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Campus Echo wins best non-daily HBCU newspaper in the nation

MEAC preview: How will men’s basketball shake out?

The word on HBCU grad rates from the NCSU Nubian Message

Incredible African art in downtown Durham

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Campus Echo Firefighters fought racism, hatred Hayti’s first fire company lacked resources, but not courage

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.C. Central University’s Campus Police and Public Safety building on the corner of Fayetteville St. and Pekoe Ave. holds a special place in history — it was the first Durham fire station to have an all AfricanAmerican crew salaried by the city.

The 1,088 square-foot building was the old engine house for Fire Station No. 4. It opened Oct. 1, 1958, and served the predominantly black Hayti neighborhoods.

While the

PHOTO AND STORY BY MONIQUE LEWIS ECHO STAFF REPORTER

10 firemen of Station No. 4 — Walter Thomas, Elgin Johnson, George W. King, Velton Thompson, Robert Medlyn, John O. Lyon, Nathaniel Thompson, Sylvester Hall, Thomas Harris and Lynwood Howard — had reached a

milestone, they still felt opposition from a racially segregated department and society.

White people from the community “used to call them out on false calls so they could go in and tear up the station,” said Sandra Howard, the daughter of firefighter Howard.

“They would urinate on their uniforms and tear up their personal items,” she said.

Howard, an administrative support associate in the department of language and literature at NCCU, explained that her father and the other black firefighters at Station No. 4 did not get proper equipment or training.

The 10 men had to use “hand-medown” equipment, including an old fire truck.

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Black women battle racism, sexism

BY ALEX SAMPSON ECHO A&E /SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Breaking Barriers For a racial minority, success is difficult. For a woman, the battle to achieve success is constant.

For an African-American woman, success may appear impossible.

With a history rooted in tragedy, black women have struggled to overcome oppression.

But in every generation, there were those who defied racial and gender expectations and those who continue to do so.

Charmaine McKissickMelton, associate professor and interim chair of the department of mass communication at N.C. Central University, was born in an era that dictated separate but equal.

Her family became wellknown for challenging the rule.

Her father, a well-known civil rights leader, integrated UNC-Chapel Hill and her mother, Evelyn McKissick, sued the school system to force them to allow her oldest daughter to integrate Durham High School.

“My two older siblings were among those first to integrate public schools in Durham,” said McKissickMelton.

Following in the footsteps of her sisters,

McKissick-Melton and her older brother were two of the first black students to integrate Durham elementary schools in 1963.

She said the victory was not without consequences — especially for one of her sisters.

“One day, they cornered my sister in the bathroom — the girls — and they pushed her head into a commode which was used and had feces,” said McKissickMelton.

“Imagine going through that kind of trauma and stress all day long … for four years.”

McKissick-Melton said she faced her own share of adversity as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill.

She was excluded and targeted even more than her black peers because of her family name.

McKissick-Melton recalled one of many instances where she was alienated.

She said there were at least 500 students in her introduction to political science class.

After she missed class for the first time, the professor singled her out.

When she asked him how he had noticed her absence, the professor remarked, “Oh, it’s your bright and shiny face always near the front row.”

Her response:

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My two older siblings were among those first to integrate public schools in Durham.

CHARMAINE MCKISSICK-MELTON ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND INTERIM CHAIR OF MASS COMMUNICATION

Shepard: Visionary leader The man with the plan was a great American leader in tough times

Dr. James E. Shepard was a skillful politician and appealed to the N.C. General Assembly directly for funding.

Outside the Hoey Administration Building James E. Shepard’s statue keeps watch.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

BY MATT PHILLIPS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

He always wore a suit and tie. Tipped his hat to the ladies.

In his portrait, he is immaculate — staring dead into the camera, eyes betraying a fierce intellect.

The streets might have called him “clean.”

But the best description of James E. Shepard is this: Visionary leader.

“James Shepard had more respect than probably any white citizen in the city,” said Andre’ Vann, coordinator of NCCU Archives.

“Dr. Shepard was ever thinking forward, not toward his day and time, but life after him.”

Shepard died in 1947, almost four decades after starting the National

Religious Training School and Chautauqua — the school that would, after several name changes, become N.C. Central University.

Walter Brown, a student at the time Shepard died, and the first person in the nation to receive a Ph.D. from an HBCU, wrote Shepard’s obituary.

Brown said it was by Shepard’s grace that he enrolled in the first journalism class at NCCU. He said he went to Charles Ray, former English department chairman and longtime NCCU professor, and expressed interest in journalism.

Ray had to ask Shepard if he could teach the class.

That’s how it was back in the day.

Shepard had to make sure the class would be cost-effective, so he said Ray could teach the class

if 15 students enrolled.

That didn’t happen, according to Brown. Only two students enrolled.

But Brown still wanted to take the class.

He said Shepard told Ray, “Oh just go ahead — fine.”

It was a concession that proved prophetic.

“So it was a year later, I wrote Dr. Shepard’s obituary,” Brown said.

The Great Debate The struggle Shepard undertook to fund the institution that eventually became NCCU is well-documented.

NCCU’s heritage as the

NCCU ARCHIVES/James E. Shepard Memorial Library

first liberal arts institution for blacks in the nation is

by Shepard’s design.

He wasn’t strictly a Booker T. Washington man or a W.E.B. DuBois man.

“Both were Dr. Shepard’s friends. Dr. Shepard borrowed from both philosophies,” Vann said.

“The first speaker Dr. Shepard ever brought here for the Chautauqua if you would have checked — was W.E.B. DuBois.”

There is also a yellowed, faded photograph of Booker T. Washington standing on the old Avery

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ECHO EXTRAS

Visit the links below on your phone, tablet or computer for an interactive timeline and reflections about James Shepard.

Multimedia Coverage

Sound: bit.ly/13gI5s4

Interactive: bit.ly/15IqBEA

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The hard fight — Hayti firefighters during training Courtesy Durham Fire Department

While the white community was hostile, one particular reaction to the black firefighters was appalling.

Annie Howard, the late firefighter Howard’s wife, recalled this incident: “A white lady out on Barbee Road had called and because they were closer [and my husband’s crew] got to the house first, she said, ‘I will not have these n——s touching my house. Do not touch my house.’ So she waited for the firefighters from downtown to come because they were all white.”

Howard said her husband told her the house had burned down by the time the white firefighters arrived.

“I thought to myself, how can a person say that, if their house is on fire, if a life is

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

involved, but that’s the kind of mentality we had to deal with at the time,” recalled George W. King, one of the firemen from Station No. 4, in a 2009 interview with The Triangle Tribune.

In time, James E. Shepard’s 1944 prediction, made on the “Town Hall” radio program, seemed within view.

North Carolina, he said, “was a civilized Christian community that believes in democracy,” and could be counted on to make “needed social, political and economic adjustments.”

The civil rights work of the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs and Mayor Emmanuel J. “Mutt” Evans helped get AfricanAmericans into the city’s fire department.

The committee, which began its work in 1935, and the mayor, who served from 1951-63, had worked together closely to get “equality for all Durham residents.”

By 1969, the fire department was integrated, and the 10 firefighters of Station No. 4 were working at fire stations throughout Durham.

Many had received promotions.

Five of the 10 became officers, three became captains, King became assistant chief, and Thompson made history in 1985 when he became Durham’s first AfricanAmerican fire chief.

In 1999, Station No. 4 was closed and relocated to Riddle Road.

In 2004, it was renovated and became NCCU’s Campus Police Station.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m the only African American in the room.”

McKissick-Melton wondered, “Why do you need to pick on me? Why do you even need to point that out?”

McKissick-Melton said the treatment didn’t stop there.

The faculty purposefully misinformed her and advised her to take the wrong classes. Despite their attempts to mislead her, McKissick-Melton persevered.

“Fortunately, I didn’t listen and I can read, so I made sure I got out in four years,” said McKissickMelton.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, McKissickMelton received master’s and doctoral degrees.

Over the years, McKissick-Melton has filled many roles, including sales manager at WDUR and Foxy Radio, associate professor at

Bennett College, author and the mother of two sons.

McKissick-Melton said her definition of success depends on where she is in life.

“Many of the detours I’ve taken along the way have probably been very helpful and probably smart moves, but I didn’t necessarily realize it at the time,” she said.

Like A Boss Chimi Boyd-Keyes spells Purpose with a capital P. When a woman follows her Purpose, she becomes successful, according to BoydKeyes.

Boyd-Keyes is a selfmade businesswoman.

She is a senior vice president at 5LINX Enterprises, Inc., a technology and essential services company, and chief executive officer of CBK Enterprises, a speaking, training and consulting business.

“Having two successful

businesses is something I’m very pleased with,” said Boyd-Keyes.

Along with being an entrepreneur, Boyd-Keyes is known for her contribution to women’s rights.

Boyd-Keyes is the founding director of NCCU’s Women’s Center.

She said the concept of the center was envisioned by Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Frances Graham.

Boyd-Keyes was on the committee that mapped a two-year blueprint for the Women’s Center. The foundation was there, but everything else was a blank slate — until Boyd-Keyes came over.

“I was able to come and think up programs and innovate, build the staff and just kind of decide the direction of the Women’s Center,” said Boyd-Keyes.

She also co-authored the only study on sexual

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They [white firemen] would urinate on [black firemen’s] uniforms and tear up their personal items.

SANDRA HOWARD

Floyd and Evelyn McKissick enter Carr Junior High with their daughter Andree, and a friend, Henry Vickers.

