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VOLUME 103, ISSUE 2
A&E
Sport
Photo Feature
A&E
Former Echo A&E editor Phonte Coleman of Foreign Exchange drops his first solo album
4th quarter botched snap sends Eagles to their doom, now at 1-2
Boxers get back to the basics of the sweet science. Take a look inside
110 images from the African diaspora on display at Duke’s Nasher
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Campus Echo
Poverty at 50-yyr high
SCUBA STEVE HAS NOTHING ON ME!
Over 46 million in poverty. Poor children at highest number since 1962. Some 6 million 25- to 34-year-olds living at home. BY DON LEE, NOAM LEVEY AND ALEJANDRO LAZO TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON — In a grim portrait of a nation in economic turmoil, the government reported that the number of people living in poverty last year surged to 46.2 million — the most in at least half a century — as 1 million more Americans went without health insurance and household incomes fell sharply.
The poverty rate for all Americans rose in 2010 for the third consecutive year, matching the 15.1 percent figure in 1993 and pushing many more young adults to double up or return to their parents’ home to avoid joining the ranks of the poor. Taken together, the annual income and poverty snapshot
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Operation inflation
5% tuition increase agitates NCCU students BY RIYAH EXUM ECHO STAFF REPORTER
Hospitality and tourism sophomore Marcus Linton described his dive into Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as a “soul-ssearching” experience. Photo Courtesy of Marcus Linton
BY DAVID FITTS ECHO ONLINE EDITOR
Beautiful countrysides, koala bears, kangaroos and the Sydney Opera House — that’s what people think of when they think about Australia, the land down under. But N.C. Central University hospitality and tourism sophomore Marcus Linton’s summer trek across the equator was
more than simple tourism. “I catered everything I learned, including the culture, around hospitality and tourism,” said Linton. “The biggest thing I gained was my own identity,” he said, adding that he learned about Australia’s aborigines and its “impressive” sports culture. Linton said his July trip helped him sort out his next steps in life, which will now include more travel abroad.
While in Australia Linton stayed in Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns and Surfers Paradise, a suburb of Queensland. Linton said he heard about the travel opportunity when Travel Sports Academy program director, Craig Douglas, spoke in a tourism class taught by Leon Mohan, an assistant professor in hospitality and tourism administration.
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Another year, another jump in tuition. It’s getting to be as regular as the changing seasons. This year, in-state tuition for N.C. Central University students increased by 5.2 percent, on top of 1.2 percent and 2.8 percent increases the previous two years. Currently a full time in-state NCCU student pays just under $8,000 per semester. This includes $1,476 in tuition, $1,369 in fees, $3,609 for housing, and $1,477 for a Plan A meal plan. If you’re out-of-state, tuition climbs to $6,726, bringing the total semester cost to $13,217, including fees, housing and meals. The tuition hikes are a response to the statewide budget cuts in university funding. In all, more than $414 million has been cut from the UNC system this school year, resulting in more
than 3,000 layoffs. These budget cuts have forced Chancellor Nelms to direct top administrators to cut $2 million in operations and academic programming. Some students say they are starting to see sticker shock, especially given the prospects of finding work in today’s job market. “The jobs that some students get after college won’t even be able to compensate what they were loaned in college, so now we have rising tuition and a lot of debt,” said Hyleemah Caesar, nursing sophomore. “It’s unnecessary,” said graphic design junior William Buie. “We’re already trying to make ends meet as it is.” After seeking input from all UNC system chancellors and a committee of representatives
NECD ‘Voice’ speaks volumes
Collaboration between NCCU and UNC-Chapel Hill spawns community paper BY HANNAH HILES ECHO STAFF REPORTER
Voice recruiter and mentor Carlton Koonce and former Voice reporter Aaron Saunders teach Hillside students the ropes. Photo courtesy of Jock Lauterer
When Lisa Paulin handdelivers The Northeast Central Durham Voice in downtown Durham, she’s often stopped along the way. “Is that a new issue of the Voice?” “Can I have a copy?” “Do you write for The Voice?” “We sometimes think, ‘Who knows how many people are actually reading it?’” said Paulin, an assistant professor in the department of English and mass communication. “But when it gets delivered and people pick it up,
you really do see how meaningful it is to the people who live here.” Voice’s publishers, Paulin, Jock Lauterer, a senior lecturer at UNC—Chapel Hill, and Bruce dePyssler, Campus Echo adviser, all say that they’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Central Durham community’s desire for the publication. “Before The Voice came along, the only news for this area, all of it was bad. Gang violence, robberies — nothing about the community’s good side,” said Lauterer.
“Every community is more than its problems,” said Paulin. “Every person has a story. There are a lot of things going on that should be talked about – and not all are bad.” Lauterer recounts the inspiration for the Voice: “One day, I was talking with my colleague Mai Ngyun. She’d been working with the city of Durham’s regional mapping and planning with a class. One of her students asked her, ‘Could a neighborhood community paper benefit
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‘It Gets Better’ BY ASIA QUIMBY ECHO STAFF REPORTER
The stories show up in the news all too often. A young American conflicted over his or her sexual identity choses suicide. On Sept. 22, 2010, T y l e r Clementi, an 18-year- old Ru t g e r s U niversity Brett Webb-M Mitchell student, was secretly recorded on a webcam and
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Hard science, soft matter
Darlene Taylor, chemistry assistant professor, and chemistry graduate student Uddhav Balami prepare to spin and bake polymer films. AARON SAUNDERS/Echo editor-in-chief
BY MELISSA KERR ECHO STAFF REPORTER
Darlene Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry at N. C. Central University, will join researchers from area universities to investigate a unique group of substances that scientists refer to as “soft matter.” Soft matter is matter that is — surprise, surprise — soft — something between crystalline solids and simple liquids. Soft matter includes objects as common as balloons and soaps, and as complex as liquid crystals and polymers. They are unique because materials in this state have the ability to assume many different forms. The National Science Foundation has awarded a six-year, $13.6 million grant to provide a consortium of scientists, the Triangle Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, the opportunity to delve into this unique group of substances. “I am very excited that we have this opportunity,” Taylor said. “They are really pulling the best of people from the institutions.”
The grant is divided among scientists from NCCU, Duke University, N.C. State University and UNC–Chapel Hill. Soft matter research could lead to the development of organic solar cells and medicines able to target specific sites and cut harmful side effects. Taylor’s research will be led by Ashutosh Chilkoti, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke. This research will examine peptides, short, linked chains of amino acids. Taylor also is the principal investigator of a separate “seed” project. She joins NCCU professors John Bang, associate professor in the environmental, earth and geospatial sciences department, and Liju Yang, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences. The investigators will aim to develop ways of changing the structure and properties of polymers in terms of heat, electricity and mechanical force. “I will be learning a lot from Dr. Taylor and my colleagues,” said chemistry graduate student Uddhav Balami.
