Three classic 24-hour diners to visit in D-FW. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on May 3, 2023. All photos shot with 35mm film.
Plates clattering, bacon sizzling and people conversing are the exact sounds produced from a unique American experience: the 24-hour diner.
From the neon lights and vinyl booths of classic diners to the modern decor of contemporary restaurants, 24-hour diners have evolved since they first started. Despite COVID-19 and many societal challenges of the past few years, 24-hour diners remain a beloved American establishment.
For decades, 24-hour diners have been a staple in American culture. They offer a place for people who stay up all night, early risers in the morning to come grab a plate or for students who need to stay late to study. For some customers, the 24-hour diner is more than just a place to grab a late-night meal. It is a social hub, a gathering place for friends and family to catch up over coffee, pancakes, waffles, bacon and eggs.
There are many 24-hour options to choose from in Dallas. You can always go to Whataburger or any late night fast food restaurant. You can even go and get snacks from QuickTrip. All of these places are convenient but lack the one thing that makes 24-hour diners great: a social connection. Fortunately, residents in D-FW have three great options that offer the classic 24-hour dining experience.
Metro Diner
2316 W Davis Street
Dallas, TX 75208
Metro Diner began as a chain in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1938 and is now a Dallas staple. The Diner did not receive the same level of success as Waffle House as a chain, but this does not diminish the many qualities it has.
Metro Diner features a more retro look with black and white square patterns on the exterior of the building, red and black booth seats and plastic red and white menus.
The food also sets Metro Diner apart, with classic bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, fried chicken and waffles their extensive menu.
During the midday shift, chef Jimmie Jewel Joneson stays busy with orders from customers. “People eat with their eyes,” Joneson said.
“If you slap that food on that plate, they might not eat it,” Joneson said. “But if you take the time to cook it like you’re supposed to, they’ll sit there and eat everything on the plate… I try to put enough on everybodys plate so they’ll be full.”
Metro Diner gives the distinct ambience of what a 24-hour diner should be and epitomizes a piece of American culture.
J’s Breakfast & Burgers
14925 Midway Road #105
Addison, TX 75001
J’s Breakfast & Burgers gives you a more straightforward 24-hour dining experience. This independent diner has been serving breakfast and burgers since they first opened in 1982. They now have 25 employees working three different shifts.
With cream colored walls, red chairs and green booth seats, J’s makes you feel as if you traveled back to when American diners were making their way toward landmark status. They even allow smoking. This is a no-nonsense diner that gives you a sense of familiarity with affordable prices. As their name suggests, the menu is breakfast and burgers.
Samantha Lynn Beckner, a midday shift waitress, said she believes J’s is a perfect example of what a 24-hour diner should be. “We are the greasy spoon,” she said. “We want to give our customers lots of food and lots of happiness. We are here to feed them so they are happy.”
Beckner said she loves the uniqueness of J’s and how it is different from chains and franchises. “We are a small business, not a franchise,” Beckner said. “If you don’t act right, we’ll yell at you. We have generations of faithful customers, and we allow smoking.”
Waffle House
14951 Marsh Lane
Farmers Branch, TX 75234
Waffle House, the iconic Southern diner chain, has been a fixture on the culinary landscape for over 65 years. Known for its iconic yellow sign and being open 24/7, the chain has established itself as a cultural representation of the South.
Because of Waffle House’s accessibility, people flock to it when everything else is closed. As soon as you walk in, Waffle House feels like home. The aroma, atmosphere and food remind you of a time when you had no troubles. You feel the same thing at 3 a.m. or at 6 p.m.
Going with friends or family exemplifies this feeling, It feels as though you are creating a memory.
Thomas Krueger, a salesperson and master grill operator, has been working at Waffle House for less than a year while still in high school. “One thing I like about this place, whether I work here or not, is the atmosphere,” Krueger said. “I like the diner atmosphere where you actually have to sit down and enjoy a meal instead of getting your food in a paper bag and drive off.”
He said, “I can get a cup of coffee and I can bring my laptop in and do some work at 9 a.m. in the morning or at 2 a.m. in the morning.”