DAUGHTER OF LYNWOOD HOWARD

Photo by Jim Sparks courtesy the Herald-Sun

SHEPARD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mourners entering Shepard’s funeral service in 1947.

NCCU ARCHIVES/James E. Shepard Memorial Library

Auditorium steps with a group of people — after speaking at NCCU. The photo is part of the “James E. Shepard Papers 1905-1990,” a Web archive created from archival material compiled in the James E. Shepard Memorial Library.

Brown said spending Sunday afternoons during his college years listening to a speaker at North Carolina College for Negroes was an important cultural education.

“In those days, Sunday afternoons were days that, certainly that middle-class blacks looked toward attending a vespers service at North Carolina College,” Brown said.

“And of great interest was who would be the speaker. And almost always, the speaker was a protégé of Dr. Shepard.”

Brown said times have changed.

Today, people spend

Sundays watching football or basketball, but back then the vespers service was a big draw — and mandatory for students.

“I lived off campus and I did not have to attend. But I did attend. It was one of the great chapters of my life,” Brown said.

The Race Issue In an April 4, 1942 letter published in the Wall Street Journal, Shepard wrote: “I am a member of a group of more than fourteen million Americans, and I am speaking not for them alone because that would not be speaking for every American, but there is no complete America which does not have an indefinite concern for the fourteen million Negro Americans.”

Vann said Shepard’s role in the long civil rights movement was one of his great contributions.

He was criticized by the black community for not

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releasing the transcripts of Raymond Hocutt when Hocutt attempted to gain entry to the UNC-Chapel Hill graduate school of pharmacy through legal action.

Shepard’s refusal to endorse Hocutt sunk the case, but Vann said Shepard had his reasons.

He was looking toward the future for all African Americans.

Eventually, Shepard and other black educators were able to establish graduate schools at HBCUs — solid institutional foundations that still stand today.

Shepard found a way to parlay segregation into support for his college, while still speaking out against it, according to Brown.

He used the injustice as a means of persuasion with the North Carolina General Assembly.

Brown said Shepard would tell the legislature, “The price of segregation is

high — we need X and Y.” Shepard died in 1947. He was preceded in death that year by his wife, his mother and his best friend, W. G. Pearson, according to Vann.

“Dr. Shepard was a guy who walked among the people,” Vann said.

The James E. Shepard Papers, 1905-1990, are available online or at the James E. Shepard Memorial Library Archives.

The Echo wishes to thank NCCU alumni Dr. Walter Brown for his willingness to speak about his memories of Dr. James E. Shepard, Andre’ Vann, coordinator of NCCU Archives for his knowledge and assistance and the late Brooklyn T. McMillon, who, through his caretaking of the Shepard Papers made much of this reporting possible.

NCCU’s CERT team is on a mission: To serve the campus and surrounding Durham community with emergency servies during the aftermath of a disaster. CERT’s goal is to serve as a bridge between University Police and local emergency personnel that can respond to a crisis when professional emergency services are delayed.

Forr more e information n contactt NCCU’ss Campuss CERT T a Hart Raynorr att dhart3@eagles.nccu.edu Coordinator,, Dana

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STRONG WOMEN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 assaults at HBCUs, with the help of Carolyn Moore, director of the counseling center.

Boyd-Keyes attributes her perception of successful black women to the women who surround her.

One of these women is an aunt who earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D while taking care of four children.

“She certainly showed me that education is very important and that you can do it even when you have many other things and obligations,” said Boyd-Keyes.

Aiming High Jane Bolin was the first black female judge in the United States.

Shirley Chisholm was the first black Congresswoman and the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson was the first and only black female appointed to the N.C. Supreme Court.

First-year NCCU law student Chazle’ Lassiter said she wants to emulate these women who set unprecedented triumphs in the justice system.

“All these women, to me, demonstrate leadership,” said Lassiter.

“They’ve been determined to not only walk through doors that have been given to them — but to also create their own opportunities.”

Lassiter wants to open her own doors.

“My long-term goal is to be the first black female U.S. Supreme Court justice,” said Lassiter.

To reach her dream, Lassiter said she must remember what those before her did.

Knowing that other black women overcame their struggles keeps her motivated.

“My drive is because of what black women did before me,” said Lassiter.

Her greatest source of support, though, is her faith in God. “He wouldn’t take me this far to lead me astray,” said Lassiter.

Overcoming Stereotypes Decades after McKissick-Melton’s family integrated Durham schools, black students still grapple with institutionalized racism.

Hillary McCauley, a hospitality and tourism freshman at NCCU, went to a predominantly white high school, where expectations for black female students

were low.

“In general, people expected me to get pregnant, get in trouble with a boy, do drugs, anything,” said McCauley.

McCauley graduated with a 3.6 GPA and is currently in the NCCU honors program, Annie Day Scholars.

She said overcoming the stigmas of a black woman makes success all the more fulfilling.

When McCauley arrived at college, her goal was to own a bakery some day.

That changed once she started reading the news and looking at her environment.

McCauley said there wasn’t anything specific that changed her outlook, but she realized there were better things she could be doing.

“I’m looking at the bigger picture now,” said McCauley.

Though she’s unsure of her long-term goal, McCauley said she wants to impact lives in a positive way.

When it comes being a success, McCauley doesn’t necessarily think about a big check.

She said while success can be glamorous, it can happen on a smaller scale.

Chazle’ Lassiter is a first-yyear law student with big-ttime goals.

ALEX SAMPSON/ Echo A&E/social media editor

My long-term goal is to be the first black female U.S. Supreme Court justice.

CHAZLE’ LASSITER NCCU LAW STUDENT

HBCU grad rates flatline UNC-System HBCUs continue downward trend

BY AARON THOMAS NCSU NUBIAN MESSAGE

N. C. Central University was ranked the “No. 1 Public HBCU in the Nation,” in 2010 by the U.S. News & World Report, however recent graduation rates have many wondering both how and why.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, in the fall of 2010 NCCU’s four-year graduation rate was 18 percent. Its six-year graduation rate was 38.3 percent.

Established for AfricanAmerican students to attend and surround themselves with likeminded individuals, HBCU institutions are supposed to foster a learning environment for students of color that is both academic and social.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 defines an HBCU as “any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the

Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”

When Yesenia Salas, an NCCU freshman studying nursing learned of NCCU’s four-year graduation rates she said, “It is really low, [and it is also] not something I was expecting. I know it has increased over the years though.”

Franklin McKoy, a junior in mass communication with a Spanish minor mirrored Salas’ thoughts saying, “That’s horrible.”

NCCU isn’t the only HBCU in North Carolina with a low four-year graduation rate.

Statistics from the Chronicle of Higher Education show that Elizabeth City State University leads with 19.3 percent and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University trails behind with 15.1 percent of students becoming fouryear graduates.

A possible factor in the low four-year graduation rates of HBCUs could be the less than competitive academic requirements

and admissions process for first-year students.

As constituent universities of the University of North Carolina system, applicants to any UNC campus must complete minimum course requirements in high school.

However, according to College Board, 96 percent of incoming freshmen at N.C State have a GPA of a 3.75 or higher, while at Central 10 percent of incoming freshmen have a 3.75 or higher.

In comparison to other North Carolina HBCUs, NCCU’s admissions process is somewhat selective. College Board statistics reveal that in the fall 2012, 52 percent of 9,240 applicants were accepted to the university.

N.C. A&T admitted 66.4 percent of 6,692 applicants.

Despite the dismal fouryear graduation rates of the past, things may be looking up for NCCU; this month NCCU received news of the hiring of a new chancellor, Dr. Debra Saunders-White.

Saunders- White is an U.S. education official who has a stellar background in business, higher education and government.

Saunders-White also

appears to have a hopeful mindset, noting that the institution “is on the right path.”

McKoy hopes the new chancellor is able to set a new standard. “It would be nice if she actually bridges the gap between faculty and students, as well as brings prestige back to campus life,” he said.

NCCU has been working to restore its prestige through the implementation of several keystone programs.

“We have a program called Centennial Scholars,” said Salas.

“It is geared towards minority males on campus since our campus is predominately female.”

McKoy, who is a member of the Centennial Scholars Program also elaborated on the campus requirements expected of each student at NCCU. “Each student is required to receive six hours of tutoring each week. Some of the tutors come from UNC and N.C. State.”

This story was originally published in the Nubian Message, the AfricanAmerican newspaper at N.C. State University.

Lady Eagles: positive peers

BY SHANNON CONNELLY ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The transition from high school to college can be scary and stressful.

More than 100 freshman ladies had a smooth transition with guidance from student mentors in the Lady Eagle Development program, directed and founded by senior public administration major Harmony Cross.

Cross serves as the 20122013 Miss N.C. Central University .

“Being a mentor of over 10 first-year students my junior year really inspired me to create LED and it opened my eyes to the passion I had for mentoring,” said Cross.

In summer 2012, Cross had a vision.

With the support of nine other ladies, her idea was executed.

“I wanted the young women to have a positive mentor around their age that they can trust and confide in,” said Cross.

So, that summer, mentors interviewed mentees and went through training to make sure each mentee was paired with a mentor of similar interests or major.

“I wanted the first-year Lady Eagles to have a men-

tor to help them find their way through the ins and outs of college life,” said Cross.

With 169 active members, LED is soon to become a recognized campus organization.

Mass communication freshman Briana Lawrence said she joined LED to become active on campus.

“College is where a young woman finds her true identity and begins to understand what qualities make her unique.

“This can be scary at times,” said Cross.

Small-town girl Danyel Smith, a freshman mentee, is a shy person who joined LED to “meet other class of 2016 ladies.”

