Student Life

Journalist and activist Beatrice Thompson will present “Past, Present and Future: Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.
Thompson is a well-known Charlotte native with more than three decades of experience in television, radio and public relations. In 1980, she became the first African-American female to anchor a newscast in Charlotte with WBTV Channel 3.  She also served as corporate spokesperson for Duke Energy and reporter/newscaster for local NBC-affiliate WCNC. 

University alumna Chee Ia Yang was selected for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ (NASPA) Graduate Associate Program (GAP), a council of graduate students whose career ambitions align with the student affairs profession.

Faculty and staff volunteers are needed to assist with the “Late Night Breakfast,” an annual event for UNC Charlotte students. Sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and Chartwells, this  de-stressing event  will be from 10 p.m. to midnight, Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Residence Dining Hall (RDH).
In addition to the free breakfast, there will be music, games, contests and more activities for students.

The group Step Afrika! will perform at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22, in the Student Union Multipurpose Room.
A professional stepping company, Step Afrika! blends dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance and other dance and art forms. Through these dances, Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding.

UNC Charlotte students started dancing at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 and stayed on their feet for 12 hours to celebrate raising $35,066.25 for the Levine Childen’s Hospital.
The 49er Dance Mine, held this past weekend in the Student Union, was the first of its kind at UNC Charlotte; it was part of a national movement in which colleges and universities across the country generate financial support for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in their communities.

The Student Union Art Gallery is exhibiting the two-person display “Secret Lives of the Inanimate,” which features the works of alumni Rachel Simpson and Andrea Vail through Nov. 26.
“Secret Lives of the Inanimate” investigates the world through a unique lens by focusing on moments of interaction between objects and their environment. Pieces in the exhibit include a combination of altered found objects and photographic transfers that explore the interesting and odd in everyday objects.
Simpson said her works seek to explore “objects in the world and how they got there.”

Jillian Tullis, a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies, is one of the organizers of a “Death Café” that will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Respite: A Centre for Grief and Hope.
According to an article in the Charlotte Observer, Tullis is co-facilitating the café in conjunction with gerontologist Lynn Hare. Their goal is “to create a safe, respectful place to stimulate conversation on death and dying and also offer community resources for those in need of further support.”

Junior Kendyl Messer is the inaugural recipient of the Daisy Pearl Pugh Urban Scholarship. The honor was presented during Tuesday’s CONE-vocation in the Cone University Center Lucas Room.
Rob Urban, the son of the scholarship’s namesake, announced the recipient, who is a nursing major and student employee. A Charlotte native, Messer is a building manager for the Cone Center. She noted that during her two years as a student worker, she has learned the importance of building relationships, and she said she values the leadership experience her job affords.

Aimee Parkison will share the story behind the captivating, imaginative book “The Innocent Party” at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall, as part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Personally Speaking series. (Note this is a location change from the previously reported J. Murrey Atkins Library).

Recast as an open house, “A-Cone-A-Fair” makes a special return from 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 6, throughout the Cone University Center to commemorate the building’s 50th anniversary.  The event will highlight Cone Center’s history of student dedication, featuring historical exhibits and displays alongside the current student services that reside in the building.
“A-Cone-A-Fair” will include: