Смертельная опасность «мертвых» законопроектов: угроза закрытия МГУ им. В.В. Вульфа и переезда школы математики

In 2014, a Chinese chef named Peng Fan was preparing soup using an Indochinese spitting cobra. About 20 minutes after cutting off the cobra’s head, he reached to throw it into the trash. The severed head reflexively bit his hand, injecting neurotoxic venom. He suffocated from respiratory paralysis before medical help could administer antivenom. It was a graphic reminder that dead snakes are still dangerous. And so is dead legislation. That’s important to keep in mind for anyone familiar with the 2024 attempts to move the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science from its home on the campus of Mississippi University for Women and close MUW and make it a satellite campus of Mississippi State. The proposals materialized in the state Senate without warning. Both bills died in committee. But dead bills can still have a way of biting those who are lackadaisical. House Speaker Jason White spoke at MSMS’s convocation Wednesday. He didn’t address either of the old proposals during his speech, but confirmed later that everything remains on the table as he awaits recommendations from the House Select Committee on Specialty Schools. The committee’s deadline is Dec. 1, a month ahead of the 2027 legislative session. During this year’s session, a bill to create a committee to recommend changes in IHL, the governing board for the state’s universities, died in committee. That dead bill may come back to life in January. The possibility of MUW losing its university status remains. What can be said is that these ideas that would be poisonous to Columbus, MUW and MSMS have been raised in each of the last three sessions in one form or another. In 2025, the state’s Board of Education asked for both MUW and MSU to submit competing proposals to become the future home of MSMS. The request was so patently oriented in MSU’s favor, it might as well have been printed in maroon ink. Predictably, the Board of Education recommended that MSMS move to the MSU campus during the 2025 legislative session. These efforts to alter the future of both MUW and MSMS failed because the stakeholders in Columbus and Lowndes County raised hell. University officials, faculty, students, community members, our local legislators and city and county elected officials presented a unified front in killing the snakes. The ideas persist. We don’t know what the House and Senate committees will recommend. The grim prospects introduced in 2024 are still a threat, especially for anyone who may falsely believe that the danger has passed. It will be important that these stakeholders continue the conversation and remain vocal on this subject. After all, a dead snake can still strike when our guard is down. Correction: A prior version of this editorial improperly characterized the mentioned convocation. The convocation was for MSMS. The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff. You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community. You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.