October_10_2012

OCTOBER 10, 2012

N

O R T H

C

1801 FAYETTEVILLE STREET DURHAM, NC 27707

Campus . . . . . . . . . .

1-4 4

Beyond . . . . . . . . . .

5

Feature . . . . . . . . .

6-7 7

A&E . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8-9 9

Sports . . . . . . . . . . .

10

Opinion . . . . . . . . . .

11-1 12

C

A R O L I N A

E N T R A L

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

UN

I V E R S I T Y

919 530.7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDU WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM

@CAMPUSECHO

Opinion

A&E

Campus

Feature

Is the presidential election the only election that really matters?

Adrian Carroll’s Battle of the Bands returns to NCCU

Struggle to make NCCU more ‘global’ faces infrastructure problems

Go inside a Durham downtown favorite — Dame’s Chicken & Waffles

Page 8

Page 3

Pages 6-7

Page 12

VOLUME 104, ISSUE 3

Campus Echo

NCCU voter profile

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A VISUAL ACTIVIST

Students lean liberal at Central

BY EMILY PAKES

dents reported that they were eligible to vote. Of these, 43 actually voted.

This means that 84 perIn the wake of several cent of NCCU students voted, attempts across the as compared to United States to disthe national courage voting by average of 50 African Americans percent for the and students, a sur2008 youth vote. vey found students But will they at N.C. Central vote this year?

University are more The results politically active of the survey than the national average for The Battle for America: suggests that 18-29 year olds. Part three of a four-part having a politically active In the May series family might 2012 campus survey of 100 students, 93 stu- be important — of those 43 dents said they planned on voters, 60 percent said they voting in the 2012 presiden- discussed politics at home.

“My mom doesn’t play,” tial election, but only 83 of these were registered to vote. said mass communication The survey also found that senior Marliss Platt.

Platt said when it’s time in the 2008 presidential election, 51 of these 100 responn See VOTERS Page 2 ECHO STAFF REPORTER

FAMU band GPAs pitiful 50 members below minimum 2.0

BY DENISE-MARIE ORDWAY ORLANDO SENTINEL (MCT)

“Finding Balance” by Luis Franco

H

Image Courtesy Luis Franco

You see color everyere is what you see: The STORY BY MATT PHILLIPS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF where, but that’s the point. fist pick, the ink drip, the See, you got to free your words of Malcolm X, soy sauce and Sriracha, “The Greatest Fighter Ever mind.

Artist Luis Franco communicates to liberate.

Lived,” Star Wars, black hands in white hands, Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix, American Indian paint, He’s a visual activist.

Angela Davis, Goya cans and Cholula bottles. n See FRANCO Page 8

Sexual assault a silent epidemic

BY ALEX SAMPSON ECHO A&E EDITOR

Don’t talk to strangers.

It’s one of the first lessons kids hear. Society places a lot of emphasis on the danger strangers may pose.

But what society neglects to tell us is that those we already trust can also be a threat — often even a larger threat than those we don’t know.

That’s a hard truth that Val Richardson said she learned.

Richardson, a N.C. Central University history graduate student, said she was repeatedly raped by her ex-fiancé for several months.

Richardson said that their 3-year relationship was not always volatile.

“He would cook and

clean for me, wash and iron my clothes, run bath water, wash my hair and all of that,” wrote Richardson in an e-mail.

But about two years into their relationship, her fiancé’s brother was murdered in a robbery.

She said from that point on he changed.

Richardson said he first attacked her on Father’s Day 2003 and the attacks continued until their relationship ended in July 2004.

According to the FBI, one in three women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. More than 80 percent will know their attackers.

This is known as acquaintance or date rape. The perpetrator might be a relative,

n See ASSAULT Page 2

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly 50 members of Florida A&M University’s famed marching band had GPAs last fall that were below a 2.0 -- the minimum grade-point average required to participate in student organizations on campus.

Twelve had cumulative grade-point averages of 1.0 or below, with some as low as a 0.14, according to public records obtained Friday by the Orlando Sentinel.

The records raise additional questions about university oversight of the band in the months leading up to the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion in Orlando on Nov. 19. A dozen former band members have been

charged with felony hazing in connection with Champion’s beating after the Florida Classic football game.

FAMU has acknowledged that band administrators were not always vigilant about monitoring members’ qualifications.

Several months ago, the Sentinel reported that 101 of the estimated 350 people on the band’s fall roster — including three of those charged in Champion’s death — were not enrolled at FAMU or the two other Tallahassee schools where students had an option to participate in the FAMU band.

While last year’s band handbook has no mention of a GPA requirement for members, university policy

n See FAMU Page 5

Prof stays busy, sets example, Hard work, and persistence takes Woodson-Smith to Paralympics

BY TRENT LITTLE ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

Less than a month after competing in the 2012 Paralympics in London as a wheelchair basketball athlete, Andrea Woodson-Smith has her eyes set on her next athletic venture.

“If I go to the (2016) Paralympics it will probably be for rowing,” said WoodsonSmith, an N.C. Central University physical education and recreation assistant professor .

“I’ll probably retire from wheelchair basketball.”

Woodson-Smith began playing wheelchair basketball in 2000.

This year was her first participating in the Paralympics.

She was on the team in 2004 but a medical clearance issue removed her from the team two weeks prior to the team's departure for Athens.

Andrea Woodson-S Smith, right, competed in the 2012 Paralympics in London.

n See PARALYMPICS Page 10

Photo Courtesy of Andrea Woodson-Smith

2 N

O R T H

C

Campus A R O L I N A

C

E N T R A L

UN

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

IVERSITY

Lady barber lives dream Yvonne Hendrix has served the NCCU community since 1969

Yvonne Hendrix has been cutting hair at the N.C. Central University barbershop since 1969.

SAIGE BROWN/Echo staff photographer

BY TAIQUAN UZZELL ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The ground floor of the Alfonso Elder Student Union at N.C. Central University contains a barbershop that embraces students on campus like family.

In the shop, students will find a woman named Yvonne Hendrix.

Hendrix is the only female barber on campus.

At one point, the barbershop consisted of all male barbers.

Hendrix did not let that stop her. She got her license and became the only female barber at NCCU. Hendrix said she is here to service the community by cutting the hair of faculty, students and local Durham residents.

As a child, she grew up watching her father cut hair.

This helped Hendrix find her passion.

“My grandmother stated that my first few words were cutting hair,” said Hendrix.

“I wanted to be a barber ever since I was child and I did not change my mind.”

Hendrix’s father did not want her to become a barber, but he couldn’t stop her.

“He would not pay for me to go attend a barber college,” Hendrix said.

After Hendrix found the courage to tell her father about applying to barber school, he decided to help her pay for Bull City Barber College.

While attending Bull City Barber College, Hendrix faced many issues.

One issue was with her professor. He did not like that she was performing better than the males in her class. She would also make

fun of the guys in her class.

“He wanted me to drop out of Barber College due to the fact that my grades were nothing but A’s and he believed I was a troublemaker,” said Hendrix.

She graduated from barber college and went back home to work with her father.

“I had worked with my father for only one year and wanted to get away from my father, because I did not want to live my life under his shadow,” said Hendrix.

Hendrix began working at NCCU’s barbershop on August 7, 1969.

Her first few years were coming to work and observing her fellow barbers cut hair.

“When I did get customers, they would be soldiers from overseas, because they had seen

Crime decreases over five year span 2011 NCCU Campus Police report details decline

BY JONATHAN ALEXANDER ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR

Dominique Boone feels safe at N.C. Central University.

Boone, a computer information science sophomore, said he has noticed a decrease in crime from this point last year because of an increased campus police presence.

“I feel like they [campus police] do an excellent job trying to keep us safe and trying to make the school a safe environment for the students,” Boone said.

Terry Mosley, adjunct history professor, agrees.

“Because the campus is rather small, they are able to get around on it pretty quickly or to respond to precede trouble pretty quickly,” Mosley said.

Mosley has been a professor at NCCU since 2006 and doesn’t get a sense of change in crime over the years.

The NCCU Police and Public Safety Department Annual Crime and Fire report for 2011-2012 shows a decrease in overall crime during the past five years.

The only category that remains the same is burglary with 32 incidents in 2011, up from 19 in 2010.

There were 190 incidents of larceny in 2011, which was down from 210 the previous year.

According to the Durham Police Department website, larceny is “The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of

another.”

Mosley said he does however feel less safe at night walking through campus than during the day.

“I think it’s because there are folks who come on campus who don’t belong on campus, and they are some of the source of some of the crimes that we see,” Mosley said.

Public administration junior Alexis Woodley echoed the same sentiments.

“I feel like since the campus is so open and not gated then it could be one of the results of crimes,” Woodley said.

Her fear stems from a robbery that she says took place last year in a dorm room in Eagle Landing.

NCCU Police Chief Timothy Bellamy agreed that the outside neighborhoods have an influence on campus crime.

“There are certain buildings that are open to the public and we have arrested individuals who are not Central students,” Bellamy said.

