Torch News Briefs

Free TIPS certification opportunity for students

Ferris State University’s Center for Leadership, Activities and Career Services will host TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 12.

The TIPS certification earned by attending this event will last three years. The training session is free to Ferris students, unless the student is participating due to judicial or university sanction.

TIPS is designed to train students how to deal with alcohol-related situations and gives students the tools to help others in need.

Pre-registration is required and can be completed through OrgSync. To register, visit orgsync.com/18438/forms/73689.

Native American Heritage Month activities

Native American Heritage Month is honored throughout November. Ferris State University will be celebrating the month with events aimed to help participants understand the Native American culture, stereotypes, history, food and lifestyle of the Michigan Indian tribal community.

All events during the month-long celebration are free to students, faculty, staff and the Big Rapids Community. Some events include a symphony band concert at 8 p.m. in Williams Auditorium on Nov. 7 and a fundraiser to purchase soccer balls called “We Are One – One World Futbol Kickoff,” which will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 in Wink Area.

More information about these events can be found at ferris.edu/htmls/studentlife/minority.

Annual Holiday Food Drive begins

American Marketing Association and Student Government are combining efforts to put on this year’s “Holiday Food Drive.” The collection of non-perishable food items is set to begin Nov. 12.

Items can be donated through RSOs or Residence Halls in the IRC until Nov. 21.

willie16@nullferris.edu

Ferris professor wins book honors

Ferris State University’s Andy Kantar received a bronze medal from the 2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards for his debut novel, “Game Face.”

Kantar’s story about a small-town eighth grader stood out among the other 1,200 entries in the “Pre-Teen General Fiction” competition.

Kantar, a Language and Literature professor and director of Ferris’s Writing Center, was excited his first novel is being well-received.

Jim Crow Museum featured on PBS

The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia will be highlighted in the PBS series “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” on Nov. 12.

The fourth episode of the six-hour series features an interview with Ferris’s vice president for Diversity and Inclusion David Pilgrim along with images of the collection. The episode portraying the Jim Crow era titled, “Making a Way Out of No Way” is scheduled to air at 8 p.m.

The final episode of the series airing Nov. 26 will also have footage of the museum’s collection.