By Kirstin "Kirby" Cheers

Jacqueline Christion, head bowed-chin to chest and arms folded, watched footage of a familiar scene on Wednesday. She had seen this footage before. In fact, she was one of the features in this particular film.  

It was on a day in October of 1961. She along with 12 other black children started their first day of elementary school—at an all-white school.  

"It was exciting, but I was nervous and scared," Christion recounts on the film. 

Christion lifted her head to the screen as she heard the voice of a friend, Sharon Malone, "Once that door closed and our parents walked out of that school, it was us."  

"The Memphis 13" premiered in the Beale Room of the University of Memphis' University Center to a crowd of more than 30 students and 30 university professors and personnel. The documentary accounted the experiences of 13 African American 5-year-olds who were the first to integrate Memphis City Schools. The group was divided and sent to four inner-city elementary schools: Rozelle, Bruce, Gordon and Springdale.  

"That was a part of our childhood that we just wanted to shut out of our lives for the rest of our lives," Malone said on the panel that afternoon. 

By Darnesha Cotton

A crowd gathered at the 7 p.m. in the University Center Theatre Tuesday on the University of Memphis campus as actor, author and activist Lou Gossett Jr. spoke on the importance of education, unity and getting back to cultural roots.

“Although Mr. Gossett is still working in films, with an emphasis on faith-based stories, he is primarily dedicating ‘the last quadrant’ of his life to an all-out conscious offensive against racism, violence, ignorance and social apathy,” said Tori Thompson, a 20-year-old journalism student and host of the event, as she introduced Gossett.
 
The theatre was filled with students, faculty, and community members of all ages. The crowd of approximately 100 welcomed Gossett with a standing ovation.

Gossett was featured as the second celebrity guest speaker for the 2014 Black History Month celebration.  Honored with his own event, Gossett chose to title his speech, “The Education before the Education.”

“Here, lately, I don’t think too many people are teaching you. The manners that you learn at home that you take out into the world with you so that you are able to be teachable,” he said.

By Akilah Speaks

WUMR The Jazz Lover is a non-commercial radio station located on the University of Memphis campus. The station, which has been operating since 1979, is the only jazz outlet in the Mid-South that plays jazz tracks, spotlights community events and broadcasts sports.

Malvin Massey, music director and former jazz musician, is the station's general manager and has been with the station for more than 25 years.  In a recent interview, he shared his love for jazz music, the changes in radio and how his job title has benefited him over the years.  

Known as Le Pilot, Massey is a pioneer in the jazz world and a great mentor to upcoming personalities.

“I love having the opportunity to listen to all the new music first and having a good reputation in the music industry with record promoters and different labels," Massey said. "I stay fresh in the jazz world by keeping up with music. It’s a reassuring job and a great gig.”

His passion for jazz music has earned him a reputation in the music industry, and he has been fortunate to interview some of the greatest legends. For many years, he has worked in the radio business gaining the knowledge of broadcasting, meeting famous musicians and working alongside promoters and other radio executives.

By Dee Reneé

Many University of Memphis students have yet to notice the price increase by 10 cents at the Subway on campus.

Subway brands their products as low-cost but nutritious meals and promotes their fresh vegetables served daily by their motto "Eat Fresh."

However, two weeks ago the Subway on campus increased their prices on all items excluding the value meals.

“I get the value meal so it not that bad but if I was getting something more expensive, I would be upset,” said Victoria Law, a junior business major with a minor in Japanese.

The $5 foot long deals have not increased in price but there is a 10 cent difference in price with all other items.

Patrick Cook, the retail manager for the Tiger Den, also said that the Chick-fil-A on campus will also have a price increase in the upcoming semester.

Aramark, the University of Memphis's dining services provider, is not responsible for the price increase.

By L. Taylor Smith

The Eckles-Madison Family Cemetery on Carnes Avenue does not look like much of a threat during the winter with trees bare and vines limp from the cold. But the Normal Station neighborhood knows it’s only a matter of time before the flora emerge out of hibernation and take back the lot.

Come spring break, however, college students from Florida will spend the week clearing the lot.

TK Buchanan, community safety liaison for the University of Memphis, said the property, which is just off Echles Street, has been a problem for more than 100 years, especially during the summer when plants grow over the gravestones and into nearby properties.

“Literally, no one has ever taken care of it,” Buchanan said.

 The cemetery was created just before the area was redeveloped for housing in the early 1900s, and approximately 14 members of the Eckles and Madison families are buried on the property.

Although Memphis city workers, local residents and Boy Scout troops would occasionally try to rehabilitate the lot, it was never enough.

“Basically what they do is remove the litter or dumping and leave,” Buchanan said. “There’s nothing else that they can do without heavy equipment, a plan and some resources.”

By Darnesha Cotton

The University of Memphis African Student Association will be making the world their runways. The student organization is using cultural fashions to unite students of different backgrounds and heritage.

Senior film student Lawrence Shaw and Justin Brookes, a sophomore health and human performance major, are co-directors of the first Multicultural Fashion Show on campus. 

 “We are trying to show the diversity of the world," Shaw said. "The best way to learn about a different culture is through their food or through their clothing."