“We have video cameras in all our public buildings on campus so what we find most of the time more than half crimes being committed are committed by persons outside the student population.”

According to a recent annual report of all incidents on campus from April to September of 2012, fire alarms and smoke reports have the highest number of incidents on campus.

There have been 93 incidents of fire alarms being

pulled. Pulling a fire alarm is a misdemeanor.

Bellamy said when a fire alarm is pulled, police and the fire department have to come to the school.

He said it can cost the school up to $200 when the fire department responds.

Other crimes that appear high on the report are misdemeanor larceny with 41 incidents and larceny of property with 19 incidents.

Bellamy, who was former chief-of-police in Greensboro, was sworn into office in April.

He said that he notices NCCU is one of the safer campuses in the UNC system.

There are currently 68 staff members of the NCCU police department.

They are comprised of 26 sworn officers, 28 security guards, eight dispatchers, and six police administrators.

“We’re not 20,000 students but on a ratio of crime per students, the ratio is relatively low,” Bellamy said.

Bellamy encourages students to be very observant, call the campus police when a crime is taking place and not become a victim by giving out information to strange persons.

“Feel good about NCCU police department and security on campus,” Bellamy said.

“We do a tremendous job of keeping this campus safe.”

In case of an emergency, individuals can call campus police at 919-530-6106 or dial 911.

women barbers there,” said Hendrix.

Hendrix said everything started to change once Afrohair styles and box braids became popular in the local community.

The ladies and males from the community wanted her to braid their hair and fix their Afros because she was a female.

Hendrix said she would take the time to talk about current events on campus and the local community while cutting students hair.

Hendrix said she felt a sense of pride when the students would stop during their free time to talk with her.

“Everyone is the same, no matter who comes into the barbershop, from [former] Chancellor Nelms to local customers,” said Hendrix.

“I enjoy coming into the barber shop on campus because they make you feel at home,” said marketing sophomore Jordan Scales.

Hendrix has come a long way since the beginning of her career. From the tough trials of barber college to becoming the first female barber at NCCU. And finally, to cutting and braiding hair during the Afro era.

She used this to her advantage and the rest is history for her barber career.

Hendrix lives by the motto, “Never let someone tell you that you cannot do something.”

The campus barbershop is open from 8 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

A haircut starts at $9.

Razor line shape ups are $5 and braid start at $20.

VOTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 NCCU student political party affiliation

NCCU Campus Echo

for early voting, her mother calls her to make sure she sends in her ballot.

But voters this year are facing more than just phone calls from Mom. Civil rights groups have expressed concerns over a number of attempts in different states to enact voting policies that would disproportionately hurt minorities, young people and the working class, in what they see as an effort to decrease likely Democratic votes. .

North Carolina state legislatures passed a strict Voter ID law last year, but the legislation was vetoed twice by Gov. Beverly Perdue.

North Carolina law does not currently require a voter identification to vote.

And NCCU’s student body is overwhelmingly democrat.

The survey contained 82 Democrats, three Republicans, nine Independents and six who identified as “other.”

Regardless of political affiliation; however, the recent attempts to pass voter identification laws and reduce early voting

tend to disproportionately affect minorities, young people and members of the working class.

When it comes to voting, not everyone sees the need for an even playing field.

Tea Party founder Judson Phillips stated on air in December 2010 that voting rights should be restricted to property owners, because they “have a little bit more of a vested stake in the community.”

Similarly, Fox Business anchor John Stossel drew heat this year when he stated on air that “dumb people” and college students — what he termed as “the kids” — shouldn’t vote.

NC VOTING DATES Registration ends Oct. 12 Early voting starts Oct. 18 Early voting ends Nov. 3 Election day Nov. 6

ASSAULT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 friend, someone who is known casually, or a partner, as in Richardson’s case.

Acquaintance rape is a particularly severe problem for young college-aged women.

According to the Center for Disease Control, one in four women on college campuses will be sexually assaulted. About 90 percent of college rapes involve alcohol use by the assailant, victim or both.

Though universities are places of higher education, students don’t appear to be educated on the matter. Too often acquaintance rape is dismissed as a fluke.

According to an August 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Justice, less than five percent of college women who are sexual assault victims will report the incident to police.

In early 2010, columnist Alex Knepper wrote in the American University’s newspaper that date rape was an “incoherent concept.”

Knepper went on to explain that if a female attends a fraternity party, gets drunk, and follows a male to his room then she is in no place to “cry rape” the next morning.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Knepper clarified his statement by saying that “real rape” is when a stranger “thrusts sex into a non-sexual situation.”

Legally, “real rape” is when a sexual act is perpetrated by force, against one’s will or when they are mentally defective, mentally incapacitated, or

physically helpless.

Someone who is intoxicated, according to this definition, cannot give legal consent.

According to Krystal George, the Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Coordinator at NCCU’s Women’s Center, the blasé attitude towards acquaintance rape is because of a “myth.”

“The myth is influenced by the ideas that women should take self-defense classes, walk in groups, check their car before getting into it or walk in welllit areas to keep themselves safe,” wrote George in an email to the Echo.

These ideas not only downplay the widespread occurrence of acquaintance rape, but also encourage the phenomenon known as victim blaming. It’s a culture of teaching people to not get raped — instead of a culture of don’t rape — that blames the victim.

In 1965, psychologist Melvin Lerner hypothesized the “Just World Theory” which states that society sometimes blames victims in an effort to support the comforting idea that bad things can only happen to bad people.

With sexual assault victims, their sexual history or clothing may be scrutinized to “prove” that they got what they deserved.

George said that contrary to popular belief, appearance does not play a role in sexual assaults.

Perpetrators are motivated by power and control.

“The question of why the perpetrator cannot respect a survivor and gain true consent should

be raised instead,” George states.

On the other hand, Dana Hart-Raynor, the Administrative Support Associate at NCCU’s Student Health Building, said that appearance can play a part but shouldn’t.

“It shouldn’t matter what a female does or doesn’t wear or what a man looks like, there is never a reason to violate someone’s body,” said Hart-Raynor.

English junior Marcus Spaulding said that the way manhood is presented factors into sexual assault.

Spaulding said that the perception of manhood is flawed. In the past manhood was about what a male could do for his wife and children. Now, it’s about what a male says he can do.

“How you treat a woman is parallel to you being a man,” said Spaulding.

There appears to be many elements that aid in the rise of sexual assault and the persecution of its victims but Hart-Raynor said that education is the one way to fight the epidemic.

“These things are affecting our students, faculty and adminstrators,” said Hart-Raynor. “Now is the time to speak up.”

Richardson said talking to other young women has helped her survive her ordeal.

“I am a still a beautiful, talented, competent and educated woman who didn’t know how to handle a very serious situation at such a young age. It didn’t mean anything was wrong with me. It means that he is a sick person,” wrote Richardson.

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

N

OR T H

C

Campus A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

UN

3 IVERSITY

The Internationalization problem NCCU plans for expanding global education opportunities run up against lack of resources

BY JAMAR NEGRON ECHO STAFF REPORTER

For the first time, Mandarin Chinese is being offered at N.C. Central University.

China’s growing economic influence in the world is one reason major universities — including Duke, New York University, and N.C. State — have made the language a part of their curriculum.

NCCU has adopted the trend, and nine students have seized the opportunity to learn Mandarin.

Business administration sophomore Arnold Floyd recognizes the power in knowing Mandarin Chinese for potential business ventures. Floyd works for Lenovo, the second largest laptop maker in the world, which has a branch located in the Research Triangle Park.

“A lot of my co-workers speak Mandarin,” said Floyd.

He said that learning the language helps him in his position as an order management specialist.

Other students elected to take Mandarin because they want to learn a new foreign language.

Professor Kuldip Kuwahara, during her time in between teaching classes, sits with the Mandarin class to learn as much as she can.

“I’m familiar with six languages, and that’s not enough,” said Kuwahara.

She cites author Maxine Hong Kingston as an influence in her study of Mandarin.

Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese-American author and professor at the University of California – Berkeley.

Eventually, Kuwahara said she wants to be wellversed enough to read texts from ancient Chinese philosophers like Confucius.

Kuwahara, like Floyd, said she views the addition of a language like Mandarin at an HBCU as a positive development — albeit prolonged and limited in its execution.

Kuwahara said that she would like to see more languages taught at NCCU, like Arabic.

“It’s an excellent opportunity,” said Floyd. “It’s strange that they don’t offer more languages.”

According to Interim Political Science Chair Emmanuel O. Oritsejafor’s 2007 document “International Education at North Carolina Central University: A Strategic Approach, “NCCU has plans to internationalize their language department so students can “become proficient in such lan-

How can you have some professor come over from China to teach Chinese for example, if we cannot support them?

EMMANUEL ORITSEJAFOR INTERIM POLITICAL SCIENCE CHAIR

guages as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, and Swahili.”

Mandarin, NCCU’s most recent addition, was just offered this semester — five years after the original proposal was drafted.

