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I V E R S I T Y

Sports

Beyond

Feature

Student senators sound off about a variety of topics

NCCU hoops legend Harold Hunter passes away

Over-burdened public defenders struggle to provide counsel

Black Wall Street: Mural celebrates Durham history and legacy

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Pages 8-9

Special Section Inside

VOLUME 104, ISSUE 9 919 530.7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDU WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM

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Campus Echo PRAYER NEEDS ANSWERED? Left to right: LeVelle Moton, NCCU head coach. The eagles huddle before game time. Emanuel Chapman, point guard.

ECHO

Rukayat Usman smiles after the first Muslim prayer in the lower level of the NCCU Women’s Center.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

The NCCU Women’s Center provided temporary space for Muslim students to pray on campus — a change some students, faculty and administrators say is needed to alleviate oppression.

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Moton building quality D-I program

BY JONATHAN ALEXANDER ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR & SPORTS EDITOR

awsheen Women’s Center is PHOTO AND STORY BY MATT PHILLIPS Khan and offering dedicated ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (REPRINTED FROM THE DURHAM NEWS) Rukayat space for Muslim Usman pray five times a day. students to pray.

Other Muslim students at N.C. Central It isn’t permanent, but it is a start.

University do too.

“I just didn’t want them to continue to Until recently they prayed in stairwells, feel marginalized,” said Chimi Boydempty classrooms, bustling hallways, and Keyes, NCCU Women’s Center director. sometimes, campus restrooms.

“I took it upon myself to find a space — Now that’s changed. it was a priority to me they not feel like After a five-month search, the NCCU that on this campus.”

NORFOLK — Senior guard Ray Willis and the N.C. Central University men’s basketball team were noticeably distraught after their 55-42 loss to the N.C. A&T Aggies on March 13 in the quarterfinals of the MidEastern Athletic Conference tournament.

Some players looked angry. Some looked disappointed.

And some players had tears in their eyes.

NCCU head coach LeVelle Moton said it was going to be a grind and the team who was on their A-game would come out on top. And although the Aggies didn’t appear to be on their “A” game, the Eagles looked a couple of grades lower.

Beating a team three times in one season is a difficult task. And to do so against your rival is even tougher, but the Eagles had confidence they would rise to the occasion.

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Recovery a long struggle

Project SAFE panel offers students real world stories

Malcolm Clemens’ addiction was destroying his life — until he chose to change

BY ALEX SAMPSON ECHO A&E/SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

It was early 2001 when Malcolm Clemens came home to find his belongings piled in the middle of the floor.

Everything he owned — clothes, shoes, keepsakes — was there.

The only thing missing was his family.

Earlier that day, Clemens made plans to party with his friends.

Before leaving, his wife made a promise.

“My wife had told me if I go, when I get back she wouldn’t be there,” said Clemens.

He said he didn’t take her seriously. She had threatened to leave plenty of times.

When he came back home, though, he realized she had finally made good

on her promise.

Instead of looking for his family, he immediately went out to look for drugs and alcohol.

“I thought it was an opportunity to really get down with the drinking and smoking,” said Clemens.

That was his lifestyle.

In the 1980s, Clemens started pursuing a music career with several other musicians. He said he played bass and the keyboards but his main passion was the drums.

A self-taught drummer, he traveled with the band to places like Chicago, Australia and Amsterdam.

“You name it, we went there,” said Clemens.

Along with the traveling came partying. Clemens said it was fun at first but spiraled out of control around 1989 when he

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BY MATT PHILLIPS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Malcolm Clemens is in an addiction recovery program at Urban Ministries in Durham.

ALEX SAMPSON/Echo A&E/Social media editor

Let’s start.

Here, at the end.

After our battles with drug addiction, domestic violence, and long after HIV has made its home inside our blood.

Let’s start when we are on stage in the Miller-Morgan Building Auditorium at N.C. Central University with some 40 college students staring us dead in the eye.

Straight-backed and tightlipped, they are listening now.

Let’s start on this brisk Monday night.

We are Carl Kenney.

Writer. Former drug addict.

Well over six feet tall in a dark suit with a purple shirt.

We are Caressa White.

Mother. Domestic violence transcender. Adorned by shiny, dangling hoop earrings.

We are Jackie Melvin.

Public health professional.

HIV positive. Red sweater and black slacks on our healthy frame.

Let’s start now, far from yesterday’s edge — here, where we’ve come to know ourselves.

And we’ll look back. We’ll tell our stories.

So these students, these captivated, attentive students will have different stories to tell.

Carl Kenney It started the night Kenney’s mother told him his 13-year-old sister had a tumor the size of an egg in her brain.

He was 16 and he was in pain.

Kenney ended up on the corner. He drank a bottle of Puerto Rican rum and stumbled home.

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PRAYER SPACE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

I think this is something very unique to the Muslim woman experience. Muslims are always trying to defend ourselves — we have to hide a bit.

NAWSHEEN KHAN NCCU BIOLOGY SENIOR

Rachelle Gold, NCCU assistant English professor and advisor to the Muslim Student Association — though she isn’t Muslim — speaks after a recent prayer.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

Rachelle Gold, an assistant English professor who advises the NCCU Muslim Student Association, asked Boyd-Keyes about finding space last September.

After a few locations didn’t work out Boyd-Keyes decided the best solution was the simplest solution.

She offered a space about the size of a small classroom in the lower level of the Women’s Center, which is on George Street, a short walk from the Alfonso Elder Student Union.

It’s a space that wasn’t being used, and forcing students to pray in hallways was unacceptable — even oppressive, according to Boyd-Keyes.

“I felt like we could do better than that,” she said.

A way of life For Khan, a junior seeking her second bachelor’s degree, Islam is a way of life.

She wears a hijab — a veil that covers portions of one’s head — and said she

considers herself part of a generation working to shape a “form of American Islam.”

But Khan can’t ignore prayer — one of Islam’s five pillars is to pray five times a day — just because she’s at school or work.

She is pursuing a biology degree and plans to become a physician.

That makes for a busy class schedule.

Without a dedicated worship space, Khan found herself searching for somewhere to pray.

She’d use an empty classroom when she could find one, but the searches made her late for classes.

That brought up questions about how to reconcile worldly pursuits with her devotion to God. Should she arrive late to class? Or put off praying at the required times?

“I find myself asking these questions — it’s hard to make decisions like that on a daily basis,” Khan said.

Those who practice Islam pray for two minutes in the morning.

They pray twice for five minutes between 12:30 and 5:30 p.m., and again after 5:30 p.m. After 7 p.m. they pray once for seven minutes, Khan said.

Usman, a junior and secretary for the Muslim Student Association, moved here from Lagos, Nigeria, five years ago.

“Back home there are [Muslim] people everywhere. They always see to it that you have time to pray,” Usman said. “The system is built for religion there.

Here, it’s different.”

The closest mosque to NCCU is Masjid Ibad ArRahman on Fayetteville Street, about a mile away.

Minority of minorities Both Gold and BoydKeyes said finding a permanent prayer space should be an NCCU priority.

“It doesn’t have to be a [solely] Muslim space — a meditation space would be nice,” Gold said.

Khan said it took four years at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she got her first bachelor’s degree in sociology, to establish a dedicated

meditation space.

That space has been in use since late 2011.

Khan, who grew up in Bangladesh, said being American and Muslim can be interesting — and sometimes difficult.

Muslim-American women are the “minority of minorities,” she said.

Many choose to wear a hijab like Khan, which makes them stand out.

“I think this is something very unique to the Muslim woman experience,” Khan said. “Muslims are always defending ourselves — we have to hide a bit.”

Khan said practicing Islam isn’t the only quality that defines her humanity.

Establishing relationships in the community — either with the Muslim Student Association or through other avenues — can help people see that.

“When you know someone, you are less likely to understand them as the media says,” Khan said.

Gold said community awareness improves with exposure to diverse faiths and people.

“I think the University could do more to foster interfaith dialog,” Gold said. “The last thing we want as a minority-serving institution is to alienate anyone who is a minority.”

She said tolerance isn’t enough.

The real goal should be sensitivity to all religions and minorities.

Gold said she’d like to see NCCU reach out to a local imam, an Islamic leader, to come administer prayers at school events — rather than only Christian representatives.

“That’s how you demystify misinformation that people have about Islam,” she said.

Boyd-Keyes said she hopes the discussion around the current prayer space leads administrators to look for a permanent space.

“This is going to come up again,” she said. “This gives us a chance to be more proactive.”

This story and front page image were originally published March 12 in The Durham News.

RECOVERY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 became addicted to alcohol, marijuana and crack.

While most of the guys he partied with could stop when they wanted to, Clemens lost control.

“The only time I stopped is when I was broke,” said Clemens.

Sometimes he walked all night to find drugs.

Sometimes he curled up and cried for God to end his addiction.

But when the liquor store opened, Clemens was at the

doors waiting.

The money that was supposed to pay his rent and bills went toward his addiction.

At night, he’d wrap up in as many blankets as possible to stay warm because he didn’t pay his heat bill.

“My life had become extremely unmanageable,” said Clemens.

A few months after his wife left, he and several guys went on a drug binge in his car.

Malcolm Clemens has battled addiction since the 1980s, he graduates from the Urban Ministries Recovery Program in May. JAMAR NEGRON/Echo assistant A&E editor

Clemens said it was the “coldest day in 2001.”

They were passing around crack cocaine rocks when his portion fell somewhere in the car. After he spent $300 on drugs, the car ran out of gas.

Though he was able to scrape some money together by begging, the money was spent on more drugs.

As a last resort, the group went to a shelter to stay the night.

The group was asked if they wanted to join the shelter’s recovery program when they checked in.

While his friends rejected the offer and left, Clemens stayed.

When he went back to his car the following day, he found the windows were busted. His friends broke into the car to get the crack rock he dropped.

His mind made up, Clemens went back to the shelter to join the recovery program. He said the disease started talking to him again but he stuck through it and graduated in six months.

His troubles weren’t over yet.

From 2001-2011, Clemens worked as a truck driver.

When coming back from Greensboro one day,

Clemens said he wasn’t paying attention.

The route he was driving took him under a bridge too low for his truck. The bridge took off the top of the truck.

Clemens lost his job.

After an argument with his live-in girlfriend, Clemens moved onto Alston Avenue — an area where drugs were heavy.

Clemens said one particular drug dealer stayed across from him.

Around this time, his former band mates began calling him.

The pressure from his friends and his environment made Clemens cave.

“I made up my mind to smoke,” said Clemens.

Money in hand, Clemens went across the street only to be turned away.

The drug dealer told Clemens he was out of product, but he would get back to him.

Two hours later Clemens heard a ruckus outside of his apartment.

A resident from upstairs was being wheeled out on a gurney.

Apparently, he smoked something that had been laced.

The effects were fatal.

Clemens said he couldn’t ignore those two warnings.

When you go through recovery ... the recovery is like rising from the ashes.

LEROY JOYNER RECOVERY PROGRAM MANAGER AT URBAN MINISTRIES

“I knew it was God,” said Clemens.

He packed everything that could fit in his car and went to Urban Ministries, a faith-based agency that assists those in need.

When he joined the Hope-Believe Recovery Program, Clemens gave up his phone and car keys.

Since joining the program, Clemens said he has attended the meetings regularly and started thinking seriously about his future.

“To those suffering addicts out there who think there is no hope, there is,” said Clemens.

Recovery Program Manager Leroy Joyner is no stranger to Clemens’ struggle.

Joyner is a recovering alcoholic who is 12 years sober.

After completing his recovery, the previous manager asked him to help teach classes.

Eventually, he was hired as the new manager.

“The more you use, the more you need,” said Joyner.

Joyner said a common misconception is that addicts are lazy when, in truth, the issue is more complicated.

