Nearly 500 junior high and high school students from Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Washington and Wayne counties will be competing for the chance to advance to the state National History Day competition in Columbia, Mo., April 12.

The theme for History Day 2003 is "Rights and Responsibilities in History," and students will compete in one of four categories: exhibit, media, performance, or historical paper.

Project judging will run from 9 a.m. to noon in the University Center. An awards ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. in Academic Hall.

For more information, contact the District 9 coordinator, Dr. Joel Rhodes, Department of History, Southeast Missouri State University, at (573) 651-2715, or e-mail: jrhodes@semo.edu.