UPCOMING EVENT: Diversity Rocks Week (April 25-29)

By Mary Stanton | UM Media Relations

OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi students are invited to enter two competitions that showcase campus diversity and earn a shot at winning one of two iPad tablet computers.

The competitions in photography and essay writing are a prelude to “Diversity Rocks,” a celebration of diversity with special emphasis on anti-bullying at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. A scholarship is also being offered for an African-American female journalism student.

Robin Street, lecturer in journalism, originated the program, which is being implemented by a committee of her public relations students.

“I tried to think of something I could do to help our students understand how important it is to honor diversity, and not bully people just because they are different,” Street said. “It is important to not only accept, but to celebrate our differences.”

To enter the photo competition, students should submit a photograph that captures diversity at Ole Miss. The winning photo will be featured on the back of the Diversity Rocks official T-shirt and displayed on the Diversity Rocks website and in Farley Hall.

For the essay competition, students should submit an essay of no more than 1,000 words about their thoughts, impressions and experiences with tolerance and diversity. The winning essay will be published on the website and in other publications.

Deadline for both competitions is April 1. The winner of each competition will get an iPad and be recognized during Diversity Rocks week, scheduled for April 25-29.

The Virginia “Tot” Taylor scholarship is also accepting applications from African-American women students studying journalism. Street and her brother, Martin Street, funded the scholarship in honor of Taylor, who was their family’s housekeeper for many years.

For more information on the competitions, scholarship or Diversity Rocks, go to http://diversityrocksonline.org or contact Street at rbstreet@olemiss.edu. You can also follow @diversityrocks on Twitter, or visit “diversity rocks at Ole Miss” on Facebook.