According to Joyner, a chemical addiction is an allencompassing disease.

Every single dime goes to feeding that disease.

The addict may attempt to find a job but factors like not having appropriate clothes, a cell phone or a permanent residence can hinder their progress.

Joyner said there’s also the matter of mental disorders.

An addict might use drugs to manage the disorder or a disorder might follow the addiction.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” said Joyner.

Joyner likened recovery to the mythical Phoenix.

“When you go through recovery … the recovery is like rising from the ashes.”

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SAFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 When he turned the bathroom lights out he thought he’d gone blind.

Kenney woke up in the tub — and the cycle of addiction began.

He was introduced to the hard stuff — heroin and coke — by cousins back from Vietnam.

He said he thought, “This is what a man does.”

The community pulled him back. He was a good kid, had a gift for the written word and he was an athlete.

“They came after me.

They sought me out. They brought me back to school,” Kenney said.

On to the University of Missouri-Columbia where he ran track and where a professor told him “You remind me of a young James Baldwin.”

But he was hiding his drug addiction. Nobody knew.

“I just wanted to die, and I was angry at God because God chose to let my sister die instead of me,” Kenney said.

While running the 400 meters “I ran into a fence because I was so high.”

Then he started selling drugs and was asked to leave for a semester.

Eventually, Kenney’s future wife became pregnant.

“I had to make some real critical decisions because I did not want my son to see me as addicted,” Kenney

said.

Kenney became a pastor.

He graduated from the University of MissouriColumbia with a bachelor’s in journalism. Later he went to Duke for a master of divinity.

One day he found himself on Angier Avenue where he pulled over to buy drugs. The dealer asked him if he was police.

Kenney said all he could think was, “No, I’m the preacher man around the corner.”

That started him writing his first book, “Preacha’ Man.” Looking back, what that professor said, his mentor, was right. It was profound.

“When we say to another person — you are amazing,” Kenney said. “That’s all they need to hear.”

Caressa White White met her first husband at Winston-Salem State University. She thought she’d never have to worry about a man hurting her again.

She’d faced sexual abuse as a teen. But this guy, he seemed like a protector.

They both joined the military and moved to California.

Her mother didn’t like it, but White went anyhow.

That’s a long way — 3,000 miles.

Six months into their marriage they were on the same team playing cards,

Social work majors wanted FROM STAFF REPORTS

The students in the spring 2013 senior seminar in Social Work class and The Social Work Society will be hosting a “Recruit, Retain, Reclaim” event on Wednesday, April 3, from 57 p.m. in the Alfonso-Elder Student Union.

The event is open to anyone interested in learning about the social work program at N.C. Central University and careers in social work.

“I believe that our students are our best recruiters. It makes sense for them to be able to tell others about the BSW Program at NCCU and about their experiences,”

said Blenda Crayton, social work program director and instructor for the senior seminar class.

“I am very impressed with the level of sophistication the students have demonstrated in organizing the event,” said Crayton.

“We have three teams, logistics, marketing and public relations and the students are really taking their tasks seriously.”

At the event, information will be available on the curriculum, criteria for admissions, social work student organizations and other information and activities to inform attendees about the profession of social work.

Campus Echo Online follow us on twitter @campusecho follow us on twitter @campusecho

“Spades” was the game.

This guy took “Spades” seriously.

White said she lost some points in the game and “he reached over and punched me in my mouth.”

White said the friends who were over that night left.

White and her husband were both medics so he patched her up.

But six months later the same thing happened.

“I didn’t reach out to anyone because I was ashamed,” White said.

It happened again. And again.

White tried to avoid hotbutton topics because “maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t beat on me.”

Later she’d use sex as a defense mechanism. Not even that worked after a time.

White had a daughter with her husband. He abused her emotionally while she was pregnant. But after the pregnancy he went back to the physical abuse.

When her daughter was 18 months old White and her husband were fighting. Her daughter tried to intervene — and he missed slamming her head into a glass table by inches.

Eventually White left, but she still held onto the pain.

“I still struggle with, why couldn’t I make that relationship work?” White said.

“You can’t love a person to

the point where they will change.”

White had a premature son who died. She broke down emotionally.

Authorities found her wandering the streets.

That breakdown was the best thing that ever happened to her because “it took therapy to get me to this place.”

Every year White writes herself a letter commemorating the day she decided to leave.

White knew she’d done the right thing when her daughter told her she was glad they’d left, because her parents hadn’t killed each other.

That cycle, abuse again and again, goes back to childhood.

“As people we should just be more aware of the warning signs of sexual abuse,” White said.

She said those who are abused need to be surrounded with a safety net, with options. It’s important to know who to go to for help.

Jackie Melvin Melvin’s had HIV for years, count to 28 right now.

That’s how many. More than a quarter century.

Maybe longer than you’ve been alive.

Melvin married her husband in 1980. Back then you had to get a marriage physical. He had swollen lymph

nodes all over his body.

The doctors didn’t know anything about HIV. “They were dying in New York and California from some weird, strange disease,” Melvin said.

They went on with their lives.

In 1985 a test was developed to test for HIV. In 1986 Melvin gave blood.

A letter came in the mail some time later. She had HIV. “That was astonishing to me because that was for gay people. That was for prostitutes — that wasn’t for me,” Melvin said.

The letter said that she shouldn’t get pregnant — but she already was pregnant.

Melvin’s husband died of AIDS in 1988. His brother had died of AIDS in 1985.

Her daughter, born in 1986 with HIV, died in 1990.

The third brother died of AIDS in 1992. But Melvin is still alive, and she works in public health.

“I’ve saved many babies,” Melvin said. “though I couldn’t save my own.”

But she wondered how her husband had contracted the disease.

Her husband had a brother who fought in Vietnam — where he’d used intravenous drugs.

Her husband had experimented with intravenous drugs after his brother’s return.

In a recent meeting for work Melvin talked about her HIV status. A younger man introduced himself to her.

He was happy to see she was healthy after 28 years.

He’d been HIV positive for six years himself.

Melvin found herself asking why that was.

“Why? Why do you have it? Why are we still getting infected with HIV?” Melvin said.

The 1980s were a time when doctors — and the public — didn’t understand HIV. “It was a time when churches said this is your payment for sin — and you deserve it,” Melvin said.

But now “people know, we know.”

NCCU offers health and counseling services for students.

Student health: 919-5305485 Mental health: 919-5307646 Durham County Public Health also offers assistance: 919-560-7600 Project SAFE (Save a Fellow Eagle) is a group of NCCU peer educators with the goal of reducing incidences of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

To get involved with Project SAFE email: projectsafe@nccu.edu Or call: 919-530-6664

Intramurals fun and cheap

BY AVERY YOUNG ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The basketball atmosphere around campus is alive and well, ranging from the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium to the Leroy T. Walker complex.

The playoffs for the intramural basketball league just started up for the 20122013 school year on N.C. Central University’s campus.

Eric Jeffers is the Intramural Coordinator for the league.

“Players are required to sign up online at imleagues.com, which is where we go scheduling, registration, statistics, etc.

Also, we have an honor code dealing with behavior that is mandatory to follow,” Jeffers said.

The cost to play in the intramural league is $5 per person.

With the price being low and affordable, it builds up numbers of players and teams.

A staff member, Graduate Student Denise Wynn, commented on the uprising in numbers from previous years.

“We have had a really good turnout every night.

Six teams play per night, four times a week. So we have 20 plus teams. We have Law school students, graduate students, employees, staff, faculty as well as students and alumni playing,” Wynn said.

Also, the increase in numbers increased the level of play.

One of the players, Sophomore Markayle Gray, commented on his reason for competing.

“I play intramural basketball just for fun and to have a good run with some competition,” Gray said.

Another player, Sophomore Tyreik Kearse, said, “I feel like it is something that keeps us occupied within NCCU. Basically, it completes what I do as a person because I love to play basketball.”

Freshman player, Darryl Holloway, commented on the intensity throughout the league.

“It is tough. It is a lot of great competition. It is people from a lot of different areas so it is competition from all around. Intramural is almost the second level to the NCCU Men’s basketball team,” he said.

NCCU’s Men’s basketball is currently embarking in a

An NCCU student participates in an intramural basketball game.

GABRIEL AIKENS/Echo photo editor

terrific season as they stand number 1 at the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Jeffers said, “This is the best (Men’s basketball) team, record wise, since the 1988-1989 basketball championship team. So it makes a lot more people come in the [Leroy T.] Walker Complex and participate.”

Intramural player, Sophomore Trey Hansley, gave a little bit more insight on the effect of the Men’s basketball team.

He said, “I think the atmos-

phere on campus affects the intramural league because people try and keep up with the team to have the same type of spotlight as them.”

Kearse added, “As much as I support NCCU basketball, I feel as though I try to reflect all the things they do into my game. I think that they are a good role model as players and a team for us intramural players.”

Intramural games occur in the Leroy T. Walker Complex, Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

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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Vet center may lose funding Next Level Veterans Outreach has served over 1,000 local veterans

Holton teacher makes the cut Wilson turns her passion into a career B Y D EIDRA M ORRIS ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Captain Newborn, executive director of Next Level Veterans Outreach Campus, holds an exploded shell. “A gentleman walked in from the Korean War, he sat there in that chair and he took his leg off,” Newborn said.

“He said this is what took his leg off. It also killed quite a few people in his company.”

BRIAN FANNEY/Durham VOICE co-editor

B Y B R I A N FA N N E Y NECD VOICE CO-EDITOR

One wrong move and Boyd Jones, Jr. might not have made it.

He’s still here, but the effects of digging up land mines at Fort Bragg remain with him.

“They were constantly telling me, ‘Jones, don’t hit your shovel with any metal,’” he said. “I never did and I guess that’s why I’m here.”

Jones suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder.

He goes to Next Level Veterans Outreach Campus regularly to commiserate

with his fellow service members and receive help from a dedicated staff.

He’s not the only one.

Over 1,000 veterans have come to the Durham center since it opened in August 2012.

“They get unconditional acceptance here. We want them here,” said Captain Newborn, executive director of the center. “As a community, we have to uphold the military covenant. The military covenant is the nation’s promise — to serve and look after those who risked their lives to protect our freedom.”

But Newborn said he

will be forced to close Next Level and end services for veterans like Jones unless he receives enough money in the next month or two.

‘A place of their own’ Next Level is run out of a converted school gymnasium at 1107 Holloway St. in Durham. With high ceilings, dozens of uniforms hanging on each wall and plenty of computers for use, the center helps veterans in need.

The center took about $350,000 to start to bring the building up to code and hire a professional staff.

All of the money came from

@campusecho

Newborn and his sister.

“I do believe in following the voice of God. I fought it at first because how am I going to pay for all this?” Newborn said.

“But God won. I did it for the right reasons because there is no money in this.”

All of Next Level’s services are free. Newborn does not receive a salary.

He said PNC Bank gives him a small amount of money to run the center, but it will cost hundreds of thousands more to keep it open. The center needs about $800,000 to run like

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It is not every day you see a classroom full of mannequin heads — some with short hair, some with long hair and others with no hair.

In this class there is not even a chalkboard or projection screen, yet over 23 students come to the Holton Career and Resource Center every weekday to learn about cosmetology from instructor Pamela Wilson.

At the Holton Center programs thrive that train and instruct community members in traditional and new emerging industries.

The center offers courses to students unable to take career-based classes at their assigned high schools real world career courses like cosmetology, construction and small business and entrepreneurship.

While the center consists of a diverse staff of teachers and mentors, Pamela Wilson sets herself apart with her unique cosmetology program and teaching methods.

Wilson has been a cosmetology instructor for nine years.

“I got licensed in 1994 and knew from the start that cosmetology was my career,” said Wilson.

It was only after years of formal training at Mitchell’s Academy that I discovered my passion is to be a cosmetology

instructor.”

