High school students travel from Mendenhall to USM for a Special History Lesson

HATTIESBURG, MISS. - Simpson Academy High School students experienced their first college lecture at the University of Southern Mississippi on April 18.

History professor and founding director of the Southern Miss Department of History’s Dale Center for the Study of War and Society Andrew Wiest gave a lecture on the Vietnam War to 10th graders from Mendenhall, Mississippi.

“I speak about Vietnam to college groups and the community groups, but to have a chance to speak to young people who, perhaps are hearing it for the first time, is a great opportunity for me,” Wiest said. Wiest specializes in the study of War and Society, and read a series of letters regarding the Vietnam War the students. “I like how he went and interviewed the people and got reports of them about how it affected them individually,” Simpson Academy Student Caleb Garner said. “Sometimes you don’t see the background of people being affected individually, but they do.” Wiest gave students examples of what wars do to people and how it affects society.