{"id":1280,"date":"2012-09-27T15:41:27","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2012-09-27T15:41:27","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:41:27","slug":"bet-college-tour-lands-at-jackson-state-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2012\/09\/27\/bet-college-tour-lands-at-jackson-state-university\/","title":{"rendered":"BET College Tour lands at Jackson State University"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Large crowd of JSU students attend BET College Tour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Candace Chambers<\/strong>
\nBlue & White Flash\/News Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

After visiting Virginia, Maryland and Lorman, Miss., the 2012 Black Entertainment Television Networks College Tour made its stop Sept. 21 in Jackson, Miss. on the campus of Jackson State University.<\/p>\n

From noon until 3 p.m. this free, fun-filled event gave students an opportunity to have a good, safe time while also providing important information on issues in the community.<\/p>\n

The tour, which travels to 14 institutions nationwide, is the largest and only event of its kind targeting students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. For its 12th year, according to bet.com, the tour is a key component of the BET brand and represents their continuous efforts to highlight and support HBCUs by providing relevant, engaging and meaningful outreach to minority students.<\/p>\n

Tents were set up along the Gibbs-Green Pedestrian Walkway by sponsors of the tour, such as Citi-Trends, BET\u2019s Rap it Up Campaign and Vote 2012, and the U.S. Air Force.
\nRecruiters of the U.S. Air Force smiled as they eagerly waited to share informational material about the ROTC program. Recruiter Major Price stated that they were present to \u201crecruit the best and brightest officers to lead the nation.\u201d Volunteers at the VOTE 2012 tent eagerly registered students to vote. Students could also obtain assistance with future jobs at the Career Tent.<\/p>\n

The \u201cRap it Up Campaign\u201d provided condoms and free candy of charge and partnered with local, community based organization, Building Bridges Inc. by giving free, confidential HIV tests on the second floor of the Jacob L. Reddix Hall.\u00a0 Building Bridges Inc., located in Jackson, Miss., began their involvement with the BET College Tour last year.<\/p>\n

Johnathan Robins, Prevention Intervention Specialist said, \u201cIt is important that we are out in the community to decrease the statistics.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were many engaging activities available, including dancing competitions, performance concerts featuring upcoming artists, NBA trivia, Basketball shootouts, and a Video Skillz Challenge.
\nStudents also had an opportunity to showcase their talents on the big stage. In the \u201cSinger\u2019s Spotlight\u201d contest, singers had to perform a song of their choice in 60 seconds. The participants chose a variety of songs such as, \u201cSilver and Gold\u201d by Kirk Franklin, \u201cGotta Go\u201d by Trey Songz, and \u201cLet it Rise\u201d by William Murphy.<\/p>\n

Martika Ross, a freshman music performance major from Flowood, Miss. sang a collaboration of \u201cHeartless\u201d by Kanye West and \u201cMoves like Jagger\u201d by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, while also playing her acoustic guitar. Although she was nervous, she felt it made her perform better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often perform on the plaza. I performed in Burger King last night. I do my own thing,\u201d said Ross.<\/p>\n

After the singing competition, the \u201cDrop the Beat\u201d contest, in which contestants competed to guess the beat of a song, the Citi-Trends Freestyle Rap Battle, featuring individuals\u2019 best rhymes, and the BET College Tour JSU TV Promo went underway.<\/p>\n

For the promo, students gathered around the stage saying with Tiger spirit, \u201cWelcome to Jackson State University!\u201d The cameras captured the crowd and JSU\u2019s Tiger Mascot as he showed off his dance moves.<\/p>\n

Martha Tamplin, a senior biology, pre-med major from Jackson, Miss. was glad she was able to participate in the promo tapping.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had fun. This is my first time in the promo. I missed out my freshman, sophomore, and junior years, so I wanted to participate before I graduated,\u201d said Tamplin.<\/p>\n

Many students expressed joy and happiness as the strolled the plaza Friday afternoon. Some received free-t-shirts and towels for participating the events.<\/p>\n

KaDeidre Hall, a freshman healthcare administration major from Greenville, Miss. volunteered at the BET \u201cRap it Up\u201d Campaign\u2019s tent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rap It Up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cStudents can show their raffle ticket after completing the HIV testing process and they can receive one large item on the table,\u201d said Hall.<\/p>\n

Like Hall, several JSU students gained community service hours, while taking part in the fun. The Greeks wore their paraphernalia in pride as they walked along the plaza.\u00a0 A sense of enjoyment was evident during the evening\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n

DeAngelo Brown, a junior healthcare administration major from Yazoo City, Miss., said, \u201cIt\u2019s so good to see all the students on the plaza enjoying themselves all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tavia Chatman, a sophomore history education major from Jackson, Miss., expressed similar views. \u201cI think it\u2019s fun. You get to register and more people can come out and get tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophomore education major Aarin Johnson from Jackson, Miss., said, \u201cI liked it. We need more events like this here more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BET College Tour\u2019s next scheduled stop will be Atlanta, Ga. on the campus Clark Atlanta University and will run through November 2nd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Candace Chambers Blue & White Flash\/News Editor After visiting Virginia, Maryland and Lorman, Miss., the 2012 Black Entertainment Television Networks College Tour made its stop Sept. 21 in Jackson, Miss. on the campus of Jackson State University. From noon until 3 p.m. this free, fun-filled event gave students an opportunity to have a good, safe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-campus-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}