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this area’?” The answer was a resounding “yes.” Lauterer said he contacted dePyssler about working with NCCU students to start up a community newspaper that would serve the high-crime area Durham police have tagged “the bull’s eye.” With NCCU on board, Lauterer went to work. Soon Paulin incorporated the Voice into two of her journalism courses, Public Issues Reporting and Advanced Reporting; Lauterer did the same with his community journalism class at UNC. “What I see in the future is having a great group of teens, and a pipeline for teens coming up through their school, or their church youth groups or other non-profits, but to really get a good group of teen reporters,” said Paulin. “Our NCCU and UNC students will probably step into more of a mentor role, to really teach them about reporting and writing.” Lauterer then landed a $25,000 Z. Reynolds Smith Foundation grant for cameras, computers, other equipment; he sweettalked Scientific American Properties, Inc. in the Golden Belt building for free office space and free wireless internet from Time Warner Cable. The first edition of the Voice appeared, exclusively online, in the fall of 2009. But Lauterer said it had little impact. “I would ask people on the street corner who I met, ‘Have you seen The Voice?’ And they’d say, ‘What’s that?’ And I’d tell them, ‘It’s the new community newspaper, for your neighborhood!’” said Lauterer. “They would invariably
ask me, ‘Well, where can I get one?’ And I would tell them it was all online, and their faces would just fall.” That response inspired Lauterer, Paulin and dePyssler to overcome the digital divide by getting the Voice into old-fashioned newsprint. In February 2010, Lauterer charmed The Daily Tar Heel, UNCChapel Hill’s student newspaper, to donate a year of free printing. Today the Voice prints 2,000 16page, full-color copies each month, while maintaining its online presence. With a second Z. Reynolds Smith Foundation grant, the Voice has now brought NCCU graduate and former Campus Echo editor Carlton Koonce on board as neighborhood youth recruiter and mentor. According to Koonce, pretty much anyone from the neighborhood can write poems, stories or news for the community newspaper. “We really want to reach out for them and help them fill themselves out,” he said. “We have a saying at The Voice: Onward and upward. There’s really no stopping us … it’s almost like a little experiment. “We don’t really know where we’re going to wind up, but I really think it’s going to go places and become even bigger.” Koonce said he looks forward to getting Duke University involved so all three local universities are tied together to the project. According to Lauterer, the Voice embodies what community journalism can and should be: “It’s an engine for holding a mirror up. Yeah, the mirror’s cracked in places, but aren’t you lovely?”
streamed by his roommate while kissing another man. Three days later he jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge. On Sept. 27, 2010, 13-yearold Asher Brown finally got up the nerve to tell his parents that he thought he was gay. At school that day he was ridiculed by his classmates. That afternoon he got his stepfather’s 9 mm Beretta and shot and killed himself. The facts are staggering: According to a 2009 study published in Pediatrics, gay youth are about 4 to 5 times more like likely to commit suicide than other youth. If they are rejected by their families, these youth are eight times more likely to commit suicide. One N.C. Central University professor says he knows what it’s like to feel as if you have no one to turn to and nowhere to go. “I needed to know it gets better. I had a group of friends that helped make a difference,” said Brett WebbMitchell, an associate professor in the department of English and mass communication. Webb-Mitchell is working hard to make sure that NCCU is a safe place for all LGBTQ students. LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning. Webb-Mitchell, an openly gay Presbyterian minister, found inspiration in the It Gets Better Project, a national support organization that supports LGBTQ youth. At its web site, www.itgetsbetter.org, offers supportive videos from individuals including President Barack Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Google employees, national sports teams and more. The It Gets Better Project also works with The Trevor Project to end LGBTQ youth suicide by providing lifesaving resources, including 24hour telephone counseling. Webb-Mitchell and 11 other NCCU faculty and staff members have donated money and purchased copies of the book “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming
Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living,” by the project’s founders Dan Savage and Terry Miller. The book includes firsthand accounts of coming out of the closet, the struggle of being openly gay, and stories from straight allies. The group plans to distribute copies to the NCCU Women’s Center, Shepard Library, and to local libraries and gay/straight alliance groups. Webb-Mitchell said he’s also working with Tia Marie Doxey, director of student life assessment, to implement Safe Zone, a campuswide faculty and staff training program that would promote safe areas for students where they can feel free of judgment. Webb-Mitchell also is working to establish an LGBTQ center at NCCU, similar to those at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. Experts say this supportive approach can have a real impact. According to Jennifer Welsh in the science web site LiveScience.com, a supportive environment in schools and communities can cut suicide rates significantly. “My ultimate goal is to be sure that LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, administrators, and allies know that it’s OK to be who you are created to be,” said Webb-Mitchell. Students feeling the need for someone to talk to can call the GLBT National Youth Talkline at 800-2467743 or the Trevor Lifeline at 866-488-7386.
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
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TUITION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 appointed by each chancellor, tuition increases were recommended by then-UNC President Erskine Bowles for consideration by the UNC Board of Governors. The final recommendation allowed for a maximum 6.5 percent tuition increase. But things could be much worse. University of Iowa freshman nursing students recently witnessed a 40 percent tuition spike, and engineering students at that university witnessed a 20 percent increase. According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, the current average for instate tuition, room and board and fees at public universities nationwide is $15,000, nearly double what an NCCU student pays. The current average for tuition, room and board, and fees at private universities nationwide is $33,000. Rising tuition is a global phenomenon. In London in 2010, 52,000 students rioted in protest of proposed increases that would triple their tuition. The tuition is scheduled to jump by $14,000 in 2012. Conservatives in the British Parliament proposed the tuition hikes as part of larger austerity measures that would cut $130 billion out of government expenditures by 2015. “It’s inspiring to see young people so passionate about their education and willing to fight for it,” said Jimmy Florestal, business administration junior. “Maybe one day we can come together and do something epic like that.” But some at NCCU see the need to invest in the University. “Physically I see a lot of changes — with the new dorm and the nursing building,” said history graduate student Rashad Thomas. “As far as I’m concerned it’s been for a good cause.”
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Unity in community NCCU students make a major difference
School of Ed search narrows BY JEROME BROWN JR. ECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR
Mr. and Miss NCCU, Mark Turner and Kelsey Hargrove, thank students for their participation in Make a Difference Day and building Habitat for hummanity homes. AARON SAUNDERS/Echo editor-in-chief
BY CIERA HARRIS ECHO STAFF REPORTER
Despite the gloomy weather on the morning of Sept. 17, more than 600 students gathered for Make a Difference Day in the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium. Make a Difference Day was initiated by USA Weekend magazine in 1992. It is a movement to help others with neighborhood and community projects. Students who fully participated received 15 hours of community service, the minimum requirement each semester. For the project neighborhoods surrounding N.C. Central University were separated into four zones. In each zone, five groups of students were guided by team leaders. They cleaned up trash and talked to the residents
about events at NCCU and asked them to support the University. For two hours, students handed out bags with a copy of the Campus Echo and other NCCU swag to persuade residents to get involved with the University. Students also wanted residents to know that NCCU was here to support them. “This is a great experience to bond with the community as well as our fellow Eagles,” said team leader, nursing sophomore Jasmin Sudduth. At the end of the event, everyone regrouped in the gym and wrote out reflection pieces. During that time various students expressed their thoughts and feelings about their experience. “It was very productive in picking up trash because
we need to keep this community,” said audio production freshman Ayodeji Owolabi. The grand finale of the day was a ceremony at the 800 block of Colfax Street. It was the groundbreaking for Eagle-Habitat 4, NCCU’s fourth house to be built in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. “Today was very fulfilling,” said freshman Kendrick Jackson. “It definitely boosted the morale of the community.” For those who were not able to participate in Make a Difference Day, there are still plenty of opportunities to gain hours. For more information contact the Academic Community Service Learning Program at 919530-7079 or acslp@nccu.edu.
