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 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.

By Darnesha Cotton

Fashion Moguls Memphis (FMM), a newly formed University of Memphis organization, will host its debut fashion show, titled #reWERKd,  on Monday, March 24, in the University Center Theatre at 7 p.m.

“It’s a different approach to fashion; it’s not just able the labels. It’s about using what you’ve got and adding your flare to it,” said Christina Dang, Fashion Moguls Memphis president.

Members of FMM collaborated with each other to redesign and create new garments to be modeled and sold during the show. Lena Ray, one of the stylists for the show, said she is anticipating the response of the audience to the shows approach towards fashion.

“I look forward to seeing how the people react to the clothes that we created,” Ray said. “A lot of the clothing we reworked for the show were donated by students at the University of Memphis that they didn’t want.”

FMM hosted a clothing drive at the university in December 2013 and January 2014. The clothing donated during the clothing drive that was not used in the show was donated to Clothes4Souls.

Every model in the show will be wearing two #reWERKed garments partnered with clothing provided by local boutiques: Wish, Langford Market, Crazy Beautiful and Plato’s Closet.

By Courtney Smith

The Memphis Tigers (23-9, 12-6 AAC) are in a similar situation they have been in before since coach Josh Pastner has been leading the team. The media, especially the fans, are not sure if the team can make a deep run in this season’s NCAA Tournament.

All of the speculations started last week in the American Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament when the Tigers suffered an embarrassing outing (72-53) in the quarterfinals round to the hands of the Connecticut Huskies (26-8, 12-6 AAC).

The four senior guards for Memphis (Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford, Geron Johnson and Michael Dixon Jr.) combined to score 29 of Memphis' 53 points on 26.3 percent (10-of-38) shooting from the field.

Pastner assured the media that the Memphis Tigers are prepared to face its first round match-up against George Washington University (24-8, 11-5 A-10).

“We will be ready to play. We will be ready to play,” Pastner said twice to one of the reporters present at Tuesday’s press conference. “I can’t sit here and guarantee the outcome, but we will be ready to play. I know I felt that going into the UConn game, but we will ready to play.”

By Charles Gray

Immediately south of the main campus at the University of Memphis sits a railroad line that serves as a way to port goods from the country's longest river to the nation’s capital.

Although most students might complain about the inconvenience it causes seemingly anytime they are running late for class, its history is rooted in being an integral part of the development of the city.

'The railroad track has enough importance of its own,” said Memphis historian Jimmy Ogle. “That track was the first to connect the Mississippi to the east coast. It was over 780 miles long at a time when most railroad were short tracks, usually only 100 miles at most.”

The railroad tracks were originally built in 1857. They connected the Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean and were primarily used to haul inland cotton to the coast for trade with European countries.  As the area developed due to the growth of the city and the presence of the West Tennessee Normal School, passenger cars became more abundant on the line.

“People used to use the passenger trains quite a bit,” said retired Norfolk Railroad employee Pete Craft. “I remember when the first diesel engine trains used that railroad. They were so fast and new people nicknamed them ‘Streamliners.’”

Along with streetcars that traced the streets, the railroad was the main form of transportation in the area. Shortly after World War II, the use of cars began to trump that of streetcars and train lines resulting in the once great passenger train not being needed in the same way.

“People during the war had made more money than in their entire lives,” said Memphis historian Wayne Dowdy. “They wanted to buy a car and a house so this area really developed.”

In 1949, Normal Station went out of service and was destroyed. After it no longer served passengers, the railway became a dedicated goods rail.  The land in which the station stood still holds visual cues from its past.  North of the tracks and south of U of M buildings Ellington Hall and Smith Hall, the outline for the old stop can still be seen.

Even though many would lob petty complaints at the train's location, it has been a huge catalyst for development both in the area and the city.

“Nowadays most people tend to think that it’s in their way,” Ogle said. “But it’s been there longer than Memphis, so really, we’re in its way.”

By Leah Beth Bolton

If ever an inch of snow falls on the ground in Memphis, Tenn., you can guarantee the students at the University of Memphis are anxiously awaiting an alert from the school’s Director of Public Safety and Police Services Bruce Harber letting them know school is canceled for the day.

However, for Harber, that decision isn’t as easy as sending out an email.
 
