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VOLUME 97, ISSUE 11 919 530 7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDU WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM
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Campus . . . . . . . . Beyond NCCU . . Feature . . . . . . . . A&E . . . . . . . . . . . Classifieds. . . . . . Sports. . . . . . . . . . Opinions . . . . . . .
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Feature
Grad assistant proves self “Worthy” at WNBA Free Agent Camp
Read about NCCU’s own walking-talking encyclopedia
Extended time line of events surrounding alleged rape of NCCU student.
“Katrina on the Ground” — a chronicle of a student trip to the Gulf region
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Campus Echo It’s a no go for the SGA
Hundreds gather
SPEECHES, POETRY AND A MOMENT OF SILENCE RAISE AWARENESS
Will there be results or not? BY RONY CAMILLE & IHUOMA EZEH ECHO STAFF WRITER
According to Roland Gaines, vice chancellor for student affairs, elections held Friday, March 31 were unconstitutional because the SGA followed the 2005 SGA Constitution, a new constitution not yet signed by the chancellor. Under the 2003 constitution, the one under which the SGA should have been operating, elections should be held on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. This has left the SGA elections in a state of limbo for more than four days. In a meeting with student officials March 28, Gaines stated that the SGA 2005 constitution, which was drafted by former SGA President D’Weston Haywood, is not legal and that the SGA should be operating under the 2003 constitution. “The Chancellor and I never signed off on it because no documentation was ever presented,” Gaines said. SGA has been operating under the 2005 constitution since the beginning of the school year. As of Tuesday, the election results have not been released. “There were rumors questioning the morals and
Criminal justice senior Battista McNeil holds a candle during a moment of silence during the Monday evening vigil. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
NCCU vigil unifies Students, community support student
Chancellor Ammons calls allegations disturbing and inhumane, urges patience and says investigation must be thorough for justice to be served BY DENEESHA EDWARDS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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BY EBONY MCQUEEN
Honors event gets jazzy
Hundreds of students gathered in front of N.C. Central University’s McLean Hall Monday at a vigil to show support for the student who was allegedly raped by members of the Duke lacrosse team. “This is a great response to the incident,” said Roland Gaines, NCCU’s vice chancellor for student affairs. “Our students have had their private response, but this is their public response.” “It’s a great response of solidarity. Hopefully a better relationship between NCCU and Duke students can be established,” said Duke graduate student, Rann Baron. “We don’t want this to create more tension between the two schools.” Vigil attendees signed a teal banner, which hang in front of McLean Hall. “The color teal represents the issue of sexual violence,” said Maya Jackson, vice president of VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood of NCCU. Many student and local organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Men Against Rape Culture, and
Band to play at convocation BY STEVEN MOORE AND JEAN ROGERS ECHO STAFF WRITERS
The music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Frank Foster may be a far cry from the traditional classical repertoire heard at honors convocation in years past, but this year, students and faculty are looking forward to something new: the N.C. Central University Jazz Emsemble. The annual honors convocation will take place on Friday, April 7 at 10:15 a.m. in the McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium. “I think it’s excellent,” Beverly Jones, provost and
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As investigations continue in the alleged gang rape case by members of the Duke’s men’s lacrosse team of an N.C. Central University student, Chancellor James H. Ammons is pleading with students to be patient and wait for the results of the investigation. In a Monday news release, Ammons said the “allegations are disturbing, inhumane and insensitive,” adding that the University will support the alleged victim as much as it can. “Our students, faculty and staff are outraged by what has been alleged, but are also mindful of the fact that
ECHO STAFF WRITER
an investigation is still underway, and no charges have been filed,” Ammons said. “While we await the outcome of the investigation, we are taking steps to express our support for the victim, and we also are appealing to the NCCU community to be patient and give the legal system an opportunity to bring this to closure.” The alleged victim, a 27year-old mother of two and former Navy enlistee, had been working for an unidentified escort company for two months. The first time she was
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Hospitality senior Nikki Williams and psychology senior Venetta Wells write words of support for the alleged rape victim, an NCCU student. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
VOX, shared words of inspiration at the candlelight vigil. “The person who did this must be suffering from a deep sickness of the soul,” said NAACP State Conference President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. A moment of silence was dedicated to the alleged victim and other victims of sexual assault. “We are here to show support not only for this young lady, but for all females in the Durham
community as well,” said Jackson. “Every human being has the right to be treated with dignity and respect,” Student Government Association President Renee Clark said as she read a statement from Chancellor James H. Ammons. DNA results of 46 Duke lacrosse players have yet to be released. “Only the truth will set you free,” said Barber.
Flyer placed on the ground of the house where the alleged rape took place. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
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ELECTIONS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 integrity of the elections committee,” said James Lee, assistant director of elections. “We were making sure that those issues were addressed and resolved.” Some candidates expressed frustration about the elections. “We were under false pretenses,” said political science junior A.J. Donaldson, a SGA presidential candidate. “It’s like a man living in a dark cave. We’re seeing the light for the first time.” Agu Onuma, SGA vice president verbally attacked Donaldson in a student meeting Tuesday blaming him for for raising the constitutional issue. Onuma was told by the elections vice chair James Lee that he was out of order and to leave the meeting or be escorted by campus police. Onuma declined to comment on why he attacked Donaldson. “It’s out of my hands now and it’s getting out of control,” Onuma said. Donaldson declined to comment on Onuma’s allegations. Although current SGA president Renee Clark accepts responsibility in using the constitution, she said the election mishap is an empowerment issue and
the school administration is meddling in student affairs. “The only way for students to be in power is to be left to handle situations,” said Clark. “Students have the say and it’s up to students to determine how to legislate. We are working with the administration, but we can’t let them dictate how we govern.” Clark said she would take full responsibility for the election outcome if any constitutional violations are divulged, but maintains that the student affairs office is focusing on irrelevant issues, while complex student problems remain unresolved. “As SGA president, I will stand in place if any discrepancies are brought up,” said Clark. “My frustration comes from the fact that we have major things going on but the administration takes the time to focus on something that can be handled by the student body. We can’t transition because of the administration’s right to dictate” Despite all the confusion, Faith Allen, executive director of elections, has vowed to announce winners by the end of this week. “The results are pending and we are very concerned,” Allen said.
Sampson Davis, MD, Rameck Hunt, MD, and George Jenkins, DMD spoke in McLendon-M McDougald Gymnasium as part of NCCU’s Lyceum series, Tuesday, March 28. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
Three MDs beat street Three New Jersey doctors made a pact and stuck to it BY QUENTIN N. GARDNER ECHO STAFF WRITER
CONVOCATION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 vice chancellor for academic affairs, said of the program change. “We have a nationally recognized jazz band. We need to show off what we have in our talented students.” Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Services Dr. Bernice Johnson, who is directing the planning of convocation, said featuring music by the NCCU Jazz Ensemble at the ceremony will both honor a talented group of musicians and help solve a spacing issue in the gym. “In the past three years the chancellor has given awards to the jazz ensemble, so since these students are being recognized, why not have them play so everyone can see why they are being recognized,” said Johnson. While Some students and faculty see the band change as much needed, others remain skeptical. “I don’t think it’s characteristic of what convocation should embody,” said band president Terry Jones. Trumpeter Lonnie Bodiford said, “It’s not meant
for a jazz band to play at, it’s like a church. You break a tradition and people will have words.” Band member Shauna Hines explained that the symphonic band and wind ensemble usually combine to perform at convocation, but due to conflicting schedules, both groups were forced to back out. “The symphonic band and wind ensemble have different schedules … when you don’t have time and space to practice, it becomes a problem,” Hines said. Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Robinson works to find the best ways to educate minority and disabled students. “I look forward to her speech because she represents one of the highest minds in education,” said Johnson. “She will be able to share with us some of the trends in education and the high demand for teachers.”
Fifteen years ago, three teenage boys from the street made a pact: they would stick together, go to college, graduate and become doctors. Growing up in Newark, N.J., they knew first-hand the struggles of life in the inner city. These three men have overcome the obstacles they faced and earned medical degrees to become The Three Doctors. N.C. Central University’s students had the opportunity to hear the authors of “The Pact: Three Young Men Make A Promise and Fulfill A Dream,” a New York Times best seller, March 28. Rameck Hunt, MD, George Jenkins, DMD and Sampson Davis, MD spoke in McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium as part of NCCU’s Lyceum series. The trio had one main message: environment and race are not excuses for underachievement. Each doctor also had an individual message. Davis, 33, is a certified emergency room attending physician at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark. He stressed that it takes a village to raise a child.
He said children need positive peer pressure to help them stay focused on their dreams. “Make sure the company you keep is headed in the right direction,” said Davis. “Who knows? The life you save may be your own,” Jenkins, 33, is on the community health faculty at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Jenkins said it is up to the individual to achieve. He told students that they are in control of their own lives. “You need to chase down your dream as if your life depended on it,” said Jenkins. Hunt, 32, is a board-certified internist at the University Medical Center at Princeton and is clinical assistant professor of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He provided the pulse of the evening throughout his speech, admitting that focusing on his dream took him a long time. “I felt I was in an alternate universe — everything that’s good is bad, everything bad is good,” said Hunt. Hunt also initiated a brief two-question pop quiz. He asked how many cranial nerves were
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in the brain. Then he asked how many times rapper/actor Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson has been wounded by gunshots. The crowd erupted in response to the second question. “I’m tired of celebrating ignorance,” he said. His final statement led the audience to a standing ovation. “What’s important at the end of the day to you?” Hunt asked the audience Timothy Holley, chairman of the Lyceum Committee, was impressed with the event and with the messages delivered by the trio of doctors. “I enjoyed the program immensely,” said Holley. “The three doctors’ message was immediately relevant to university students.” Davis, Hunt and Jenkins also are the authors of “We Beat The Street,” a book of life lessons demonstrated through the doctors’ experiences. The book targets young children and parents. The medically inclined trio also has a special television segment entitled “Things We Do For Love.” In 2002, the three doctors received the Essence Award for their accomplishments and leadership.
