Sunday, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce sponsored a back-to-campus picnic. Ferrell, of Sikeston, said it's the third year he's attended the party and that it's a good way to begin the year.

"You get to renew the friendships you have during the year, you see a lot of people you haven't seen all summer, and you get to meet a lot of the new students," said Ferrell, a senior art major.

Local businesses provided free food and drinks at the park Sunday. Rain caused a late start for the event, but about 600 students attended. The band "Fried Jam" provided entertainment. It's the third year the Chamber has sponsored the gathering.

John Grimm, a member of the university relations committee of the chamber, said in past years, as many at 1,500 students have attended the picnic.

Sunday's rain may have dampened the attendance, but not the fact that business owners want students to know they are important to them, Grimm said.

"Students are a big part of the business community here in Cape," Grimm said. "Obviously, SEMO students spend a lot of money in Cape, and the businesses want to make sure students are welcomed back."

Grimm said the picnic is becoming a traditional way of "kicking off the school year" for many students and student leaders.

Fraternities, sororities and other student organizations send representatives to the picnic to solicit new members or just to tell new students what their organizations are about.

Jeff Schulman of Little Rock, Ark., is a sophomore at the university this year majoring in marketing. A member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Schulman said Sunday the chamber-sponsored picnic is a good way to "break the ice" with new students.

"I recognize a lot of people, but there are some new faces," he said. "I think it's good that a lot of student organizations are here because it's important for the new students to know there are a lot of ways to get involved."

Schulman said Sunday the picnic is a good way to relax before it's time to study.

"It takes your mind off the start of classes a little bit," he said.

Ferrell said when students return to Cape Girardeau in the fall, they are usually curious about new businesses that have opened.