By Harper Hailes

Earlier this fall, I flew down to Oxford, Mississippi to stay with my friend Evans Campbell (‘22) and to visit my future home, The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss. If you have ever been to Oxford, you know about The Grove.

Back in March, I went on a guided tour of the campus, and when I first saw The Grove I was in awe. It was such a beautiful part of campus and made me want to attend Ole Miss even more. The Grove is located in the middle of campus, and it is a sprawling grass field in the middle of all the academic buildings. There are tall giant oak trees providing shade, and the colors of the leaves changing during the fall is truly a beautiful site. During the school week, The Grove is the place that you go to study, spend time with your friends, and maybe enjoy some lunch. It is a more chill, relaxed part of campus where you can relieve some stress during the day. Then it totally transforms into something I was not prepared for. 

Every Friday, The Grove has large blue and red trash cans located all over the grass, and the students and faculty call it “Trash Can Friday.” The trash cans are provided to ensure that The Grove stays clean of garbage, making the cleaning process much easier for everyone. It prepares everyone for Saturday’s football game, and chatter about the competition begins to arise. Girls plan their outfits all week long, making sure that they wear the perfect shades of powder blue, red, and white to represent their school. Every Friday night at 7:00 p.m., all of Ole Miss’s fraternities race to The Grove and run to get the best spot for their tents. 

The Grove during an Ole Miss football game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, September 26, 2015. Photo credit: Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics.

The morning of game day, everyone is up early and eager to get to The Grove. During my visit, Ole Miss played Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m., so that meant we would be on The Grove all afternoon. Campbell and I woke up excited, because it was my first ever SEC game.

After sleeping in, we got some breakfast and made our way to The Grove. Everyone was dressed and made up for game day, and the traffic was thick. By 3:00 p.m., the campus was alive and ready to beat Vanderbilt.

Every single fraternity had their own tent, and they were filled with students. Other tents had people from toddlers to grandparents, and everyone was there for the same reason, to cheer on Ole Miss. Students’ parents set up tents for their kids and their friends, allowing them to eat all the food that they need. Many tents featured tables with home-cooked food. So many parents had set up 60-inch TVs to watch other SEC football games that day. Campbell says “It is the epitome of Southern hospitality.” 

Walking up to some of Campbell’s friends’ parents’ tents, I was not expecting how kind and down-to-earth they were going to be. They greeted me with gleaming smiles and tight hugs, offering me all the food that they had made and telling me I could have anything. There were chicken tenders, cookies, brownies, biscuits, and all the delicious southern cooking you could imagine. Everyone I talked to was so welcoming, and I felt reassured that this was the college environment for me. 

So, if you are ever in Oxford, Mississippi be sure to make it to The Grove, especially on a fall game day, for a taste of SEC football and Southern hospitality.