Museum celebrates author Robert E. Howard. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on April 5, 2023. All photos shot with 35mm film.
Brick buildings, small businesses and grass could describe almost any small town in Texas. One particular town in West Texas sets itself apart from the others. Cross Plains, Texas, is a town with a population just shy of 1,000 people.
What this town has that others do not is a different kind of history. Cross Plains is where the father of sword and sorcery was raised. His name was Robert Ervin Howard.
Howard was born on Jan. 22, 1906. Howard loved reading and writing and found school to be joyless. He grew up with the same small-town Texas attitude many at the time possessed, but also constantly found himself at a crossroads between living in a small town and loving fantasy.
He did not grow up around people who thought about the same things. Howard also enjoyed boxing and became an amateur boxer. With these different inspirations, Howard eventually became a professional writer.
Howard and his family moved to Cross Plains in 1919 when he was 13 years-old. Howard submitted stories to magazines, although most of them were rejected. Eventually, by the early 1930s, he was submitting stories to Weird Tales, a pulp magazine. Around this time, Howard took a trip to South Texas where he wrote his most famous poem, “Cimmeria,” and conceived the character of Conan the Barbarian. Howard wrote more than 800 poems.
One of the most important people in Howard’s life was his mother, Hester. She instilled a love for poetry and literature in her son and supported his writings. She was the biggest influence on him as he grew up. When her health declined in 1936, so did Howard’s. He died by suicide in the summer of 1936 when he found his mother could not wake from her coma.
Howard’s success came after his passing. The “Conan the Barbarian” series was republished in the late 1960s, leading to a popularity uptick in the 1970s known as the “First Howard Boom.”
The “Second Howard Boom” occurred during the early 21st century when new collections of Howard’s works were printed with restored, original text.
This boom had a movie released in 2011 about his character, Conan. The characters of Kull the Conqueror and Solomon Kane also received movie adaptations, in 1997 and 2009 respectively.
Howard’s house in Cross Plains is still standing today, and was converted into the Robert E. Howard Museum. The museum is part of the National Register of Historic Places. It is fully owned and maintained by Project Pride, a nonprofit organization that encourages residents and businesses in Cross Plains to clean up their yards or business premises. Project Pride bought the home in 1989.
Arlene Stephenson, the president of Project Pride, said Project Pride wanted Cross Plains to look more attractive than other small towns.
“Cross Plains is at a main intersection of two busy highways.” Stephenson said. “A lot of traffic comes through here. We also wanted to retain the history of our area.” Project Pride had to completely restore the house to how it originally looked. Lots of research went into the effort.
The museum has become increasingly popular in the Robert E. Howard community. People from all over the world come to visit the museum.
Stephenson said, “We find it almost impossible to believe that somebody from overseas would be so excited that they would make this the focal point of their trip to the U.S.” There is even a German professor of American literature named Dierk Gunther from the University of Tokushima in Japan who comes to the museum.
Project Pride hosts a yearly event known as Howard Days at the museum to honor the life and legacy of Robert E. Howard.
Howard Days is typically in June, but this year it will be held on April 28-29.
The event has many activities including a Cross Plains walking tour, as well as panels with guest speakers and a keynote speaker. The library also displays original Robert E. Howard typescripts and original Weird Tales magazines.
One of the most interesting things that happens during Howard Days is when attendees go to the front of the museum and read Howard’s poem, “Cimmeria,” in their native language.
There have been as many as nine different native speakers reading the poem. “We have had people from Russia, Norway, Germany, Ireland and Japan all read the poem,” Stephenson said. “People have also read it in Gaelic, Latin and even Old English.”
Lions take bite out of the Bears. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on April 3, 2023.
The Brookhaven Campus baseball team fought to the end, but the Mountain View Lions broke free from the Bears’ trap, winning 10-9 at the Bears’ diamond on March 8.
