By L. Taylor Smith 

More than 40 volunteers showed up for the Memphis River Warriors’ first cleanup of the year Saturday.

During the cleanup, volunteers walked through the woods by McKellar Lake and collected Styrofoam, plastic and glass bottles, wrappers and other trash that had washed up on the banks.

In two hours, volunteers collected 580 pounds of recyclable materials.

The Memphis River Warriors, a registered student organization at the University of Memphis, works with other organizations like Memphis City Beautiful and the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group to clean up the area, which used to be a popular vacation spot.

Rachel Waters, a freshman psychology major at the U of M, got involved when she came to college because her older sister Grace Waters was part of the core group of initial volunteers.

“I started to go in support of her, but I very soon got hooked on the idea of making a change in the community and doing something for the greater good of millions of people,” Waters said. “Before coming to these cleanups, I had no idea of the magnitude of trash that could accumulate in one location.”

By Kirby Cheers

It takes a village to raise a child and it take hot wings to raise a college student.  

At least that's what one will find when they visit Ching's Hot Wings located at 1264 Getwell Road, one block away from South Campus on the corner of Park.  

On any given weekday, the hot wing restaurant is filled to capacity with standing room only. Placing an order for carry-out over the phone leaves the customer waiting for about 45 minutes on "Scandal Thursdays" and a solid hour for a night of March Madness. Yet, the various, mouth-watering flavors keep Ching's customers coming back and waiting for more each week.  

"It's a good problem to have," Stacey Jackson, one of the co-owners of the popular hot wing restaurant, said. "We talk about the parking. Even with our employees, they will call me and say, 'I'm here, but I can't find a parking space.' It's exciting to see the growth and see where the next level will take us."  

By Charles Gray

As Women's History Month comes to a close, it is important to reflect on the strong female characters that have played major roles in history.

Locally, it immediately suggests a few names, but none more so than recently retired University of Memphis President Shirley Raines. Though her tenure was very recent, it will continue to hold historic significance not only for its precedence of her being the first female president of the school, but also for the work that she accomplished while holding the chair.

“President Raines has made an indelible mark on the university and the entire Memphis community,” chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents John Morgan said. "She is a friend, and I appreciate the guidance and leadership she has provided for these 12 years.”

Raines began her career as a kindergarten teacher in Louisville, Ky. Over the next 30 years of her career, she would go on to write 14 books, most of which had a focus on child education and early development—a subject she has come to be regarded as an expert in according to a University of Memphis website post regarding Raines' retirement. 

As the millennium passed she had built her career past teaching, holding a position as the vice chancellor for academic services and dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky.

By Courtney Smith 

The Memphis Tigers (24-10, 12-6 AAC) basketball season is officially over after their 78-60 loss to No. 1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers (30-6, 16-2 ACC) of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

With their dreams of playing in the Sweet 16 crushed, what’s next for coach Josh Pastner and the team as a whole?

Pastner started his press conference Tuesday with how he will run his rotation of players for next season and mentioned that nothing will be handed to his players. Everything will have to be earned by hard work and dedication to the program.

“Playing time is to be earned. No one is bigger than this program that includes myself, that includes my coaches, that includes the players. Nobody is ever bigger than this program,” Pastner said to the media at the final press conference of the season. “I have never promised anything in recruiting, never promised a minute or a starting spot. As long as I am coaching, I will not do that.”

One of the reporters present at the press conference did not hesitate to ask Pastner about some of the players who didn’t see the floor that much this season such as freshman forward Kuran Iverson and freshman center Dominic Woodson.

Owner of the Fun Shop Doug Hendrickson looks to sell the collection of comic books and game guides he recently acquired.

About two years ago, the Fun Shop branched out and began selling television and movie collectibles in addition to costumes and magic accessories.  

The collection includes some older titles including the first appearance of “The Amazing Spider-Man #300” and the entire “X-Men Dark Phoenix Saga.” 

Though the collection is mostly comprised of Marvel titles, it also has titles from DC and independent publications like Dark Horse. Despite having more than 1,000 books to sell, Hendrickson is content with serving his primary audience.  

“I don’t really want to pretend we’re a comic book shop,” he said. “Comics and Collectibles is the real comic book store in town.”

Right now, comic book and games fans living in the University District have to drive to Comics and Collectibles on Poplar or Comic Cellar on Austin Peay in Raleigh.

Owner of Comic Cellar Jason Prince said it would be difficult to open a new comic book store in the Memphis area. A new shop would have to gather an inventory and customer base. The owner would have to be knowledgeable about the material as well, something Prince said took him years. 

Comic Cellar currently hosts game nights and Magic the Gathering events. They also plan to participate in Free Comic Book Day on May 3 and Table Top Day on April 5.

By Kirby Cheers

The next time you are on a campus tour at the University of Memphis, make sure to visit Smith Hall. After the tour guide showcases the exhibition dorm room, ask them to introduce the Assistant Area Coordinator (AAC) there. This may cause an eyebrow to raise, but the guides are more than accommodating. 