Claudia Becker is the chair of the Global Studies Department.

“It [the plan] took longer than planned,” said Becker.

Becker said in February of 2009 the College Curriculum Committee approved Arabic to be introduced into the catalogue of offered languages.

Before the language was added, the professor quit, stalling progress.

Oritsejafor is also the former director of the Office of International Affairs.

Oritsejafor said the original plan didn’t work.

“As an institution, it’s taken us a longer period of time to diversify our language offerings,” said Oritsejafor.

Oritsejafor cites three core issues that have plagued the overall advancement of globalization at NCCU: Resources, infrastructure and commitment.

Resources According to Oritsejafor, NCCU had several opportunities to partner with other universities, such as N.C. State, to teach different languages via video conference. Oritsejafor said due to a lack of resources, NCCU could not sustain proposed partnerships.

Oritsejafor said that NCCU also had the opportunity to have foreign pro-

fessors come to teach language courses on campus.

A scarcity of resources forced the university to abandon these plans.

“How can you have a professor come over from China to teach Chinese, for example,” said Oritsejafor, “If we cannot support them?”

To help provide financial support, Oritsejafor and his colleagues devised a proposal that would require students to pay a $10 International Education fee.

The proposal was never ratified, and is still outstanding to this day. It was drafted in 2010.

As of now, a new document has been prepared that will supersede the previous globalization plan.

Oritsejafor, who has seen a draft, remarked that it takes actions such as expanding foreign language selections, course offerings, and also has plans to attract more international students.

Additionally, there are plans to get students and faculty at NCCU engaged in globalization and global education.

Ansel Brown, chair of the Global Education Committee, the group of primarily faculty, along with students and administrators that drafted the new plan, said “increasing funding is essential to the success of the plan.”

Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Programs Janice Harper is in charge of funding for the new plan.

Though no specific plans to raise funds are referenced in the document

itself, Harper said she has many possible avenues of increasing funding, such as writing grants, involving alumni in fundraising, and enlisting student involvement.

He said that infrastructure would further improve by enlisting the support of a study abroad coordinator, who would support the efforts toward international education.

Infrastructure

Commitment

Lack of infrastructure is linked with lack of funds — because of the lack of resources, the thinly spread personnel within the Office of International Affairs (OIA), have a difficult job promoting internationalization.

“Human resources are scarce,” said Olivia Jones, the assistant director of the OIA. Currently, only three employees staff the OIA office, and they are tasked with handling all of the duties that come with the job.

Despite this, Jones said her team has been productive, working creatively with what they have to attract students to international education.

Both Oritsejafor and Jones said there has been success establishing study abroad programs in Denmark and African, including a masters and public administration program in Liberia.

The Criminal Justice Department has a study abroad program with the University of West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

Also, the NCCU School of Law established a study abroad program at the University of Costa Rica.

Oritsejafor said that the OIA has quality staff with enormous experience in International Education.

Another reason Oritsejafor cited for stalled internationalization at NCCU is lack of campuswide commitment.

Although neither Jones nor the office of the OIA was present during the drafting of the new plan, they were asked to provide feedback to point out anything they felt could be improved.

Jones says that the objectives placed in the plan do not disclose any methods to actually reach them.

“You have to have a road map,” said Jones of the new plan, “so many things we say … we don’t put the mettle to.”

Oritsejafor agrees.

“If we put it on paper that we are committed to international education,” he said, “What are we doing to make sure that plan is implemented?”

The new plan was drafted by the Global Education Committee, created by Harper and headed by Brown.

Brown said that after a thorough vetting process, in which the OIA’s critiques were bought into consideration, the plan was approved.

According to Harper, the new plan is a step up from its predecessor. It aims to enhance two specific parts of Oritsejafor’s previous strategic plan: Curriculum

and extra-curricular activities.

Harper said a key component of the plan is faculty.

“Faculty are curriculum,” said Harper.

And curriculum is what the plan hopes to expand.

Harper will be working in conjunction with the OIA to help the faculty implement their plans.

“We have some things in place,” said Harper, “I’d like to do more.”

Jones said she has seen pockets of commitment within the faculty, especially in the School of Business and the School of E. An impediment to progress is a moratorium at NCCU, barring the ability for faculty programs to create programs with international schools.

According to Harper, the purpose of this moratorium, set by former Chancellor Nelms, was to allow NCCU to evaluate its current relations with international universities and decide which programs to continue and which to reevaluate.

The assessment has been conducted, and the duty of lifting the moratorium is with Interim Chancellor Becton.

In addition to faculty commitment, student commitment to globalization must increase for this plan to be successful.

Jones said that students underestimate what they need to do to study abroad.

Paperwork and other actions must be completed before students can enroll, and some lose interest when they find out.

“Students want to go abroad,” said Jones, “But they don’t know what it takes.”

The OIA holds student sessions to help educate potential international scholars.

“This is so important now, for their career,” said Harper. “You have to be global. Being globally competent will lead to competitiveness.”

“We have to start looking at things outside of Fayetteville Street and bring the world closer to us. … The University will have to make an intentional commitment to support international education,” said Oritsejafor.

As for learning foreign languages, Harper said that mastering one in college is essential to the success of NCCU students in a competitive work environment.

Mandarin Instructor Su Ke Li — or Shockley, his American name — said that learning Mandarin puts minorities in a strong position.

“It’s so important,” said Su. “Once the train is coming, you’ll be on top.”

STUDY ABROAD

Important dates from your Office of International Affairs Coming Soon!

2012 International Education Week Nov. 12 -16.

If you would like to participate in the week’s celebrations, please contact the Office of International Affairs.

• Monthly study abroad general information session First Thursday of every month at 10:40 a.m. in Room 202, Lee Biology Building (Nov. 1 & Dec. 6) • Application deadline for students planning to study abroad in fall 2013 or academic year 2013-2014 is February 1, 2013.

• Application deadline for students planning to study abroad in spring 2014 is January 25, 2013 • Application deadline for students planning to study abroad in summer 2014 is February 7, 2013 Contact: Olivia E-M Jones at ojones@nccu.edu Tel. (919) 530 7713

recycle recycle

Campus

4 N

O R TH

C

A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

UN

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

IVER SITY

Printer problems lead to confusion $50 allotments run down fast, but students can call ETAC for free reinstatement

BY TAYLOR MCGHEE ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Leslie Blocker, public health senior, is sitting in the mega computer lab of the James E. Shepard Library on the campus N.C. Central University with her eyes locked on a computer screen. She has just hit ‘file, print.’

After hitting print five times Blocker packs up her stuff to leave the library without her three-page paper, a paper due that same morning.

To many students, especially those who don’t have their own computers and printers, campus computer labs can make or break their day.

Blocker is one of the hundreds of students frustrated with printing issue.

She didn’t realize that she had used up her allotment.

NCCU students are alloted $50 for printing per semester. They can see this balance on their EOL page on the Equitrac print account balance.

The problem: Once this balance is at zero students

are unable to print.

If students use their allotment they can contact Eagle Technical Assistance Center and request that it be restored.

Currently, there is not a system to receive additional student payments, though one will eventually be created.

Randi Robertson, political science junior, said that she knows she has a $50 limit, but isn’t afraid of hitting her limit. But she has her own printer.

“I often see students printing or hitting the print button numerous times which will only make the situation worse,” said Robertson.

“When the pages finally print it will be nothing but a waste of paper and there will be too many copies.”

In other words, once you hit print, you are charged for the pages, even if the printer is out of order or out of paper.

But the situation could be worse: Many university’s don’t even have a $50 allotment.

Kimberly Henderson, arts

Students wait for documents to print in the James E. Shepard Library.

JEREMY DONALD/Echo staff photographer

history senior from University of N.C. at Charlotte, said students there have to pay 10 cents

per page whenever they print. The charge for printing color pages, she said, is 25 cents per page.

Bianca Hodge, a senior social work transfer from NCCU to Fayetteville State University, said that FSU’s

policy is the same as UNCC. “I believe it is better this way. I print off only what I need,” said Hodge.

Heshima Project aims to end woman on woman violence B Y N IA B ASKERVILLE ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Just one year ago on Sept.

18, Dominique Frazier, an 18-year-old, Bowie State University freshman, was stabbed and killed with a pair of scissors by her roommate.

“This kind of senseless violence is difficult to understand,” wrote Bowie State officials in a university-wide statement.

“The entire university community is distressed that this type of violence has occurred in their midst.”

The two girls, according to police reports, had argued after the accused shut off music playing on Frazier’s iPod. This tragedy — a result of woman on woman violence — shocked the small Maryland historically black university, which at the time was celebrating its homecoming.

“We don’t want to be one of those schools,” said Chimi Boyd-Keyes, director of N.C Central University’s Woman Center.

“I knew something needed to be done when I began to not just see cases with females physically fighting but actually using weapons.”

Woman on woman violence has become one of the top infractions at NCCU, according to Gary Brown, director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Boyd-Keyes and Brown are determined to address

The Women’s Center is located beside Baynes Residence Hall.