The Bears’ pitcher Tommy Giese took the mound at the top of the first inning. The Mountain View Lions were getting what they needed this inning with an early 3-0 lead over the Bears. Outside fielder Jacob Vela plated two runs and attempted to tie it before the end of the inning, but came up short with the Lions leading the Bears 3-2.
After relief pitcher Jacob Leskovsky came in, the Bears started to turn it around in the second inning. Catcher/inside fielder Ray Jaramillo came in hot, plating a run, and after a pair of runs by infielder Deven Kirtley and first baseman Peyton Starr, the score was now 5-3 with the Bears leading at the top of the third inning. This success was short-lived.
The Bears would go scoreless for six innings while the Lions attacked. The Lions pounced on the Bears, with seven scores between the third and eighth innings, while playing tremendous defense on the Bears, giving them 13 strikeouts. This gave the Lions a 10-5 lead before the ninth inning.
The Bears received some life at the top of the ninth inning. Third baseman Gabriel Garza came in swinging with a run and shortstop Alex Rangel added his own. Inside fielders, Jacob Scott and Bo Dinscore, plated the last two runs of the game in the bottom of the ninth.
At the very end, the Bears had the bases loaded after Vela got a double and put them in position to win the game. But the Bears could not complete the grand slam and fell to the Lions 10-9.
After the game, head coach Shaquille Thomas said: “We went into a deadzone. It was a good job of not giving in, being down five runs, but overall, not competing between the third and eighth inning is what killed us.” Thomas also gave his thoughts on why the team has been struggling. He said the team was putting themselves under pressure, which affected their performance during the game.
Some players also voiced their frustrations with how the game went and the team’s struggles this season. “We definitely under-achieved today,” Vela said. “We had too many errors that we shouldn’t have and too many missed swings. Not good at all.”
Vela, also one of the team’s captains, talked about what the team needs to do to get their minds right for the rest of the season. He said, “I think right now, we’re going through a bit of a rough patch, but I believe in my team and my coaches and I think we’ll figure it out and start winning.”
Jaramillo also gave his thoughts. “We fell a little short by one run. We need to play better, a little more clean with no errors. We just didn’t play good baseball today,” Jaramillo said, “The biggest problem facing this team is adversity. No one likes to lose and with our record, it’s not looking so good and everyone is stressing about what our record is gonna be. We just need to play clean baseball.”
The Bears won one game in their three-game series against the Lions with a 7-4 win on March 10 at Mountain View. The Lions won at Brookhaven 10-9 on March 8 and at Mountain View 11-7 on March 11.
Coach Williams scores award. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on Feb. 23, 2023.
Dallas College Brookhaven Campus women’s soccer team is a dynasty, with four championships in eight years and six consecutive conference championship appearances.
Assistant coach Robert Williams poses for a photo at a Lady Bears’ practice at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus on Feb. 9. (Trennt Rhea)
The success can be attributed to the coaching. The Lady Bears are led by head coach Jimmy Elder and assistant coach Robert Williams. Elder and Williams joined the team eight years ago.
Williams received recognition for his work following the Lady Bears’ historic 2022 season. Williams received the Assistant Coach of the Year Award from the Black Soccer Coaches Community with United Soccer Coaches. “The award means the world to me,” Williams said. “I was at the awards ceremony in tears. I do this for the love of the game, I don’t do this for any recognition and I can’t put it into words knowing that my peers decided that I should get this award.”
He started his coaching career at age 18 in Bermuda, where he coached a U11 boys team for the local club he played for. He coached that team until they were a U21 team and then went down to a U9 boys team. He came to coach for Brookhaven in 2015.
Elder said how proud he was of Williams, and what he does to help him as a head coach. “He deserves it,” Elder said. “He fills the water, does the ice, recruits the players, helps me coach, helps me, mentors the girls and helps the girls in the classroom. He sacrifices well beyond what he actually gets paid to, and it’s hard to find that in an assistant coach.”
Williams said winning last season’s national championship was memorable. “Winning our fourth national title was even more special because it was the first time we went back to back,” Williams said. He also highlighted the development of their sophomore goalkeeper, Hayli Nichols, and how she helped their championship run. “She struggled in her first year and didn’t play much, but she came in this year and worked extremely hard,” Williams said. “She was phenomenal and her growth and determination led to her only giving up three goals all season.”
