February 5, 2014 by N.C. Central University Campus Echo

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

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VOLUME 105, ISSUE 6 919 530.7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDU WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM

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Campus

Sports

Student literary magazine will resurface online

NCCU Bowling Team strives for support on campus

Alumna showcases the light of American Muslim women

The maroon and grey of yesterday: images of NCCU’s past resurrected

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Campus Echo

Meal plan tax another student burden Legislation adds tax to already expensive meal plans at schools in the UNC system

BY MONIQUE LEWIS ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR

Students lose again. Along with another year of tuition increase, college students in North Carolina are now being taxed for their meal plans and other on-campus food purchases,

thanks to new state tax legislation. On Aug. 23, 2013, the exemption in G. S. 105164.13 (27) that provided a tax exclusion for “prepared food and food served to students in dining rooms regularly operated by State or private educational institu-

tions or student organizations thereof ” was repealed by the North Carolina Tax Simplification and Reduction Act (Session Law 2013-316) after being in place since 1957. The Act, which was passed by the N.C. General Assembly and signed into

law by Gov. Pat McCrory, went into effect Jan. 1. The state sales tax rate is 4.75 percent; local rates vary by county. N.C. Central University students have been taxed 7.5 percent for the Spring 2014 semester, resulting in a price increase ranging

from $9 to $122.18 per semester, depending on the student’s meal plan choice. NCCU’s most popular meal plan is “Plan R,” which includes 14 meals per week with $275 flex dollars for the semester to spend at all dining locations on campus.

The price of “Plan R” in 2013 was $1,500; it now costs $1,612.50 per semester. Many students were unaware of the change. “I don’t live on campus, but I have a commuter plan,” said Lateka Johnson,

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Textbooks too costly BY KATE MURPHY THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE (MCT)

Despite new technologies and a 2012 California law promising college students relief from soaring textbook costs, students’ bookstore spending is higher than ever — now about $1,200 for books and supplies. And a new survey shows that students are responding with a cost-cutting measure that could seriously hurt their grades: They’re leaving the costly textbooks on the shelf. Two-thirds of college students surveyed said that they hadn’t bought a required textbook at least once because it was too expensive, according to a national report released Monday by the Student Public Interest Research Groups, a coalition of statewide student organizations. “I had to borrow from friends sometimes,” said Caroline O’Callahan, a University of California, Berkeley, junior from Redwood City who didn’t buy a biology textbook last semester that cost about $120. “It was tricky because I was relying on lectures and notes of my own.” Some professors use open-source materials for their courses, but others select books that are regu-

larly updated, making used copies hard to come by. College bookstores commonly offer rentals, but those prices can be steep: It costs $88.92 to rent a used physics textbook from the UC Berkeley campus bookstore and $185 to buy it new. Between 2002 and 2012, textbook prices shot up 82 percent, nearly three times the rate of inflation, in part because of quizzes and other online applications often included, according to the federal Government Accountability Office. Two California laws meant to ease the pain have languished unfunded for nearly a year. The pair of open-access textbook laws by state Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg — Senate Bills 1052 and 1053 — promised to help by making available faculty-approved online textbooks for 50 popular college courses, starting this academic year. But the project got off to a late start because of a funding delay, and students will have to wait at least until next January for the first books to hit the openaccess library managed by the California State University system. A faculty council charged with finding or developing free materials

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David Monk, with the rest of the Black Eagles, displays his athletic abilities at the NCCU vs. Morgan State University game. LEAH MONTGOMERY/Echo A&E editor

THE YELL MEN OF NCCU BY LEAH MONTGOMERY ECHO A&E EDITOR

The N.C. Central University versus A&T University home game on Jan. 22 was what some called the most hype game of the 2013-2014 basketball season, with NCCU blowing out A&T by 40 points. But even more exciting was the 54-53 win against Morgan State

University, which landed NCCU a first place title in the MEAC division. NCCU alum and staff member Jamal Alexander attended that game and had nothing but good to say about the atmosphere. “I’ve been here since 2006 and I’ve never seen the gym like this,” he said. What really was causing all the excitement? NCCU’s very own Black

Eagles. The Black Eagles are the first allmale “yell squad” ever created at an HBCU. The group’s goal is to bring more energy to athletic events and keep the crowd going. The squad was founded by LouAnn Edmonds Harris, who currently serves as NCCU’s cheer director. Harris said she got the idea about

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Parade kicks off observance Durham ushers in Black History Month with a showstopping parade BY ALEX SAMPSON ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

UC Berkeley freshman Kevin Wu has an armload of textbooks as he lines up to pay for them at the student store in Berkeley, Calif., Jan. 27, 2014. (Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group/MCT) (KRISTOPHER SKINNER/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/MCT)

On Feb. 1, clusters of people lined up on a blocked-off Fayetteville Street to watch Durham celebrate the commencement of Black History Month the best way it knows how. Hosted by Spectacular Magazine and the Triangle Cultural Awareness Foundation, the 12th annual MLK-Black History Month Parade ushered in the nationwide observance with assistance from a wide variety of state sources. The spectacle included performances from bands like the N.C. Central University Marching Sound Machine, St. Augustine University’s Superior Sound Marching Band, Bulltown Strutters, Hillside Marching

Band and several others. Also featured were Greek letter organizations, elementary schools, sports teams and the Bull City Cowboys. The event’s theme was “Celebrating Black Women in American Culture.” Spectacular Magazine put a face to that theme — or three faces to be exact. Serving as the grand marshals of the parade were N.C. Central University Chancellor Debra SaundersWhite, St. Augustine University President Dianne Boardley Suber and Bennett College President Rosalind Fuse-Hall. The gloomy, cold morning had become a warm, sunlit afternoon by the time the higher education leaders made their entrance.