 The show is set to occur in April during the University’s Multicultural Week, an annual
celebration done by the University to honor the diversity of the students. 
 
“The vision is just to show everybody that although we are all from a different culture, we all
of one body, we are all the same. We can celebrate each other’s diversity,” said Shaw, the creative half of the duo.

By Jamesa Y. Alston  

The Peddler Bike Shop has kicked off construction in its new building and is expected to open in May 2014.

The shop will be moving to the former YMCA building located at 3548 Walker Ave. It will be housed in the former natatorium area of the building. The estimated cost to complete this project is not known.

“The new shop will have a better layout and will be more conducive for the business,” Court Percer, the current manager, said. 

The Peddler Bike Shop has been a part of the University District for more than 40 years.  The shop was located at 3573 Southern Ave. until it moved to its current location at 575 S. Highland St.

This expansion will be one of the first projects of the new Walker Avenue Streetscape Project that will begin at the end of the year.

“We are supporting the re-development of Walker Avenue,” Percer said. “It’s like pre- redevelopment.”

Contractors have begun filling the pool and laying concrete that was once in the natatorium of the old building.  The roof is also being replaced because of the harsh chemicals that leach out and cause corrosion in some of the metal materials. 

The Peddler caters to everyone with its bikes range from kids to advance racers.  Since many of its customers are students at the University of Memphis who come to rent, buy or get repairs, the new shop's location closer to campus will be beneficial. 

“We’re really excited to be closer to campus,” Percer said.

Percer believes the new store will increase the amount of customers that visit because they will be able to access the store more easily. 

“It is a major plus to be in an easily accessible place,” he said. “We support walkers—the people who don’t have cars."

By Kirstin "Kirby" Cheers

As children, especially those who were raised in religious homes, Sunday school taught stories of Biblical heroines such as Esther, a young girl crowned queen in her youth who rescued her people, the Jews, from a brutal genocide planned and signed into law by her husband, King Ahasuerus (Xerses).  

Esther did not know that one day she would be queen, let alone know that she would have to preside and persuade the people who had cast her family into exile to spare her race from a massive killing. One can even assume, before becoming queen, Esther hated the place she lived and awaited the day that God would move her somewhere else--sharing a characteristic of many native Memphians. 

Memphis. A seemingly unpopular place to live that wrestles against crime, poverty and for many, a lack of opportunities. Such hindrances have been the bane of the city’s existence, especially during a period where recruiting young talent into Memphis is a tedious feat. 

 In 2013, the Memphis Business Journal noted that Memphis is not a strong competitor when it comes to recruiting new talent against cities such as Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte.  Some Memphians cannot go a full day without hearing another Memphian grumbling their loathe for living in the Bluff City, and how they are looking, hoping, wishing and/or praying to move.  

Such attitudes have influenced strategic organizations to strengthen their recruiting efforts to attract new talent to the city. The New Memphis Institute and the social media recruitment campaign, Choose 901, have been strong influences throughout the city, partnering with government officials, professionals and entrepreneurs in organizing to increase attracting and retaining new talent in Memphis.  

However, the talent born and bred in Memphis should not go unnoticed.  

London Lamar, 23, left Memphis for Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind., after graduating from Central High School in 2009. After graduating from college with internships from Washington, D.C., to New York under her belt, she did not intend to return to Memphis.

By Cormac Parker       

“On every corner of this city, you can find two things: a liquor store and a church,” said James Smith, a senior at the University of Memphis. “I have never lived in a city with this many churches. I guess I am in the middle of the Bible Belt.” 

With close to 2,000 churches in the city of Memphis, it is not unreasonable to ask the question— what is the role of the “church” and are they fulfilling the role? With all of the crime, poverty, and homelessness, what is the church doing to help combat these needs? The University of Memphis stands tall in the district with over 22,000 students. How is the church connecting with this major university that sits in its back yard?

The search for a church within walking distance of the campus was not long. Exactly one block from the U of M sits St. Luke’s United Methodist Church where Michael Pence serves as pastor.

Pence said the role of the church universally and even locally is to be the light of the world and that, in order to evaluate any community for its strengths and its weaknesses, first start by examining what those churches are doing.

“I believe that the church is supposed to be that place that sets the example,” he said.

By Leah Beth Bolton 

TigerText, the University of Memphis’ emergency alert text messaging service, keeps students, faculty and staff informed and protected, but only if they’re signed up for the feature. 

According to the school’s website, “the optional service is used in the event of an on-campus emergency, an unscheduled university closing, or a delay or cancellation of classes due to, for instance, inclement weather.” 

The service is free to students but standard text messaging rates apply.

The text messaging system was put in place in 2007 shortly after the Virginia Tech massacre and the U of M campus began to focus more on student safety.

Bruce Harber, director of public safety and Police Services, is encouraging students to reactivate their TigerText accounts by signing up online for the service. He said students are unaware that their service deactivates after being enrolled for a certain amount of time. 

“The biggest challenge with TigerText is keeping people signing up,” Harber said. “What happens is the accounts expire, and we’ve never been close to the almost 20,000 licenses we had early on from the people we have on campus being signed up to receive the alerts.”