Nichols said Williams helped her become a better player. “My freshman year, I wasn’t the greatest player and I would always talk to Coach Williams about how I could get better and advance,” Nichols said. “He was always checking in on me and making sure I was doing what I needed to do academically and on the field. It led to me being the starting goalkeeper.”
Historic trolleys provide unique experience. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on Nov. 28, 2022.
Dallas is known for many things, from the Dallas Cowboys to its lustrous skyline. However, one of the city’s treasures is hidden: the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority.
The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority was founded in 1983 to restore streetcar services in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood as a nonprofit agency. There were original rails uncovered on McKinney Avenue, which were linked to the original street car services from the late 19th century.
In 1989, streetcars returned to Uptown as a mode of transportation and started the M-Line across McKinney Avenue in Uptown, which stretched 2.8 miles. It has since been expanded to stretch 4.6 miles from the CityPlace/Uptown Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail station to the St. Paul light rail station in Downtown Dallas.
Trolley rides are free. Riding the trolley is a special experience. When you first step into the trolley, you are hit with a nostalgic feeling. The smell of the trolley's velvet seats and the classic bell signal when you reach your stop make you feel like you’ve been transported back in time.
Christian Brousseau, a MATA trolley driver, described his experience driving the trolleys. “It’s really enjoyable. You are literally driving a piece of history. It adds character to the city and there aren’t many places that can say they are running a 100-year-old trolley down the street,” Brousseau said.
Lined with ads from the time the trolleys were originally in use, the streetcars or trolley cars are several decades old. A streetcar is similar to a train but operates on city streets. An electric street car is referred to as a trolley because it has a pole on top of the car that connects to an electrified overhead wire. All seven were built and imported from other states, and two of them operated in Canada and Portugal.
According to the MATA website, every trolley has an affectionate nickname. Car 122 is called “Rosie” and is the oldest, at 113 years old, and the smallest car of the seven. Car 186 is called the “Green Dragon” and got its name from Southern Methodist University students who gave the car its nickname due to its green color when the car originally operated before it was abandoned in 1956. In 1979, the co-founder of MATA acquired the Green Dragon and restored it. Car 369 is called “Matilda.” Car 636 is called “Petunia“ due to the car’s petite size and generally sweet nature. Car 754 is called “Betty.” Car 4614 is called “Margaret.” Car 7169 is called “Emma.” Every trolley has an infographic that tells its story including how it arrived in Dallas.
The trolleys are not just a niche thing that reminds people of the past. People use them for their commutes. According to the MATA website, there are 600,000 rides per year and 35% of riders use the trolleys to commute. MATA president Vic Cervantes talked about how the trolleys are not just for historical significance. “We are one of the few agencies that use these cars for everyday service. Agencies you could compare us to are New Orleans and San Francisco, which use true original cars,” Cervantes said.
“We don’t get money from the city or from sales tax or from fares. We get our funds from neighborhood organizations and a portion from DART because we help them carry passengers in the area, so we don’t charge fares because of these funds,” Cervantes said.
The trolleys are a unique experience. “We run like a charity organization, but instead of food banks, we provide a free transportation service for anybody that wants to ride,” Cervantes said.
Maintenance for the trolleys is a process due to how old they are and the parts required for keeping them in use.
Doug Johnston, the director of maintenance, said, “There is only a six-man crew that works on the trolleys because there are only about 40 people that have the knowledge to work on them. We have unique parts that we can never lose because they are the only parts in the world that could fit on the trolleys.”
Bigfoot conference spotted in Jefferson, Texas. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on Nov. 28, 2022.
Jefferson, Texas, is a quiet town in the woodland areas of East Texas. Since 2001, the town has hosted a Bigfoot conference. While still clinging to the humidity of a Texas summer, Jefferson held its annual conference led by Craig Woolheater on Oct. 15.
