Front page of The Delta Statement.

1. DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY
THE DELTA STATEMENT
Wright Art Gallery: Delta State football:
Statesmen ready for the
upcoming season
Lurlynn Franklin’s work on
display
Serving the Delta State community since 1931
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Volume 83 Issue 1
A3 B1 thedeltastatement.com or @StatementOnline
Delta State celebrated the achievement of the Campaign for Delta State, which surpassed the goal of $40 million. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
Campaign for Delta State surpasses goal
President LaForge speaks to faculty and staff during Convocation on Aug.15. Elisabetta Zengaro
See LaForge A4
“This Delta” shows several photographs of the Delta region. Elisabetta Zengaro
Elisabetta Zengaro
Editor-in-Chief
The Delta State Foundation
celebrated the conclusion
of the largest fundraiser
in Delta State’s history,
“The Campaign for Delta State
University,” with a ceremony in
the Leroy E. Morganti Atrium of
Kent Wyatt Hall on Aug. 22.
The ceremony concluded
with a drum roll leading up to
unveiling of the fi nal amount
raised, which was $43,317,
554.63.
The campaign’s $40 million
goal was set for October 2005
to June 2015, but President
LaForge announced in June 2014
that the Campaign for Delta State
had already exceeded that mark.
Ned Mitchell and President
Emeritus of Delta State, Dr. Kent
Wyatt, were the chairs for the
campaign, which offi cially came
to a close on June 30.
LaForge, Wyatt, Mitchell,
Anne Weissinger, president
of the Delta State University
Foundation Board and Patrick
Davis, secretary of the National
Alumni Association Board of
Directors spoke at the event.
“We’ve accomplished a lot
of great work,” Mitchell said.
In extending his
appreciation to the groups
Mitchell mentioned, Wyatt added
as he took to the podium that,
“Ned has been the glue that held
this campaign together.”
One of the topics Mitchell
addressed as far as fundraising
efforts for the campaign was “the
power of the individual.” He said
two-thirds of the funds for the
campaign came from individuals.
“Individuals are supporting
Delta State now more than ever
before,” Mitchell said.
Because the campaign
began before he took offi ce,
LaForge said he doesn’t take
any of the credit. “You all in this
room have paved the way for
success,” he said.
Weissinger, who is also
studying Spanish at Delta
State, said one of her greatest
satisfactions is meeting students
who are recipients of private-funded
scholarships.
The newspaper that was
handed out at the event was
fi lled with thank you letters
from students who received
scholarships.
“Let’s keep our focus
on scholarships,” Weissinger
said. “Don’t forget to make a
gift.”
LaForge pointed out how
students were the focus of the
campaign’s efforts.
“We should never lose
sight of that,” LaForge added.
According to an article
on the Delta State website,
the campaign resulted in “the
creation and enhancement
of scores scholarship funds,
strengthened academic
programs, supported new
initiatives to benefit faculty
staff and students, and propel
community and regional
partnerships.”
“We’re looking for more
dollars, more donors out
there because we have a great
message,” LaForge said.
To make a donation,
visit www.deltastategiving.
org or call 846-4704 for more
information.
Traveling photography
exhibit comes to DSU
Elisabetta Zengaro
Editor-in-Chief
Photographer Debra
Ferguson brings the heart
and soul of the Delta to
life with her traveling
exhibit of photographs of the
Mississippi Delta on display at
the Delta State Capps Archives
& Museum.
The exhibit, titled “This
Delta,” features a collection of
Ferguson’s photographs of the
Delta taken over the past 30
years and opened on Aug. 24 at
the Capps Archives & Museum
with a reception and presentation
by Ferguson.
Ferguson collaborated
with University Archivist Emily
Jones in creating the exhibit,
which is broken down into seven
categories: Delta Folks, Delta
Relics, Going to Town, Nature’s
Rhythm, Passing Through,
Sacred Spaces and Taming the
Land, and the exhibit’s opening
panel.
Jones said Laura Walker,
Delta State University graphic
designer and brand manager, had
a big part in putting together the
exhibit.
Walker designed the
traveling exhibit around
Ferguson’s photography, and the
design agency Laura and Josh
Walker own, created a website
that will be the Delta State
Archives’ fi rst online companion
to a traveling exhibit, according
to an article about the exhibit on
the Delta State Website.
