Thomas E. Miller

A hall on the campus of South Carolina State University named after him? An educator, lawyer and politician? It has to be none other the Thomas Ezekiel Miller. Born June 17th, 1849 in Ferrebeeville, S.C. Miller was born too an unmarried white couple, but rumor has it that he was raised by a black couple in Charleston. His light skin complexion caused speculation about whether or not he was black or white. He could have passed for a white person, but he identified himself as black. He attended South Carolina College (now know was University of South Carolina) and graduated in 1875.

(Thomas E. Miller)

Fast forward years later, Miller was an active politician as served as a member of the republican party as he represented Beaufort in the South Carolina house and then the senate from 1847 to 1882. He praised rural black southerners for their progress they had made since the emancipation. He condemned southern white Democrats for their undemocratic efforts to deny black men the suffrage. "It is not the fear of Negro supremacy in the south that causes southern election officers to suppresses the Negro vote, but it is the fear of the rule of majority regardless of race." 

Fast forward to September 30th, 1896, Miller who was the first President of Colored Normal Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina, and his his 11 faculty members welcomed students to the school. The 8-acres campus and 11-acre farm was home to the first students.Today known as South Carolina State University  it was a primary and secondary vocational training school modeled on Hampton and Tuskegee. Miller was the longest serving President of SCSU from 1911-1937.

(Old hall located on Normal Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina)

A building located on SCSU campus is called Miller Hall. This building is named after Thomas E. Miller. It was built in 1938 in his honor. Miller Hall is one of the 1st buildings that wasn't named after board members making it distinct. It has also been stated that Miller Hall was built by students. 

(Old picture of Miller Hall)

Miller Hall: Then and Now

Across from the student center stands a building that is old and abandoned. Many SC State students walk past it everyday and even relax in front of it. Want to know what building i'm referring to? It's Miller Hall. This distinguished hall has rich history lurking beyond its aged walls.

Originally built in 1938, this building was named after the first president Thomas E. Miller (pictured Below) of South Carolina State University which was formerly named Colored Normal Mechanical and Industrial College. This dorm was intended for male junior and seniors, but later changed to all female. "Miller hall was one of the 1st buildings that wasn't named after board members" says Avery Daniels the archivist of Miller F. Whitaker library at SCSU. The most recent use of Miller hall was back in 2006-2007 when students resided in it for band camp. 

(Thomas E. Miller)

Present day, Miller Hall from the outside still looks good, but the inside tells a different story. We had a chance to go look inside Miller with my class, and we got an eye full. The walls were peeling, old chairs were scattered throughout the floors, and old keys to the rooms were all laid out.  

This building looks like it has major code violations and has been left abandoned to hold old furniture that can be seen in current dorms on campus now. It would be nice to see Miller Hall restored and used as a dorm again, but for now, it's just an old building on campus that students walk by everyday to observe.

Have a look at a few pictures I captured while inside Miller Hall.

   

Hurricane Florence

It seems like every fall semester, South Carolina gets threatened with a Hurricane. Hurricane Florence was on track to impact South Carolina, and we had to take precaution. We were notified by school officials that classes were canceled and that we had to leave. This hurricane was nothing to play with and was intensifying.

During my time back at home I didn't do much. I did watch the news a much as possible and see if Florence was still going to impact South Carolina as previously forecast. Those days we got off from school were basically chill days for me lol. I'm Glad Florence was downgraded into a tropical storm once it hit here, and glad we were spared from the worst compared to our neighboring state of North Carolina.

Feature Story

Feature Story

My summer in 3 words was Hot, Chill, and fast. Now I know that when summer hits, you're supposed to expect them temperatures being in the 90s and above. I am South Carolinian and you would think that I would be used top the heat right? Wrong!! Some days were extremely hot, and I was over it.

My summer was pretty chill. If i wasn't at work, then I was at home in the air conditioning chilling as usual. I would generally take a walk late in the afternoon after the sun sets.

It seems like every summer goes by faster and faster. Summer lasted for like a few days lol, but I glad it went by quick. I enjoyed having time off from school. 

This class assignment involved conducting an interview with a classmate. I had the opportunity to  interview Alyssa Gadson and ask her a few questions. These questions ranged from goal after graduation to Homecoming here at South Carolina State University. Jalen Ayers also helped with producing this segment which I called "Campus Conversation." Click below to view the interview with Alyssa.

Person on the street

This assignment dealt with me acting as a reporter with the help of Jalen Ayers and asking a few people on the campus of South Carolina State University about former Hurricane Maria that was threatening to hit south Carolina. I did get a chance to get a few opinions about the storm from our very own Miss. South Carolina State University, and a staff member from the Communications department. click below to view the video. 

My Solar Eclipse Experience

August 21st, 2017 will go down as one of the best days in astronomical hisotry. A solar total exclipse https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ filled the skys over the United States. The eclipse came down to South Carolina and Orangeburg was lucky to be in the path of totality. South Carolina State University www.Scsu.edu was one of the many places that hosted a viewing for the amazing sky show.

(Source: South Carolina State University)

Prior to the totality of the "Great American Eclipse," SC State's campus began to fill up with people from many states. Oliver C. Dawson stadium housed the many spectators as they waited patiently for the astronomical event. They were entertained by the sounds of Marching 101.

(Source: South Carolina State University)

I personally think that it was amazing to even see it in person. It was a once in a lifetime event and it was nothing short of dissapointing. I was glad that the clouds went away so that we had a clear view.