THE DAILY
MISSISSIPPIAN
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Volume 104, No. 90
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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Finally, a place for Lance Stephenson
Katy Simpson at Square Books today
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Diamond Rebels to host Arkansas State
Hundreds remember Ty Laporte at memorial service Monday “The stories were the ones where the lights were off. Ty was real. She was honest.” -Coach Steven McRoberts
“She had a knack for knowing people better than they did. She was herself 100 percent of the time and we loved you for it.” - Taylor Alexander sophomore, volleyball teammate
“This was her family. She supported us. She protected us. She saw what people could really be and she pushed people to it. When someone believes in you that much you have to start believing in yourself.” -Melanie Crow junior, volleyball teammate
PHOTO: CAMERON BROOKS
“She ran toward the battle, she ran toward life. She was a fighter. The quintessential rebel.” -Ross Bjork
Several hundred people attended a celebration of student-athlete Ty Laporte’s life Monday in the Pavilion including athletes from multiple teams, students, school faculty and the Mississippi State volleyball team. The service opened with a three-song tribute by the UM Gospel Choir followed by a reading of Laporte’s favorite scriptures by former Ole Miss basketball player and coach, Peggie Gillom-Granderson. Athletics Director Ross Bjork, Volleyball Head Coach Steven McRoberts and Laporte’s teammates all spoke to Laporte’s memory. McRoberts wrote a poem about Laporte which he recited during his tribute which can be found at thedmonline.com. The service ended with a video with highlights from Laporte’s track and volleyball careers at Ole Miss. “This has reminded me of past Rebels that we’ve lost,” Bjork said. “One of Chucky Mullins’ teammates said that anyone who crossed his path never left the same. Anyone who crossed Ty’s path will never leave the same.”
sankofa African American
Museum
on Wheels ILLUSTRATION BY: CAROLINE CALLAWAY
ALEXIS NEELY
anneely@go.olemiss.edu
As an African-American woman in her 60s, Jennings said she has lived the struggle that today’s youth know nothing about. She decided to bring it to the forefront with the Sankofa African-American Museum on Wheels. The museum will be on
display until 1 p.m. today in the Union. Sankofa is a word of the Twi language of the West African country of Ghana meaning “go back and get it.” With artifacts and memorabilia tracing from the year 1860 to the present, historian and curator of the museum Angela W. Jennings has done just that. “The public school systems just don’t do it justice,” Jennings said. “I figured somebody has to do it justice and that’s why I decided to do this museum.” Jennings’ interest in shedding light upon the struggle of African-Americans peaked when she realized she did not want her nephew to graduate from high school with no knowledge of self. She said she believes teaching youth about the struggles their ancestors faced could have eliminat-
ed many more recent pervading cultural issues. “Had we shown our young boys and young men the shackles that were worn during slavery, they would not be shackled the way they are in prison cells today,” Jennings said. “Those are the very same shackles used during slavery. Teach them the struggle. Show them the struggle.” Jennings’ desire to share such knowledge resulted in her travel of the world, acquiring relics along the way that possess historical and cultural significance to African Americans and their journey from slavery, to the Civil Rights movement, to the creation of inventions and goods that would eventually be used on a daily basis by people all over.
SEE SANKOFA PAGE 3