Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 11-5-19

FYI
Message To Rattler Boosters
The Upper Pinellas/Clearwater Chapter of Florida A&M Uni- versity National Alumni Association (FAMU NAA) is asking for the community’s support to assist the FAMU Save Our Students Program (SOS) to stay in school.
Evelynb J. McCloud says, the 16 athletic programs require equipment, uniforms, travel expenses and expenses for summer school classes.
Please make donations to: FAMU Foundation, Attn: $20 Mil- lion Campaign/Rattler Booster Dues, 1835 Wahnish Way, Tal- lahassee, FL 32307; or to P. O. Box 5865, Tallahassee, FL 32314
Annual FAASA Fall Leadership Institute Forum Planned
“Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Today”
The Florida African Amer- ican Student Association, Inc. (FAASA) will convene its Annual Fall Leadership Insti- tute, November 7-10, 2019, at the Westshore Grand Hotel, 4860 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33609
Through seminars, speak- ers, and other engaging activ- ities, student delegates from colleges and universities around the State of Florida will acquire the knowledge, develop the skills, embrace the attitudes, and be empow- ered to effectively assume po- sitions of purposeful leadership on their cam- puses, in their communities, and wherever their personal and professional endeavors may direct them.
The delegation will be “edu-tained” by luncheon speaker, Dr. Timothy I.
Beard, President, Pasco Hernando State College, and Keynote Karamu Banquet speaker Dr. Ken Ray, Vice President of Student Services & Enrollment Management for Hillsborough Community College.
FAASA serves as the offi- cial voice of more than 200,000 students of African descent in colleges and uni- versities in Florida and is dedicated to the academic and personal development of its student membership. FAASA accomplishes its mis- sion through the implemen- tation of its PACE Plan, representing Political Ac- tivism, Academic Excellence; Cultural Awareness and Eco- nomic Empowerment.
FAASA President, Kiana Tarver, describes the Fall Leadership Institute as “awakening – life changing!” and welcomes all to attend.
Local
Middle School Students And Buc Players Participate In Youth Mock Trial
Members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pose with students from George Edgecomb Courthouse.
Farnell Middle School at the
comedy to the situation. “The boys in the black t- shirts was getting the best of the boys in the blue t-shirts,”
he said.
The jury eventually found
Mitchell’s character, guilty, but the judge – played by Buc guard, Earl Watford, who was assisted by 13th Circuit Court Judge, Barbara Twine Thomas – held up the defense’s request for a mistrial.
While the trial and char- acters were fiction, the reality is that these types of matters take place every day, said Public Defender Julianne Holt.
“Almost every single homi- cide case in Hillsborough is a case where 60 seconds made a difference,” she said. “Don’t use a gun to deal with words.”
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
On any other day, Talen Holmes is a typical eighth grader at Farnell Middle School.
But for a few hours on Monday, the 13-year-old got the chance to get a close look at his future profession dur- ing a Youth Mock Trial at the George Edgecomb Court- house.
He played the bailiff, but says he’s more suited to be an attorney.
“It was fun,” he said. “I was very nervous because I don’t like standing in front of big crowds.”
Hosted by Safe & Sound Hillsborough in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers, the trial offered the chance for Farnell students to assume roles as attorneys on the defense and prosecuting teams, as well as the jury. They were assisted by real at- torneys from the Hillsbor- ough County Public Defender’s Office and the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
The athletes, meanwhile, took on the duties of the de- fense, the accused, and their friends and family.
The goal of the program is to teach students gun vio- lence awareness and exposes them to the judicial process. It also gives them a glimpse into what attorneys, judges, and other legal professionals experience in their careers, said Farnell language arts teacher, Kimberly LeGree- Hymes.
“It gives them an idea of
what avenue they want to go in the future,” she said.
The athletes’ participation heightened the experience for the students, who spent months studying debate tac- tics to prepare, LeGree- Hymes said.
“That just took it to the next level,” she said.
As the plaintiff, wide re- ceiver, Bryant Mitchell took the stand as Eric Evans, a teen accused of shooting another after an ar- gument and a scuffle.
On the stand, Mitchell stated that he didn’t intend to cause any harm.
“I hate guns,” he said.
Buc safety, D’Cota Dixon offered testimony as a wit- ness to the crime. When asked about his version of events, he offered a bit of
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9