Smith, with support from her mentor, said she has now “opened up” and is “thankful for the program because of the extra push.”

Mentees aren’t the only people benefiting from the program.

“It’s good meeting other ladies, getting a different perspective on life — it’s a learning experience,” mentor Maryssa Sadler said.

LED hosts forums every other Monday in the Eagle Landing conference room.

Programs are open to all female NCCU students.

United Christian Campus Ministry On Campus at 525 Nelson Street

National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS "Kick off Service" Sunday, March 3, 2013 3 P.M. Centennial Chapel

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

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Funding program supports student orgs P.H.I.L. Grant Program needs applications B Y I N D I A WAG N E R ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Are you aware that there is over $7,000 worth of grant money available for student organizations at N.C. Central University?

Student organizations can apply for the amount of money they need for a certain program or activity through the NCCU Student Government Association’s P.H.I.L Grant Program.

P.H.I.L Grants are named after a new SGA initiative.

The letters mean: providing student perspective, having a strong internal structure to help students, increasing awareness and listening to the students as a whole.

Eligible organizations include popular groups like 100 Black Women, Evalesco, Student African American Brotherhood, National Council of Negro Women and others.

Non-eligible organizations include National PanHellenic Council Greek let-

ter organizations and nonregistered student organizations like AudioNet. “This allows students to exercise pride in their organizations and their institution,” said SGA student body vice-president Carmelo Montalvo.

Montalvo says that the money, originally $10,000, came from the SGA’s request to Mr. Kevin Jones and the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Dr. Kevin Rome.

Though the deadline for applications has not been set, the projected date is early April.

With so much money left over, the question remains, who knows about this program and what will happen with the extra money?

Franklin McKoy, mass communication junior and president of Evalesco Modeling Troupe, is enthusiastic about applying for a portion of the P.H.I.L Grant money.

He said he found out about P.H.I.L Grants

through Montalvo.

“It would be extremely helpful for fashion shows.

We are also trying to do more programming for the student body,” said McKoy. He also said it’s a resource students, like the founders of his organization, did not have years ago.

The money will remain there as long as students like McKoy are proactive in using it.

“The money is contingent upon usage by student organizations,”said Montalvo.

The money rolls over into a continuous account but could be used in other student programming affairs if it isn’t used through P.H.I.L Grants.

Now that students see their government association working for them, will they take their own initiative?

Only time and P.H.I.L applications will tell.

Students who wish to apply should contact SGA.

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

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Student loses $1.3 Drone strikes up million lawsuit over grade sharply in Afghanistan Civilians too often in their deadly path

BY SHASHANK BENGALI & DAVID S. CLOUD TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU (MCT)

Megan Thode, the student who is suing Lehigh University over a grade, leaves Northampton County Court in Easton, Pennsylvania with her father Stephen Thode, center, and her attorney Rick Orloski, right, Feb. 13.

DONNA FISHER/Allentown Morning Call (MCT)

BY RILEY YATES THE MORNING CALL (ALLENTOWN, PA) - MCT

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Northampton County, Pa., judge rejected the claims of a Lehigh University student suing over her C+ grade, reaching the verdict following a trial that captured national and international attention.

Judge Emil Giordano decided that the university neither breached contract nor sexually discriminated against Megan Thode, whose lawsuit sought $1.3 million in damages.

Both sides completed their cases Thursday morning in a legal fight pitting a university that maintained it must protect its academic standards against a graduate who says she was deprived of a career by faculty members with a grudge.

Thode, the daughter of Lehigh finance professor Stephen Thode, was attending the Bethlehem university tuition-free in 2009 when she got the C+ in her master’s fieldwork class. She needed a B or higher to take the next course, with her attorney, Richard J. Orloski, arguing that his client’s dream of becoming a licensed professional counselor was unfairly scuttled as a result.

Orloski told Giordano during closing arguments that the case was always about correcting an injustice, and not money. He said Thode would be happy if Giordano awarded her $1, while upping her grade to a B. “My clients will be well satisfied by this, and this will be victory for them,” Orloski said, “because this was never intended to be about $1.3 million.”

Orloski also made note of the Internet sensation the trial has become.

“We didn’t need international press attention. My client didn’t need it,” Orloski said.

“Lehigh University certainly doesn’t need it.”

Neil Hamburg, an attor-

ney for Lehigh, told Giordano that the courts have long deferred to academic institutions to determine what grades they should award.

Hamburg said Thode earned her C+ by showing an inability to self-reflect and take and respond to criticism, an inability he argued that she demonstrated by pursuing the litigation.

“It is horrible, and we at Lehigh feel horrible that Ms. Thode chose to bring this lawsuit, to subject herself and Lehigh University to the horror of having a court sit to decide her grievances,” Hamburg said. “It’s tragic.”

The closing arguments came after four days of testimony at the courthouse in Easton.

The last trial witness was also its first: Thode, who was called again to the stand by Orloski and denied yelling a swearword in class at her teacher, Amanda Carr, as Carr testified Tuesday.

“Did you ever yell at her?” Orloski asked.

“I did not yell at Ms. Carr, no,” said Thode, 29, of Nazareth.

Thursday morning was marked largely by witnesses called by Lehigh University as it wrapped up its case.

Ward M. Cates, an associate dean of the College of Education, testified that he sat on two university committees that heard and rejected internal complaints Thode filed over her grade. He maintained that the process was no “rubber stamp” of the C+ that Carr believed Thode had earned.

Cates said discussions over Thode’s appeals were involved and in-depth.

“Faculty will argue for a half an hour over whether a comma is well-placed,” Cates said to laughter from a courtroom audience made up largely of university officials.

The education college’s dean, Gary Sasso, said Thode demonstrated that she lacked the self-reflec-

tion and the ability to listen to and accept criticism that are needed in a licensed counselor.

“Who is it up to, the student or the instructor whether someone has met the requirements of the course?” asked Michael Sacks, an attorney for Lehigh.

“It’s up to the instructor,” Sasso said. “People go to school to learn something.”

Orloski says Thode would have received a better grade but for the zero in classroom participation that she was awarded by Carr.

He charges that Carr and Nicholas Ladany — the then-director of the degree program — conspired to hold Thode back because they were unhappy she’d complained after she and three other students were forced to find a supplemental internship partway through the semester.

Orloski also alleges that Carr was biased against Thode because Thode advocated for gay and lesbian rights — a claim Lehigh’s attorneys dismiss as baseless since Carr has a close family member who is a lesbian, and has counseled gay and lesbian people.

The university’s lawyers, Sacks and Neil Hamburg, argue that Thode was simply not ready to move on.

They say she showed unprofessional behavior that included outbursts and swearing in class.

After getting the grade, Thode unsuccessfully filed her internal grievances, showed up for meetings with her father, and insisted that Carr give her a written apology and a “plan for compensating me financially,” Lehigh says.

Thode ended up graduating from Lehigh with a master’s degree in human development and now works as a drug-and-alcohol counselor.

The $1.3 million she sought represents the difference in her earning power over her career if she were licensed, according to Orloski.

KABUL, Afghanistan — One morning recently, a teenager named Bacha Zarina was collecting firewood on her family’s small farm in eastern Afghanistan. About 30 yards away, as family members recall, two Taliban commanders stood outside a house.

A missile screamed down from the sky, killing the two men instantly. Two chunks of shrapnel flew at Bacha Zarina and lodged in her left side.

Her family raced her to the nearest hospital, a halfhour drive away, but she died en route, an accidental victim of the rapidly escalating U.S.-led campaign of drone strikes in Afghanistan.

She was 14 or 15 years old.

The U.S. military launched 506 strikes from unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan last year, according to Pentagon data, a 72 percent increase from 2011 and a sign that American commanders may begin to rely more heavily on remote-controlled air power to kill Taliban insurgents as they reduce the number of troops on the ground.

Though drone strikes represented a fraction of all U.S. air attacks in Afghanistan last year, their use is on the rise even as American troops have pulled back from ground and air operations and pushed Afghan soldiers and police into the lead.

In 2011, drone strikes accounted for 5 percent of U.S. air attacks in Afghanistan; in 2012, the figure rose to 12 percent.

Military spokesmen in Kabul and at the Pentagon declined to explain the increase. But officers familiar with the operation said it was due in part to the growing number of armed Reaper and Predator drones in Afghanistan and better availability of live video feeds beamed directly to troops on the ground.

The increase has coincided with a shift by the Obama administration toward a new strategy in Afghanistan that relies on a smaller military footprint to go after the Taliban and remaining alQaida fighters.

The use of armed drones is likely to accelerate as most of the 66,000 U.S. troops in the country are due to withdraw by the end of 2014. The remotely piloted long-range aircraft, which kill targets with virtually no risk to American lives, carry an unmistakable attraction for military commanders.

“With fewer troops, and even with fewer manned aircraft flying overhead, it’s harder to get traditional support in combat missions,” said Joshua Foust, a Washington-based analyst who has advised the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

“Drones provide a good way to do that without importing a bunch of pilots and the

s u p p o r t infrastructure they’d need to r e m a i n b a s e d there.”

The strategy isn’t without risk: D r o n e strikes can kill civilians, as underscored by the Sept. 23 incident that c l a i m e d B a c h a Zarina’s life.

A f t e r Marine Gen. John R. Allen, the former coalition comm a n d e r, issued an order limiti n g airstrikes in populated areas last year, U.S. and NATO forces reduced civilian casualties in air attacks by 42 percent in 2012, according to U.N. figures.