The school of education search for a new dean is underway. Three candidates, Brian K. Perkins, Wynetta Y. Lee, and Brenda Joyce Stallworth are vying to become the next dean of N.C. Central University’s school of education. The next dean will replace the retiring Cecelia Steppe Jones. The incoming dean will be responsible for management of strategic planning, program development, faculty/staff and student development, research promotion, and fundraising among other tasks. “We would like to have a dean that can collaborate and communicate effectively with the faculty and students help us move forward,” said Dorothy M. Singleton professor and chair of the Curriculum, Instruction & Professional studies department. Singleton hopes whoever is selected will continue to foster the growth of aspiring educators. “I would like for the [next] dean to look at the success that we have now and have a vision for our undergraduate and graduate programs.” The candidates have varying backgrounds in the education field and all hold doctorates in education. The trio visited campus last week to talk with administration, faculty, staff, and students. A look at the candidates Brian K. Perkins, director of the Urban Education Leadership Program at Teachers College of Columbia University in New York, NY visited campus Monday. Perkins is an alumnus of Teachers College and is a former President of the New Haven (Connecticut) Board of Education. Wynetta Y. Lee is cur-
rently the dean of education at Grambling State University in Grambling, LA. In addition to her duties as dean, Lee is the superintendent of Grambling State Laboratory Schools, a system of three K-12 schools that have a collaborative partnership with the university. “My vision for NCCU is to be on the top, to be easily recognizable when it comes down to being educators,” said Lee. Brenda Joyce Stallworth is the associate dean in the college of education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. Her research interests include multicultural teaching and learning. If appointed Stallworth hopes to find ways to combat dwindling budgets to fund student groups. “We have to look at student involvement for student organizations and look at creative student funding opportunities,” said Stallworth. Moving forward Steppe-Jones, has been at NCCU for 31 years and held the dean position for the past ten years. She will maintain the position until the new dean is selected. During her tenure, Steppe-Jones helped create the Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School and made NCCU the first UNC System institution to be an Apple iTunes U school. Students want the incoming dean to be dedicated and have the same enthusiasm they do. “I want to know that they have a good background in education, are passionate about educating students, faculty, and staff, and lead by example and have an open mind so that our program will continue to be successful,” said education senior Bianca Brodie.
Transfer center prepares students for NCCU Life BY STACEY SMITH ECHO STAFF REPORTER
At the request of Chancellor Charlie Nelms and in response to the doubling of transfer students over the last three years, the N. C. Central University Transfer Center opened in January. Its mission? To ease the transition for transfer students, and bridge gaps among admissions, counseling, financial aid, and other parts of University life. “[Nelms has] always had a great passion for what
transfer students bring to the University, especially from an intellectual standpoint,” said transfer center assistant director Keisha Mark. Mark estimated the number of new transfers this year at around 500. Transfer students are required to attend an orientation, as well as subsequent transfer student programs. “The transfer center is really great because it helps me as a transfer student to make a smooth transition to NCCU, and keep me on track
United d Christian n Campuss Ministry 525 5 Nelson n Street,, NCCU U Campus Bible Study in The Centennial Chapel, Fayetteville Street Michaell D.. Page e Campuss Minister Wednesday,, Oct.. 5,, 7 pm Minister Jamecia McNeil & Stan Williams ~ Zion Temple Church Sunday,, Oct.. 9,, 8 pm Rev. Ray Donaldson, Pastor ~ Holy Cross Catholic Church Monday,, Oct.. 10.. 7 p.m. Corey& Tarica Rawlinson ~ Grace Church
Monday,, Oct.. 17,, 7 pm Deacon Sarah Woodard ~ St. Titus Church Tuesday,, Oct.. 18,, 7:30 0 pm Carlos Smith ~ World Overcomers Christian Church Thursday,, Oct.. 20,, 6 pm m Reverend Dr. Cornelius E. Battle, Pastor ~ Ebenezer Baptist Church
For more information call Rev. Michael Page at 530-5263
[with] the different parts of information, as far as like the classes that I need, so that way I can make an easier transition and keep on going,” said physical education junior Terry Washington who came to NCCU via Charlotte’s Central Piedmont Community College. He said he was being courted by a private university in Virginia, but chose NCCU because of its affordability and its strong physical education program. Though the transfer cen-
ter may appear welcoming to everyone, there’s a catch. Mark said the center emphasizes graduation and that according to the Chancellor, students not intending to matriculate should find another university to attend. NCCU recently dropped hundreds of students for failing to obtain a 1.9 GPA. Now the transfer center plans to potentially reinstate those students. “This is gonna put NCCU on the map, if we can track it correctly,” Mark said. “The
students that are having to leave us, we’re actually doing a reverse transfer to a community college.” When these students complete their associate’s degrees, they are encouraged to return to NCCU to complete their bachelor’s degrees. Transfer services will guide them through the entire process. “I think instead of just letting them go and saying ‘Well, we wish you well,’ or letting them go and saying ‘Well, you have the option to go to a community college,’
we’re actually keeping our hands on them,” Mark explained. “We’re communicating with them throughout the semester. We’re finding out midterm and final grades, because somebody needs to hold you accountable.” “And then,” Mark added, “we want you to come back here.” The transfer center is located in the Alexander Dunn Building, rooms 212, 214 and 216, and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
ABROAD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “This study abroad program explored Australia’s history, culture and government-sponsored sporting infrastructure,” said Douglas. “Sport plays a crucial role in Australian society and is a legitimate part of the identity of all Aussies.” Linton said Mohan encouraged him to to get out of Durham. “Marcus has the willingness and desire to learn, the sense that he needs to learn more than what’s going on in this small community,” said Mohan. “He needs to learn the big picture.” The journey, which Linton described as “the chance of a lifetime,” had a hefty price tag — $15,000. He raised funds with what he describes as “The Letter” — an appeal for support.
He said he got funding support from f a m i l y , friends, and Chancellor Nelms. He said Jacqueline Marcus Allen in Linton NCCU’s office of Institutional Advancement and Evelyn Wright-Corbett, the administrative coordinator in mayor Bill Bell’s office, were particularly helpful in his fund- raising efforts. “A collective group of people breaking down the barrier isolating them to the U.S. — seeing a vast world out there with so many opportunities — was very monumental to me,” said Linton, reflecting on his study abroad.