In an appearance on her television show, Oprah Winfrey said, “You guys are bigger than rock stars! “I think you guys are the premier role models of the world.” Hunt said, “We have a compelling passion for speaking and telling our story.” “This is not to boast or brag — we just recognize that we are in head-to-head combat with drugs, mental and physical illnesses, teenage pregnancy and all kinds of abuse, and we accept the responsibility of making a difference by being role models and touching lives,” he said. Hunt, Davis and Jenkins are the founders of The Three Doctors Foundation, which is based on the mission to inspire and create opportunities for communities through education, mentoring and health awareness. “Strength comes from knowing the power to overcome adversity and prevail lies within one’s self, and you have to first realize that,” said Davis. “Once [you’ve] realized [this], you have to accept accountability for your life and take the necessary steps to turn hopes and dreams into realities,” he said.
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Effort gets boost NCCU granted $164K to curb tobacco use BY SHEREKA LITTLEJOHN ECHO STAFF WRITER
Brooklyn McMillon stands proud before a collection of historical photographs from NCCU. TREVOR COLEY/Staff Photographer
LIVING HISTORY Archivist’s knowledge of NCCU spans decades BY LISA MILLS-HARDAWAY ECHO STAFF WRITER
Whether you are a history buff or not, you should know there is a walking, talking encyclopedia whose knowledge of N.C. Central University and the surrounding community spans seven decades. Brooklyn McMillon is the caretaker of NCCU’s history. Monday through Thursday you can find McMillon tucked away in the James E. Shepard Memorial Library in a large first floor room, surrounded by pieces of history dating back some 97 years. Though McMillon doesn’t want draw attention to himself. Insisting he is not the story, he is very much part of the history of this institution. “It’s not about me, it’s about the history,” he said. McMillon wants students to know that his knowledge and the University’s large historical collection is available to all NCCU students. McMillon was a freshman at NCCU in 1938. He completed the graduate program in Health Education in 1947 and was hired the same year by James E. Shepard. Shepard wanted McMillon to develop a student internship program. “He hired me September of ’47, and he died the next month,” said McMillon. During his career, McMillon worked as an instructor, a director, a registrar and the chair of health education. Several months after retiring in 1982, McMillon returned to campus and volunteered to archive the university’s historical documents. About a dozen tables are covered with yellowed newspaper clips, modern and antique photographs, copies of the Campus Echo dating back to 1927, and a yearbook for the graduating class of 1929. Of particular significance is a copy of the certificate of incorporation for the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race, Inc., filed June 30, 1909. “Originally this was a private school, but because of
A photo from an old Eagle Yearbook. Yearbooks and Campus Echos in the NCCU archive date back to the 1920s. TREVOR COLEY/Staff Photographer
money it was incorporated in order to get funding,” said McMillon. The certificate contains the signatures of the six original founders. “All six played a pivotal part in the education and development of the community most of us know as the Hayti,” he said. “But that’s a whole ’nother story.” The certificate shows James E. Shepard’s signature and that of his brother, Dr. Charles H. Shepard, a Shaw University graduate and a then practicing physician at Lincoln Hospital in Durham. Other signatories, in addition to the Shepard brothers, are Dr. Aaron M. Moore also one of the first black practicing physicians, W.G. Pearson, the principal at the first Hillside high school, along with businessmen Charles Clinton Spaulding and John Merrick. Merrick, Shepard, Moore, Pearson and several other Durham businessmen were also the original investors in both North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and Mechanics and Farmers Bank. Debora Hazel, head of reference in the library, is an NCCU alum who received her undergraduate degree in history in 1975 and later received her master’s in library science in 1983. She will be retiring
from the University after 30 years of service. “I’ve been able to work hand-in-hand with Mr. McMillon because of my love for history,” said Hazel. Hazel said not only does the University house historical documents in the archives room, but it also has a Treasure Room where the Martin Collection and other one-of-kind gifts to the University are kept. The Martin Collection, which was received by NCCU on March 23, 1950, is a collection of some 3000 books, pictures, periodicals, and artifacts that originally belonged to a West Indian Moravian minister named Charles D. Martin. The collection focuses on the history of the Negro in North America, South America, Africa and the West Indies. Along with the planned renovation of the library will come a renovation of the archives room. McMillon said he will begin packing documents, which will be temporarily relocated to another section of the library while his space is renovated. “We’re bringing the building up to standard,” said Viola Williams, interim director of the library. “We are upgrading the infrastructure, which includes a sprinkler system and climate control.”
The N. C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund has awarded N.C. Central University a $164,000 grant that will be used to combat tobacco use on campus. N.C. Central University is one of 20 universities, community colleges, health departments and organizations chosen to receive money as part of the HWTF commission’s Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Initiative. Over the next two years, NCCU will also benefit from grant money awarded to the American Lung Association of North Carolina. David Jolly, health education assistant professor, is the principal investigator for the program at NCCU. In the past, Jolly acted as the principal investigator of the Tobacco Control Advocacy at Historically Black Colleges and Universities project that was funded by the American Legacy Foundation. “African American teens and young adults are less likely to smoke than whites their age, but by the age of 30 smoking rates are equal in both races,” Jolly said. “We want to prevent young African Americans
from getting the habit of smoking before it becomes a habit so that they will be less likely to smoke when they are older.” The money received from the HWTF grant will be used in evaluating the smoke-free dorm policy, creating a 20-foot smokefree perimeter around building entrances, training students on cessation counseling and distributing educational materials about the use of little cigars at NCCU said Jolly. The money will also be used to promote the new Quitline N.C., which is a new resource hotline for N.C. smokers who want to stop. Currently there are three student interns working with members of the Student Coalition Against Tobacco that will lead the efforts. SCAT conducted a survey at NCCU that determined fewer than 20 percent of students smoke, and preliminary survey results from other evaluations reveal that some students may not be fully aware of smoking policies. Next fall, students in a policy advocacy class taught by co-investigator Patricia Wigfall, associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies and associate professor in the public administration department, will
apply policy and advocacy theory to the grant projects in order to evaluate effectiveness of the programs. The conclusions drawn from these evaluations will be given to the residential life staff so that they will know how to adjust their violation policies if necessary, Wigfall said. The efforts to reduce tobacco use at NCCU are targeted at protecting the health of non-smokers. “The intent of our tobacco control activities is not to penalize the smoker, but to ensure that non-smokers are protected against environmental smoke,” said Wigfall. “We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to engage students in tobacco control activities that are key in creating a healthier environment for everyone at NCCU.” The American Cancer Society reports that secondhand or environmental tobacco smoke is a mixture of two types of smoke from burning tobacco products. Sidestream smoke comes from the end of a lighted tobacco product, and the smoker exhales mainstream smoke. In the U.S. secondhand smoke is responsible for an estimated 40,000 deaths due to heart disease and lung cancer.
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Does sitting up front make students smarter? BY JARELL DAWSON ECHO STAFF WRITER
We’ve all done it. Walked into class on a day when you felt like being lazy and sat as far away from the teacher as possible. Sometimes we’ve even found the biggest guy in class and sat behind him so we can get a quick power nap. For some students, sitting in the back of the classroom has become as much a habit as logging on to Facebook when sitting in front of a computer. It has become a generalization over the years that the smart students sit in the front, while the lazier students slide their way to the back corner of the classroom. But does where you sit really affect your grades? Christina Cabral, a teacher in the Foreign Language Department, has found that students who sit in the front are more focused. “When students sit in the back, it is easier for them to sleep, play with their phones and do other homework,” said Cabral who has been teaching for eight years. While there are students who shy away from the front to avoid
the teacher, there are others who prefer getting up close and personal with them. “When I’m in the front, I feel like I do better because I am more alert,” said Medina Clark, a junior theater major. Tekia Norman, a mass communications junior, agrees. “I sit in the front so I can pick up on everything the teacher is saying, Norman said. “A lot of times, the people in the back like to talk and do other things, and I don’t want to be distracted.” Still, some students believe that sitting in the back doesn’t hinder one’s focus. “I do all of my work, but I’m really shy and I don’t like getting called on,” says English junior Shereka Littlejohn. She has been able to maintain a GPA higher than 3.9, despite her preference of sitting away from the teacher. It is clear that sitting in the back does not determine a student’s success, but do teachers have a preference when it comes to seating? Rebecca Soper, speech instructor, has no preference. “There are a few students who lay their head on the wall in the back and
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go to sleep, but a lot of students just like keeping their distance and seeing everything that is going on around them,” Soper said. “That is okay with me, so I just go to them. There have been times when I have taught from the back of the class,” said the teacher of 26 years. Other teachers prefer their students to be close. “I like for my students to sit up closer together, so I don’t have to wander around the room trying to get everybody engaged in class discussion,” said English professor Michelle Ware. A former student at the University of New Orleans, Ware recalls her undergraduate days. “I rarely sat in the back, but when I did, I was bored and wanted to avoid the teacher’s scrutiny, which is why I am suspicious of people who sit in the back.” While she declines to comment on whether students who sit in the front are more successful, she has advice for all students. “The two keys to success in any class are engagement and interaction. And when you sit in the back or around the sides, there is a natural tendency to not interact as much.”
