The Rona

The Coronavirus pandemic is causing people from around the nation to stay quarantined and practice social distancing.

As of today, the United States has been reported with the most COVID-19 cases in the world, surpassing China and Italy.

Gas Station under $2

While being self-quarantined, I find myself going crazy within the walls of my house.

With being an athlete, it is hard for me to adjust being a regular person if that makes sense.  All the gyms are closed and doing body weight lifts aren't always ideal.

Due to being quarantined, I have experienced changes within my diet, sleep schedule, mental health, and ability to complete class assignments.

As a senior, the possibility of not being able to walk across the stage after all the hard work i have put in the past four years is draining.

I asked my mother, Leigh Hammond on how she felt about the virus:

" It's very unfortunate because i want nothing more for my son then to graduate college and take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of him."

Quarantine Track Workout

I want to be apart of this moment, he deserves to walk across that stage.  He's came this far and I am so proud of him"

It takes alot of adjusting and preparation for something of this nature, so i am trying to adapt the best way that I can.

Students are being asked to evacuate campus in move out of their dorm rooms last minute, which isn't fair to the students.  Graduating seniors won't get that last opportunity to enjoy their final semester of college.

The Real "Crip"

Dr. Hine was a former professor from South Carolina State and wrote a book about South Carolina State during the Jim Crow Era.

Currently, S.C. State has a historic building named after Harold W. Crawford, and it is the communications department building for Mass Communication, Journalism and Broadcast Students.
In the 1970s, the building was officially renamed after Crawford, Originally named as the mechanical industries building.

Harold Crawford has nickname called "Crip" and he was a student and eventual dean of the department at a point in time at South Carolina State.

Over a 100 years ago South Carolina State was founded by the general assembly on March 3rd, 1896 as the colored college in South Carolina.

"Faculty and students all had to be people of color, the only exception is that the Board of Trustees is all white and all male until 1976", said Dr. Hines.

Crawford was a member of the fraternity Omega Psi Phi and earned a degree in 1927 as a mechanic arts major.

"He did seem to me like a very reserved and shy individual and when Miller died in 1950, Harold was a candidtae to be president of Sc State"

The board of trustees were skeptical about appointing Crawford as president because they weren't too sure if he was opposed to segregation.

Crawford was also into sports and was an advocate for the schools athletic program as he was said to have played football in his past.

My Top 10 Favorite Eagles Players

10. Michael Vick

Vick currently is the greatest Dual Threat quarterback in NFL History, unless Lamar Jackson plans on taking that crown from him.  Vick is a 4x Probowler and the best rushing QB in history.  In 2010 he won Comeback Player of the Year after serving time in prison prior to that.  Vick had his best years with the Eagles but was already on the rise when he played for the Atlanta Falcons.  Vick graced the cover of Madden NFL 2004 and was the "Human Cheatcode" because he couldn't  be stopped on the game.



9. Lesean McCoy

McCoy is the most dynamic Runningback the Eagles had In history.  He was a rushing champion in 2013 and the Philadelphia Eagles All-time Rushing yards leader, and NFL touchdowns leader in 2011.  He can make you miss in open space and make you look silly while doing it.  McCoy is a 6x Pro Bowler and is still providing a spark for the Kansas City Chiefs offense.



8. Darren Sproles

Sproles is the biggest little guy in the League.  I can relate to him because he is categorized as "too small" but that didn't stop him from being one of the most dynamic players in the League.  He is 3x Pro Bowler and is ranked 5th all time in NFL History with All-Purpose yards with 19,696.  He broke the single season record for most all purpose yards in 2011.  He is so dynamic he can player the Wr position, RB position, and be productive on Special teams.



7. Asante Samuel

Samuel is a 2x Super Bowl Champion and a 4x Pro Bowler.  He played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, and the Atlanta Falcons.  Samuel is a 2x NFL interception leader in 2006 and 2009.  He has 51 interceptions in his career and retired from football in 2013.  Some believe that he should be considered a Hall of Fame.




6. Jalen Mills

Jalen Mills is currently my favorite player on the Eagles team right now.  He plays my favorite position in Cornerback and attended my dream school of LSU. (I definitely love coming to SC State wouldn't change that for the world).  But Mills is solid player and the best corner on the Eagles roster.  He brings that hunger to the defense and is a leader for the secondary.  Mills is apart of the Super Bowl 52 winning Eagles team.



5. Desean Jackson

Jackson is on his second stint with the Eagles in his career.  He brings the energy to the locker room that always enlightens the mood.  He is speedy receiver who can run past any defensive player n the NFL.  In year 11, despite him being out the year for injury, he is one of the best deep ball threats in NFL History.  Jackson is 3x Pro Bowler and has over 10,000 yards in his career.



4. Malcolm Jenkins

Currently, Malcolm Jenkins is the captain of the Philadelphia Eagles and he is key part to our team.  He is a 2x super bowl champion and a 3x pro bowler.  The Eagles received Malcolm Via free agency and it was either him or Jarius Byrd from the Bills and the Eagles made the right choice considering that Byrd isn't in the League anymore.



3. Terrell Owens

T.O. can arguably be considered as a top 3 WR in NFL History with Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.  He is the only NFL player in History to score a touchdown against all 32 teams.  He is the only player to have a 200 yard game for 3 different teams. Owens is a 6x pro bowler and 3x NFL touchdowns leader.



2. Brian Dawkins

Dawkins is considered in my eyes, the greatest safety to every play the game.  He is a NFL
Hall of Famer. His jersey No. 20 was retired by the Eagles.  Inducted in the Eagles Hall of fame and he is the first NFL Player to be have a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, interception, and touchdown in the same game.  Dawkins is a 9x Pro Bowler.