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NCCU Chancellor Debra Saunders-White, St. Augustine University President Dianne Boardley Suber and Bennett College President Rosalind Fuse-Hall served as grand marshals in the parade. ALEX SAMPSON/Echo editor-in-chief

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Saunders-White said it’s important to recognize the female figures in black history because they’re “the mothers of the world.” “It’s the black woman who has helped define how great America really is,” Saunders-White said. As for the black women who have had a personal influence on her, SaundersWhite has a long list. The HBCU leader said she draws inspiration from the women in her family to the likes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Shirley Chisholm. She said reading about Harriet Tubman also had a great impact on her. “It was Harriet Tubman’s experience that helped me define the word ‘courage,’” she said. Shirlene Taylor, an instructional assistant at Fayetteville Street Elementary School, sat on the side of the street in

front of the school with her 7-year-old grandson before the parade began. From 2009-2012, Taylor was able to view the parade from a different spot when she marched with the Hillside Marching Band. She said the experience was fun, but she joked about the trek up Fayetteville Street. “By me being older, the younger kids got to see that if I could make it up the hill, they could too,” Taylor said. Huddled together farther down the road was Greater Joy Baptist Church’s youth ministry. The youth group traveled over an hour from Rocky Mount to watch the celebration. Kalela Terry, a mentor to the youth group said some of the children marched in previous parades but the youth group leaders try to expose

them to something new every month. “We just wanted to introduce them to the parade as a whole,” Terry said. Her 9-year-old daughter Apryl was excited about one thing in particular: “I want them to throw out candy.”She got what she wanted. Participants threw handfuls of lollipops, mints and other sweets at the enthusiastic group of children throughout the parade. For two hours straight, the parade moved from W.G. Pearson Elementary to Lawson Street. Though Terry enjoyed the festivities, she couldn’t help but reflect on the circumstances surrounding Black History Month. “Black people have contributed something to everything we do and touch but we’re celebrated only 28 days.”

Black Eagles “swag surf” at the NCCU vs Morgan State University basketball game. LEAH MONTGOMERY/Echo A&E editor

two years ago, and started putting her plan into effect in spring 2013. “Cheerleading started as an all-male sport anyways,” she said. “I wanted to take it back to that.” While Edmonds takes credit for the idea, she had to call on what she described as positive male role models to get group started. That’s where squad coaches Christopher Medley and former NCCU football player Joseph Hutchinson came into play. “It provides an opportunity for males to push school spirit…in their own form,” said Medley. “It added another element of excitement and school spirit to athletics.” The team’s captain is TaQuan Joyner, a physical education sophomore, who was hesitant to join the team but was quickly won over. “To be honest, I wasn’t

interested at all at first but…it was really exciting for the most part,” Joyner said. Harris said she wanted to do something different from other schools, describing the Eagle home as “NCCUnique.” She added that she wanted Black Eagles to be a positive image for middle and elementary school students. “I really see them expanding,” she said. “Once other men see that it is positive, I’m hoping that it will continue long after I’ve retired.” Spanish sophomore and first co-captain David Monk praised Harris for her leadership. “She’s definitely innovative,” said Monk. “She’s always got fresh ideas, always thinking of ways to make it better, and she’s just awesome.” Practices typically take place at 6 p.m.on Sundays,

and at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. The practices are led by the squad’s captain or one of the three co-captains. The men begin practice with a light cardio workout to get warmed up before stretching and reviewing dance routines and chants. “Overall, practices are fun and I always enjoy going,” said co-captain number three Keon Kelly. “I feel like I’m with my family,” Kelly said. “We are all brothers and fight and argue just like any other siblings.” Despite the occasional sibling rivalries, Kelly was sure to point out the love and respect the teammates have for one another. Squad membership is by invitation only, but students are encouraged to reach out and make their presence known. “If you want to join, then come along,” said Joyner.

Children from Greater Joy Baptist Church’s youth group run to catch candy. ALEX SAMPSON/Echo editor-in-chief

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The new student meal plan tax has increased meal plan costs at NCCU by 7.5 percent. LEAH MONTGOMERY/Echo A&E editor

mass communication senior. “I didn’t know at all that my meal plan cost even increased,” said Lateka Johnson, mass communication senior. “I wouldn’t have bought a meal plan if I knew that.” In a January article in The Herald-Sun, Tim Moore, NCCU’s director of business and auxiliary services, said, “Students were notified about the meal plan increases in November through email, the NCCU food services website, student forum discussions and in the spring semester tuition and fees bill.” Sophomores Alicia Jones

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and Ashley Wilson also told the The Herald Sun that they both now must pay about $100 more for their campus meal plans due to the added sales tax. “We eat pizza and fries every day,” Jones said. Wilson added, “It’s definitely not worth what we’re paying.” Other tax laws that have gone into effect in North Carolina are simplified taxpayer deductions and a reduction in the state’s three-tiered individual income tax rate to a flat rate of 5.8 percent in 2014. That rate will be reduced to 5.75 percent in 2015. The tax changes will benefit corporations and the

rich the most. Currently, the highest earners pay as much as 7.5 percent of their income in state taxes, while middle income people pay 7 percent and the lowest earners pay 6 percent. Under new state laws, corporate income taxes will be reduced from 6.9 percent to 6 percent in 2014, and then to 5 percent in 2015. A spokesperson for Gov. McCrory said the changes are designed to stimulate economic growth. The spokesperson said that companies are already moving to North Carolina because of the promise of lower taxes.

