CMLL Tailgate Kickoff

The Department of Classical & Modern Languages and Literatures sponsored the first College of Arts & Sciences tailgate on Saturday, September 6. More than 75 faculty, staff, students, and their families from across the college attended. CMLL faculty and students shared side dishes and desserts from around the world, including Polish kielbasa and pierogi, elote (Mexican street corn), Gurkensalat (German cucumber salad), and tres leches cake. Guests could scan a QR code to access each recipe.

The tailgate also featured activities for children, who were given a sneak peek into the Bulldog Explorers program. Designed for ages 5–12, Bulldog Explorers invites children and their families to pick up a free “suitcase” from the Starkville Public Library on the last Friday of each month. While the theme changes monthly, each suitcase highlights a different member of the Department of Classical & Modern Languages and Literatures at Mississippi State University, creating a real-world connection to peoples, cultures, and languages. Children are introduced to a language chunk that allows them to communicate about their own lives in another language. For example, when “traveling” to the Dominican Republic, they learn me gusta/no me gusta (“I like/I don’t like”) to practice talking about food preferences. When they “travel” to Italy, they practice hobbies such as Io cucino; Io pedalo (“I cook; I bike”). Each suitcase includes thematically connected hands-on activities, and families record their journey by pasting a country flag into their passport. At the tailgate, children created arts and crafts to learn more about Guatemala, Colombia, France, Taiwan, and Poland.