Terrorists, bombs,and killing people in the name of Allah are just a few of the images that media outlets have portrayed people of the Islamic faith to be.

Sarah Sumayah Noor, a health administration major at the University of Memphis, explained the reality of her faith and what she has experienced while living in the heart of the Bible Belt.

Born in Bangladesh to a devout Muslim family, it was not uncommon for Noor to see women covering their heads in traditional hijabs or for her family to “help” her older sister find a husband or for people to make sacrifices in the name of Allah.

However, in America, not everyone Noor has interacted with is as comfortable as she is with these things, especially in Memphis, Tenn. She believes the biggest reason for the proverbial elephant in the room is due to ignorance.

“People do not take time and educate themselves about my religion,” Noor said. “When they see me and understand that I am just like them, that’s when they start to understand me more.”

She says that the misconception that all Muslims are terrorists or suicide bombers is the reason her parents did not want her to wear anything pertaining to her religion after 9/11.

By Charles Gray

A group of students have joined together to better the environment at the University of Memphis. 

Common Cents is a student organization that has events and functions to raise money for a variety of causes ranging from campus beautification to supplying the school with computers. 

Common Cents President Rachel Brandon along with member Eudarius Jones and U of M director of annual giving, Elisa Campbell Shaw, spoke with the UDistrict about Wieners for Seniors—a pop up event where Common Cents gave away free hotdogs in hopes of donations that would go to adding a tree and a bench to the campus landscape. 

By Courtney A. Smith

The University of Memphis men's basketball team is already taking shape for the 2014-15 season. Coach Josh Pastner is losing four senior guards (Joe Jackson, Geron Johnson, Chris Crawford, and Michael Dixon Jr.) but is looking to replace them with a 2014 recruiting class that features Helen Cox High standout Dominic Magee.

Magee and 17 other top high school seniors participated in the Fifth Annual Jack Jones Shootout at Lausanne Collegiate School located on 1381 W. Massey Road in Memphis, Tenn. Before Magee took the floor to participate in the Jack Jones Senior Showcase, he was busy receiving handshakes from the fans while doing interviews with local reporters.

Dominic recognizes that he will be looked at as only a basketball player by many in Tiger Nation, but he wants to achieve things both on and off the court.

"I want to be taught things that I never been taught," Magee said. "I think I want to major in business because I want to learn more about business in college. I just want to have fun in college, but do my work on the court and do what I've got to do to get minutes."

Before Magee's arrival to Memphis, he was already living the life of a star athlete. He's accustomed to people coming up to him for autographs and pictures, but tries not to allow the fame to throw him off of the opportunity he has in front of him.

"Not to be cocky, I been having that spotlight since I was young," Magee admitted. "That's just being blessed. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a hard worker and I be in the gym a lot. I take basketball serious and people (have) got to understand that I have a 1-year-old son and we've got to eat. I promised him that we're going to be rich one day and I can't let my son down."

By Akilah Speaks

In efforts to promote his new singles, "Leverage" and "Magnolia Trees," Apache demonstrated his political approach by giving back to the community and influencing the youth.

Contributing donations to the Mid-South Food Bank, independent artist Apache El collected food donations from students at the U of M to feed families in need.

"The future is now, we are the future" is the slogan for the campaign supporting the Future Now Youth food drive because he believes the youth control the changes needed to be made in society.

By Jamesa Y. Alston

After watching a YouTube tutorial on how to make distressed denim, a University of Memphis student decided she would create and sell them as a way to pay for her tuition.

Gabrielle Mosley, a 22-year-old fashion merchandising major, created her first pair of distressed denim pants when she was a senior in high school as a final project for her fashion merchandising class.

After seeing her denim, her classmates wanted her to make them a pair and even offered to buy them.

“I never intended on making them for profit,” Mosley said. “I was only trying to make a good grade in class.”

Upon entering college, Mosley was giving the advice to steer away from student loans if she could.  Because she was about to be a full time student, she didn’t have a job. She then decided to continue to make and sell denim and eventually developed a passion for it.

“I thought I was going to get tired of cutting and bleaching jeans,” Mosley said. “But it helps me pay for my tuition and I haven’t had to get a job.”