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ALLEGATIONS
TIMELINE: HOW THE EVENTS HAVE UNFOLDED
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS BEFORE AND AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF NCCU STUDENT. COMPILED FROM THE NEWS & OBSERVER AND THE NEW YORK TIMES. MONDAY, MARCH 13 2 p.m.: A neighbor, Jason Bissey, sees at least five men standing in the backyard of 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. drinking beer. Bissey sees the men again at 4 p.m. drinking. 8:30 p.m.: The accuser is called by her escort agency and told to report to the N. Buchanan Blvd house that night. 11:30 p.m.: Bissey, after being out for a while, returns to his apartment. He reports that several young men are gathered near the back door of 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. 11:50 p.m.: Bissey says that he sees two women walk to the back of the house, where a man greets them. TUESDAY, MARCH 14 Midnight: Bissey sees the two women go into the house.
House at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. at Duke University’s East Campus where an alleged rape of a NCCU student occured. The student was at the residence working for an escort service. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
hired to dance for a party was on March 13, at a house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. She arrived with another woman from different agency. The house, owned by Duke and rented by captains of the lacrosse team, has a neighborhood reputation for raucous parties. Police have been called there four times since September. The police application for a search warrant gave this account: The women went to the house to dance for five men, but said there were more than 40 men upon arrival. When she and the other dancer started to perform, the men made racial slurs and became aggressive. The women became concerned for their safety and decided to leave, but as they got into their vehicle, one suspect apologized and talked them into staying. Once inside, the two women were separated. The student said she was pulled into the bathroom by two men who closed the door. Three men were inside. The student said she was hit, kicked, strangled and sexually assaulted anally, vaginally and orally for about 30 minutes. Around 12:53 a.m., an unidentified woman called 911 about men yelling racial slurs at her and a friend from the house. The caller said she wasn’t harmed in any way, but was offended by the incident. A security guard from Kroger grocery store on Hillsborough Rd. placed a phone call at 1:22 a.m., when the victim arrived in a vehicle. On March 23, Durham police collected DNA samples from 46 members of the lacrosse team. Two days later, members
of the community started protesting the silence of the lacrosse team. Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong took charge of the prosecution and was pushing to get the DNA results back quickly. The examination was being expedited at the State Bureau of Investigation lab in Raleigh, and results were expected early this week. According to Durham County court records, team members have been charged with 15 criminal violations for offenses related to noise, underage drinking, public urination, and other alcohol-related violations. In most cases, the students were given deferred prosecution, an agreement that gives them probation and requires community service. Police said they thought at least three men were responsible, according to the search warrant application. The crimes described include first degree forcible rape, first degree kidnapping, first degree forcible sexual offense, common law robbery and felonious strangulation. The lacrosse team members acknowledge hiring of the exotic dancers and underage drinking at the residence, but in a statement issued by the team captains, they clearly denied a sexual assault or rape occurred. They called the allegation “totally and transparently false,” adding, “the DNA results will demonstrate that these allegations are absolutely false.” On March 28, Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead announced the lacrosse season would be suspended until the facts of the case were clearer. “In this painful period of uncertainty, it is clear to me, as it was to the players,
that it would be inappropriate to resume the normal schedule of play,” Brodhead said. “Sports have their time and place, but when an issue of this gravity is in question, it is not the time to be playing games.” Nifong stated earlier in the week that he will not release DNA samples from towels, rags and rugs, and no charges will be filed in the investigation until some time next week. He said he had no plans to announce the state’s evidence until a trial. If charges are filed, the test results will be given to defense lawyers and presumably would be introduced at trial. Many students at NCCU and Duke are disturbed about the incident. “When I first heard about the alleged rape, I was very upset,” said history junior Jamar “Fatz” Harris. “I still am. She didn’t ask to be raped.” Harris said the most important thing is the young lady said she was raped, and race plays a vital role. Duke student Brandon Hudson, an English and African American studies senior, agrees with Harris. He said Duke is moving slow on taking action. “The University has not acknowledged the humanity of the woman,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it was by the lacrosse team or whoever, a rape was said to have occurred.” Harris and Hudson have been participating in the rallies and candlelight vigil. “It’s amazing how everybody came together to unite,” Harris said. “It’s good to let the young lady know we support her and care about her welfare.”
On the flip side Does the profession decide the fate BY LARISHA STONE ECHO STAFF WRITER
Students of both N.C. Central University and Duke University have a lot to say about the role the victim’s profession plays in the alleged assault. Did the victim “ask for it?” some wonder. The overwhelming response is no, but there are some students who have mixed feelings. Criminal justice senior Christopher Bridges gave a scenario. “If someone told me not to go to the edge of a cliff because the rocks were loose, I would avoid the cliff as much as possible,” he said. “A rational person would walk far away from the cliff to avoid danger. If you do go near the cliff, you’re tempting fate. If
you fall off the cliff, then fate got you.” Junior nursing student at Duke University Bridgette Moynahan feels that no woman deserves to be raped, no matter what. “Women have a hard time claiming ownership of their bodies in a society of rape culture,” she said. “If she was lying naked on the sidewalk, she deserves to be helped, not taken advantage of.” Media outlets have claimed that the victim worked for an escort service. A representative of A Better Service Escort Service claims that there is no way that that could be true. “They say she was a dancer, but worked for an escort service,” the representative said. “Dancers work for
entertainment services and there’s a difference. Why was she there without a bouncer? She went there with no one. She didn’t deserve it, but she was a fool,” the representative continued to say. Wes Ray, owner of Bare Minimum Limousine and Entertainment Service has been in the entertainment business for 11 years. He gave further insight. “The entertainers never went unassisted. Male security met clients at the door.” He said that he never had a problem with disruption or disrespect of his dancers at Duke University functions, but he did add that “if those boys called an escort service, they knew they had a better chance of getting more than entertainment.”
12:20 TO 12:30 a.m.: Bissey hears voices in the alley beside the house. At least two men are discussing money, one saying, “It’s only $100.” Bissey sees a man leaning into the window of a car parked outside the house. One of the women he saw earlier gets out of the car and says she needs to get her shoes. She walks to the back door of the house. Between 12:45 AND 1 A.M.: Bissey sees a car, which at least one of the women had been in earlier, speed away. One man standing across from the house, on the Duke campus, shouts, “... Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.” Several men come out of the house; Bissey hears at least one of them say, “Guys, let’s go,” repeatedly. Within minutes, there is silence. The lights at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. are dim, and no one is outside. 12:53 a.m. 911 call: An unidentified woman calls 911 and says a man near 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. used a racial slur against her and her “black girlfriend.” 12:55 a.m.: Police arrive and see evidence of a party at the house, but no stragglers. No one answers the door, and police can’t find the woman who made the 911. 1:22 a.m. 911 call: A security guard calls 911, reporting that a woman is in a parked car at the Kroger grocery store on Hillsborough Road and won’t get out. The guard says the woman appears to be intoxicated and is hardly speaking or moving. 1:32 a.m.: Police arrive at Kroger. They talk to the woman, who reports that she was raped at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. She accused three lacrosse players, whom she identified by first names, of forcing her into a bathroom at the house and sexually assaulting her for 30 minutes. The woman said she and another woman had been hired to perform as exotic dancers for a party at the house. She is taken to Duke Hospital for tests, and a nurse finds evidence consistent with an assault. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 Duke University begins looking into the incident less than 24 hours after it was reported, the university’s president, Richard H. Brodhead, later said. THURSDAY, MARCH 16 In an affidavit for a search warrant, Durham police investigator Benjamin W. Himan describes the woman’s account of rape, assault, kidnapping, robbery, strangulation and hate crimes. A magistrate approves the search warrant seeking DNA evidence, clothes, cameras, computers and other evidence in and around the house. After the search, three residents of the house, all lacrosse captains,
are interviewed by the police. They agree to provide DNA samples; however their lawyers advise them not to do so. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22 A lawyer for some players cancels a planned meeting between players and investigators. The district attorney obtained a court order to compel DNA samples. The police reveal that in their search of the house, they seized four laptop computers, five cameras, a bath mat, a bath rug, five broken artificial fingernails, a bottle of K-Y jelly and cash. THURSDAY, MARCH 23 Forty-six members of the team report to the Durham police crime lab to provide DNA samples and be photographed. Some were also interviewed. SATURDAY, MARCH 25 As community members organize a protest at the lacrosse stadium, Athletic Director Joe Alleva announces that the team will forfeit its game Saturday game against Georgetown and its Tuesday game against Mount St. Mary’s for violating policy with the party and underage drinking. Alleva said the team’s roster would be removed from the university Web site. SUNDAY, MARCH 26 About 100 protesters bang pots and pans outside the house and about 60 march to the home of the university’s provost to call for aggressive action against the members of the lacrosse team. MONDAY, MARCH 27 The police search a second home where lacrosse players live. TUESDAY, MARCH 28 Brodhead meets with the captains of the team and say they deny having sex with the dancer. At a press conference Brodhead announces the suspension of the season until the case is resolved. The lacrosse captains issue a statement saying that DNA results will “demonstrate that these allegations are absolutely false.” Michael B. Nifong, the Durham County district attorney, says in a television interview, “I am convinced that there was a rape.” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 Protesters participate in a previously scheduled “Take back the night” rally. At the rally they hand out flyers asking anyone with information about the incident to call the police. The lacrosse team resumes practice. NCCU student organization, VOX, Voices for Planned Parenthood of N.C. Central University, holds a forum to explore ways to the student who alleges she was raped. FRIDAY, MARCH 31 Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong announces that it may be another week until DNA results come in. He says no charges will be filed until at least April 10. Monday April 3 2006 Student body coalition meet with university administrators and submit a call for action. Hundreds of NCCU students and community members hold vigil in support of the alleged rape victim in front of McLean Residential Hall. Ammons releases a statement saying that “what is most important to the NCCU family is that the investigation is thorough and that justice is served.” — Compiled by Rony Camille
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oth girls were supposed to fulfill one job. One was to go to the store for her family. The other was to work at a party for a few hours. Both have done these things several times without any trouble. Until one day, trouble followed them down the wrong path. Both young ladies ended up raped, abused and sodomized. These ladies were young, black and seemed to be victims of hate and sex crimes. One young lady is a fictional character from John Grisham’s novel, “A Time to Kill.” The other young lady is a real woman with real problems and a real situation on her hands. This entire fiasco with the Duke lacrosse team reminds me of Grisham’s book with visual help from the 1996 movie. It featured a small town ridden with racism and hit with a case larger than what anyone can handle making everyone question themselves and their safety. But this isn’t a movie we’re living here. This is real life and I don’t like where it’s heading. By now, we know the timeline, the exact events that took place and who the possible suspects are. Everyone is giving their opinions and theories about the situations but coming up with no conclusions besides rallying together to get justice served cold to the alleged Duke students. For the past week, I’ve been sitting on the backburner listening and paying attention to what’s going on. As a reporter, I haven’t written any articles on what’s going on and as a photojournalist, I haven’t taken any pictures of the rallies or the lacrosse team’s house.