Woolheater was born and raised in the Dallas- Fort Worth area and attended classes at Brookhaven in 1979. Since then, he has become a staple in the Bigfoot enthusiasts community for hosting the yearly conference.
The conference brings together bigfoot enthusiasts from across the country as they celebrate and discuss theories involving the purported creature.
Woolheater’s fascination with Bigfoot started in 1969 when Fort Worth locals and newspapers began reporting on the sighting of the Lake Worth Monster, a creature described as half-man, half-goat with fur and scales living in Lake Worth in Fort Worth.
“It was seen by hundreds of people, including law enforcement, and it was on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram just 10 days before man was supposed to land on the moon,” Woolheater said. Woolheaters said he originally started the Texas Bigfoot Conference because of his belief in the creature's existence.
“I started the conference in 2001 because of public education, and I saw one in 1994,” Woolheater said. “I was driving back to Dallas from New Orleans, and in the middle of nowhere, I saw a 7-foot figure with grayish hair walking on two legs.”
It used to be unusual to believe in creatures such as Bigfoot. Now, there are enough people to have a conference. Bigfoot is such a legendary figure that the belief in him brings people together. That is what Woolheater does with his conference.
“When I finally had internet access after I saw one in 94, I went online and found a community of people on message boards and started telling my story,” Woolheater said. Woolheater started a bigfoot research organization in 1999, and after going to other bigfoot conferences, he felt he could do the same in Texas.
Conferences are about sharing experiences and walks of life, and the Texas Bigfoot Conference had an abundance of people who believe in bigfoot. There were authors, podcasters and people who came to speak at the event.
One of the speakers was Ken Gerhard, who calls himself a cryptozoologist. “I investigate evidence of unknown animals like bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, the Chupacabra and a host of other mysterious creatures,” Gerhard said.
Woolheater is not alone in his beliefs in the proposed creatures existence. Many of the attendees who join him at the conference share similar beliefs.While the outside world may not fully grasp their beliefs Jefferson has built a community for himself and attendees to come together.
Lady Bears win championship. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on Nov. 20, 2022.
The Lady Bears have done it again. They started the season ranked No. 1 and finished the season as the national champions.
This is the fourth time the Dallas College Brookhaven women’s soccer team has won the NJCAA DIII National Championship. This year also resulted in their sixth consecutive conference championship.
The first-ranked Brookhaven College Lady Bears defeated third-ranked Mohawk Valley Community College Hawks, 2-1, in Herkimer, New York, on Nov. 13, 2022. In the 60th minute, forward Meah Perez put the ball in the back of the net and sent the Hawks home disappointed, and the Lady Bears back to Texas with the coveted trophy.
The Lady Bears finished the season with a 16-0-1 record with their only loss being a tie against Dallas College Richland. The national championship win came after claiming the Southwest District title also against Dallas College Richland on Oct. 28, 2022.
The Lady Bears completely dominated their way to the national championship and repeated as champions.
Head Coach Jimmy Elder reflected on the win. “It was a long season with many challenges, including overcoming key player injuries during the Conference Championships and National Championships. Nevertheless, the Lady Bears came together to win it all. A spectacular team effort by a spectacular group of young ladies,” Elder said.
In a tweet after the game, Assistant Coach Robert Williams, also expressed how proud he was of the team. “It’s never easy winning a natty, but to start the season No. 1, go undefeated, and retain the natty is so so special! So very proud of this amazing group of young ladies,” Williams said.
Lady Bears claw way to top ranking. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on Oct. 25, 2022.
As they reached the end of their season, the Dallas College Brookhaven Campus Lady Bears volleyball team dominated in their conference. They currently have a 12-0 win streak and are 9-0 in conference play. They hit their stride heading into the season’s final stretch and are currently at No. 5 on the 2022 NJCAA National Volleyball Poll.
Every season, the team’s goal remains the same: Win a national championship. Jason Hopkins, Lady Bears volleyball head coach, said, “Everyone’s expectation is to go win a national championship, and I don’t think anyone’s deviated from that expectation.”