A Durham native, Wilson said her father wanted her to attend college. She completed one year and decided she wanted to go to beauty school.

“This was my second career actually,” said Wilson. “My father was a barber and after I got my daughter through college, I enrolled in beauty school.”

For five years I really studied, wanting to become an instructor,” she said.

It was only a year ago that Wilson began volunteering at Holton. She had been an instructor at private schools and through word of mouth, heard about the cosmetology program offered at Holton.

Wilson stopped by for a tour of the school and immediately offered to volunteer.

Eventually, the center offered her a position as the head cosmetology instructor. Since then, she has built relationships with students and staff through her love of hair.

“I just love the young people, they keep me on my toes,” Wilson said.

“They keep me young.”

With every rewarding portion of her career, there come challenges and for Wilson that is getting the students to stay focused and enthusiastic about the bookwork involved with the curriculum.

“It’s a hands-on class

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he wants, but he said he could cut the budget to half that, if needed.

“A professional staff requires professional salaries,” he said. “We believe in what we’re doing and now the community needs to step up and support this center.”

Prior to running Next Level, Newborn ran a mental health clinic. He said he made a good living and it was hard to leave his lifestyle behind, but statistics regarding the veteran population moved him to start Next Level.

About 18 veterans take their lives each day, according to a study by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Every day someone’s shooting at you,” Newborn said. “Every day people are being blown up. It does something to the brain. It battle-scars the brain.”

Next Level reflects Newborn’s commitment to mental health with posttraumatic stress disorder treatment and mental health counseling. The center also houses computers, a health care clinic and unique therapies, like deep-sea fishing, for the veterans.

He said the fishing trips help to replace bad memories with something more pleasant — a form of therapy that’s proven effective.

With more money, Newborn said he would add emergency housing, a women’s center and a museum to the center.

“They don’t need to be going to homeless shelters and rescue missions,” Newborn said. “They need a place of their own, and that’s why we’ve done this.”

Fighting for benefits At the center, the veterans joke about their kids, discuss their wives and quietly talk about memories that civilians may not understand.

Jones, who dug up land mines, spent 21 consecutive years in the North Carolina National Guard.

However, the Department of Veterans Affairs has no record of him and says it cannot help.

“I’m a veteran and they kicked me to the curb,” he said. “One little tap and I would have been an angel now.”

His story is not uncommon at Next Level. That’s why James R. Alston, a retired army veteran who served from 1968 to 1969 in Vietnam, helps veterans at the center file medical claims with the VA. “It’s not a gimmick, and the VA doesn’t have money just to give out, but if you can show them in a reasonable sense, those are the

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Gretchel N. Carter-H Hinton points to the date her husband, Julius Hinton, Jr., had his claim denied by the VA. He died the same day the claim was denied.

BRIAN FANNEY/Durham VOICE co-editor

kind of claims that I enjoy working on,” he said. “All I have to do is just help veterans and coming to this center has been a real inspiring part of my life.”

Alston said the key to filing a successful claim with the VA is documenting disabilities that are connected to service.

He taught himself the system while fighting for his own disability.

The fight often takes years.

Gretchel N. CarterHinton has fought to receive the disability payments that her husband applied for since his death on Sept. 23, 2010.

“My husband was in the Navy for over 21 years. He went around the world — the world — five times.

He went to D.C. and was honored at the White House,” she said.

“They denied his claim on the day that he died.

He never knew that he was denied.”

Carter-Hinton, like many of the veterans at the center, is frustrated by the VA but finds comfort within the center’s community.

“I felt alone these last three years,” she said.

“But everyone I met here has been so gracious. I feel like I have a renewed family again.”

‘It keeps me going’ Veteran Anthony Taylor is blind and uses a motorized wheelchair because he can’t walk.

He has diabetes and stomach and prostate issues, among other problems.

“I try to make sure I come here and get

involved,” he said. “It keeps me going.”

It takes him an hour and half to get to the center from Harnett County.

Though he served in Vietnam and Okinawa, Taylor said toxic waters at Camp Lejeune caused his ailments.

Though Congress authorized care for the veterans and families who had spent more than 30 days at Lejeune, many veterans were denied care.

“The VA was put in charge of trying to take care of veterans and they are not doing what President Obama signed into law,” Taylor said.

He is helping to organize a rally for victims in Washington, D.C. as a member of the Senior Veterans Council — an organization that Next Level houses.

“Until they see action in D.C., they aren’t going to do anything,” Taylor said.

“The rallying point is getting all the veterans together from the whole state.”

Newborn said cases like Taylor’s break his heart.

“We have people who come here in wheelchairs with fourth stage cancer and still have that gleam of hope,” he said.

They know they’re going to die, but they want the help for their families.”

The group’s last meeting at the meeting saw almost 40 people in attendance.

“I don’t have an outlet to come to because I’m blind and I’m crippled,” Taylor said.

“I come here for fellowship with other veterans with similar problems.”

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and the book work is a different animal,” said Wilson.

“We do have 32 chapters in our cosmetology textbook to get through and that’s a challenge.”

They don’t really like the words that associate with the skills,” she said.

Wilson said the reading material is necessary but challenging to keep each student focused on the material and the rigorous vocabulary.

She said her students prefer more hands-on activities.

But even as an instructor, Wilson said she still has a mentor that guides her in the profession just as she guides her students.

“I have a wonderful young lady that is a mentor,” said Wilson. “We meet once a week and she’s been a great help to me with anything I need to know.”

Her love for her work has also translated to her students.

Shanice Brand, 18, senior Holton cosmetologist, said Wilson is a good teacher with a gift for the profession.

“There has been many times she came to me when I needed help,” said Brand.

“She has patience.”

Brand said Wilson uses

Holton cosmetology instructor, Pamela Wilson, works her magic.

DEIDRA MORRIS/Durham VOICE NCCU staff writer

cosmetology techniques that unique and helpful for students like her.

“She has techniques that help me remember whatever I need to accomplish in the school,” said Brand.

For example, I needed help with a technique for wrapping hair last week.

She showed me a technique she learned when she was in school and it helped me a lot,” Brand said.

Students have also left lasting impressions on Wilson that she said make her job rewarding.

“I’m amazed everyday by their talent,” Wilson said of her students. “They’re not

inhibited by other things and their minds are more free.”

“They’re not afraid to make mistakes and when I teach them something they immediately can do it,” said the instructor.

“It’s fascinating and they don’t question themselves.”

Wilson said as she has spent the past years exploring cosmetology, she plans on more exploration in the future as retirement draws near.

“I just take one day at a time,” she said. “I only plan to work a couple more years and then my husband will retire and we plan to travel.”

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Public defender system struggles under huge caseloads

BY TONY RIZZO THE KANSAS CITY STAR (MCT)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — “It makes no difference how old I am or what color I am or what church I belong too if any.

The question is I did not get a fair trial. The question is very simple. I requested the court to appoint me attorney and the court refused. All countrys try to give there Citizens a fair trial and see to it that they have counsel.” — Clarence Earl Gideon In 1962, an ill-educated drifter from Hannibal, Mo., with a history of drinking, gambling and thieving mailed a letter from a Florida jail cell to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A needle in the haystack of court correspondence, Clarence Earl Gideon’s handwritten plea, replete with grammatical and spelling errors, had little chance of winning a hearing.

But somehow it did, and from that letter sprung one of the most significant rulings in the history of the American criminal justice system.

Anyone who’s ever been arrested or watched a television cop show knows the fundamental right Gideon helped win for every American: “If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you.”

But this month, the 50th anniversary of that landmark Supreme Court ruling, here in Gideon’s home state and elsewhere around the country, the criminal justice system continues to struggle to live up to the promise demanded by the Supreme Court in 1963.

“The truth is we clearly haven’t,” said Abe Krash, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who helped represent Gideon in his Supreme Court case. “In public defender offices, there are many extremely conscientious attorneys, but they are tremendously underfunded and overburdened.”

A 2011 report by the Justice Policy Institute found that most of the country’s public defender offices and systems lacked enough attorneys to meet nationally established caseload guidelines. Also, the report found that most defender offices did not have sufficient support staff, such as investiga-

Attorney Garrett Solomon, with the Missouri State Public Defender System, talks with client Quincy Wilson, 19, during a bond hearing at Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City, Missouri.

DAVID PULLIAM/-KANSAS CITY STAR (MCT)

tors and paralegals.

“When defenders do not have access to sufficient resources, they may be unable to interview key witnesses, collect or test physical evidence, or generally prepare and provide quality defense for their client, resulting in poorer outcomes for the client,” according to the institute’s report.

Such caseload problems have plagued the Missouri State Public Defender System for years, officials say.

With 376 lawyers, the system opened more than 84,000 cases in fiscal year 2012.

“Any way you slice it, we’re overloaded,” said Cat Kelly, director of Missouri’s defender system.

She likened the system’s

predicament to the “I Love Lucy” episode with candy flying down the conveyor belt without enough workers to package it.

And for poor criminal defendants, it can mean the difference between having a lawyer and having “the illusion of a lawyer” who may have had little time if any to prepare a meaningful defense, Kelly said.

“That’s the risk you get when you have too many cases coming down that conveyor belt,” she said.

Failing to adequately fund indigent legal services may in the long run end up costing more, some legal experts say. All the time and money invested in gaining a conviction can be undone on appeal if the defense lawyer’s effort is deemed ineffective. Plus, those with

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competent legal representation tend to spend less time in pretrial detention and earn better plea deals with less prison time.

The Justice Policy Institute’s study notes that for every $1 spent on indigent defense, the country spends $14 to incarcerate its prisoners.

“It’s wrong. It’s unjust.

And states end up paying a lot more money to put people in jail instead of paying for a defense lawyer,” Krash said.

Though Missouri’s system continues to struggle, Kansas officials say they have received adequate funding and support from the governor and the Legislature.

Patricia Scalia, executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, said she meets with officials from other states and hears their problems.

“Sometimes, I don’t know how they function,” Scalia said. “Kansas seems to be way ahead of many states.”

Like others tasked with defending the indigent, Scalia hails the significance of the Gideon decision.

“Gideon said that all of us, every single one of us, have the constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel,” she said. “Our job is to see that each individual’s rights are preserved and protected.”

Gideon’s case is also a perfect example of the importance of legal representation.

Denied a lawyer at his trial for allegedly breaking into a pool room and stealing $5 and a few bottles of beer and soda, he was convicted and sentenced to the maximum five years in prison.

Gideon used his time to study the law, and when the Supreme Court agreed to take his case, the court

appointed prominent attorney and future Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas to represent him.

Krash, then a young attorney in Fortas’ firm, assisted.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that everyone facing incarceration for a crime, regardless of ability to pay, has the constitutional right to legal representation.

“In our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hauled into court who is too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him,” Justice Hugo Black wrote. “This seems to be an obvious truth.”

Re-tried five months after the ruling _ this time with a lawyer _ Gideon was acquitted after an hour of jury deliberation.

“It was huge,” Missouri’s Kelly said. “It was the recognition that we are not going to have two justice systems based on how much money you have or don’t have.”

In the wake of Gideon, the nation’s courts have said legal representation entails more than the presence of a warm body in a suit at the defense table. It must be competent and effective to be fair.

“Our focus really has to be: What can we do to improve representation for poor people in our courts?”

Krash said. “How can we make it better?”

“Justice Denied,” a report by the National Right to Counsel Committee of the bipartisan Constitution Project, made 22 recommendations for improving the current system.

It will take money, and the report said the federal government should provide indigent defense services with the same level of grant and other program assistance it provides state and local prosecutors.

Plus, private law firms

and public interest organizations must take on some of the burden of defending the indigent, the report recommended.