I’ve just been watching everything unfold like a movie before my eyes. The actors have been laid out before us. We have our protagonists and antagonists. Durham, a quiet, sleepy Southern town becomes the setting. The plot: A young black woman victimized by rich, white boys. Just boys against one woman. The plot unfolds getting thicker and thicker with each day passing. Can you see the comparison? Can you see how the two relate and how strong the passion is unfolding from the blatant racism in this case? The students that are outraged are becoming the upset father in “A Time to Kill” while those accused become the beer-guzzling rednecks having too much fun. I wish this all were unreal. Just a movie. Something I can walk away from, but I can’t. The situation is too ugly and too real for anyone to hear about on an everyday basis as we have been experiencing. No one can pre-
CARLA AARONLOPEZ
vent the actions that took place that awful night or take those actions back and do something else. I can’t fix my mind away from the latent racism that was awakened in my heart when this case splashed into the news. Yes, I do feel like Carl Lee Hailey the upset black father from Grisham’s book. The feeling in my gut is screaming “I know them boys did it and I hope they burn in hell for it.” But let’s be realistic. This isn’t a movie, this is real life. They are still innocent until proven guilty. I feel no sympathy for those that might be convicted but for right now, I will advise this much, be wary of who you touch in this town, who you decide to scream ignorant profanities towards or who you decide to rape and sodomize. This is Durham. Not a fictitious town in Mississippi. I quietly hope those accused get what’s coming to them. Whether from the courts or the hood, I hope no one gets the chance to escape from this horror.
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ALARMING CONTEXT
f you’ve listened to the chatter on this campus over the past week, it’s obvious that the casual air that usually permeates it has been replaced by concerned looks and heated discussions. And that’s because something bad has happened here — something that has drawn the attention of the national media, and it’s not Sean Dockery or J.J. Redick. What may have happened here, just a stone’s throw away from East Campus, is a crime so heinous with such deep racial undertones, that most of us, including members of the Durham community and our neighbors at North Carolina Central University, don’t want to think about it. But think about it we must. Over the past week, I’ve found myself struggling to come to grips with the possibility of members of the men’s lacrosse team raping a young, black mother of two. And all I keep thinking to myself, as statements like “Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt” keep repeating in my mind, is that had the young woman been white, a different series of events would have taken place. Ever since I arrived at Duke in August, I’ve sensed the overwhelming tension between the Duke and Durham communities. Because Durham is a predominately black city and Duke is a predominately white school, it seems as if Duke students are intimidated by the city’s large black population and consequently, many are even scared to leave campus. And that’s what makes this situation so ironic. Had it been the other way around — had a Duke student been allegedly gang-raped at NCCU — there would have been an outcry and several attacks about how Durham is so dangerous. But this situation is different. This time, rapes are allegedly happening at the hands of Duke students. What is most upsetting about this situation is the wall of silence the lacrosse team has created. Instead of standing up as men and saying what they know, team members have chosen to stand by alleged rapists in
hopes that their rich daddies will make everything OK. Even the only black member of the lacrosse team is keeping quiet about any information he could potentially know about what happened that horrible night. And this is troublesome for me because if he was at the party, and if what the alleged victim says is true, how could he stand by and let his teammates defile this woman who could be his mother or sister or cousin? If he wasn’t there, then as a black man, the pressure is on him to say what he knows about the situation. But the bottom line is this: If the events are proven true, any man who would stand by a rapist deserves to suffer a punishment comparable to that of the rapist’s. As an institution, Duke has not quite done its job in this situation. Duke has chosen to wait until the Durham Police Department completes its investigation before making any official judicial actions. And President Richard Brodhead is right — they are innocent until proven guilty. But why not concoct a plan to make the lacrosse players speak? Maybe last weekend, during the Black Student Alliance Invitational, Duke administrators should have informed prospective black female students that if they are raped by white males, no one will care. If in the coming days, the correct actions are not taken on Duke’s part, Duke
ARIA BRANCH
will continue to have a reputation of being a bunch of privileged white kids who can do anything they want. In this case, it could be to verbally assault -- or even rape – a black woman and get away with it. In our society, black females are already at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to power. Reflecting back to the Jim Crow South, there exists a long history of the black female body being constantly violated by white men without perpetrators suffering any consequences. If these students truly committed and subsequently get away with this heinous crime, we are, in effect, reinforcing the power that white men have felt they have over the black female body. Was it OK in the eyes of the lacrosse players to allegedly disrespect and violate this woman because she is black? Or was it because she was a dancer? Maybe because she allegedly attends North Carolina Central University and not Duke? If these crimes were truly committed, we as a community cannot allow these men to continue to trip off of the power and privilege they have as white males in our society. As a black woman and a Duke student, I want to see to it that the alleged actions of these lacrosse players, if true, be punished accordingly FROM U-W WIRE – DUKE CHRONICLE
Wednesday, April 5 is Kick Butts Day. A great day to quit!
