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1801 FAYETTEVILLE STREET DURHAM, NC 27707

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VOLUME 103, ISSUE 3

Photo Feature

Beyond

Sports

A&E

Drizzle doesn’t dampen as thousands attend Durham’s Gay Pride Parade

Unexpected financial crises top cause for dropping out of college.

Now eligible for the postseason in the MEAC. Men’s basketball schedule announced

Durham’s Old Havana “Puts the Cuban back in Cuban Sandwiches”

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Campus Echo Center nixed

‘WORLDS TOGETHER, WORLDS APART’

Orr rescinds law center proposal

BY AARON SAUNDERS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Amidst controversy, student petitions and negative press, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr has rescinded his proposal for a Constitutional Law Center to be housed at N.C. Central University.

“They didn’t want to do it,” Orr said in response to why he withdrew the offer.

The proposal, which was made in an August 19 letter from Orr, called for the law center to be built with $600,000 in start-up funds from the John W. Pope Foundation.

The center drew negative reviews in part because of its connection to the Pope Foundation which is headed by Republican Art Pope, a controversial conservative who owns Variety wholesalers, parent company of discount chains, Roses and Maxway.

Pope provided funding to the campaigns of conservatives aiming to restructure the the Wake County School District, a restructuring many say will reintroduce segregation into the district.

Members of Orikelewa Dancers at Thursday’s International Festival. The dancers, all Nigerian, are members of NCCU’s Association of Students for a Better Africa. In the center is Ifedolapo Aderibigbe, to her left is Ruhkaryat Usman, behind her is Nnenna Ujah and Samuel Oyenekan.

CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor

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hythmic beats, dancing feet, vibrant colors, and the fragrant smell of ‘far away’ spices. It’s the Fifth Annual International Festival, held last Thursday in the Alfonso Elder Student Union. For the last five years the Department of Modern Foreign Languages, the Spanish

Club, “Voces Unidas,” and the Alfonso Elder Student Union have been bringing people together to enrich, connect and educate N.C.

Central students, faculty, staff and community members about countries near and far.

This year 15 different

countries from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe were represented in the festival.

— Naundi Armour

On the outside looking in

NCCU senior fights to be re-admitted after controversial suspension

BY HANNAH HILES ECHO STAFF REPORTER

On August 18, just before the beginning of the fall semester, Roddrick Howell was having a rough day.

He was stressed about work and school. He hadn’t been eating or sleeping.

His car had died that morning. He had one thing on his mind — reading his Bible.

“I was so wound up I couldn’t hardly read the Bible in front of me,” said Howell, who was in the James E. Shepard Library at the time.

“When I started to read it, I couldn’t focus. I asked this random girl, who I didn’t know, I said, ‘Will you please read the Bible with me?’ And she said ‘no.’”

And that’s when some-

Roddrick Howell contemplates his future at NCCU. CHI BROWN/Echo

thing snapped. He grabbed her by the arm. She screamed. And then the police arrived.

He didn’t know it at the time, but he was having a manic episode with psychotic features.

Howell was taken to the

Photo Editor

Williams Ward at Duke University Hospital, where he was placed under medical observation and diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder, an affliction that strikes 1.1 percent of the adult population.

He remained hospitalized until Aug. 26. He was given medication and intensive therapy sessions.

“People think I was at a crazy house,” Howell recalls.

“We have to have a better understanding of how this works, because really they were just talking to me. They explained to me how my condition works.”

While at the Williams Ward he received more bad news: A letter signed

by Assistant Dean of Students Gary Brown arrived, telling Howell he was on interim suspension and that there would be an Aug. 30 judicial hearing to determine whether his suspension would be permanent.

Howell said he met with NCCU therapist Dr.

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No boys? I’ll look elsewhere Surplus of women changing the face of relationships

BY STACEY SMITH ECHO STAFF REPORTER

A recent survey of N.C. Central University students revealed striking findings about how the predominance of women on campus is changing campus relationships.

One NCCU sociology adjunct instructor outlined the situation in which campus men and women find themselves like this: “It

gives men hands up. It gives them more of a variety. It’s their world in terms of dating. They have choices. They have more opportunities.”

In the survey women say they are more likely to initiate relationships than men are, and that they are more likely to look outside their race — or inside their gender — for intimacy.

“I think the lack of males, especially good ones, is making females more open to

same-sex relationships and people from different backgrounds” said one survey respondent.

But it’s not only the gender imbalance, women say, that leads them to look elsewhere – they also say campus men are taking advantage of the situation.

“Most of the guys won’t stick to one girl because there are so many options,” writes one female respondent.

n See LAW CENTER Page 2

Peruvian folk art on display.

MORGAN CRUTCHFIELD/Echo staff photographer

“All these boys see a lot of females every day and they have issues with being faithful,” said one woman.

You have to be “lucky and find a good man,” said another.

“They explore their options,” said a female respondent.

Another woman said, “They treat females like toys. They use and abuse

n See GENDER Page 2

Cash strapped UNC Budget cuts force NCCU to do more with less in 11-12

BY AARON SAUNDERS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

This year N.C. Central University will have to learn how to do more with less, as UNC system budget cuts have left the school with a bare cupboard.

Over 65 NCCU staffers were laid off and several programs were abdicated because of the 15 percent cuts which totaled nearly $14 million.

While the school endowment has risen from $17.1 million in 2010 to $19 million in 2011, cuts have steadily been made each year.

Over the last decade, the university has lost over $46 million in budget cuts.

Compared to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida the UNC system

has been well supported.

“When you compare North Carolina funding for higher education it has been much better historically than is the case with surrounding states,” said Chancellor Charlie Nelms.

According to biology department chair Gregory Cole, “The budget cuts have affected biology in terms of larger class sizes, including having laboratory sections of courses overcapacity.

“Faculty teaching loads have increased, which makes it more difficult for faculty to conduct their research, which is especially vital to junior faculty to satisfy promotion and tenure requirements.

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Res-breakdowns

Students grapple with hall issues.

BY JEROME BROWN JR. AND TOMMIA HAYES ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR AND OPINIONS EDITOR

Two months into the new school year, A/C problems, floods, and issues with cable and Internet have plagued N.C. Central University residence halls.

The flood which occurred in McLean Residence Hall at the

beginning of the semester, didn’t catch political science freshman Paxton Douthit off guard.

“I laughed because I knew it was bound to happen based on stories I heard from other students,” said Douthit.

According to director of residential life Jennifer

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them.”

“One male put the matter bluntly: “Why stick with just chicken when you can have fish as well?”

In the survey of 101 NCCU students, 64 percent of the women agreed with the statement that “females are more likely to be the aggressor, or one who initiates the relationship.”

One woman said, “Females have to be go-getters and take what they want … before another girl does.”

This situation, writes one woman, can lead to “overcompetition when it comes

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to the affection of males.”

She adds: “Instead of building strong female relationships, we are tearing one another down.”

Fewer, 42 percent, of the men surveyed agreed with the statement.

In the survey, 69 percent of the women agreed that “the lack of males leads them to being more open to the idea of dating someone of a different cultural or ethnic background.”

A female respondent said, “For myself, anyways, I don’t care what color you are as long as you’re handsome.”

Another woman writes: “There’s nothing wrong with interracial dating. I myself have never dated a black man.”

And another summarizes the situation: “They [women] pretty much go out and get who they can, pretty much.”

Fewer men, 54 percent, thought women would be open to dating outside their ethnicity.

Although no questions were asked regarding whether women might be

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Carolyn Moore, and psychologist Dr. Carol Gibbs before the hearing and was encouraged by what they said.

He said they had found him in stable mental condition and wrote letters supporting his return to NCCU. According to Howell, both said they thought his interim suspension would be thrown out, given the circumstances surrounding his behavior in the library.

The hearing lasted an hour and a half.

The next day, Howell was given the results of the hearing — expulsion from NCCU for a full year, the maximum allowed sentence.

“I was shocked. I just thought that with the medical procedure, it would have changed the outcome of the case,” said Howell.

“Here I have just found out about this condition, and they’re tellin’ me, ‘No, we’re gonna kick you outta school.’”