Missouri’s situation has resulted in litigation over whether or not public defenders can turn away cases when they have reached acceptable caseload limits. For now, the system is continuing to take all cases while it works out a formula to determine caseload limits.

Prosecutors, too, have a stake in ensuring that indigent defenders receive competent representation.

“It’s vitally important to our entire criminal justice system,” said Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd, president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

Zahnd believes that contracting with private attorneys to handle some of the low-level felonies and misdemeanors now handled by public defenders will result in a more cost-effective and efficient use of limited resources.

“In Missouri, we have to find the best way to ensure that poor citizens have access to effective legal representation,” he said.

Kelly said defender offices are working with judges in their local areas for solutions to the caseload problems, such as in Jefferson County where judges have begun assigning misdemeanors to private attorneys.

But statewide, the system estimates it would take the hiring of 71 additional public defenders and $3.5 million to pay private attorneys to meet acceptable caseload levels.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been trying for 50 years to catch up to that (the Gideon ruling) standard,” Kelly said. “We haven’t caught up to it yet.”

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HAYTI’S FADING GLORY W

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Photography and story by Monique Lewis he Hayti Heritage Community Mural, also known as the Black Wall St. Mural, located at 201 E. Lakewood Ave., “ties a community together from an amazing past to a bright future,” said Emily Eve Weinstein, project originator and one of the muralists for the collaboration.

“The mural depicts scenes from old Hayti, trying to capture and bring to the forefront some of that rich history that not too many folks know, especially here in this immediate area, where you would think people would know about it,” said David Wilson, artist and co-designer of the mural, in a 1999 interview with The Herald-Sun. Black Wall St. was the center of the African American entrepreneurial community in Durham during the 1900s. Located on Parrish St. and spanning four-blocks, Black Wall St. bordered the Hayti neighborhood and the two areas served as the center of black life in Durham.

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois visited Durham and one thing that they could both agree on is that Durham was a national model for the African-American middle class.

This is where African Americans could live their American Dream.

In the 1960s, urban renewal wiped out most of Durham’s black owned businesses, ending Parrish Street’s glory days forever.

But in 1999 the glory days were preserved in 28-by-170-foot Black Wall St. mural. After six months of planning and grant writing, Weinstein got support from the Durham Arts Council, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, Winn Dixie Corporation

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and others to fund her project.

Painting the mural took two months. Weinstein and Wilson were joined by Stickcarlo Darby, a troubled teenager with a reputation for graffiti art, about 200 fifth graders, and volunteers of all ages, to bring historical Hayti and Black Wall St. back to life.

The artists thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate kids into the project to keep them out of trouble and to educate them about Hayti because many of the kids didn’t know anything about it.

“On another mural project, there were five or six kids that were doing graffiti and getting in trouble, so I took these kids and I put them to work,” said Weinstein. “They were helpful and learned something; a real win-win situation.”

“I’ve realized the most important thing about doing murals is having children help. It gives them a memory of something good in their lives even when life isn’t so good.”

The mural was painted from right to left and features Dr. James E. Shepard, “N.C. College” (now N. C. Central University), the John Avery Boys Club, N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co., the Regal Movie Theater, The Biltmore Hotel, Associated Cab, Dr. Philip Cousin, Sr. and his wife Dr. M. Joan Cousin, St. Joseph’s AME Church, Mother Goldie Brown/Heavenly Light, and local musicians.

The mural has never been vandalized or damaged in any way, but the passage of time is taking its toll and the mural is peeling.

Weinstein said she hopes someone will plan a mural revitalization so that Hayti and Black Wall St. will live on for future generations.

The Biltmore Hotel One of the first Black-owned hotels in the South, where many African Americans stayed because it was the only hotel open to them.

Local musicians The last scene to be painted features John Dee Holeman, his long-time friend Fris Holloway and Billy Stevens. Holeman, who is sitting on the steps playing his guitar, and Holloway are master blues men and buck dancers. Stevens co-owned and operated the only interracial entertainment venue in the community, the Salon Cultural Center, with legendary musician Brother Yusef Salim.

Associated Cab The Regal The cab driver represents the people who gave Provided wholesome entertainment, includsuggestions and constructive criticism to the artists ing musical performances then later as a and volunteers. movie theater.

Mother Goldie Brown/Heavenly Light Mother Goldie Brown and Heavenly Light are depicted as one woman in the mural.

The two women notably wore nursing uniforms and were known to walk the streets of downtown Durham prophesying — Heavenly Light in her bare feet.

John Avery Boys Club and other youths The children on the wall represent the more than 200 fifth graders, volunteers and other youth from all over the community who participated in the project.

N.C. Mutual Life The oldest and largest African-American life insurance company in the United States.

Dr. James E. Shepard and “N.C. College” Shepard was a pharmacist, religious educator, civil servant, and founder of “N.C. College,” (now NCCU), the first state-supported liberal arts college for African Americans.

Dr. Phillip R. Cousin, Sr., Dr. M. Joan Cousin and St. Joseph’s AME Church The centerpiece of the mural is Dr. Philip R. Cousin, Sr. and his wife Dr. M. Joan Cousin. Cousin was elected the 96th bishop of St. Joseph’s AME Church in 1976.

W.E.B. DuBois stated, “Never in all my travels have I seen a church as great as St. Joseph’s.” The church, along with White Rock Baptist, was at the center of African-American religious life in Hayti. The building now houses the Hayti Heritage Center.

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Stunning Geter art retrospective at NCCU Art Museum

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Recital thrills all

Victavious Wilson performed a diverse selection of songs to an intimate crowd at his recital.

JAMAR NEGRON/Echo assistant A&E editor

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“Call to Council” in charcoal by Tyrone Geter. At NCCU’s Art Museum through April 19.

JAMAR NEGRON/Echo assistant A&E editor

BY JAMAR NEGRON ECHO ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR

Artwork from draftsman and illustrator Tyrone Geter has made its way to the N.C. Central University Art Museum.

This is the artist’s first major retrospective exhibit.

A wide variety of Geter’s work is showcased, from his charcoal murals to his thought provoking, symbolic sculptures.

Geter’s work has been shown throughout the country and internationally.

African countries such as Senegal and Nigeria have been home to his exhibi-

tions.

Geter’s art has also been showcased in Japan and China.

Student reception was very positive. Psychology sophomore Brittany Jackson said she was very impressed with Geter’s work.

“It was very captivating,” Jackson said. “I really enjoyed it.”

Business and apparel design freshman Baheeyah Madany was especially inspired by Geter’s art.

“A lot of his art is musical and I’ve never seen artwork like this before,” Madany said.

Madany said that Geter’s artwork helped to inspire her as a designer and helped confirm her choice of major.

Geter himself emphasized the importance of art in the black community.

“We don’t own much as a people,” Geter said, referring to the lack of black ownership in TV and print media.

“All we really got is the arts,” he said.

Geter said that art is especially important because it can reach a wider audience, creating a “more universal statement.”

Geter said that aspiring

ECHO ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR

black artists should be persistent and keep the work a priority.

“It’s just about the work,” Geter said.

“In order to do this you have to work … you have to put in time.”

Geter mentioned his mother as his main influence. He said he believed that his art spoke out against the injustice he felt must be voiced.

“My mother taught me that if you see something wrong, you have to say something about it,” Geter said.

“I believe in what I do and I won’t stop.”

Date like a lady Charlene Sabb is a middle school teacher and self-help guru

BY CHELSETIA DAVIS ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Some women have found themselves asking “why can’t I find a man?”

Charlene Sabb, author of “If He Doesn’t Come a Callin,” confronts the mistakes women have made in their journey in finding love.

Before there were movies about the rules to dating there were words of wisdom from self-help books that appealed to a woman’s desire to find a man.

With the support of her sister circle, Sabb began to recognize that most women are unaware of their mistakes when dating and when being in an exclusive relationship.

According to Gabstatistics.com, there are 86 single men to every 100 single women in

America.

Therefore, the odds are in favor of men when it comes to searching for love.

Aside from being an author, Sabb is a middleschool teacher at Wakesforest-Rolesville Middle School in Raleigh.

She’s also obtaining her master’s degree in English literature at N.C. Central University to add to the list of her credentials.

“I was always good at helping my son with English concepts, so people knew I would make a good teacher,” said Sabb.

Although Sabb’s original goal in life was to become a news reporter, she said she happily enjoys her career as an educator.

Not only is she successful in the classroom, she also uses her knowledge on dating over the years as a way to educate women on

their shortcomings.

Regarding her self-help book, she teaches women the do’s and dont’s when jumping into the dating scene. There’s no male bashing here. Sabb said that women are responsible for most of their dating issues.

“Women are their own enemy in their dating mishaps,” said Sabb.

According to Sabb, most women are told at a young age “don’t chase after a man, let him approach you.” This old fashioned concept has seemed to vanish amongst some but hold true to others.

Sabb, however, maintains the notion that “hunting is not for ladies,” which is the title of one of the chapters in her book.

“A woman should never be too available, being too available to a man eventually sabotages the relation-

ship,” said Sabb.

During her teen years, Sabb recalled being physically and emotionally attached to her formerboyfriend too soon into the relationship. She said the relationship eventually ended in disappointment.

Sabb said in her book that women tend to get caught up in an emotional wave that results in them wanting more and more of a man’s time.

“Some of us women have a tendency to be too needy,” said Sabb.

Through self-reflection of her own experiences as a single woman, Sabb believes that if women follow her tips to dating then it would be a less challenging experience.

“We all make mistakes,” said Sabb.

“Take what you feel you need from that experience and gain from it.”

Eight semesters of hard work and dedication have finally paid off.

N.C. Central University music senior Victavious Wilson performed for an audience of faculty, family and friends at the C. Ruth Edwards Music Center.

The performance showcased Wilson’s vocal ability and marked an end to his

wonderful about the performance.

“His overall musicianship came through from beginning to end,” said Green.

Wilson’s mother, Coretta Wilson, said the performance left her speechless.

“I’m really proud for him … he really met his goal,” said Coretta.

Wilson thanked his mother for supporting his career choice, despite the

His overall musicianship came through from beginning to end ELVIRA GREEN WILSON’S VOICE COACH

eight-semester tutelage under his voice teacher Elvira Green.

Wilson said his interest in music first began as a child after he saw “The Seventh Veil,” a film about a pianist.

“I saw how she was playing the piano and that piqued my interest,” said Wilson.

After his aunt sold the piano he had been playing as a kid, Wilson took up singing at 8-years old.

He said that even though piano is close to his heart he enjoys singing more.

Wilson performed both classical and contemporary songs to a capacity crowd.

He sang in German and Spanish.

Wilson said that the performance held special significance and the outpouring of support meant a lot.

“It instills confidence in me,” said Wilson.

“It helped to show me that I do have a gift and that people are on my side.”

Wilson’s voice teacher, Elvira Green said she felt

fact that his career in music wasn’t what she had in mind.

Freshman theatre major LeVern Hamer said that the show was refreshing.

He said as a theatre major, Wilson’s performance inspired him to do what he loves.

“I know I’m not the only one that has a passion for the arts,” Hamer said.

Wilson said his next step after graduating from NCCU includes graduate school. Then he’ll look to start his career as a performer.

Being on stage and singing is his goal.

Wilson said that fellow voice concentrations looking to make a career out of their craft should not lose patience.

“You have to be patient,” said Wilson. “Even though it’s stressful, it’s good stress.”

Wilson’s mother said she sees great things in her son’s future.

“He’s going all the way,” she said.

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Designers prep for competition Textiles and apparel students gear up for end-of-the-semester fashion battle B Y L EAH M ONTGOMERY ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Fashion Inc., a pre-professional student organization in the Textiles and Apparel area, is preparing for their annual design competition entitled “Runway of Dreams.” The competition is designed to showcase the talents and accomplishments of junior and senior level students. A panel of industry professionals will judge the garments for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

The Diva This is the first competition for textiles and apparel junior Meaghan Malone.

