Spring Break Info

Despite the winter weather, spring break is next week! There will be no classes held from March 10-15, on any of the campuses. However, most campus offices will be open, as usual. The Learning Commons will follow the same Spring Break schedule as the Thigpen Library.

Saturday, March 8 --- 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Monday, March 10 – Friday, March 14 --- 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Saturday, March 15 – Closed

Have fun and get some rest! We're half-way through the semester!

LGBTQI Rally Thursday

Vol State is hosting a LGBTQI (Lesbian,Gay,Bisexual,Transgender,Questioning,and Intersex) awareness rally tomorrow,Thursday March 6.

Dr. Kenny Yarbrough, Director, Student Life and Diversity Initiatives, is the brain behind this event. He hopes to raise awareness for these communities and help bring our campus together no matter what our differences are.

"My role at the college as Director of  Diversity Initiatives prompts me to continue to educate not only our students but the entire college as well. I am hoping that this day enlightens all of the needs of the LGBTQI communities,"said Yarbrough.
"I want to start bringing programming to our campus to raise our social awareness.Universities across the country have similar events and I want to expose our students to that level of programming," continued Dr.Yarbrough.

Regardless of what personal beliefs that people may have, we can arrive at the same conclusion that we are all human, and should be treated with equality. The LGBTQI rally hopes to bring that type of unity and awareness during the rally.

The rally will also feature guest speaker, Dr. Derrick Tennial, author and assistant director of curriculum and instruction at Georgia Perimeter Community College. Tennial will host a presentation on his latest book titled,"Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Author Dr. Derrick Tennial,will the guest speaker at rally.

"Dr. Tennial is a published scholar and author,"said Yarbrough."He has written several books on what is acceptable of LGBTQI and is an up and coming speaker."

In addition to "Dont Ask,Don't Tell", Tennial has wrote " Marginalized Men", which are stories about same- gender loving African American ministers. His second book, "Be Reconciled", deals with pertinent issues among the same-sex community.

I asked Dr. Yarbrough what he hopes that students and member of the Vol State Community will receive from this event.

"We all have basic needs and wants,wanting to belong is one of those. Everyone has that right to have the feeling of belonging.""We can choose how to live and even believe what we wish;but everyone should have that right."

"This event is designed to bring awareness not only to the communities themselves but also their individual plights and concerns, and how they equate to being a student.

The rally will begin at 12:45 p.m.-2:15 p.m. in the Mary Cole Nichols Dining Room. Following the presentation, Dr. Tennial will hold an open discussion on issues related to the LGBTQI community.Refreshments will be served following the presentation, which is free and open to all students.

Student Completes Learning Support Class In Two Weeks

When obstacles emerge for most college students, the first place to turn to are parents. But for a lot of Vol State students that is not always an option. For student Tanisia Osborne, adversity struck her at the most inconvenient time, when she had to buy her books for classes. The price of those books was high,especially for her math class.Tanisia's heating unit stopped working at the same time that she had to buy books for her classes. So she had two options: Pay for her books for the semester or repair her heating unit to keep her family warm.

"I could not receive financial aid, so my options were limited. I took of advantage of using a temporary code that was available. I had 14 days to complete it, so I did what I had to do" said Osborne. "I chose to take care of my family." `

So, with consistency, determination, and many late nights she completed each module, quiz, and test within the 14-day trial period, passing with no problem.

"Having a great support system and a great instructor is important,"she continued. " I am thankful for Dr. Kimberly Caldwell for taking the time to explain the math, every step and  process to how I can understand it"                

Tanisia took an obstacle and turned it into an accomplishment. As students we are faced with hardships everyday. As I spoke with Tanisia, I took a look at my personal struggles with school, work and family. I realized that my success is truly up to me and no one else.

