Weekly
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Online
Volume 27 Issue 6
March 2, 2006
Spotlight on
Excellence
Communiversity News
Calendar of Events
Job Announcements
Communiversity News
Alcorn State Faculty, Staff and Students Visit Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration
The Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration hosted “Biscuits, Gumbo, Sweet Tea, and Bourbon Balls: Southern Food in History, Literature, and Film” February 23-26, 2006. Alcorn State University’s Student Engagement Program participated in the festival by taking a group of faculty, staff, and students to several of the activities. On Thursday, the students attended a reception at the Natchez Museum of Afro-American History and Culture (NAPAC). At the NAPAC museum, students viewed preserved materials from the Civil War, The Rhythm Night Club Fire, and the One Room Schoolhouse. On Friday, the group attended “History’s Table of Soul Food Favorites”, a soul food buffet dinner complete with gospel music at Zion Chapel A.M.E. church. After dinner the group was treated to a performance of Confessions of a Nightingale by Tennessee Williams. After the performance, the group took a picture with Joe Benelli, the star of the play.
The Student Engagement Program, a Title III Activity, focuses on involving faculty, staff, and students in educational activities outside of the classroom.
International Student Attends Local History Conference in Port Gibson
On Friday, February 17, Margo McLeod, a senior, accounting and business administration double-major, from Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada, International and Multicultural Student Organization member, attended Mississippi Cultural Crossroads for the “Local History: the Black Freedom Struggle in Claiborne County and Beyond” conference at their auditorium at 509 Market Street, Port Gibson, Mississippi.
A distinguished group of scholars from around the country interacted with one another, the general public, local activists, and students from Claiborne County.
There were several high school, middle school and elementary school students that participated in the morning's activities. Many of the students had entries in the National History Day Competition and their projects were on display. The many different projects included poems, poster boards, photo albums and reports all centered on the same theme: black history. The projects were judged over the course of the morning and the outstanding ones were awarded prizes. Also, the students were split up into small discussion groups. The groups, led by history scholars, focused on topics such as the Montgomery bus boycott, stereotypes in the media, the voter registration process in the past and ways to make a stand in society.
“I found the information that was discussed to be very interesting because being from Canada, black history is a relatively new subject to me. I believe learning about it is important not only for young African-Americans, but also for people of all races”, said Margo.
“It is not possible to understand another culture if you do know where the people are coming from or what they have been through. I noticed that the students who attended knew their history, they actively engaged in discussions about it and they were interested in learning more. They also had open minds about the present and provided ideas for a positive change to their future.”
University Relations Staff
W. Christopher Cason,
Director
Sherita L Bailey, Administrative Assistant,
Writer
Elena Dobrynina, Staff Writer/International Student
Recruiter
Mail:
P.O. Box 389, Alcorn State, MS 39096-7500 ~ Phone:
(601) 877-6130 ~
Email: elenad@alcorn.edu
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Office: WWACB, Suite 511
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