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Beyond NCCU
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006
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Poverty driving African immigration Africans risk death at sea for new life in Europe BY KEVIN SULLIVAN WASHINGTON POST
NOUADHIBOU, Mauritania — Magat Jope kicked gently at his dead friend’s clothes, which lay in a rotting heap in a corner of the desert graveyard. A yellow fisherman’s oilskin. A lavender jacket. The clothes that Goure Deye was wearing in February when he and close to 30 other illegal immigrants drowned in the Atlantic Ocean, trying to reach Spanish soil on a tiny boat. The garments were clinging to the bloated body when Jope identified his friend and brought him to this cemetery a few miles from shore. The gravediggers were supposed to have burned the clothes by now. But death on the water has kept them busy lately. They wield heavy iron crowbars in 100degree heat to chip grave after grave from the brickhard Sahara. They bury the bodies first, wrapped in the white funeral shrouds of Muslim tradition, then burn the jackets and pants when they can. Humanitarian officials estimate that at least 1,000 African immigrants have died in the past four months attempting to ride narrow, open fishing boats across 600 miles of rough Atlantic water to Spain’s Canary Islands. Thousands of other Africans seeking a way out of punishing poverty have fled by boat in the Mediterranean toward southern Italy or climbed barbed wire into Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish territories on the northern coast of Africa. Now, with crackdowns making those routes increasingly impassable, the beaches of this desert country are the newest back door into Europe. Wealthy beyond belief in the eyes of destitute people almost everywhere, the European Union also draws an illicit flow of migrants from the former Soviet Union, China, Latin America and the Arab world. Together, these tides of people are adding up to one of the most significant migrations of current times. The new route from Africa appears to be far more dangerous than the older ones, but people keep coming. “If you are as poor as we are, you are not afraid of death,’’ said Jope, 34, an electrician and polite father of two. “I want a house. I want to educate my children. The risk doesn’t matter.’’ Jope is from Senegal. He is here, he explained in a lengthy interview, because his country has nothing to offer. His father has diabetes; Jope and his wife and children have been living mainly on help from his mother, who runs a little business selling drinking
water. If his mother died, he worried, his family would have nothing. Then one day the phone rang and on the other end was a friend, calling from the Canaries. He’d made the six-day sea voyage safely. In Spain a laborer could earn close to $2,000 a month, the friend said; when Jope worked, he made about $40 a month. So Jope got on a long-distance bus, carrying with him more than $1,000, money provided by his mother to pay for his sea passage and, hopefully, his new start in Europe. Three days later, he stepped down in Nouadhibou, a noisy oceanside market town of 90,000 people. It is the secondlargest city in Mauritania, a million-square-mile expanse of desert with a population of only 2.9 million. On any day, the town’s markets are filled with traders in flowing robes selling oranges and dates. There are nearly as many donkeys as cars on the rutted streets. Along the beaches, hundreds of open fishing boats deliver cargos of mullet, shark and bright-colored shellfish. Jope soon became aware there were many people like him in town, outsiders trying to blend in, avoid the police and find boats heading to the Canaries. They were from Mali, Gambia, Nigeria and other West African countries. A population boom and ballooning joblessness in many African countries, driven in part by a wave of subsistence farmers moving from their villages into cities, has caused thousands to risk the journey here. Ahmed Ould Haye, local head of the Red Crescent, the Muslim counterpart of the Red Cross, estimated that about 15,000 migrants were milling around here waiting to go to the Canaries. Many work as laborers or fishermen to earn money for the voyage, which typically costs $1,200, Haye said. Some of them pool their funds and buy a narrow boat shaped like a canoe, pointed at both ends. Some pay fishermen to take them. Others deal with middlemen who arrange boat and skipper. Local authorities say a boat leaves nearly every night, jammed with as many as 60 people. Those who reach the Spanish islands often immediately turn themselves in. Under Spanish law, authorities have 40 days to determine the nationality of detained illegal immigrants and send them home. If they can’t find that out in that period--and many immigrants make a point of arriving with no identification and remaining stubbornly silent in the face of questioning--they are turned over to the Red Cross and allowed to stay. Many find ways to make it off the Canary
In the early morning, a woman carrying water passes a mother and her children in Nouadhibou, a market town of 90,000 people. The Mauritanian town has become a gathering point for Africans eager to immigrate to Europe. CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT Photo
Islands and get to Europe proper. Last year, 4,700 illegal immigrants were registered in the Canaries. In just the first three months of this year, the number was 3,800. In Nouadhibou, Jope fell in with Deye and two other men from Senegal. They lived in a small rented room while they plotted their departure. Jope was first. On Feb. 1, he walked down to the beach in a cold winter breeze, paid about $10 for a worn orange lifejacket and stepped into a 40foot fishing boat with 34 other people. He handed the captain $1,100. The canoe-like boat chugged away from shore powered by a 40-horsepower outboard motor and steered by the captain using a handheld global positioning device. Almost immediately, Jope said, passengers who were not used to being on the water began vomiting. The smell was overpowering. Jope, over six feet tall, found there was barely enough room for people to sit. His legs and ankles swelled so much that he couldn’t straighten them. People prayed and talked quietly, he recalled. There was plenty of food and water, but no one could sleep, and the leaky boat needed constant bailing. Four days out, they were intercepted by a Moroccan naval vessel. Sailors tied a line to the bow of the immigrants’ boat and towed it for
three days back to Nouadhibou. All the way, Jope felt devastated. When they approached the town, everyone on the boat jumped overboard and swam to shore, then ran away to avoid being detained and sent home. He never saw the captain again, and his $1,100 was gone. When he returned to the room he had rented with his friends, he heard what happened to them. They had left on Feb. 4 on
a crowded fishing boat. It sank in darkness and most of those on board drowned, according to survivors who were picked up by a passing fishing trawler. One of the survivors told Jope that after the boat went down, he had floated in the water with Deye until a large wave came and washed Deye away. Deye’s body was pulled from the water by the trawler crew, but the bodies of his two other friends, N’Daga N’Daye, 23, and
Abdoullah Lak, 19, were not found. “The frontier between Africa and Europe is turning into one of the most dangerous migratory passages ever seen,’’ said Rickard Sandell, an immigration specialist at the Real Instituto Elcano in Madrid, a private research group. Sandell predicts that immigration pressure on Europe from Africa will only intensify. “We are just seeing the start of something much, much bigger,’’ he said.
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Repeatedly, we heard that we were the first black group that had been in the area since the storm. “Where y’all from?” “Did they pay y’all to come down here?” “I sure ain’t seen none of y’all down here.” One man had the audacity to address us as “playas and playettes.” I shook my head in disgust — I knew that he only addressed us this way because we were black. As I listened to his accent and use phonics predominately spoken by African-Americans, I realized this man had no idea how to relate to African-Americans, other than what he had probably seen on television or heard on the radio. I charged it to his ignorance and tuned him out, as did the rest of the group. As we walked the streets of East Biloxi, people slowed down their cars to speak. They waved and tooted their horns. They threw up their hands in gladness, relieved at the notion that there was some hope for our generation and that there was some hope for them as well.
TEXT BY SASHA VANN PHOTOS BY RODERICK HEATH
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here was something eerie about this trip, and I felt haunted. Dark questions filled our minds — “Are there still people who haven’t returned to their homes?” “Will we see any dead bodies?” — so we joked and chatted to lighten the gloom. We were heading down to the most traumatized place in America, naïve college students jumping headfirst into undefined, idealistic mission work. We were going south to make a difference in a disaster area; we didn’t anticipate the difference the disaster would make to us. When one of my fellow Eagles asked me, “Sasha, what’s the matter?” I said I was nervous. He said he felt the same. Alabama, Mississippi and New Orleans would be a new experience; few of us had traveled that deep into the South. The sun was beaming at 9:30 a.m. when we touched down in Alabama. We exchanged our sweatshirts for t-shirts and tucked our flannel blankets under our seats as we got off the bus. “It doesn’t feel like Alabama. I need some ‘We Shall Overcome’ or something,” said nursing junior Liz Kennedy. Selma: Lost in Time
Straight from the heart
The Boondocks
After the service, we climbed on a bus, Selma had a lost-in-time look that is so common to historic cities in the South; the stores eager to see the refurbished nursing home and churches that witnessed Martin Luther where we expected to spend the night. King Jr. seemed to have witnessed little of Stoplights became stop signs and roads Katrina’s wrath, although her deluge had cov- became narrower. What looked like a dead end became the turn-off to ered the roads. our home away from home. We arrived at Tabernacle It was not a nursing Missionary Baptist Church, home. East Perry High our hosts in Selma and, School, once operational, more than forty years ago, was now deserted, looking host of the first mass meetas if school were dising for the Voting Rights missed one Friday afterAct. Indeed, the air was noon, and no one returned thick with discussions on Monday morning. about the renewal of that Papers lay in teacher’s same Act when we walked mailboxes. The entire into the church dressed in place looked ghostly. sweats and flip-flops. “I know we not stayin’ “My grandma would here,” one voice cried out. whoop my a-- if she knew Still, we held our how I looked right now,” heads high and tightened said elementary education our guts, preparing to senior Arine Lowery. spend the night in the abanI sat in the back row, doned school. We were and as the pastor bowed relieved when we were led his head, I looked around to a huge house behind the at the congregation. Young school. A young woman weland old, black and white, comed us from the steps. neighbors and strangers M a n y h o u s e s h a v e b e e n m a r k e d , We called it Camp Wehad congregated at the warning of asbestos or even the Don’t-Wanna. We were church. The scene was a dreaded possibility of destruction. trapped in the middle of reminder that the hurrinowhere without radio, cane did not discriminate television or cell phones. against anyone in its devastation. Eight to 10 people to a room. One bathroom. “In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth …” the pastor began. Stirred in Hot like four hells. As we unloaded, people with the sermon was the sound of crying began to unravel. “It will only get worse tomorrow,” said an babies and people trying to find verses in Bibles. The little girl in front of me was more adviser. So we made the best of a flaky situation. interested in her doll’s stoic face than in her Finding instruments around the house, we surroundings. Somewhat conscious of where she was, she could neither understand nor formed a band. African dancers were born and escape what was going on around her. We a modeling troupe was made. One instructor called it improvisation. We were like that little girl: innocent, unaware called it chaos, just pure hell. As the night and trapped.
Residents of 446 and 448B are not afraid to let people know they made it through the storm as many people were unable to leave the area.
Students were thouroughly involved in the reconstruction of homes and lives during Katrina on the Ground. Sarah Frayer, NCCU junior (above) silently gazes out of a window while painting a water damaged home in Gulfport, MS.
wore on, patience wore thin and mental health wore out. We were trying to do the impossible by preparing for the unknown. We slept when we were exhausted, but we never relaxed.
Biloxi, Mississippi Lights, camera, action. Monday, March 13, began the rest of our lives. Arriving at Mt. Hebron Family Center in Mobile in the late evening, we choked down a third dose of spaghetti and green beans and took our stressed bodies to bed. The next morning required some mental building. Anxious yet still groggy from the cots that served as beds the night before, we rode Highway 39 to Biloxi. Low-country areas surrounded us as swamps threaded in and out of the woods. The sign at the state line said, “Welcome to the State of Mississippi. It’s like coming home.” Funny it said that –— seeing how we African-American students (the majority of us, anyway) don’t know much about our ancestries. Some of us were probably going home and didn’t even know it. At the same time, the victims who were displaced because of the storm were like the Africans sold into slavery: they left everything behind and stepped into a different world. Seven months later, the devastation of the storm was still visible. Hollow houses and bottomless buildings-on-stilts lined the coast of Biloxi. Only the reflectors of construction workers were visible where casino lights once blinded the streets of the coastal strip. As if by coincidence, houses a mile up the street were empty, untouched and forgotten, with messages tagged to the side of decrepit wood and broken bricks:
“Chk 4 Asbestos,” “Leave house standing” and “GEICO and Allstate Insurance Sucks.” One message sprayed on the side of a hotel balcony touched everyone who saw it. It said, “Mom, we’re ok.”