So Howell began to build his appeal. He found a lawyer, who showed him he hadn’t received due process according to his rights in the Student Code of Conduct.

In a Sept. 7 letter to Chancellor Charlie Nelms, Howell described his diagnosis and outlined seven items that he says were violated by NCCU: There was no pretrial hearing; he was not read his rights; he was not given the option between a University committee or an administrative hearing; he was not given a student representative for the hearing; his parents were not contacted; he was not

told he could have an attorney present; and he was not allowed to see evidence or witness testimony prior to the hearing.

Howell brought three letters to the appeal, showing that with proper medication he could maintain good mental health. Gibbs, Moore and Dr. Julie Adams, a Duke University Hospital psychiatrist, wrote the letters.

In her Sept. 2 letter, addressed to Kevin Rome, vice chancellor of Student Affairs and E n r o l l m e n t Management, Moore writes: “Mr. Howell has been diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder, one which many college students across the country live with and successfully manage on a daily basis.

“He understands the importance of medication compliance and individual counsel for additional assistance with stress, time and sleep management. ...

“I also believe that he can successfully return to his classes and manage his college life with the psychiatric support available to him through Student Health and Counseling Services.”

But Howell’s appeal was denied and his suspension will last until fall 2012.

In a Sept. 22 letter sent to Chancellor Nelms, one that appeals the year-long suspension, Howell restates his claim that NCCU violated its own policies.

Here he states that he was asked to sign off on the charges and evidence against him while

n See HOWELL Page 3

Wilder, after the flood in McLean the issue was fixed.

“We had Brown Brothers (a plumbing company) figure out where the blockage was and the issue was resolved.”

Wilder encourages students to utilize resources given to them to have their problems heard.

According to Wilder, School Dude, an online work order system that was implemented at the beginning of the school year, can expedite repairs.

New Residence Hall II has faced problems with air conditioning, leaving some students uncomfortable.

“If you look on students thermometers the temperature is as high as 87 degrees sometimes,” said computer science freshman Devon Starks.

“At this point I’m ready to move back home ... at least there I have working hot water and air conditioning.”

Wilder said that a defective sensor caused the problem.

“But sometimes,” she explained, “when you’re dealing with a building that size the equipment or the part you need, it takes a while for that part to come.”

Recently opened Chidley North Residential Hall has been without cable since the building was opened in August.

According to Wilder the building was turned over to the University too late have the cable installed.

She said the installation from Time Warner Cable is forthcoming.

Wilder said she wants students to know that their complaints are being heard and addressed, despite the perception that they aren’t.

“We are busy, but if students email us and call and ask to make an appointment, people will make time to see them and answer their questions,” she said.

LAW CENTER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Pope played a significant role funding the conservative takeover of the N.C. General Assembly.

On Monday night, The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) highlighted the role Pope may play in the 2012 presidential elections, a role that will prove crucial since North Carolina is expected to be a key swing state in the election.

“This time he is going to pull out all the stops,” said BlueNC blogger James Protzman. “He has a model and it works … it worked in 08 and 10.”

Pope’s conservative leanings had law school alumni and current students so concerned that they sent letters and a petition to NCCU law school dean Raymond Pierce opposing the proposed law center.

In the petition, titled “Prevent the Radical Right, Tea Party Financier Art Pope from meddling with the curriculum, Mission and Legacy of NCCU School of Law,” students ques-

tioned the authenticity of the offer, and expressed concern that there may be strings attached.

The petition was blunt: “We fear that the controversial and divisive background of Art Pope will tarnish our school’s image and contradict the mission and legacy of NCCU School of Law.” Orr withdrew the proposal in a Sept. 27 letter to the Pierce and Law School Associate Dean Wendy Scott, even before the faculty committee voted on whether or not to accept or deny the center.

In the letter Orr says he appreciates their positive response to the proposal, but notes that “there have been unfortunate misapprehensions about the governance and mission of such a center.”

Law school dean Raymond Pierce could not be reached for comment on this story.

“I think it’s a loss for the school and a loss for the students,” said Orr.

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“The budget reductions have also resulted in biology being able to offer less tutoring services to students, which is a campus-wide issue now.”

Most affected by the cuts are students who will have to battle oversized classrooms and fewer course sections to select from.

“Budget cuts are affecting students the most,” said psychology senior Andrea Barrow.

“It’s because of the budget cuts that tuition and fees increase which causes students to apply for more financial aid or lighten their load.

“So in essence students will either have to stay longer than they intended or take more loans.”

According to Sharon Oliver, director of Scholarship and Aid, state budget cuts will have no effect on financial aid.

“The University held financial aid harmless and did not cut our budget,” said Oliver.

According to NCCU alumnus and current representative of North Carolina’s District 31 H.M. Michaux, the budget cuts were initially brought to the table by Republicans in the house and have trickled down to the education system.

“This is going to set our education system back 15 years,” said Michaux.

Gov. Bev Perdue opposed the higher education cuts to the 16 UNC universities.

In a Sept, 8 press release, she wrote that her priorities are strong schools and more jobs.

“That is why I spoke out against the budget that the Republican leaders in the General Assembly forced upon us in June. North Carolina’s public universities are among our state’s greatest assets.

“The Republicans legislature’s reckless and short-sighted cuts are as damaging as they were unnecessary and avoidable.”

With money hard to come by, NCCU and other UNC universities will need all the help they can get.

“State appropriations do not sufficiently cover the rising costs of higher education,” said NCCU’s Director of Stewardship, Carlos McCall.

“Private donations allow NCCU to provide a high-quality education, student programs, academic services, and research opportunities worthy of an institution that produces first-class citizens.”

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NCCU celebrates National disability month with a special week of events.

BY DAVID FITTS ECHO ONLINE EDITOR

October has long been celebrated as the month for ghost stories, trick-ortreating, and breast cancer awareness.

However, many do not realize that October also is the focus month for another medical issue: Disability Awareness.

Through their theme “NO LIMITS: Celebrating Our Diversity,” N.C. Central University’s Office of Student Disability Services devotes a week each October to educating the campus on the importance of disabilities.

This week is here to put a lens on persons with disabilities who are students on campus and persons in

the community showing everyone that they have no limits whatsoever placed on them,” said Birshari Cox, Office of Student Disability Services interim assistant director.

On Monday, the week of events kicked off with Leon Rouson, associate professor in the department of early childhood elementary and special education program at Norfolk State University giving a speech about celebrating diversity; speaking on the theme of “NO LIMITS.” Ending with a clip of “GLEE,” performing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Rouson who is a 1983 NCCU alumnus, said that “our lives would be stress free if we celebrated all of our differences.”

Leon Rouson gives a speech celebrating diversity.

DAVID FITTS/Echo online editor

Tonight, an evening of spoken word and jazz will be held “Celebrating ALL of US,” at the A.E. Student Union at 7 p.m.

“We want poets to express feelings about diversity tonight,” said Cox. “This event is open everyone in the campus community, not just students who have disabilities.”

Tomorrow, George Street will be full of excitement during 10:40 break as the “Disability Awareness Fest,” will be held until noon.

Students will be able to participate in disability simulations to gain a glimpse to see what it is to have a disability including visual impairment, learning disability, dyslexia, upper extremity disability and a wheelchair simulation.

On Friday, some NCCU students with a document-

A never-ending struggle

NCCU junior vows not to let Lupus stand in the way of reaching her goals

BY DWAYNA CLARK ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Looking at 5’7” public health junior Sharquilla Howard, you’d think that all was perfect.

No one would ever guess that she has been fighting a six-year battle with an autoimmune disorder called lupus.

“I remember when I was first diagnosed,” said Howard.

“I was 15 years old and from that day I knew it was something my family and friends were going to have to deal with for life,” said Howard, adding that there is no cure for the disease.

Her mother, Betty Howard, said she didn’t know what lupus was at first.

“I was shocked that my daughter had a disease, though,” she said.

“I cried at first, prayed,

he was still heavily medicated.

He states that he was not advised of his right to silence, nor was he given the the right to question witnesses, because there were none at the hearing.

