African-American Studies Students Visit Historical Civil Rights Sites

By Danielle Bowden

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

            MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A group of 16 African-American Studies students from Middle Tennessee State University took a trip to Alabama on April 8 to visit the historical Civil Rights sites located in the cities of Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery.

            The African-American Studies Department at MTSU selected 16 students by asking those who were interested to travel to Alabama for the weekend. The students stayed in Montgomery, Alabama, but traveled outside of the city during the day. Students gained knowledge of the Civil Rights movement and the frequent attacks on the protesters by racist law enforcement officers and white community leaders.

Dr. Thomas Bynum is a professor at MTSU in the AAS Department. Every year, Dr. Bynum takes students on trips out of state to explore historical civil rights sites. The trips are always free for students. 

“We take students to Civil Rights sites every year, and they enjoy it each time.” said Bynum

         Students visited the historical Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where hundreds of Civil Rights marchers and activists were brutally beaten and arrested. AAS students also visited the Rosa Parks Museum. Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus. Students concluded their tour at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute across from the 16^th Street Baptist Church.

            The AAS students were able to experience what it was like during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s including the brutality protesters faced. They viewed exhibits, watched videos, and followed in the footsteps of legendary leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. One of the things students saw was historical documents of letters written by historic figures. The letters of encouragement were written to keep activists spirits high and strong during the time.

“This was a mind-changing experience.”  said MTSU student Leslie Berkley. “I never knew how much protesters suffered from the Civil Rights movement because we weren’t taught Black history in school”

Students saw the 16^th Street Baptist Church, but they were unable to go inside because it was closed for the day. The church is historical because it was the first African-American Baptist church in Birmingham. In 1963, the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb in the church’s basement causing the deaths of three out of four little girls that were in the basement at the time. Though students were not able to go inside of the church, they were still able to learn the history of the church.

            While traveling, students shared how they felt about their ancestors fighting for equality. They were able to understand in deeper context how difficult it was to be black in America during those years. Students were struggling to hold back tears at times. It was an emotional atmosphere, yet students were empowered after leaving the sites.

            For more information about the African-American Studies Program at MTSU, visit www. http://mtsu.edu/aas/index.php

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'Loving Right' Event Comes to Middle Tennessee

By Daniel Lopez

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Dr. Joni Frater and Esther Lastique spoke on the topic of sex and relationships at Middle Tennessee State University’s Ned McWherter Learning Resources Center on April 5 at a free public event.

            Titled “Loving Right: Sexual Assault Awareness”, the two speakers centered their talk on the issues of dating relationships and the challenges that come with maintaining healthy sexual activity as a college student. MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, the Student Government Association and MTSU Health Promotion sponsored this free public event.

Frater and Lastique, both sexologists and co-authors of the book “Loving Her Right”, were very polite and open in their discussion on a very touchy subject. They were very interactive with the audience and with each other, using diagrams, pictures and props to demonstrate technical aspects of their presentation.

Frater and Lastique travel America to speak on college campuses about the issues of relationships and sex.

 “We’ve actually been having this conversation with the Department of Health Promotion for about four years,” said Lastique, when asked specifically what brought them to MTSU. “So they’ve been trying to get permission to bring us for that long. You know, we do charge, so that’s been an issue as far as the funding, but getting the permission hasn’t really been a big deal.”

There was a fairly good turnout for the event. More than 50 students came, and many of those students attended for a class assignment. Laughter erupted during parts of the presentation, and the atmosphere was overall relaxed, casual and inviting. Many students expressed their enjoyment of the presentation style and the information provided, saying that they had not heard such thorough and unashamed discussion on this topic before.

“That’s why we talk about everything, “said Frater.

Both speakers expressed their love of having these talks and discussing all of the taboos associated with sex to empower students with the knowledge they need to make good decisions. Some of the more controversial subjects they deal with are related to detailed explanations of how to have safe sex and how to deal with the issue of consent in a sexual relationship. Frater and Lastique stressed the importance of loving oneself before loving another person, sexually or otherwise.

At the end of the event, Frater and Lastique spoke from personal experience to tie

everything they had said together, ending with the big reveal that they were married to one another. More than just partners in sexology, they were same-sex partners, a fact that was met with great joy by the audience.