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Faith vs. cancer
Preparing for the worst
Richness of life experiences provides strength to NCCU cancer survivor
Communication, officer training critical in shooter rampage BY J ULIAN M ELTON ECHO STAFF REPORTER
April 16, 2007 was a grim day at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where English senior Seung-Hui Cho, 23, launched two separate shooting attacks at the school. The first shooting occurred at 7:15 that morning, the second two hours later. Students were notified by e-mail of the ongoing attack two hours after the first shooting. That day 32 members of the university died. Cho, who had a long history of depression and anxiety, committed suicide at the end of his rampage. The delayed notification response of the Virginia Tech shooting led to muchsoul-searching at campus police stations across the nation. So what would happen at N.C. Central University if a shooter went on a rampage? According to Sgt. Robert McLaughlin, quick communication is key. McLaughlin spent 28 years with the Durham police and is the University’s training sergeant and emergency management coordinator. NCCU campus police can instantly activate strategically placed sirens and communicate specific details about any ongoing incident. Many students may have heard this system during recent tornado warnings. NCCU is able to e-mail all students within minutes regarding any incident. As soon as an incident occurs, emergency communications/public affairs inputs information into the P.I.E.R emergency notification system. In order to receive emergency information, students need to log into Banner and update their current mobile number under the profile option. McLaughlin said the system has not been tested, but when fully operational “any information that is uploaded will be sent out
through text messages within ten minutes.” In the case of an active shooter, “first there would be a lockdown, and faculty and students would report to a safe area,” said McLaughlin. “Then the lights would be turned off. It is also important to stay low; these precautions may spare peoples’ lives.” Importantly, campus police receive training that is focused on responding to incidents such as the Virginia Tech shooting. According to Officer Ben Coleman, Basic Law Enforcement Training today includes more active shooter training than in the past. “Training is the forefront of law enforcement,” said Coleman, who is in his first year at NCCU. This training enables officers to more aggressively engage a shooter. What precautions should be taken in prevention of an active shooter? “College campuses should up the security,” said business management junior Brian Reynolds, adding that NCCU should consider metal detectors as deterrents. Campus police officer Joseph Wadlington said, “Pre-Columbine, the officers on scene had to wait for S.W.A.T or other reinforcements before taking action, but post-Columbine the training was re-written to minimize loss of life.” During the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, 13 students and teachers died when two high school seniors entered the school equipped with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. “Two or more officers who are trained to shoot are more skilled with guns than an average active shooter,” said Wadlington, who has been an officer at NCCU for five years. Mass communication junior Ashleigh Hooper said, “Knowing that experienced officers work for the campus police makes me feel confident in my safety on the yard.”
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Deborah Watkins, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, tells the story of her stuggle in her book “Seasoned with His Love.” NEKA JONES /Echo staff photographer
BY CHELSETIA DAVIS ECHO STAFF REPORTER
When business administration adjunct professor Deborah Watkins was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2000, she knew she was facing the biggest challenge of her life. In 2003 she received a mastectomy, and in April 2010 she was told her cancer had returned. According to the American Cancer Society, one out of eight women will get breast cancer at some point in their lives. Breast
cancer kills about 40,000 women each year in the United States. While white women are more likely to get breast cancer, black women are more likely to die from it. Health experts speculate that African-American women may be prone to more aggressive tumors. Watkins, whose cancer is now in remission, said she has faced her challenge with the help of her faith and her family. During her most recent treatments, she took pen to paper and began exploring
what she describes as her “trial.” She tells her story in “Seasoned With His Love,” a book of poems and reflections published in 2011. In the introduction she writes: “We are born, we live and we die … Our birth is one event; our death is another event, but our life, hopefully, is rich in experiences. My life has a very special seasoning — one that gives it a unique flavor that can be ‘tasted’ in all of my experiences.” Throughout her struggles with breast cancer, Watson
has given God glory without questioning him. In her poem “Why Not Me?” Watson tells of her trust and faith that God will make a way. She writes: “If God is my refuge, strength, and everpresent help, then why not me? He will bring me through.” Watkins said her family has helped her face her trial. “I knew God would take care of her,” said her husband, Sam. “I work at a hospital and I see people who go through chemotherapy, so I knew I needed to be at every appointment with my wife,” he said. Watkins said her illness make her children, Jessica, 23, Quenton, 22, and Brandon, 19, “nervous.” “They didn’t know whether or not their mom would live or die,” she said. Watkins’ collection of poems has helped not only her, but also her readers work work through her challenges. “I felt that she had walked with me through my journeys of major illnesses as she gave God the glory,” writes Courtney Ferguson, a retired NCCU computer information science professor. “I have learned that sometimes the trials we face not only help us grow spiritually, but they also help others have faith in God by witnessing our reaction and walk with Christ through it all,” said Watkins.
Ross inauguration scheduled UNC system to inaugurate Davidson College president at N.C. A&T BY MATTHEW PHILLIPS ECHO STAFF REPORTER
The 17th president of the University of North Carolina, Thomas W. Ross, will be inaugurated in Greensboro Thursday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. The inauguration will be held at the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center at N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University. Ross, who has held office since Jan. 1, was elected UNC system president by the UNC Board of Governors, replacing former President Erskine Bowles. N.C. Central University SGA president Reggie McCrimmon expects Ross to continue “painting a
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picture of where we are and where we want to be” during his inaugurat i o n speech. T h e University of North Carolina is t h e multi–camThomas pus univerW. Ross sity system w h i c h includes all public baccalaureatedegree- granting institutions in the state. This includes 16 universities and well as a public residential high school for gifted students. NCCU is a member of the system. Ross said in remarks made to the Board of Governors following his election, “We must work together to help our stu-
dents grow intellectually and personally; to experience fully the life of the mind; to develop critical thinking, writing and oral communication skills; to be able to analyze information; assess its credibility and use it to solve difficult problems; to be adaptable; and to prepare for work in new and evolving occupations.” Ross holds a B.A. in political science from Davidson College. He is a graduate of the UNC — Chapel Hill School of Law. Prior to his office at UNC Ross was president of Davidson College and served for 17 years on the North Carolina Superior Court bench. The UNC Board of Governors supervises and governs the affairs of all UNC institutions. Ross and his staff administer the directives and policies
of the Board of Governors. Ross provides general leadership to the UNC system concerning academic and student affairs, legal and financial policy, research, and government relations. “He sat with me for over an hour discussing the Association of Student Governments his first day on the job,” said Atul Bhula, president of the UNC Association of Student Governments and a graduate student at Appalachian State University, “He has been great about focusing on students.” UNCASG is comprised of delegates from every UNC institution, including NCCU. A reception will be held after the inauguration at N.C. A & T’s Foundation Event Center.