Additionally, he states that he was only able to state his case before a single judge, Wendell Andrews, not a five-member panel, as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.

Lastly, he states that he was not provided 20 minutes for oral argument.

In the letter Howell asks that the information he provides be transmitted to

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put it in God’s hands, and let it go.”

According to Medical News Today, individuals with lupus have hyperactive immune systems that attack the body’s own healthy cells and tissues.

These attacks, or “flares,” cause inflammation and damage to joints, skin, kidneys, blood, and the heart and lungs.

Lupus has caused Howard to have lung disease, asthma, hepatitis and arthritis.

“When my lupus gets bad I get back pain, joint pain, and fluid in my joints.

It is an unbearable pain,” she said.

Lupus can strike men and women of all ages, but 90 percent of individuals diagnosed with the disorder are women aged 15-44, according to the Lupus Foundation of America.

Women of color are two to

Public health junior Sharquilla Howard found out she had lupus, an autoimmune disorder, while in high school.

CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor

three times more likely to be diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder, which experts say is genetically based, but triggered by environmental factors.

“Freshman year was the toughest year for me,” said Howard.

In her freshman year Howard was hospitalized when a severe lupus flare attacked her lungs.

“I had fatigue. It was painful,” she said.

“Nothing could help it but rest. I had swollen hands and knees. On a scale of one

Bible Study in The Centennial Chapel, Fayetteville Street Michaell D.. Page e Campuss Minister Monday,, Oct.. 17,, 7 pm Deacon Sarah Woodard ~ St. Titus Church Tuesday,, Oct.. 18,, 7:30 0 pm Carlos Smith ~ World Overcomers Christian Church Thursday,, Oct.. 20,, 6 pm m Reverend Dr. Cornelius E. Battle, Pastor ~ Ebenezer Baptist Church

For more information call Rev. Michael Page at 530-5263

to ten the pain was a ten.”

Howard was hospitalized for two weeks and in bed for another two weeks.

She said her GPA fell from a 2.8 to a 1.9.

“I felt like I was going to have to drop out of school,” she said.

She said that most of her professors understood her situation and gave her time to make up her work.

According to cure4lupus.org, 20 percent of people with lupus have a close relative who already has or may develop lupus.

But Howard’s two brothers and sister are free of lupus.

According to experts, sunlight, fatigue and stress can exacerbate lupus.

“I have seen her come a long way with her illness,” said Howard’s mother.

“I am so proud of the struggles she has overcome.”

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the NCCU Board of Trustees.

Gary Brown, assistant dean of students, wrote in an email that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act restricts him from commenting on Howell’s case without written permission from Howell himself.

“I just felt like my rights were violated,” said Howell.

“There should have been some protection over me,” he said. “If they had found out I was normal, then yes!

Go ahead and suspend me!

But I have issues going on.”

Today Howell is without health insurance because

the University was his provider.

He is without work because he worked on campus. Because he lost his job he has lost his food stamps and will soon lose his housing.

Howell had planned to graduate this spring. If he decides to return in fall 2012, he may be denied admittance because he may have too many attempted hours.

“I don’t think that in the black community, we take enough time to actually understand this stuff,” he said.

“Like what is bipolar?

It’s not something that you

should pity me about. It’s just something I’ve gotta work with.”

Howell concludes his Sept. 22 draft saying “I would like to add that I am not a bad person. I love this University and I am extremely sorry for the conduct which allegedly occurred. I have been diagnosed and treated ... and have been deemed stable to return to school.”

Howell said the entire incident brings to mind a quote he’s sometimes heard at NCCU about the University being “your village.”

“I’ve just been kicked out by my village,” he said.

seeking intimacy from other women, a number of women wrote their opinions on the matter.

The imbalanced ratio of women to men “causes drama and turns females to other females. (Like me - smiley face),” writes one woman.

“It’s a negative change because there are more females than males … causing homosexuality to increase with females,” suggests one respondent.

Despite the surplus of women to men and various approaches to dealing with the situation, one thing remains wrote one respondent: “Everyone wants to be loved.”

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

525 5 Nelson n Street,, NCCU U Campus

Wednesday,, Oct.. 5,, 7 pm Minister Jamecia McNeil & Stan Williams ~ Zion Temple Church Sunday,, Oct.. 9,, 8 pm Rev. Ray Donaldson, Pastor ~ Holy Cross Catholic Church Monday,, Oct.. 10.. 7 p.m.

Corey& Tarica Rawlinson ~ Grace Church

ed disability will spend their day showing faculty and staff the ropes during “A Day in the Life.”

Saturday calumniates the week’s activities from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the L.T. Walker Complex. “Unity in the Community Day.” “We want to end the week with a wonderful celebration bringing students and members of the community together to celebrate Disability Awareness Month,” said Lee. “I hope students come out the rest of the week and see the ability and not the disability with others,” said Shannon Garner, accounting junior, who is on the planning board for the events. “We are people just like they are.”

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

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

More Opportunities are available. Contact us.

Charles E. McClinton, Ph.D., Director Alfreda D. Evans, Student Services Coordinator

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

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Priceless journey

NCCU associate professor moves toward retirement after 42 years of service

Foreign language learning under threat

BY T ERUMI D OWDY ECHO STAFF REPORTER

N.C. A&T’s liberal arts program was recently informed it would lose its foreign language department due to low enrollment and productivity.

The decision came after a UNC system-mandated review of productivity.

From 2008 to 2010 the program had graduated only nine students in Spanish and French.

N.C. Central University’s department of modern foreign languages is one of the smallest under the liberal arts umbrella; however, the department is holding on.

According to Marco Hernandez-Cuevas, NCCU’s department of modern foreign languages graduated on average 6-12 Spanish and French majors per year from 2008 – 2011.

This leaves NCCU’s modern foreign language department in better shape, according to Carlton Wilson, dean of the college of liberal arts.

Wilson said that NCCU’s foreign language department has a stable number of students enrolled.

“The modern foreign language department is doing quite well,” said Hernandez-Cuevas, chair of the department, adding that that he wants to get more of the curriculum online.

“We are currently working on creating a hybrid program for our department,” Hernandez-Cuevas said.

Universities usually cut programs because of low productivity — few graduates — or because the major no longer fits into the University’s broader vision.

According to Wilson, NCCU, not the UNC system, decides whether to cut programs.

“It is a campus decision and our program is strong and not at risk,” he said.

According to the CIA World Fact Book, more than four-fifths of the world’s population does not speak English as its primary language.

Language experts say there are many good reasons to learn a foreign language: it increases g l o b a l u n d e r standing; it improves employm e n t opportunities at Carlton home and abroad; it Wilson sharpens a broad set of cognitive and analytic skills; and it increases one’s understanding of self and one’s culture.

Alejandra Castillo, a freshman studying Spanish, said NCCU’s foreign languages program was good, but that she’d like to see it more involved with community events.

“With this degree, I will be able to find a job, because there are so many Hispanics in the area,” Castillo said.

The modern foreign languages department is one of several departments that the college of liberal arts oversees.

Others include English and mass communication, theatre/drama, history, and art. The college also oversees the Army ROTC and aerospace studies.

In all, 750 students are enrolled in liberal arts at NCCU. In 2010-2011, a total of 144 liberal arts majors received degrees.

The college is strongly tied with University College because so many freshmen and sophomores must complete liberal arts courses, such as English composition, before heading off into their majors.

“Many students enroll as undecided in University College,” said Wilson, adding that students who do not decide on a major automatically receive a liberal arts adviser.

“Liberal arts is at the core of the University,” said Wilson.

“It connects to other programs on campus like the School of Business, BRITE and School of Education.”

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Thomas Evans has been a veritable Mr. Versatility in his 42 years at NCCU. MORGAN CRUTCHFIELD /Echo staff photographer

BY ZEVANDAH BARNES ECHO STAFF REPORTER

After 40 years at N.C. Central University, associate professor Thomas Evans has decided it’s time to start heading toward the exit in a process called “phased retirement.”

Evans arrived at N.C. Central University as a teaching intern in 1969.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy had been assassinated less than a year earlier. The Fair Housing Act had just passed, and the Vietnam War was raging.