Frater and Lastique intend to come back to MTSU to break through the taboos associated with their discussion one event at a time.  For more information or to contact Frater and Lastique, you can go to www.SexEdBootCamp.com or e-mail them at info@sexedbootcamp.com.

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Murfreesboro Holds 28th Annual Special Olympics Competition

By Desirae Cope

MTSU Raider Shake Down Reporter

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Special Olympians cheered each other to the finish line at Middle Tennessee State University during the Area 16 Special Olympics tournament at 10 a.m. April 8.

Area 16 Assistant Director John Harris said that special olympians from Rutherford County, Murfreesboro City Schools, and local adult developmental centers are trained by their teachers for six to eight weeks prior to the games. He has been involved with the area’s Special Olympics for 28 years.

“I’ve been told by many aids that the children have become more independent,” Harris said.

His goal is to get every disabled child to participate in the competition, but he said that he was quite happy with the number of attendees.  A total of 454 athletes stood excited on the Hayes Track to compete at the 28^th annual Spring Games Track and Field Meet. The competitors were so eager to participate that they hardly noticed the cold breeze that blew over the field.

Jordan Fee, a 15-year-old from Blackman Middle school, was especially eager to get started.

“Is it my turn yet?” he asked his father.

Very few people stood in the stands. Everyone was out on the field sharing enthusiasm with one another. Children from participating schools came to root for their peers, holding up signs and banners.

Jordan’s father, Gary Fee, said that his son is more outgoing since he joined the games three years ago. He explained that the athletes get to pick two events to participate in. After each competition, they receive a colored ribbon depending on how they placed. Jordan won first place for both of his competitions, the softball throw-off and the 50-yard dash.

“I wish we could get him this interested in reading,” Fee said. “He gets so excited to come here every year.”

Jordan attends Blackman Middle School and enjoys farming with his family.

“Everyone gets their chance to shine,” Harris said. “This is their day.”

Volunteers from all the schools come together to help make this a special day. Dozens of MTSU athletes walked the contenders through each event. Everyone was encouraging and cheerful.

“I would like to thank the community for all their support and involvement,” Harris concluded.

Donate today and help another child smile with the feeling of achievement. You can visit www.specialolympics.org to explore the three ways to donate.

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MTSU Beats Austin Peay in a Tight Game

Written by: Jake Blair

MTSU Raider Shakedown Reporter

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Middle Tennessee State University’s baseball team defeated Austin Peay University’s team at Reese Smith Field by a score of 6-5 on April 4 with a home run at the beginning of the ninth inning.

            The crowd turnout for the game was not nearly as large as some of the recent games to be held at Reese Smith Field. Saying this, some will agree that even though the crowd wasn’t big, MTSU’s desire for victory was huge. With number 21 Austin Sistrunk and number 10 Vaughn Shapen making some major hits, the team managed to bump MTSU’s score up to 3 in just the second inning.

            Assistant Coach Scott Hall said- “They have a good offensive team. The final score from Austin Peay was expected to have been higher than what it was.”

Throughout most of the game, MTSU managed to stay two or three points ahead of Austin Peay. With number 23 AJ Spencer, 28 Reid Spencer, and 31 Cody Puckett pitching for MTSU, it managed to keep Austin Peay from getting many runs in. Many of the bases taken during MTSU pitching were due to balls.

            MTSU managed to score three runs by the second inning of the game. It wasn’t until the end of the third inning that Austin Peay was able to get on the scoreboard with two runs. The Blue Raiders managed to keep a constant flow of points coming in throughout most of the game with an exception of two or so innings. On the other side of the field was Austin Peay which didn’t score 3 of its 5 over-all points until the last inning of the game.

            This game was very different from the previous game against Vanderbilt University in on March 22. In that game, Vanderbilt had a 4-point lead and MTSU managed to come back and win with a score of 7-4.

            Even with some of these major wins, Austin Peay still remains higher on the list of schools throughout the nation being ranked at number 82 compared to their previous ranking of 97. MTSU is slowly making its way closer to Austin Peay’s spot on the list with a ranking of number 88 in the nation compared to a previous ranking of 90 in the nation.

         " I think they are comparable opponents and both have power. The Univeristy of Tennessee has an edge on pitching. But you never know the outcome when it comes to these games"- said coach Hall when asked about how playing  UT in an upcoming game.

           For more information on the schedule and roster of the MTSU baseball team, visit: www.goblueraiders.com

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