Students come together to clean Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium
Every Sunday following Braves home football games, students at Alcorn State University, led by Student Government Association (SGA) President Patrick Herbert Jr., join forces with Facilities Management at 8 a.m. to clean Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium in an effort to keep it aesthetically pleasing and comfortable for spectators.
The initiative is growing in student participation. The number of students has gone from 16 during the first clean up to 63 during the last clean up after the Braves contest against Southern.
The students understand the value of keeping the stadium appealing for Braves fans. Herbert promotes cleanliness and beautification of the campus because he feels that protecting the Alcorn brand is important.
“We as a student body should make sure that the stadium is clean for everyone to enjoy football games in a clean environment,” said Herbert. “This University is our brand, so we invest our time to uplift it in any way possible. By keeping the environment clean, we can attract more people, which would lead to higher enrollment.”
The initiative was actually started in 2015 by Alcorn alumnus Roosevelt Kelly, who graduated in 2016. His initial purpose was to provide opportunities for students to serve the community. His example of strong leadership is what inspired Herbert to keep the movement going. Kelly expressed his pride in Herbert’s actions.
“I can truly say that I am proud of Patrick,” said Kelly. “When I started the stadium clean up project, it was strictly to help students get community services hours. I have watch Patrick’s progression with this project, and I am especially proud of the continuous growth of this initiative each weekend after a home game. I look forward to seeing this project grow and more relationships built through hard work.”
Jacobi Holt, a sophomore, said that his reason for joining the clean up crew was to see unity and school spirit among his fellow Alcornites.
“I wanted to see students on campus to be more involved in community service,” said Holt. “I feel that that this is the perfect way to bring students together. It shows good school spirit.”
For Joy Applewhite, a senior, helping those in Facilities Management to get the job done quicker is why she was eager to help out.
“I think it’s good to help the workers in facilities who usually clean the stadium because it speeds up the process and it allows them to spend more time with their families on Sundays,” said Applewhite.
Jeff Posey, associate vice president of Facilities Management, thanks the students for their time and effort.
“We appreciate all of the student volunteer help and continue to solicit student participation to help us clean up after major campus events,” said Posey. “This year, due to the tremendous volunteer support of students on Sundays after game days, we have been able to get the campus back in shape much quicker than in previous years. We continue to encourage students and visitors to take an active role in helping to prevent litter on campus.”
The Braves have three more home games this season, which means there’s still time for more volunteers to join the initiative. For more information, contact the SGA Office at (601) 877-6327 or contact Herbert at [email protected].