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Beyond NCCU
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
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POVERTY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau underscored how the recession is casting a long shadow well after its official end in June 2009. And at the current sluggish pace of economic growth, analysts don’t expect many of these indicators of economic and social wellbeing to turn better soon. Census officials wouldn’t say definitively what caused the surge in poverty, but it was evident that the root of the continuing misery was the nation’s inability to create jobs. The total of Americans who fell below the official poverty line last year rose from 43.6 million in 2009. Of the 2.6 million increase, about two-thirds of the people said they did not work even one week last year. Those with jobs were much less likely to be poor, but the recession and weak recovery have wiped out income gains of prior years for a broad spectrum of workers and their families. Inflation-adjusted median household income _ the middle of the populace _ fell 2.3 percent to $49,445 last year from a year ago and 7 percent from 2000. “It’s a lost decade for the middle class,” said Sheldon Danziger, a poverty expert at the University of Michigan. The number of poor children younger than 18 reached its highest number since 1962, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. Poverty reached a record high for Latino children, who Frey said accounted for more than half the overall increase in poor children last year. Blacks had the highest child poverty rate at 39 percent, up more than 3 points from last year. Overall, poverty was generally higher than the national rate in states with high unemployment and in
the South. Mississippi had the highest poverty rate last year, at 22.7 percent, and New Hampshire had the lowest, 6.6 percent. Overall, the number of 25to 34-year-old men and women who were living with their parents last spring totaled 5.9 million _ a 25.5 percent increase since the recession began in 2007. Nearly half of this group would have been counted as among the poor had they been out on their own, according to Trudi Renwick, chief of poverty statistics for the Census Bureau. “The next generation is going to be terribly punished if we don’t find more jobs,” said Timothy M. Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. Studies have shown the effects of recessions and job losses can hurt a worker’s earnings for many years into the future. The census report, coming shortly after President Barack Obama unveiled a proposed $447 billion package of tax cuts and spending to revive job growth and the recovery, was seen as intensifying the debate over the government’s role in helping the poor and unemployed at a time of budget deficits and painful cutbacks in public services. Unemployment benefits, the Census Bureau said, helped lift about 3 million people above the poverty line, and Obama’s latest proposal includes continuing the aid. The report “underscores yet again why these programs must be maintained to rebuild the economy,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, referring to unemployment insurance and Social Security benefits. But conservative groups
expressed their concerns about Americans’ growing reliance on such programs, including government health insurance. “It raises the issue of whether we can afford this,” said Nina Owcharenko, director of health policy studies at the Heritage Fo u n d a t i o n . “These entitlement programs are unsustainable.” The census report found more Americans again lost health insurance in 2010, continuing a decadelong erosion in coverage that pushed the percentage of uninsured to 16.3 percent, the highest ever recorded. But the decline in health coverage slowed between 2009 and 2010 and was not statistically significant, according to census analysts The number of young people between 18 and 24 who had insurance increased significantly, possibly reflecting the effect of the new health care law, which allows dependents up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ health plans. The decline in insurance coverage was fueled largely by employers dropping health benefits as health care costs continued to rise, a trend that has reduced the percentage of Americans who get health benefits through work from a peak of 65.1 percent in 2000 to 55.3 percent last year. During that period, the average annual premium for an employer-provided family health plan more than doubled to $13,770 from $6,438,
according to surveys by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. As Americans lost coverage through work, they have increasingly relied on government programs such as Medicaid. “The real policy take away is the importance of protecting the safety net,” said Families USA Chief Executive Ron Pollack, a leading consumer advocate. “Medicaid is the lifeline.” By the Census Bureau’s latest measure, the poverty threshold last year was an income of $11,139 for one person and $22,314 for a family of four. The government’s official poverty rate doesn’t count food stamp benefits and lowincome tax credits as income. If those programs, which totaled about $150 billion last year, were included, millions more people would have been counted as being above the poverty line. At the same time, analysts
Isolation wearing down simulated Mars crew Livinging in artificial spaceship test humankinds ability to travel across space BY WOLFGANG JUNG MCT
MOSCOW — Six men are reaching their mental limits, with only two months left to go in the experiment, researchers said Sunday. The crew of three Russians, one Italian, a Chinese national and a Frenchman were in simulator trying to simulate 520 days in space, the length of time scientists estimate would be needed for a
round trip to the red planet. The men are “mentally drained” after their experience in a container in Moscow, project manager Yevgeni Dyomin told the Interfax news agency. “The impatience is huge,” Peter Graef of DLR, the German space agency, told the German Press Agency. “The men want to finally see their families and the sun again.” The DLR is assisting with
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ever more close eye on the men now as they reach their exhaustion points. “Most experiments have been completed and the level of work has dipped off, which means the stay in a bare environment is getting even more monotonous,” said Graef. Experts say they are doing what they can to keep moods up. They add that no actual trip to Mars is in the planning.
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the project. Dyomin said the men are however determined to push through until the project ends in November. The “spaceship” reminds somewhat of the reality TV show “Big Brother,” with the men's activities documented round the clock by cameras to see whether they manage to complete the 105 research assignments with which they have been tasked. Watchers are keeping an
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said, other factors understate the extent of people struggling to meet their basic needs. Experts agree that the
government’s poverty thresholds, designed in the early 1960s, don’t reflect people’s spending and living needs in today’s economy.
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EOE
The Sweet Science WE
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Photography and story by Chi Brown.
A student wraps his hands for a work out. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor.
A student counts out his squats before the buzzer rings alerting him to switch excercises. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
Back 2 Basics students assemble in front of the garage door of the building after a tough workout.
Cail Dixon poses for a quick photo after his training regimine.
CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
Tony jones, who has been training for 8 years, hits the focus mitts with Back 2 Basics trainer Harold Cook. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
n a small warehouse building, a garage style door opens to the smell of vinyl leather, six-month-old paint and musty sweat. Back 2 Basics Boxing Gym sits conveniently at the corner of Ramseur and Fayettville Streets. Bay 803-D is where Harold Cook’s gym has been for the last seven months. He says he opened the gym to give the community a place where people could learn to be “responsible, productive citizens.”
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With about 22 students passing through its doors each day, Back 2 Basics is doing just that. Cook said he uses social media sites and word of mouth to get the word out about Back 2 Basics. He said he’s prepared to work with individuals who simply want to get in shape and with individuals who want to ultimately take their chances in the ring. Cook says he’s been a boxing trainer for over ten years. He said his guiding philosophy is this: “Never say can’t.” And that philosophy
guides everyone he trains — beginning, intermediate and advanced trainees. Cook said that no matter where you are in life, you can be anything you want to be. “I think it is most important to set goals,” he said. One goal he sets for trainees is for them to be able to handle a high intensity workout. Back 2 Basics gym has classes and programs throughout the week and will have more openings as the gym grows. For pricing and scheduling call Back 2 Basics at 919.617.6269.