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Ex Umbra to find new home BY MONIQUE LEWIS ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR

Carolyn Fulford and her Writing for Digital Media class are taking on a challenge to revamp N.C. Central University’s student literary magazine Ex Umbra in digital form by the end of this semester . Established in 1965, Ex Umbra allowed students to express their creativity through poetry, short stories, artwork and photography. The magazine’s original staff believed the student body needed to emerge from the shadows so that their creative work could be recognized. They titled the magazine Ex Umbra, which is Latin for “out of the shadows.” Unfortunately, Ex Umbra hasn’t been able to live up to its name. Due to budget cuts, it has been in the shadows for almost four years. In 2004, former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Roland Gaines cut funding for Ex Umbra to fund orientation, First-Year Experience and the Women’s Center. After reading in the Herald Sun that NCCU had cut the magazine’s funding, former Chancellor James H. Ammons restored the Ex Umbra and increased funding from $7,000 to $10,000. This however was only temporary fuel. In 2010, the Ex Umbra was challenged with funding after the English department was forbidden from using funds for anything other than classroom instruction. In a 2010 Campus Echo article, Andrew Williams, then the Ex Umbra’s faculty adviser, said the Ex Umbra may need to go online, a plan he wasn’t entirely on board with. “It is still more meaningful to put student work in print,” Williams said. “But without adequate funds, we may have

to resort to that.” Four years later, that’s what’s happening -- but the most important thing is that it offers an alternative to the kind of writing published in the Campus Echo. “I think the creation of a new literary magazine is awesome because it gives people who don’t want to be journalists an opportunity to express themselves,” said Aaron Dial, English junior and a student in the digital media class. Fulford is teaching the class for the third time. When she taught the class in 2010 and 2011, Fulford said incorporating the magazine never crossed her mind. But she now is excited to use her English classes to complete projects that will be valuable to the department. Writing for Digital Media students are tasked to create a sustainable plan for the Ex Umbra which includes an editorial board and teams to study the audience, promotion, content, purpose, history and sustainability. “This semester is an experiment to see how engaged students are to carry it on,” said Fulford. “Even though our content is going to be different, I want to borrow as much as I can from the Campus Echo’s successful structure.” Fulford plans to continue teaching the Writing for Digital Media class once a year. She doesn’t consider herself the Ex Umbra’s new adviser, but its project manager. However, Fulford says that she is open to taking on the position. For now, students enrolled in the class will earn service learning credit and Fulford hopes that the Ex Umbra will pick up school funding again so that students can earn stipends.

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Hands-on history Students document historic black physician society

History graduate student Raja Rahim, Jim Harper, chair, department of history, and students meet for the course Internship in Public History in the Edmonds Classroom Building Jan. 30. CHRISTOPHER MOORE/Echo staff reporter

BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Jim Harper II, chair of N.C. Central University’s history department is on a mission: to engage students in documenting Durham’s black experience. We’re making living history,” said Harper, an alumnus and history professor of 14 years at NCCU. “We are trying to be innovative in how we make history.” Harper said he is motivated by his desire to inform people about Durham’s unique history. It’s all being done in a course called Internship in Public History. Students in the course are producing a documentary about the Old North State Medical Society, an African-American association of North Carolina doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. The society, established in 1895, educated black communities about health and disease and trained physicians. It is the second oldest organization of black

physicians. In addition to tracking down living members of the society to interview, students are searching archives to find out more about the society and its role in the AfricanAmerican community. Harper said the documentary might run up to two hours long.

history sophomore Destiny Owens. “We are making history.” History senior Treveres Cunningham said he grew up in Durham and didn’t realize how rich its history is. “I’m telling my parents stuff that they didn’t even know,” said Cunningham. Harper and his students

“I realized that a lot of great people came from Durham, a lot of neighborhoods were lost, and that Durham has had a major impact on a national scale.” ASHLEY ADAMS HISTORY JUNIOR

Harper’s students don’t take the project lightly. One gets a sense that the students realize that they are providing a different way of preserving history. “Once we are all gone, this will still be here,” said

are editing an earlier documentary called “Mount Up Like Eagles: The Long Civil Rights Movement in Durham, N.C. 1900-1965,” which focuses on the civil rights movement in Durham’s Hayti community.

Cunningham, who worked on this documentary as well, said he hopes it will “spark” something in individuals who were involved in the movement and get them to come back and “put their name on it.” Cunningham said the group expects to show the civil rights documentary on campus in April. They also will screen the film at a May conference in Memphis for the Association of the Study of African American Life and History. “We don’t know what paths we will cross,” said Cunningham. History junior Ashley Adams, another native of Durham, said she wasn’t initially interested in the project. But all that changed once the class got underway. “But then I realized that a lot of great people came from Durham, a lot of neighborhoods were lost, and that Durham has had a major impact ... on a national scale,” Adams said.

Campus Echo Online No kidding: Free classified ads for anyone with an @nccu e-mail account.

www.campusecho.com/classifieds NCCU literary magazine Ex Umbra hopes for online publication.

United Christian Campus Ministry

Health Careers Center N.C. Central University 521 Nelson Street Durham, NC 27707

525 Nelson Street, NCCU Campus

Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm 919 530-7128

JOIN US! Get involved with Campus Ministries today! Michael D. Page Campus Minister

For more information contact Rev. Michael Page at 530-5263 or by e-mail at mpage@nccu.edu

Find out more about our Special Programs • Boston University Early Medical School Selection Program • Clinical Health Summer Program NCCU/Duke University Medical Center • North Carolina Access, Retention and Completion Initiative in the Allied Health Sciences (NC-ARC) Course Number BIOL2030. This course gives students an overview of allied health professions and facilitates acceptance into the School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

NCCU’s OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Student-to-Student Chat • Student-to-Student Culture Chat: - Feb. 25, March 25. 5-6 p.m. Lee Biology 202

Charles E. McClinton, Ph.D., Director

Study Abroad

Alfreda D. Evans, Student Services Coordinator

• First Thursday study abroad information session – Feb. 6, March 6, April 3, May 1. 10:40 break, Lee Biology, 202 • Academic unit/class/Small group/study abroad information sessions are available on request • Departure Orientation for students studying abroad summer and fall 2014 – Thurs March 20, 10:00-12:30 p.m. Lee Biology, 202