But after an airstrike this month that reportedly killed 10 civilians in addition to four Taliban leaders, Afghan President Hamid Karzai banned his forces from requesting coalition airstrikes in residential areas, a decree that also would apply to drones.

Defenders of drones say they are more accurate and less prone to causing civilian casualties than manned aircraft, because they can watch a potential target longer and often use smaller munitions.

When civilians are inadvertently killed, it is sometimes because they are close to a location where an airstrike is carried out, one U.S. officer said. But there also are instances when troops on the ground mistakenly call for an airstrike against a target where only civilians are present.

The U.S. military has acknowledged multiple times that it has accidentally killed civilians in drone strikes, including in 2010 when 24 Afghans were killed in Oruzgan province after being mistaken for insurgents, based on drone camera images. They were later determined to be noncombatants.

Last year, five coalition drone strikes killed 16 civilians and injured three, according to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, which documented just one such incident in 2011.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether those were strikes from U.S. drones; Britain’s Royal Air Force also flies armed Reaper drones in Afghanistan, although the vast majority of the coalition’s unmanned aircraft belong to the U.S. Many of the recent strikes have hit eastern Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents retain control of many villages. In Marawara district of Kunar province, where Bacha Zarina lived,

the two Taliban commanders killed in the Sept. 23 strike led a group of hardline fighters who had banned cigarettes and shaving for men, littered the area with roadside bombs, and threatened to kill Afghans who worked for the U.S. military at an outpost an hour’s drive away, villagers said.

Bacha Zarina’s older brother Saidaa, who, like many Afghans, has just one name, said in a telephone interview that the U.S. military at first denied that the airstrike had killed a civilian, citing the accuracy of drones.

After Afghan officials vouched for the family’s story, the Americans paid Bacha Zarina’s father about $2,000 in compensation.

“Do mistakes happen?

Yes,” said the U.S. officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss drone operations. “But they also happen with an F-16, maybe more so.”

Cmdr. Bill Speaks, a Pentagon spokesman, said, “We have always made safeguarding civilians a top priority in all operations. These strict guidelines apply to all of our weapons platforms.”

The Obama administration has come under increasing pressure this month from Congress to disclose details and legal underpinnings for drone strikes, especially a 2011 attack that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and a leader of the group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said U.S. drone strikes worldwide had killed 4,700 people, the first public estimate of the death toll by a U.S. official since the attacks began early in the George W. Bush administration.

“Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we’re at war, and we’ve taken out some very senior members of al-Qaida,” Graham told the Easley Rotary Club in South Carolina, according to news reports.

A Worldly Celebration 6

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Photography by Morgan Crutchfield and story by Myava Mitchell f you’re interested in international apparel, authentic fabrics, exotic gifts or designer jewelry, Exotique International Fabrics and Gifts is the place to go.

Exotique offers a wide selection of items ranging from artistic cards to universal clothing for men, women and children.

The founders, Yemi and Lola Olufolabi, come from Nigeria.

From there they went to England and later arrived in the United States. Now the Olufolabi’s travel the world purchasing goods for their shop. “We have been so blessed with travel,” the Olufolabi’s write on the store’s Web site.

Yemi Olufolabi is the fellowship director at the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke University, but he didn’t leave his background behind. He decided to bring his heritage and culture to the U.S. -— literally.

He opened Exotique in April 2006.

“After many years, you look at yourself and simply want something new and interesting — something different. You know it will be disruptive, uncertain and maybe even risky.

But what is life if we do not explore the tangents,” the Olufolabi’s write on the store’s Web site.

Exotique sells mudclothes, fork and spoon jewelry, the well known Toms from Argentina, wrap skirts, scented oils, hats, handbags, scarfs, waist beads and much more.

Each of these items is authentic and imported from around the world.

The products don’t stop there. They also sell exclusive pieces of art from Africa, South America, Asia, and the local Raleigh/Durham area.

“I love the convenience of the store and the fact that you won’t find things traditional items like this in traditional stores,” said Jade Keith, a Raleigh resident.

Olufolabi is more than a successful doctor and small business owner.

He is engaged in his community.

He supports several humanitarian missions from different parts of the world including Durham.

These nonprofit organizations include Freedom Firm, which supports young girls rescued from sex trafficing, Kybele, an organiazation that trains doctors and nurses in pediatric care, Global Mamas, a fair trade organization that supports women across Africa, Forests of the World, an organiztion that supports artisans and exporters in Madagascar, and the Durham Rescue Mission.

Exotique, located at 319 West Main St., will continue to amaze its customers with bright colors of fashion and remarkable gifts.

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Capitalism is oppression B Y C IERA’ H ARRIS ECHO OPINIONS EDITOR

Graffitti artists re-iimagining urban space is welcomed in Carrboro, but it has to be authorized.

JADE JACKSON/Echo staff reporter

B Y J ADE J ACKSON ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Carrboro Town Council announced a new initiative to preserve graffiti on WUNC National Public Radio’s local segment last Sunday.

DirtyDurham is an organization that encourages creative expression through graffiti and street art.

According to their Web site, their mission is to reclaim “the gritty image of Durham for those that are proud of its rough edges.”

Carrboro embraces this approach.

With new outlets for expressing creativity that range from gardening to baby yoga classes, Chapel HillCarrboro encourages many art forms.

What was once a misdemeanor is now being welcomed as creative expression. Carrboro officials want to focus the creative energy of local taggers, or graffiti artists. They would like Carrboro taggers to contribute a colorful addition to the town.

Examples of this authorized tagging have already been displayed behind the popular town eatery Carrburitos.

Carrboro local Casey Robertson was not only encouraged but compensated for his artistic graffiti.

He is now Art Director and Gallery manager of the Wootini Art Gallery in Carrboro.

“Our customers like the graffiti,” said Jessica Quinn, a Carrburritos employee of 6 years. “They say it brings color to our bland parking lot.”

Quinn said before the welcomed mural was tagged by Robertson there were always people tagging their name on the wall.

But there is still plenty of unwelcome tagging going on which Quinn said locals and business owners are not fond of.

“It sucks being up all night painting and then coming in at 8 am only to find someone’s name on the door you just painted the night before, we still have to clean that stuff up,” said Quinn.

While NPR reported this initia-

tive there are still many who don’t know about it.

“I haven’t heard much about this initiative,” said Carrboro Police Investigator Thomas Coyle. “We still have to charge graffiti as a crime.”

Coyle said that encouraging the taggers may be more for the town’s public relations.

Similar programs include the Façade Grant Program, a Durham program that aims to enhance the appearance of buildings, and the Painted Walls Project, a Chapel Hill program that raises funds to restore murals.

Any property or business located within the Downtown Chapel Hill Municipal Service District is eligible to apply for the Façade Grant Program.

The goals of these two towns are similar, and Carrboro is now taking its own stand to keep some of the grit.

Nestled close to Chapel Hill, a town where the architecture is valued, Carrboro is embracing it’s hipster vibe by saying yes to the gritty graffiti.

“Structured as Such: Architecture of the Oppressed” is an exhibit by local artist Joe Bigley that made its debut at Liberty Arts on Feb.15.

Bigley’s website describes the exhibit as a “large-scale, sculptural installation consisting of a series of interpretations of interior spaces that may be attributed to modes of oppression in a capitalist society.”

The exhibit includes voting booths, an office cubicle, a solitary confinement cell and rows of ship bunks. All of the structures are made out of reclaimed palette wood which serves as a symbol of capitalist activity.

Because of the amount of structures in such a small area, it was difficult to get a picture of the exhibit in its entirety.

That was Bigley’s point.

In an article published by the Durham News on Feb. 12, Bigley said, “The whole show is cramped. It is borderline claustrophobic, but that is the intention.”

According to Bigley, the exhibit is critical of the oppressive and disenfranchising measures that result from capitalism.

Bigley said the inspiration came from his observations and research on capitalist societies.

“Profit driven motives continue to saturate every aspect of our existence,” said Bigley.

“The power gained from profiteering seems to steer otherwise good natured people to contribute in either implementing or being complicit in oppressive capitalist tactics.”

Bigley said it’s not an anti-capitalist statement but just a strict observation.

Bigley has been an artist for about 10 years. He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Alfred University in 2008 and has taught at the university level.

His work has been displayed internationally.

His advice for aspiring artists is to be “fearless” and to “develop a thick skin.”

“Anticipate a struggle as it is a very tough endeavor, financially being an artist,” Bigley said. “Get your work out there. It does no good in your closet.”

Bigley said art can help to highlight important aspects of society in order to encourage social progress.

The exhibit runs through April 6.

“Our customers like the graffiti.

They say it brings color to our bland parking lot.”

JESSICA QUINN CARRBURRITOS EMPLOYEE

Renaissance man Nana Akatora is a photographer, athlete and aspiring doctor

BY M YAVA M ITCHELL ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The day becomes night.

The street lights illuminate the city. The pavement is absent of life. In the eyes of a photographer, this is the perfect moment to capture.

Nana Atakora agrees.

Atakora, a biology senior at N.C. Central University, is an aspiring doctor and a gifted photographer. Not many have heard of such an interesting combination.

“I’ve never heard of a doctor being a photographer, but I respect that he wants to help people but is also willing to show his creativity,” said mass communication senior Nagil Johnson.

He is quite versatile in the photography field. He photographs city skylines along with fashion, graduations, weddings and birthday parties.

Atakora said his interest in photography started in high school. He took a digital and film class that enhanced his curiosity outside of school. Atakora said he practiced with a Nikon D40 camera. By Jan. 2013, he began experi-

menting with lighting when he upgraded to a Nikon D5100 digital camera.