Gulfport, Mississippi ‘Did ya get ya FEMA check?’ ‘Yeah I got my FEMA check!’ ‘So tell me what you spent it on?’ ‘I bought some rims wit my FEMA check.’ — song by Genesis and Israsel Briggs, a hit on Biloxi’s WJZD Radio Grandma. Ol’ Tobis. Mr. Joseph. These lifelong Gulfport residents witnessed the strain that the hurricane placed on their communities. Receiving a FEMA check was supposed to provide some relief, but it had only worsened an edgy situation, openning the door wider to problems, like drugs, that have continued to plague the black community. Mr. Joseph attested to this — he’s addicted to crack cocaine. “It’s all about self-preservation,” he said. “People are gonna do what they gotta do to survive.” Across from the church that we were attempting to salvage, we watched a vast amount of traffic go in and out of one particular house. Mr. Joseph made two trips within a two-and-a-half-hour period. A boy, no more than eleven, rode by clutching a bag and threw his head up at me. “Drugs got bigger in the community,” said Frank Tennort, who had lived in the community for 50 years. “After the storm, those checks came
then the fiends come out.” As for everyone else, who knows what they did with their FEMA check. That is, if they ever got one.
Snakes “There’s always someone that will mistake kindness for weakness.” —Darius Clemons, freshman Our spirits were high and so were our expectations for sincere work. We were told that people needed our help. We were told to be prepared for devastation and psychological upset. We were told that the people in these distraught areas had given up hope on the black community because they weren’t faces like theirs during the relief process. We were told all this, but we were still unprepared. Sure, we had the basic equipment — hard hats, goggles and gloves — but we were unprepared for having to deal with the feeling of being leased for work. Our first task consisted of various duties, none seeming to help anyone in desperate need. Riding past areas traumatized by Katrina’s wrath, many students were dropped off in locations where people were well on their way to being prepared for the next hurricane season. My gut clenched — I felt swindled. The watery eyes and sullen voices of the other students mirrored the way I felt. We felt like FEMA or the Red Cross, prioritizing who we helped based on their finances or status. We felt like we’d been tricked into selling out. I received calls from students at several sites with the same complaints: “Yo, what y’all doin’?” “Nothing dealing with hurricane damage.”
“The younger generation is different from ours. Their agenda is different,” said Kryzra Stallworth, a volunteer at East Biloxi Convention Relief Center. “If you see a young group that puts self aside, we know it’s from the heart.” And like everyone else, she said, “You guys are the first black students I’ve seen.” We got so much love in the ’hood. People stopped at our site, dropping off drinks and ice. Some just came by to talk and support the work we were doing. One day they even held a block party for the group — a straight-up cookout. We had to walk eight blocks to our site and one elderly man stopped and gave 12 people a ride in his two-door Nissan truck. Although he had to put the truck in 4wheel drive for the twominute drive to our site, he said that he was pleased by our company. We felt honored. “This is amazing just to see y’all here,” said Kevin Powell, a former cast member of MTV’s Real World, now an activist and journalist. “I got mad love for y’all.”
Some of the people at the sites we were supposedly helping openly admitted that our work was not related to hurricane relief. Some of the sites refused our help. Calls came in saying that volunteers had nothing to do and they weren’t working. One group actually demanded to be taken to a place that needed true assistance. In the latter part of the trip, we finally broke away from the schedule. Our organization, S.O.S., had set up, gone into Biloxi and Gulfport, and traveled from house to house, doing whatever was needed. As we often said during this trip, “The snakes were coming out.” Unsure of who was in charge of the program, we used intuition to do what we felt was right. We had to “cut the grass and let the snakes show” in an effort to ensure that we weren’t used for someone’s personal benefit, and that we utilized every moment of spring break 2006 for the sole purpose of community building.
White-washed “The attack was white and the relief was white. They sure are going to be glad to see y’all.” —Ishmael Muhammed, coordinator for Legal Work Group Coalition It took a minute to register what the people meant when they told us that they hadn’t seen us. Us, as in black people in groups coming to help with the relief. Us, as in the empowered black youth, the voice of hip-hop, who have the opportunity for a higher education, an education that has advanced us so much further than our ancestors. Us, as in those who looked the people like those abandoned by the United States government.
A community center is now open 24 hours due to hurricane damage ripping off the entire side of the building. NCCU sopho more Marc Robinson stands in the shadows of lost treasures of the community.
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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006
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A&E
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 , 2006
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NCCU’s fashion explodes Fashion organization prepares for 9th annual fashion show 12345 1234 123 12 S L A P S
T.I. King Atlantic Records out of on the 5 5 black hand side
Textile and apparel junior, Eboni Barbee, prepares a kimono style blouse for the design competition . RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
BY JOANNA HERNANDEZ ECHO A&E EDITOR
N.C. Central University’s Fashion Inc. has an unpredictable night planned for you. With the theme “Unpredictable: a fashion explosion,” NCCU’s Fashion Inc. prepares a competition that will feature 16 designers from the textile and apparel department as well as nine high school students from around the area. Fashion Inc.is an organization that consists of students majoring in textiles and apparel, the organization is responsible for giving these students hands on experience with design. “This is something new for students to be exposed to, those who don’t know about the major will have a chance to be exposed to it,” said Renisha Battle, a textile and apparel
junior Many in the department of textile and apparel feel that the major does not receive as much notoriety as other departments on campus. “People don’t value this major because they don’t understand the importance, these will be the people who will dress you,” said Wadeeah Beyah a professor in the textile and apparel department. This will be Fashion Inc’s ninth year presenting the students of NCCU with a fashion competition. “I think the designers have improved from years past, as far as designing they are thiking more out side the box,” said Battle The designers participating in the competition have been preparing by putting in hard work and feeding off of each other for creative energy and inspiration.
“If there is something I don’t know how to do, I can ask the next person, we help one another and look to each other for ideas” said Shayla Mills, a textile and apparel senior Other designers have watched the preparation and have forced themselves to work to their full potential. “I’m experiencing how to put a show together and now I wouldn’t mind winning especially after all my hard work,” said Nikia Miller, a textile and apparel junior. “I can actually see how much they have improved, their creativity has sprouted, they have ended up suprising themselves,”-said Beyah The competition will take place April 5th at 7p.m. in the New School of Education. Tickets will be $8 at the door and $6 in advance.
T.I., who’s real name is Clifford “Tip” Harris, named his fourth album ‘King’ after his son. This latest release turns out to be well worth the wait. Although they tried, even bootleggers couldn’t get their hands on a copy of the highly anticipated album before it hit the streets. King is also the title he holds in the south among other rappers from anywhere south of Washington, D.C. T.I. has had noticeable influence on the rap game. He has even been called the Jay-Z of the south because of his lyrical content and ability to make people aware of what happens in the streets on a real and raw level from his perspective. The album features bang-
Little Brother: Seperate But Equal DJ Drama & Little Brother Gangsta Grillz Mixtapes out of on the 4 5 black hand side
‘King’ of da South debut Rapper T.I. stars in ATL as a young man in search of himself BY LARISHA J. STONE ECHO STAFF WRITER
Rappers make the best actors. Will Smith starred in Ali, Ice Cube in Barbershop, and Tupac in Poetic Justice. Rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris is no exception in the movie ATL- The New American Dream. Although this movie gets mixed reviews, it still acts TI as its subtitle- The New American Dream. It takes place in Mechanicsville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. A group of five young men are trying to find the best possible way for them to make a better life. It does a good
job of telling the story of its individual characters without exploiting stereotypes. T.I. is just a young man trying to find himself, just like all the characters.It is a modern, “urban,” comingof-age story. More familiar faces in the film are Jason Weaver, Mykelti Williamson, and producer Jazze Pha. Newcomers Lauren London and Evan Ross Naess (Diana Ross’ son) give their all in the film as supporting actors. Lauren plays “New-New,” T.I.’s character Rashad’s gum-popping, southern drawl-having love interest. Evan plays Rashad’s little brother who has street dreams and wants to get rich quick. It tells the old story of coming into youthful awareness, but tells it from the perspective of these black youth in the South.
The film’s all-star production team includes Will Smith, who was one of the films producers, Antwone Fisher, who wrote the story, and music video director Chris Robinson makes his debut as film director of the movie. This movie speaks to young black people in neighborhoods where it is hard to find examples of “making it.” By being presented with a new idea of what it is to “make it” as a young black male or female, this movie does qualify as the new American dream. Critics might argue that the character’s aspirations were less than major, or that it is yet another film that shows black youth in a negative light. But it’s real. It talks about what really goes on without vilifying every character. Each one is a hero in their own right.
