{"id":736,"date":"2011-11-08T14:44:53","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T14:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=736"},"modified":"2011-11-08T14:44:53","modified_gmt":"2011-11-08T14:44:53","slug":"lady-tigers-remain-undefeated-in-the-swac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2011\/11\/08\/lady-tigers-remain-undefeated-in-the-swac\/","title":{"rendered":"Family and friends reflect on Latasha Norman\u2019s legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>Brooke Kelly
\nManaging Editor
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 4th Annual Latasha Norman Run\/Walk will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, almost five years to the day Latasha Norman went missing after a class at Jackson State University on Nov. 13, 2007.<\/p>\n

Many current JSU students know about the center on campus that bears Latasha\u2019s name, but most don\u2019t know the story of her death as a result of domestic violence.\u00a0 After her disappearance in November 2007 and after two weeks of searching for the 20 year old junior accounting major from Greenville, Miss., her ex-boyfriend, Stanley Cole confessed to killing her and led officials to Norman\u2019s body in a wooded area in North Jackson. Cole, also a former JSU student, was later sentenced to life in prison for her death.<\/p>\n

Latasha\u2019s family and former students who knew her always remember her in a special way, and agree that the best way to honor her memory is to increase awareness about domestic violence.<\/p>\n

When asked what they most want people and other students in particular to know about their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Danny Bolden said they want them to remember Latasha\u2019s legacy and that through her death, hopefully many other young ladies can be saved from relationship violence.
\nHer parents call her \u201cone of God\u2019s angels.\u201d In the biography that her family uses to tell others about Latasha, she is described as a beautiful, caring young lady who would help anyone. She was encouraging, soft-spoken, smart, a Dean\u2019s list student; she loved God and always tried to do her best.
\n\u201cIt was hard for us at first, but we\u2019re Christian and we\u2019ve come to know that God works differently from us,\u201d said Bolden. \u201cHe wanted to use Latasha\u2019s life to help us speak to others\u2026 to use her name to bring about more awareness of the problem of domestic violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolden said that he and his wife have been able to see some fruit from the seeds they have planted since their daughter\u2019s death through their efforts to speak in schools, churches, communities and conferences.<\/p>\n

He said he feels compelled to speak to teens about the dangers in unhealthy relationships and to point out some of the red flags.\u00a0 Many times, parents and others never know that violence is prevalent in teen relationships, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI let them know that you can only get help if you tell someone \u2026 don\u2019t keep it a secret. You do not have to suffer in silence,\u201d Bolden stated.
\nJerry Miller, former editor-in-chief of the Jacksonian yearbook who got to know Norman when she joined the staff, said:\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Tasha\u2019 was the type of person you couldn\u2019t not like. If you didn\u2019t like Tasha, it was because of you. She just was not a confrontational type of person. You wouldn\u2019t think that somebody would do something like that to her just because of the type of person who she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller added: \u201cI had never had anyone that close to me actually experience [domestic violence] and be killed. It was a tough situation for me, but it has definitely changed my perspective. Every friend has that \u2018If it was me, I wouldn\u2019t do that. I wouldn\u2019t take that. I wouldn\u2019t put up with it,\u2019 \u2026.but after what happened to Tasha, I was more adamant about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller believes Norman\u2019s story can also be a wake up call to young men.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of guys realize how their anger can affect their actual actions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even though he said he never really cared for Cole, Miller said, \u201cI honestly don\u2019t think that he intentionally set out to kill her. I think it\u2019s something that got out of hand and he went too far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller said he believes young men should understand, \u201cIt should never get to the point where you feel you have to put your hands on somebody if it\u2019s that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenneth Bunch, a 2010 alumnus, who majored in business marketing while at JSU also met Norman through the student publications staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always sweet, really nice, always helpful. And she always had a smile on her face whenever she came in the office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Miller and Bunch said they were shocked that something so horrific could happen to someone so nice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just shocked. You see somebody that you hung out with or you worked with a week before or a few days before. I saw her maybe two days before she came up missing,\u201d said Bunch.<\/p>\n

Miller said he thinks more women should speak up and break the silence that often is associated with domestic violence. He said he makes it a priority to ash his friends whether or nor the people they date hit them.\u00a0 \u201cIf I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with you, I can\u2019t help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual 5K run\/walk that bears Norman\u2019s name is an event that raises awareness by bringing together community, fitness and church groups,\u00a0 JSU faculty, staff and students, and various organizations that work to prevent domestic violence.\u00a0 Since the walks began, Norman\u2019s family members have also been a part of the event.<\/p>\n

Registration forms area available online at 10.14.12.245\/studentlife\/pdf\/latashanorman\/runwalk.pdf or contact the Latasha Norman Center at 601-979-0374.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brooke Kelly Managing Editor The 4th Annual Latasha Norman Run\/Walk will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, almost five years to the day Latasha Norman went missing after a class at Jackson State University on Nov. 13, 2007. Many current JSU students know about the center on campus that bears Latasha\u2019s name, but most […]<\/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-736","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\/736","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=736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}