“The more I practiced, the better I got and the more compliments I received,” said Atakora.

These compliments prompted Atakora to start his own business, Nikonnana.

He has taken graduation and student government association pictures, built model portfolios and has even shot some videos for upcoming artists and designers on campus.

Atakora said he is sure to keep affordable prices for college students.

“He’s my roommate, so I see him practicing everyday and notice that he’s very dedicated to his craft,” said mass communication senior Thomas Leak. “I’ve done a shoot with him before and despite our friendship, he was very professional and had a creative eye.”

Yet, his love and dedication to photography takes away from school and another love of his: Track.

Atakora has been a track star since middle school. He was the second best in the state in high

school leading him to a partial scholarship to NCCU. He’s now the MEAC champion, bringing home a gold medal for finishing first in the men’s triple jump. His athletic talents continue with cross-country, wrestling, soccer and football.

“My love for track is different than my love for photography; with track it’s the competitiveness, but photography relieves stress,” said Atakora.

Neither one of his loves can compete with his future profession as an anesthesiologist. He said he plans to attend medical school after graduation and that his passion for photography will be secondary.

“I may sometimes come off as egotistical but the truth is I love photography and take the time to really understand what was going on and listen to people with experience,” said Atakora.

Atakora is one of many students who have the initiative to get a head start on success. With ambition as strong as his track record, Atakora shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Joe Bigley created life-ssized replicas of oppressive architecture.

CIERA’ HARRIS/Echo opinions editor

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Excellence in Journalism Awards 2013 National HBCU Student News Media Conference Freedom Forum Diversity Institute Nashville,Tenn.

Once again news media professionals from around the USA have given the NCCU Campus Echo the most overall awards at the National HBCU Student News Media Conference.

1st ~ Best Student Newspaper, Bi-Weekly Production 1st ~ Best Online Multimedia Package, Matt Phillips, “Election Central.

1st ~ Best Photo Story, Chi Brown, “The walls are talking” 2nd ~ Best Photo Story, Matt Phillips, “The Wasteland: A Durham dystopia” •2nd ~ Best Online Video, Campus Echo staff • 2nd ~ Best Design (Broadsheet), Campus Echo staff • 2nd ~ Headline Writing, Aaron Saunders

• 3rd ~ Best Overall Online Site, Campus Echo •3rd ~ Best Investigative or In-Depth Stories, Matt Phillips & Emily Pakes, “The battle for America, a four-part series” • 3rd ~ Best Sports News or Game Story, Jerome Brown Jr., “Not quite there yet” • 3rd ~ Best Editorial Cartoon, Bobby Faison, “School days with Timmy” • Honorable Mention, Investigative or InDepth Stories, Jonathan Alexander, “Jones, Coleman indicted”

Monique Lewis, staff reporter; Jade Jackson, staff reporter; Jamar Negron, staff reporter; Alexandria Sampson, A&E editor; Matt Phillips, editor-in-chief; Jonathan Alexander; assistant and sport editor

The Campus Echo picks up a few awards. Again.

2012 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Design, Broadsheet Category (non-weekly; Editors Ashley Griffin and Aaron Saunders) 1st - Arts & Entertainment Criticism (Jerome Brown Jr.) 1st - Headline Writer (Aaron Saunders) 1st - Online Audio Story ("As you like it," Chi Brown, Matt Phillips, Aaron Saunders) 2nd - Individual Page Design (Aaron Saunders) 2nd - Sports Game Story ("Eagles Cook Wildcats," Jerome Brown Jr.) 3rd - Student Newspaper (Bi-Weekly Category) 3rd- Sports Feature Story ("Where have all the brothers gone," Jonathan Alexander) Honorable Mention - In-Depth News Story ("CLA dean search draws fire," Ashley Griffin) Honorable Mention - Opinions Writing (Zevandah Barnes) Honorable Mention - News Coverage (Staff) Honorable Mention - Online (Staff and David Fitts Jr) 2011 - NC College Media Association 2nd - News Writing, Chriss Hess & Carlton Koonce Honorable Mention - Feature Writing, Carlton Koonce Honorable Mention - Feature Writing, Chi Brown Honorable Mention - Sports Writing, Aaron Saunders 2011 - American Scholastic Press Association 1st – Overall Student Newspaper 1st - Outstanding Story (Non-School Related) "Yard Sale at Union Independent," Carlton Koonce 2011 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st – Design, Broadsheet Category 1st – Online Video Story ~ James Hines "Hair to Stay" 1st – Individual Page Design ~ Ashley Griffin 1st – Individual Photograph ~ Chi Brown 1st – Headline Writer ~ Aaron Saunders 1st – Sports Game Story ~ Aaron Saunders “Eagles Stumble in Boone" 2nd – Informational Graphic/News Illustration ~ Steven Brown 2nd – Sports News Story ~ Jonathan Alexander "Eagles scratch Seattle" 2nd – Investigation or In-Depth Reporting ~ Echo staff 2nd – News Coverage ~ Echo staff 2nd – Online Site ~ David Fitts and Echo staff 2nd – Individual Page Design ~ Carlton Koonce 2nd – Online Video Reporting ~ Echo staff 3rd – Online Multimedia Package ~ Echo staff 3rd – Best Student Newspaper 3rd – Spot News Story ~ Jonathan Alexander "Democratic Party stalwart speaks at Lyceum" Honorable Mention - Photo Essay ~

April Simon "Harvest of Dignity" 2010 - Society of Professional Journalists - Mark of Excellence 1st – All-Around Student newspaper 3rd – Feature Photography "Monday Night Jazz," Chi Brown 3rd – Editorial Writing, Ashley Griffin 2010 ~ HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st – Student Newspaper 1st – Online Site 1st – Headline Writer, Geoffrey Cooper 1st – Editorial Cartoon, Brandon Murphy 1st – Individual Page Design, Carlton Koonce 2nd – Design-Broadsheet ~ Carlton Koonce 2nd – Design-Broadsheet or Tabloid, Geoffrey Cooper 2nd – Online Multimedia Package 2nd – Editorial/Opinion Section Honorable Mention - Best Photo Story – “Recyclery,” Chi Brown 2009 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Headline Writer, Shelbia Brown 1st - Photo Story - Nighttime in Durham, Kenice Mobley 1st - Photo Story - Hillside High's Artists, Ray Tyler 2nd - Newspaper Design 3nd - A&E Criticism, Chasity Richardson 3rd - Investigative Story, Tubas MIA, Geoffrey Cooper 2008 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Overall Student Newspaper Editors Rony Camille and Shelbia Brown) 1st -Best Features A&E Section (Joanna Hernandez and Brooke Sellars) 1st - Overall Sports Coverage (Larisha Stone and Quentin Gardner) 1st - Sports Game Story (Quentin Gardner) 1st - Sports Feature (unidentified by judge) 2nd - Special Section (“Some of Our Teachers,” Rony Camille, Travis Ruffin, Shelbia Brown, Natalia Farrer, Geoffrey Cooper, Gabriana Clay-White) 2nd - Feature Story (“It’s a Family in the Shop,” Kenali Battle) 2nd - Use of Photography (Staff Photographers) 2nd - Sports Story (“NCCU Trounces FSU,” Quentin Gardner) 3rd -Best Individual Page Design (“Denita Smith: An Immeasurable Loss,” Rony Camille) 3rd - Feature Writing (“If Colors Could Talk,” Kristiana Bennett) 3rd - Editorial/Opinion Section (Kai Christopher) 3rd - Sports Story (“Thanks for the Memories, CIAA,” Shatoya Cantrell) Honorable Mention - Overall News Coverage (Rony Camille, Shelbia Brown and staff) Honorable Mention - Feature Story (“Cerebral Palsy Slows Body, Not Soul,” Denique Prout)

2007 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Use of Photography 1st - Design Broadsheet 1st - News Illustration 1st - Individual Page Design 2nd - Online 2nd - Student Newspaper Nonweekly 2nd - Editorial Cartoon (Brandon Murphy) 2nd - Spot News Story 2nd - Special Section/Theme Edition 2nd - Individual Photography (Roderick Heath) 3rd - Signed Commentary and Column Writing 3rd - Sports Photography (Roderick Heath) 3rd - Features/ A&E Section 2006 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Best Overall Newspaper 1st Design - Staff award 1st - Use of Photography 1st - Special Section - Election preview (Rony Camille) 1st - Overall Sports Coverage (Sasha Vann) 1st - Headline (Carla Aaron-Lopez) 1st - Individual Page Design Katrina Brings Misery (Carla AaronLopez) 2nd - News Coverage - SGA Elections (Staff) 2nd - Editorial cartoon - Bush Steals Votes (Kalen Davis) 2nd -Best Feature/A&E Section 3rd - Editorial Cartoon - Crossing Fayetteville Street (Brandon Murphy) Honorable Mention - Signed Commentary (Carla Aaron-Lopez) Honorable Mention - Arts and Entertainment Criticism (Carla Aaron-Lopez) Honorable Mention - Sports Photograph - Roderick Heath Honorable Mention - Feature Writing - Julius Jones Honorable Mention - Online Newspaper - Tiffany Kelly, Erica Horne 2005 - Mark of Excellence Award Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 1st - All Around Online Newspaper 2nd - Non-Daily Newspaper (weekly or monthly) 3rd - General Column WritingLovemore Masakadza 3rd - Online spot news "Ammons to replace vice chancellor,” Lovemore Masakadza 2005 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - General Excellence Award (Overall), Campus Echo staff 1st - Best News Coverage, Campus Echo Staff 1st - Spot News Story, Lovemore Masakadza,"NCCU students give views on debate" 1st - News Story, Lovemore Masakadza, "Stompin' out HIV" 1st - Photography 1st - Individual Photo, Aaron Daye, "Sound Machine" 1st - Feature/AE Page Design, Aaron

