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Student Editor Remembers His Friend, Latasha Norman

By Jerry Zigler
Black College Wire

Blue & White Flash Jerry Zigler

Missing since November 13, 2007, the word of her disappearance hit the campus and spread like wildfire. Both male and female students became more concerned about the safety of their fellow female counterparts as the days turned into weeks of searching for Latasha.

What started as campus news became local news and finally national news. Prayer vigils, press conferences, flyers, pleas for information, all dominated the news for 16 days.

Word was sent out and efforts were made, but family and students began to wonder if enough was being done.

Jackson State, a beautiful campus in the heart of the West Jackson community and minutes away from downtown Jackson, is not a place where anyone thought something like this would happen.

"A home away from home" is what many students consider Jackson State to be. After all, it is the place we come to as young adults aspiring to be successful men and women. It is the place where we learn many of life's lessons and the place we are expected to experience the prime and most exciting part of our life.

It is the place where we as students, faculty, and staff have done for more than 130 years exactly what our motto says, "challenged the minds and changed the lives" of thousands of students, students who came to Jackson State as students and left as true Jacksonians.

It is also the place where many of us had to accept the harsh and heartbreaking reality of the fact that a young lady we had all grown to love, admire, and respect was no longer with us.

When Tasha (as she was referred to in the office) joined the yearbook staff, she came in with a desire to help get things done. That is what we needed as a staff. After all, we hadn't had an actual student yearbook staff in years.

We were looking for students who would be willing to get the job done by any means necessary. If that meant staying late, working on weekends, going to programs we didn't want to attend, and working for free as volunteers, that was the type of student we needed. After a year as a work-study student in the Office of Student Publications, Tasha returned the next year as a volunteer.

Though not assigned editor for any particular section, Tasha was always more than willing to work on any section, but was especially good with the classes and clubs pages. Quiet in spirit, she was far from being shy. Her ability to take suggestions, learn new skills and follow-through made her an asset not only to the yearbook staff, but also to me as the editor-in-chief.

It can sometimes be hard to find students to do something as tedious as working on the yearbook voluntarily and actually be dedicated to the purpose at hand. Tasha never had to be asked to do something twice, and she always was the first to sign up to help. Her hard work and dedication easily gained the respect of her coworkers and immediate advisors.

I found it quite difficult to make this attempt at writing this commentary. Losing a friend is something I don't believe is easy for anyone. No matter what the circumstances are, the reality of the situation has yet to set in. In this case, I have not only lost a classmate and coworker, but a good friend. To say that Latasha will be missed in the Office of Student Publications is an understatement.

As we move through the days that become weeks, months, and years, we will forever be reminded of the sweet and beautiful life that we were blessed to be apart of. The memories that were left are plentiful and ones we will forever cherish as we recognize and remember the life of Miss Latasha D. Norman.

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Articles in the "Voices" section represent the opinions of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Black College Wire.

Jerry Zigler, yearbook editor at Jackson State University, wrote this article for the Blue & White Flash, the student newspaper.

Posted Dec. 11, 2007