Let me start by saying this, Welcome to the South. Little Brother represents again as I knew they would. Separate but Equal the latest album from Little Brother allows more people to hear the true lyricism; Hip Hop. Track 11, “On My G”, gives Big Pooh the opportunity to show critics that he can murder a track lyrically. This track xgives mad props to WinstonSalem;” Winston Stand UP.” Track 19 “I Need You” is captivating with the smooth vocals by Central’s own Darien Brockington. The beat is so hypnotic; truly you can’t help but nod your head or wine your
Get Rich or Die Trying Hot Boyz The Wash ing beats from Just Blaze, Pharrell, Manny Fresh and in-house producers. This could hands down be the album of the summer. With something for everyone- a song for the ladies, a song for the ‘gangstas’ and a song for those just wanting to know what the life is like- summertime days will be fulfilled with this album in the music collection. T.I. has guest appearances on the album from Jamie Foxx, Young Buck, Young Jeezy, Bun B, UGK, Common, B.G. and P$C. T.I.’s hit single “What You Know” produced by DJ Toomp had the streets buzzing over the album way before it was slated to be released. “Front Back” featuring Bun B and UGK is also a street banger on the album that has a laid back ATL bounce, but it is trill at the same time. King is an album that is sure to be certified platinum within weeks. — Marcus Brian Williams
waist. Track 15 “Boondock Saints” takes it back to the roots and “YO” honestly Phonte rips on this one with his rhythmic flow. Phonte is one of Hip Hop’s top chop.With Southern Music being viewed merely as “KrunK” and with a connotation unworthy of its true essence, Separate but Equal brings back the Realness of Hip Hop grown from the South. Versatile in its range of compassion in Track 06 (Can’t Let Her) to intellectual substance in Track 5 (Let it Go, featuring Mos Def), this mix tape gives it to you. With a style that brings an innovative trend, Little Brother simultaneously preserves the cultural significance of “Ol’ School” music valued in the South. With and open-minded yet mature approach to Hip Hop and music in general, Little Brother makes it known that Music is Just Music” and with that “Real Recognizes Real.” — Khari Jackson
Planned Parenthood in Durham is moving to a more convenient location to better serve you. Our new location will be on Roxboro Road, just north of Durham Regional Hospital. Planned Parenthood offers confidential and affordable care including: Q Gynecological exams and cancer screening Q Birth control information and prescription Q Emergency Contraception Q Pregnancy testing and options counseling Q Testing and treatment for STI’s Q HIV testing
ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS
November 2005 to 105 Newsom Street, Durham ~ 919 286-2872
www.plannedparenthood.org/ppcnc
Tuesday, April 18th from 10:40 am - 2 pm
8 mile
Did you hear?
Pepsi Block Party Pepsi and The School of Business invite you to the North Carolina Central University “Pepsi Block Party.” The end of the Year Celebration will include a Live DJ, Food & Refreshments, Games, Prizes and Giveaways
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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006
Classifieds
Durham Church of Christ 909 Camden Avenue Durham, NC 27705 Phone: 919-956-7687-Office Email: jerrypence@rocketmail.com Service Times Sunday Morning Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 10:30 a.m. Sunday Evening Worship 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:00 p.m. www.durhamchurchofchrist.org
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New Hope Camp and Conference Center in Chapel Hill is hiring staff for the 2006 day camp season, June 5th-August 11th. Positions include arts, nature,and bible study specialists, general counselors, and lifeguards. Call 919-942-4716 or look online for application at
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Hiring Child Development Graduates Primrose School – Raleigh N.C. is looking to hire qualified Child Development graduates. Great compensation package. Fax resume to 919-329-2930 or call 919-329-2929. EOE
GRE/GMAT PREP Courses Why pay more than $295 to prepare for entrance Exams? Our courses begin monthly and meet on weekends or at night during the week. We offer 15-hour MATH PREP or VERBAL PREP courses as well as the more advanced 35-hour GRE PREP or GMAT PREP courses. Attend LIVE ONLINE or in a classroom located in Durham or Raleigh. Over 1,000 of our candidates have moved forward in their careers, so join us and Prepare For Success.
Visit www.acmnc.com or call 919-791-0810.
Running a 2” x 2” classified ad in the NCCU Campus Echo costs just $10 per issue. If you want to be in every issue for an entire year we’ll apply a 20% discount.
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April 11, 2006 3:30 pm – 7:00 pm AESU – Upper Level “Talk About Relationships” Hosted by: Project SAFE, NCCU – Student Health and Counseling Services EMPOWER Project, HERMES LLC, and the Office of Women’s Health. There will be a raffle after all activties are over.
Recycle
Interpret real problems, talk to others, express yourself, share your thoughts, and think about where you stand.
United Christian Campus Ministry 525 Nelson Street, NCCU Campus
Where: U.S. Army Recruiting Station When: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Who: Sgt. 1st Class Armstrong, 490-6671
Now offering up to $65,000 to repay student loans
For more information or to get involved in Campus Ministries contact us at 530-5263 or e-mail us at mpage@nccu.edu
NCCU Student Health and Counseling Services EMPOWER Project is funded in part by The Office of Women's Health and HERMES, LLC
YOU ARE INVITED Please come to a community meeting to share information about the development of Heritage Square Shopping Center located at the intersection of 401 Lakewood Avenue and Old Fayetteville Street. WHEN: Thursday, April 6 & Thursday, May 4 TIME: 6pm - 8pm WHERE: Hayti Heritage Cultural Center 804 Old Fayetteville St.
Michael D. Page Campus Minister
Join Christian Student Fellowship
Please plan to attend to give us your feedback on this economically and culturally significant project. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call: Sherry Kinlaw Community Relations/Operations Scientific Properties 411 West Chapel Hill St, Durham 919-967-7700 or email at: sherrykinlaw@scientificproperties.com
Sports
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2006
IN BRIEF Tennis teams snatch wins over weekend .C. Central University’s men’s tennis team claimed victory twice on Sunday, April 2 against St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh. In both matches, the Eagles defeated the Falcons 9-0 with six wins in the singles competition and three wins in the doubles competition. All of the Eagles had a chance to claim their own victory with each win against the Falcons. The men are now on a five-game winning streak since defeating Virginia Union University and two matches against St. Paul’s College on March 31 and April 1. The Eagles have an overall record of 8-8 and a record of 7-4 in the conference. The women are 4-7 overall, 4-5 in the conference. The men will travel to Virginia State University to seek revenge against the Trojans on April 9 at 1 p.m. The Lady Eagles will face the Lady Rams at Winston-Salem State University on April 6 at 2:30 p.m.
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NCCU runs CIAA for undefeated title
Team in effect Inclusion of baseball team will complete the process of Division 1-AA MEAC competition BY SHATOYA CANTRELL ECHO STAFF WRITER
NCCU’s outfielder Latisha Judd arrives home as St. Augustine’s Antoinette Bailey waits on an unseen ball in last nights bout against the Falcons. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
— Shatoya Cantrell
ECHO STAFF WRITER
NCCU holds 1st Annual Triangle Shootout he N.C. Central University Recreation Administration program will be holding its first annual Triangle Shootout on Saturday, April 15 from 10am-6pm at the Leroy T. Walker Complex. Sponsored by Athletes Coming Together in Sports, or A.C.T.S., students from the triangle area will be participating in this ordeal. The event will host a DJ and have concessions for all. A team fee of $5 is needed with a three-player minimum to participate in this event. Contact Dr. Politano, room C213 in the Walker Complex for more information. — Sasha Vann
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BY ERICKA HOLT Just because basketball season was still going down in March doesn’t mean N.C. Central University’s softball team hasn’t been going to work. The Lady Eagles (13-0 CIAA) only have four games remaining in conference play. The Lady Eagles improved 24-13 overall, ranking 8th in the South Atlantic Region of the NCAA. Last night at Hillside High School in Durham, NC the Lady Eagles beat the Lady Falcons of Saint Augustine College in a double header. 2005 CIAA player of the year Clarisse Steans pitched a no hitter (4th of her collegiate career) and second of the season, denying any batter to take base last night in the win against St. Aug. The Lady Eagles dominated game one with 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior shortstop Asha Sutton hit 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and eight RBI’s for the Lady Eagles. Sophia Blue, a freshman from Hope Mills, NC contributed to Clarisse Steans’ no hitter with a div-
ing stop of a ground ball in the fourth inning of game two. Blue also went 4for-4 at the plate with four runs scored and an RBI. “It is a great feeling being undefeated in the CIAA but we can not underestimate our opponents we must take one game at a time” said Clarisse Steans. Saturday at Lenoard Saunders Stadium in Fayetteville, NCCU beat the Lady Broncos of Fayetteville State in a double header, 9-0 and 6-0, respectively. Lakeisha Sheppard for the week of April 2 was the CIAA defensive player of the week. “This season is going pretty good and we are trying to win the division first then go on and win the CIAA championship” said head coach Larry Keen. Key players this season have been Lakeisha Sheppard, Clarisse Steans, and Shirley Torain, all having earned CIAA weekly honors With four conference games left to play, the Lady Eagles hope to make it to the CIAA championship game. The Lady Eagles will remain home on
Saturday, April 8 for a double header against the Lady Rams of WinstonSalem State at 1 p.m.
Freshman catcher Francheska Pittman anticipates a steal, and is ready to throw at moment’s notice. RODERICK HEATH/Echo Photo Editor
N.C. Central University’s transition from Division II to Division I competition requires the athletic department to add one men’s athletic team— baseball. “[Our] steady progress lets me know we’re on the right track,” says Bill Hayes, NCCU Athletic Director. Baseball is not relatively new to Eagle athletics. The team in the works will be the first baseball team since the 1975. In February, Hayes announced in the DurhamHerald-Sun that Henry White, physical education lecturer at NCCU, will be the school’s interim coach of NCCU’s baseball program beginning next school year. “I’m looking to have a Division I-caliber team with high school recruits and junior college transfers,” says White. NCCU is hoping to call the Durham Bulls Athletic Park home to the Eagles baseball team at the start of their season in 2007. The remodeled baseball park in Downtown Durham will hopefully bring much attention to the fans in the Eagle village. “I played baseball in high school and it is good to know that we will soon be getting a baseball team,” says Bradley Davis, junior mass communications major. MEAC competition includes DI schools such as Howard University and Florida A&M University. NCCU will begin Division I competition in the academic year of 2007-2008.
