Print_Edition_September_17_2008 by N.C. Central University Campus Echo

SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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Campus

Sports

Opinion

A&E

Student starts early in politics, on ballot for Durham Soil & Water Conservation superviser

’68 Olympian Tommie Smith speaks out about silent gesture

Yes, vote. But real democracy requires more than that, says Jarvis Hall

Tatyana Ali stumps for her candidate, Barack Obama

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Campus Echo McCain, Obama in dead heat Many voters question qualifications of McCain’s VP pick BY STEVEN THOMMA MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

WASHINGTON — John McCain and Barack Obama head into the fall campaign neck and neck, despite questions in many voters’ minds about whether McCain's running mate is as qualified as Obama's,

Wall Street craters

according to a new Ipsos/McClatchy poll. The national poll finds Republican McCain with the support of 46 percent of registered voters and Democrat Obama with 45 percent. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Independent candidate Ralph Nader

has 2 percent, and Libertarian candidate Bob Barr 1 percent. Another 6 percent were undecided or didn't support any of those choices. “The race has tightened,” said Clifford Young, senior vice president of Public

n See RACE Page 7

Pardon our dust

VISHNU, GANESHA, DURGA AND COMPANY

BY KEVIN G. HALL

University master plan scheduled to be complete by 2017

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

WASHINGTON — Wall Street shook to its foundations Monday after a series of historic events that included the bankruptcy of a major investment bank, the hastily arranged sale of another and the near collapse of one of the most iconic of bluechip companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 504 points, or 4.4 percent, to 10,917.51 — its lowest close in two years and its steepest one-day decline in seven years. The S&P 500 fell by 4.7 percent and the technology heavy Nasdaq was down 3.6 percent. The colossal market drop came on an unprecedented day that featured Wall Street mainstay Lehman Brothers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the sudden, breathtaking sale of investment bank Merrill Lynch to Bank of America for $50 billion. If those events weren’t enough, one of the nation’s most important insurance and financial services companies, American International Group, teetered on the verge of collapse as investors bailed out and its shares lost more than 60 percent of their value in a single day. AIG, one of the 30 bluechip component stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is far larger than the investment banks that have failed or have been sold. At the center of the storm is a widening credit crunch

n See WALL STREET Page 6

BY NATALIA PEARSONFARRER ECHO STAFF REPORTER

One day, in the not-so-distant future, N.C. Central University will stretch from Burlington Avenue, the street behind the H. M. Michaux, Jr. School of Education, northward to Dupree Street, which borders the Farrison-Newton Communications Building and past Concord Street. The campus will house more students in traditional

n See EXPANSION Page 2

HBCUs growing diverse BY CHI BROWN ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Jayanti Paine Ganguly and Amulaya Balabantaray performing “Kali Stuti,” a dance about the goddess Durga. RAY TYLER/Echo Staff Photographer

ODISSI ODYSSEY BY ABLESSIN JOHNSON ECHO STAFF REPORTER

“It was really an eye-opening experience to another culture,” said business sophomore Shateece Davis.

Davis and about 100 others attended An Enchanting Evening of Indian Classical Odissi dance, Saturday, Sept. 13. Rudrakshaya Odissi Group, from Konark Dance School located in Orissa, India, performed five classi-

cal dances in University’s Auditorium.. “We wanted to community,” said

N.C. B.N.

Central’s Duke

reach out to a Ramesh, presi-

n See DANCE Page 8

According to a Thurgood Marshall College Fund demographic study, student populations at HBCUs are 83 percent black, 9 percent white, 2 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent Asian. While historically black colleges and universities always have had their doors open to all races, they haven’t always been as diverse as they are today. “I have seen growth in a variety of areas,” said

n See HBCU Page 2

Dignitaries weigh in on voting history Nelms, Michaux, Atwater, Barber, McKissick-Melton describe segregated past BY DENIQUE PROUT ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Students at N.C. Central University got an inside look from a panel of historians Sept. 10 on what life was like for African Americans before voting. The event, held in the B.N. Duke Auditorium, featured NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms, N.C.-NAACP President William J. Barber II, Durham civil rights activist Ann Atwater, N.C. Representative Henry M. Michaux, Jr. and associate mass communications professor Charmaine

McKissick-Melton. Everett Ward, an N.C. super-delegate at this year’s Democratic National Convention, moderated. The discussion started with panelists speaking of their experiences growing up during segregation. “During that time black folks didn’t depend on whites, because we had our own economic power,” said Michaux. Michaux said blacks had to be independent. He said you couldn’t get a loan from white-owned banks, but “you could go over to the black bank which was Carolina Mutual and get a

loan from them.” According to Michaux, there were separate water fountains for Native Americans, whites and “coloreds.” McKissick-Melton described one incident that reflected racism at it ugliest: “I remember when there were only a few blacks at my school – maybe about five of us including my sister,” she said. “One day some white girls got a hold of her and decided to beat her up in the girls bathroom and then put her head in a toilet filled with feces.”

