Even back to the 90s when I was there, the city despised the university and its students. They like athletics and the draw, but they hate students.
And this was incredibly tone deaf
And this was incredibly tone deaf
Why does Starkville hate Mississippi State?
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Government entities always hate each other. Cities/counties for example. It’s a jealousy thing I think
It was like that when I was there in the 80s and way before that. Some level of annoyance exists between town and school in all college towns to varying degrees. Exists in military base towns too stemming from the inconveniences of a large transient population coexisting with a permanent population. The larger the transients to permanent ratio the worse it is.
They take the money that flows into the restaurants, bars, gas stations, retail stores, and then act like it has nothing to do with the university. Starkville would be no different than Greenwood without the university
You are absolutely right but it’s still an annoyance. Best analogy I can think of is how so many people like getting a paycheck but don‘t like going to work.
I agree but you could say that about most if not all college towns in the US. Yes, even oxford.
In 1878, they should have known this was going to happen.
Lynn may have done some good things as mayor, but when it comes to the Cotton District, she has been flat out unwilling to confront the real problems. At this point, it does not feel like oversight, it feels like a deliberate choice to ignore what has been happening.
I have two kids on campus right now, and neither of them will go anywhere near the District after certain hours. That is not paranoia, that is based on what they are seeing and hearing. This did not just happen overnight either. It has been trending in the wrong direction for years, and anyone paying attention knows it.
I have tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it is getting harder to do that. Instead of owning the issue, she deflects, and then goes on X to make snarky comments like this is not a serious concern.
On top of that, the crowd that has taken over down there is not even supporting the businesses. They are not spending money, they are standing in the streets. In fact, it is doing the opposite of what you would want. It is driving away the people who actually come down there to eat, drink, and support those businesses.
If I were a business owner down there, I would be rallying the other owners and sitting in her office with the chief of police this morning, demanding a plan. This is directly impacting their livelihood.
Unless she does something quickly, her legacy is going to be allowing one of the brightest, most unique spots in Starkville to turn into somewhere people actively avoid. At some point, leadership means putting ego aside and actually dealing with the problem.
There were conversations at the game yesterday amongst a few of the proprietors that they were indeed going to try and address this first thing this morning. will be interesting if they make any progress
The Camps have a lot of say so They should pressure her to take action
We went to the Toledo football game a couple of years ago and we paid to park at the Catholic Church on University Drive. You have to walk through the Cotton District to get to and from the game. On the way back to our vehicle after the game, it was horrible. You couldn't even use the sidewalk and you could smell the weed everywhere. It's certainly not a family friendly environment there for sure.
Even on non-ballgame weekends, it can be the same way.
The Cotton District is a cluster17. On weekends, its been taken over by non-students, many from Columbus and West Point, who just stand in the street. There is a city ordinance against loitering that the mayor refuses to enforce.
On Super Bulldog Saturday, after a huge win over LSU and a big day in the District with the Derby, it was again taken over by non-patrons. There was a shooting. To SPD's credit, the two involved (19 and 17 year old non-students) were apprehended on Sunday morning.
X was pretty critical of the incident and how it continues to be an unsafe area. The Starkville mayor basically got on X and started replying to random people unprofessionally. The thread linked above is full of her replies. She seems to care more about getting the last word than fixing the issue.
The complicated thing isn't fixing the issue. The ordinance that is on the books can be enforced and that is that. The problem is that to a liberal white woman, the worst possible thing you can be called is racist. So if she enforces the ordinance, there is a chance that someone on X will call her a racist and she can't risk that, so people are just going to have to deal with businesses going under and people being shot.
Now, as others have said, this is a B1G/SEC college town problem. Iowa City, Bloomington, Tuscaloosa, Athens - all have seen similar problems. In Tuscaloosa a few weekends ago, the city shut down the Strip because of the issues. A city councilman said something about the real problem and had to endure the media calling him racist and attacking him for it. This is what he posted:
“The Strip is being shut down immediately - multiple arrests - guns - and much more Makes me sick - it’s not locals or UA students - it’s folks from Lipscomb Bessemer Ensley Hale County causing crap! Get rid of A Day? Sad”
People calling for his resignation, he got attacked in the media, etc.
and then there is the Ed Meek controversy from a few years ago for calling out the behavior on the Oxford Square. They took a major donor's name off the School of Journalism because he called out the problem.