At the start of the 2022 season, the team was made up of strangers with a roster lined with freshmen. However, as the season progressed, their compatibility contributed to their victory streak.
Hopkins said: “They are all [still] learning each other and getting used to each other on the court. If they keep on that path, then the end goal is the national championship match.”
The freshman-led team started the season with a 3-1 loss in their first game against Temple College. However, they did have a pair of wins against Rose State College and Seminole State College.
Freshman outside hitter Ariel Austin was named Dallas Athletic Conference player of the week for Aug. 28-Sept. 3 and Sept. 18-24. Austin is averaging 4.45 kills per set and 5 points per set for the season, the highest on the team.
They competed in the Ranger Wrangler Classic at Ranger College on August 26-27 and posted a 1-3 turnout. They also competed in the Blinn Volleyball Invitational on Sept. 16-17, where they had a 3-1 record at the tournament.
After a slow start to the season, they picked things up and went on a 16-5 stretch between Aug. 26 and Oct. 14. This stretch was highlighted by their 12-0 win streak, and a 9-0 win streak in conference play.
The Dallas Athletic Conference Tournament will be held Oct. 25-29. The Bears are training to end their season with a victory.
Beto continues college campaign. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on October 24, 2022.
“When we were here in 2018, this place was not full. There were no students waiting outside the door who could not get in. We didn’t have this level of energy,” Beto O’Rourke, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said during his speech at Dallas College El Centro Campus.
With a raspy voice, O’Rourke gave a well-rehearsed speech to a packed crowd at the El Centro Performance Hall. O’Rourke had been going to college campuses across Texas to speak to young voters ahead of the Oct. 11 voter registration deadline.
O’Rourke talked about the future of Texas if he is elected, and the differences between Texans heading into Election Day. “The differences between us do not matter,” O’Rourke said. “Everyone is welcome here. It’s not the party. It is all of us and how we’re choosing to meet this moment.”
O’Rourke visited 15 college campuses across Texas during his Beto for Texas College Tour, according to the candidate’s website. Earlier that day, he spoke at the University of North Texas before visiting El Centro. He ended his tour in his hometown at The University of Texas at El Paso on Oct. 11.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, Club at El Centro sponsored the event. Fatima Cruz, a LULAC Club member, said the club offers Hispanic students a place to come together. “We help students and members of the community with voting and going to events that may help them when it comes to issues in Texas that they might not know of,” Cruz said.
The club hosted the event to encourage young voters to vote, Cruz said. “We want to make sure that everyone votes in every election, not just the elections that are big and powerful and well-known,” she said.
Cruz said it was important for O’Rourke to speak at El Centro. “For him to actually come to a community college means he is willing to listen to us, listen to the small voices and listen to his community,” Cruz said.
LULAC Club also sent an invitation to Gov. Greg Abbott’s team, and they “respectfully declined,” Cruz said.
Each college tour event also allows potential voters to register to vote and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Volunteers with O’Rourke’s team and from across Dallas College came to El Centro to encourage attendees to register. Dorete Suffnes volunteers at multiple Dallas College campuses to register voters. “I thought this would be a great event where there’s a lot of young people, and I hope to get them to register and go out to vote,” Suffnes said.
Ameera Chowdhury, a student, said she has supported O’Rourke since he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018. Chowdhury said Beto cares for his supporters and wants them to understand the importance of voting regardless of their stance. “He wants everyone to come to their own conclusion, and I haven’t seen Greg Abbott do anything like that,” she said.
O’Rourke said one of the biggest issues in Texas and the U.S. is gun control. “The parents could only identify the children by the shoes that they were wearing or DNA swabs that they took,” O’Rourke said, referring to the shooting in Uvalde.
“What if we said it was possible to defend the Second Amendment, to call upon the long tradition of responsible gun ownership, and just do some common-sense bipartisan things that will better protect the lives of our children, our families and the people in our communities?” O’Rourke said.
Raising the age requirement for owning a firearm to 21 is among O’Rourke’s propositions. “That gives us three more years into intervening in the lives of those who are troubled like the 18-year-old in Uvalde,” O’Rourke said.