For more than 35 years NCCU’s Health Careers Center staff has been developing pre-health professional students into viable candidates for health and medical careers by providing: • Advocacy • Counseling • Enrichment Activities • Health Career Network Access • Health Career Recruitment • Information • Internships & Shadowing Experiences • Standardized Test Prep Workshops • Other services and activities

Country Focus • Country Focus: Russia – Feb. 19; Colombia – March 19; Uruguay – April 16. 4-5 p.m. Lee Biology 118 (for faculty and staff)

Deadlines for study abroad applications •To study abroad in the spring semester August 24 •To study abroad in the summer February 15 •To study abroad in the fall semester February 15 •To study abroad for a full academic year (fall and spring semesters) February 15

More Opportunities are available. Contact us.

expand your horizons

STUDY ABROAD

Contact Dr. Olivia Metzger Jones at ojones@nccu.edu or 919.530.7713

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LEFT: An unidentified man rings the Shepard Bell Tower. The ringing of the bell marked athletic victories and the start of class. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

RIGHT: Sam Jones, pictured with Coach Floyd Brown, graduated from NCCU in 1957 and went on to become a 10-time NBA champion. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

An aerial view of NCCU (then known as North Carolina College) in 1953. Structures missing include the LeRoy T. Walker Complex (1983), W.G. Pearson Cafeteria (1966), James S. Lee Biology Building (1956) and the Carroll T. Willis Commerce Building (1956), among many other buildings and features. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

ABOVE: Dr. James E. Shepard and the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. outside B.N. Duke Auditorium. Powell, the first African American to represent Harlem, NY in the U.S. House of Representatives, played a key role in outlawing lynching. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

BELOW: Students in 1963 with $50 checks given to them by President Alfonso Elder for earning straight As. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

ocated at 1801 Fayetteville St. is a 145-acre symbol of black prosperity and perseverance. At a time when black instructors and students alike suffered from de jure racial inequalities, N.C. Central University became a haven of opportunity for the underprivileged. The institution was originally founded as a private religious training school.

Shepard struggled for years to maintain the institution due to a lack of financial stability. In 1925, the school became the first liberal arts college for blacks in the nation to receive state support after Shepard successfully lobbied the North Carolina General Assembly for funding. Today, the 104-year-old HBCU’s legacy is at times overshadowed by financial

struggles, crime and scandal. But NCCU is much more than its troubles. Within the red brick buildings and walkways, the uneven pavement and classroom walls reside the memories of leaders, activists and mavericks. From this school came students who took the initiative to organize lunch counter sit-ins. NCCU students’ tenacity

in protesting segregation drew the ire of the community and the attention of renowned civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. From this school came an ensemble that began with 25 students who had a passion for music. This meager ensemble transformed into the Marching Sound Machine that went on to nationwide critical acclaim.

From this school came Sam Jones, a 6’4” shooting guard nicknamed “The Shooter.” The NBA, which Jones played for over 10 years in, named him one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. And from this school come the students who will carry on the legacy: We are no ordinary barnyard fowl. — Alex Sampson

ABOVE: Workmen construct the North Carolina College at Durham Marker in 1950. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

BELOW: A Feb. 26, 1960 issue of the Campus Echo describes a sit-in at a Woolworth’s store. In center is Lacy Streeter, former NAACP North Carolina College (NCCU) chapter president and SGA president. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

ABOVE: The NCCU Marching Sound Machine majorettes in 1960. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

LEFT: Zora Neale Hurston, a well-known author, playwright and anthropologist, at a North Carolina College football game. Hurston taught at NCCU from 1939-1940 and was known for her rebellious nature. Photo courtesy of the James E. Shepard Memorial Library

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 for UC, CSU and community college courses — and then urging professors to assign them — was to hold its first meeting this week. “One of the goals of this project is to get the word out to people that there are good materials available,” said Bill Jacob, chairman of the UC system’s Academic Senate. Jacob said he has used open-source textbooks for years in his math classes at UC Santa Barbara _ often assigning a collection of out-of-print books posted online with the authors’ consent. But that approach takes time. “You have to go out and find them,” he said. As more colleges create open-access digital libraries — and develop new, open-source textbooks — that task should become easier, he said. San Jose State’s library runs a campaign to encourage the faculty to use free or low-cost texts. SJSU students spend an average of $750 per year on books, and 70 percent reported not buying a textbook because of the cost, according to the campus. The program saved 3,289 students about $90,883 — $28 each, on average — in

A textbook shows a used rental price of nearly $90 at the student store in Berkeley, Calif., Jan. 27. KRISTOPHER SKINNER/Bay Area News Group (MCT)

the spring of 2013, SJSU estimates. A larger initiative at Rice University in Texas —

OpenStax College — reported last spring it had saved 40,000 students $3.7 million, and that 300 institutions

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014

had signed up for its free, peer-reviewed materials for the 2013-14 year. A Statistics I textbook,

which typically costs $90 used and $150 new, would be free for the 120,000 California students who take the course each semester if their professors used the OpenStax version available now, said Dean Florez, president and CEO of the 20 Million Minds Foundation, which has underwritten some of the new OpenStax courses. Jacob said California faculty will review the OpenStax textbooks, and others. Florez said he hopes faculty leaders approve them ahead of schedule — by early April, when professors adopt their books for the fall term. Professors have good reason to bring about change; they see the consequences of textbook-skimping, said Beth Smith, chairwoman of California’s Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates, which is involved in the state’s open-access initiative. “I think if you speak to any faculty member, they will tell you that students, for a variety of reasons, can’t or don’t purchase the traditional textbooks,” Smith said. “It has a devastating effect on their ability to keep up with the course.”