GABRIEL AIKENS/Echo photo editor

the problem with the Heshima Project. Students held responsible for violent acts may be dismissed from the University.

“From this program I hope to see female students become enlightened and to make better decisions when faced with conflict,” said Brown.

Heshima, the Swahili word for “peace,” is designed to address woman-woman disputes with conflict resolution tips and other strategies.

Planning for Heshima began last fall and the project is scheduled to be up and running by Oct. 15.

All women found responsible of assault and battery or endangerment will be required to complete the a five-step program.

According to Jonathan Livingston, an NCCU psychology professor, there is not much research explaining women on women vio-

lence in the AfricanAmerican community.

“Any time you have a group of people with significant needs and lacking resources—it opens doors for chaos,” said Livingston.

“I think this is what the issue boils down to.”

The issue is even central to popular culture, which legitimizes AfricanAmerican women’s rage and loss of control in programs such as “Love-n-Hip Hop,” and “Basketball Wives.”

When Evelyn Lozada, star of “Basketball Wives,” explained her violent behavior to Iyanla Vanzant on “Iyanla Fix My Life,” she put it this way: “That’s how every women in my family dealt with conflict.

That’s how my life was. My life— it’s always been chaos.”

It’s a cycle of violence that the Heshima Project is designed to break.

Campus Echo @campusecho

Beyond NCCU

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

N

O R TH

C

A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

UN

IVER SITY

Vietnamese community treating taboos on cancer The idea that women ‘did someting to deserve’ it persists

Phuoung Ngo, left, and Bich Van Nguyen both suffer from cancer.

The two Vietnamense women are shown in Fountain Valley, California, on July 16, 2012.

FRANCINE ORR/Los Angeles Times (MCT)

BY ERIN LOURY LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

LOS ANGELES — When Bich Van Nguyen learned she had lymph node cancer last year, powerful waves of shame and despair overcame her.

She avoided her doctor for three months. She contemplated suicide.

Vietnamese cultural convictions intensified her dark feelings of responsibility. “I didn’t realize how bad my karma was,” said Nguyen, 46, who emigrated from Vietnam in 1990. “I just wanted to walk alone.”

Her knowledge of cancer was limited to an ingrained belief: She must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve this punishment. Such cause-and-effect thinking runs so strong in many Asian cultures, experts say, that some people fear that talking about cancer could bring on the disease.

“Cancer is a very taxing disease,” said Anne Coscarelli, a psychologist who directs the Simms/Mann-UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology.

“If you feel personally responsible for it, then the amount of suffering is magnified.”

The clash of cultural mores and modern cancer medicine is especially problematic among the large Vietnamese populations of Orange County, Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County. Cervical and liver cancer rates are disproportionately high, with Vietnamese women five times more likely to develop cervical cancer than nonHispanic white women.

Rates of Pap smear tests and colonoscopies lag behind those of other ethnic groups and below federal screening targets.

Vietnamese women also face taboos against discussing breasts or cancer linked to sexually transmitted diseases, which can exacerbate the challenges of diagnosing and treating malignancies early, health experts say.

Over the last decade, health professionals have made inroads and increased cancer awareness and acceptance in the Vietnamese community.

They’re ready to die. Some of them don’t bother to get treatment; they just give up and shut down.

CAROLYNN NGUYEN PROGRAM MANAGER, VIETNAMESE AMERICAN CANCER FOUNDATION

But cultural obstacles, lack of insurance, language barriers and poor access to health services still contribute to scores of avoidable or premature cancer deaths among Vietnamese Americans, officials say.

Though many cancers are now survivable, a Vietnamese saying persists: “Cancer will lead you to death,” bolstering the notion that a person with the disease did something to deserve it, health advocates say.

“It causes people to hold people back from asking questions and seeking information,” said Jacqueline Tran, a health director at the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance.

Carolynn Nguyen, a program manager at the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation in Fountain Valley, has seen the fatalistic attitude among Vietnamese clients diagnosed with breast cancer.

“They’re ready to die,” she said. “Some of them don’t bother to get treatment; they just give up and shut down.”

Sexual taboos associated with female cancers also make it difficult to address the topics directly, particularly among older and more traditional women.

Discussing breasts — which are sometimes called “flower buds” — is considered immodest. Breast cancer is often vaguely referred to as chest cancer, said Ching Wong, executive director of the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project based at UC San Francisco.

“We have to not stigmatize it and bring it up front and say, ‘Breast cancer is breast cancer,’” he said. “’Chest’ is a totally different thing.”

Cervical cancer carries a particularly strong stigma because it can be sexually transmitted through the human papilloma virus.

Some Vietnamese women worry that getting a test would label them as promiscuous. Or they mistakenly believe they cannot contract the cancer if they are monogamous, said Ngoc BuiTong, chair of the Vietnamese Reach for Health Coalition in Fremont, near San Francisco.

Likewise, older Vietnamese women can be reluctant to ask a male doctor for a Pap test or mammogram.

Outreach efforts stressing that cervical and breast cancer are preventable help encourage women to seek annual tests, Wong said.

Training community members as lay health workers can also reinforce the message.

In San Jose, the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project coached Vietnamese women in cervical cancer education, which they then shared through social networks.

The result: Nearly half of their untested family and friends scheduled Pap tests for the first time.

Asian women also feel cultural pressure to put their family’s needs before their own, health experts say. Some Vietnamese mothers juggle taking care of children, husbands, parents and in-laws at the expense of their health, said Bichlien Nguyen, a breast oncologist in Fountain Valley who helped found the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation. “I have young women who have very bad cancer, and they have refused treatment sometimes because it takes too much of their time.”

Health workers are trying to tap that family dedication to alter behavior.

“If you take care of your health, then you will be here to care for your family,” Tran said.

That’s also the message promoted in a weekly show on Santa Ana-based Little

5

Saigon Radio. Started by Bichlien Nguyen, the show encourages screening and seeks to dispel misconceptions about cancer. “Cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence at all,” the oncologist said.

Nguyet Anh Nguyen, 56, of Fremont was open about her breast cancer diagnosis, which became obvious when she lost her hair during radiation treatment.

But a friend with breast cancer donned a wig to hide her own diagnosis from her in-laws. Her friend feared she would be blamed for bringing bad genes or bad karma into the family, Nguyen said.

But talking candidly about cancer ultimately helped her own family, said Nguyen, whose cancer is now in remission.

“They think cancer is something scary; it just holds them back,” she said.

“They just ignore it.... I keep telling them, ‘If you find it early, you can treat it.

It’s treatable.’ “ This past year, all nine of Nguyen’s brothers, some as old as 65, requested a colonoscopy for the first time.

For Bich Van Nguyen, the Garden Grove woman with lymph node cancer, the disease has taken a physical and emotional toll.

Divorced, unemployed and unable to afford a place of her own, Nguyen and her two children rented a room in a Vietnamese family’s home in Garden Grove.

When the owners heard about Nguyen’s cancer, they wanted her out, she said.

They feared she might die in their home or spread her cancer to them.

She recently moved, but said her new landlord also started complaining when he found out about her cancer.

Lacking transportation, she walks to all of her doctor visits. At times, the grueling chemotherapy made her wonder if dying would be easier.

Nguyen’s lifeline has been a monthly cancer support group. “It lifts me up emotionally,” she said.

A few weeks ago, her doctor offered her a fresh reason for hope. After eight exhausting months of treatment, her cancer is in remission.

FAMU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 required students to have at least a 2.0 to participate in student organizations.

Public universities in Florida generally consider students to be at risk of failing when they drop below a 2.0, prompting schools to issue students a warning or place them on academic probation. If students continue to get poor grades, they can be dismissed.

The records indicate the band fell short of its own goal of being a “role model of excellence” in academics and other areas.

The average cumulative GPA of the 230 band members whose GPAs were released to the Sentinel was a 2.48 — a C average.

Eric Rombach-Kendall, president of the College Band Directors National Association, said eligibility standards for marching bands vary from institution to institution, but a high number of band members with GPAs below a “C” indicates a problem.

“It suggests there’s a culture there that needs to change,” he said. “It suggests they’re really not serious about school.”

Rombach-Kendall, director of bands at the University of New Mexico, said the cumulative GPA of his 140-member band is well above a 3.0 — a B average.

He described a cumulative 2.48 as “academic mediocrity.”

Castell Bryant, who was interim president at FAMU from 2005 to 2007, expressed disappointment in band members’ low grades. She also questioned whether FAMU should have allowed students with GPAs of less than 2.0 to travel and perform with the band.

“If a student has a 1.0 or less, now that is ridiculous,” she said.

Bill Jennings of Orlando, the longest-serving member of FAMU’s board of trustees, echoed Bryant’s concern about students with GPAs below 2.0 participating in FAMU’s high-stepping show band.

He said Friday that he planned to press the administration for more details and expected FAMU’s interim president, Larry Robinson, to take a closer look at the issue.

