Bowling Alley PSA

Aaliyah and I created a PSA for the All-Star bowling alley. The bowling alley is in the process of being redone. Ellen Zisholtz is in charge of re-doing the All-Star Bowling Alley that was a part of the Orangeburg Massacre. Click Here to Listen to the PSA . Aaliyah and I are so excited to see how Ellen Zisholtz transforms this building.

Please visit www.centerforcreativepartnerships.org. and donate!

Top 5 Music Production

 Hey everyone! Today I have the opportunity to share with you guys some of my favorite R&B songs. This was a very hard decision to make since I listen to a lot of R&B old school music. Below are my top 5 songs.

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1. The Way- Jill Scott

 

2. Summer-Beyonce

3. The Point of It All-Anthony Hamilton

4. These Four Walls-Khamari

5. They Don't Know- Jon B

Thank you for listening to my top 5 R&B old school songs.

Bowling Alley Class Visit

My classmates and I had the pleasure of visiting the All-Star Bowling lanes while it is in the process of being refurbished. The Orangeburg Massacre was on February 8^th, 1968, and it changed the community.  The Orangeburg Massacre happened after discrimination at this same bowling alley in 1968. After many students were denied entrance they decided to protest. This protest led to the killing of Samuel Hammond Jr., Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith.  

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Ellen Zisholtz decided to bring the bowling alley back to life by refurbishing it. We had the chance to talk to Ellen Zisholtz, the owner of the All-Star Bowling Lanes. She has received many grants in order to complete this huge project. I am very excited to see the finished product after talking with Ms. Zisholtz about her ideas. I had the honor to ask her these questions below.

Question 1: Mrs. Zisholtz what does it mean to be able to refurbish this and reopen it for the community?

Question 2: When did you first learn about the Orangeburg massacre and why were you so interested?

I also interviewed my classmates, Aaliyah Felder and Summer Grey, here at South Carolina State about their thoughts on the bowling alley

Question 1: When did you first learn about the Orangeburg massacre and why were you so interested?

Thank you everyone for tuning in for today's blog post. Also, a very special thank you to Ellen Zisholtz for allowing me and my classmates the opportunity to see the bowling alley before it is finished.

Public Service Annoncement

 Hey, Bulldog fans! The Lady Bulldog Softball team made it to the MEAC tournament for the first time in 13 years. Come support your Bulldogs May 8th-11th in Norfolk, Virginia. Our first game is against  North Carolina Central at 9 am. We have hopes of bringing back the first title for South Carolina State University. GO DOGS!!

Click Here to Listen to the PSA

Spiked Sports

 Good Afternoon everyone, my classmates, who play sports, and I decided to do a podcast. We wanted to talk about the struggles and schedules of each of the sports that some of us may not know about.

Click Here to Listen to " Spiked Sports" Podcast

 

Lastly here are some photos of the behind the scenes. We enjoyed talking about basketball, football, and softball. This was a great podcast to get to see the different aspects of other sports.

Five Question Interview

 Good Afternoon everyone, my name is Taylor Ames-Alexander. Today I had the honor of interviewing my teammate Macy Prince. Macy is a sophomore catcher here at  South Carolina State University and this year is she redshirting due to medical issues.

Click Here to Listen to the Interview

Macy is pictured on the left. This was our first game together during our freshman year.

Thank you all for tuning into my 5 question interview.

Dr. Tolulope Filani: Radio Report

 Good Afternoon everyone, my name is Taylor Ames-Alexander and we will be discussing how one of the most influential pieces of art on South Carolina State's campus came about. Dr. Tolulope Filani is a Fine Arts professor here at South Carolina State. Below is an image of Dr. Tolulope Filani.

Click Here to Hear the Radio Report

 These sculptures were created in remembrance of the three men who died in the Orangeburg Massacre, Henry Smith, Samual Hammond Jr., and Delano Middleton

The Orangeburg Massacre took place on February 8th, 1968 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This was a shooting of student protestors on the campus of then South Carolina State College. The Collegian, published in March 1968 tells the stories of what happened that day by the students. This Massacre resulted in more than two dozen students wounded and the deaths of Henry Smith, Samual Hammond Jr., and Delano Middleton. 

Dr. Tolulope Filani: Smith, Hammond, & Middleton Sculptures

In 2006, Dr. Tolulope Filani started teaching fine arts at South Carolina State University. Dr. Filani had three different degrees and he was also the student of an actor. He says he remembers walking around the campus and thinking how bare it was compared to other places he had attended, like the University of Missouri. After talking about how bare the campus was he knew he wanted to help change it.