Daye, “Sound Machine Feature” 1st - Individual Sports Page Design, Sheena Johnson, “Aggie-Eagle Classic” 2nd - Editorial Cartoon, Kalen Davis, "Undercover Bush stealing votes again" 2nd - Best Feature Story, Ihuoma Ezeh, "Single moms work hard" 3rd - Front Page Design Honorable Mention - Investigative Series, Lovemore Masakadza, "Provost/Tenure process" Honorable Mention - News Story, Lovemore Masakadza, "Tenure process reveals kinks" 2004 - Society of Professional Journalists - Mark of Excellence Award, Region Two 1st - All-Around Online Student Newspaper 2nd - All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper 2003 - Society of Professional Journalists - Mark of Excellence Award, Region Two 1st - All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper 1st - Feature Photography, Rashaun Rucker for "Dog Days" 2nd - All-Around Online Student Newspaper 2nd - Feature Photography, Mike Feimster for "Postcards from Harlem" 3rd - In-Depth Reporting, Terra Abrams and Dalia Davies for "Crying Murder" Honorable Mention - Feature Writing, Cedric Bowers for "What's in a Word?"

Honorable Mention - Sports Photography, Mike Feimster 2003 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - News Story, Terra Abrams & Dalia Davies for "Crying Murder" 1st - Sports Photograph, Mike Feimster 1st - Layout and Design, Campus Echo staff 2nd - General Excellence - Overall Paper, Campus Echo staff 2nd - On-Line Newspaper, Campus Echo 2nd - News Photograph, Rashaun Rucker 2nd - Cartoon, Remy Yearwood for Campus Life 9/5/02 3rd - Sports Column, Mike Williams 3rd - News Photograph, Rashaun Rucker 3rd - Sports Photograph, Rashaun Rucker 3rd - Feature Photography, Rashaun Rucker 2002 - Society of Professional Journalists - Mark of Excellence Award, Region Two 2nd - Overall Non-Daily Student Newspaper 2002 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Best Newspaper - Biweekly, Campus Echo staff 1st - Online Edition, Jennie Alibasic 1st - News Coverage, Campus Echo staff 1st - Overall Photography, Rashaun Rucker

1st - Photograph, Rashaun Rucker 1st - Layout & Design, Campus Echo staff 2nd - Feature, Cedric Bowers for "What's in a word?"

2nd - Sports Coverage, Mike Williams 2001 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - News Coverage, Campus Echo staff 1st - Online Edition, Jennie Alibasic 1st - Photography, Rashaun Rucker & Mike Feimster 1st - Sports Coverage, Ed Boyce editor 2nd - News Story, Ed Boyce for "Votes to decide fate of schools" 2nd - Feature Story, Maria Beaudoin for "NCCU offers training for the visually impaired" 2nd - Individual Photo, Rashaun Rucker for "MLK's Eternal Flame" 2nd - Sports Story, Ed Boyce for "Pippen runs through adversity" 3rd - Individual Graphic Design, Remy Yearwood for graphic designed for student survey "Politics" Honorable Mention - In-Depth Reporting, for "Student Survey: A Four-Part Series" by Rainah Simmons, LaToya Goolsby.

Honorable Mention - News Story, Danny Hooley for "The Long Goodby" Honorable Mention - Design and Layout, Danny Hooley, Ed Boyce, Mike Williams, Rainah Simmons, Jennie Alibasic, and Phonte Coleman Honorable Mention - Commentary, Jennie Alibasic for "Presumed innocence for whom?”

Honorable Mention - Overall Grahics, Remy Yearwood.

2000 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Best Newspaper, Echo staff 1st - Online Edition, Jennie Alibasic 2nd - Sports Coverage, Ed Boyce & Mike Williams 2nd - Photography, Rashaun Rucker 3rd - Spot News Story, Phonte Coleman for "Dr. Al Clark dies" 3rd - Feature Story, Christine Newman for "Daycare has personal touch" 2nd - Design/Layout, Danny Hooley & Ed Boyce Honorable Mention - Spot Reporting, Danny Hooley for "Shooting near NCCU" 1999 - HBCU Excellence in Journalism Awards 1st - Spot News Coverage, Campus Echo staff 1st - Spot News Story, Mari McNeil for "Food service" 1st - Photography, Paul Phipps 2nd - Photograph, Paul Phipps 3rd - Sports Story, Ed Boyce for "Harper brings" 3rd - Spot News Story, Richard Dunlop for "Housekeepers" 3rd - Spot News Story, Richard Dunlop for "Housekeepers" Honorable Mention - Spot News Story, Dinky Kearney for "Lawsuits" Honorable Mention - Spot News, Kim Ross for "Housing dilemma"

Sports

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Eagles baseball surging behind Frye

Senior pitcher Glenn Frye continues to impress and progress with a 1-0 record and 2.70 ERA BY

T EVIN S TINSON

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

In 2010, Glenn Frye was just a freshman from Harnett County High School looking to make a difference with a struggling baseball program at N.C. Central University.

Now a senior, Frye (1-0) has seen coaches come and go, and has endured some of the darkest times of NCCU baseball.

In his first season with the Eagles, under former head coach Henry White, Frye made an immediate impact, appearing in 17 games. Frye was third on the team in strikeouts, mowing down 28 batters.

Of the 28 strikeouts, he caught 11 looking, which was the most on the team.

He also led the team in

innings pitched with 45.1.

Despite all his hard work, the Eagles finished the season with a 3-44 record.

However, Frye kept his head up and continued to improve on his game.

Frye currently has 164 strikeouts in his career at NCCU, who revamped its program in 2007.

Frye broke the record in 2012 passing Doug Dalley.

“It's something to be proud of,” Frye said.

“But since my first few years here, I don’t really care about stats too much. More than anything I want a championship.”

Just six games into the season, the Eagles have matched their win total from Frye's freshmen and have gotten off to the best start in program history at 3-3.

In only two starts on the young season, Frye has struck out 13 b a t t e r s , including a 10strikeout perGlenn Frye formance against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders in his first start of the season.

Frye has yet to surrender a walk this season. And in two games started he has posted a 2.70 earned-run average.

“Glenn is very important to our success,” said NCCU men’s baseball head coach Jim Koerner.

“He has to lead by example as well as his performance. He has to set the tone and on certain days carry us.”

In preparation for his chase for 200 strikeouts, Frye spent the off-season working on his velocity which has proven to be a differencemaker in his pitching.

“There has definitely been a big jump for him since last season,” Koerner said.

“He has more confidence on the mound, which has led to him throwing some good pitches.”

Frye said he has grown as a leader on the team since he first arrived, and knows that as a senior he must set an example for the younger players on the team.

Freshman pitcher Andrew Vernon looks to Frye for advice on and off the field.

Vernon is expected to make an immediate impact this season, just as Frye was in

his freshman year.

At Knightsdale High School in Raleigh, Vernon was named to the Greater Neuse River all-conference team, and was named MVP of his varsity team three years straight.

"Frye has been a great role model for me," Vernon said. "He led me through everything when I first got here, and really showed me the ropes.

"I take everything he has to say to heart. He really knows the game."

His former pitching coach at NCCU, Chris Smith said when he and White recruited Frye he always knew he’d be a great pitcher for the MEAC. Smith coached and helped develop Frye for two seasons.

“He was a big strong kid

and we knew he would get bigger and stronger,” Smith said. “Then it was just his tenacity. He would give you everything he had.”

Smith said he still continues to follow his former pitchers.

“So far so good. He’s not doing anything less than I thought he would do,” Smith said.

“He’s going to go out and compete and give everything he had.”

Frye seems confident in his team’s chances to pull out the victory in the next few games.

“We just have keep doing what we're doing,” Frye said.

“The wins will come. You always want to leave a program better than you found it. If you do that you've done your job as a player.”

Eagles basketball bands together Screaming their The Eagles are now 12-1 in the conference are second in MEAC team to victory J ONATHAN A LEXANDER

BY

D OMINIQUE A KPOTANOR

BY

ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR

DURHAM — For weeks, N.C. Central University men’s basketball coach Levelle Moton has raved about the camaraderie of his team.

He said this team was a closer bunch than any other team he’s coached and are like brothers on and off the court.

However, he always dismissed the notion that his team had arrived and were ready to take the helm at the MEAC. Saturday night, the Eagles (19-8, 12-1 MEAC) beat the N.C. A&T Aggies (13-15, 6-7 MEAC) 51-47, despite 19 Eagle turnovers.

But for the first time all season, Moton didn’t dismiss that notion.

“If you would have told me we’d be 12-1 with one senior and overcoming the injuries that we’ve had up to this point, I would have taken it,” Moton said.

“These guys fight man.

They fight. The strength of

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

Head coach Levelle Moton tries to motivate his team in Saturday afternoon’s game against the N.C. A&T Aggies.

JES’NEKA JONES/Echo staff photographer

this team is the team. They fight. They love each other.

They care for one another.

It’s genuine. It takes precedence over here on the floor and that’s something you really can’t measure.

“I love coaching them.”

Junior guard Jeremy Ingram echoed Moton’s sentiments. But he’s still not satisfied.

