It's a shame that a state that keeps the majority of its students in state to go to college can't keep them after they are handed their diplomas.
According to a 1998 survey of universities, only 8.1 percent of Mississippi's freshmen go out of state to college. The national average of students going away to college is much higher at 18.3 percent.
What is distressing is Mississippi's ranking for people over the age of 25 living in the state who have attained at least a bachelor's degree. Mississippi ranks 47th, according to a recent Census 2000 Supplemental Survey.
Simply put, college graduates are leaving Mississippi when they get their degrees. "That has to be a factor given the population coming into our universities and succeeding," said a spokeswoman for the state College Board.
With few jobs to fit the professions they studied four years to achieve, what alternatives do they have? Add in the fact that the per capita income in Mississippi is one of the lowest in the country, and it is no wonder students are leaving the state for greener pastures.
In order to keep bright graduates in state, there must be more professional opportunities for higher-paying jobs.
Granted, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and other state officials have been working to bring higher-paying jobs to Mississippi. The Nissan plant is proof of those efforts. But the effort can't stop there.
With so many students staying in state to go to college, it must mean at least some of them would like to stay here when they graduate. It's only natural that Mississippi people are going to work harder and fight harder to make the state a better place to live. It's their home. We just need to have a place for them to do it when they graduate.