Jason Nelson looks determined as he works the heavy bag. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
Geovanny Valdez is focused on getting the most out of his workout as he hits the heavy bag. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
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Phonte does it big Alumnus releases solo album Sept. 27
B Y M ATT P HILLIPS ECHO A&E EDITOR
Phonte Coleman is doing big things. Raised in Greensboro and still a North Carolina resident, Coleman is an acclaimed MC, Grammynominated R&B singer/songwriter, and a 2001 N.C. Central University alumnus. His long-awaited solo album, “Charity Starts at Home,” is slated for release Sept. 27. “In 1988 I bought my first hip–hop album, ‘Long Live the Kane,’ by Big Daddy Kane and that pretty much changed my life,” Coleman said on WUNC Radio’s “The State of Things” with Frank Stasio. In 2001 Coleman formed the hip–hop trio Little Brother with MC Big Pooh and producer 9th Wonder at NCCU. The crew split in 2010 after releasing four critically acclaimed albums. In what may be considered a show of solidarity, 9th Wonder is releasing his newest album, “The Wonder Years,” the same
”Charity Starts at Home” will be released Sept. 27. Courtesy Foreign Exchange Music, LLC
day. Despite his success as a member of Little Brother, Coleman continued to explore other avenues of musicianship. He grew up singing in a church choir and listening to R&B and soul albums. “Even when I got into hip-hop, I got into the hip-
hop that sampled the music that I grew up listening to,” Coleman said. He met songwriting partner Nicolay Rook in 2002 on okayplayer.com. Rook was living in the Netherlands at the time; he has since moved to Wilmington, N.C. Coleman and Rook
made their first album, “Connected,” by sending digital files to each other through message boards and snail mail. The soul music group The Foreign Exchange was born. In 2008 The Foreign Exchange released “Leave it All Behind.” The album’s first single, “Daykeeper,” was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category. It may seem paradoxical that an MC with Coleman’s hip-hop credibility and accolades has merged two dissimilar music genres into a successful ascendant career, but his approach to longevity provides insight into his career trajectory. “You have to do something that, you know, allows you to make music, but grow old in your craft,” Coleman told Philadelphia Weekly. Perhaps the secret to longevity for Coleman involves his willingness to reach for his true potential through musical metamorphosis.
Monumental voices T.O.K.Y.O.-YMD brings in big name artists
B Y B ELINDA D UNN ECHO A&E EDITOR
Tahj Giles and James Hines are swiftly changing the voice of urban college radio at N.C. Central University. AudioNet Channel 9 broadcasts 24 hours a day from the Farrison- Newton Communications Building. Since NCCU is an HBCU and is a fairly urban campus, AudioNet is dedicated to playing nonstop hip hop. The purpose of the show is to reach out and draw in students of the urban college community. Mass communication senior Giles, along with his colleague James Hines, better known as DJ Kutta, have students tune into their weekly radio show T.O.K.Y.O. Young, Married and Divorced (T.O.K.Y.O.YMD) Radio. Giles and Hines combined the names of their own projects to come up with the name of their show. “I bring the flavor, I bring the music, I am the type of person to listen to all types of music, and I bring it all together on the show,” said Hines. “The commercial meaning of T.O.K.Y.O. is
Togetherness of konfident young opportunists. Tahj and I are both young opportunists,” said Hines. “YMD is from my clothing line that I am working on,” said Giles. “Young Married and Divorced means married to the grind and divorced from the slackers.” T.O.K.Y.O.-YMD first aired in late January. The first show featured a Mississippi rapper named BIG K.R.I.T. Since the debut of the show Giles has devoted himself to booking a new artist every week. “We play new-hip music, and introduce different sounds and different artists,” said Giles. Giles and Hines have interviewed artists and entertainers as Kendrick Lamar, Jhene Aiko, Dom Kennedy, Skeme, Casey Veggies, Lola Monroe, Deelishis from Flavor of Love 2, Young Money artists Jae Millz & Short Dawg, Maybach Music artists Gunplay, Pill and Audra the rapper just to name a few. “I reached out to artists because it wasn’t being done, it needed to be done and I could get it done,” said Giles. “My roommate and I are
Casey Veggies
Sleeping in Class
Peas & Car rots 4out of 5on the black hand side
L.A. artist Casey Veggies dropped his first album, “Sleeping in Class,” for free last December. As a result of the release, Veggies received an enormous amount of attention, creating a fan base for himself and creating enough clout to have MTV cover his high school graduation. Nine months after its release, Veggies is back with a deluxe version of his album. Five more tracks have been added. This time, the album is available on iTunes with the intention of garnering a profit. “Sleeping in Class Deluxe Edition” is furnished with thoughts and stories about relationships, life, school and the city of Los Angeles from an 18year-old’s standpoint. This time, Veggies received help, with guest appearances from Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, and Tyler the Creator. “Forever” begins with ringing school bells while classmates converse and Casey’s teacher attempts to prevent him from sleeping in class, illustrating the story behind the album title “Sleeping in Class.”
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Tahj Giles and James Hines whilin’ out during T.O.K.Y.O-Y YMD
4out of 5on the black hand side
BELINDA DUNN/Echo Arts co-editor
Almost five months after the breakthrough mixtape “House of Balloons” that featured songs like “High For This,” currently in rotation on HBO’s “Entourage,” the Canadian phenomenon Abel Tesfaye, known to most as The Weeknd, dropped “Thursday.” The new album is part two of his trilogy of mixtapes to be released on the independent OVO/XO brand. The album was muchanticipated, as evidenced by his Twitter following, which includes this writer, who faithfully tweets as “Abel” every Thursday, hoping for and sometimes demanding the new album’s release. On Aug. 18 The Weeknd gave his fans what they yearned for. I was shocked by the mixtape cover. It featured a bright display of colors, a far cry from the mysterious, almost gothic “House of Balloons” cover. This somewhat foreshadows the musical/vocal differences between the works. “HOB” focuses on The Weeknd’s vocal superiority
music heads. The show keeps us updated with new music,” said Erik Whaley, a business sophomore. “It has been a really long time since a student has been this dedicated
and focused on getting people to listen,” said AudioNet’s adviser, Lolethia Underdue. T.OK.Y.O-YMD radio airs every Tuesday from 4 - 7 p.m.
Disney classic in theaters for limited time BY BRITNEY EDWARDS ECHO STAFF REPORTER
“The Lion King” screens in 3D until Sept 30. Courtesy Disney
rightful place in the "Circle of Life." The 3D effect is an asset, giving the story more depth. The artwork and animation has been greatly enhanced since its initial release in 1994. This time, it feels as though we can reach out and touch the birds flying across the screen, the gazelles running around the savanna, and the raindrops falling from the sky. The new format also adds intensity and emotion to musical numbers like “Just Can’t Wait to be King,” Mufasa’s untimely death, and the ultimate showdown between Simba and Scar. Unlike several 3D movies released in the past year, there aren't any gratuitous effects. The Lion King has captured audiences of all ages for 17 years with a perfect combination of humor, seriousness, and heartwarming moments. The story’s re-release gives young adults a chance to relive their childhoods while the new generation gets to experience Disney magic for the first time. Watching it at home on DVD just can’t compare.