“I think we have arrived, but I think we got a little more things we can get better at and coming together

really as a team,” Ingram said.

“For example, letting the offense come to us and not trying to force something, which can look selfish as a

n See MEAC Page 12

Duke University has the Cameron Crazies to cheer their team on during games.

N.C. Central University has the Screaming Eagles.

The Screaming Eagles is an organization that cheers, taunts, and exemplifies Eagle pride, said Screaming Eagles president B.J. Watson.

Saturday night the Screaming Eagles were at the Aggie-Eagle classic, cheering the Eagles to victory 51-47.

“Our crowd is phenomenal,” said NCCU head coach Levelle Moton. “They are our sixth man. They help us out so much. We dig us some holes and they get us out.”

And that they did.

The N.C. A&T Aggies’ (1315, 6-7 MEAC) inability to block out the crowd and hit a free throw cost them the game. The Aggies finished 6 of 19 from the charity stripe, and missed four key free

throws down the stretch.

Junior forward Stanton Kidd said it was the crowd that bothered the Aggie players.

“The simple fact is them free throws,” Kidd said.

“That gets to you when you’re shooting free throws and somebody is behind that basket and they’re taunting or you can hear noise. Some guys don’t have the mental toughness to block that out.”

Watson said the crowd turnout has been excellent during the past few games, with more than 1,000 students at each game.

The Aggie-Eagle classic was no exception. The game reached the maximum capacity of 3,000 people.

“Everyone knows the history between the Aggies and the Eagles,” Moton said.

Art junior Amanda Berry was especially involved in the game.

She danced before the game. She danced during

n See SCREAM Page 12

Lady Eagles finally start showing signs of life BY

C LAYTON W ELCH

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

DURHAM — Aja Hoyle might have struggled from the floor in Saturday night’s loss to the N.C. A&T Lady Aggies (18-8, 10-3 MEAC) 60-33, but N.C. Central University women’s basketball coach Vanessa Taylor insists her freshman guard is improving.

Taylor said Hoyle, a freshman from Hickory High School, where she averaged 19.8 points a game, is now doing a better job staying focused on the team’s needs in the game.

MaxPreps.com ranked Hoyle 31st among top N.C.

high school recruits.

“The last five games, she’s been more selective offensively,” Taylor said.

“She’s gained a better understanding of what shots to take, and she’s hitting those shots and she’s not afraid to be aggressive and take some contact. She’s going to the bucket and going to the line more.”

When freshman guard Amber Neely was sidelined with a concussion, Hoyle knew she had to step up.

In the past five games, Hoyle has averaged 11.8 points per game, including a season-high 16 points on Feb. 9 against the Florida A&M

Lady Rattlers. She shot 6 of 10 from the floor and made 4 of 5 from the free throw line.

On Feb. 16, the Lady Eagles got their first and only win of the season 43-38 against the Savannah State Lady Tigers.

Hoyle contributed with 13 points and helped lead the team to victory.

"It's just my competitive spirit,” Hoyle said. “Once I get into a groove I tell myself every game I have to improve to make myself and my team better.”

“I've never been in a situation like this. It's a learning experience but I was always

Freshman guard Aja Hoyle boxes out two defenders.

n See HOYLE Page 12

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New schedule, new prospects, new team, new feel Eagles sign 13 new recruits on National Signing Day and have released their 2013 football schedule B RITTNEY M C P HERSON

BY

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

DURHAM — After finishing fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Eagles added 13 new recruits on National Signing Day and are looking to improve upon their 6-5 overall and 5-3 conference record in 2012.

Among those recruits are 10 high school prospects and three transfers. Seven defensive linemen, four wide receivers, one offensive lineman, and one tight end were signed.

The states represented are Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, New York and Maryland.

N.C. Central University head coach Henry Frazier III said he expects the three transfers, wide receiver Antonio Belt, and defensive linemen Daniel Rhodes and Felix Small to play right away.

Rhodes, a Charlotte native, transferred from the University of Illinois, and Belt transferred from Temple University.

“The recruits don’t have

The Eagles are looking to improve their 6-5 5 record with new recruits in the 2013 season.

Photo courtesy of NCCU Athletics

play right away,” Frazier said.

“The success for next season will be from the students here now.”

Entering his third year as coach, Frazier said he is working toward laying out his expectations for the players and plans to hold them accountable for their actions.

“It’s about being focused, and you can’t get distracted,” Frazier said.

Junior quarterback Jordan Reid, who expects to take on the role of senior leader next season, advises the new recruits keep their priorities straight and manage their time wisely.

“Because you have a lot of freedom now being a col-

In their 2013 campaign, the Eagles will face three unfamiliar opponents: the UNC Charlotte 49ers on Sept. 14, the Towson Tigers

MEAC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

JES’NEKA JONES/Echo staff photographer

The tension was thick.

They challenged each other on almost every possession.

The Aggies led the Eagles for most of the game. When the Eagles finally took the lead early in the second half, the crowd erupted and the momentum changed. From then on, the Eagles never

HOYLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 told if you give effort everything else will fall into place."

Unfortunately, Hoyle’s contribution wasn’t enough to help the Lady Eagles Saturday against the Lady Aggies.

The Lady Aggies successfully dominated the game, out-shooting and outrebounding the Lady Eagles by large margins.

The Lady Aggies’ largest lead of the game was 31 points with 1:19 left in the

2013 Schedule

on Sept. 21 and the Norfolk State Spartans on Nov. 16.

This is the 49ers’ first football program in school history and the Eagles will have the luxury of being the 49ers’ first guest.

“That is actually another game I am looking forward to,” Reid said. “When we play them that is actually their first home game in

SCREAM

The Screaming Eagles cheer on the N.C. Central University men’s basketball every home game. timeouts. She danced at halftime. She even danced at the end of the game on her way out of the gym.

“I always dance and I was enjoying myself,” Berry said.

With a packed house at McDougald-McLendon gymnasium, the hostility was felt between Aggie and Eagle fans.

lege student-athlete,” Reid said. “Nobody is going to make you do anything. It’s all on you and the decisions that you make.”

game.

The Lady Aggies were led

by Eboni Ross, who scored 18 points in the game and grabbed 10 rebounds, and teammate JaQuayla Berry added 13 points and eight rebounds.

Saturday the Lady Eagles will try to sweep the season series against the Lady Tigers of Savannah State.

“We got to get another win,” Hoyle said.

“We have Savannah State coming up. We have to win.”

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relinquished the lead.

When the final buzzer sounded, hundreds of Eagle fans rushed the court to celebrate the win over their arch-rivals.

“It’s a win; anytime you are able to get a conference win you’re ecstatic about that. We let the rivalry take care of itself with the fans,” Moton said.

team.

“So just let it come to us and get everybody involved.”

The Eagles remain in second place in the MEAC standings, one game behind the Norfolk State Spartans (18-10, 13-0 MEAC).

In the Eagles’ 2012-2013 campaign, they have proven they can be contenders in the MEAC. They have beaten all but two teams, and their only loss came to the Savannah State Tigers on the road.

The rematch is set for March 2 at McClendonMcDougald Gymnasium.

The Eagles will not play the Spartans this season unless they meet in the MEAC tournament.

The Aggies started out hot at the beginning of the AggieEagle Classic.

At one point in the first half, they were shooting more than 80 percent from the floor and finished the first half shooting 58 percent.

It even seems that when the Eagles are off their game, they almost always come out on top in the final stretch.

That’s what happened Saturday. They struggled to hold on to the basketball.

They shot poorly.

But they hung around until they finally took the lead early in the second half.

And that lead was never squandered.

In order to continue their success, aside from the obvious, the Eagles have to get senior guard Ray Willis

going.

Willis was a non-factor in one of the biggest games of the year. He scored five points on 1 of 4 shooting.

This season the talented guard has been inconsistent, to put it mildly. Willis was a pre-season All-MEAC selection after averaging 14.6 points per game last season.

He was the team’s second leading scorer and was a second-team All-MEAC selection in 2012.

This season, Willis is averaging 12.4 points per game and has scored under eight points, nine times this season.

When Willis scores below eight points, the Eagles are 4-5. When he scores more than eight points the Eagles are 15-4.

“Ray Willis got to get Ray Willis going,” Moton said.

“He’s been in school five years, man, and he has to come out here and prepare himself.”

“He’s been in a funk as of late and Ray just has to play up to his talent and listen …

“But he’ll be fine, I trust.

He’s been here before without a doubt, so he has to bounce back,” he said.

Foul trouble has also been an Achilles heel of the Eagles. To be successful in the MEAC, the Eagles’ starting five must stay out of foul trouble.

When multiple players are sidelined with foul trouble, it disrupts the flow of the offense.

history so that should be fun.”

He said he’s also looking forward to the game against the Duke Blue Devils on Aug. 31.

Frazier echoed Reid’s sentiments. He said he’s focused solely on the first game of the season.

Last season, the Blue Devils demolished the Eagles 54-17. Reid came in late in the game in relief of junior quarterback Matt Goggans, who struggled.

Reid completed 17 of 26 pass completions for 218 yards, but threw two costly interceptions.

Another stepping stone for the Eagles is the AggieEagle classic on Nov. 23.

Last season the Eagles lost a tough game in overtime to their arch-rivals.

Reid, a native of High Point, said he grew up a part of the Aggie-Eagle Classic.

“It means a lot,” Reid said. “When I was growing up, the game was at N.C. State. So just being a part of that environment and growing up in it, it’s kind of like a big dream to be actually playing in it now.”

