Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 20 January 2000 — Page 22

The Muncie Times, January 20, 2000, page 22

YO UTH SPOTLIGHT

Gregory, Jessica are in this week’s spotlight

By Judy Mays Jessica Marie Harris, 15, is a sophomore at Muncie Southside High School were here favorite subject is world history. She has a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Jessica is a member of the drama club. She also plays clarinet and piano. She is a member of Bethel A. M E. Church, where she is active in the youth group. In her spare time, Jessica likes to hang out with her friends and her mother. Her favorite family activity is going to see a movie. Her favorite food: Chinese. Her role model is her mother. “I admire her because she’s been through a lot but keeps her head up and keeps on going,” said Jessica. “I think the best advice I’ve received is that anytime I’m knocked down (by people), build on that experience to make myself better,” Jessica said.

Jessica Harris

Gregory Payne

“The advice I’d give to others is to keep your head up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.” Jessica said the best book she’s read is Homecoming by Cynthia Violet. Her favorite movie is “The Wiz.” “My biggest challenge is staying positive and being self confident,”

she said. She is the daughter of Pastor Barbara Harris and James Harris. Gregory Allen Payne, 16, is a junior at the Indiana Academy. Gregory said he’s interested in genetic engineering, math and “social sciences because my career choice is in that area.” Gregory

has a 3.6 GPA on a 4.0 scale. He is a member of the Black Students for Unity. He plays alto sax with the Burris School band. Gregory also plays piano. He attends Bethel A. M. E. Church where he sings with the youth choir. Gregory enjoys being with his friends and family in his spare time. Additionally, he enjoys music listening, playing his instruments and reading. His role models are his immediate family. “My father taught me to work hard. My mother emphasized achievement but having a positive, balanced outlook so as not be stressed and my sister Lauren best models the fun side of things. “The best advice I’ve received is working hard now will lead to a better tomorrow, maximizing

YOUTH SEE PAGE 35

RANDOLPH FROM PAGE 19 there are others that have taken place but that has been one of the highlighted events to let the county know that they are doing something positive and just to unify and walk in Dr. King’s dream.” Randolph said that when people in the community are doing things that are positive, there should be more community support. “Instead of having the Ball State community and the Muncie community, they can try to bridge that gap so that everybody’s working together instead of having two separate agendas. She said that she intends to continue doing a lot of the work that she already does as far as working in her church and with Ball State’s Voices of Triumph Gospel Choir for the remainder of the semester. “And not only that,” she said, “I plan to get

out in the community more and help with the mentoring of today’s youth, because they are our tomorrow and if we don’t educate them about today and yesterday, then when tomorrow comes, who’s to say what type of guidance they’ll have.” Randolph said that she feels that King’s biggest contribution to society was his concepts on nonviolence. “The nonviolence movement was one of his greatest contributions, along with the fact that he was a child of God. That alone says a lot because God could have chosen anybody of any race to have a legacy such as Dr. King’s, but He chose King and that by itself just stands alone.” She said that the fact that he was a child of God and he lived by God’s word was one of his greatest contributions. “Through God’s Word, he demonstrated the nonviolence mov-

ement, which says to people that you don’t have to retaliate in a forceful manner to be heard or to get your point across, you just stand back and let God fight your battle,” she said. Randolph said that if she could meet King, she’d say, “Thank You.” “I would thank him first of all for standing for what he believed in and for allowing God to lead him through the obstacles. Secondly, I’d thank him for being a role model that has a legacy even thirty years later. When compared to some of the most notable men and women in society, he’s among the top and that just stands out to me. “I would also thank him for allowing God to lead him because that was something that he allowed God to do through him. “I would ask him what he’d recommend for a young person

like myself as a role model to the younger generation. What more could I do to help further his dream along, because the generation today is not like tha\ in the 60s so, you’d have to use different types of tactics to reach them. I would just want to know what he would do or what his solution would be. King might say, “ But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” Randolph is a graduate of Ball State University with a in major general studies and a minor in religious studies and pre-professional English.