“I just need to understand how it happened, and make sure we put in

place steps so it doesn’t happen again,” Jennings said.

He stressed that the university’s decision several months ago to hire a “compliance officer” for the music department will help control who joins the ensemble, which has been suspended indefinitely since shortly after Champion’s death.

This past summer, FAMU unveiled a list of other changes designed to make it harder to get into the band and stay in.

Before former President James Ammons resigned in July amid the growing scandal over hazing and other problems at the school, he established a minimum GPA of 2.5 for incoming band members.

Almost half of last fall’s band members had GPAs lower than 2.5.

Robinson said Friday that “we have addressed GPA concerns and other issues, and have put new measures in place.”

“We are in the process of hiring a compliance officer in the music department who will monitor academic eligibility requirements, travel procedures and the collection of fees,” Robinson, who was traveling out of state on Friday, told the Sentinel in an e-mail.

“When the marching band returns, FAMU will require participants to be full-time students, limit their practice hours to 20 per week and limit their participation in the band to their first four years at FAMU. We believe we have addressed the issues raised by these (GPA) figures.”

FAMU already has been criticized in recent months for its low graduation rates and long-standing policy of admitting large numbers of highschool students who fail to meet the State University System’s basic entry criteria for such things as SAT scores and high school GPAs. FAMU’s longtime band director Julian White, who announced in May that he was retiring after fighting for months to keep his job, declined to comment for this article, his spokesman said.

Jennings said his review of band member GPAs did offer some good news — 46 students had GPAs above 3.0, including five with perfect 4.0s.

“That’s something I really felt good about and proud of,” he said.

Campus Echo @campusecho www.campusecho.com campusecho@nccu.edu 919.530.7116

Dame’s Downtown DC ‘W’ Crew W

6

N

O R TH

C

E D N E S D A Y

,O

AR O LIN A

CTO BE R

C

10, 2012

EN TRAL

UN

7

IVERSI T Y

Photography by Morgan Crutchfield Working with people and working with Dame’s has made me realize that whatever I do later in life, I don’t want it to be a desk job, where I don’t interact with people.

I like to interact with people.

ZURI POWELL MANAGER

I like working at Dame’s because everyday is payday.

I am also building my people skills at every table I serve because every customer has a different personality.

I am learning how to think quick on my feet.

SHASHU BELCHER WAITRESS

I love my co-workers. They make working at Dame’s feel like more than just my place of employment. We have each others’ backs. Don’t mess with the DCW crew.

DESMOND RANDALL KITCHEN CHEF

I like my flexible work schedule and the challenge of dealing with crazy customers all while smiling.

And later laughing because ordering food is not that serious.

The people I get to work with are more than just my co-workers. I feel as if we are more like close friends than people who just work in the same place.

AUTUMN PARKER WAITRESS

A&E

8 NO

R T H

C

A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

UN

IVER SITY

FRANCO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Starting Out When Franco was a kid, his dad would visit. This was in Euless, Tx. Franco’s dad drew pictures for him.

It was how they connected — drawing.

Later, Franco found comic books, Star Wars, graffiti art and hip hop. But before all that, it was a father-son thing.

“I used to just kind of draw things all the time,” said Franco. “I would sit in the back of the class with a coloring book. Just sit in back and color.”

It started that way. A little kid mimicking his dad.

During high school, Franco moved to Durham with his mom, and later graduated from N.C. Central University with a bachelor’s degree in visual communication. He might be Texas-born, but Franco is a Durham guy.

Influences Franco said comic books were important to him as a kid. Daredevil and Batman.

The Avengers and X-Men. He’s big into Star Wars.

Way back when, he looked at photographs and copied them onto paper.

Just a kid, drawing what he saw.

Franco’s mom played ’70s and ’80s music in the house. Soul. Funk.

“I hope I’ve captured a ’70s kind of feel in my art,” said Franco. “I get a lot of that because my mom was the kind of mom that played Michael Jackson and The Commodores.”

Later, Franco got into hip hop. He injected that influence into his work. “[My art] is urban pop art. I feel it has an urban quality – I love hip hop — it comes through in my work,” said Franco.

Graffiti art lurks in

Franco’s work as well. He said New York City subway murals by Futura 2000 and Lee Quinones inspired him, “I really like that old school kind of flavor.”

Franco’s time at NCCU played a large role in his development. He said he created original art for “Ex Umbra,” the undergraduate literary magazine.

He experimented with Afro-Cuban and AfricanAmerican images, and later incorporated those into his current work.

Then there’s Keith Haring. Franco said Haring’s work — complex, vibrant drawings and paintings with layered messages — is a huge influence.

Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, and died in 1990. Haring’s work often spoke about his struggle in a time of intense public hostility toward AIDS victims.

“During that time it had to be tough,” said Franco. “I thought that was impressive, that he did that and used it as a platform.”

Visual Activism For Franco, visual activism works by starting conversations about equality, and by paying homage to those he calls “soldiers of the front lines of equality.”

“I wanted to honor those who came before me and fought for equality,” said Franco. “I’ve experienced racism first-hand. I kind of carried that with me as I grew up and went to Central.”

Sean Palmer is assistant director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University, where Franco’s work is on display through Oct. 31.

“Franco’s style is a mix of new age digital media—I’ll call it hip hop art. He’s remixing the ’60s

and ’70s images,” said Palmer.

Palmer said what he loves about Franco’s work is that it asks viewers to think and reexamine their relationship with cultural icons.

“It’s almost like the rebirth of cool. If you took cool and consciousness, and combined them —- that’s what Franco’s work is,” said Palmer.

Many of Franco’s pieces feature civil rights activists like Martin Luther King, Jr., Angela Davis, Fred Hampton, Bobby Seale, Malcolm X, and others.

“Franco’s work is asking you to pay attention to what you think you know,” said Palmer. “You might know Martin Luther King, Jr., but do you know Martin Luther King, Jr. in relation to Malcolm X?” Franco’s recurring fist pick image politicizes his work in a way that conjures empowerment.

“I’m trying to educate people on things that have happened in the past and bring it into the present,” said Franco. “It’s almost like candy. It’s really sweet, but there’s a bit more to it.”

Franco said the fist pick symbolizes revolution and unity for him.

“A revolution not of color, but of mindset, of freedom, justice and unity,” said Franco. “It’s really crucial that we attack the youth with tolerance.”

Palmer said Franco’s choices in subject display his unique mindset and creativity.

“These are people who are foregrounders in civil rights work,” said Palmer.

“What does it mean to have a civil rights foregrounder on your wall?”

n See FRANCO Page 9

The AC project

N.C. A&T perform during the 9th annual Battle of the Bands.

Echo File Photo

B Y A LEX SAMPSON ECHO A&E EDITOR

College and high school bands from North Carolina are polishing their drums and tooting their trumpets preparing for the 10th annual Battle of the Bands.

HBCUs including N.C. Central University, N.C. A&T and Winston-Salem State University will meet on the field later this month to compete. Hillside High School and ten other high schools will join them.

The event is a part of the AC Project. The AC Project brings together bands from HBCUs and high schools to compete. Schools from Atlanta, Charlotte, Fayetteville and Washington D.C. have previously competed.

Adrian Carroll is the mind behind the project.

Carroll owns the AC Entertainment & Marketing Firm, LLC. Since graduating from St. Augustine’s University, he has planned around 500 events and worked with renowned clients such as Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, B.E.T. and Kanye West.

Carroll said that most

people are under the impression his inspiration comes from playing in a band. In reality, though, Carroll has no experience being in a band, much less playing an instrument.

Instead, he attributes his dream to a literal dream.

“One day, I had a dream about putting a Battle of the Bands on,” said Carroll.

“Most of my ideas come from a dream.”

His mind made up, Carroll began to research bands and sought guidance from someone with experience. Carroll said he turned to the former band director of Hillside High School, Xavier Cason. Cason taught Carroll what he would need to do to execute such a big event. In order to make his dream a reality, Carroll would need money — $20,000 to be exact.

While searching for a sponsor, Carroll chanced upon the opening he needed. Carroll was introduced to Don P. Roberts, a producer from the hit movie “Drumline,” and gained his support and sponsorship.

With the funds in his wallet, Carroll spent six months planning the Battle of the

Bands that took place in Durham in 2003.

“My first Battle of the Bands drew over 5,000 people,” said Carroll.

Carroll said the driving force behind the AC Project is the youth. At the time of the first competition, gangs were on the rise. Since the project has taken off, Carroll has seen a positive change in the students he works with.

“For a lot of students, it is an outlet for them to stay away from gangs and other negative things,” said Carroll.

Not only does the competition provide discipline, but it also provides an opportunity for better education.

Two years ago, Carroll partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to save the arts.

Thurgood will provide $20,000 in scholarships for the upcoming event.

“I love to give back to the community,” said Carroll.

The Battle of the Bands will take place on Oct. 21 at O’Kelly Riddick Stadium.