Campus Echo @campusecho

other European nations, several posters denying the Holocaust were found in a town in the northern German state of Mecklenburg West Pomerania, police said. The posters, with the words "International Day of the 6-million Lie," were found on the walls of several government buildings in the town of Grevesmuehlen. Denying the Holocaust is illegal in Germany. Separately, 61 Israeli lawmakers — more than half the members of the Knesset — joined Holocaust survivors at Auschwitz to honor more than 1 million people who died there during World War II. "Auschwitz will forever remain the black hole of the entire human history," said Isaac Herzog, a member of the Israeli Labor Party during the parliamentary visit to the former death camp. Most of those killed at Auschwitz were Jews who were transported there from across Nazi-occupied Europe. However, the camp also held other groups including Roma and Sinti and Soviet prisoners of war. In a statement released by his office to mark the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the world's attitude towards Israel is a continuation of thousands of years of anti-Semitism. "(Despite) the attempt to deny the legitimacy of the (Jewish) state, we must struggle and demand our rights here," he said.

Beyond NCCU

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Holocaust victims commemorated BY DPA NEWS (MCT)

BERLIN – Ceremonies are being held Monday in Germany and Poland to commemorate victims of the Third Reich with a survivor of the Nazi siege of Leningrad telling the German Parliament of the horrors that unfolded in the city during the blockade. The commemorations for International Holocaust Remembrance Day come 69 years after Soviet soldiers swept into former death camp Auschwitz in Nazioccupied Poland to liberate about 7,000 surviving inmates. They also coincided with the 70th anniversary of the end of the almost 900-day blockade of Leningrad, which is thought to have led to the deaths of 1.5 million people. Leningrad reverted to its historic name of St Petersburg in 1991. Life in Leningrad quickly turned into a nightmare with a lack of water and electricity, hunger, disease and daily bomb raids taking place before the city was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1944, Russian author Daniil Granin told the Bundestag. "Death was someone who silently did his work in this war," he told German lawmakers including Chancellor Angela Merkel. The keynote speech came after German President Joachim Gauck led lawmakers in a moment of silence to honor the victims of Nazism. "I can only think with deep sorrow and shame about the war of extermination launched by Nazi

Germany against the Soviet Union," Gauck wrote in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin marked the day by visiting the St Petersburg Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, which contains a mass grave for about a half million victims of the siege including one of Putin's brothers. "It is our duty to remember the residents of that time and their victory over fascism," he said. In addition to the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, International Holocaust Remembrance Day also commemorates other victims of the Third Reich, including the mentally ill, homosexuals and Roma and Sinti. "We honor every one of those brutally murdered in the darkest period of

European history," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. "It is an occasion to remind us all of the need to continue fighting prejudice and racism in our own time." In a letter to Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis said people must strive never to let the Holocaust happen again. The public should "feel the strong desire to work hard so that such horrors, which are a shame for all of humanity, might never happen again," Francis was quoted by Vatican Radio as saying in the letter to Skorka, who is a close personal friend of the pope. But as a reminder of today's small, but active, far-right movement in Germany and

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A&E

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014

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Akwe:kon PowWow

A Native American celebration of ‘everything in creation’ B Y L EAH M ONTGOMERY ECHO A&E EDITOR

Bold, bursting colors, intricate beading and rhythmic footwork are all things one can expect to see at a traditional powwow, a ceremony involving feasting, singing and dancing that originated with Northern Native Americans. More important than the oftenexpensive regalia worn by the dancers are the singers and drummers -- drumming and song keep Native tradition and music alive. According to a pamphlet written by Joe Lyle, the drum is the heartbeat of all Native American people and that the singers must protect it and its voice. When the voice ceases, so does the existence of Native Americans. Lyle started an annual powwow at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham with Akwe:kon, the school’s Native American Club. Prior to the beginning of each powwow, the dance arena is outlined with a circle. The arena is then blessed and declared a sacred ground, meant solely for dancing, singing and observing important events in the lives of the people. The NCSSM powwow began with the Grand Entry, when army veterans, dancers, and royalty walk a circuit around the Dance Arena. The Host Drum, Southern Sun of the Lumbee tribe, performed the Grand Entry song while all dancers (lined up according to category) walked around the Dance Arena. Ahead of the dancers were the Head Man and Head Lady Dancers, ahead of them were the royalty and ahead of them were two army veterans: one bore the American flag; other bore the Eagle staff (Indian flag). After the Grand Entry, the Host Drum performed the Eagle staff song four times before the master of ceremonies recognized the veterans, who led the crowd in the veteran song.

A girl participates in the junior girls’ fancy shawl dance at the N.C. School of Science and Math, Saturday, Feb. 1. LEAH MONTGOMERY/Echo AE editor

Then the MC delivered the Creator Blessings, paused to make sure he wouldn’t leave out anything the group was thankful for. Powwow-goer Deborah Evans of Carrboro said she has attended powwows for most her life, including dancing as a girl. “[It’s] like a non-denominational,” Evans said. “They believe in the creator, the one who sustains and gives us life. “I’ve never felt the restrictions in these spiritual circles like those in the Christian circles.” The group held a moment of silence for lost family members, tribes and memories endured by any attendees. Then it was time to dance. The Dance Arena had four entrances, representing north, south, east and west.

