Student Profile: Vanita Dinkins Maintains Balance with a Busy Schedule
Vanita Dinkins
OSU-M freshman Vanita Dinkins has performed well keeping up with a busy college schedule this past autumn. The biology major from Cleveland , Ohio , has balanced classes, working in the multicultural office, and membership in the African American Student Union, where she serves on the executive board and as treasurer.
Such a schedule is not new for Dinkins, as in high school she established herself as a student leader, a member of the National Honor Society, and volunteered for her church and the Red Cross.
Asked what she might say to high school seniors thinking about college, Dinkins responded, “College is only hard if you make it hard, so stay on top!”
Essay Contest Winners Named
Two area students, Ashley Beck, a 10 th grader at Mansfield Senior High School , and Jazmen Henderson, a freshman at OSU Mansfield, were named the winners of an essay competition held as a prelude to Black History Month activities sponsored by OSU Mansfield, NC State, and MedCentral College of Nursing.
Students were asked to consider W.E.B. DuBois' (1903) proclamation that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” and whether this prediction remains true in light of the recent “ Jena 6” events. They were also asked to comment on whether Black History Month impacts race relations in America .
A committee of three faculty and staff reviewed the submissions.
Lucas to Reflect on Martin Luther King’s Life
Jim Lucas
Martin Luther King, Jr. impersonator Jim Lucas will appear Wednesday, February 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre as part of Black History Month events sponsored by OSU Mansfield, NC State, and MedCentral College of Nursing.
Lucas has received acclaim across the nation for his stirring and dramatic recitations depicting the life and times of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A student of the teachings of Dr. King, Lucas is an advocate of his philosophy of nonviolent civil action to effect social change.
In August 1983, Lucas attended the 20 th Anniversary of the March on Washington . It was during that march that Lucas received the inspiration to learn and later recite Dr. King's speeches. Since then, Lucas has traveled nationwide delivering various renditions of Dr. King's “I Have A Dream” speech, “I've Been to the Mountaintop,” excerpts from “The Drum Major Instinct” and “The Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and other works in a dramatic one-man show.
Tickets for this event are free and may be obtained by calling 419-755-4314.
Volunteer Opportunity Provided for MLK Day
The OSU-M Multicultural Affairs Office is planning a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 21, at Friendly House, 380 N. Mulberry St. in Mansfield.
Volunteers will work with children on arts and crafts projects.
The local day is linked to a National Day of Service that can be previewed on the website MLKDay.org. For more information, contact Ketwana Wilson-McCormick, OSU-M multicultural affairs coordinator, at 419-755-3910.