Page 19 - Laker Connection Fall 2010

Campus Update
Azerbaijani news team learns about U.S. higher education at Clayton State
A news team from Khazar-TV in the Eurasian nation of Azerbaijan spent most of Tuesday, Apr. 6, on the Clayton State campus, shooting footage for a documentary on U.S. education and democracy, and learning about such Clayton State staples as the use of technology in education and the diver- sity of the Clayton State student body.
Producer Vamig Nasirov, camer-
man Ramin Latifli and interpreter Ayb-
eniz Ganjaliyeva were accompanied by
Kevin P. Krug, media producer for the Office of Broadcast Services for the U.S. Department of State; John Parkerson, Clayton State’s director of International Programs and the honorary consul in the Southeast United States for the nation
of Hungary; and Parkerson’s assistant, Cele Blair, as they interviewed Clayton State administrators and students, and toured the campus. Their visit to Clay- ton State was initially arranged by Beth Day, vice president of the Atlanta Re- gional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE).
The Khazar-TV documentary, which will also include footage from the team’s visits to the University of Maryland, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse College,
has a focus on the minority student experience in college. The final version is expected to be shown on Khazar-TV sometime in the fall of this year.
MLK event concludes with dramatic showcase
Clayton State University’s 10th Annual Martin Luther King Commemorative Event reached its conclusion on Jan. 21 in Spivey Hall. Although the previous nine events provided the Clayton State campus and the public with many dramatic mo- ments and many dramatic speakers – like the Rev. Joseph Lowery, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Julian Bond – the 2010 event brought new meaning to the term “dramatic.”
The University’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Planning Com- mittee, under the direction of its founding, first and only chair, Deborah H. Dupree, created a totally new keynote for the evening. It was Dupree’s inspiration that the MLK event for 2010 would not be highlighted by a speaker, but a formal showcase of reflections and impressions through music, the spoken word, and shared experiences that honored the King legacy. Drawing on talent from the Clayton State faculty, staff and students, and including Dupree taking part as a narrator, the Showcase presented eight acts that spoke to this year’s theme, “Dr. King’s Legacy: Where are We Now? Where are We Going?”
Of course, when you’re talking about “drama” at Clayton State, you’re talking about the Clayton State Theatre. And the organizer of the performances, Clayton State Assistant Pro-
fessor of Theatre Shontelle Thrash, did not disappoint the au- dience. In addition to providing an excellent all-around event featuring Clayton State students (notably the University Gospel Choir) and staff (information services librarian Yalonda Carson and OITS’ Bruce Ingram), Thrash saved the best for last: her closing performances as Lula Belle Johnson, the mother of a 14-year old who had been lynched during the early days of the Civil Rights movement, and a monologue entitled The Journey Continues that asked some pointed questions in regards to King’s legacy, where we are now, and where we are going.
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