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SOT: Dr. Tolulope Filani     00:17

In: For I told myself

Out: I started the sculpture

Transcript: For I told myself, someways that it's worthless when you criticize the system and you can't bring something, you understand, to match whatever it is that you are talking about. So I took it upon myself, I started the sculpture.

He then took it upon himself to research The Orangeburg Massacre and create sculptures in remembrance of the three men who died. What is the Orangeburg Massacre, many may ask?

The Orangeburg Massacre took place on February 8th, 1968 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This was a shooting of student protestors on the campus of then South Carolina State College. The Collegian, published in March 1968 tells the stories of what happened that day by the students. This Massacre resulted in more than two dozen students wounded and the deaths of Henry Smith, Samual Hammond, and Delano Middleton. 

Dr. Filani first created these sculptures in clay. In the interview, he explains to us that he created these sculptures 12 years ago in 2010. This was a very difficult process. He invited classmates and families to see the sculptures after they were done. Filani knew he did decent when one parent was about to break down after seeing his work. He brought his work before many presidents of the university and they were very reluctant.  

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SOT: Dr. Tolulope Filani  00:08

In: And this really bothers me 

Out: Celebrate ourselves enough

Transcript: And this really bothers me a great deal in a sense as a people of color we just don't celebrate ourselves enough.

After many years his sculptures were in bronze and put on the South Carolina State's campus. After asking Filani how it felt to have this event honoring his work, have your work in bronze, and see people appreciating it, his response was very humble. He expresses to us that he was very appreciative of being recognized but he wanted to put the most emphasis on the sculptures. He sees himself as a tool that can be used to contribute to this society in hopes that others will do the same. 

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SOT: Dr. Tolulope Filani    00:18

In: When things like this happen

Out: Will be appreciated and celebrated

Transcript: When things like this happen it seems to me like it is a way of reassuring everybody young, old, and new that whatever you contribute to the society, someday somewhere along the line it will be appreciated and celebrated.

Overall, the Orangeburg Massacre is very memorable for the county of Orangeburg as well as South Carolina State University. This is a very tragic story but I am very glad that we celebrate it each year.

A Day to Remember: Minority Softball Prospect Game

 

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One day I will always remember is participating in the first-ever Minority Softball Prospect softball game. A couple days before I arrived, it was announced that I would be competing in the homerun derby. I was not nervous because I had been preparing for this day for about a month now. 

The first day everyone arrived, we had a meet and greet and dinner with everyone. It was very exciting to see people I have played against and meet new people. After the meet and greet, I went with my sister to get our nails done. For the last event of the day, we took professional headshots in the collar shirt that they provided for us.

The next day (competition day) I woke up excited about what was in store for the day. After warming up and hitting the front toss it was time for the competition. There were three rounds, six contestants, and the bottom two of each round were eliminated. Each round had different time limits and different rules that you had to follow.

 

In the first round, I hit five home runs which was the second most. Next round this other player and I hit seven home runs. I was a little nervous for the last round especially since we had tied for the second round. In the last round, I hit three home runs and now it was her turn. It was kind of hard to watch because I was wondering was my best enough. 

I ended up winning the competition. This is a day to remember because as one of the only freshmen at this event, I won the first-ever Minority Prospect Softball homerun derby. 

I was very excited and waved to my mom and sister to come down on the field. There were so many cameras and people asking me questions. This was very overwhelming at the time. At that moment, I was very proud of myself and those who helped me prepare for the event. There were so many people back home cheering me on. I was also posted on many different social media platforms like Gamechanger. Overall, this will always be a day to remember because I love defying the odds because many people didn’t think I was capable of this type of accolade.

Outlook on 2024

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My outlook for the New Year is that it will be very busy. For the first 5 months, I will be training and playing softball. This is my second year playing softball here at South Carolina State University Softball is a big part of my life and I have been playing since I was seven years old. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we have weights at 6 a.m. and this allows us to become stronger and faster.

My roommates are also my teammates. Recently we had media day. We put on our uniforms to take our headshots, action shots, and the team picture. Two of my roommates and I have been playing softball together since we were in sixth grade. My other roommate and I just met when we came to college but she fits into the group like our missing piece.

We play almost every weekend and we also do a lot of traveling. Some of our competitors are North Carolina Central University, Howard University, and Delaware State University. Overall, the first part of my year will be very busy. Our goal for this year is to win the MEAC tournament. We have been practicing six days a week for about three hours each day in order to reach this goal. I feel as if we will reach this goal because we have been working hard and we are a pretty close team. Being able to trust your teammates is a huge part of winning that many people do not realize. I am very excited for this year and cannot wait to see us reach our full potential.