Choir for Good raises awareness, money for social justice organizations through performances
Western Michigan University
It has been a full year into the pandemic, and live performers have had a tough year.
and last updated 2021-03-11 11:42:31-05
KALAMAZOO, Mich. â It has been a full year into the pandemic, and live performers have had a tough year.
Although, the changes have given a West Michigan choral group a chance to get creative and do something good for the community.
Choir students at Western Michigan University are adapting to a new way of performing and through it are helping social justice organizations in the process.
Part 2 of an interview with Kim Adams and Jack Reeves.
In an interview with Cara Lieurance, Dr. Adams describes how the student-led project began with teams of eight singers, who safely rehearsed and recorded a variety of works. Then they explored how the meaning of the pieces could mirror the work done by a charitable organization they researched. The result is a thougthful interactive online publication. Each piece is paired with a paragraph about its meaning, and an introduction to a non-profit organization working to solve an issue. Sophomore Jack Reeves joined the conversation to share his experience working on Choir For Good. He s grateful that he was able to grow as a musician, composer and person during a difficult time. The interactive program can be found here.
A conversation with Alexis and Justin Black
All odds were against them growing up to know anything about healthy relationships, let alone graduate from college and start businesses of their own. Now married, the Blacks have co-authored
“When I was 6 years old, my mother committed suicide,” Alexis says. “I didn’t find out until much later that my grandmother also committed suicide, so that’s something that runs in our family. After losing my mother, I went to live with my biological father, and around that time is when the abuse started.”
Credit Patty Leonor Photography
It didn t end there. As do many girls and women who ve been abused as children, Alexis went on to choose toxic relationships in her teen years. Suffering the lack of self-esteem that victims often do, she subjected herself to emotional and psychological abuse by a boyfriend for more than eights years before finding the strength and self-worth to leave him.
Western Michigan University Public Safety achieves accreditation
Jason Walsh/FOX 17
While there are only about 50% of in-person or hybrid classes on Western Michigan University s campus currently, the school is expecting somewhat of a more normal feel for the fall semester.
and last updated 2021-03-04 11:06:09-05
KALAMAZOO, Mich. â Western Michigan University Department of Public Safety has joined a small group of police agencies in the state to achieve accreditation for its policies and procedures, management, operations and support services.
The department is one of 34 out of almost 600 police agencies in the state to get the recognition, according to a news release Thursday.
WMU-Cooley Law School Innocence Project Gains Another Release
Published: February 18, 2021
Kenneth Nixon hugs his mother after being released from prison after 16 years. (Photo: WMU-Cooley Law School. Used by permission)
When Wayne County Judge Bruce Morrow set aside the conviction of Kenneth Nixon today, it was another legal victory for the Western Michigan University Innocence Project. Morrow s ruling confirmed Nixon was wrongfully convicted of murder, attempted murder and arson in 2005.
Some background on the case:
On May 19, 2005, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a home on Charleston street in Detroit, causing the deaths of a 10-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl. The mother and other children, including her 13-year-old son were also in the home and sustained injuries. Nixon and his then girlfriend, Latoya Caulford, were charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of arson and four counts of attempted murder. Caulford, accused of driving Nixon to the Charleston hou