Celebrating 100 years with MSU Texas: History research

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - News Channel 6 is celebrating a century with Midwestern State University, and we’re continuing our tribute to the university’s past, present and future with a class dedicated to delving into the history of MSU Texas.

Dr. Mary Draper, assistant professor of history, taught a special class this semester where her students developed their own research projects based on MSU Texas History.

“Each student has thought about what they want to study, what they think would be most interesting to learn about,” Draper said. “They really thought about how MSU fits into the broader narrative of American history.”

Her students were interested to see what the university was like during times such as WWII and the Vietnam War.

“I think students nowadays are asking different questions, right, they have different interests,” Draper said. “They will hear some story about MSU and they’ll want to know if it’s true. They’ll go back to the archive and see for themselves looking at the words of the people who were living and enrolled at that time, what they had to say about something.”

Student research was key to MSU dedicating a historical marker to desegregation at the university.

“Only through this kind of research can we tell histories at MSU that give us a better insight into all students’ experiences,” Draper said. “It is absolutely crucial that we keep on preserving history, that we keep on looking into history because there are always stories that haven’t been properly told or properly heard.”

All MSU Texas centennial celebration stories can be found by clicking here.

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