Trending Topic #FTW (For The Win) #WTF (What The ...) #FAIL
TRASH
TheWeeknd Thursday
Pride Rock resurrected in 3D “Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze!" Contrary to this philosophy, Disney's most successful animated film of all time, The Lion King, is a blast-from-the-past craze that is back in theaters for two weeks only in 3D. This weekend, it opened at the top of the box office charts at $29.3 million. The Lion King follows the life of Simba, an adventurous lion cub who "just can't wait to be king" of the Pride Lands like his father, Mufasa, when he grows up. Overcome by jealousy, his ruthless uncle, Scar, devises a plan that results in Simba fleeing from the kingdom and Scar’s undeserving rise to the throne. Guilt-ridden and alone, Simba wanders the desert until he meets an unlikely duo who introduce him to their “problem-free philosophy.” Simba applies this to his own life until he realizes that he must return to his
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Among the five new tracks is "I Be over Sh*t,” a track filled with bells, drums and heavy bass. Veggies breaks down what it means to be “over sh*t,” paralleling different narratives that explain why he doesn’t have time for certain things and is repeatedly saying “I Be over Sh*t.” Veggies opens his heart on “Loved Then Alone,” making it clear that he has dreams and ambitions, wants what’s best for him and is willing to continue to strive for such desires. For “Riding Around Town,” Veggies created a music video and three newverses. Veggies seeks help from L.A. artists Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar and C-San to create “Riding around Town Remix,” which gives listeners four outlooks on Los Angeles from four artists’ perspectives. I applaud Veggies for adding more songs to this album as well as for rereleasing the album via iTunes in pursuit of a profit. This is an admirable start for an 18-year-old with so much to say on his first album. The add-ons were needed and the collaborations went hand-in-hand. I rate “Sleeping in Class Deluxe Edition” four out of five. Salute to Casey Veggies. — Tahj Giles
and mastery of sound effects, while perfectly capturing the world of an insomniac’s nightlife. He seems to open up more on “Thursday.” The track features more catchy hooks and up-tempo beats. Featured on “Thursday” is Abel’s fellow Canadian and mentor Drake. “The Zone” features nicely composed sound effects and vocals as always from The Weeknd, and a monster verse from Drake. These two artists seem to push one another to new levels, evident in “The Zone” as well as in “Trust Issues,” where the two take turns, verse for verse. They compliment each other almost impeccably. I would give Thursday a 4 out of 5. Diehard fans, don’t mentally backhand me without hearing my reasoning. “Thursday” is a great mixtape that you will neither grow tired of nor be disappointed in. However, The Weeknd set the bar extremely high with “HOB,” and fell just a little short of that bar by minutely changing his style on “Thursday.” All in all this is still a great mixtape that has potential to be in your car or iPod every day. — Charles Hunt
Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
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Images of the African diaspora 60 photographers explore and reveal the black experience outside of Africa BY MATT PHILLIPS ECHO ARTS CO-EDITOR
Great photographs reach beyond portrayal to become the subjects they depict. This is the concept at the core of the current Nasher Museum of Art installation at Duke University — “Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection.” Collected by Kenneth Montague, a dentist and curator, the 110 photographs were created by 60 photographers representative of the African Diaspora. Montague founded Wedge Curatorial Projects in 1997, a Toronto-based gallery and African Diaspora art initiative. “The unexpected truth is what draws me to photographic art,” Montague writes on the Wedge Gallery website. Montague will discuss his collection in conversation with Trevor Schoonmaker, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art, at the Nasher Museum Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. The event is free. The installation features photographs taken throughout the African Diaspora, a term used to designate the movement of Africans across the globe. Subjects are presented in truthful, unabashed photographic depiction. A Jamel Shabazz image of a young man walking the streets of New York dressed in a blue suit. A James VanDerZee portrait of artist Jean–Michel Basquiat staring straight into the camera as if to say, ‘this is my life and I am living it.’ In all there’s 110 striking images of truth from around the world. A focal point of the exhibit is the work of New York photographer Shabazz. Situated in a central
“A Boy in Front of the Lowes 125th Street Movie Theater,” by Dawoud Bey, Courtesy of Dr. Kenneth Montague/The Wedge Collection
gallery space, one side black and white prints and the other side full color, Shabazz’s photographs chronicle confident New York residents in the splendor of their normalcy. “Photography is essentially a way of life for me,” said Shabazz. “I embraced it over 35 years ago with the basic idea to create a visual diary and my friends and schoolmates became my first subjects.” Shabazz is known for documenting urban life and the rise of Hip–Hop culture. He practices a direct approach and prefers to use available light. The subjects speak for themselves in the images Shabazz creates, in part
because he allows them to be just that, themselves. “The subjects I usually capture really have no preparation time,” said Shabazz. “Everything I do takes no more than about three minutes and I start with a basic introduction, explain my purpose, I then make my image.” “Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection” will show through this January 8. The Nasher Museum of Art is located on the central campus of Duke University at 2001 Campus Drive in Durham. Regular adult admission is $5 and is free on Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m.
“Jamel Shabazz, Untitled (Two Women in Blue on Subway),” by Jamel Shabazz, Courtesy of Dr. Kenneth Montague/The Wedge Collection
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Missed extra point proves detrimental as Eagles fall 23-22 to Elon
NCCU senior wide receiver Demario Lackey makes a diving catch in the end zone for a touchdown in second-q quarter play. CHI BROWN/Echo photo editor
J ONATHAN A LEXANDER
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ECHO SPORTS EDITOR
Wet ball, bad snap, bad hold, failed field goal: Eagles lose 23-22. “Low snap, wet ball and Jordan couldn’t get it down,” said first-year football coach Henry Frazier. The 4th-quarter thriller sent Eagle fans on an emotional roller coaster with the high of highs being a 75-yard interception returned for a touchdown by first-year walk-on linebacker Tiron Guion. “Two weeks ago he was on the scout team,” said Frazier. “I kept saying [in prac-
tice], ‘God, T.I. is just giving us hell on the scout team,’ and that’s what he was doing [on the field]. “But I’m not surprised, because what you see out there is how he practices every day.” This interception for a score put the Eagles ahead 22-17 with seven minutes left in the 4th quarter. “We tightened down and knew we had to stop them,” said Guion. “Coach always says, It’s OK if we give up yards as long as they don’t score. “I knew the quarterback was fast because he had walked down the safety. “I knew that I had an extra
blocker. “I trusted that he’d make that block to lead me into the end zone,” Guion said. Unfortunately for Guion and the Eagles, their celebrations were short-lived. The Phoenix came roaring back, engineering a sevenplay, 64-yard scoring drive in 2:30, capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Thomas Wilson to senior Christian Dennis, which put the Eagles down 23-22. The Eagles matched the Phoenix point for point all game, until a critical missed extra point by True Freshman Oleg Parent shortly before halftime left the
team down by one 17-16. “The rhythm was taken off in my opinion because we only had 10 guys out there,” said Frazier. “So as a kicker, rhythm is extremely important. But he still should have made that kick.” Anchoring the offense was quarterback Michael Johnson, who went 13 for 40, passing for 2 touchdowns, 153 yards and 0 interceptions. Red-shirt junior Geovonie Irvine and senior Demario Lackey added four receptions and one touchdown each. But it was the receiver on the opposite side of the field who put his mark on the
game. Elon’s wide receiver Aaron Mellette, a 6’4’’ junior, cut through the Eagles D, amassing a total of 16 receptions for 237 yards. “Elon is a good football team,” said Frazier. “That number 3 guy [Aaron Mellete] … He’s the real deal. And he was even more impressive than I watched on film.” At this point in the season, Mellete leads the nation with 12 catches a game and ranks second in receiving with 164.7 yards per game. The defense, however, was able to create a total of five turnovers. “I thought my defense
played extremely well,” said Frazier. “We got quite a few turnovers, especially in the red zone.” The Eagles will now advance into conference play, where they will face Savannah State, who also became eligible for NCAA post-season competition this year. “We’re moving in the right direction. We have a little work to do. We have to act like we’ve been here before,” said Frazier. “We get up and you have to put people away and not make mistakes.”