He also expressed the need to change laws regarding women’s reproductive rights. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, “Texas’ abortion laws are some of the most restrictive in the country.”
O’Rourke said: “Remember, this is not about life. If this were about life, you wouldn’t have lost the lives of more than a hundred children in child protective services custody and care over the last year and a half.”
If elected, O’Rourke said every woman would make the decisions about her own body, future and healthcare – a sentiment that prompted seemingly the entire Performance Hall to erupt into a round of applause.
“In 2018, 4.9 million immigrants (foreign-born individuals) comprised 17% of the population of Texas,” according to a study by the American Immigrant Council.
O’Rourke said he wants to provide opportunities to immigrants across the state. “With an extraordinary opportunity that we have, there are people who want to come here to work, join family members and seek asylum,” O’Rourke said. “There should be a safe, legal, orderly path for them to be able to do that.”
Skateboarding banned on campus. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on September 28, 2022.
Dallas College Brookhaven Campus students are no longer allowed to skateboard to class. Brookhaven Campus police adopted a new guideline prohibiting skateboarding on campus.
The ban was placed after an injury during the Fall 2021 semester, according to Brookhaven police. The ban became effective in the summer of 2022 and prohibits all skateboarding and longboarding on campus.
Capt. Randy Bratton, a Dallas College police officer at Brookhaven, said, “A skateboarder was doing tricks in the middle of campus and had a serious injury where they broke a bone.” Bratton said he saw another incident where students were skateboarding, nearly knocking people over on campus. “It was quite obvious that it was a safety issue,” Bratton said.
According to the Dallas College student handbook, there is no rule against skateboarding. “There is no official penalty but if you do not comply, you will receive a verbal warning and be reprimanded by a policy officer,” Bratton said. The ban is focused on the spaces between campus buildings as opposed to the walking trails and parking lots.
Lauretta Hill, Dallas College police chief, said the injury and other incidents prompted the new guideline. “If a student violates the no skateboarding ban, it is a potential student code of conduct violation,” Hill said.
“There was some damage to the handrails and the stairs outside,” John Watson, Brookhaven facilities manager, said. Eight “no skateboarding” signs have been placed around campus and more are expected to be put up. Signs are placed in areas such as stairways and walkways where skateboarders might perform tricks. “The signage is emphasized in the high traffic areas,” Bratton said.
Isom Hill, an Early College High School student, said he used a longboard as a form of transportation in previous semesters. “I skated at Brookhaven to get from class to class faster,” Hill said.
He had to adjust after the ban. “I had to get a bike to commute to Brookhaven and other skaters were forced to find a different means of transportation,” Hill said.
Dallas skateboarder and YouTuber Eric Kuhns said Brookhaven was “built to skate” and “the school has so much” for skating in a 2018 video. When reached for a comment about the new ban, Kuhns wrote back: “I wasn’t aware that they banned skateboarding from the campus. I would probably say that it seems strange they would ban skateboarding when all other sports are still allowed and can produce the same injuries. Seems a bit biased? Brookhaven is an amazing spot to skate and has perfect architecture for skating so it’s sad to hear they made this decision.”
Brookhaven Campus is one of the few Texas college campuses to enact this policy. Bratton said Eastfield Campus has a similar policy.
The University of Texas at Dallas allows skateboarding as long as students stay in control of their boards, give pedestrians the right of way and do not ride inside buildings or parking garages, according to their website. Collin College campuses allow skateboards outside only.
The University of Texas at Arlington students are allowed to skateboard on UTA property in areas where bicycles are permitted. The University of North Texas only prohibits skateboards in parking garages, according to UNT Transportation Services.
BHC hosts Dallas artists’ exhibition. Published in the Brookhaven Courier on May 9, 2022.
Photorealistic paintings of people lined the walls of Dallas College Brookhaven Campus’ first reception hosted for an exhibition since the campus shut down due to the pandemic.
Artist Jeremy Biggers’ work “combines traditional figurative realism with abstract design elements to create impactful imagery about Black identity and culture,” according to the exhibition description.
