Why black America shouldn't be focused on hanging nooses
New smartpen to assist blind students
Pan-Hellenic Council, McGruder Center team up to serve families
100 Oaks Mall prepares for Vanderbilt health center
Vanderbilt gets grant from Nasdaq
Why black America shouldn't be focused on hanging nooses
The Baltimore Sun
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Carol Swain, professor of political science and law, authored this opinion piece about how African Americans should respond to the rash of noose incidents across the country:
A spate of hanging nooses is being reported all over the country. This is creating an environment that has encouraged at least one black man to hang his own noose and place the blame on white co-workers. Donald Maynard, a Baltimore firefighter and paramedic, confessed to hanging a noose found last month in the fire station where he worked.
Even though his report sparked a federal investigation and public outcry, Mr. Maynard will not face criminal charges for filing a false report. We will never be able to quantify the damage that Mr. Maynard's action did to race relations at his job and in the wider community.
New smartpen to assist blind students
United Press International
Wednesday, Dec. 5
U.S. scientists are developing a "smartpen" that will soon be available to help blind students learn science, technology, engineering and math.
Andy Van Schaack, a Vanderbilt University lecturer, and Joshua Miele, a blind researcher at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, have received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the new smartpen tool created by technology company Livescribe Inc. Van Schaack is Livescribe's senior science adviser.
The smartpen recognizes handwritten marks through a camera inside its tip. It can also capture more than 100 hours of audio through a built-in microphone and plays audio through a built-in speaker or 3D recording headset. Files are uploaded from the pen to a computer using a USB connection.
Pan-Hellenic Council, McGruder Center team up to serve families
The Tennessean
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc. of Nashville, or NPHC, worked to make sure more than 40 families in the area were provided with Thanksgiving meals this year.
The NPHC presented baskets full of traditional Thanksgiving ingredients to the McGruder Family Resource Center on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
"The McGruder Family Resource Center is in the heart of our community, and we are thrilled to be a part of this service project," said Jenean Davis, NPHC of Nashville president. "Our Greek-lettered organizations were all founded on community service. We are not just social organizations so it is only fitting that we join forces to better serve our Nashville community."
Tennessee State, Fisk and Vanderbilt University Greeks also contributed to the project.
100 Oaks Mall prepares for Vanderbilt health center
The Tennessean
Wednesday, Dec. 5
More than 800 elected officials, area merchants, business leaders and residents attended the recent pre-construction open house at 100 Oaks Mall, hosted by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the mall's owners, Dallas-based developers Tony Ruggeri and Frank Mihalopoulos.
The event gave the community a first look at the coming changes that will transform a portion of Nashville's oldest shopping mall into a state-of-the-art health and wellness facility with almost 440,000 square feet.
Vanderbilt gets grant from Nasdaq
The Tennessean
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management has received a $45,000 grant from the Nasdaq Stock Market Educational Foundation.
The money will be used to maintain research databases, research grants and workshops, the school said.