“Students used to be more socially involved in the past,” said Evans, adding that he’d like to see that kind of activism again.

Evans said that one of his most unforgettable memories was when students marched to protest the King shooting. “They walked

through the halls chanting ‘Ungawa, ungawa, we’ve got the power,’” he said.

When Evans started teaching, the FarrisonNewton Communications Building didn’t exist. The Campus Echo was housed in the Alfonso Elder Student Union, and the English department was located in the Edmonds Classroom Building. The student body was about one third the size it is today.

In phased retirement, Evans will teach two years half-time and then pass the torch.

He said he decided to retire because he couldn’t put as much energy into his work as he would like.

“In the early days Dr. Evans was just the anchor,” said former English and mass communication department chair Louise Maynor.

“He has been an academic leader and a strong advo-

cate for students.”

Over the years Evans has taught more than 15 classes in English, mass communication and philosophy. He was the first to teach film criticism at NCCU. Evans estimates he has taught more than 4,000 students and advised more than 500 students at NCCU. “He is one of the hardest working faculty members in our department,” said Michele Ware, chair of the department of English and mass communication.

“The thing that I admire the most about him is that he is always willing to advise students.”

Evans also played an important role in the development of the mass communication department.

In 1979, Evans established the media-journalism concentration with Thomas Scheft, a professor in the School of Education, and

Andrew “Mac” Secrest.

Secrest, a well-known Southern liberal newspaper editor who taught at NCCU for several years.

That same year, Secrest and Evans established the first computerized newsroom in the Southeast.

Evans said he was the tech guy for the newsroom and he taught everyone how to use typesetting equipment.

“I don’t care what the subject is, Evans knows about it.

He is a knowledgeable dude,” said Scheft.

Evans said he wanted to teach at NCCU to help firstgeneration college students reach their potential. He said that many of his early students came from segregated high schools.

“I thought it would be a more socially useful job to teach at NCCU,” Evans said.

And socially useful he’s been.

Former students include Shelvia Dancy, a reporter with Fox News in Memphis, J. Michael Falgoust, a sports reporter with USA Today, and Ernie Suggs, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

During his 42 years of service with NCCU, Evans has earned 15 annual merit awards for teaching.

He received the College of Liberal Arts Service Award in 2009.

He has published articles in philosophy, education and technology, Irish and American literature, and film studies.

Evans also has advised the Campus Echo, the Ex Umbra and the University yearbook.

He is rich with University history and little-known facts.

Asked how he remembers all these details about NCCU he chuckled and smiled: “I just do.”

The way of the future Studying abroad becoming more prevalent at NCCU

BY WENDY WRIGHT ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Over the last few years, more and more N.C. Central University students have been studying abroad.

“Since Spanish is my former minor and now my major, I felt that the only way to learn the language was through immersion,” said Spanish senior James Powell.

Powell studied abroad in the summer of 2011 at the University of Puerto RicoRio Piedras in San Juan.

Though study abroad can

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be costly, students say financial aid is available to help with expenses.

“I paid $1,100 in tuition, and $450 for my round trip ticket,” said Powell. “I spent around $1,000 in food and shopping. But $500 is about how much a student will spend on food.”

Another student said he spent a lot more because he spent the entire fall semester of 2009 abroad.

“I spent probably around $7,000,” said history graduate Joshua Tower.

Tower attended the University of Mannheim in Germany.

He said that studying abroad could be very expensive, but financial aid was a

great help.

Students who have gone abroad say the benefits outweigh the costs.

“I got to experience a whole new world,” said Maria Vasquez, who also studied in Puerto Rico. “Not everything is the same as in America.

“If I could do it again I would,” said Vasquez.

“I have two whole new families: the people I went with and the people I met in Puerto Rico. I still keep in touch with everyone.”

Tower descibed interacting with individuals from another culture as “invaluable.”

“In Germany I met people from at least 10 different

countries,” he said.

Powell said his study abroad experience will look good on his transcript and will serve as a valuable “conversational piece.”

Powell and Tower both said they would definitely recommend the study abroad experience to their their classmates and friends.

Powell had some experiences that he will never forget. “I got to experience things that none of my brothers, friends, and family have seen,” he said.

“I did things such as kayak, and swim in the open ocean in crystal blue water, swim to a private island, and lay on the beach.”

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Beyond NCCU

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011

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Finances top cause of dropping out Colleges trying new ways to keep students from dropping out

‘Diversity bake sale’ protested

BY LEE ROMNEY LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Job Asiimwe, shown Sept. 23, at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston was on the verge of becoming one of the suprisingly large number of American college and university students who fail to earn two-year associate degrees within even three years, or four-year bachelor’s degrees within six, after a dental expenses cost him more money than he earned in a month to pay for food, rent and tuition.

JAY REITER / MCT

BY JON MARCUS THE HECHINGER REPORT/MCT

BOSTON – Things were going well for Job Asiimwe as he approached his final semester at Bunker Hill Community College here last winter.

Then a toothache almost derailed his college career.

Asiimwe, an immigrant from Uganda who’s been on his own since age 19, was close to graduating. He had been accepted to a bachelor’s degree program at a college in Vermont and his plan to become a lawyer seemed within reach _ until something in his mouth began to throb.

He needed a crown on a tooth that had begun to decay. But the procedure cost $2,000, more than he earned in a month, and it wasn’t covered by insurance. As close as he was to graduation, he considered abandoning his studies so he could earn the money.

Asiimwe was on the verge of becoming one of the surprisingly large number of American college and university students who fail to earn two-year associate degrees within even three years, or four-year bachelor’s degrees within six.

“I don’t think many people know how sometimes just one medical event could affect your life,” said Asiimwe, now 22.

Asiimwe was fortunate.

Bunker Hill stepped in and paid for the crown with funds from a pool of foundation money. He finished the

semester, graduated in June, and has now begun work on his bachelor’s degree.

“I’ve seen other students drop out, not because they can’t afford tuition, but they can’t afford the other costs of coming to college _ rent, health insurance, transportation,” Asiimwe said. “I was lucky.”

More and more American colleges and universities are recognizing that unexpected crises unrelated to academics are pushing people to drop out, especially as the economy stagnates.

Under intense pressure from parents, taxpayers and politicians to improve abysmal graduation rates, the colleges are not only assuming a new role in helping their students over the bumps — they’re also keeping a close eye on students and even monitoring social media to detect early signs of trouble.

“Our students are not sheltered from the economic problems of the country,” said Linda Byrd-Johnson, director of the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO programs, which help low-income, first-generation and disabled college students.

“These kids are just like everybody else,” she said.

“Some of them are struggling to make ends meet.”

The “Dreamkeepers” program that helped Asiimwe — underwritten by the Kresge Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education and the Walmart

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Scholarship America. “It’s the day-to-day life experiences that are the hurdles students have to get over.

And those don’t have to be big things. They can be small things _ say, their day care goes up $100 a month, and that’s the make-orbreak number.”

Only 29 percent of community college students earn two-year degrees within three years, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. At four-year universities, 57 percent of students complete bachelor’s degrees within six years. The Obama administration has called for raising graduation rates substantially by 2020.

But about a third of students entering college today are the first in their families to go to college, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and a quarter are both firstgeneration and low-income.

“A lot of the issues that (they) have are life issues, not academic issues,” said Ingrid Washington, vice president of student affairs at Gateway Community and Technical College near Cincinnati.

Gateway loans laptops to students who can’t afford them and accepts donated clothes for them to wear to job interviews or to work.

“They’re so close to the edge, and that’s how they live every day,” Washington said. “Educators used to say, leave your issues at the door. You can’t do that anymore.”

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Many such interventions have not been around long enough to concretely measure their success, but some have.

A case-management system at Cedar Valley College near Dallas has decreased the dropout rate for students considered at risk from 53 percent to 40 percent, the university says. At Michigan Technological University in the state’s Upper Peninsula, a program started last fall to monitor and support faltering students reduced the number who were on the brink of leaving by 2 percent, according to the university.