On the first floor in a small office hidden around the corner of the dormitory's desk and lounge area, sits Kanesha Johnson, the AAC for Rawls and Smith Halls—adjacent, all-women dormitories in the middle of campus off Patterson Street. Her credentials may not sound extraordinary, and when you meet her, she may not come off as important as one of the four candidates for university president.  

Nevertheless, she is an unsung, success story in Memphis. 

Johnson, 22, graduated from the university in the fall of 2013 with a B.A. in political science. She was the first in her family to graduate from college in addition to being the first in her maternal family to graduate from high school.  

A Raleigh-Egypt High School alumna, Johnson, was raised predominately in North Memphis, surrounded by poverty, drugs and gangs during her upbringing.  

"I grew up in a single parent home with my mom, brother and older brother," Johnson recalls. "The neighborhood was pretty rough. Frequently, there were gun shots and my mom did not allow me to go outside. My brother was also in a gang."  

Living in an unstable home and being engulfed by poverty and violence seemed normal to Johnson. However, what truly impacted her childhood was her mother's schizophrenia, something Johnson never understood, but could recognize the signs and symptoms.  

"I always knew something was wrong," Johnson said. "It wasn’t until I got older and went through counseling on my own that I knew that's what was going on with her. We tried to offer her help, but she would not accept it." 

By Charles Gray

Shortly after the West Tennessee Normal School broke ground in the farmlands on the outskirts of the city of Memphis, development in the area began to expand past residential properties. One road that ran north to south just west of the school began to host small stores and markets. 

"Initially, it was just a few stores—a grocery store, a bakery, just essentials for people at the time," said historian Jimmy Ogle. "But after World War II and a large amount of people moving to the area,  [South] Highland Avenue really took off."

Though it began as an early place near the school to do some light shopping for essentials, it wouldn't take long for the stretch of road to develop its own identity. After the district was annexed in 1929, the university grew in size, the neighborhood expanded greatly and the storefronts along South Highland grew in number and variety.

With the increasing population of university students in the 1950s and 1960s, more bars and restaurants opened in the area.

"The First Danver's was on the strip," said former Memphis State University student Rebecca Feaster. "They use to wear conductor hats because it was so close to the railroad. It was a fun place."

By Cormac Parker 

Could you imagine going six weeks without your favorite time filler, such as Facebook and Instagram or even giving up your morning Starbucks drink? How about not eating meat for 40 days?

For some people in the world, this is their reality and lasts for about six weeks in the month of March leading into April. This is because of the season called Lent.

Lent is a religious observance starting 40 days before Easter. Its original context calls for people to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for the world and to draw them closer to God.

“I think that you are suppose to gain a closer relationship with Christ,” said Holly Hamby, a member of the Christian Student Center at the U of M. “If you are giving up fast food, the main point is that when you are yearning for that, you use that time to yearn for Christ.”

However, not everyone participates for the same reasons. Some view this as a new type of New Years resolution, hoping to only gain a physical benefit.

“In the past, I have started diets during the Lent Season, because, during Lent, there is an added support to not give in,” said Lenzy Hopkins, resident of the Orange Mound community.

By Leah Beth Bolton 

Ask any of the students at the University of Memphis who Bruce Harber is and they’re guaranteed to answer, but many have been unable to put a face to the name.

As Director of Police Services and Public Safety at the U of M, Harber is most known for his direct electronic contact with the student body, faculty and staff, whether it be for a safety concern or weather alert.

Harber’s responsibilities vary on campus, but he is widely known for being the “man behind the Tiger Texts,” the U of M’s emergency alert text messaging system, which he helped develop for the school in 2007.

His goal is to eliminate crime on campus and keep students up to date on safety. 

“Here on campus we’re down over 10 percent. Surrounding areas are down 4.8 percent. The entire area is down 13.7 percent as a whole,” Harber said.

He added that new research has shown crime in the school’s parking lots on vehicles has gone down almost 75 percent in his 14 years on campus, which he credits to more of a police presence.

“When you consider that we have 10,000 parking spaces, which turn over a time and a half a day, our officers have done a tremendous job of keeping our students safe,” Harber said.

Harber, who moved to Memphis in the ninth grade, had an interest in public safety early on. He joined the Memphis Police Department’s cadet program right out of high school, which led him to seek a degree in the subject. He continued with the part-time program for two years while seeking his degree at the U of M.

He graduated from college in 1991 with a Bachelor of Professional Studies in police administration.

Harber worked for the Memphis Police Department for 25 years before beginning his work at the University in 2000 as the assistant director of Police Services. In January 2002, he was appointed as the new director of Police Services.

On top of his responsibilities on campus, Harber is studying for his master’s degree, which he hopes to finish by the end of the year.

By Dee Reneé

In the past, students have been only able to use their Tiger Funds to purchase things on campus. But recently, the University of Memphis expanded its dining system.

Students can now use their Tiger Funds at Garibaldi’s Pizza, Domino’s Pizza and Ubee’s for dine-in use only.

The program will branch out to other business once the University examines how well the initial launch works out for business because of the cost to the business for implementing a card reader.

“I think it will also help bring new businesses into the district. If businesses knew that students have the ability to use Tiger Funds at their location, they will have an opportunity to get more student money then they will be more inclined to open business in the district,” said Leah Dawkins, a community redevelopment liaison at the U of M.