“It’s a dream come true.”

That’s what happened in the Feb. 11 game against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats when the Eagles blew a 30-13 lead.

When Willis, junior forward Stanton Kidd and junior guard Emanuel Chapman were benched, the only starters left on the court were Ingram and redshirt sophomore Jay Copeland.

The Wildcats went on a 2611 run to close the gap to five points at halftime.

In the Eagles’ only loss to Savannah State, it was Kidd, Ingram and Copeland who got into foul trouble and had to sit early.

Moton said getting junior forward Karamo Jawara (KJ) back into action is a prority because of his ability to direct the front line.

“He brings a calmness and a sense of normalcy to Jay and Stanton,” Moton said.

“Neither one of them has been the same since he has been out, and that’s how critical and important of a piece as he is to us.”

Jawara’s return from an ankle injury is uncertain.

In the MEAC tournament’s first game, men and women will tip off on Monday, March 11 in Norfolk, Va. “Right now we’re going game by game,” Chapman said.

“We don’t go on winning streaks or anything like that.

The record starts over day by day.”

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

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13 IVERSITY

Would you like fries with that?

I

t’s 2 p.m. and you are just getting out of World Literature. The key is in the door and as you open it you bum rush your room to change clothes in a whirlwind motion because guess what?

You have to be to work at 3 pm. Oh, how excited you must be finishing classes, your first job, to put on that armor of minimum wage for your second job.

People believe that college students have it easy for some odd reason.

This is absolutely false, Angel especially when you’re Brown going to school, staying involved as a student and balancing a job.

Being a college student isn’t just referring to the ages of 18-22 years old.

People of all ages are freshmen, sophomore, juniors and seniors.

Some of your fellow classmates are mothers and fathers, janitors, housekeepers and the angry chick in the drive thru

Nothing motivates you more than a job with crappy pay, nonexistent incentives, and a time consuming schedule. But you need the money, whether it’s to put food in your mini fridge in your dorm room, or pay rent at your one bedroom apartment.

at the nearby fast food restaurant.

Honestly the attitudes people tend to have working at places like Wendy’s or Burger King is understood.

I find myself a little ticked off at times when they don’t seem to return the smile I give them as they hand me my bag, but then I flash back to my earlier days at a famous chicken restaurant I won’t speak of.

Nothing motivates you more than a job with crappy pay, nonexistent incentives and a time consuming schedule.

But you need the money, whether it’s to put food in your mini-fridge in your dorm room, or pay rent at your one bedroom

apartment.

Our minds are set on college being the key to success, especially when your boss tells you to clean toilets that people have so kindly sprinkled their body fluids on.

Then to go home with the scent of bleach, grease and fries freshly coating your ugly slave attire.

Garbage men and sewer plant workers get paid more to smell like crap than fast food workers get paid to scrub floors and clean unsanitary bathrooms.

I can say that working at a fast food restaurant does teach you to be appreciative of opportunities and hard work.

It also makes you respect those who

continue to work there for a living.

The fast food industry can be vicious and breed bitter people; I witnessed this while working for one a few years ago.

I was constantly put on the schedule for late nights though I had class early the next day. I didn’t receive any compassion when I was late due to group meetings for projects at school.

I experienced it all. I wasn’t the only one suffering.

Some people felt trapped and too overwhelmed with overtime to even consider stepping outside of the enslavement.

This is life for some of us as proletariats, and if you are happy with this I salute you.

On another note, those of you who are full time and part time students working in America’s easy meal stops, remember you have an ultimate goal you are trying to achieve. Never give up.

Utilize the tolerance you obtained dealing with people’s attitudes, and always remember the hardships you endured when asking “Would you like fries with that?”

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

IVER SITY

S#*% white people say

have a good friend who was legacied into Duke.

She comes from an affluent background and has never had to work.

A year and a half ago, I told her I got into NCCU and was excitedly listing off its contributions to Durham. She scoffed, “Well, I’m sorry, but my school’s better.”

I was infuriated. I had been homeless just a year before that. I moved home, filed for bankruptcy and was working two menial jobs and going to school tirelessly, all while hiding from a dangerous ex.

Now, I was about to graduate from Durham Tech and enter a four-year college with a full academic scholarship.

And my new best friend just said that to me.

I composed myself the best I could and said, “Well, Rachel, you were a history major. Why do you think it is that your school has more than mine does?”

She had no idea. She could name every freckle on Napoleon’s scrotum but couldn’t make the simplest connection between American history and the present. Worst of all, she was arrogant about it.

I wanted to choke her. She recently apologized for it, but knowing that she feels that way still burns me.

This was the first of many incidences in which I would encounter such ignorance.

Most of the time, it comes in question form, with the same half-mocking amusement. I get one of three questions: 1. Is NCCU racist? 2.

Did you get the minority scholarship? 3. It’s easy, isn’t it?

The question of whether NCCU is racist points to white lore about what African Americans do amongst themselves.

The logic goes that because white people are so important, nothing important happens without white people — except of course, plotting against white people. This must be what they do at HBCUs. They couldn’t possibly be learning things like we do at our important schools.

When I decided to attend NCCU, I remember one conversation with my mother. She was apprehensive. It went something like this: “Honey, are you sure? A couple ladies

The logic goes that because white people are so important, nothing important happens without white people — except of course, plotting against white people.

This must be what they do at HBCUs.

I work with said they knew someone from church who knew someone whose niece went there and had a bad experience. They said you really have to be persistent with the staff because they don’t want to help white people.”

I know my mom was just trying to look out for me, but I wish she’d realized how ridiculous all of that sounded.

First, the story had obviously travelled through the grapevine so far as to disallow verification.

Second, assuming we were able to track down this mysterious white victim, do we know how she treats people she encounters?

Third, of course there were administrative hassles. It’s called college.

For the record, I have never, ever experienced racism at NCCU. In fact, of the six colleges I’ve attended (I know-I’ve moved around a lot), NCCU has had the most welcoming faculty, staff and students.

Yet so many people perpetuate the myth that NCCU is racist that I once felt the need to ask a friend attending grad school at NCCU if there was any truth to it. “Have you ever experienced racism at Central?” I asked. “Never,” he said. “I think … it’s because they know how it feels.”

After two years on campus, I am fairly certain the myth stems only from white guilt and fear.

The next and most common question I get is about the minority scholarship. This question bothers me because it yet again implies that NCCU is not a school worth attending in and of itself — except under special circumstances, like having fat sacks of cash thrown at you for being white.

Think about it. How quickly would NCCU go broke if this were actually happening?

There are hundreds of millions of white Americans.

It’s just not rare enough to be scholarship-worthy. Yes, there is a minority scholarship. It’s called the UNC Consolidate Grant and anyone who identifies — this is an important part — as anything other than African American can apply for it.

But it’s not a lot of money.

We’re talking maybe $250 a semester. The big money is for those with high GPA’s, great community service records and athletic prowess.

I had the grades and community service record to have attended UNC or NC State, but my gut told me to choose NCCU because it was local, affordable and the English department was highly recommended by several co-workers with Ph.Ds. It’s the same education, the same degree as a PWI, but at a fraction of the cost. Many people, however, don’t understand this, which brings me to the third question.

“Is NCCU easy?” Again, this gets to the heart of the “your college can’t possibly be as good as our college” mindset.

A friend who went to UNC once slighted my school in an offhand remark, then tried to back-pedal by saying, “No, actually I think you’re really smart for choosing Central.

I wish I’d gone to an easy school. Then my grades would’ve been better.”

It’s incredible how many people slight NCCU on everything from academic rigor to faculty conduct without ever stepping foot on our campus.

The phrase, “all up in the Kool-Aid” comes to mind. The 17 colleges in the UNC system have remarkably similar cur-

riculum requirements.

You’re not going to weasel your way out of learning something by choosing a smaller “easy” school; the only thing you’re going to do is end up paying less in student loans if you flunk out.

Are there differences between NCCU and say, UNC? Absolutely. And again, they all come down to race and class.

The admission requirements for NCCU are not as rigorous as those for UNC. The reason for this is to give a chance to those who have been less privileged.

Ultimately, your SAT scores and high school activities amount for jack when it comes to college completion, or anything in the real world.

It’s important that people are given the chance to succeed. Whether they do or not is up to them.

Plenty of students entering NCCU won’t graduate, just as plenty of students entering other schools in the UNC system won’t graduate. And to my knowledge, UNC has yet to kick out those who consistently underperform, like NCCU did recently.

Interestingly, many of my professors at NCCU have also taught at other area institutions, including UNC, Duke and NCSU. When I have asked them if they alter the content of their classes to accommodate the school, they have all sworn the information they teach remains the same.

So don’t think that because we’re both white, your racist remarks don’t deeply offend me.

They do.

I am a student here and you are talking about my school, my friends, my professors, my community and me.

Instead of letting racism and rumors inform your opinion of my school, I welcome you to come spend a day with me on campus.

You can get a degree anywhere, but if you truly want a comprehensive education, I recommend NCCU. The only thing you risk is becoming a more responsible, compassionate citizen.

The author of this opinion is an N.C. Central University senior.

She asked to remain unnamed for personal reasons.

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: What are your plans for Spring Break?

“Vacationing in Myrtle Beach, in an oceanfront condo with a few of my closest friends.”

– Marcus Christon

“My husband and I are going to visit my in-laws, who live close to the beach.”

– Deidra Morris

“I’m in the band, so I will traveling to the MEAC Tournament in Norfolk, Va.” – Markel Reid

Sound Off By Ciera’ Harris

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