Black Student Association Social Media Release

Black Student Association 

 #UncomfortableConversations 



Contact: Rahiem Laurore, President
rlaurore@memphis.edu
For Release on: March 24, 2015



    Memphis, Tennessee-(March 22, 2015) In honor of the national month wide recognition of women's history, the special events committee of the Black Student Association will be hosting a panel discussion on Thursday, March 26 discussing various uncomfortable conversations in the female community that will take place in the university center.
    BSA recognizes the important role that women have played throughout the history of society and also recognizes the many obstacles women still struggle with today across the world.
   BSA hopes to encourage students to engage in the discussion and use the hashtag:  #UncomfortableConversations while live tweeting at the event.
     In the culture of BSA, the organization understands that panel discussions are often their best strategy to get students talking and involved on otherwise, touchy topics."I like coming to the BSA meetings when we have discussions on different subjects that are relevant at the time such as the Mike Brown situation or the discussion of the SEA fraternity in Oklahoma," says long term member, Courtney Stafford.

About the Black Student Association 

The Black Student Association was founded in 1963 by a small group of African American students. It was founded on the principles of encouraging academic excellence, social and political awareness. Throughout the years, BSA has grown and flourished into an organization that strives for excellence from every student at the University of Memphis. The BSA provides numerous services to the University of Memphis community

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The University of Memphis was honored to have Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Leonard Pitts, to speak on behalf of the  First Amendment Lecture Series. Pitts is the author of several books including: "Freeman," "Before I Forget" and "Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood."
Last night, Pitts strictly highlighted the use of the first amendment as well as his own personal opinion of the amendment, which can be summed up in one quote that gets repeated multiple times during the lecture. “You may call me out of my name if you feel so.”

Pitts stresses this quote when he explains to his audience that people have the right to say whatever they want or not say whatever they want under the protection of the first amendment. He also goes on to describe his fears of the state of the first amendment expressing that first amendment should not be bent by personal feelings. Unless the speech is slander or some other exception of the first amendment, people of the United States should be able to express themselves however they feel. Pitts goes on to bring up examples of public figures that have displayed controversy opinions of the first amendment. He criticizes former President, George Bush when he publicly states, “There should be limits on freedom.” Bush made this statement after he was mocked online. Specifically Bush was pertaining to the first amendment. 
Pitt's lecture on the first amendment was engaging enough to keep the audience tweeting specific quotes from evening along with comments such as, "Such a well researched defense of the first amendment. Leonard Pitts charged us to think about our rights and protect them."