As president of Bombsquad Productions, Meagan Mason frequently answers the same questions about the student group.
"'What is Bombsquad? Do you work with the police department?'" the criminal justice senior said. "Once people find out what the organization is and what we do, a lot of people are immediately blown away."
The group, which joins community service with its members' personal growth, received the name Bombsquad after several people called its outreach activities "the bomb," Mason said.
Among the activities the group coordinates is a seminar concerning retention rates for black males at MSU, to be held at 8 p.m. today in room 132 Hubbard Hall.
Joshua Gillespie, the adviser for the group, said this semester the nine members of the group chose the topic of the seminar to reflect a prevalent issue.
"In terms of trying to support the black community of the university, who aren't graduating at the rate we want to see, this is one small way to tackle an issue affecting those on campus," he said.
Tammye Coles, coordinator of the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs, or ORESA, said retention rates are especially low for black males.
"The numbers were small to begin with, so if you don't have people coming out the other end as far as graduating, there is a problem," she said.
Many students come to MSU unprepared for the rigors of the academics and college life, some don't feel welcome at the university and others are unable to find a supportive connection in a peer or faculty member, Coles said.
"It's not just one reason for any one male student," she said, adding that rates for black females are higher than their male counterparts. "You have different types of pressure that males are subject to that females may not be subject to."
Several services are currently available through the Office of Supportive Services and ORESA — such as the Black Male Initiative. The initiative is a network for black students sponsored by ORESA.
Coles said the seminar offered tonight by Bombsquad Productions could help with the problem.
"If they have the support, it will allow them to facilitate a better opportunity to succeed," Coles said. "(Bombsquad Productions is) one of the groups to think outside the box and to talk about issues that may not be brought to the forefront."
Gillespie, who also is the complex director for Holden Hall, started the group in 1998 to provide students with an opportunity to give back to the community while strengthening themselves for their future careers.
Members of the group are required to perform 20 hours of community service each semester, participate in anthropologic excursions — when students expose themselves to a new social or cultural situation — and public-speaking activities, and coordinate educational activities such as the seminar.
"We feel our production is a service to the community in all facets of college life," Mason said. "We are here to support and give back."
