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(04/19/15 6:53pm)
Educating the community about sex trafficking in Middle Georgia was the main focus for Decoding Freedom’s event “Shine out Sex Trafficking.”
The event took place in Tattnall Square Park April 7 and the goal was to educate community members on how to get involved in ending sex trafficking in the local area, as well as show attendees how to be a part of the solution.
Jeff Shaw, founder and President of Out of Darkness, was the keynote speaker at the event. Out of Darkness is the anti-sex trafficking mission of the Atlanta Dream Center. Just last year, his team made 264 rescues from the Georgia streets and jails and placed women in long-term care.
The group Decoding Freedom supports the work of anti-sex trafficking missions and organizations in the Middle Georgia area by holding events and selling objects of value to those who want to support the social issue. Their projects will be sustained and carried on from year to year by senior marketing students.
Blaze Jeffery is the President of Decoding Freedom and he was in charge of MCing the event, as well as all of the press releases to the community.
“Overall I was extremely pleased with the turnout of the event,” Jeffery said. “We had 134 people say they were coming through Facebook and 136 people showed up to the event.”
There was a significant turnout from the community and an even better turn out from the student body Jeffery said.
“It was really encouraging to see the support,” Jeffery said.
Besides Decoding Freedom, there were other organizations who were able to participate in the event and the efforts against sex trafficking.
“Everyone seems excited about our efforts in the community, and they have all said that they are able to see a difference so far,” Jeffery said. “Our partner company, Traffick Jam, has been able to increase the amount of education they provide to after school programs and after the most recent event, they were able to secure two more programs that they can collaborate with.”
Cody Jones was in attendance at the event and he is the President of Traffick Jam.
“We are similar to Decoding Freedom but we do different things,” Jones said. “They sell items and raise money, which we then use to fund our work to prevent sex trafficking in Macon.”
Decoding Freedom will be having their last event of the year on April 16th. They are having a dodgeball tournament called “Dodging Traffic” and all of the proceeds will go towards ending sex trafficking in Middle Georgia.
(04/19/15 6:46pm)
In order to make the new fountain in Tattnall Square Park aesthetically pleasing and sustainable, personalized bricks are being sold to complete the design.
Ron Lemon, board member, helped set up a fundraising campaign of purchasing bricks to memorialize a loved one, business, pet or anything else.
“We are always brainstorming ways to sustain the park,” Lemon said. “The park takes money, so we thought it would be a good idea to raise money for engraved bricks.”
People can purchase two types of bricks: a $100 or a $300 brick. The smaller brick can hold three lines of text, and the larger brick can hold 6 lines.
Lemon and the Tattnall Square organization have already sold 50 bricks and they haven’t marketed or advertised the fundraiser except through their Facebook page.
“At first it was a Facebook experiment because we have loyal followers,” Lemon said. “Now we already have 50 bricks and we haven’t spread the word much at all.”
Lemon and the board plan to put a sign where the fountain will be located advertising the brick sale and they will also be going to local TV stations in April to reach more people.
Lemon said that he wants to sell at least 200 bricks, so there can be a nice display around the new fountain. He also said that if there are more bricks than expected then they could put them in other places around the park.
Donations of any amount are appreciated for the Tattnall project, so if people can’t contribute the full brick amounts there are still ways to give to the park.
“We appreciate all donations because maintenance of the area is expensive,” Lemon said. “We want to be able to do nicer things in the park that the city can’t pay for.”
Bricks can also be purchased for other reasons besides a memorium.
“We have had a couple of people say they wanted to buy a brick for their dogs since they walk through the park regularly,” Lemon said. “We also have had Mercer parents purchase bricks for the upcoming graduates.”
Lemon said that they are fortunate to have the collaboration of Mercer right across the street, and he would love for Mercer students and families to buy bricks.
“These bricks are attractive and I think that it is going to be fun to go look for bricks,” Lemon said. “People can see these engraved bricks for over one hundred years.”
The fountain is being built in Alabama right now and it will move to Macon in August. After all of the on site building and plumbing is in place, then the bricklaying will begin.
Donations for bricks will be accepted at least until June and contributors can use the online links or mail a check to the Tattnall Square P.O. Box.
“We want to push these bricks and make them a statement,” Lemon said. “Spread the word!”