Tickets are $14 in advance and can be purchased at the NCCU Ticket office.

“MLK Jr. and Malcolm X” by Luis Franco.

Image courtesy Luis Franco

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

NO

R TH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 Aesthetics

A R O L I N A

C

9

E N T RAL

UN

IVERSITY

Behind the curtain

FRANCO The art world hasn’t exactly welcomed fine art created with digital tools. Franco is a graphic designer at his nineto-five job, and he does most of his fine art on a computer.

He doesn’t have, nor does he need, a studio.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge if you’re dealing with certain crowds in the art community,” said Franco.

Franco illustrates by hand using pencil, pen and paper.

He then scans the images and manipulates them.

“There was a time when we had cave painting. There were no brushes or commercial paints,” said John Pelphrey, who co-owns with his wife, local artist Kelly Dew, the LabourLove Gallery at Durham’s Golden Belt.

“With every new tool comes an opportunity to do new work.”

Pelphrey said some artists who show work in museums – major, million-dollar-sale type artists – don’t even touch pieces attributed to them.

Instead, they tell assistants what they want and supervise the execution.

Dew said artists can’t worry about opposition to new techniques. Doing good work is what matters. Artists need to find their voices.

“The goal is, you put it out there as much as you can, and you don’t worry if people like it,” said Dew. “There comes a point as an artist when you say ‘I’m going to do what I’m going to do.’”

Franco’s combination graphic design and fine art is about conveying a message.

He gravitated to pop art because he wanted to grab attention the same way Warhol did with his famous “Campbell’s Soup Cans.”

Franco created a number of pieces in response to Warhol, including prints of

C

A&E

Goya kidney bean cans and Sriracha hot sauce bottles.

Franco said he wanted to create work that featured foods he grew up on.

“I thought it was interesting that Warhol’s pieces were so popular,” said Franco. “I wanted to introduce how I see America now. ‘Campbell’s Soup Can’ is no longer a good representation of America.

Times have changed. I just wanted to show that change.”

All-C City You’ve seen it, Franco’s art.

You might not know where, but you have.

Franco designed the poster for the Centerfest Arts Festival this year. He’s shown work at Durham’s Beyú Caffe and Bean Traders. Franco holds space for his work in LabourLove Gallery at Golden Belt.

That’s just in Durham.

Franco is the featured artist at Busboys and Poets, a restaurant in Hyattsville, Md., through February of next year. Last winter he displayed his work at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

“Franco hustles. That’s what he does. He works hard,” said Pelphrey. “He definitely tries to seek out, not just art galleries, but other places for people to find his work.”

Pelphrey said Franco has played a major role in the downtown Durham renaissance of the past few years.

“Franco seems to have become a part of that legacy, part of that evolution in downtown Durham,” said Pelphrey.

“When Franco does a poster for somebody locally, you know it’s his.”

Luis Franco’s work shows at the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University through Oct. 31. His work is also available for purchase and viewing at LabourLove Gallery and at francoproject.com.

Stage managers bring theater productions to life

BY M ATT P HILLIPS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Off stage is where the real magic happens.

Without assertive, dedicated stage managers a theatrical production is dead in the water.

Assistant Theater Professor Stephanie Howard, known as Asabi, is directing the N.C. Central University production of “The Color Purple,” which opened Oct. 5 at University Theater and runs through Oct. 13.

Asabi said stage managers act as the director’s right hand. And they often call the shots during showtime.

“Ideally, stage managers call the show. They are in the booth telling the technicians what to do,” said Asabi.

Theater senior and stage manager JaMeeka Holloway, along with two assistant stage managers, is running the show for “The Color Purple.”

“The Color Purple” is based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The story centers on Celie, a girl raised under the oppressive abuse of her father, and follows her growth into a self-respecting, virtuous woman.

Holloway said her job can be difficult, but it’s important for her to take pressure off the director, and to take charge during the week leading up to the first show.

“We kind of serve as a liaison between the cast and the crew,” said Holloway.

“At the end of the day everything falls back on the

Marissa Gainey, Betty Reynolds and JaMeeka Holloway set the stage for “The Color Purple.”

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo Editor-in-Chief

stage manager.”

Holloway and her assistants, senior Marissa Gainey and junior Betty Reynolds, both theater majors, put in long hours to bring a production to life.

Gainey said stage managing feels like a full-time job, but she enjoys her position because it requires a select set of skills.

“It [stage managing] was everything that I was already good at. It’s being a leader, being passionate, because this job is not a job for everyone to do,” said Gainey.

For Reynolds, stage managing is about paying attention to detail. She said things always change as a production matures, and it’s her job to keep track of those changes.

“You just have to be attentive at all times,” said Reynolds. “We take notes

on all the blocking — actor stage movement — and on show nights, we call it.”

Holloway said mistakes are magnified for stage managers. The responsibility for the outcome of the show rests on them, and while they always share in the success, sometimes failure is all on them.

“That’s the hard part about stage management.

Everything is aimed at you, you just have to accept that,” said Holloway.

But as a production gets tighter, usually after the second show, things get a little easier.

“When we head into the third or fourth show it gets routine,” said Gainey. “It gets less stressful the more shows we do.”

Stage management also serves as another opportunity for a career in theater.

Asabi said stage man-

agers can find well-paid work in the industry.

Holloway said she wants to move from stage management to directing.

She said the more productions she has under her belt the more people will recognize her talents.

“Them being able to see you’re really honest about your work and really passionate opens the door for new opportunities,” said Holloway.

“I’m definitely a theaterhead. I love the realness and liveliness of the theater.”

The NCCU production of “The Color Purple” shows Oct. 12 and 13 at 8 p.m.

An early afternoon showing is Oct. 14 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for students and seniors.

For ticket information call 919-530-5170.

Sports

10 N

O R TH

C

A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

UN

IVER SITY

Champagne life more than dance NCCU cheerleaders dedicate time, effort to support athletes

The Champagne cheerleaders practice twice a week.

GABRIEL AIKENS/Echo photo editor

BY

DANIELLE HUNTER ECHO STAFF REPORTER

N.C. Central University football games are rowdy.

On the sidelines, the roaring cheers of NCCU’s varsity

cheerleaders, Champagne, uplift the crowd.

Champagne’s goal is to support the team and keep the crowd engaged.

“Cheering is more than looking pretty,” said mass communication junior Renee

Natson. “It’s about cheering your team to victory.”

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the McLendonMcDougald Gymnasium the women of Champagne practice the intricate cheers they

perform at football and men’s basketball games.

From precise leg kicking, rhythmic hand swinging and hair whipping, every single woman gives 100 percent to perfect her skills.

“We show up and show out,” said public health senior and Champagne captain India Johnson.

Looking like a complete unit, Champagne dresses in black tank tops and shorts with the traditional white tube socks and cheer shoes.

During cheer practice, the thunderous sound of Champagne echoes throughout the gym and “N-C-C-U Eagles” can be heard even in the halls. The women run through routines repeatedly until everyone is completely in sync.

The squad consists of 12 women with different majors ranging from criminal justice to biology, but they find unity in cheerleading.

“Every individual brings a different level of creativity to the squad, which is why our cheers are one of a kind,” said Natson.

Being a part of the elite Champagne squad is

PARALYMPIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Her team would go on to win the gold medal without her. In 2008, her team would win another gold medal, but because of her retirement in 2006 she missed out on that gold medal also.

She came out of retirement in 2009 for the 2012 Paralympics.

This year the team wasn’t able to bring back any medals. They lost to Australia 40-39 in the gold medal match after a controversial no call.

Woodson-Smith does her best work when she’s busy.

“It’s routine for me,” she said. “If I have a lot of free time I tend to get lazy.”

Woodson-Smith has lived by that mentality her whole life. She balanced school and basketball before being diagnosed with arthritis in the hips. It cut her basketball career

short during her senior year at James Madison University.

“I’ve done this my entire life,” Woodson-Smith said.

“I’ve always been involved in sports, and had to deal with homework and keep my grades up.”

After obtaining her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University, Woodson-Smith completed her master’s program at NCCU. She would later earn her doctorate at Texas Woman’s University in 2006. It was in Texas that Woodson-Smith discovered wheelchair basketball.

A disability sports class was one of the classes she had to take in route to her degree. It was in that class she went to Dallas to watch the women’s wheelchair basketball team.

She learned that she was actually eligible to play, and

PROMPT • PROFESSIONAL • COURTEOUS

NCCU STUDENT DISCOUNTS some restrictions apply

for reservations 919.682.0437 855.682.0437 (toll free) reservations@abctaxicabdurham.com all major credit cards accepted see us on the web at www.abctaxicabdurham.com

Are you looking for a rewarding career where you can use your major and help people?

Residential Services is currently looking for Direct Support Professionals to work in our group homes for children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Entry-level positions available, no experience necessary! Gain valuable experience beyond the classroom and make a difference in the lives of others. Part-time ($10.10/hr.) and full-time positions ($10.20/hr.) available.