A transfer student, Malone said she joined the program because her previous school didn’t offer the major.

“I still wanted to have the HBCU experience,” said Malone, as she neatly folded a hemline.

Coming to N.C. Central University with little sewing experience, Malone explained that she still has a lot to learn.

Malone came up with her idea last semester in preparation for the event. Her theme is based on her childhood fantasy of becoming a Disney princess.

“I decided to choose five Disney princesses and revamp their outfits,” said Malone.

Malone said the hardest part is working with fragile materials in her collection.

“All of our material comes out of pocket … you have to be very frugal,” said Malone.

Malone has worked on her collection since the beginning of second semester and is still in the process of completion.

“I’m excited about show night … just to see every-

one’s pieces on the runway,” said Malone.

Man on a Mission Family and consumer sciences senior Juwan Robinson has worked in the department since the summer of 2012.

He titled his collection “Nightmare on Fashion Avenue.”

“I thought to do all of the popular killers and make them 2013 runway ready,” said Robinson.

Robinson’s collection is comprised of six looks that will be ready to wear for his models by April 1.

His most complicated piece, “The Bride of Chuckie,” will be the focus of the collection.

“Come to the show and you will understand the difficulty,” Robinson said about his piece.

In acquiring his models, Robison said he had to do his research.

“I watched Evalesco’s homecoming show,” said Robinson.

Family and consumer science senior Al Cobb explained the importance of good judgment.

“You want to pick a model whose body will fit your garment to its fullest extent,” said Cobb.

Robinson said the hardest part about preparing for the competition is the time management.

He has worked on the collection for about a month.

“I can’t wait to see it finalized and see my girls in full effect,” said Robinson.

The Backbone Professor Wadeeah Beyah has worked in the department for eleven years. She described the

overall experience as extremely rewarding but very challenging.

Before joining the department, Beyah owned and operated her own shop on Franklin Street called “A Stitch in Time.”

She said the store’s atmosphere was busy.

Beyah said most of her clientele were students and faculty from UNC Chapel Hill, making her work never ending.

Beyah sold the shop to pursue an education at NCCU. “When the department chair learned that skill [of owning a business], she asked me to create the alteration lab,” said Beyah.

She said the lab is designed to give students experience and help them understand how a business operates.

Beyah’s day begins when she arrives on campus at 9 a.m. to open the alterations lab for waiting customers.

She teaches two to three classes daily along with attending faculty and faculty senate meetings.

Beyah also sets aside time for one-on-one help with students who have construction projects.

Beyah finishes her day at 4 p.m. when the alterations lab closes.

“I almost never get a lunch break,” said Beyah.

Beyah said the hardest part about her job is having large classes.

“Because there is only one of me and 15-20 students…I feel like sometimes I am not able to give them all of me,” said Beyah.

Despite the hard work, Beyah said her job is very rewarding.

“It’s nice to see students comprehend the concepts and have the confidence to

Textiles and apparel senior Erica Parrish designs one of her garments for the show.

ALEX SAMPSON/Echo A&E editor

use their skills and build clientele,” said Beyah.

Before becoming advisor, Beyah won the competition twice as a student. Beyah has been the advisor of the Fashion Inc. Design Competition for the past 11 years.

She said in order to enter the competition students must have taken

Apparel Design I, be creative and pay attention to detail.

Beyah said she’s most excited about judging day.

“I’m often surprised at who the winners are,” said Beyah.

Moving forward, Beyah would like to see an increase in campus and community awareness of

the department.

“After the show there are several students who switch their major,” said Beyah.

The Annual Design Competition will be held on April 3 at 7 p.m. in the McDougal-McLendon Gymnasium.

Tickets are $25 (including dinner); $6 (in advance) and $8 (at the door).

Law, race co-dependent, prof says Mason-Sekora speaker examines interconnections of law, race, literature B Y J ADE J ACKSON ECHO STAFF REPORTER

An audience left the University Theatre with mixed emotions last Thursday after The 16th annual Mason-Sekora lecture.

The lecture featured Duke Professor of English, Law and Women’s Studies Karla FC Holloway.

She discussed topics regarding race issues and how laws relate and contribute to the slow progression of moving beyond race.

“The law is keeping us bound to race,” Holloway

Courtesy Duke Magazine

said.

After sharing that thesis, the crowd became anxious to chime in for the interactive Q&A segment

of the lecture with the third generation HBCU alumna.

“We think by looking at someone we can tell what or who they are,” said Holloway.

But according to Holloway, if society educates itself and becomes more involved with the laws people can slowly work their way towards a “post-racial society.”

Holloway said “law is an open field,”as she ended her lecture.

She encouraged the audience to consider studying law as it pertains to their current degree

path to improve their personal and professional lives.

She said it would be an improvement for the community.

There were many in the audience who left in tears touched by her stories and others smiling, deep in discussion with their friends.

“It really touched me when she started talking about her son dying in prison after he tried to escape,” said mass communications junior Richard Patterson.

“She made me think about taking some law courses. There was so

much I didn’t know.”

Holloway discussed a wide range of subtopics within this lecture but the central message remained consistent.

Law, race and literature are interconnected and we must understand all three, both independently and collectively, in order to contribute to America’s progress.

“She was so honest and open, so down to earth,” said Spanish Associate Professor Lina Cofresi.

“When one is young they are very strict,” Cofresi said.

“But she has chosen to

do so many different things.”

Confresi said Holloway’s story teaches young people how much there is to gain and give.

“I’ve been to a lot of these lectures and this was the best,” Confresi said.

The Mason-Sekora lecture is an annual event held by the Department of Language and Literature to “honor the legacies” of long-time NCCU professors Dr. Ernest Mason and Dr. John Sekora.

And it seems Holloway has honored that legacy with her inspirational, contributory lecture.

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‘The season begins now’– Frazier Eagles start spring practice in preparation for upcoming 2013 football season

BY

J O N AT H A N M. A L E XA N D E R

ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR/SPORTS EDITOR

DURHAM — For N.C. Central University head football coach Henry Frazier III and his players, spring practice means the start of the new season.

He views it as a time where the players earn their spots on the team. He said this is where the competition gets thick.

Tuesday, March 19, the NCCU football team hosted their first spring practice in preparation for the upcom-

ing 2013 season and April 12 “Maroon-Gray” spring game.

“This is like a safe haven out here,” Frazier said. “To get out here and get a chance to see the guys run around. A lot of them have been working hard literally since the last game of the season.”

“Just to see some of them from the last two or three months getting their bodies right. So it’s exciting. It’s impressive.”

There were a few familiar faces back out at practice, including junior wide receiver Marvin Poole.

“It feels good to get back and participating in spring ball,” Poole said.

“Start being more competitive going against your teammates. It feels real good.”

Poole said he wants to step up and become more vocal so everybody can be on the same page.

The Eagles ended their 2012 season with a disappointing 16-22 overtime loss to their arch-rival N.C. A&T in the Aggie-Eagle classic.

They would like nothing more than to avenge that

N.C. Central University Head Coach Henry Frazier III and Assistant Coach/ Director of Football Operations, Roy Jones share a laugh in Thursday’s spring practice. It was their second day of practice in preparation for the 2013 season.

JONATHAN ALEXANDER/Echo assistant editor/sports editor

n See SPRING Page 15

NCCU track and field finds success at home BY

C LAYTON

WELCH

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

DURHAM — When senior high-jumper Willie Calvin prepares to jump, he looks to his viewers and begins a rhythmic clap for the crowd to follow.

Onlookers clap. One clap … two claps … three claps … fours claps. Maybe more.

And he takes off into the air jumping over a bar standing 6 feet 8 inches off the ground.

Saturday, that 6-foot-8inch jump was good enough to win the event in the 20th Leroy T. Walker/ Lee Calhoun Invitational.

But he wants to do more than just win events.

He wants to break personal records. And apparently anything short of a record is a disappointment to Calvin, even if it is his first time back on the track since suffering a pulled hamstring.

“Nowhere near my best. I think I did good considering it was my first time jumping since my injury,” Calvin

n See CALVIN Page 15

Senior high jumper Willy Calvin jumps over the bar in Saturday’s L.T. Walker/Lee Calhoun Invitational, clearing 6 feet 8 inches, one inch shy of the meet record.

JONATHAN ALEXANDER/Echo assistant editor/sports editor

Quinn reins in his doubters BY

J ONATHAN M. A LEXANDER

ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR/SPORTS EDITOR

DURHAM — When junior Jordan Quinn was a senior in at Charles B. Aycock High School in Goldsboro, he was a first baseman.

When he Jordan played at Quinn Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, N.C., he started out at first base, which would give all indications that, today Quinn would still be first baseman.

Instead, Quinn is a pitcher for the N.C. Central University baseball team,

(16-9, 8-4 MEAC) boasts a 4-0 record and has an impressive 1.25 ERA in his first five starts at the Division-I level as of Monday March 25.

His slow pitching speed, unorthodox to most D-I batters, makes impatient hitters look foolish at the plate.

In his 36 innings pitched, opponents are hitting a measly .210 batting average against Quinn.

NCCU head baseball coach Jim Koerner said he couldn’t envision the level of success Quinn is now having.

“Even for the best of the best, I don’t think anybody can predict that kind of success,” Koerner said.

“We knew Jordan was going to come in and be successful. He wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think he was

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going to make an impact for us.

“To do what he’s doing at this point is truly outstanding.”

Quinn ran into some bumps — potholes, even — on his road to success.

He had pitched most of his baseball career until his senior season in high school when his coach decided to move him to first base.

As a result he only pitched four innings all season and was recruited to Southeastern Community College as a first baseman.

“They had no intentions of me pitching,” Quinn said.

But patience and an opportunity was all he needed to finally get back to pitching.

A few players on the

pitching staff at Southeastern went down with injury so Quinn pushed for the chance to pitch.

But his coaches were reluctant.

“I kept begging,” he said.

“I was like ‘just let me pitch a inning here or there.’”

And they did.

During an inter-squad scrimmage Quinn faced three batters, and sat all of them down.

“They thought it was a fluke,” Quinn said.

So they brought him out to the mound the next week and again he faced three batters and sat all three down.

Quinn’s coaches were finally convinced, so they moved him to the bullpen.

n See QUINN Page 15

The madness has begun

BY

J ONATHAN M. A LEXANDER

ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR/ SPORTS EDITOR

Some consider it a tradition. Some label it a holiday.

Some do it just for fun.

Regardless, every March, millions of people in the U.S. take the time to fill out their NCAA tournament bracket and take a shot at predicting who will win in the Big Dance.

That is when the madness begins.

Nearly all fall short of a perfect bracket, because every year there’s that one Cinderella team that upsets all predictions and captures the attention of those

watching.

Society loves an underdog, and watching David beat Goliath makes it that much more entertaining.

In 2011, the Cinderella team was the Virginia Commonwealth Rams. VCU reached the Final Four after most people didn’t even think they should have received a bid to the tournament.

This year’s Cinderella appears to be the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

Never heard of them?

Of course not. FGC is in its second year of eligibility as a Division I program and competes in the Atlantic

n See MADNESS Page 15

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Color barrier breaker lost

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Former N.C. College basketball great dies at 86

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REPORTS

DURHAM — Former N.C. College—now N.C. Central University—basketball standout Harold Hunter, passed away March 7 at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 86.

Hunter led NCC to 1950 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association —now Central Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationC I A A — N a t i o n a l Tournament.

Born on April 30, 1926, in Kansas City, Kansas, Hunter was the first African American to officially sign an NBA contract with the Washington Capitols in D.C. However, his skill level was not enough to maintain a roster spot, and he was cut during training camp.

