Dive Brief:
- University of Mississippi officials discovered over 1,000 bodies that might have been patients at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum while surveying land for a new medical center parking lot.
- The discovery could put a freeze on expansion plans as a result of the cost of relocating the remains — an expense estimated at $3 million, or $3,000 per body.
- The university may likely choose not to move the bodies, opting instead to expand at another site on its 164 acres of land.
Dive Insight:
This is certainly a headache for university administrators, particularly given the cash-strapped climate many higher ed institutions are already facing. Another potential issue beyond this discovery: The Clarion-Ledger reports that there may yet be even more unmarked graves on the campus, the final resting places of tuberculosis patients, former slaves, and Civil War casualties. Sooner or later, the school will have to shell out some cash to clear the land for future expansion, but for now, it seems likely the bodies will stay in place.