Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University is one of 10 historically Black colleges and universities partnering with Truth Initiative, a national nonprofit dedicated to achieving 100% tobacco and vape-free campus policies, as part of a national movement to address smoking, vaping and nicotine use at college campuses nationwide. Since 2015, Truth Initiative’s Tobacco/Vape-Free College Program has awarded more than $2.5 million in funding to 205 community colleges, women’s colleges, college systems and minority-serving institutions.

Over the next 16 months, Jackson State University will form a campus task force to assess smoking, vaping and tobacco use behaviors and attitudes, identify a cessation support plan for current smokers and vapers and develop a smoke, vape and tobacco-free policy, a release from JSU says. Two student leaders will lead educational efforts to engage and mobilize their fellow students and work to build a movement to make JSU a smoke, vape and tobacco-free campus.

JSU also provides community organization, training and presentations on substance abuse prevention as part of the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition. MJCPC also offers life-skills training to schools, churches, neighborhood associations, businesses and civic and social organizations and referral services which link residents with needed services.

For more information, visit jsums.edu/mjcpc or truthinitiative.org.

USM Hosting Virtual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast

The Mu Gamma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the fraternity’s affiliate undergraduate chapter at the University of Southern Mississippi will host its 15th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast online on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 9 a.m. USM normally hosts the event in-person in January on the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but rescheduled this year's breakfast and changed it to a virtual format for health and safety reasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s program will focus on the presentation of the fraternity’s Academic Book Scholarships to students from 10 area high schools who plan to go to college next fall and have received recommendations from their school’s academic counselors. The scholarship award is part of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity "Go To High School - Go To College" program, which emphasizes the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education for future success.

USM will broadcast the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast via Facebook from Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Hattiesburg. To access the program, visit the Mu Gamma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. Facebook page. For information on the event and scholarships, email [email protected].

MSU Presents Virtual Twelfth Night Performances

Mississippi State University’s Center for Student Activities and the Performing Arts Committee are offering free, virtual performances of American Shakespeare Center’s “Twelfth Night” through Tuesday, April 13.

Those who have purchased a season ticket since the 2019 MSU Lyceum Series season will receive an email link to access the performances.

Others interested in viewing “Twelfth Night” can request the link via the university’s event ticket system.

For more information, call the Center for Student Activities at 662-325-2930 or email [email protected].