Hunter coached 11 sea-

Their goal was win it all and earn their first ever trip to the Big Dance.

And they expected to do so, especially when the No. 1 seed, Norfolk State, had just been bounced the game before. After all, they had beaten every team they faced in the MEAC. However, to the chagrin of the Eagles and their fans, that goal wasn’t achieved this year.

Despite the loss, the Eagles had something to be proud of. Although they had just played probably their worst game of the season, the Eagles finished the regular season second in the MEAC with a 15-1 conference record and 22-8 overall.

It was the first time they won more than 20 wins in a season since 1992-93 campaign and first 20-win season as a Division I program.

“I think they had a pretty good season,” said former NCCU guard C.J. Wilkerson. “This year they played pretty well together with a lot of teamwork.

“In past years they relied more so on one or two players to carry the team, but watching them this year they did a really good job with all the new players.”

Wilkerson played two

loss.

On the bright side the Eagles finished with a 6-5 overall record, which was their first winning season since becoming a DivisionI program.

The Eagles were in prime position to possibly take helm in the MEAC but a loss to BethuneCookman, then Florida A&M two weeks later squandered those chances.

So the only thing Eagles have on their mind is getting ready for the first

Above: Harold Hunter, an N.C. Central University graduate was the first African American to ever sign a NBA contract.

Right: A younger Harold Hunter, while he played at N.C. College (now NCCU) around 1950.

Chancellor Becton’s 2013 NCAA tournament bracket. Becton picked Miami to win it all.

Campus Echo

Photos courtesy of Tennessee State University

sons at Tennessee State University from 1959-1968.

Over that span he accumulated a 172-67 record, which is second most in the school’s history.

Hunter never did play in the NBA but he became the first African-American to be on a coaching staff in the SEC and the first African-American to coach the U.S. Olympic Team.

In 1984, Hunter was inducted into the NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame and received a Trailblazer

Award from the Department of Athletics during NCCU’s Centennial celebration in Dec. 2009.

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of Harold Hunter, Sr.,” the CIAA said in an email to the Echo.

“He was among the best and brightest. Alongside John McClendon, Coach Hunter was a part of a dominate era of men's basketball in this country. A great teacher, coach, mentor and man.”

Sun Conference.

N.C. Central University Interim Chancellor Charles Becton said he fills out a bracket every year and has been doing so for a number of years.

“I’m an avid sports fan,” Becton said. “I usually do two or three brackets a year. I usually pick a few upsets so after the third weekend my bracket is usually gone.

He doesn’t have many Cinderellas in his bracket but he has the Miami Hurricanes winning the national championship over the Louisville Cardinals.

When Becton picks a team, he looks for good guard play and a solid big man.

Miami, he said, has both.

“They would have to play their best game,” he said.

“For a three game stretch before they won the ACC tournament they struggled. I think they’re now focused.”

And it seems Becton knows what he’s talking about. Miami’s top two scorers are All-ACC First-Team guard, Shane Larkin (14.6 points per game) and forward/center Kenny Kadji (13.3 points per game and 7 rebounds per game).

Computer Information Systems senior Justin Corbett agrees with Becton’s notion that a good guard and a solid big man is key, but he has a different team in mind.

Corbett picked Kansas to cut down the nets on April 8.

“Because they’re the top 25 in every category,” Corbett said.

“Points, assists, rebounds, steals, everything.

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seasons at NCCU from 2009-2011. He is considered by Moton as one of the student-athlete pioneers as NCCU made their transition to a D-I program.

During their transition, the stats really did not count and no NCCU sports team was eligible for postseason play.

Wilkerson said he only sees the program improving.

“I think it’s definitely on the come up,” Wilkerson said. “Being part of the foundation so far, I’m very proud of them.”

Former forward Nick Chasten was also a pioneer who played on the men’s basketball team from 20082012. In Chasten’s first season in 2008-2009, the Eagles finished the year with a dismal 4-27 record.

He said to go from four wins when he was a freshman in 2008-2009 to 17 wins in his last season in 2012 and now 22 wins in 2013 is amazing.

“Not many D-I schools do that, no matter what level it is, so that’s a big accomplishment in itself,” Chasten said.

“So I applaud Coach Moton for that.”

Willis has been a big part of that success. In his two seasons as an Eagle he finished with two All-

MEAC Second Team honors, averaging 15.2 points per game and 12.0 points per game respectively.

This season the Eagles welcomed some newcomers in junior forward and All-MEAC First Teamer Stanton Kidd (14.5 ppg and 6.9 rebounds per game), redshirt sophomore Jay Copeland (7.3 ppg) and other key contributors off the bench.

They also saw the emergence of junior guard Jeremy Ingram, who started the season as sixth man, coming off the bench. He also earned All-MEAC First Team honors, while averaging 15.7 ppg.

“When you go out there and you play together you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish as a unit,” Willis said.

“Mentally with the coaching staff I feel like each and every player grew not only as a player but as a person.”

Willis is the only senior on the team and the Eagles are expected to return four of their five starters.

Moton vows that next season the team will be stronger.

“We came up short this time but all things happen for a reason,” Moton said.“We’ll learn, and we’ll come back better.”

He would eventually step into the starter’s rotation when another pitcher went out with injury.

He said he pitched six innings in his first start and helped lead his team to their first victory of the season and improving their record to 1-7.

“I always felt that if I had the chance to prove myself, I’d be successful and earn a role,” Quinn said.

“And that’s what I’ve always had to do, from high school, to junior college to here.”

And proven he is.

Quinn helped the Eagles upset the Davidson Wildcats 3-1 on Feb. 20. He pitched seven innings of one-run baseball and gave up only four hits.

On March 12, against the Duke Blue Devils, Quinn pitched six strong innings, while giving up only one earned run. When he left, the game was knotted 3-3 and the Eagles had an opportunity to pull off the upset.

But a few Eagles’ errors and late game heroics by the Blue Devils dealt him the No Decision.

Pitching coach Jerry Shank said he felt other schools overlooked Quinn.

When he and Koerner were recruiting Quinn they saw a pitcher who could really help their program.

Junior starting pitcher Jordan Quinn has posted a 4-0 0 record this season and has a 1.25 ERA as of Monday March 25.

Photo courtesy of NCCU Athletics

“I think a lot of other teams didn’t believe that,” Shank said.

“I think we had a lot more confidence that Jordan was going to be successful because he has no fear. He’s comfortable in his own skin.

“He knows what he is. He doesn’t try to do more than what he is and he gets people out.”

Koerner agreed. He said that Quinn will be key down the stretch as they try to continue to maintain the momentum going into the MEAC. “To have four quality

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game of next season against the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium on Aug. 31.

“Spring practice is the start of the season like coach said,” said redshirt junior Aaron Wallace.

“So we’re looking to get better every day. So each day we’re preparing to beat [Duke].”

The 6-foot-2, 316 pound defensive lineman, nicknamed “Tank” is expected to be one of the senior leaders next season

according to Frazier.

Wallace said his goal is to lead his team to a MidEastern Athletic C o n f e r e n c e Championship.

“The main thing is consistency, so they can be very comfortable,” Frazier said.

“As they get comfortable they don’t think as much on the field and they go out and use some of this speed and God-given ability to make plays.”

said. “But I’ll be ready and back to normal before the Raleigh Relays.”

In their only home event of the season, the men and women each won four individual events.

The women’s team saw victories in 400-meter hurdles, 400-meter dash, 100meter dash and the highjump.

The men’s team won the 100-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles, the discus throw and Calvin’s high jump.

The invitational is a com-

They have a center and one of the best guards in the country in Ben McLemore.”

“And good coaching.”

Something that mass communication senior Marliss Pratt said is key.

She has the Duke Blue Devils dancing when it’s all said and done. Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski, is arguably the best coach in history.

Krzyewski has the most wins (954) of all-time as a coach at the Division I level and boasts four NCAA championships.

“He has the ability to take a group of players and make something out of them,” Pratt said.

“He knows what his player’s strength and weaknesses are. He pays attention to a lot of stuff and it shows.”

bined meet that host runners at the collegiate and high school level.

NCCU track and field head coach Michael Lawson said he hopes the event will entice high school runners to consider running for NCCU after high school.

Lawson has these words of advice for future college runners: “Just keep training, and get a chance to look at some of these college kids. Look at what they do,” he said.

“And take it back to your

starters that we have 100 percent confidence in is going to give us a real depth advantage come tournament time,” Koerner said.

Quinn is noticeably confident in his abilites. Koerner said he’s never rattled at the mound. But humble is one of his more distinct traits.

After each game Quinn gives full credit to his teammates.

“It’s never going to be just me,” Quinn said.

“I’m not going to strikeout the whole team. Without a solid defense, I’m nowhere and my ERA doesn’t look as good as it does right now.”

training regimen and try to work on your techniques and skills.”

Southern Wayne High School Head Coach Ronnie McClary Jr. said he thought it was a good experience for his kids to come out and run with the colleges.

“They need to see the difference between runners, and all in all this gives them an opportunity to qualify for regionals,” McClary said.

NCCU track and field will head to the Raleigh Relays on March 29.

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Hip-hop changed my life

“

I met this girl when I was 10 years old, and what I loved about her she had so much soul/ She was old school, when I was just a shorty, never knew throughout my life she would be there for me.”

These are the words of Common from the song “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” a song dedicated to Hip Angel Hop. Brown If you haven’t heard it, it was from his album “Resurrection” released in 1994.

This song means so much to me because it describes the beautiful journey of Hip Hop; the negatives and positives.

“Resurrection” was a great metaphor for Hip-hop. The genre was compared to a woman; Common’s descriptions of how it was birthed to be a cultural work of art compared to today’s violent and drug filled ruckus was an epic appeal.

But for me, regardless of how Hip Hop tends to stray, I will always love H.E.R. I grew up in the 90s during the time frame of great jazz samples with rap music, dancing being a heavy part of culture, and the use of drugs wasn’t focused as a cool ideal but more of a guilty ignorance.

Some of my influences com-

I went from commercial gangsta rap to conscious rap then underground, and now I’m a real big fan of local talent. ing up were Outkast, Nas, AZ, Biggie, Tupac, Kid n Play, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul. In addition to these great artists, Jay Z also had an impact on me.

Jay Z was introduced to me via cassette tape in 1996 at the age of 10. It was titled “Reasonable Doubt”.

The excitement I felt as I listened to Dead Presidents, Feelin It, Can’t Knock the Hustle, and 22 Two’s was indescribable.

I was infamous in my household for stealing my older brother’s tapes and CDs. When I swiped this classic I was so unaware of the life that was about to be presented to my ears.

It was as if Jay was pleading with his listeners “I just want to live my life to the fullest and as ignorant as this may seem I’ll do it by any means necessary.”

I didn’t feel encouraged to go attempt the crimes Jay spoke of but I respected the delivery he gave me and the orchestrated samples on each track.

This experience really opened my eyes. It put rap on a comprehensive level; birthing

my love for other rappers such as Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli along with underground artists.

My love of rap has been a true journey.

I went from commercial gangsta rap to conscious rap to underground. Now I’m a real big fan of local talent.

I have also grown to love DJs and producers.

In addition to Jay Z, I’m a huge fan of J Dilla. He is Mr. Hip Hop Changed My Life; look him up to see what I mean. I could write a whole article about just Dilla!

I’m in love with the whole hip hop culture, which means I have to acknowledge the art of Breakin.

No one will understand how bad I wanted to dance like Turbo and Ozone as I watched Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo when I was 7.

It came out in 1984; I wasn’t in my parents game plan just yet but I end up seeing it on TV years later.

When I was a senior in high school I took advantage of the senior project and took a dance class at a dance academy.

The idea was to learn something you didn’t know how to do.

Hip Hop dance was as close as I got to dancing and I thoroughly enjoyed the class.

