Southeast Arrow

SEMO will have more than a home-course advantage as the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships come to Cape Girardeau this Friday, Oct. 30. With conference titles on the line, several Redhawk runners will look to make their mark against the OVC’s top competition while competing on their home course. This is only the third time SEMO has hosted the championships; the others were in 2008 and 2018.

Members of the Cape Girardeau and SEMO community can look forward to the annual Cape Con event returning to the Show-Me Center on Friday, Nov. 6. The event began in 2005 as exclusively a comic convention, before branching out into various other forms of entertainment such as wrestling, anime, etc. over the course of the following years. This year’s convention will run through Sunday, Nov.

Southeast Missouri State University ranked 14th in the 2027 U.S. News ranking of the top public universities in the Midwest, making it the number one public university in Missouri. SEMO moved up eight spots from the 2026 report, when SEMO ranked 22, according to SEMO.

SEMO beat Eastern Illinois 20-10, rushing for 219 yards while holding the Panthers to just 31. The Redhawks have now beaten Eastern Illinois nine consecutive times in the all-time series between the schools. SEMO wasted no time in taking the lead. Early in the first quarter, kicker Justin Keller booted a 44-yard field goal, giving the Redhawks a 3-0 lead. Eastern Illinois answered with a kick of their own before the quarter ended and the teams went to the second quarter tied 3-3.

Junior agribusiness major Blake Deppe was officially named SEMO’s 2026 Man of the Year during the annual homecoming football game on Oct. 17. Deppe went into detail about his extensive history of campus involvement, including SAC, SGA, FBLA, Marching Band, as well as an orientation leader and presidential ambassador in Hawk Flock.

The LGBTQ+ cult-classic film, “But, I'm a Cheerleader,” was the focus of discussion at the sixth annual See Me Series event at Southeast Missouri State University’s Rose Theater on Tuesday, Oct. 13. See Me Series is a yearly panel discussion hosted by the Department of Mass Media, Arts and Design. This year's discussion highlighted how the media could positively impact self-acceptance of someone’s sexual or gender identity.

NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program) is a global nonprofit that helps with cell therapy and matches people to help patients with blood cancers and disorders. NMDP offers chapters that set up at different universities and try to help students match to potential patients. Although finding a match can prove quite difficult and take years to match with someone in need. But for one SEMO student, she matched within two months.

With the 2027 school year on the horizon, several changes are in the works for Southeast Missouri State University. The strategic plan “Fearlessly Forward” was approved by the Board of Governors over the summer and, according to SEMO president Brad Hodson, has three primary priorities. He first announced this plan to the Student Government Association on Sept. 21. “If you think about the big picture talking points for this, it really has three primary elements. One is a focus on hands-on learning.

Southeast Missouri State outscored Western Illinois 18-0 in the fourth quarter Saturday, turning a back-and-forth game into a 40-30 homecoming win at Houck Field. “It feels amazing to win in front of a home crowd. Like I’ve never felt nothing like this before. I love it here,” junior running back Khyair Spain said. The Redhawks entered the final quarter trailing 30-22, but Khyair Spain changed that quickly.

SEMO alums and students, local businesses and Cape Girardeau community members all gathered near Houck Field in preparation for the annual homecoming football game on Oct. 17. The homecoming parade set the day off as people began settling into their places for the tailgate. Floats from SEMO students, local businesses and marching bands from schools all over the area made their way through the streets downtown.