By Darnesha Cotton

Danielle Boothe was told jobs in her chosen field were difficult to find, so she created one to benefit not just herself, but youth as well.

Empress and Emperor Mentoring Inc. is a program designed to help middle school students gain confidence through sports and health education.

Boothe, 24, is the Chief Executive Officer and creator of the nonprofit organization. She said was inspired to create the mentoring program upon graduating from the University of Memphis.

“I was a sports and leisure management student,” Boothe said. “When I graduated, everyone kept telling me, ‘you know sports industry is such a hard field to break into.’ But before I entered my career, I wanted to give back to the community and our youth to share with them what I have learned.”

Boothe said she felt like today’s youth are labelled as troubled and many may not have proper guidance, so she created Empress and Emperor Mentoring Inc. to help with the need.

Her nonprofit uses sports and the students’ Physical Education class to address character, good sportsmanship and living an active healthy life.  

“We talk about team work, hygiene, sex, how to respect themselves, how to not let media depict how they act and self-love; the type of subjects pre-teens need to know about,”Boothe said. “We do three separate sports for the guys and three different sports for the guys.”

By Dee Reneé

The UDistrict has many great eating places from wings and pizza to Mediterranean food. Restaurants such as Brother Juniper's and CK's coffee shop are great places to eat breakfast and to start the day off right. Many restaurants like RP Tracks are trying to find a way to satisfy all types of customers. That's why recently they have added barbecue tofu to their menu to attract vegan and vegetarian customers. 

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By L. Taylor Smith

During the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship’s Spring Ideas weekend, one team won $1,000 for an idea they developed over a 48-hour period.

Friday, anyone with an idea had the opportunity to pitch an idea in two minutes. Afterward, each participant voted on the ideas they liked best until only five ideas were selected to be built into a rough business model throughout the weekend.

Flyover Footage was one of those ideas.

Darrin Devault, a University of Memphis journalism professor, and Tom Willcox, senior public relations major, developed the idea.

They have been working together through Meeman 901 Strategies, a student-run PR firm that operates through the Crews Center.

“I remember he was like ‘Should we pitch something?’ and I asked him what we would pitch, and he said ‘Drones,’” Willcox said. “I didn’t even think that was allowed.”

By Leah Beth Bolton 

The University of Memphis is improving safety by installing more Code Blue phones around campus.

Bruce Harber, director of public safety and Police Services, said that the university has continued to add phones to decrease crime on campus and to ensure that students feel safe while commuting to and from school.

“When I came here from the Memphis Police Department, I thought if we had great crime numbers that are low, everything would be great, but that’s only half the battle,” Harber said. “The other part is making sure people feel safe, so the phones help with that.”

Harber added that there are currently 42 phones spread out across campus, but the school will continue to add them each year, as long as proper funding is provided.

“They are expensive. They run around $10,000 to $15,000 a piece,” he said.

By: Dee Reneé

Juicy Jim’s Pizzeria on South Highland Street is the go-to place for open mic on Tuesday nights.

Jim Matson, owner of Juicy Jim’s Pizzeria, is originally from New Jersey, but moved to Memphis in 1992 and opened Juicy Jim’s in 2003.

Matson got the name Juicy Jim when he was 16 and working at a place called Greasy Tony’s, where he impressed two young ladies with his “juicy” burgers.

Toke Up Tuesday is the formal name for the open mic event hosted every Tuesday night, which started two years ago.

It started when University of Memphis student Kenneth Hall asked Matson for the opportunity to make some money and get the restaurant exposure though the open mic night.

Every Tuesday, Jim expects anywhere from 100 to 150 people to crowd his vintage bar for performances. 

“I love coming to Juicy Jim’s on Tuesdays. I love to hear the good and bad performers. Some of the bad ones come back every Tuesday to try and redeem themselves,” Jamon Harvell said a junior engineering major at the university

Throughout the night there are countless acts--some good, some bad. 

Some participants perform spoken word and others perform stand-up comedy.

“I’m here every Tuesday getting on stage showing off  my comedic talents,"said Darius Wilder, a junior at the U of M. "The first couple of times I was pretty nervous but now I’m something like a pro,”