Scholarship America, a charity organization that runs Dreamkeepers and other scholarship programs, reports that the proportion of students who stay in school from one semester to the next after getting help from Dreamkeepers is 72 percent, compared with 50 percent for students who don’t receive such help.

“Finances are the number one reason students drop out. It’s not just school finances — it’s life finances,” said Lauren Segal, president and CEO of

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BERKELEY, Calif. — Hundreds of students packed the University of California, Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Tuesday to express their views on the use of race and gender in university admissions decisions — and to weigh in on the tone of the debate.

The dialogue in this bastion of the free-speech movement was triggered by a bake sale, sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans, that promised goods priced according to the buyer’s race, ethnicity and gender.

The event, met with anger by many students, was timed to counteract a phone bank in support of a bill on California Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would allow the University of California and California State University systems to consider such factors, as long as no preference was given.

Proposition 209, passed by state voters in 1996, banned affirmative action in public university admissions. The current bill would not violate that ban. Instead it would permit schools to consider things such as ethnicity, much as they do extracurricular activities, when weighing candidates.

Under the bake sale’s satirical pricing structure, whites were supposed to pay $2 for the same pastry that would cost American Indians just 25 cents. (The Republican club, however, accepted whatever people chose to pay.)

Supporters formed a protective barrier around the group’s table on Tuesday; Prop 209 author and former UC Regent Wade Connerly, who is black, showed up to help the students sell frosted cupcakes.

Republican campus clubs have held such sales over the years to challenge racial preference policies. But this time social media spread the news worldwide, prompting outrage and praise for

organizers.

The event spawned a secondary debate about civility and respect.

“It’s kind of ugly,” said 21year-old gender and women’s studies major Tatianna Peck, who held a sign in mock protest of the exclusion of “queer people” from the pricing structure.

“It’s ... forcing people into a defensive position instead of an honest place of listening.”

On Sunday, the Associated Students of the University of California’s senate passed a resolution condemning “the use of discrimination whether it is in satire or in seriousness.”

In a message Monday, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and two vice chancellors endorsed that position and said that the strong reactions to the bake sale provided “a vivid lesson that issues of race, ethnicity, and gender are far from resolved.”

Anthropology major Damaris Olaechea, 24, and her roommate did their part Tuesday to create “an environment where people can come have dialogue with respect and sensitivity,” giving out hundreds of pink home-baked “conscious cupcakes.”

But that didn’t boost business for the Asian American Association, which happened to be holding its bake sale fundraiser. Vi Tran, 18, who did her best to hawk the group’s “non-racist cupcakes,” she said she agreed with the Republican students’ stance. “I think acceptance should be based on merit,” she said.

That anger led a group calling itself The Coalition to stage a silent protest, with hundreds of students — many of them African American or Latino — lying down in the heart of Sproul Plaza.

“UC Us Now,” their signs read, in a play on words to remind the campus of their presence. “The university has chronically failed to address the appalling lack of diversity,” said organizers, who called on Brown to sign the admissions legislation.

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LGBT on Parade WE

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ver 1,000 marchers and 7,000 supporters attended the 27th Annual N.C. Pride Festival and Parade, Saturday, Sept. 24 from noon until 2:30. Karen Walters, editor of The Triangle, a Raleigh-based LGBT monthly newspaper, said that there were between 150 and 200 floats at the Duke East Campus site of the parade.

The festival continued after the parade, featuring speakers, performers, a rally for equality and hundreds of business and retail vendors along with non-profit LGBT organizations from across the Triangle area and state.

This year’s parade carried special significance in the face of the anti-LGBT amendment passed by the N.C. House of Representatives on Sept. 12. The amend-

O

ment, which is headed for N.C. Senate in May 2012, would ban marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships and other relationship recognition for same-sex couples. Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt urged North Carolinians to defeat the proposed amendment.

Despite opposition from the 10 members of anti-LGBT protesters calling themselves the Soul Patrol, at least nine different LGBT-affirming churches representing all divisions of Christianity (and one “Gaytheist” float) marched in support of equality.

Marchers in the parade represented the Triangle’s diversity, from toddlers waving rainbow flags, to IBM, American Express and GSK employees, to rescue bulldogs wearing tutus, to an elderly woman on roller skates dressed like Jesus. Political

groups, such as the N.C. Young Democrats, threw candy to crowds before conducting voter registrations.

The crowds were serenaded by the Common Women’s Chorus, the Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus and the N.C. Pride Marching Band.

Campus LGBT groups from local high schools and colleges showed their school pride as they paraded by, tossing goodies to the crowd.

According to English and mass communication professor Brett Webb-Mitchell, about 30 marchers attended from NCCU’s three LGBT groups, COLORS, Outlaw Alliance and Pollychromes.

“Because of the constitutional amendment, there was a strong outpouring of support,” said Webb-Mitchell, “The politics were tangible—it was in the air.”

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Philadanco shines

Company performs choreography by Durham native B Y B ELINDA D UNN ECHO A&E EDITOR

Philadanco — a Philadelphia Dance Company — graced Memorial Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sept. 23.

The modern dance company fused electrifying African-American dance with jazz, ballet and modern movement.

The dancers practice “five days a week, Monday through Wednesday… And Saturday and Sunday,” said dancer Alicia Lundgren.

The performance was divided into four compelling sections.

The spicy opening dance “Bolero Too,” was a Spanish themed performance choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins.

He directed a full company piece bursting with spicy movement and music

by Ravel.

The performance examined male and female relationships and interaction.

The choreography was a combination of African dance and ballet.

The second performance, “By way of the funk,” was as funkadelic as the name suggests.

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Charity Starts at Home The Foreign Exchange Music

4 out of 5 on the black hand side

Philadanco dance company performs around the country.

Courtesy Lois Greenfield

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar choreographed a piece that was far out in every way.

Female dancers wore white wigs and the men danced in pleather pants to soul and funk.

The performance created a party mood, bringing a Soul Train and Studio 54 feel.

It made you want to jump on stage and join Philadanco in the Soul Train line.

Durham Native Hope Boykin premiered her new

piece, “Watching Go by the Day.” Boykin Choreographed a brilliant piece with live jazz music.

“Live music and live musicians makes such a difference,” said Lundgren.

“Watching Go by the Day” showed a full day in the lives of working people with creative lighting and tasteful jazz choreography.

“Enemy behind the gates,” Choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins

was another beautiful piece.

The piece portrayed the preparation of going to war with the thump of heavy drums.

The progression of this piece was great and really gave the feel of war through the lighting, music, and choreography.

Philadanco gave a dazzling and compelling performance combining elements of African dance, ballet, jazz, and modern dance.

Students write memoir Durham School of the Arts students publish work

B Y M ATT P HILLIPS ECHO A&E EDITOR

It takes guts to write the truth, to get it out and put it down on paper.

Especially when you’re a high school freshman writing about yourself.

“Other People + Me,” a new collection of memoirs by students from Durham School of the Arts, is all about guts.

Twelve students, members of the DSA Publishing Club, performed selections from the collection Wed, Sept. 28 at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham.

“There’s a lot of feeling in this book. How many of us cried reading it and writing it? It’s much more than paper. It’s the heart, and the soul, and the mind,” said a DSA student who wrote her memoir, “The World’s Standstill,” using the pen name Rixumbein.

Alexa Garvoille, a DSA English teacher, created DSA Publishing Club to offer students writing, editing and publishing experience.

Freshman students write and edit the memoirs. The club meets twice a week after school.

“What is it in your life that makes you unique?” Garvoille asks students as they begin crafting memoirs.

Student editors work together to prepare the memoirs for publication.

The process is arduous, and involves

“Other People + Me” is available at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham.

Courtesy Alexa Garvoille

If this city could move like an animal, it’d peel itself off the ground.

NATALIE DOAN-DUNNUM “CURTAIN CALL”

multiple edits and revisions.

“It’s really a beautiful thing, writing, whether writing for somebody

else or writing for yourself, because you can let out emotion that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to let out,” said student Obadiah Kimmel, who wrote “Pain in Six Glorious Moments.”

