In an effort to allow students to enjoy themselves and meet other students, faculty, staff and administrators, students were treated to a cookout at the president’s home.The Student Government Association funded the cookout. SGA president Lamark Hughes led the effort.
Hughes said in the past three years, since he has been an SGA member, the SGA always talked about honoring honor students with more than just a convocation.
“This year we proposed a plan that would allow honor students to have fun and take a day off. We thought a cookout would be a great way to achieve this,” he said.
“Also, we thought we should use SGA funds on students,” said Hughes, a graduating senior.
Hughes said Honors Week should be an annual thing. “If we take a week to say, ‘Hey we appreciate you,’ more students will want to be honor students. It will show students that being smart is a cool thing. They will want to participate in the parade and cookout,” said the elementary education and kinesiology major from Tallulah.
Hughes called GSU president Dr. Frank G. Pogue and asked if the cookout could be hosted at the president’s home to show students that his house is open to the community. Hughes said some students are about to graduate and have never been to the president’s house
First Lady Dorothy Pogue said she thought the cookout turned out well.
When asked why she and Dr. Pogue decided to host the cookout at their home, she said, “The grounds here are beautiful, and the students should come to the president’s house to see it.”
Many honorees thought that it was a good idea to host Honors Week activities. They said it was a good way to show being smart is a good thing.
In addition, they said when other students see honor students being recognized, it will encourage them
Gerald Makobong of Cameroon said Honors Week is about compensating what people have been doing and trying to encourage them to keep doing it.
“It is a form of motivation. It is important to keep organizing Honors Week. When people see their friends being recognized, it will make them do better,” said the freshman nursing major.
He said people, especially parents, can see the students are doing well academically. His roommate, Kometa Mufor, plans to send his honors medallion home to his mother.
Dr. Lawanna Gunn-Williams, who has chaired the Honors Committee for over 20 years, said she was pleased with the Honors Week activities and hopes that Honors Week will grow.
“We will continue to build, and it will become larger as the years go by,” she said. Gunn-Williams is a professor of sociology and psychology at GSU.
Other committee members were Dr. Sue Abraham, Dr. Doris Carter, Dr. Sharon Ford Dunn, Peggy Ethridge, Sandra Lee, Barbara Lewis, Clair Lewis, Dr. Frances Staten, Melanie C. Thomas, Arsenio Wilborn and Dr. J. Russell Willis.