(04/19/15 6:32pm)
A Mercer senior was riding on the subway in Washington D.C. when he received news that would change his life.
The subway entered a tunnel before the email could fully load, so all it said was “Fulbright Thornton (P).” As Thornton Brewer looked at his phone, he wondered if the email would say, “I’m sorry,” “You were selected as an alternate,” or “Congratulations.”
The email loaded and Brewer said he read, “Dear Thornton Brewer, Congratulations!”
He broke down crying with gratitude while everyone on the subway watched as he reacted to the exciting news, said Caroline Carlton, a Mercer senior and friend of Brewer.
“I felt extremely relieved but I was totally surprised because from all accounts, I was not supposed to receive any note from the Fulbright until late February or early March,” Brewer said.
Brewer received the Fulbright Award to go to Berlin, Germany for a year to teach English. Berlin was his first choice, he said.
“It’s a great mix of both high culture and low culture and new architecture and old architecture as well as just a beautiful blending of millions of different kinds of people,” Brewer said.
Since many immigrants from Turkey come to Germany, there is turmoil between the cultures, Brewer said. He plans to get involved with non-profit organizations that deal with promoting peace and cultural understanding in Germany, he said.
Brewer will be required to spend 12 hours a week in the classroom which gives him extra time to explore the city and get involved in the community, Brewer said.
Brewer spent a year in Germany for his junior year of college and became even more enthusiastic about the culture, said Edward Weintraut, professor of German and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
“I’ve only had him in one class last semester but he’s a hard worker,” Weintraut said. “I work on a 24-hour clock. I think he has a 48 hour clock because he does so many different things and does them well.”
The application itself was about 13 pages long and required Brewer to answer three questions with three lines each, write a personal statement and a statement of grant purpose.
“I would sometimes dream about revisions,” Brewer said. “I would wake up and think, ‘Oh my gosh, that was a great sentence’ and I would write it down.”
He said he was also interviewed by five faculty members with Weintraut to discuss his application and give advice on ways to improve it.
He went through several revisions of his application before he submitted it one day before the deadline, Brewer said.
Weintraut said that although the application presents many challenges to students, many say its a good experience because all of the faculty members are working with you to get through it.
Caroline Carlton, a Mercer senior and friend of Brewer, said she remembers how Brewer worried over getting the Fullbright Award.
She said he is the most determined and driven person and always wants to be the best at everything.
“The coolest thing about him to me is like his faith because he’s like really really faithful and really really holds his friends accountable to be that way too,” Carlton said. “He’s a good one to have around.”
(12/09/14 2:18pm)
One of Mercer’s oldest traditions took place Dec. 4, and this year was a little bit different
Caroline Cooper, the Heritage Life Committee Chair on Mercer’s Student Government Association, said that this was the first year that the Christmas Tree Lighting and Christmas in the Corridor were on the same night.
“We are trying to make it a tradition for the Tree Lighting to always be combined with Christmas in the Corridor,” Cooper said. “Also we have made an effort to have local businesses included.”
In Cooper’s speech at the ceremony said that the Christmas Tree Lighting was her favorite Mercer tradition. She also said that she is proud to call Mercer her alma mater.
“I love everything about the ceremony, and this one was my favorite one yet,” Cooper said. “I've only heard good things from students.”
Callie Sartain, a Mercer junior, attended the event, and she also said it was her favorite ceremony so far.
“My favorite part was the lighting of the candles and singing ‘Silent Night.’ That is something that we do at my church at home on Christmas, and it just emphasizes the fact that I truly feel at home here at Mercer,” Sartain said.
The ceremony took place on the historic Mercer Quad, and the Mercer Singers lead the audience in carols, while Jittery Joe’s and Taste and See provided hot chocolate for students and the Mercer Village merchants gave discounts.
(11/13/14 5:49pm)
One of Mercer’s own recently received a distinct and unexpected honor to give the keynote address at a national conference in June 2015.
Dr. Frank Macke, a professor of communication studies, said he was surprised and honored when he read the email asking him to give the lecture at the Second National Philosophy of Communication Conference.
“It is a national conference with different lectures and various English speaking sessions,” Macke said. “There will be representatives from various countries there to learn and hear other professionals discuss issues.”