Susan Nesbitt, a regular powwow attendee from Sumpter, S.C., pointed out the difference between NCSSM arena and traditional arenas. “There would be tape around the ring and you can only enter and exit one way,” said Nesbitt. She added that one must be smudged with sage before one can enter the arena as a sign of blessing. At traditional powwows, Nesbitt said, the dancing is competitive, and usually the powwows are silent and still -- in contrast to the activity and noise in the Dance Arena. There are several categories of dancers include: men’s traditional, men’s grass dancers, women’s traditional, jingle dress, men’s fancy dancers, women’s shawl dancers, junior divisions

Painting ‘noor’

Saba Barnard describes “The Light,” her series of multimedia portraits. ALEX SAMPSON/Echo editor-in-chief

B Y L EAH M ONTGOMERY ECHO A&E EDITOR

Google an image of a Muslim woman, and you may get a photo of a pair of eyes peeking beneath menacing black garments draped from head to toe. She has a look of mistrust, loneliness and fear. It’s a stereotypical depiction. Former N.C. Central student, current art teacher and painter Saba Barnard describes these images as “almost traumatizing to watch.” Her goal in her new project, “The Light,” is to change that image. “When you don't see women of color at all, or diminished versions of them that are essentially caricatures, it can begin to feel like we aren't seen because we don't deserve to be, that maybe we aren't smart enough, beautiful enough, interesting enough,” she said. Barnard said her main goal in the series is to represent the “inner light” or “noor” of her subjects. “There is a lot of power and strength represented in this work, but also moments of joy and vulnerability.” The paintings are based on photos Barnard took of

influential women in her life. She recreated the photographs using a sketchbook app on her iPad to figure out what colors and patterns she wanted to use for each portrait. Barnard primarily works with acrylic paint but also uses paper, gold leaf, glitter, sequins, beads, rhinestones and anything shiny or sparkly in her works. “Working on that scale, it was really difficult to try something out and then change it,” said Barnard. Barnard said she wants an image to show people more than just a person. So she decided to give each woman a halo. “Religious iconography has been attempting to do this, and across cultures you see these different versions of halos,” she said. Barnard said her first attempt at the concept didn’t have the same effect. It was a sequence of neon portraits of American Muslim women, each wearing a head scarf, but with their own personal addition. But Barnard wasn’t willing to stop the conversation there. After some anger and frustration, Barnard found her solution: “The Light.” “Part of what made this

series work is that it was light-hearted. It was fun. It kind of took something scary and made it easy,” she said. “The initial idea was to take something about Muslim women that we tend to see perpetuated and transform it,” she said. “So instead of showing them oppressed or without power or agency I wanted to show them as powerful.” Barnard said she looked for inspiration in art history. “People seemed important, they felt like they had some kind of, you know, power,” said Barnard. “You see like political or military leaders with this look, this gaze into the future.” Barnard said she hopes her paintings are “a drop in the bucket” of positive images of women of color, particularly American Muslim women. “The best stories, the best paintings, will cross boundaries of race, gender, religion, etcetera,” said Barnard. “I hope that these paintings are able to do that.” Barnard’s last show ended Jan. 25 at Durham’s Carrack Modern Art Museum. Her work can be seen at www.artbysaba.com.

and tiny tots. Each movement follows the beat of the drum. “See how they’re listening to the drums, honoring the Mother Earth and the Great Spirit,” Evans said. Lyle’s pamphlet describes the event’s varying dress and dance styles. Men’s traditional dancewear is inspired by ceremonial clothes of the 1800s, with eagle feather bushels on the dancers’ backs, typically worn by Northern tribes. Their dance is designed to mimic the crouched bodies and tapping steps of hunters. Men’s fancy dancewear has more feathers and color than traditional dancewear. The dance, which originated in Oklahoma in the 1920s to 1930s, is more energetic, with spins, splits and hops. The men’s grass dance combines

traditional and fancy dance, with costumes that include colorful yarn and ribbons headpieces of braided sweetgrass. The dancers display intricate and flexible bodies as they imitate the movement of grass in the wind. Nesbitt said her son, an Eagle Scout, was a grass dancer from age 13 to 21, when he became ineligible to participate. Women’s traditional dancers wear buckskin or cloth dresses with flowing fringe to match their graceful movements. The traditional jingle dress dance derives from the Anishinabe people, who danced for their health. The colorful dresses featured rows of silver, cone-shaped jingles that covered them. “All of the jingles on the dresses are made out of the tops of snuff cans,” said Evans, as a few dancers passed by, their jingles echoing through the room. Evans said she once danced at powwows and was given the name “Little Thunderbird” for her energy and enthusiasm. Last came the women’s shawl (butterfly) dancers, also known as fancy dancers. They wear shawls across their backs and shoulders. Their dance includes spins, elaborate footwork and elegant turns. “Like butterflies dance from flower to flower, that’s why we call them butterfly dancers,” said MC J.D. Moore, a Waccamaw Sioux. The dancing, singing and drumming lasted for four hours. Attendees may participate if invited in by the MC, a dancer or the head man or head lady. “If you are invited in, it’s called inner tribal dance … it’s polite to wear a shawl,” said Nesbitt. Evans said one doesn’t have to be Native American to attend powwows or even to become head man or head lady dancers. Nesbitt said information about more traditional powwows can be found at powwow.com and sixdirectionstraders.com/calendar.