My mom still has the tape of my final dance routine I presented to the Senior Board Judges.

Another element I thoroughly appreciate is graffiti. I could never tag but I was always into art as a kid.

Even today I paint as my hobby and attempt to do my own interpretations of Hip Hop via art.

I loved the idea of “defy authority and express yourself ” behind graffiti.

To gain an understanding of graffiti art check out the documentary” Bomb It”. It also gives an angle of graffiti’s Hip Hop involvement. It’s available on Netflix.

All the elements of Hip Hop helped mold me into the person I am today.

I jump at any opportunity to support the culture and I chose a career that will allow me to be tied to it forever.

I can’t rap, DJ, break dance, or tag but I can talk about it all day and play a major part of keeping the culture alive.

If anyone asks me what I want to do with my life I tell them I want to be a radio personality but most of all I want to be a Hip Hop Pioneer.

Letters Geer Cemetary gets facelift Dear Editor, We want to send our heartfelt thanks to your paper and to Monique Lewis for her article about Geer Cemetery in the October 31st, 2012 Campus Echo.

As a result of that article, Kabreeya Lewis and her NCCU Garden Club came out to the Cemetery, raked leaves and picked up glass around the Geer Cemetery Marker on Camden Avenue.

How do American History Teachers teach the truth to, and at the same time instill pride in the children of the United States?

Mr. R. Kelly Bryant, Jr. once told us that, during a time of Jim Crow Segregation, one of

his elementary school teachers put pictures of remarkable African Americans up all around the walls in her classroom, and taught her class about their contributions.

This teacher found a way, and the teachers of today’s world also have to find a way.

While working towards an

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M.A. in history at NCCU, and as a part of that work, reading about the site of the Liberty Bell in a chapter in “Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American History,” edited by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, we found affirmation for our belief in public history.

It has the power to convey the truth of America’s great founding contradiction: that “a new nation, fresh from wresting its independence from

England, built a freedom-loving republic based on slavery.”

This is why we feel the historic Durham site, Geer Cemetery, is important public history.

One can clearly see, from reading some of the inscriptions on surviving headstones in the Cemetery, that some of the people buried here were born into antebellum N.C. This site speaks of Durham’s history even before there was a town called Durham.

It is a place that should be revered, as it is the burial site of over 1,500 African Americans who contributed their labors and their legacies to Durham.

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: What did you do for Spring Break?

“I worked all Spring Break, got some overtime.”

– Shae Hillary

“I went on tour with the University Choir. It was an amazing experience.”

– Julia Brooks

“All I did was sleep and work.Nothing special” – James Graham

Sincerely yours, Jessica & David Eustice Sound Off By Ciera’ Harris

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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SAFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 When he turned the bathroom lights out he thought he’d gone blind.

Kenney woke up in the tub — and the cycle of addiction began.

He was introduced to the hard stuff — heroin and coke — by cousins back from Vietnam.

He said he thought, “This is what a man does.”

The community pulled him back. He was a good kid, had a gift for the written word and he was an athlete.

“They came after me.

They sought me out. They brought me back to school,” Kenney said.

On to the University of Missouri-Columbia where he ran track and where a professor told him “You remind me of a young James Baldwin.”

But he was hiding his drug addiction. Nobody knew.

“I just wanted to die, and I was angry at God because God chose to let my sister die instead of me,” Kenney said.

While running the 400 meters “I ran into a fence because I was so high.”

Then he started selling drugs and was asked to leave for a semester.

Eventually, Kenney’s future wife became pregnant.

“I had to make some real critical decisions because I did not want my son to see me as addicted,” Kenney

said.

Kenney became a pastor.

He graduated from the University of MissouriColumbia with a bachelor’s in journalism. Later he went to Duke for a master of divinity.

One day he found himself on Angier Avenue where he pulled over to buy drugs. The dealer asked him if he was police.

Kenney said all he could think was, “No, I’m the preacher man around the corner.”

That started him writing his first book, “Preacha’ Man.” Looking back, what that professor said, his mentor, was right. It was profound.

“When we say to another person — you are amazing,” Kenney said. “That’s all they need to hear.”

Caressa White White met her first husband at Winston-Salem State University. She thought she’d never have to worry about a man hurting her again.

She’d faced sexual abuse as a teen. But this guy, he seemed like a protector.

They both joined the military and moved to California.

Her mother didn’t like it, but White went anyhow.

That’s a long way — 3,000 miles.

Six months into their marriage they were on the same team playing cards,

Social work majors wanted FROM STAFF REPORTS

The students in the spring 2013 senior seminar in Social Work class and The Social Work Society will be hosting a “Recruit, Retain, Reclaim” event on Wednesday, April 3, from 57 p.m. in the Alfonso-Elder Student Union.

The event is open to anyone interested in learning about the social work program at N.C. Central University and careers in social work.

“I believe that our students are our best recruiters. It makes sense for them to be able to tell others about the BSW Program at NCCU and about their experiences,”

said Blenda Crayton, social work program director and instructor for the senior seminar class.

“I am very impressed with the level of sophistication the students have demonstrated in organizing the event,” said Crayton.

“We have three teams, logistics, marketing and public relations and the students are really taking their tasks seriously.”

At the event, information will be available on the curriculum, criteria for admissions, social work student organizations and other information and activities to inform attendees about the profession of social work.

Campus Echo Online follow us on twitter @campusecho follow us on twitter @campusecho

“Spades” was the game.

This guy took “Spades” seriously.

White said she lost some points in the game and “he reached over and punched me in my mouth.”

White said the friends who were over that night left.

White and her husband were both medics so he patched her up.

But six months later the same thing happened.

“I didn’t reach out to anyone because I was ashamed,” White said.

It happened again. And again.

White tried to avoid hotbutton topics because “maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t beat on me.”

Later she’d use sex as a defense mechanism. Not even that worked after a time.

White had a daughter with her husband. He abused her emotionally while she was pregnant. But after the pregnancy he went back to the physical abuse.

When her daughter was 18 months old White and her husband were fighting. Her daughter tried to intervene — and he missed slamming her head into a glass table by inches.

Eventually White left, but she still held onto the pain.

“I still struggle with, why couldn’t I make that relationship work?” White said.

“You can’t love a person to

the point where they will change.”

White had a premature son who died. She broke down emotionally.

Authorities found her wandering the streets.

That breakdown was the best thing that ever happened to her because “it took therapy to get me to this place.”

Every year White writes herself a letter commemorating the day she decided to leave.

White knew she’d done the right thing when her daughter told her she was glad they’d left, because her parents hadn’t killed each other.

That cycle, abuse again and again, goes back to childhood.

“As people we should just be more aware of the warning signs of sexual abuse,” White said.

She said those who are abused need to be surrounded with a safety net, with options. It’s important to know who to go to for help.

Jackie Melvin Melvin’s had HIV for years, count to 28 right now.

That’s how many. More than a quarter century.

Maybe longer than you’ve been alive.

Melvin married her husband in 1980. Back then you had to get a marriage physical. He had swollen lymph

nodes all over his body.

The doctors didn’t know anything about HIV. “They were dying in New York and California from some weird, strange disease,” Melvin said.

They went on with their lives.

In 1985 a test was developed to test for HIV. In 1986 Melvin gave blood.

A letter came in the mail some time later. She had HIV. “That was astonishing to me because that was for gay people. That was for prostitutes — that wasn’t for me,” Melvin said.

The letter said that she shouldn’t get pregnant — but she already was pregnant.

Melvin’s husband died of AIDS in 1988. His brother had died of AIDS in 1985.

Her daughter, born in 1986 with HIV, died in 1990.

The third brother died of AIDS in 1992. But Melvin is still alive, and she works in public health.

“I’ve saved many babies,” Melvin said. “though I couldn’t save my own.”

But she wondered how her husband had contracted the disease.

Her husband had a brother who fought in Vietnam — where he’d used intravenous drugs.

Her husband had experimented with intravenous drugs after his brother’s return.

In a recent meeting for work Melvin talked about her HIV status. A younger man introduced himself to her.

He was happy to see she was healthy after 28 years.

He’d been HIV positive for six years himself.

Melvin found herself asking why that was.

“Why? Why do you have it? Why are we still getting infected with HIV?” Melvin said.

The 1980s were a time when doctors — and the public — didn’t understand HIV. “It was a time when churches said this is your payment for sin — and you deserve it,” Melvin said.

But now “people know, we know.”

NCCU offers health and counseling services for students.

Student health: 919-5305485 Mental health: 919-5307646 Durham County Public Health also offers assistance: 919-560-7600 Project SAFE (Save a Fellow Eagle) is a group of NCCU peer educators with the goal of reducing incidences of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

To get involved with Project SAFE email: projectsafe@nccu.edu Or call: 919-530-6664

Intramurals fun and cheap

BY AVERY YOUNG ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The basketball atmosphere around campus is alive and well, ranging from the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium to the Leroy T. Walker complex.

The playoffs for the intramural basketball league just started up for the 20122013 school year on N.C. Central University’s campus.

Eric Jeffers is the Intramural Coordinator for the league.

“Players are required to sign up online at imleagues.com, which is where we go scheduling, registration, statistics, etc.

Also, we have an honor code dealing with behavior that is mandatory to follow,” Jeffers said.

The cost to play in the intramural league is $5 per person.

With the price being low and affordable, it builds up numbers of players and teams.

A staff member, Graduate Student Denise Wynn, commented on the uprising in numbers from previous years.

“We have had a really good turnout every night.

Six teams play per night, four times a week. So we have 20 plus teams. We have Law school students, graduate students, employees, staff, faculty as well as students and alumni playing,” Wynn said.

Also, the increase in numbers increased the level of play.

One of the players, Sophomore Markayle Gray, commented on his reason for competing.

“I play intramural basketball just for fun and to have a good run with some competition,” Gray said.

Another player, Sophomore Tyreik Kearse, said, “I feel like it is something that keeps us occupied within NCCU. Basically, it completes what I do as a person because I love to play basketball.”

Freshman player, Darryl Holloway, commented on the intensity throughout the league.

“It is tough. It is a lot of great competition. It is people from a lot of different areas so it is competition from all around. Intramural is almost the second level to the NCCU Men’s basketball team,” he said.

NCCU’s Men’s basketball is currently embarking in a

An NCCU student participates in an intramural basketball game.

GABRIEL AIKENS/Echo photo editor

terrific season as they stand number 1 at the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Jeffers said, “This is the best (Men’s basketball) team, record wise, since the 1988-1989 basketball championship team. So it makes a lot more people come in the [Leroy T.] Walker Complex and participate.”

Intramural player, Sophomore Trey Hansley, gave a little bit more insight on the effect of the Men’s basketball team.

He said, “I think the atmos-

phere on campus affects the intramural league because people try and keep up with the team to have the same type of spotlight as them.”

Kearse added, “As much as I support NCCU basketball, I feel as though I try to reflect all the things they do into my game. I think that they are a good role model as players and a team for us intramural players.”

Intramural games occur in the Leroy T. Walker Complex, Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

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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Money count trumps calorie count

Wi-fi woes lead to study trouble

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BY CHELSEA GRAYS

BY SABREE BURBAGE

SGA JUNIOR CLASS SENATOR

SGA SOPHOMORE CLASS SENATOR

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t is a downright shame that students are required to put a minimum payment of $20 at the Eagle Card Office in order to wash clothes and get items out of the vending machines. Upon my arrival at N. C. Central University in the fall of 2010 students were allowed to place as much money on their Eagle card as they desired.

Students were just required to walk into the Lee Biology Building and fill out a simple form prior to paying the amount of money they wanted to place on their eagle card.

Recently when attempting to place money on my Eagle card I was abrasively told by an employee at the office that, “you must pay a minimum of $20 in order to place money on your Eagle card.”