At the conference, the division of philosophy and communication will examine and explore the overlap, intersections, and complements between philosophy and communication. The division provides an academic home for work that addresses communication from a philosophical orientation and/or philosophy from a communication perspective.
The event will be at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this coming June.
“Duquesne University has one of the larger programs that deals with philosophy and problems with human communication,” Macke said. “It is going to be a great location to have the conference.”
Macke said he doesn’t know what he is going to talk about quite yet, but he has plenty of ideas. He said that once he knows more about the audience and who will be in attendance he will have better idea of what his speech will be about.
“After the fall semester, I will have several weeks to focus on the lecture once I turn in my final grades,” Macke said, “I want to devote my full attention exclusively to the speech.”
He said he has been writing a book for a while that will be coming out this year. He said he has an expertise in problems of understanding language and meaning. His career has always dealt with the dedicated mind and thought process.
“I am definitely going to use some of the same themes that come from my book in the address,” Macke said.
The keynote speaker is a distinct honor for prestigious and accomplished scholars in the field.
Macke said that given the nature of the conference, this is an accomplishment that has built over a long period of time.
“I am pleased to know that people appreciate and enjoy my work,” Macke said. “I have been writing and publishing for a number of years now, and after some time you have no idea of who is actually taking the time to read your thought and published work or even if they like it that much.”
(09/28/14 12:11am)
Last week Mercer’s student newspaper, The Cluster, moved from Connell Student Center to a new location.
The office and headquarters of the paper is now in the Center for Collaborative Journalism.
Emily Farlow, the editor and chief of The Cluster, hopes that the move will create more of a student interest in the newspaper.
“The past couple of years we have really struggled with issues like small staff sizes and lack of interest,” Farlow said. “I’m hoping that with a physical presence in the CCJ more students will write for us because we will be more visible.”
Also located next to the CCJ is The Telegraph and Farlow hopes that there will be a stronger collaboration with the Macon paper and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
“I’m looking forward to being so close to the professionals over at The Telegraph, who I am hoping will offer feedback on the paper and help us make it better,” Farlow said.
The closer proximity to GPB will also give students access to equipment to provide more audio elements for online stories.
Farlow is looking forward to adding audio to stories and she hopes that it will encourage more students to listen in and support the local GPB station.
If any student is interested in writing articles or taking photos for The Cluster they can email Emily at editor@mercercluster.com.
“We are always looking for new talent,” Farlow said, “Working at a student newspaper looks great on resumes, even if you are not interested in journalism.”
(09/28/14 12:09am)
Millions of steps will be counted on pedometers for a health initiative that the Mercer University wellness program will hold.
This year, the faculty and staff wellness program is putting on the event to raise awareness for cancer prevention.
The 10 Million Steps Challenge urges faculty and staff who are participating to walk 5,000 steps every day and together to walk a total of 10 million steps during the 4-week program.
“It is a four week walking challenge that is meant to lead up to the Susan G. Komen Georgia Race for the Cure,” said Rachel Long, director of employee wellness at Mercer, who is also participating in the challenge.
The registration for the challenge had to be extended due to the number of people who wanted to sign up. A total of 115 faculty and staff members are participating.
“The participants each have a pedometer that the wellness team gave them,” Long said. “After each day they are asked to log their steps into an online document, and each week I look at the spreadsheet to see the numbers.”
Faculty and staff members also have incentives to log more steps than are recommended so that their name gets thrown into the hat for fun raffle prizes.
“If you reach 35,000 steps in a week, you get a bonus,” Long said.
The faculty wellness program at Mercer puts on various events throughout the year to ensure that faculty and staff are staying active.
“Our premise throughout the year is to educate that eating healthy and managing your weight can help reduce your risk for cancer,” Long said. “In fact, the American Cancer Society reports that being physically active may reduce your risk of breast cancer by 30 percent.”
The primary year-round program is the Healthy You campaign, which has faculty and staff log their exercises and activity for Healthy You points.
More than 50 percent of Mercer’s faculty and staff are registered for this program.
“We are really happy with all of the participation that we have gotten this year in all of our wellness programs,” Long said.
The overall mission of the wellness program here at Mercer is to increase physical activity.
“We know the more people we can get to be active, the less they will be at risk for hypertension, high cholesterol and other health risks,” Long said.