November 1, 2022 . Volume 79 . Issue 7
Bringing Awareness: Diabetes Month Ashiriah Williams
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST
November, being National Diabetes Awareness month, is a chance for people to come together to bring attention to a life-altering disease. Diabetes is prominent within the black community, so it is always important to indulge in the knowledge of diabetes. The main types of diabetes can be recognized as, Type 1, Type 2, Prediabetes, and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is when glucose levels in the blood are too high due to the body not being able to make enough insulin, while type 2 is when the body does not take advantage of the bodies insulin correctly. Prediabetes is when the glucose levels in the blood are high, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a diabetes found in pregnant women with higher sugar in the blood than usual. Southern University attendee and nursing major, Zaniah Duriso explains, “Diabetes, to most, is not seen as a serious disease, which is apart of the problem. It can seriously affect one’s health, such as one’s eyes. Diabetes has been known to cause blurred vision and affect the skin. It should always be taken serious in all types and situations.” Lahoma Vernon, a black teacher at Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Louisiana living with the disease, relays her situation and struggles by stating, “I’ve had this terrible immune system disease since 2006. I was diagnosed with it a few months after my mother passed.I always link it to stress or depression, however it is said it’s hereditary. My mother had a combination of both, which was very dangerous. She had many strokes, heart attacks, as well as an eye disease.” Diabetes attack many organs in the body, but the eyes and kidneys are a main target. Even though the disease has been known to make one weak, it can be managed with constant monitoring of food/drink intake, taking meds properly, and exercising. The Louisiana teacher also adds, “I suffer with Type 2, and I can tell you, diabetes is a mean disease, and destroys so many lives, but I will not let it get me down..” As a witness to the tragedies of See DIABETES page 3
Decades of Trimming and Achieving: SULC honors Longtime Barber, Irvin, Sr. Jada Manuel
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST The Southern University Student BAR Association Diversity Committee presented the “Creating a More Respectful World” award to Robert J. Irvin, Sr., a barber for 58 years of service. Irvin Sr. along with his wife, three children and siblings are all alumni of Southern University. Mr. Irvin is the first person in the award’s history to receive the award who did not attend the Southern University Law Center (SULC). The plaque originated in Baton Rouge at a time near the murder of Alton Sterling and
“I heard someone say one time that if you have a job that you love doing, then you’ll never have to work a day in your life,”- Robert Irvin, Sr.
Longtime Barber, Robery J. Irvin, Sr. smiles alongside Law student Victoria Grant as she presents him with the “Creating a More Respectful World award on Friday, October 28. (Jada Manuel /DIGEST)
that of the Baton Rouge Police officers, explained by Professor Micheal C. Garrard. Student Kawana Drake created
a design for Fall Fest of 2016 her humility. The award has that epitomized the message of since been presented to other the Southern University Law. The plaque was created and See IRVIN page 3 presented to honor Drake for
Commemorating the Old School for the Blind and Deaf at Southern University Brittany Patterson
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST
A new State of Louisiana Historical Marker is now located on the Southern University and A&M College campus at the corner of Swan Street and Henry Cobb Street for the Old School for the Blind and the Old School for the Deaf. The Louisiana State School for the Blind Negroes was started in October 1922, and the Louisiana State School for the Deaf Negroes started in October 1938.
Negroes opened with 16 students under the management of the State Board of Education at the beginning of the school. By 1945, the school had four buildings on the campus of SUBR, 13 instructors and 55 students. The Deaf School added years later had 44 students with 7 instructors. For 40 years the Louisiana State School for Deaf Negroes operated as a predominantly segregated institution. It was the last black deaf school to close its doors.
In 1978, the Louisiana School for the Negro Blind and the Lynne M. Coxwell, director of Louisiana State School for the Research at the Louisiana Office Blind merged and became the of Tourism spoke briefly at the Louisiana State School for the dedication ceremony. “The Old Visually Impaired. Likewise, School for the Blind and Deaf the Louisiana State School for is one of 882 Louisiana State Deaf Negroes merged with the Historical Markers to date that Louisiana State School for the have been produced since 1950. Deaf and became the Louisiana These schools are examples of School for the Deaf. Both schools perseverance and fulfilling a are now located on Brightside need in the community,” Coxwell Lane, south of downtown Baton stated. Rouge on a 116-acre campus. According to The Archives, Alvin Daniels, alumnus of Manuscripts and Rare Books the Old School for the Blind Department at John B. Cade discussed on his personal Library, the State School for Blind experience.
Historical Marker - Knykolas Ross/DIGEST
“As time progressed, it taught us to be with our peers and people like us. We drew a bond here,” he continued, “It taught us to be someone, to be a man… If it had not been for that, I wouldn’t be standing here today.” Daniels stated that certain family members were blind, so not only did he attend the Old School
for the Blind, but other family members as well.
Joseph Sarpy, Alumnus of the Old School for the Deaf described his experiences with fond memories of the faculty. “It was a brand-new school for me and that was where I was going to See OLD SCHOOL page 3
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA