The Daily Mississippian - February 21, 2018

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THE DAILY

MISSISSIPPIAN

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Volume 106, No. 74

T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S I S S I P P I S E R V I N G O L E M I S S A N D OX F O R D S I N C E 1 9 1 1

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‘There is something we can do’

Global activists stress importance of compassion, empathy at Honors College Convocation HADLEY HITSON STAFF WRITER

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PHOTOS BY: JEANNE TORP

TOP: Bruce Levingston (left), Shandra Woworuntu (center) and Katie Ford (right) discuss the problem of human trafficking both in the United States and around the world.​ The convocation is held every semester by the Honors College. BOTTOM: Students and faculty listen to Sullivan-Gonzalez as he welcomes them to the Honors College Spring Convocation and introduces the Barksdale Award recipients.

ast night’s Honors College Convocation highlighted the lesser-publicized global crisis of human trafficking and the importance of empathy in addressing the issue. The Ole Miss community welcomed Katie Ford, former CEO of Ford Models and current activist, and Shandra Woworuntu, survivor of human trafficking and co-founder of Mentari, to the Gertrude C. Ford Center last night for the Honors College spring convocation. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, dean of the Honors College, introduced the convocation by discussing the social and moral call to address the issues that others would rather look past in order to bring about a better world. “As citizen scholars, we hope that we achieve this ambitious goal by forcing each of us to engage uncomfortable questions,” he said. Ford began her speech saying many issues lie in the development of an “us versus them” mentality. “The minute we can

call people ‘them,’ we dissociate our humanity, our souls,” she said. “We make people into objects, no better than a thing.” Ford founded the nonprofit organization Freedom For All, which helps rescue and rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking internationally, after attending a UN trafficking conference in 2008. Ford admitted that her switch in career paths from agent to activist was unexpected. “I love helping people develop,” she said. “That’s what I loved while working with models, watching their careers develop fantastically. I also understood because of working with these young models, the hopes and dreams they had, both for themselves and their families. That’s what prepared me for this, for where I am today.” Following a video about Freedom For All, Ford, Woworuntu and Bruce Levingston, the chancellor’s artist in residence, took the stage together to engage in a discussion about modern slavery and open the floor for questions from the audience. Woworuntu shared her story of survival. While

SEE CONVOCATION PAGE 3

‘Barber Shop Talks’ encourages candid conversations DEVNA BOSE

LIFESTYLES EDITOR

Local hair salon owner Tammy Herod and creative writing MFA candidate Julian Randall will lead campus’ “Barber Shop and Beauty Shop Talk” this afternoon at the Residence Hall 2 Student Commons. The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement, UM NAACP and Queer People of Color are sponsoring the 5 p.m. public forum as a part of the university’s Black History

Month calendar. The event is meant to encourage discussion about issues facing the black community locally and nationally. Participants are invited to share stories and connect with others, all while enjoying refreshments and receiving free beauty tips and hair “line-ups” from a local barber. Edwin Aguilar, a graduate assistant for the CICCE, said that in past years, the university’s “barbershop” talk series was typically geared toward men to have a space to talk about whatev-

OPINION

LIFESTYLES

er they need to. This week’s event marks the first forum to include “beauty shop” in its name. Aguilar described the event as a collaborative effort and something that is open to the whole campus. Randall said it is uncommon that the university officially sponsors a forum surrounding issues facing the black community. He also said the conversation will be focused on the concept of reparations for African-Americans but is open to the entire community. “I chose to talk about reparations because we

need them. I’m always curious to know what everyone’s individual idea of liberation looks like, and these conversations are often only allowed to happen in the shadows,” he said. “Sometimes you get to have these conversations with your friends, but rarely does a university platform allow a conversation like that to be official.” Calling it a “Barber Shop and Beauty Shop Talk” was an intentional decision – the implications and significance of hair salons and hair care in the black com-

IN THIS ISSUE... LIFESTYLES

The ‘epidemic of uniform thought’

Fisk singers to visit campus

Pisces season horoscope

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Challenging the liberal status quo of academia, which exists even in our conservative state

The Ford Center will host the Fisk Jubilee Singers’ first performance at Ole Miss

Get ready for this, little fish, because you’ve got a lot in store

munity are a major part of African-American culture. Randall said the first place he ever heard about the concept of reparation was in a barbershop. “In a barbershop, it was all black men. It was where I did a certain kind of growing up. Ever since I was little, I went to black-owned hair care places,” he said. “The main point is that I think that barbershops, historically, are one of the only places consistently in American history where black people deserve something

SEE BARBERSHOP PAGE 3

SPORTS

Baseball defeats Memphis 8-6

Able to hold off late-inning comeback, Rebels begin the year 4-0 PAGE 8


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