“Other People + Me” is a diverse collection which probes the human condition. From the comedic voice of “Adventures in the Friggin’ U.K.” by Gwen Williams, to the verbal tapestry of “Curtain Call” by Natalie DoanDunnum, the narratives reveal the complexity of adolescence.

Students didn’t hold back their while reading their work to an audience for the first time.

They discussed the difficulty in writing honest work, regardless of the possibility of peer rebuke.

“It was the fear of what would be read, not knowing if people would look at me differently and not really wanting to put something personal in the book,” said a student who wrote “Sonata Con Fuoco” using the pen name Emma Grace.

“Other People + Me” is the second collection of memoirs in the “Memoirs of Freshman” series published by the club.

The first, “ Going on 15,” was published in 2010. “Other People + Me” is available at The Regulator Bookshop. Both collections are available in digital and hard copy at lulu.com.

50/50 offers laughter/tears A buddy film about cancer? Somehow, it works

BY BELINDA DUNN ECHO A&E EDITOR

This feel-good, easy-going film is filled with lots of laughter and inspiration.

“50/50” is a story about friendship, love, survival and creating laughter in doubtful situations. Adam — played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt — is a cautious Seattle public radio employee.

The film details the comical path of Adam’s health transformation.

Adam has constant back pain so he visits his doctor and is diagnosed with cancer.

He and everyone around him is shocked: he is healthy and young and doesn’t drink or smoke.

Gradually, Adam learns to cope and live with the depression of cancer.

Through his illness he is accompanied by his best friend and co-worker Kyle, played by Seth Rogen.

Kyle brings innocent laughter and is there to keep Adam’s life as normal as possible.

Adam’s overprotective mother

“50/50” stars Joseph Gordon-LLevitt and Seth Rogen.

Courtesy Summit Entertainment

(Anjelica Huston) is at home taking care of his Alzheimers-stricken father.

She is devastated when she hears of her son’s cancer. Huston’s role brings tears in her role as a loving, grief-stricken mother.

Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard), Adam’s girlfriend, is a painter and doesn’t seem interested in or attracted to Adam, and you can guess what will happen to her character as the movie goes deeper.

Adam is directed to a cute, quirky but inexperienced therapist (Anna Kendrick), who is determined to help him overcome depression.

Will Reiser has written a moving film based on his own experience with cancer. The film is a reminder that laughter, love, and friendship can be invaluable emotional healers.

Director Jonathan Levine offers humor, but still respects the battle of cancer.

“50/50” is a tear-jerker that will keep you laughing scene after scene.

“50/50” is rated R and is now in theaters.

“Take off my fedora, put back on the fitted, like this y’all, I’m back on…”

From the moment I heard Phonte’s line on the King Mez track “The King’s Khrysis” I anticipated the Fall 2011 release of his first solo rap album.

It’s been four years, almost two if you count Leftback, since Phonte gifted his listeners with focused, everyday man lyrics about life, love, and relationship problems.

The album’s first track, “Dance In The Reign,” shows that the N.C. Central University alumnus is back with a vengeance to show that he can still go bar for bar with any emcee.

The main question fans had about a Phonte album was about the direction he would take. Would it be all rapping or a mix of rap and a Foreign Exchange album?

Halfway into the album tracks like “Ball and Chain,” “To Be Yours,” Gonna Be a Beautiful Night” showed that it would be the latter, a rap/FE album.

The songs were solid R&B numbers, but most likely disappointed those who wanted to hear a rap

J.Cole

Cole World: The Sideline Story Roc Nation/RCA

5 out of 5 on the black hand side

North Carolina native J. Cole has released his debut album, “Cole World: The Sideline Story.”

Finally, after two successful mix-tapes, touring around the world, and signing a record deal with Jay-Z’s independent label, Roc Nation.

The album is 19 tracks of Cole embellishing relationships and giving his personal description of life.

Also, on his debut album Cole receives help from Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Trey Songz and Drake.

When it comes to storytelling Cole proves that he can hold his own.

His presentation is such that all listeners can enjoy and understand his lyrics.

“Sideline Story” is a perfect example.

The track starts with an interlude of Cole sharing how he was arrested the day Roc Nation confirmed

album.

Median, Evidence, Big K.R.I.T., and Pharoahe Monch provided guest verses on the album while Swiff D, Khrysis, and S1 & Caleb, handled production.

“Who Loves You More,” featuring Eric Roberson on the hook, is a bid adieu to the album and a story filled with unfortunate conclusions: a breakup, an incarceration, and family issues.

The last line of the song, and possibly the most telling: “I got a room and a microphone, and a family I ain’t seen in months and I played this record a million times, just hoping you would play it once/ Break bread with your fellow man, show love but look out for your heart, and always take care home, because home is where charity starts.”

Maybe a hiatus from music to focus on family? I might be reading too much into the lyrics and maybe it’s just metaphor. Who knows?

“Charity Starts At Home” wasn’t the 40 and some odd minutes of rapping many fans expected, but it still displayed the versatility Phonte possesses as a rapper and singer.

He is still the crafty lyricist that everybody admired from the Little Brother days, or the R&B crooner of The Foreign Exchange.

The fitted may be on, but the fedora is still close by, and it’s all good with me.

— Jerome Brown Jr. his signing.

The lyrics describe his struggle as a starving artist, and eventually illustrate the contrast of his current success.

Cole opens his emotions on “Breakdown,” sharing the effects of his absent father, his mother’s drug use, and a story about a young single mother.

Cole talks about real life situations from a good kid perspective, but there are two sides to his story.

“Nobody’s Perfect,” featuring Missy Elliot, is about love, lust, and Cole’s bad boy side. Cole boasts about his success, and talks about having relations with gorgeous women. Missy Elliot sings on the track, “Nobody is perfect/but you’re perfect for me.”

“Work Out” gets straight to the point, explaining what Cole does — and doesn’t — want.

Cole lets listeners know that he’s real, and that he loves having a good time with the ladies.

“Cole World: The Sideline Story” receives a five out of five. Well done J. Cole.

— Tahj Giles

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A little ‘Old Havana’ in Durham Old Havana Sandwich Shop serves up traditional Cuban fare

BY MATT PHILLIPS ECHO A&E EDITOR

Old Havana Sandwich Shop is more than a neighborhood eatery. It’s now a community fixture.

Owners Roberto Copa Matos and Elizabeth Turnbull — a married couple — envisioned a cultural experience for patrons and employees.

“How nice would it be to have a restaurant where we could combine gardening, farming, and bring in Cuban culture and Haitian culture?” Copa Matos said.

The philosophy of the restaurant is threefold. To share all elements of Cuban culture, to contribute to the community by offering a point of transition for employees, and to make great food with local, fresh ingredients.

Old Havana Sandwich Shop serves traditional Cuban sandwiches using organic products.

Tender, slow cooked pork on Cuban style rolls, mojo sauce on the side.

Black beans and rice with crispy oven-roasted plantains known as maduros. Cuban coffee drinks and sweets, as well as classic Cuban guava toast.

Located in the historic building that once housed the Durham Sun, sunlight illuminates the restaurant through arching, expansive windows. Original Cuban art adorns the walls. Cuban music echoes off the vaulted ceiling.

Turnbull was born in Haiti. She runs Turnbull Marketing Group in Durham, which specializes in marketing for non-profit

Roberto Copa Matos and Elizabeth Turnbull own Old Havana Sandwich Shop in downtown Durham.

MORGAN CRUTCHFIELD/Echo staff photographer

organizations.

The two met while Copa Matos was working as an art vendor in Old Havana.

For Copa Matos, an expatriate Cuban and naturalized United States citizen, Old Havana Sandwich Shop is opportunity, joy, and cultural celebration layered between two halves of a cuban roll.

Raised in Cuba, Copa Matos studied biochemistry as a university student. His reasons for emigrating were many, but the inability to pursue graduate level education ranked high among them.

“I disagreed with the political situation in Cuba, and I didn’t want to be part of it, because I disagreed with the situation I was denied the opportunity to go back to graduate school,” said Copa Matos.

