69传媒

The storm鈥檚 pushed me to the other side of the classroom door. It鈥檚 strange waiting in the office, pressing the visitor鈥檚 pass to your shirt, listening to the voice on the other side of the intercom saying, 鈥淧lease send them up to my classroom.鈥�

In late August, during the second week of school, Z tapped me on the shoulder right after class and asked me if I鈥檇 talk to him outside. Z鈥檚 big for his age and probably a couple years older than his classmates in my sophomore English class. He鈥檇 been struggling to make it to class every day, holding a white hand towel soaked in menthol rub over his face and working a pack of tissue to keep his nose clean. The first day he arrived with his summer cold gear I thanked him for making the effort to be in school and reminded him to wash his hands a lot.

I keep thinking about Ed and Leatrice Roberts. Kalamu, Ashley, Maria, and I spent a couple of Saturdays there this summer. Maria, a rising senior at Douglass High School, sat between the two white-haired elders with dancing eyes and mischievous grins. They were on the couch, beneath the photograph of Dillard University鈥檚 college of education class of 1948. Maria鈥檚 head was bent over her notebook, except when she threw it back, braids and beads and all, laughing with Ed and Leatrice about crazy Ed dragging Leatrice on dates to union meetings or voter registration drives. Or when she looked straight at Leatrice, accepting and appreciating her elder鈥檚 stern, gentle question about how the boys were treating her.

鈥淚 thought I had walked into 69传媒 at the Center (SAC) backwards, with a blindfold over my eyes and a false statement of what SAC really was. But then I turned around and slowly realized this is why I was meant to be here.

Fourteen students, graduates, teachers, and community partners traveled to Clemson University from seven states for a working retreat for the 69传媒 at the Center (SAC) program last weekend. You can probably guess at the familiar reunion details: hugs, jokes, inquiries about classmates and family members, discussions of future plans, and lots of writing.