Eagles tennis readies for fall season The NCCU men’s tennis teams look forward to playing Duke in NCAA play J ONATHAN A LEXANDER
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ECHO SPORTS EDITOR
Tennis season kicks off this fall, and the N.C. Central University men’s tennis team appears geared up and ready to show out in its first year in the MEAC. Both the Eagles and Lady Eagles play seasons in the fall and spring. The fall will host tournaments solely for individual competition, while the spring is for team competition. This will be the first year the Eagles will be eligible for post-season play in both the MEAC and NCAA. “Having a good performance at the end of the year in the MEAC would be great for us,” said senior Jack Waissen. “I think that if we get a couple of good recruits in the spring, then finishing in the top three would be huge in our first year,” he said. The Eagles will play
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tough competition not only in its conference foes but in a few tough non-conference games as well. The Eagles kickoff the season in the HBCU nationals, a tournament that will be hosted in Atlanta. “We don’t play any cakes,” head coach D. Curtis Lawson, referring to easy opponents. “I don’t put together a cake schedule anyway. We play a very competitive schedule. “These guys see a high caliber of talent so as they develop, it’s not a false sense of development.” One of the most notable matches on the schedule will be across town, against nationally ranked Duke University, on Feb. 5. Duke has been known to be tough competition in the past, but Lawson and his student-athletes don’t seem phased. “We are always excited about playing some of our cross-town neighbors,” said
Lawson. Waissen and senior Alejandro Espitia are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the team. Lawson said that even in their freshman year, Waissen and Espitio performed well against Duke. “In our season opener against Duke, at the time Duke’s double’s team was top ten, and Jack and Alejandro took their number one doubles team to a tie- breaker,” he said. The Eagles will host four matches this year at NCCU, and hope fans will come out and support the team. “Definitely when there’s more people out there, it makes it easier for us and harder for the opposition,” said Waissen. The Eagles and Lady Eagles are also winners of the ITA All-Academic Team Award. It is their third consecutive ITA award; the team looks to continue that trend.
Senior Alejandro Espitia hits a forehand down the line. MORGAN CRUTCHFIELD/Echo staff photographer
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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
IVER SITY
Jobs Act is the way to go B
eing a college student about to graduate is a bit scary when I am forced to think about the job market. There aren’t a lot of jobs being created. My major is doing a lot of downsizing because of advances in technology and conglomerate takeovers. I’m hoping to Zevandah find a mediarelated job after Barnes receiving my degree. President Obama gave a speech where he proposed the American Jobs Act. This Act would help the country in so many ways. I really hope the Republican-majority Congress votes to pass this. More jobs mean more money. I could definitely use some extra money. I mean, with all the loans I will have to pay upon graduation, a shortage of jobs is discouraging. Due to the high cost of living now, I will need more money to live comfortably, not lavishly.
The [American Jobs] Act would create more jobs for those in construction and education, and help younger people find employment. The wonderful thing about this Act is that it doesn’t add to the deficit. The national unemployment rate is 9.1 percent. The North Carolina unemployment rate is a bit higher at 10.4 percent. The Jobs Act would help out the country as well as North Carolina. Why would Republicans think that there is something wrong with the proposed tax breaks in the American Jobs Act when Republicans have suggested using similar tax strategies? The Act would create more jobs for those in construction and education, and help younger people find employment. The wonderful thing about this Act is that it doesn’t add to the deficit. I know North Carolina needs highway work done. The
design for the Triangle area did not account for the area’s large growth. For example, many merging lanes are too short. One may even ask if the Department of Transportation was working with the insurance companies because some of those merge lanes seem designed to cause an accident. North Carolina also could use a better form of public transportation. If the American Jobs Act will make it happen, let’s get it passed. Here in Durham, the DATA bus is fine but it can still cause you to be late. Monorails are being built in Asian countries. We are working on one in North Carolina, but will it be as effective as the New York or Washington, D.C.
subways? The Act also creates more teaching jobs, which I think is great. We need more teachers, the foundation of the educational system. Americans would be a confused bunch without them. Incentives to the Act include tax breaks for companies that hire new people, especially those who have been unemployed for some time. It also gets people back in the workforce, which is great for the economy. It also would improve American infrastructure, which could use an upgrade. Finally, it offers tax breaks for the individual workers by cutting their payroll taxes in half. Rich people are not the only ones who deserve a tax break. Republicans and Democrats need to work together to help fix the economy and unemployment rates. I would hope that there will be a job out there for me when I graduate. Even if the first one is not the job of my dreams, it would still be comforting to know that there are options if my first choice isn’t available.
Why are we second class? M
ore than 174 years ago, Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, the first historically black college, was founded. It stands today. In 2011, 105 HBCUs are open. But are they needed? The resounding answer is yes! HBCUs were intended to give AfricanAmerican students the opportunity to receive the education denied them by Aaron most predomiSaunders nantly white institutions. Today, African Americans may attend many of the schools from which our best and brightest were barred. However, the HBCU’s mission has morphed from providing only African Americans an education; now, any race can attend an HBCU Today, N.C. Central University and many other HBCUs give opportunities to
We are seen as incapable of receiving the same education as we would at a PWI. underrated students. When I say underrated, I do not mean unqualified or not good enough to attend a predominantly white college. I mean the student whom everyone believes is average or slightly below average or who goes unnoticed and unheralded because a standardized test composed of only math and English says so. Many people are foolish and snobbish enough to believe that students matriculate to HBCUs because these are the only schools we could get into. This may be true for some, but it is not true for me and most of my peers. We are quality individuals; do not turn up your nose at us. At today's HBCU, the student is able to grow from an inexperienced freshman into
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a well-put-together, productive member of society. What concerns me is that a stigma often comes with attending an HBCU. We are seen as incapable of receiving the same education as we would at a PWI. I chuckle at that belief. The majority of the professors I have had at NCCU have graduated from a PWI, so in essence I am receiving the top-flight intellectual stimulation that the average American does not encounter. Why don’t others believe we are top-flight students? How come our degree doesn’t count the same as the next man’s or woman’s? Have we not produced exceptional minds? Why do you hate on us? Countless individuals argue that being at an HBCU is nothing like the real world.
I agree. However, that does not mean we are incapable of competing. We are being trained to make it in the professional world; give us credit. Many say, do not discount the value of an education. Well, I say do not discount the value of an HBCU education. And please stop with the ignorant “You go to an all-black school” comments. Historically black means just a historically it was a black college, but that does not mean that Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, etc. are not allowed to attend. In fact, people of many other races are attending an HBCU because the tuition is lower than a lot of the bigger schools and you receive almost the same education. Some will say I am biased because I attend an HBCU. However, consider this: perhaps you are biased because you did not attend an HBCU and did not garner the experience.
drawing by Rashaun Rucker
Question: How do you feel about Chidley North Residential Hall ? “Chidley North gives me a great overall senior experience, because of the detailed look and smart compatibility.” —Elliot Nelson
“I feel as paying students we should have all the luxuries that we pay for, such as access to the Internet, cable, and card readers to wash clothes.” — Aaron Brown “I think it’s a nice building but I feel we should have the same amenities as the other dorms, such as cable.” —Shani Mcneill
Sound Off By Uyi Idahor