Apply online at www.rsi-nc.org

through heavy recruiting by one team member Woodson-Smith joined the Dallas Lady Mavericks.

Her professor at the time allowed her one day out of the month to miss class and practice with the team in Dallas.

“You got those responsibilities, and if you don’t do those you don’t play the sport,” Woodson-Smith said.

Being a professor and athlete Woodson-Smith knows she has to set an example for student-athletes in her classes.

NCCU graduate and former softball player Andrea Searls took WoodsonSmith’s Adaptive PE class.

“She was definitely a role model to me,” Searls said. “She showed how to work out and give 100 percent to her sport, and students.”

Woodson-Smith said that in whatever she does she makes sure she practices what she preaches.

When not competing in the Paralympics, playing for the Rolling Charlotte Bobcats or Lady Mavericks in Dallas, Woodson-Smith spends her time training.

Her limited hours of leisure time force Woodson-Smith to train during the semester. She gets up every day at 4:30 a.m. so she can beat the crowd to the gym.

“If volleyball has the gym at 5:30 a.m., then I

need to be here at 5:15 to get my court,” WoodsonSmith said.

She trains until 8 a.m., focusing on chair skills or lifting weights in the chair, and then she heads to work. After work she participates in any group exercises in the L.T. Walker Complex or lifts weights in the evening. She repeats this schedule five days a week.

“It’s pretty much a job,” Woodson-Smith said.

“Whatever I can do that’s going to give me the extra edge that’s what I do.”

This past summer Woodson-Smith turned up her training regimen. She stayed in Texas for a month and trained with one of her teammates before heading to Wisconsin with the entire team. After that she came back to North Carolina to participate in training camp before leaving for London.

Two Eagles joined Woodson-Smith in London for the Paralympics. NCCU Law Professor Kathleen Wallace served as the Ombudsman for the U.S. at the Paralympics, and Woodson-Smith’s biggest supporter, her husband Jeremy Smith who also is a wheelchair basketball athlete.

“I do not like flying, but if it involves being there for my better half, I will put aside my fear and be there for her no matter what,” he said.

EAGLELAND T-shirtssweatspolo shirtsdecals license tagstote bagslicense frames baseball capsbuttonsmugscapscar flags penspencilspennantspom poms bagsceramic eaglestowels NCCU framed print, and much more.

Serving N.C. Central University If we don’t have it, we will get it.

If we can’t get it, it’s probably not worth having!

We have the best prices on Earth.

We do custom orders.

And we deliver on occasion!

Marvin Bass, Owner 2501 Fayetteville St. Durham, NC 27707

919 956-5393 eagleland@hotmail.com

demanding. The women perform for home and away games during football season and all home games for men’s basketball.

The women in Champagne must balance being a student, athlete and having jobs on or off campus.

“It’s all about having discipline and structure to help organize the different parts of life,” said criminal justice senior and cheer captain Johnae’ Stoutamire.

In the summer, a conditioning coach teaches the ladies about healthy nutrition, speaking intelligently and proper etiquette.

“The program is not just about getting the material,” said Head Cheerleading Coach and Marketing Director LuAnn EdmondsHarris. “We are going from head to toe.”

Edmonds-Harris has headed the cheerleaders at NCCU for 20 years.

The cheerleaders are given critical thinking scenarios and challenged mentally. Edmonds-Harris stresses that she wants the cheerleaders to be able to handle themselves in different situa-

tions and always display sportsmanship whether they win or lose.

The women go through extensive transformations during their transition from junior varsity to varsity.

“Being a varsity cheerleader has definitely molded me into the woman I am today,” said Johnson.

“Cheerleading has given me the chance to strengthen my leadership, communication and verbal skills from cheering at a game to talking to professionals.”

The cheerleaders are not given scholarships. They volunteer their time and dedication.

“I have been cheerleading since the second grade and I’m still going,” said Stoutamire. “This is not a hobby to me. It is my passion and heart.”

Champagne always strives to be the best. The women take their roles in uplifting the crowds and supporting the teams to heart.

Stoutamire and Johnson both said NCCU Champagne cheerleaders are classy, elegant, talented and fierce.

Reid’s redemption

Jordan Reid earned back the starting quarterback spot.

MATT PHILLIPS/Echo editor-in-chief

BY

TRENTON LITTLE

ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

Pain.

That was what redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Reid felt after not being named the starting quarterback at the end of training camp.

After a long competitive battle for the top spot, transfer Matt Goggans was the one chosen to lead the Eagles.

“It hurt, but I couldn’t let that discourage me,” Reid said.

Reid entered the offseason as the No. 1 quarterback on the Eagles’ depth chart.

Goggans was second, and redshirt freshman Quenton Rucker was third.

“It was definitely a huge letdown because I worked so hard for the spot, and not to see my hard work pay off was frustrating,” Reid said.

Close friend and teammate, redshirt junior wide receiver Marvin Poole was there when the final depth chart was posted for the beginning of the regular season.

“I didn’t see him lose focus,” Poole said. “Jordan has that type of personality where you can’t bring him down but so far, he’s still going to be J.Reid.”

Reid kept the same work ethic and continued to be a student of the game.

“He still would text the receivers telling them to meet him on the field to get some extra work in,” Poole said.

During this time Reid had to learn from his and Goggans’ mistakes in order to become a better leader.

While backing up Goggans in the Eagles’ first two games, Reid made sure he was prepared for his number to be called.

“I prepared myself as if I was the starter, because in the game of football, crazy things happen,” Reid said.

Midway through the first quarter of the Sept. 15 game against the Duke Blue Devils, head coach Henry Frazier III finally called Reid’s number.

Frazier said he replaced Goggans with Reid in an attempt to speed up the tempo and nullify the Blue Devils’ pressure.

Although the Blue Devils cruised to a 54-17 victory, Reid responded. He finished with a career high 218 yards on 17 for 26 pass completions and a rushing touchdown.

Reid would build on that performance the next game with another career high against Savannah State University in his first official start of the season by completing 22 of 34 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

Since then, Reid has taken control of the Eagles offense.

The Eagles have a 2-0 conference record under his leadership and lead the MEAC in total offense with 34 points per game.

Reid contributes his early success to him trusting in his abilities.

“It’s a privilege to be named the starter after working so hard,” Reid said.

Poole said Reid told him, “Marv the game is easy now.”

“When you hear your quarterback talking like that you catch a glance of how special this season can really be,” Poole said.

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

N

O R TH

C

Opinions A R O L I N A

C

E N T R A L

Letters Voting suppression is not our fault!

Dear Editor: The opinion page presented an article, No ID? Your Fault.” I feel that it deserves a reply for clarity and for democracy.

The author paints a simplistic rationale for “all” to have IDs! It is important to understand the current reason for requiring IDs for voting.

What about: Pennsylvania GOP House Leader Mike Turzai allowing “himself to be captured on video saying that the voter ID law he shepherded through the legislature is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”

Now, go figure the intent!

The new voting ID law is not to ensure the legitimacy of the vote, “since there isn’t evidence to support massive voter fraud,” but clearly a means to suppress the vote—discriminatory and a clear voter suppression tactic; even the US Attorney General has called it a poll tax!

Better yet, the Brennan Center for Justice concluded that voter fraud “is essentially irrational, it is

not surprising that no credible evidence suggests a voter fraud epidemic.”

Moreover, the Center stated the following: “The voter fraud cry has been

increasingly used to justify policies that suppress legitimate voters.

But the cry is baseless; allegations of voter fraud— especially polling place impersonation fraud— almost always prove to be inflated or inaccurate.”

There has been a rush for voting ID; the data supports the fact that minorities, the elderly—and college students will suffer more.

Most college IDs are not considered appropriate for voting. Not having a driver’s license or an ID with an expiration date is not a foreign concept—just ask college students, the elder-

Transmission Rapair and Service • Brakes • Exhaust and Mufflers • Shocks, Struts and Suspension Service • Cooling System and Radiator Service • Air Conditining • Maintenance Tune-ups • Factory Recommended Maintenance

AAMCO RTP The Complete Car Care Experts 5116 S. Hwy 55, Durham, NC

919-493-2300

ly, or one supreme court justice in Pennsylvania— who couldn’t vote with his work-related ID. Now, go figure the intent.

Going to a club, buying beer, or cigarettes is not a fundamental right; the right to vote came as a result of blood, sweat, and tears— and yes— deaths!

Comparing these issues are irresponsible and a sad attempt to lessen the struggles of black and white Americans.

Voting is a right!

Better yet: Viviette Applewhhite who didn’t have the proper ID to vote, yet she had voted for over 60 years without one—she is well over 18—and is quite a responsible African American woman to have lived over 90 years of age.

Now, go figure!

Yes, discrimination exists—requiring a voter ID is fundamentally a discriminatory strategy for voting suppression—be guided by the evidence.

Dr. Ed Bell Bell is a 1985 NCCU graduate.