“I said, ‘Well, if I don’t agree with this and I have a hard time finding a job, and I can find more opportunities for myself, than personally, I am going to move out of Cuba.’ That is how I decided.”

Copa Matos worked as a teacher in both Miami and Durham. Eventually he was hired as a lab technician at

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UNC-Chapel Hill. It seemed like the perfect scenario to Copa Matos, but he discovered a different passion after starting a garden.

“I started reading about gardening and how to do ecologically responsible gardening,” said Copa Matos.

“I changed my mind.

What I wanted to do was use all this knowledge given to me and become a farmer.”

Copa Matos and Turnbull have acquired a small piece of land to grow and source their own organic products.

Old Havana Sandwich Shop

uses locally raised pork and rolls from Guglhupf bakery in Durham.

Along with their passion for fresh, organic cooking Copa Matos and Turnbull share a passion for art. The restaurant displays artwork from rural areas of Cuba.

“I love the arts and I wanted to help Cuban artists who are currently living in Cuba, but having a hard time selling their work, but I never knew how,” Copa Matos said.

By weaving Cuban elements into the Durham community the restaurant displays the richness of cul-

tural exchange, and represents a triumph over the limitations of communism.

“Both my grandmothers were great cooks. Both owned bakeries before communism, but the government took over all private enterprises,” Copa Matos said, “We are blessed to be in the states.”

Old Havana Sandwich Shop is located at 310 E. Main Street in downtown Durham.

They are open Tues. through Fri. 8-4 p.m., Sat. 94 p.m., and Fri. and Sat. 6-9 p.m. For more info go to oldhavanaeats.com.

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Golfers dream of home NCCU looks to host a tournament of its own

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Senior Braden Cox on the driving range with his driver.

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J ONATHAN A LEXANDER

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“This way all the Eagle fans would know who we are, that we have a golf team.”

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If you look on the schedule of N.C. Central University’s golf team, you will notice that of the eight tournaments they participate in, none are played at home.

As a matter of fact, the Eagles only play one tournament in North Carolina, and that is in the WSSU Spring Challenge, in Winston Salem.

Bowling is another sport that does not host tournaments in Durham.

One might think that the resulting lack of fan support, and parents’ inability to watch their kids play, would make it hard for these student-athletes to perform well and parents to cope.

Senior Braden Cox says it doesn’t bother him and his mother.

“She’s used to it, because it’s been like that since my freshman year,” said Cox.

BRADEN

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SENIOR GOLFER

“It would be nice to have family and friends come support the team, but not having home tournaments is not going to affect the way that I play,” he said.

Cox, who is the only senior on the team, posted 10 rounds in the 70s last season, finishing with a scoring average of 78.5.

In his first outing of this season at the HBCU Hall of Fame Invitational, he hit for “even par” in the second round and finished with a final score of 76 (+4). He placed 11 out of 49 athletes.

“I would play the same in Florida as I would in Canada,” said Cox. The Eagles as a unit placed 6 out of 10 teams.

Although the lack of home tournaments seem to

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have little effect on NCCU’s golfers, they are still looking to host a tournament of their own in the future.

Teams interested in playing in NCCU’s tournament, would pay according to golf course fees, meals, etc.

“The real advantage of having a home tournament would be that the guys get to live in their dorm and sleep in their beds every night the tournament is on, and it would give them an opportunity to sort of host the other guys,” said head coach Paul Perry.

Hosting a tournament is complex. There’s finding a course to play at and at a reasonable cost, finding teams who are interested, finding a hotel to house guest teams, and so on.

Still, the advantages seem to outweigh the challenges.

“The biggest advantage is playing at a golf course that you know. Because you know where not to hit it,” said Perry, laughing.

The Eagles remain hopeful, eyeing a home date within the next two years.

According to Kyle Serba, director of media relations, hosting a tournament would cost about $18,000. He feels confident that it will happen.

“It would make me proud because it would prove that we have a successful program,” said Cox. “This way all the Eagle fans would know who we are, that we have a golf team.”

Sports

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011

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Sports Column B Y J ONATHAN A LEXANDER ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

Some might wonder: why Rutgers? Why would N.C. Central University, a small HBCU and Football Championship Subdivision team in the MEAC, be playing a Big East, Football Championship Bowl Subdivion team like the Rutgers Scarlet Knights?

And why would Norfolk State University — also an HBCU and FCS school — play a Big East and FBS powJonathan erhouse like the Alexander West Virginia Mountaineers, a team ranked #19 in the nation at the time?

FBS schools have football teams that are eligible to play in bowl games — the “Big Kahunas” —whereas FCS schools have football teams that are not eligible.

They participate in tournaments, not bowls.

The games were wipeouts, to put it mildly. NCCU lost to Rutgers 48-0, while Norfolk State lost to West Virginia 55-12.

The Associated Press repeated that NCCU received $400,000 in the butt whoopin’ they received from Rutgers.

The athletic director of Norfolk State could not be reached for comment on the story.

Most call these “money games.”

“The reason is to let big schools play smaller schools, and it was for financial reasons,” said Mike Parsons, deputy director of athletics at West Virginia University.

“Big schools get an extra home game, and most of the time they can’t find that in another school, so they look to the smaller schools to fill that void.”

“I think it is a benefit to both parties.”

They might say that, but it sounds more like a chance for big schools to beat up on smaller schools in exchange for money.

There is the occasional upset, but that’s very rare.

Here are a few more: In the last three years, the NCCU baseball team played N.C. State, losing by scores of 24-6, 11-0, 8-4 (which isn’t that bad), 15-2, and 15-5.

Also, in 2010 N.C. A&T men’s basketball team played then-#5 Ohio State and got blown out by 41 points.

One player said, “We were just hoping to reach 70 points.”

Isn’t it obvious that we’re going to lose those games? So why would we play to lose?

If you don’t mind losing, why not just make your whole non-conference schedule against only ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 or Big East schools, and have a chance to receive millions of dollars?

I understand that it’s a way to get some extra money, and there’s nothing wrong with having a hustle, but it’s coming at the expense of your school looking like a herd of cream puffs.

As former head coach of the New York Jets Herm Edwards so eloquently put it, “You play to win the game. Hellooooo, you play to win the game. You don’t play it to just play it.”

Where’s your dignity?

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Eagles eye competition

$$$ game Small schools being bullied by bigger schools

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Eagles will play some tough games and some not-so-tough BY

J ONATHAN A LEXANDER ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

The 2011-2012 men’s basketball schedule is out, and the Eagles have “Upset Central” written all over it, with multiple major conference teams on the schedule.

Coach LeVelle Moton’s motto is “to win every day.”

Conferences such as the ACC, Big Ten, Atlantic 10, and the Pac12 will be represented this season, and the Eagles are eyeing an upset as they look to improve last seasons’s 15-15 record.

“If you talk to each guy on our team, the one common denominator is we all have a chip on our shoulder,” said Moton.

NCCU kicks off the season with an away game, against the UNC Charlotte 49ers Nov. 11, who finished with 10 wins and 20 losses in 2010-2011.

NCCU’s second game of the season, its first home game, will be Nov. 13.

They will host the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University, also from Charlotte, N.C. This will be Wildcats second season as a basketball program.

Last season, the Eagles beat the Wildcats 90-30.

In the third game of the season, the Eagles will travel to Staten Island, N.Y. to face Wagner College.

This will be a homecoming for senior Justin Leemow, originally from Brooklyn.

“It’s going to be a homecoming for me because my people don’t really get to see me play much, so that’s going to be a big

Senior Landon Clement will look to build on his stellar rookie campaign.

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deal for me,” said Leemow.

On Dec. 3, the Eagles will host its rivals, the Aggies of N.C. A&T.

Last season, the Eagles split the season series with the Aggies, each team winning on

the road.

This game appears big but Moton and his players say it’s just another game.

Dec. 11, the Eagles will travel 25 minutes up the road to Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh to face an ACC school, the Wolfpack of N.C. State University, which is coming off a disappointing season.

The Eagles will begin conference play Jan. 7, and conclude at Hampton on March 3.

Hampton is the reigning MEAC champ and looks extremely tough on paper.

