Student Newspaper

By Ashley Kitchens

The Clanton campus is once again gearing up for a fun-filled fall!  We would love to have students from all campuses join us for any and all of the events we have coming up.  For more information on any of the events listed below, contact Ashley Kitchens at akitchens@jefferonstate.edu.

During Homecoming Week, September 23-26, the Clanton campus will be celebrating daily with themed dress up days, fun activities, and snacks leading up to Pioneer Day on Friday, September 27 at the Jefferson campus.  Follow our campus on Instagram at @jeffstateclanton for information coming out the week before Homecoming!

During the week of October 28-November1, we will be hosting our Museum Week.  History and literature classes put together a museum focused on a common topic each semester, and this semester’s topic is Witch Trials Through History and Literature. Students or other visitors are welcome to walk through the halls of the main foyer and hallways to look at projects and information.  This topic is especially exciting this semester because the museum will coincide with Clanton’s annual Halloween Bash!  On October 31, join the Clanton campus between 11:00 am and 1:00pm for a “witchy” good time.  This includes a pumpkin decorating contest (pumpkins are due on Monday, October 28 for voting on Thursday, October 31), a costume contest promptly at 11:15am, food, and activities.

On November 6, Clanton will host Reverend Dr. Kevin Austin, the director of the Set Free Movement as he speaks to the Psychology 210 class at 11:30am.  Other classes and students from any campuses are welcome to join the classroom to hear Rev. Austin’s message about his organization’s fight to end modern slavery and create new futures for at risk communities around the world.

Later in November, Clanton will host its annual Food Drive Chili Cook-Off and Tailgate Party.  Thursday, November 21 at 11:15am, chili-makers will line the lobby with crockpots of all different types of chili for students, faculty, and staff to judge.  The winner takes home the Chili Cook-Off trophy!  If you would like to be a contestant, email office manager Heather Smith at hlsmith@jeffersonstate.edu and let her know you want to participate.  If you just want to come and be a judge, stop by the lobby between 11:15am and 1:00pm, or until the chili runs out.  This party celebrates the week’s food drive efforts as well:  donate non-perishable food for the Chilton County food bank and emergency center during the week of November 18-21 in either the Alabama or Auburn collection box in the Clanton campus lobby.  On Thursday, we will announce the winning team, the team who collected the most food!

To round out the semester, join Clanton students, faculty, and staff for the annual Clanton Christmas parade on Friday, December 6.  Jefferson State participates by building a float with a Christmas theme, and anyone is invited to walk with our float through Clanton throwing candy to the children and adults lined on the streets all out watching the parade.  If you would like to participate in float decoration, or if you would like to parade with us, email Heather Smith at hlsmith@jeffersonstate.edu to inquire!

By Adam Patterson

Alabama was at one time the foundation for equality movements from people who sought to be recognized for the rights that they themselves deserve. Nearly 60 ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr lead the African American community to protest on the streets of Birmingham and rally on the steps of capitol hill demanding the recognition of the rights they had been granted one hundred years prior. Now in 2019, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Chapter Beta Lambda Delta is pursuing a safety training course for teachers and community college staff members across the state of Alabama with the goal of increasing safety for LGBTQ students.

The pursuit of this increased sense of safety and acceptance began with the mayor of Carbon Hill, Alabama made a public post on his Facebook page advocating for the murder of individuals who identified as LGBTQ. The mayor claimed that executing anyone who did not identify as heterosexual was the only method to fix modern societal issues. While he eventually removed the hateful message and issued an apology, the message of outright hatred to the LGBTQ community and individuals of it is apparent and widespread. This biased attitude and denial of acceptance even extends to government officials.

PTK chapter Beta Lambda Delta conducted a survey asking LGBTQ students if they felt safe at five Jefferson State Community College campuses. The results were split, nearly down the middle, of the over 80 survey responses of students either feeling safe or feeling as though they were in a hostile environment that did not accept or welcome them. After the senseless murder of an LGBTQ community member in Alabama earlier this summer and the suicide of a homosexual teenager in Huntsville in spring, the discrimination and negative viewpoint of anyone who is not “straight” is reaching levels of critical danger in the Heart of Dixie. Honors society students at JSCC Shelby-Hoover have decided to do our part to not only increase awareness, but also encourage acceptance.

Partnered with the Magic City Acceptance Center, which serves as a stronghold and place of safety for citizens of Jefferson county who identify as LGBTQ, PTK chapter Beta Lambda Delta is hosting a training seminar to increase awareness among instructors and executives of all Alabama community colleges.

The seminar will invite two staff members of each Alabama community colleges, one instructor and one executive staff member, to the Shelby-Hoover Campus of JSCC where they will be instructed in the differences of all known sexual identities and differences between them. Basic counseling training will be provided in order to become a “Student-Safety Advocate” where students can go and talk to if they do not feel safe on campus.

PTK Chapter Beta Lambda Delta is hosting this event on November 15^th.