Southeast Missouri State University kicks off 150th year celebration
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Southeast Missouri State University kicked off its sesquicentennial celebration with a 150th birthday party on Wednesday.
The party included a brief ceremony, birthday cake, fair, displays, games, and activities.
Southeast was founded as the Third District Normal School in 1873 with five faculty members and 57 students. The school issued its first four-year diploma in 1877.
The university has more than 10,000 current students and more than 75,000 alumni.
It was a celebration of a lifetime for Southeast Missouri State University students, alumni, faculty and staff.
University President Dr. Carlos Vargas joined in on the fun.
“It’s wonderful,” said Vargas. “It’s incredible. Everybody is so happy about this so we need 150 more!”
Students, faculty, and the public were invited to join in the celebration.
Anna, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, says, “Just celebrating the birth of SEMO. We’re just now getting here and it’s been a great experience for us so far.”
As folks made their way on campus, the list of activities and opportunities to get involved were endless.
“We got some food trucks out here,” Abby said. “We got some cake. We got a dunk tank. You know, all the fun things.”
“The water is really cold,” said Collin, another student at Southeast Missouri State University who talked about the dunk booth. “We have a couple people (participating.)”