A native of Skene, Miss.,
Ferguson is, as Jones described
when introducing her, “of the
Delta.”
“Her soul loves this place,”
Jones said. “You can see it in
her photographs.” Ferguson
graduated from Delta State in
1974, and her work has been
featured in Farm Journal,
Progressive Farmer, Southern
Living Travel and other
publications and advertising
campaigns.
“I got a camera early on
… started photographing the
wide open spaces, sunsets and
more importantly, the people of
the Delta [which] made great
subjects,” Ferguson said.
The website that features
Ferguson’s photographs is called
“This Delta.”
The exhibit is currently on
display at the Capps Archives
& Museum until Sept. 5. After
that, the exhibit will be on tour
in various locations across
Mississippi beginning September
2014 until September 2015. Then
the exhibit will be featured in
locations outside Mississippi.
LaForge addresses enrollment and budget
Elisabetta Zengaro
Editor-in-Chief
In his second State of
the University Address,
President Bill LaForge
discussed the university’s
“overarching dual challenge”—
stabilizing enrollment and the
budget for the ensuing academic
year—during Convocation on
Aug. 15.
“They are our top priorities,
and their successful outcomes
will trigger all other potentially
good things to come,” LaForge
said.
LaForge fi rst addressed
enrollment and said he was
pleased to report that the
university expects to see an
increase in enrollment this fall
semester—the fi rst time in eight
years.
“At last year’s Convocation,
I assured you we would win
the battle of recruitment and
retention,” LaForge said. “Our
mission has been to stem the tide
of enrollment, and it appears that
we are accomplishing that—and
more.”
Delta State had experienced
a decline from 4,217 students in
the fall of 2006 to 3,526 students
this past fall, but LaForge said
that decline is over.
DSU Health Services raises awareness
of depression and suicide prevention
Caroline Bickley
Lifestyles Editor
With the tragic loss of
the beloved comedian
and actor Robin
Williams on Aug. 11,
suicide awareness and prevention
has again taken fl ight in news
headlines and media broadcasts.
It seems that whenever
the nation suffers the loss of a
beloved, well-known individual,
suicide prevention and awareness
is reevaluated and reconsidered
in a new perspective as health
experts and others try to
understand what could lead to
such a fi nal decision.
Emory University reported,
“Each year, 34,598 people die
by suicide, an average of 94
completed suicides every day.”
So the possibility that an
individual is having suicidal
thoughts is more common than
the public would like to give
notice to. Why?
“Few students actually
admit they are dealing with
depression,” said Katrina
Taylor, Mental Health Grant
Coordinator.
“The problem is that a
student has a bad day and that
bad day turns into a bad week,
and then several bad months,”
Taylor said. “The student never
seeks help because they are not
made aware of the resources
available to help them.”
Taylor became interested
in helping individuals when she
studied sociology, and it only
grew when suicide affected her
husband and his family.
She said that her husband’s
brother was in the military and
suffered from depression that
grew into an ultimate decision.
“The death didn’t end
with his life,” Taylor said.
“It affected everyone he was
in contact with—his family,
friends, etc.”
Taylor’s role in DSU
Health Services is to facilitate
programming, discover suicide
prevention resources and bring
them to the campus.
Taylor looks into
strategic ways to promote
mental wellness and set up
opportunities, such as the “Life
After the Storm” event so
students are aware that help is
available.
The “Life After the Storm”
event features Kevin Hines,
a man that at the age of 19
attempted to end his life by
jumping off the Golden Gate
Bridge, and the offi cer who
saved his life.
Taylor extends an
invitation to all students and
the general public to this free
event.
“Students will be able
to identify with Kevin Hines
and hopefully understand
the decisions they make now
might not be that different from
Hines,” said Taylor.
The difference in Hines’
choices and students now is
the choice whether to seek the
help that is readily and eagerly
available.
She said the main goal
of DSU Health Services is to
create the hope students who
suffering from depression
cannot see on their own.
The “Life After the Storm”
event takes place on Sept. 8 in
the Bologna Performing Arts
Center from 11 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. and is free to the public.
Any questions, comments or
concerns can be directed to Katrina
Taylor at ktaylor@deltastate.edu.