The members of the editorial board of The Pacer would like to welcome all students back to campus, and hope everyone has had a wonderful and refreshing winter break.
So much has happened in 2017 already, for better and for worse. The Facebook Live torture of a special-needs student, the highly controversial death of SeaWorld orca Tilikum, and violent activity in Istanbul, Turkey and Fort Lauderdale, Florida have placed a damper on the dawn of the new year. But amidst the constant torrent of negative news stories provided by the media, we’ve also begun to see examples of human kindness making the news, from a 10 – year – old growing his hair for three years to donate to his friend with cancer, to a senior citizen in Canada inventing a knitting machine to help clothe the homeless.
With that being said, great things have happened on the campus during the break as well. Dr. Keith Carver’s first day as Chancellor was January 3, and he will also be touring the West Tennessee area during January and February. In addition, during the break, more than ___ students graduated from UTM with undergraduate and graduate degrees from the five colleges of the university during fall commencement exercises on December 10.
Many events are scheduled to happen on campus over the coming semester. Basketball season is coming back into swing, with games at least once a week this month starting this upcoming Saturday at 6 p.m. This semester will also see musical performances multiple times a week, numerous club and extracurricular meetings, a new series of academic speakers, housing activities, SAC activities and more.
While 2016 was not the best year of all time, here’s to working to make 2017 a brighter year, not only on campus, but in the world as a whole.