Sports

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014

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The athlete’s dilemma

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Striking for recognition

COMMENTARY

omewhere backsliding through the university experience, with fresh sweat on his or her brow, is a student whose main goal in college is to score touchdowns, make free throws or hit a home run. We often call these people student athletes; I often question the student aspect. Yes, there are those who make good grades, but grades don’t make the student. The university experience cultivates the whole education of a student. India It is derived from a Wagner student’s involvements beyond the classroom, and certainly beyond the field. Many student athletes, at N. C. Central University and other universities, follow the ideology that they don’t have to be or shouldn’t be more involved in the college experience. Who would, when your entire educational career is either fully or partially paid for because of your athletic skills? And who would want you to explore other horizons when their investment rides on your full commitment to the team? The latter attitude is the most frustrating of them all, because as much as university administrators want their students to succeed and become wealthy, generous alumni, they seem to have misguided goals for their student athletes. Student athletes are like show animals or cattle, groomed to entertain and feed sports fanaticism across the United States of America. They seem to be thought of as commodities to be bought and sold, and receive special treatment only to serve the purposes of the team and university as a whole. Don’t get me wrong -- I love my student athletes. But it is my love for them that will not allow them to continue to endure this disservice. I know waking up for early morning practices and workouts is hard. I know playing under immense of pressure is hard as well. Yet participating in college organizations, conferences, and networking trips across the country, makes one’s college career so much more worth it. Not all athletes falter under the culture that nurtures the attitude, “I pay for you to play,” and I applaud those athletes wholeheartedly. It’s the job of athletic departments and administrators alike to defend the education of student athletes so that they may obtain the varied skills and opportunities that are afforded non-athlete students. A majority of student athletes will not go to the pros. They must be prepared for life after sport, for whatever may come their way. Book smarts can only take you so far, and a perfect layup won’t be that useful in the workplace. Let’s get our guys and girls to win in and outside the gym.

Women’s bowling team eyes Aggie Invitational BY

AVERY YOUNG

ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

The sports buzz around N.C. Central University ranges from football to basketball to baseball to track and field and even to tennis. But seldom do you hear students or faculty discussing the bowling team. “Once or twice a semester someone will ask me, ‘Oh, we have a bowling team?’ said head coach Karen Sanford, who has led the team for six years. Before NCCU joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the University had a men’s and women’s bowling club team; now only a women’s bowling team remains. Sanford and her assistant, Anthony Smith, coach a team of six bowlers. Seniors Kristyne Garrett and Rae’Shelle Drayton are team captains. “Our record is not that great, but we are making noise,” said Garrett. One factor slowing down the team is the functioning of the campus bowling alley, which has been plagued by mechanical issues for several years.

Junior Chante’ Deese, senior captain Rae’Shelle Drayton and sophomore Kortney Rodez look on as freshman Rachel Rodez practices before the Aggie Invitational Feb. 21. KIMANE DARDEN/Echo staff photographer

The team has been forced to practice at AMF Durham Lanes on the Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard. Sanford said getting to the off-campus lanes was sometimes difficult. “It was a hardship but

we worked through it,” she said. Drayton said she might not even be here without Sanford, adding that the coach-player relationship “has its ups and downs like any other coach and team, but she has really looked

out for me.” According to Drayton, who played basketball in high school, it’s very different being a team member in a sport like bowling. “I learned how to work with people in another sport,” Drayton said.

“This was another mindset for me because I did not know everything about team bowling.” Like every good coach, Sanford pushes her players to be the best they can be. Since 2010, the bowling team’s skills have markedly improved. Garrett and Drayton said they notice improvements in the team and in themselves. “I know how to stay with my shot better and I consistently learned how to shoot 190s to 200s,” Drayton said. Drayton said the team’s success will boost its popularity around campus. “To be honest, we have to win more,” she said. “I love my team. We work hard and we try to win as much as we possibly can, but once we start putting more Ws in the win column then people will know about us.” The women’s bowling team just began the second half of its season and would like the campus to support them. Their next invitational happens Feb. 21 through 23 as they compete in the Aggie Invitational in Greensboro.

3rd annual ‘First Pitch’ raises cash for baseball BY

ROBERT LEWIS

ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

The N.C. Central University men’s baseball team hosted its third annual first pitch dinner and silent auction at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center on Saturday. The fundraising event highlighted the resurrection of the men’s baseball team under the leadership of head coach Jim Koerner, and his efforts to move the team forward. Tony Rigsbee, public address announcer for the Durham Bulls and master of ceremonies for the night, introduced Coach George “Bull Dog” Smith, who gave the invocation. Smith laid out the expectations NCCU has for its baseball team this season. “The pressure is on, Coach Koerner,” Smith said. “You came here three years ago and gave us a 7-39 season. “The following year we went 1932. “Now the pressure really is on after missing the MEAC Championship by only one game last year.” T h e crowd of student athletes, family members, coaches and alumni let out a loud cheer at the mention of last year’s success. Last season, the team’s record was 27-29.

Junior Nelson Cooper, alongside baseball coach Jim Koener, selects a raffle ticket to support the team’s operations. ROBERT LEWIS /Echo sports editor

During his speech, Koerner cited senior leadership as a main factor in the team’s remarkable turnaround. “There is only one other team with a better margin of improvement in the country and our success is, in large part, due to our seniors who refused to give up,” Koerner said. Koerner asked the seniors to stand and be recognized for their leadership. Keynote speaker Pat O’Conner,

president and CEO of Minor League Baseball, discussed the importance of education and athletics in his life, and how impressed he is with the team’s cumulative 3.2 GPA. The team has 13 MEAC AllAcademic athletes. “I’ve always said that education and athletics is important, but sometimes I didn’t always know which came first … an education is something they can never ever take away from you,” said

O’Conner. O’Conner emphasized the importance of teamwork both on and off the field. “I’ve never worked for anyone and no one has ever worked for me,” he said. “We always work as a team. “There are people I like to work with and people I don’t like to work with, but I respect them all. “You don’t have to like or be friends with everyone on the team but you need to respect them. “You have to bond. You have to get to that level.” The event raised $7,500, which will go toward the team’s operating costs. The dinner event included a raffle for minor league baseball hats, NCCU gear and other gifts. A silent auction featured memorabilia stretching across Major League Baseball history, including jerseys autographed by Cal Ripken Jr., Bob Gibson, and Frank Thomas. Starting bids ranged from $135 to $340. Autographed baseballs signed by Albert Pujols, Nolan Ryan, and Derek Jeter also were up for grabs. The team plays its first game, a double-header against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014

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Dear black girls ... I

n two of America’s most wellknown social movements – the women’s suffrage movement and the civil rights movement – black women were largely relegated to the background. History displays the two-fold oppression that black women faced then and continue to face. It’s a truism that what white women are stripped of due to Alex sexism they Sampson reclaim through racism, and what black men are stripped of due to racism they reclaim through sexism. Black women have been buried under the weight of others. When we attempt to burrow from the grave sexism and racism have created, we sometimes ignore the hands grasping for our assistance. Someone can call black women all kinds of ghetto, uneducated, unattractive h--s and sure enough, a black woman will chime in with agreement sounding something like: “Maybe if we treated ourselves with more respect, we’d get more respect. We need to start acting like ladies.