I was completely enraged by the lady’s attitude and by the sudden change of policy without any proper type of notification.

She then added that “the $20 minimum has

here is no doubt that Americans suffer from diseases and illnesses. However, particularly African Americans suffer from diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and depression.

According to the U.S. Office of Minority Health, african-american women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups. According to WebMD, nearly 42 percent of black men and more than 45 percent of black women age 20 and older have high blood pressure.

While attending a historically black college the health issue within the african-american culture should be acknowledged and addressed.

N. C. Central University ignores the health issues within the culture for money.

The issues are continuously looked over when implementing food sources such as Pizza Hut and World of Wings.

nsanity is sometimes defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That being said, time and time again valuable resources are taken away from students, whether inadvertently or not, and they are still being held to high academic standards.

Wouldn’t you say that’s insane?

It’s as if administration is taking personal offense to our academic achievement and fighting back by swatting away each and every attempt to earn As and Bs, and dare I say it, graduate on time and with an esteemed grade point average.

This predicament has come to fruition in many different forms.

Most recently it was shortened library hours — which has been corrected.

But this time, it’s Wi-Fi. At this time it is almost taboo to study in your own room, not because you don’t want to,

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Eight SGA representatives point out issues they see on campus

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Parking problems and cafeteria complaints

BY BROOKE BELLAMY SGA JUNIOR CLASS SENATOR

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he biggest grievance you will hear from a commuting student at N. C. Central University is the lack of parking availability.

Parking is an inconvenience because of the time it takes to find a space near the University.

What determines how close of a spot you will get depends on how early you arrive to campus.

Also, I think it is safe to assume that it is unrealistic to think that students would be willing to dish out $500 for a parking permit when they do not live on campus.

One of my favorite things about the adventures in parking on NCCU’s campus is the always exciting walk from your car to campus.

I always look forward to being greeted by the friendly and possibly rabid neighborhood dogs.

Such lovely animals. And to my surprise they are almost never on a leash.

Why would you keep your Boxer, Rottweiler or Pitbull on a leash anyway?

Are they not commonly known to be relatively small and meek creatures?

Parking off campus ... not for the faint of heart.

In the near future NCCU should offer more parking instead of wasting money on unnecessary new signs with our name on it.

And if parking permits were actually reasonably priced they would most assuredly stand to benefit from the business that commuter students have to offer.

The Cafeteria While this is my first year living off campus, I have been hearing the same complaints about the dining experience in the W.G. Pearson Cafeteria.

I have always felt that more attractive healthy options should be offered to students that are trying not to pack on the freshman, sophomore or junior fifteen pounds.

After all, on a rainy day

Junior Brooke Bellamy wants some changes in the parking and cafeteria situations at NCCU. MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

when the temperature is below freezing, who is real-

ly looking forward to a nice … cold ... salad?

Ain’t no home here

Library lacks big selection

Dorm crisis needs to be avoided next year

Junior Marcus Mundy says it’s imperative next year’s housing situation is handled better.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

BY MARCUS MUNDY SGA JUNIOR CLASS SENATOR

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llogically speaking, it makes perfect sense for one to do everything in their power to ensure that their transition from high school to college is as smooth as possible, but still have their efforts go in vain.

Even more so, as a prospective student, it’s unethical and immoral to hold an institution of high-

er learning to standards by which they have set. That’s like showing up on time to class and expecting your teacher to teach something.

Who does that?

As much as I would like to humor this distorted sense of reality, it is a travesty that an institution such as N. C. Central University that thrives off its motto of ‘truth and service,’ would allow itself to be put in a situation in which its prospective and returning

students are put at a disadvantage.

Accountability at NCCU is something that is dwindling ever so quickly.

It’s all a race to see who can point the next finger fastest.

I say all of this in reference to what was headlined as “The Housing Crisis of 2012.”

What better way to bring in the 2012-13 academic year than by telling some of your students that essen-

When asked about the quality of the food in W. G.

tially “you are assigned to room XYZ in … yeah we can’t accommodate you so good luck finding housing else where?”

From a student perspective it’s upsetting when you put your trust into an institution to ensure that you have someplace to live and they fail to do their job.

As if our academic, social and personal lives weren’t enough. Figuring out where one will stay at the last minute is just the icing on the cake.

From the outside looking in it reflects that NCCU just reeks of incompetence.

The number of rooms available to students should have been one of the first criteria looked at before students were accepted into the institution.

To have had something like this happen looks bad for the University.

NCCU accepts students from all over the globe.

How do you explain something like this to someone or their family?

For example, if a student who was coming to NCCU as a freshman from New Jersey found out that they had no housing once they got here, how do you explain something like this?

Especially to someone who has done everything on his or her end.

Now don’t get me wrong.

Housing being full is under-

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Freshman Olivia Robinson says NCCU should have more books.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

BY OLIVIA ROBINSON SGA FRESHMAN CLASS SENATOR

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s an honors student at N. C. Central University, obtaining exceptional grades is very important to me.

This requires spending a lot of time in the library and checking out the required texts assigned by my professors.

When I go to the library expecting to check out a book and it isn’t there, it is

Burbage CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 but because you can’t.

In a time where students are expected to retrieve all assignments, study materials and course information off of internet programs such as Blackboard, it is absurd to deny students optimal access to the internet. Sure, we could all flock to the library, but it is ludicrous to think that during peak study hours there could possibly be enough computers with internet and printer access to accommodate students, given the disruption from using their personal laptops.

I guess we could also try lugging around 20 foot Ethernet cords everywhere we go, plugging them into newly erected “Ethernet

posts,” but who is going to facilitate this blatantly backwards advance in technology?

In a last ditch effort I guess setting up an efficient and ever-present campus wide Wi-Fi network could possibly work, but nah, that’s probably too logical to be feasible.

Then again, what do I know? I’m just an undergraduate student living on campus who studies on a daily basis in an attempt to maintain that A/B grade point average that is demanded of me. I’m sure that somehow the current state of things all makes sense, well, illogically speaking.

Pearson Cafeteria, psychology and Spanish senior Casi Johnson is said, “It’s nasty and we need healthier options.”

Recreation management senior Iimani McKnight chimed in, “Not just healthier options, but more options.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte has an amazing cafeteria and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has multiple cafeterias.”

Our cafeteria could certainly have more attractive options for the growing vegetarian and vegan population on our campus as well.

Some alternatives that I would suggest are spinach wraps and entrees and desserts made with soy or almond milk.

I am sure that if our chefs pay attention to the direction that health foods are going in we will be well on our way to accommodating the individuals on this campus that choose to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Junior Sabree Burbage wants more reliable wireless internet.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

very frustrating.

Even though the Interlibrary Loan System is supposed to help me with this predicament, it is not always reliable.

Recently I had an English paper due and I needed to have at least two print sources.

I requested two books that our library didn’t have and five days before my paper was due I received an

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Crime up, help down

Robinson CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

BY RENEE NATSON SGA JUNIOR CLASS SENATOR

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onsidering the incessant recent crime alerts on campus one would think that the N.C. Central University Police Department would begin to tighten security to ensure the safety of students.

This is not the case.

One would think that campus police would be ready and willing to escort a 20-year-old african-american female walking alone from the bottom lot of the Mary Townes Science Building to Eagle Landing Residence Hall in the late hours of the night.

Again this is not the case.

The approximate time that would elapse in completing this task would be a three minute car ride.

This doesn’t seem too difficult.

The police officer told the african-american female that she would have to walk back because he had to “finish his patrol,” which consisted of sitting at the bottom of the parking lot and waiting until something .

The student walked back alone.

The officer not only gambled the student’s safety and security, but he did it with no remorse.

If something would have happened to that student what would the officer’s excuse be?

Something illogical — I’m sure.

Junior Renee Natson says it’s important students feel safe on campus.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

McLeod

Mundy

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 standable.

It happens.

But what is the justification for not notifying students well in advance about this issue?

As a proud Eagle I want my institution to be portrayed in the best light at all times. And the fact of the matter is that because

of this issue NCCU became the target of scrutiny by various news stations all across the state.

This type of publicity isn’t what’s best for NCCU. Given that as many as 500 new and returning students were affected by the housing crisis

email stating that my request had been cancelled.

I ended up having to call the schools from which I requested the books to see the reason why my request had been cancelled.

They told me it was because another student had checked out the same book I needed and that they have priority over students from neighboring schools.

After hearing this I was very discouraged and all the while I was thinking this shouldn’t be the case.

It shouldn’t be that we as a school who, “seeks to encourage intellectual productivity …” as stated in the University mission, don’t have the proper means to provide a larger selection of books in our library for the educational and recreational use of the students.

How can we encourage this if we don’t supply our students with the proper tools they need to become more “intellectually productive”?

Instead of having to borrow from the neighboring schools around us, we should try to increase our own inventory of books.

The library has become more of a quiet place with computers and bookshelves rather than a library because of the absence of BOOKS. Something needs to be done about this soon.

I’m sure there is some way we can squeeze BOOKS for students to LEARN into a budget, somehow.

This situation is ridiculous.

because of what was portrayed as a “mistake” or an “overlooked issue” really emphasizes the need for change.

Accountability is something that needs to be reinstated in various ways at NCCU, but hey, then again what would I know?

I’m only speaking illogically.

Grays

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The lack of healthy food choices at NCCU exist because NCCU prioritizes money over africanamerican student health.

After speaking with students who commonly eat at World of Wings I discovered a six-piece chicken-strip meal is most frequently ordered.

While reviewing the World of Wings Web site I found that the six-piece chicken-strips are a total of 780 calories, not including the drink and fries.

I went on to discover french fries are a total of 520 calories.

Therefore, in total that is 1,300 calories for one meal, still without including a drink or dipping

sauce.

Not to mention that The Big Easy burger that is also commonly ordered is a total of 1,699 calories minus the fries, drink and excess dipping sauce.

According to WebMD women from ages 19-30 are supposed to consume 2000 calories daily and men 19-30 2,400 calories daily.

When searching for healthier choices I personally decided to order a salad.

However, there was extreme disappointment because of the overload of grease from the chicken which made the venture pointless.

It has been difficult for me to

comprehend why an HBCU would implement these food services that are hindering African Americans as a culture.

While speaking with an on campus advisor it was explained the world is not focused on the well-being of individuals, let alone African Americans.

The focus is money.

Whatever makes money will be supplied.

I understood the concept, but for NCCU to hinder its own people in order to make a profit is sickening.

NCCU is not taking proper precautions to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Junior Wesley Mcleod says Eagle Card fees are a rip-o off.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

always been instituted and students were never allowed to put a lesser amount on their Eagle card.”.

I distinctly remember putting $5 on my eagle card for laundry my freshman year.

Therefore, I really did not appreciate this employee’s incompetence and lack of knowledge regarding the logistics of her job and her inability to properly support her claim with logical and factual evidence instead of a fabricated personal statement.

However, the lady did tell me that students were allowed to place money on their Eagle card online without any restrictions or minimums.

Nevertheless, the employee then proceeded to give me a flyer detailing the information on how to distribute money on my Eagle card for laundry and vending purposes.

I basically ran to Chidley Hall

from the Lee Biology Building in order to log on to the Web site just to find out that the minimum for the website is $5 and the amount payable is based on $5 increments.

At this point I did not even care because it was imperative that I washed clothes.

However, when using the online method I quickly found out about the $1.50 processing fee which is deducted every time there is a transaction.

I was outraged because this meant I would have to pay ten dollars, just for them to take $1.50 out of that total. Thereby meaning I could only wash $8.50 worth of laundry, instead of being able to utilize the full $10 amount when using quarters.

There really needs to be some type of change soon because I firmly believe that NCCU’s eagle card system is illogical.

Sophomore Chelsea Grays says healthy food choices could be more abundant on campus.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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"