MEDIA ADVISORY
                                                                    February 18, 2002

Contact:
Terry Hapney, Director of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3112; FAX: (740) 351-3179
E-mail: thapney@shawnee.edu

To news directors, editors, producers, and reporters:

Shawnee State University’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs presents Mohammed Bilal, former cast member from MTV’s “Real World,” speaking on "The Twelve Steps to Diversity,” an informative and entertaining lecture that deals with the issues of diversity and personal responsibility.  Bilal offers solutions on how members of society can accept the reality of cultural differences in communities and the world.  Bilal will speak on Tuesday, February 19 at 7 p.m. in the Flohr Lecture Hall in the Clark Memorial Library on the SSU campus in Portsmouth.  The event is a part of the Black History Month festivities at SSU.

Bilal currently lives in San Francisco and travels across the nation lecturing.  According to American Program Bureau Incorporated, Bilal’s constructive energy, talent, and ethics make him a top contemporary role model.  Bilal is also a member of the hip-hop act, Midnight Voices.  The act won a San Francisco Weekly Wammie in the Best Hip-Hop Band category in 1992.  Bilal recently completed his studies and thesis on cultural diversity at San Francisco State, according to MTV Online (www.mtv.com).

This event would make for a great feature article or story on Black History Month, and ways an institution of higher learning is educating residents of the region on multicultural issues.

More information about Bilal’s lecture is available from Multicultural Student Affairs in the Student Success Center at SSU by calling (740) 351-3553.  Matt Matthews is the contact person.  Contact the SSU Office of Communications if you need assistance in coordinating coverage of the event. 

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