The 2012 MEAC tournament gets started on March 5.

This marks the first time NCCU has been able to compete for postseason championship honors in Division 1.

“Now we really have something to play for,” said Leemow.

“Now you really have to give it 110 percent even though your back is against the wall and you’re playing for something.

“It’s my senior year. I at least have to make the tournament,” he said.

Moton looks to play this season for the pioneers who paved the way for the current studentathletes who now play in the MEAC. “Our expectations for ourselves is just to win every day,” said Moton.

“If you win every day, not only on the court, academically, study hall, weight room, etcetera, etcetera, then when March comes, that makes winning easier.”

Lady Eagles stalk competition

Eagles will face a monumental task of multiple major conference teams BY

C EDRICK C OLEMAN ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

N . C . C e n t r a l University’s women’s basketball team is no longer on the outside looking in.

They are now allowed to sit at the table.

Coming off a disappointing (5-25) season in their 2010-2011 campaign, the Lady Eagles enter this season hungrier than ever.

They will return seven players and add eight, four of whom are transfers, and four freshmen.

“My players are coming from different backgrounds, have great work ethics, and all have the same goal,” said head coach Joli Robinson. That goal is to win.

The Lady Eagles will play a very tough non-conference schedule.

They will see three ACC conference opponents, and one team from the Big East.

This year’s schedule has the potential for some big upsets.

The Lady Eagles open the season with two home games.

In their first game on Nov. 11, the Lady Eagles will host the Lady Panthers of Claflin University, who

My players are coming from different backgrounds, have great work ethics, and all have the same goal.

JOLI ROBINSON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

finished last season with a (8-19) record.

On Nov. 20, the Lady Eagles will venture to Morgantown, WV, to play the Big East powerhouse, the Lady Mountaineers of West Virginia University.

In the past two years, the Lady Eagles were (0-2) against the Lady Mountaineers.

Dec. 3 the Lady Eagles will take on rival team, the Lady Aggies of N.C. A&T, at home.

Last year, the Lady Aggies took both games.

NCCU will take flight in a very tough month in December, to face three teams from ACC. Their ACC games

Senior guard Blaire Houston leads the Lady Eagles into the MEAC with championship hopes.

COURTESY

include Virginia Tech on Dec. 11, Clemson on Dec. 18, and UNC-Chapel Hill on Dec. 30.

All these games will be away.

“With these games coming before the conference schedule, it will give us an opportunity to prepare

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ourselves mentally and physically for both coaches and players,” said Robinson.

The Lady Eagles will resume conference play on Jan. 7 to battle the Lady Rattlers of Florida A&M. The team will conclude with a home game on Mar.

1 against reigning MEAC champs the Lady Pirates of Hampton.

March 5-11 marks the most anticipated event of the season, the MEAC tournament, in which the Lady Eagles hope to score an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2011

IVER SITY

Judged by 12, carried by 6 “

For those about to take my life may God have mercy on your souls. May God bless your souls.”

These were the last words of Troy Davis shortly before he took a lethal dose of injustice Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 11:08 p.m.

Davis was executed by the Georgia penal system.

Until his death, Zevandah he proclaimed Barnes his innocence.

Davis was convicted of murdering Mark MacPhail, an off-duty cop, in 1989 in Savannah, Ga. He served 22 years behind bars before receiving a lethal injection, which I thought was already cruel and unusual punishment .

Why was Davis put to death?

No DNA linked him to the death of Officer MacPhail.

No murder weapon was recovered in his case.

The conviction was largely based on eye-witness testimonies, which have been proven to be very unreliable.

Seven of the nine witnesses

Seven of the nine witnesses who testified in the case have recanted their testimony. In addition, several witnesses said they were coerced by the police to make those statements.

Where were the red flags? Something clearly isn’t right about this case. who testified in the case have recanted their testimony. In addition, several witnesses said they were coerced by the police to make those statements.

Where were the red flags?

Something clearly isn’t right about this case.

Blatant disregard for human life caused the court to move forward with Davis’ execution.

There is still doubt in the case. It is very possible that Davis didn’t do it.

Can any law officials in the United States say his death was justified?

Were the deaths of George Julius Stinney, Jr., Leo Jones, or Gary Graham— all of whom were convicted of murder and executed —justifiably?

Former Carolina Panther wide receiver Rae Carruth killed his girlfriend Carthica

Adams back in 1999 and only received 18-24 years.

Not only did Carruth avoid the death penalty, but he also dodged a life sentence and will be released in 2018.

There is no doubt in my mind that Casey Anthony had something to do with the death of her daughter Caylee in 2008.

Somehow, she managed to get a break and was acquitted of first-degree murder earlier this year.

All of these cases are examples of the inconsistencies that occur in murder trials in the United States.

According to www.deathpenaltyinfo.org, the death penalty has claimed 1,270 lives since 1976.

The death penalty is used in 34 states, including North Carolina.

To date, 138 Americans have

been taken off death row since 1973.

If the legal system functioned properly, how did they get there in the first place?

There is no official record for the number of executions that have claimed the lives of innocent people, but it surely has happened.

An innocent man ending up on death row should never happen.

People who take lives deserve to lose their own lives.

Just make sure you have the right culprit before carrying out the deed.

Murder should not be taken lightly.

There should be concrete evidence, such as video footage or DNA evidence, to support any death sentence.

There should be federal guidelines for capital punishment cases.

Troy Davis’ life should be an example of how the American injustice system currently operates.

Serious changes must be made to prevent another miscarriage of justice.

This organized barbarity must cease.

What happened to hip hop?

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irthed in the Bronx, 1970’s hip-hop arrived.

It was initially intended to be a cultural movement of expression among Latino Americans and African Americans who lived in New York City.

The heart of this genre involved activities such as rapping, making break beats, break dancing, and graffiti.

For the young Belinda Americans growDunn ing up in this era, the music was refreshing.because it came from the streets of their neighborhoods. The new genre allowed them to express themselves through the cultural movement of fashion, words, and art.

Today the ‘street genre,’ has emerged into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Rappers defend themselves by claiming their lyrics are testimonies of the harsh realities of inner-city life by reflecting on urban gang rivalries, crimes, alcoholism, and drug abuse.

Hip hop’s emergence into mainstream brought major changes.

Hip hop strayed from its original roots as the cultural scene and started promoting sexual discrimination, and violence.

In the late 1980’s when ‘gangsta rap’ came on to the scene, rap jumped from being playful, and socially conscious, to being morphed into a hardcore rugged image.

This particular sub-genre began the emergence of the East and West coast rivalry, with West coast artist like NWA (Niggas With Attitude) and artists such as Snoop Dog

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and Dr. Dre leading the way.

‘Gangsta rap’ caused an uproar from religious leaders, blaming them for the promotion of materialism, misogyny, profanity, homophobia, promiscuity and violence.

It later became the most profitable sub-genre of hiphop.

Rappers defend themselves by claiming their lyrics are testimonies of the harsh realities of inner-city life by reflecting on, urban gang rivalries, crimes, alcoholism, and drug abuse.

While being blinded by the glitz and glam of the multibillion dollar industry, rap-

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pers fail to realize that music is infectious.

Other than our family and friends, music has a powerful impact on how people live their lives from day-to-day.

Women are continuously being degraded, but the more I watch these videos the more I see women degrading themselves.

You’ll see a half naked woman dancing, and shaking her behind while the rapper is talking about how he “hit it and quit it”.

The women throw themselves at the rappers.

Rappers need to be more positive, less violent, less provocative, less “bling bling”. They need to realize that children may react to their messages differently than college students. Dignity and respect should always come first in humanity.

It is truly sad when a type of behavior is accepted because it makes money.

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: Do you think the American justice system is flawed ?

“Yes,there are too many loopholes for people to take advantage of the law. Also people should not be executed when they are not 100% guilty.”

—Kevin Claiborne

“Yes,If we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, then why don't we spend more time trying to prove innocence.”

—Lauren Chatman “Yes, there's a lot of injustice being accepted that should not be, for example, racial profiling.”

—Dontavion Carmon

Sound Off By Uyi Idahor