Newspaper Page Text
MOREHOUSE
Morehouse Research Institute Encourages
Men to Live Healthier Lives
By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
WHILE “FRIED CHICKEN WEDNESDAY” is
a favorite day around campus, Jamie Baird of
the Morehouse Research Institute (MRI) likes to
remind people that there are six other days for
healthier eating.
“I tell students, ‘You can eat fried chicken on
Wednesday, but just think of the other days and
think about balance’,” she said. “That’s at least
starting to change their eating behavior.”
The eating habits of students, faculty and staff
- especially the males — have become a big focus
for the Morehouse Research Institute and the
National Minority Male Health Project.
Morehouse is one of five historically black
colleges collaborating on the federally funded
Project, which promotes healthy lifestyles among
minority males through research, education and
service.
MRI heads the Morehouse effort and is work
ing on a variety of projects to get minority males
healthier, both on campus and in the greater
Atlanta community.
That is one of the reasons MRI holds a
Farmer’s Market on the Kilgore Campus Center
plaza every other Tuesday in March and April.
(continued on page 6)
A student buys fresh produce from a vendor during a Farmer’s Market in Kilgore Plaza.
to bring our considerable talents home to enrich the lives
of our own children,” he said. “This neglect is among the
reasons we are pushing our colleges and universities [and
black neighborhoods] to extinction.”
The plight of black boys and males took center stage
during the 4th Annual Black Male Summit on Feb. 10.
Some of the nation’s top scholars and educational practi
tioners gathered to talk about how to deal with the prob
lems facing black males today.
“We have individual great educators in a system that is
dysfunctional,” said Howard Fuller of the Institute for the
Transformation of Learning at Marquette University. “If
we are going to be serious, we have got to recognize we have
to have a radical transformation of both our thinking and
our practices.”
That evening, Musiq Soulchild and vocalist Avery
Sunshine thrilled nearly 1,500 music lovers in the Martin
Luther King Jr. International Chapel.
Saturday, Feb. 11, during Reflections of Excellence, stu
dents got a chance to hear from the five 2012 Bennie
and Candle award honorees - Howard University profes
sor Herman Bostic ’49 (Bennie Leadership); former U.S.
Congressman Earl Hilliard ’64 (Bennie Service) and cardiolo
gist Calvin McLarin ’68 (Bennie Achievement); philanthropist
Earl Stafford (Candle in Humanitarian Service and Business);
and President Robert M. Franklin ’75 (Candle in Education).
(continued on page 4)
BY ADD SEYMOUR JR
Morehouse students join President Robert M. Franklin 75 at the
gravesite of the College’s founder William Jefferson White during
their trip to Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga.
N early 40 students were eager to take classes at
the Augusta Institute in 1867. The Rev. William
Jefferson White, with help from former slave
Richard Coulter and the Rev. Edmund Turney,
had successfully orchestrated the beginning of a
place of higher learning for blacks in Georgia.
One hundred and forty-five years later, the Institute,
now known as Morehouse College, has grown from those
humble beginnings to become one of the nation’s most
renowned institutions with more than 16,000 graduates.
Morehouse celebrated that distinguished history of lead
ership and excellence with a week of activities during the
2012 Founder’s Day Observance, Feb. 5-12. Among a num
ber of events, the United States Postal Service’s unveiling of
a stamp honoring publisher John H. Johnson; R&B superstar
Musiq Soulchild serenaded the College during the Founder’s
Day Concert; and the Morehouse College Glee Club cel
ebrated 101 years of song with their annual Spring Concert.
“This has been an incredible week for Morehouse
College,” said President Robert M. Franklin ’75, during the
“A Candle in the Dark” Gala on Feb. 11.
On Feb. 9 during the Founder’s Day Convocation,
Donald Hense ’70, founder and CEO of Friendship Charter
Schools of Washington, D.C., said black neighborhoods
and institutions have been dying because of neglect.
“Somewhere in the years since the civil rights era, far
too many of us have received our degrees, yet we have failed
A CAMPUS NEWSLETTER FOR FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS
MARCH/APRIL 2012
%
Students win first place in
Innovations Expo
Brooks honors her mother by
encouraging kids to communicate
Basketball team finishes
No. 2 in Georgia
Stephane Dunn blogs about
Whitney Houston’s death
■■
20/2
Celebrating 145 Ye
of Excellence
Inside
