Annual lecture held in memory of student killed 15 years ago

The three journalists who spoke at Southeast Missouri State University's annual Michael Davis Lecture said they learned early on to ask hard questions.

Robb Blackwell, Josh Barsch and Tamara Zellars Buck, all former editors of the Capaha Arrow, the student newspaper, knew Davis. He died Feb. 15, 1994, at age 25, the victim of a fraternity initiation ritual.

The annual lecture in his name is a tribute to him and the contributions of blacks in the media.

Davis' death, and the subsequent criminal investigation of the fraternity members, required the student journalists to report through the initial grief, shock and anger.

Blackwell was the Arrow's editor at the time of Davis' death. The 1995 Southeast graduate is a senior digital artist with Rodgers Townsend in St. Louis. On Wednesday, his voice broke as he described Davis as "a real person, a real friend ... we all loved him."

Barsch, a 1996 graduate and founder of a Rapid City, S.D.-based Internet advertising management agency, Straight Forward Media, still had lingering questions.

He said he wished he'd asked more and harder questions about whether justice had been done.

Donny Cheatham, 25, covered Wednesday's lecture for the Arrow and echoed Barsch's thoughts.

The 15 fraternity members served a total of less than four months in jail, something he said "was absurd."

Buck was Davis' friend, Arrow co-worker and editor of the student newspaper after Blackwell graduated. Buck, a former Southeast Missourian reporter, is currently an instructor of journalism and communication law for Southeast's Department of Mass Media.

She said she knew people on all sides of the story, which helped the paper, but it was also a personal challenge because many were her friends. She asked the audience to help raise the final $1,000 needed to fully fund the Michael A. Davis Scholarship.

"For 15 years, that scholarship has been waiting to be endowed and help some struggling journalism student," she said. "This is one of your own."

Walt Modde, 19, of St. Louis, a sophomore business major and member of the fraternity Sigma Nu, said he learned two things about journalism from the lecture.

"It's hard to get into, and you have to ask the tough questions," he said.

The Department of Mass Media sponsors the annual Michael Davis Lecture. Buck said attendance at the lecture, once held in the evening, has improved since it was changed to a midday event. More than 100 people attended the lecture in Grauel Building's Rose Theatre.

To make a donation toward the scholarship, call the Southeast Missouri University Foundation at 651-2252, e-mail foundation@semo.edu or visit www.semofoundation.org and, under "funding priorities," select "scholarships."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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