W

UN

11 IVERSITY

Affirmative [class] action

ith the U.S. Supreme Court about to hear arguments in a case testing the University of Texas’ consideration of race as an admissions factor, a new report says some states have found ways of diversifying their student bodies without falling back on skin color and ethnicity.

The report,by researchers at The Century Foundation (tcf.org), argues for moreaggressive affirmative action that focuses on getting low-income and working-class students into college. “A Better Affirmative Action” highlights Texas’ adoption of the “Top 10 Percent Law” as an example of a raceneutral program that has helped enroll more African-American and Hispanic students.

That supports arguments that UT no longer needs to use race as an admissions criteria. But because the report isn’t part of the record in the case of Abigail Fisher v.

University of Texas, it shouldn’t sway the justices.

Even though the report misnames former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales as “Gonzalez,” it

... Some states have found ways of diversifying their student bodies without falling back on skin color and ethnicity. offers fodder worth considering in the broader debate over how universities can enroll student bodies that look like America and increase opportunities for the upward mobility that higher education makes possible.

Seven states _ California, Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, Florida and New Hampshire _ have banned racial consideration in admissions.

Authors Richard Kahlenberg and Halley Potter say universities have used “creative methods of assuring diversity” such as partnering with disadvantaged schools, looking at applicants’ socioeconomic status, expanding financial aid and dropping legacy admissions that disproportionately helped privileged white students.

Those are all good ideas, but are they enough?

The question of what happens without affirma-

tive action based on race and ethnicity looms over the Fisher case, which is set for arguments Wednesday.

Because she wasn’t a Top 10 percent high school graduate, Abigail Fisher didn’t get automatically admitted to UT. She also wasn’t selected from non-automatic applicants, then sued on reverse-discrimination grounds.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year held that UT did not violate the Constitution.

The justices could simply decide whether UT has followed standards set in a 2003 ruling that allowed use of race along with other factors to diversify the student body.

But it’s more likely the court will reconsider that 5-4 decision.

That could remake college admissions. A decision is expected by spring.

This editorial first appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (MCT) on Oct. 4.

Campus Echo @campusecho

PROMPT • PROFESSIONAL • COURTEOUS

NCCU STUDENT DISCOUNTS some restrictions apply

READ AND THEN RECYCLE

for reservations 919.682.0437 855.682.0437 (toll free) reservations@abctaxicabdurham.com all major credit cards accepted see us on the web at www.abctaxicabdurham.com

United Christian Campus Ministry 525 Nelson Street, NCCU Campus

JOIN US! Get involved with Campus Ministries today!

Michael D. Page Campus Minister

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

Opinions

12 NO

R T H

C

A R O L I N A

C

E N TR A L

UN

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012

IVER SITY

Don’t just vote for prez H

istory was made in 2008 when the first black president was elected.

But as time progressed and especially after the 2010 midterm elections, I wondered if race was what clouded the vision of the democratic voters.

Were people more focused on electing a black president or was his platform Riyah really that conExum vincing? I toyed with this question only because in the 2010 midterm elections The Republican Party gained 63 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, six seats in the U.S. Senate, and also gained 680 seats in state legislatures, breaking the previous record of 628 set by the Democrats.

If the Democrats felt so strongly about Obama’s views that they elected him president there was no reason to fall so short in the midterm elections, unless the voters felt their deed was accomplished after

The midterm elections are the next important elections after the presidential. They are important because these elections make up the members of the United States Congress. the presidential elections. The reality is the job was only halfway done.

I would engage in casual conversation from time to time with my friends or classmates and I could tell that they knew about other elections but never knew what they were actually for.

I observed that most were convinced the presidential elections were the only elections that mattered.

Well the truth is this, while every election matters, the midterm elections are the next important elections after the presidential.

They are important because these elections make up the members of the United States Congress and these members are given the authority over the financial and budget policy, the power of taxation, and some-

thing even more important than all of these; the power to declare war.

If you have the power to make change in this world then my advice is to do so. These presidential elections are so crucial this year especially to future and current college students.

However, the midterm elections will decide what laws and restrictions are passed, in ways, this could negatively impact college students, especially if the Republican Party maintains the majority of seats in Congress.

I am not trying to take away from the severity of the presidential elections but explain how these elections and the midterm elections go hand in hand.

Let’s speak hypothetically and say Mitt Romney does win

the presidential election. With the majority of Congress seats being held by Republicans now, it is much easier and certainly possible that the Pell Grant will gain the restrictions he’s talked about in his campaign. Meaning more loans students will have to take out or more money students will have to pay out of pocket.

It may even decrease the rate of high school graduates that attend college because they simply do not have enough money.

There is major power up for grabs when the midterm elections come around and it is time that we notice and play our part in making sure we gain the best outcome.

Controlling our finances and having the ability to send an army of people to risk their lives are major decisions that could end up crumbling the country if the power is in the wrong hands.

This is why it must be stressed that voters make it a point to vote when these elections come around. They affect us in a way that is long term, even when our first black president is out of office.

Debate disappointment E

very four years, the infamous election storms upon us with massive campaigning, commercials and the most important part: the debates. Last week, we saw our current, awesome president, Barack Obama, go head to head with Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

I have to say I did not hear what I expected from Obama.

Mitt, or Mittens as I like Angel to refer to him, Brown with his grey whiskers like a cunning cat, rudely talked over the moderator Jim Lehrer and the president.

He blatantly disrespected Obama while lying through his teeth about his views on taxes, education, and Medicare.

We all witnessed the foolery! He told our president that

Undress the perpetrator we know Mitt Romney is and take your champion status back Obama! he never posed a “5 trillion dollar tax cut” with his ideas on how to get the economy back in stable condition.

In fact, he told Obama that it is his fault the economy is slowly progressing. If I am wrong please inform me. He outright denied his ideals that would lead to increasing taxes for the middle class.

All of a sudden, Mittens has a heart and “cares” for education. Yet, he still has a nonchalant attitude towards the importance of teachers in America.

Apparently, we can hire good teachers or some teachers, according to him. So many opportunities arose where Obama could have easily defeated Mittens's deceitful

approach.

If you have heard or had a glimpse of the secret taping of the fundraiser video where Romney is discussing his and his wife’s upbringing, his view on the people of America, along with other issues and the infamous “47 percent does not pay income taxes” comment, you would know that he was full of junk last week.

At the beginning of his speech he talked about how Ann Romney's family members saved money to send her father to college growing up, and then he commented “I would never do that for my brother.” Really?

But in the debate last night, he turned into a care bear for humanity. He wants to create

12 million jobs and get rid of Obama Care.

Excuse me sir but thanks to Obama Care, us middle/low income college students are able to tend to our health and receive preventive care because of it. Obama dropped the ball in this debate. We need him to reassure us that he will not again.

News channels like MSNBC, CNN and C-SPAN highlighted the points made in the debate, most which ridiculed our president. Poor Obama, we expected Denzel Washington's character from “John Q” to show up, to put Mittens in place and tell him “Shut up, you don’t care about anyone in this room!” It didn’t happen. The next debate will bring forth the fire Obama needs to start before election day. I am positive.

Undress the perpetrator we know Mitt Romney is and take your champion status back, Obama!

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: What did you think about last week’s presidential debate?

“I didn’t pay that much attention to it.”

—Dominique Owens

“I feel like he [Obama] could have been a little more aggressive.”

—Melissa Miller

“I think he did well. I feel like he was wellinformed on what he was going to talk about, unlike Romney.”

—Jenifer MendozaChicas Sound Off By Jonathan Alexander

N ORTH C AROLINA C ENTRAL U NIVERSITY

Campus Echo Matt Phillips, Editor-iin-C Chief

Assistant Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor A&E Editor Online Advisor Photo Editor Social Media Editor Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Staff Photographer Copy Editor Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Staff Reporter Layout Cartoonist Cartoonist

Jonathan Alexander Ciera’ Harris Trent Little Alexandria Sampson Christina Allison Gabriel Aikens Ebony Thornton Morgan Crutchfield Neka Jones Ishmael Hinson Saige Brown Ashley Gadsden Jamila Johnson Jamar Negron Trae Speller Taylor McGahee Jade Jackson Nia Baskerville Danielle Hunter Gregory Weaver Tevin Neely Bobby Faison

Faculty Advisor - Dr. Bruce dePyssler Alumni Advisors - Mike Williams, Sheena Johnson

Letters & Editorials The Echo welcomes letters and editorials. Letters to the editor should be less than 350 words. Editorials should be about 575 words. Include contact information. The Echo reserves the right to edit contributions for clarity, vulgarity, typos and miscellaneous grammatical gaffs. Opinions published in the Echo do not necessarily reflect those of the Echo editorial staff.

E-mail: campusecho@nccu.edu Web address: www.campusecho.com Phone: 919 530 7116Fax: 919 530 7991 © NCCU Campus Echo/All rights reserved The Denita Monique Smith Newsroom Room 348, Farrison-Newton Communications Bldg.

NCCU, Durham, NC 27707

Campus Echo Online campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com campusecho.com