A look at how the Ed Meek controversy developed
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018 Between 2 and 3 p.m. — Ed Meek posts his controversial comments and images on Facebook
thedmonline.com
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Starkville has come a long, long way in a relatively short time. I don't get all this Starkville bashing now, except from the usual suspects like you.
I am sorry, but it would be the same as Eupora.
Yep, blame the messenger and not the people shooting people in the Cotton District or the mayor making a fool out of herself on Twitter. Bash the guy above who has two kids at State that can't enjoy one of the best, most unique things about Starkville.
Lynn spruill is an arrogant bich.
She has done some good things for Starkville but she does some really dumb things too.
-Aj brown comments at natty celebration
-Talking down to people about COVID and gatherings while throwing parties at her house
-thinking it’s ok to have 3,000 people standing around businesses in the best part of Starkville and none of those people paying a dime into the economy
I loved the open container law at first but it needs to go. Too many unintended consequences.
Call me the R word if you want but statistically speaking you can’t have 3,000 people showing up without something bad happening. It’s a statistical fact.
But what’s crazy is she’s creating more of an annoyance.
what’s worse? Dealing with college students drinking or 2,000 to 5,000 lunatics who didn’t pay a dime into the economy?
Oxford would be no different than greenwood without the university.
Yeah she probably want do anything but at least she pretended to care.
but she is wrong. You can’t welcome all people. Some people aren’t welcome.
If you are a free loading POS you aren’t welcome.
Oxford would be Calhoun City because they have a square.
She’s too arrogant to admit when she’s wrong.
Is he Starkville bashing or is he bashing what happened this weekend and the mayors refusal to admit it has to be fixed?
It has come a long way, but if they don’t take care of this problem, it’s going to go backwards very fast. Can you not see that?
The Spruills have been a family of jackasses since the 60's it is in their DNA!
Toxic empathy will be the death of us.
Yes and no. People had been begging for a legit nightlife area for decades. It finally happened. That kind of stuff comes along with that sort of thing in most cases now, for better or worse. You can't really have your cake and eat it too. A thing like that in a college town was never going to be people quietly eating and drinking and then getting an Uber home at closing time. It damn sure wasn't going to ever be a family friendly destination at night. A LOT of places struggle with this. Getting the right balance isn't simple. If it was nobody would struggle with it.
A town around here went wet several years ago. Before the downtown was a ghostown, especially at night. Now it's a legit place at night on the weekends. Would I go there after 8pm on the weekend? Nope, not my kind of thing.
If you are old enough to have two kids in college why would you want to go to the District at night in the first place? That's a serious question.
The only thing I hated in Starkville when I was there was the urine smell in the log cabin Burger King.
Feels like this thread could more accurately be titled
"When can we call a spade a spade again?"
since it's not really a Starkville-MSU problem, but a political problem.
And since even that phrase now gets you routinely called a racist, I'll link it's ancient origin...
en.wikipedia.org
"When can we call a spade a spade again?"
since it's not really a Starkville-MSU problem, but a political problem.
And since even that phrase now gets you routinely called a racist, I'll link it's ancient origin...
Call a spade a spade - Wikipedia
It is definitely an interesting phenomena. Everyone knows the situation, even glfr. I find it funny that folks lash out at Spruill, when it's far from her fault and like others have said, happening everywhere. Sort of like the catch-all 'blame the government'.Feels like this thread could more accurately be titled
"When can we call a spade a spade again?"
since it's not really a Starkville-MSU problem, but a political problem.
And since even that phrase now gets you routinely called a racist, I'll link it's ancient origin...
Call a spade a spade - Wikipedia
That said, I do wish these younger boomers would quit trying to solve this problem 'rationally' and quit talking about education or whatever. The only to get rid of folks is to run them off.
They would have just bashed the opposing fans over the heads with folding chairs back then. Problem solved.**
Fact.
There is zero reason that any group of people should be allowed to congregate and disrupt normal society while not contributing to the economy. White, pink, purple, green, black, yellow or brown, football players, baseball, soccer, etc.
You can have a vibrant night life without the MAJOR issues. I’ve traveled all over this country and plenty of places do it.
I didn’t drink until I was 21. I go to the cotton district bc I’m legal. I usually do during the day.
if I was a parent, I’d enjoy having a beer or cocktail with my child while they were in college.
Doesn’t mean I’m partying with kids non stop either before you say it.
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