Many students were disappointed Monday night following the bad weather on Sunday when Harber made the decision to open the campus late rather than canceling school all together. Twitter complaints flooded the U of M’s page with students commenting on the inconvenience of the late decision.

Senior journalism major Shelby Smith commutes from Arlington, Tenn., and said she was one of the  students disappointed in the decision.

“A 30-minute commute is no joke,” Smith said. “I think if Shelby County Schools are out; we should be out, too.”

Sara Harrison, a senior fashion merchandising, home decor and journalism major, said coming to school with ice on the ground is an inconvenience for commuters.

“I commute to school on a daily basis, so when school closes due to weather, I’m thrilled. I would rather not drive when there is ice and snow on the ground,” Harrison said.

Harber said that, contrary to popular belief, determining whether the UofM should close due to inclement weather doesn’t fall solely on him.

“I don’t make the absolute determination,” Harber said. “It’s kind of a misconception a lot of people have. I usually end up making a recommendation to the president or vice president, and then we all make the final decision together.”

Harber explained that this year brought more unexpected weather than he has seen in years past, forcing him to be abreast of the weather as far in advance as possible.

“This has been a really challenging year for us as far as weather is concerned,” he said. “Some years we’ll go a whole year without a single threat of bad weather. I tend to watch the weather, well, my deputy and I do, and like, right now, we know 10 days out what to expect.”

But for Harber, sending out a TigerText to let students know school is cancelled doesn’t mean he’ll be sleeping in.

“I’m up no later than 4:20 a.m., so I can hear what they’re saying on the weather on the morning news,” he said. “I have several layers of who to contact and what to look at before I make a decision.”

Harber said he starts by using the Weather Channel, then he moves on to Weather.com to view their map in motion. After that, he calls the Memphis Police Department’s senior dispatcher and the Shelby County Sherriff’s dispatcher to check on the roads for commuter students. Lastly, he checks in with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

“We just gather as much information as we can from those sources, and then I call campus to see what’s going on there,” Harber said.

Harber said most importantly, students, faculty and staff must make their own decisions when it comes to safety.
  
“We always tell people they have to make their own personal decisions, too,” Harber said. “We don’t know where everyone lives. We have to go by what campus looks like, and if everything’s fine here it’s hard for us to know. We tell people to do what you think is best for your situation.”

         

By Jamesa Alston

The Gather on Southern Avenue held a grand opening event on Wednesday, March 5.
 
The new student apartment complex, located at 3655 Southern Ave., hosted the event for students to come and view the amenities that will be offered. 

Although The Gather is located in the University District and just across the railroad tracks from the University of Memphis, the apartment complex will lease units for students at different colleges and universities.

“We cater to all students,” said property manager Whitley Yates. “There will be Victory University students, as well as Rhodes College.”

Students will have opportunity to experience apartment style living while being close to campus.

Students will pick from three different floor plans, making it much different than on-campus housing.

“I think the biggest thing for students is privacy and independence,” Yates said. “It’s like being free and having a taste of the real world.

By Courtney Smith 

The AP Top 25 poll in college basketball was released on Monday, giving fans a chance to see whether or not their favorite teams ranked in the top 25 or had vanished from the list.

Five teams were ranked in the top 25 from the American Athletic Conference: Louisville (11), Cincinnati (15), SMU (18), Connecticut (19) and Memphis (20).

The Tigers (22-7, 11-5 AAC) should be done celebrating their win over defending national champion Louisville Cardinals (24-5, 13-3 AAC), from Saturday. Now, the Tigers have another task on their hands as they are out to get revenge on the Cincinnati Bearcats (24-5, 13-3 AAC).

"As I told our guys after the Houston game, we can't have a hangover from that game going into Louisville, same thing from Louisville game going into Cincinnati," Pastner said. "We can't have a hangover meaning we now got to focus on Cincinnati."

In the last meeting between these two teams, the Bearcats had their way with the Tigers by not allowing them to get the easy transition points that the Tigers are so used to getting.

Senior forward Justin Jackson was effective for the Bearcats on both ends of the court. He added 13 points, eight rebounds, seven rebounds, and two assists to lift his team to an 69-53 victory in front of Tiger Nation.

The Bearcats' star player Sean Kilpatrick added 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.4 percent) from the field.

"I think they're (Cincinnati) one of the very best defensive teams in the country," Pastner stated to the media.