Vol State events calendar for this week:

Here is the Vol State events calendar for this week:

Tuesday. March 4
Reflections on Women’s History, Rochelle Center of Thigpen Library, 12:30pm

Wednesday, March 5
Lecture: “Revival of the Counterculture” by Michael Lenz, Nichols Dining Room, 12:20pm

Dash for Dollars Game Show, Cafeteria, 12:30pm

Thursday, March 6
LGBTQI Awareness Rally and discussion on the awareness of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex individuals. We will have a guest speaker: Dr. Derrick Tennial who is the Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Georgia Perimeter Community College, Nichols Dining Room, 12:45pm

Friday, March 7
Lecture: “Murder at Bellamy Cave” by Dr. Joe Douglas 12:20pm, Rochelle Center of Thigpen Library

Women in Higher Education in Tennessee (WHET) Regional conference, Nichols Dining Room, 8am to 4pm

March 10-15
Spring break, no classes

Children's Play this Friday at Vol State

An energetic play, filled with singing characters dressed in lizard costumes, pirates dancing, and fight scenes make for an event to entertain the whole family. The play is about a not so Scary Pirate, who finds himself stranded on an island, and finds himself helping an islander named Zuma stand up against bullying.

"Scary Pirate in the Land of Ma" is an original play about bullying, and is now an annual tradition. Every year, surrounding elementary schools from Sumner and even Metro area visit Vol State to see the production. This year there will also be a public performance on Friday, February 28.

"Scary Pirate in the Land of Ma" is written and directed by Vol State's Edmon Thomas, Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre.

I asked Edmon what inspired him to write a play with this kind of message and he stated that it was for the kids that are not only getting bullied but the ones who are doing the bullying.

"I noticed how bullying was becoming more and more a daily topic, so I decided to write it to bring attention to it," said Thomas.

Thomas wants each child and even adult that come to the production to receive the message that bullying is simply wrong.

Make sure to catch the play this Friday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wemyss Auditorium of the Caudill Hall Building.

Admission is a suggested donation of $5.00 at the door, but free to Vol State Students with an ID and free to kids under the age of 15.

Vol State March Calendar of Events

1	Science Olympiad competition, Campus-wide, 8am to 2pm
3	Group art exhibit: "Animal Imagery in Art", through April 12, Thigpen Library Gallery, Monday through Saturday 7 am to 9 pm
4	Reflections on Women’s History, Thigpen Library- Rochelle, 12:30pm
4	College Transfer Day: universities visit, Ramer Great Hall, 10am to Noon
5	Lecture: "Revival of the Counterculture", Michael Lenz, Nichols Dining Room, 12:20pm
5	Dash for Dollars Game Show, Cafeteria, 12:30pm
6	LGBTQI Awareness Rally, Nichols Dining Room, 12:30pm
7	Lecture: "Murder at Bellamy Cave", Joe Douglas, Thigpen Library-Rochelle, 12:20pm
7	Women in Higher Education in Tennessee (WHET) Regional Conference, Nichols Dining Room, 8am to 4pm
10-15	Spring Break: no classes, offices open
19	Women’s History Tea, Nichols Dining Room, 12:30pm, RSVP to Lori.Miller@volstate.edu
19	Vol State Music Night, Whippoorwill on the Square in Gallatin, 6:30pm
20	Coffee with the Prez, ask questions and get answers, Cafeteria, 10am-11am
22	Sumner County Elementary Art Exhibition, through April 13 Ramer Great Hall, Monday through Saturday 7 am to 9 pm
26	Honors Lecture: "Women and Pop Culture", Carole Bucy & Stella Pierce, Nichols Dining Room, 12:20pm
28	Alumni Breakfast, Thigpen Library-Rochelle, 7:30am-9am, free and all alumni are welcome

Vol State Students Share Research at National Conference

Recently, Professor Parris Powers and Dean Nancy Morris accompanied five students to Phoenix, Arizona for the 2014 National CURRI Undergraduate Research Poster Session.Genna Batchelder, Tyler Belisle,  Corbette Jackson, Phillip Martinez and Maria White presented posters on their Vol State undergraduate research  along with 57 other students from  26 community colleges around the nation. The student scholars from Vol State won first place in the molecular modeling contest by creating a bacteriophage with certain elements given to each group of contestants.

The 2014 CCURI Undergraduate Research Symposium was hosted by Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona. Funding for travel was provided by a National Science Foundation CCURI grant.