A former Eastfield student, Biggers received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, through the Challenge America program. According to the NEA website: “Since 2001, the Challenge America program has extended the NEA’s reach by promoting equal access to the arts in communities across the country. The Challenge America program is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups.”
One of the works, “Blood Moon and a Light Sonata,” depicts a Black woman illustrated with hard edges, colorful accents and circle pattern grids, recurring details present in many of Biggers’ works. The exhibition, titled “Chronology,” was on display in the Forum and Studio galleries March 10–April 8.
Brookhaven celebrated a homecoming of sorts when Biggers, now one of Dallas’ premier artists, visited Brookhaven for the April 1 reception at the Forum Gallery to showcase and discuss his works.
In addition to the exhibition at Brookhaven, the grant allowed Biggers to lead a workshop at Cedar Valley Campus, complete two micro-residences at Eastfield Campus and host a conversation with John Spriggins, South Dallas Cultural Center general manager, at Mountain View Campus.
“It’s amazing,” Biggers said. “If I was painting alone, I would still paint whether I got the accolades or any of the other stuff. But to receive the grant is the extra added validation. To see that others are having a response is super cool.”
Lisa Ehrich, a design and ceramics professor and art department chair at Brookhaven Campus, was responsible for putting the grant together. “The grant kind of fell in our lap,” she said. “It was a grant to support an artist in the minority population. I went to my work group with this opportunity, and I told them that we should pursue it.”
Ehrich said when the district transitioned to Dallas College, the rest of the campuses needed to be included in the grant.
The Brookhaven Campus was still selected as the host for the exhibition because it has the largest gallery. “The exhibition is here, and we are so thrilled and proud to have it here,” Ehrich said.
Biggers is not only an artist. According to D Magazine, Biggers is a multi-hyphenate – someone with several professions or skills. He works in drawing, painting, graphic design, photography and filmmaking. The art form he is most focused on is photorealistic paintings.
“For me, painting realism was about impressing my friends initially when I was growing up,” Biggers said. “When I saw other people who had the ability to paint realism, that was what drew me into being an artist.”
ART PROCESS
Biggers’ art and photorealism process started early. “It started when I was a kid, drawing cartoon characters that look exactly like the characters we see on TV,” Biggers said. “As I got older and as I got better at it, it became less about the cartoon character and more about how realistic I can make objects like a hat or a shoe, and that process ultimately got me to where I am today.”
Biggers has many inspirations for his work, including Kathy Windrow, a drawing and painting professor at Eastfield. “I didn’t think of art as a viable career path until I went to Eastfield and met Kathy,” Biggers said. “Just having her in my corner back then and even now, and her seeing that spark in me. I owe so much of that to Kathy and Eastfield. When I make the documentary about my life, Eastfield will have a huge chunk in the documentary.”
He also had a short film called “Harvest” on display in the Studio Gallery at Brookhaven. According to the video description, the film focuses on parts of “Black culture that Black people have been called ‘ghetto’ or ‘unprofessional’ for doing, while others have stolen or ‘borrowed’ (with an attempt to rebrand) and have been called ‘fashionable’ or ‘trendy.’”
INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION
Biggers said he feels a responsibility toward the next generation of artists. He said he uses his own experiences in his past as a guide for creating a path for the next generation of artists. Biggers said, “What would a 15-year-old me or 7-year-old me do if they got to talk to me now? What are some things I can give them now so that they don’t have to go through 20 or 30 years of spinning their tires of figuring things out on their own?”
Biggers’ immediate surroundings also impacted his art. “I didn’t see any public art,” he said. His exposure to art changed when he attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. “I wanted to see things I wasn’t used to seeing, like art, because the only art I was used to seeing was comic books or Disney,” he said. “So being introduced to broader art at Booker T. Washington kind of pushed me into making public art because I wanted younger people that were like me to see public art for them.”
Biggers said he wanted to make art that did not require kids to stand back or have their hands behind their backs to observe. “If you want to go up and look and feel every brush stroke, you can do that,” he said.