1. David Akers

Akers was the Kicker for the Eagles from 1999-2010 and he is the Eagles
All-time leading scorer in points, inducted in the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2017.
His field goal percentage is 80.9% throughout his whole career.

Kris Bennett: The Media Mogul

Most people to the human knowledge have never heard of South Carolina State University, let alone know where the city of Orangeburg is located.



The point is, anyone can make it out of anywhere it just determines how bad you want it and what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals.

Kris Bennett is a prime example of that.  A graduate from South Carolina State in 2016 and achieved a Bachelors Degree in Broadcasting Communications.  She currently works at a radio station in Charleston, South Carolina Z93 JAMZ as an on air personality

Bennett came to speak to the communications students at South Carolina State during SCSU's Homecoming week.

She introduced her new documentary called, "The Peninsula Stories: Ralph and Sid.

The story feature two kids from Burke Highschool who were top tier athletes who only focused on the "athlete" part in Student-Athlete.  The two brother were considered the best athletes to come out of Charleston.



There was a debate on which brother  was the better athletes as they both played basketball and football.  You can tell at the beginning of the video that the interviewees were caught up because they were both that good.

Bennett said, " They were like park legends in Charleston".

To the fact that everyone knew about them, sort of comparable to being the Michael Jordan and Lebron James of Charleston.

Shay Takes Her "Bulldog Tenacity” to CNN

Ashailyn Gleaton is a 2018 graduate from the illustrious South Carolina State University where she graduated with a bachelors degree in Communications with a concentration of broadcasting.  She has a passion for creative writing, social media, and love for Tv/film production.  She was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina and was a News Intern at Channel 4 news in Charleston, South Carolina.  Currently she is a News Assistant for CNN in the Greater Atlanta Area.

Q: What do you think your favorite thing about your new job is ? What do you enjoy doing the most ?
A: I would say, being able to shadow and pick where I want to go. I thought I knew what I wanted to do in local news but being here has actually made me change my mind. I initially said in local news I didn't want to do producing but now I'm looking into an associate producer role.

Q: What's your experience like at CNN on a day to day basis?

A:  I mostly do prompter or print out scripts during the day. A typical day like today, I get in at 7 AM.  I prompt for two shows and then I go to the studio for the rest of the day and print out scripts.

Q:  How did you get the job at CNN?

A: A lot of luck ! I honestly just applied while I was in Charleston. I saw an opportunity and threw my hat into the ring. I applied in November and they sent an email to record the interview. In February, they emailed me to ask if I was still interested. Then, I did a video interview because I couldn't get to Atlanta to do an actual interview. About a month later I got the call that I had the job.

Q: How is living in Atlanta now since you came from Orangeburg ?

A: A big adjustment, a lot of traffic and a lot to do. Unfortunately, I don't get to always go out and do anything, but definitely a lot to do.

Q: Have you had a lot of opportunities to network and meet other people in your field?

A: Yes, I definitely met a lot of people. Though I haven't met the news personalities but I have met Coy Wire, Hines Ward, Robin Meade. I also network with people I met in the control room.

Q: Do a lot of celebrities come by CNN?

A: I've met one celebrity, Aldis Hodge, who starred in the movie Brian Banks.

Q: When you first came there was it easy to have good working relationships with your co-workers?

A: Well with this position since we're all over the place, I only see my co-workers in passing or if I'm coming into the studio or control room. It felt nod of lonely because you get to know these people but you don't see them.

Big Trent Story

When you think of the military, the first thing that comes to mind is the negative right?  Well in this case SC State communications major Trenton "Gummy" Montgomery is the complete opposite.

Gummy is his nickname that was given to him while in the Military.



Montgomery can be the most outgoing, kind, and well-mannered person you will ever meet.

He had a vision, he joined the military and was a driver for the Abrams M1 Tank for the Army.  The military helped pay his way through college.


The Abrams M1 Tank weighs a whopping 68 tons.

"I didn't have enough scholarship money and felt that this would be the best move for me through the military," said Montgomery.

After he joined, he received full compensation for college and it covers all expenses for his time spent at South Carolina State.


Fort Benny in Columbus, Georgia is where he had his basic training and that's where he learned more about the way the Tanks work and of course, learn how drive it.

His experience in the military was a great experience:

"My experience was challenging but rewarding by being able to open up and be more confident within my abilities and growing up into manhood," said Montgomery.

While stationed in Qatar for 7 months, he enjoyed himself and reiterated that the food was good and his main focus/objective was protecting the US Military Force.



" I was more focused on completing the mission instead of being eager to go into battle," said Montgomery.

Now while being involved in the communications field at SC State he found his niche in sports reporting.

" I chose to go to the communications route because I wanted to started reporting with sports because that is a passion of mine."

Where The Spice?

As everyone knows, Popeye's has been booming lately with their rerelease of the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich.

There has been turmoil over the sandwich the past couple of weeks its been out, customers and employers are experiencing first hand of the debacle.

I had the chance to enjoy the chicken sandwich for the second time around during class for a food review.  The first time I had the sandwich is was worth the hype, this time, I can't say the same.

Originally I ordered a spicy chicken sandwich and it tasted everything but spicy.  When I first bit into the sandwich it was thick, juicy, and it did taste good.

Popeyes Spicy Sandwich 

The first go around, I had an original sandwich and then I experienced the spicy sandwich and I tasted no difference.

I purchased two chicken sandwiches and ended up given the second one to a teammate because I wasn't feeling it.

My classmate, Reggie also purchased two and had this to say:

" I thought the chicken sandwich was "ight" and it wasn't as spicy as I thought it was going to be, but it was bigger than what I thought it was going to be, but it was good, I'm not going to lie"

Maybe Popeyes got complacent with the sandwich or maybe there wasn't any spice to begin with, but the sandwich is good, but not worth the hype.

Spicy Sandwich Bag