“She Got Game” Grad assistant gets chance at WNBA over the weekend BY SASHA VANN ECHO SPORTS EDITOR
Walk into McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium around 9:30 a.m. where the swishing of nets and the scuffling of shoes are heard. One will find graduate student and assistant basketball coach Shenika Worthy, a prospect for the Women’s National Basketball Association moving to the beat of her own Cadillac funky music. And it’s sounding really good. The Atlanta native is so familiar with the gym as she uses it every day to prepare her for her world of basketball, whether it is coaching in the CIAA or the WNBA Free Agent Camp she attended Friday and Saturday in Boston. “My agent called me in January and said I got an invitation to the camp. This is what I’ve been waiting on,” Worthy said. The WNBA Free Agent Camp is held only once a year, giving hopefuls a chance to play in front of coaches and pro scouts before being drafted.
Former Eagle basketball player, Gary “Toot” Cobb and assistant head coach Steve Joyner have been assisting Worthy with her “A”-game for the past 12 months. “I want her to stay focused and keep God first. When she makes that money, I’m going to need her to send me a plane ticket or something,” Cobb said jokingly. Holding the rock since the ninth grade, the former Lady Eagles basketball team has spent the last year getting ready for the chance to play in front of WNBA scouts. Worthy got the chance to play in front of the likes of Mugsy Bogues, head coach for the Charlotte Sting, and Dave Cowin, head coach for the Chicago Sky. She said Coach Bogues was impressed. “Through conversation, he knew that I could shoot well. Before I came, he was like ‘just be ready’,” Worthy stated. Worthy played for Esperance
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Sportive, a team based out of Pully, Switzerland in 2003 and traveled to countries such as Germany, France and Italy. A year before that, she was drafted into the National Women’s Basketball League straight out of college to the Birmingham Power. Worthy has been assistant coach under the direction of Lady Eagles head coach Joli Robinson for the past two seasons, as well as finishing her masters degree in educational technology. “I want to go into business for myself,” she replied. “I possess skills that you don’t find a lot of women doing. Regardless of what happens, Worthy remains excited about her future. With a master’s degree and the upcoming international season in August, the doors for success are wide open to this young woman. “Like Michael Eric Dyson said [about ATL-based group Outkast]: ‘Don’t mistake going to school with being educated’,” said Worthy.
Worthy, a former star player at NCCU, is now looking for a professional venture in the wide world of basketball.
Residential Services, Inc. A non-profit organization in Chapel Hill that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities is looking for Direct Support Professionals to join our team.
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Opinions
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Stick to the issue at hand was watching the news the other day and as I flicked through the channels from news station to news station, I became increasingly enraged. I understand that there is an underlying thread of racism and sexism that has existed in the fabric of this country since it’s “founding fathers” set foot on new world soil. Tolulope I underOmokaiye stand that the way women, predominantly black women, are portrayed in movies and music videos causes those of weaker minds to believe that we are nothing more than object of sex to act out their immature over sexualized fantasies. But why, in the face of such an ignorant, brutal and horrific attack on a young black woman,
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our fellow Eagle, there living by the Duke their lives as if University has hapWhile the world is hold- nothing Lacrosse team, pened, drinking ing a magnifying glass can’t we just get in bars and some equal over NCCU waiting for practicing their truth. sport. us to act like the mind- privileged Newspaper Or maybe they less animals they think haven’t forgotafter news show constantly cateten. we are, they’re missing gorize her as “a For some reathe national geographic son, stripper” nothI do not display right under ing more. believe that its They always a mistake that their noses. neglect to state the Duke the fact that she University is also a student, a mother, a Lacrosse team’s many incidents daughter and a survivor of rape. of racially inappropriate behavInstead of these shows stating ior have been over looked. the fact that she said she was From a player of the team hit, kicked, strangled and sexushouting “Thank your grandpa ally assaulted anally, vaginally for my cotton shirt” to the victim and orally for about 30 minutes, after the incident to the underthey’re alleging she’s had violaage drinking at their parties, the tions on her driving record. list of incidents by the Lacrosse What does any of that have to team goes on and on. do with what happen to her? There are multiple stories for The media has been so busy the media to write about the throwing dirt on the victim that team without even having to dig. they seem to have forgotten that So, why is it that all I see and her alleged attackers are out hear are stories that make the
victim look bad, but have nothing or little to do with the case? Two days after the lacrosse team gave DNA samples to be tested, they were seen in a bar slamming back shots and shouting “Duke Lacrosse!” Is that the behavior of young men concerned with the wellbeing of a woman that was attacked at their party or of boys who are confident that they’ll get away again? While the world is holding a magnifying glass over NCCU waiting for us to act like the mindless animals they think we are, they’re missing the national geographic display right under their noses. While I applaud the young men and women of NCCU for not feeding into the frenzy, I am left to wonder what would have happened if this attack had taken place on our campus by our football team against a young women from Duke. But then again I don’t really have to wonder what would’ve happen, we already know.
drawing by Rashaun Rucker
Question: “How far along would the case be if the assault took place at NCCU?” “I believe that this situation would have been down played if it happened at NCCU. Since Duke is a large school they’re putting an effort into saving their name.”
Truth, nothing but ... n the heels of tragedy, one is forced to acknowledge the unfortunate occurrences that happen daily and are often overlooked. The incident including students from the Duke University Lacrosse team and one of our own, has forced the topic of rape to surface in the student conscience. Kai The Christopher opposing sides range from those who believe unequivocally that she was raped and that those alleged assaulters should burn in hell, and those who believe that she deserved whatever she received due to her occupation. I acknowledge that there are
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facts that I will accused and never know, and towards the due to that I victim. refuse to take a However, we We should be at a side in this case, who make point where we but I believe these judgthat there are ments have demand the whole underlying facmost likely truth, regardless if that never shared tors that subcontruth serves well with sciously guide compassionate our conscious words with the plate we already opinions. either side. planned on eating. Using face We have yet value as a means to hear a first of drawing judghand account ment is ignorant, of the night in arrogant, and question, yet simply unfair. we seem to feel strongly one But as a community, we take way or the other. part in such acts everyday. One who has prematurely The society in which we live, decided a verdict, is likely to embraces at the least and favor facts that support their sometimes endorses the act of case and negate facts that do pre-judgment towards others. not. In this instance pre-judgConvenient truths are ments have been made by both emphasized, which leaves plensides. ty of room for deception and We have heard attacks of coercion. character, which I admit being It is this poisonous mindset guilty of, both towards the that would rather be right, than
true or just. The same mindset that believes a girl who dances exotically deserves to be a sex toy, or that the rich boys who get away with everything probably did it, is the same breed of prejudice that says a young black man who doesn’t have a suit can’t have a “business first” attitude, or that black culture and the business world can’t coexist. It is this disease of thinking that has our society split over this case. When in actuality there should be no split because the truth in it’s entirety has yet to be revealed. We should be at a point where we demand the whole truth, regardless of whether that truth serves well with the plate we already planned on eating. I would like to see more people searching for and wanting more facts, rather than reacting to the few we have already been presented with.
— Whitney Leach “It would be different because we as black people look at rape differently. If it was our football team they would be in jail waiting for a trial.” —Charles Graham
“If it happened at NCCU none of this delaying of DNA would be a problem. The suspects would have been in custody while they built a case to convict.” — Kiera Moore
L e t t e r s National women’s organizations respond Dear Campus Echo, We are outraged by the commercial sexual exploitation and brutal gang rape of a young African-American woman student by white EuropeanAmerican members of Duke University’s lacrosse team, who had hired her as an “exotic dancer” on March 13, 2006. We deplore the ignorance or bigotry of those who describe the gang rape of an African American woman by white European American men as “complicated.” Sexual exploitation and rape are not complicated — they are acts of sexual violence and violations of human rights. Racism and class prejudice are an intrinsic part of men’s sexual assaults against women and are also intrinsic to commercial sex businesses. We must understand this crime for what it is: simultaneously a violent crime and an egregious abuse of sex, race, and class privilege. The Durham community has held vigils and public protests against these horrific sexual assaults. There have been outpouring of support and rage at North Carolina Central University (the vic-
tim’s school), and at Duke University (the lacrosse team’s school). The district attorney seems to have taken the victim’s testimony seriously, and has threatened to charge Duke lacrosse team members with obstruction of justice for keeping silence to protect their brothers. Nonetheless, as of April 4, 2006 no charges have been filed against the perpetrators of the crimes against the victim. The assault against this woman is both a race hate crime and a sex hate crime. Will there be justice in Durham North Carolina for this young woman? Will she ever heal from this nightmare? Signed, •Prostitution Research & Education, San Francisco, Melissa Farley •Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, New York, Dorchen Leidholdt •North Carolina Coalition
Against Sexual Assault, Monika Johnson Hostler •Captive Daughters, Los Angeles, Sandra Hunnicutt Alesia Adams, Atlanta Donna Hughes, University of Rhode Island Melissa Snow, Washington, D.C. Kristen Houser, Omaha • The Prostitution Alternatives Round Table of The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Samir Goswami • Children’s Civil Rights Union, Berkeley • Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Tamika D. Payne • GiRL FeST Hawaii and The Safe Zone Foundation, Kathryn Xian • Arte Sana (Art Heals), Texas, Laura Zarate • Minorities & Survivors Improving Empowerment, Chong N. Kim •Equality Now, New York • Breaking Free, Minneapolis • Young Women’s Empowerment Project, Chicago • Polaris Project, Washington, D.C. • SAGE Project, San Francisco, Norma Hotaling • Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers • Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
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