“The harsh reality is that no matter how much we strive for acceptance, we’ll still be seen as detestable simply because we’re black women.” Not every black girl is xyz but the ones who do xyz give us a bad look.” Maybe we should also hold our heads lower so as to not appear uppity. Maybe we should treat our degradation with kindness since angry black woman was so last century. Maybe we should exist a little less. Maybe all of that is bullcrap. There’s this idea that if we conduct ourselves a certain way, others will learn to love us. That if we distance ourselves from our “wayward sisters,” we’ll get a seat at the cool kids table. The harsh reality is that no matter how much we strive for acceptance, we’ll still be seen as detestable simply because we’re black women. Saying that acting like ladies is the solution to overcoming centuries of institutionalized oppression is like saying black men need to pull up their pants to prevent from being profiled and massacred. Moreover, encouraging women to “act like ladies” is

manipulation meant to force them into constrictive gendernormative boxes. Let’s not be mistaken. We already have a bad look. Our bad look persists because of the white construction of: the sexually promiscuous, “un-rapeable” Jezebel; the undesirable and subservient Mammy; and the humorously hostile Sapphire. Our bad look is not our creation. That’s not to suggest that we shouldn’t have opinions concerning what’s appropriate and what’s not. But to imply that we’re responsible for our poor treatment is the type of victimblaming mentality that occurs when you’ve been steadily served the white supremacist patriarchal tea. As a black woman, I won’t deny: it hurts. The realization that society will actively seek to destroy you no matter how hard you try to please,…it hurts. The journey to a healthy identity as a black woman comes with an unpleasant clarity. When I was 12, my father told me I couldn’t be racist.

I vividly recall us riding in the car and him nonchalantly telling me that blacks couldn’t be racist because they didn’t have systematic power. He told me we could be discriminatory, but never racist, because racism is power and power in America is designated for one racial group. My first response was to tell him he was wrong. My final response was to fight tears of anger. I was angry at him for telling me that, but mostly, I was angry to realize I could never have the one thing I yearned for. Not power but acceptance. All those years of flat-ironing my hair until it broke off, of trying not to act like “those black girls,” of learning how to talk “proper,” what music to listen to, what Barbies to play with and how to laugh when the nword was a joke’s punch line. All that was for nothing and it hurt. It still hurts. But when I support my sisters, I hurt a little less. Denouncing one another only makes the many burdens we already carry that much heavier. At the end of the day, we’re black women. So instead of stressing over society’s view of us, let’s put our energy toward uplifting one another and making the load we carry lighter.

Let’s cut the red tape I

t’s time for N.C. Central University student organizations to stand up. For too long, student organizations at NCCU have been dealing with too much red tape in an effort to just do their jobs — host programs. This campus would be dead without the programs and initiatives that our student groups put together each year. One of the first things a prospective college student thinks of when considering India a university is the Wagner organizations they want to join. They think of the programs they would implement and the movements they want to start. I can’t help but think how upset prospective students would be if they knew firsthand the challenges they would face when trying to implement a campus program. Let’s start with finding a venue. At first glance, you’re looking

“I can’t help but think how upset prospective students would be if they knew firsthand the challenges they will face when trying to implement a campus program.” at harmless paperwork. But underneath that are long waiting periods and non-responses. We also must think of the competition for the best spaces among the more than 130 student organizations on campus. It’s even harder to reserve a space in the residence halls we pay an ample amount of money to live in. Next we have catering. And we all know that serving food is one of the best ways to get college students to a program. But catering for University events, by contract with NCCU, can only be done by our lovely Sodexo. Their prices are too inflated for struggling student organizations that survive off their measly dues. One look at Sodexo’s prices will either take away your appetite or wipe out your SAFO

N ORTH C AROLINA C ENTRAL U NIVERSITY

Campus Echo Alex Sampson, Editor-in-Chief

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account. It’s ludicrous that students have to suffer because of agreements made behind closed doors between NCCU and a food service company. This is especially irritating because students have already paid a crap load of cash for an underused meal plan. Organizations even face issues when publicizing events because of rules regulating where, when and what you can post around campus. I understand that there have to be regulations on this issue -but why must organizations have to get approval for each location? The moral of the story is this: Red tape is killing our organizations, especially the smaller ones. Big organizations like the Student Government Association

and Student Activities Board have the resources and administrative support that smaller — and just as important — organizations lack. Given these obstacles, it’s no wonder students go home so often on weekends or transfer out altogether. The answer is plain and simple: They’re bored! And NCCU has let them get bored by not supporting our diverse student organizations that work so diligently to create a rich student experience. Our administration needs to work with student organizations and not against them. And organizations have to demand that they receive the resources and support they need. And with these demands there should come a promise, a promise to students that their organizations will always work their hardest to create quality programs with students, not themselves, in mind. It’s time that student organizations stand up. And trust that I am standing right up with you.

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: Why do you think Black History Month is still important? "I still think it’s because it’s important each of us remember past events so we never allow history to repeat itself.” —Marrisa Doria, Junior

"Black History Month is still important because we need to know where we come from and those important people. —Christina Herring, Junior

“It’s important because it shows our history throughout time and the people who paved the way for us. —Unique Mayo, Sophomore

Sound Off by India Wagner