After hearing personal stories like this, Ward asked panelists to express their views on the upcoming presidential election. “When I watched Barack Obama’s speech, it brought chills to my body and tears to my eyes,” said Nelms. “The nomination was not what got me excited, it was the fact that this man could be president,” he said. Barber said he had the same emotion. “The night Barack said ‘I accept,’ I cried too, but not physically,” he said.

n See VOTING Page 2

Chancellor Charlie Nelms with N.C. State Rep. Henry "Mickey" Michaux. MITCHELL WEBSON/Echo Staff Photographer

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Senators: ‘Get house in order’ BY

DANITA WILLIAMS

ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Faculty Senate members are upset that pre-registered students are being dropped from classes because new students are being added at the last minute. The issue, discussed during the first Faculty Senate meeting of the school year on Sept. 5, led to a heated discussion among senate members, who complained about the school’s administrative system. “The system is just broken,” said senate member Wendell Wilkerson, chair of the chemistry department. According to Alade Tokuta, chair of the math and computer science department, the computer system that registers students is thrown off when students use paper documents to complete their financial aid and class registration late. Professors end up correcting the problem, which can be time-consuming. It was unknown how many students were added or dropped after the deadline. Some faculty senators said they want financial aid deadlines enforced. Students should not be added to full classes. They said only the registrar’s office should register students, and professors should not have to correct this problem. “Why are we doing computer and paper registration at the same time?” asked Tokuta. “There’s a reason why we became electronic in the first place.” “High schools run better than this,” he continued. “There are a lot of very nice people on campus, but that does not stand for competency. “ Kevin Rome, vice-chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management, agreed on Monday that the system needs improvement.

“We believe that we all have a dual responsibility of adhering to our policies while taking a humanistic and empathetic approach to assisting every student ... ,” he said. Thousands of students were able to meet the Aug. 1 deadline for submitting their financial aid paperwork, said Cynthia Grant, associate director of the office of scholarships and financial aid. Post cards and e-mails were sent to students last school year reminding them to file, along with reminders during financial aid presentations. Grant did not specify why the office continued to approve students past the deadline. “We communicated with student accounting and continued to validate students who were financially cleared,” she said. Senate members said they want to work with the school to improve the system. In other business, senate members were concerned about funds missing from Indirect Cost Recovery, which are grant funds, overseen by the chancellor, allocated for academic programs. Excess funds are placed into an account for the senate to allocate. Yolanda B. Deaver, assistant vice chancellor for administration and finance, did not say how much money was missing. Funds for 2007-2008 were spent in 2006, she said. “The 2007 ICR funds were used to support other University needs and were not allocated as agreed in 2007; therefore, there are no 2007-2008 funds to carry forward into fiscal 20082009,” she said in a memo to the senate. Without the money, funds normally used for faculty programs are not available. Deaver, in the memo, apologized and promised that misappropriations would not occur under the current administration.

Dance team plans shoe drive BY SADE THOMPSON ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Be mindful of that pair of worn-out Nikes you keep stuffed in the back of your closet. They could be someone’s treasure. House Arrest Dance Team has joined forces with local and extended businesses to launch a shoe drive, “All Walks of Life.” The drive started this week and will conclude on Sept. 25. Criminal justice sophomore Tiffany McKinnon, publicist for House Arrest, said the group plans to collect shoes to donate to families in the area. Monetary contributions will be donated to the “Share Your Soles!” Foundation, a Chicago-based, non-profit organization that provides gently-worn shoes to families around the world. N.C. Central University students can place gently worn men's, women’s and children's shoes, or laundry detergent to help clean the shoes, in the purple and pink drop-off bins located across campus. “About a year ago, I saw all these shoes in the bowl behind the library that represented people who had died from AIDS,” said Katrina Holmes, business management senior, House Arrest

president. “It amazed me, and I decided our dance team should get active in the community.” Holmes said she Googled “shoes” and “fundraising,” which led her to Share Your Soles! “We want the community to hear the name House Arrest and know that we do more than just dance and that we are involved in our community,” said McKinnon. House Arrest’s project has caught the eye of NCCU’s Academic Community Service Learning Program, which is providing an incentive for students to donate shoes. For each pair of shoes they donate, students will earn one hour of community service. Founder Mona Purdy established Share Your Soles! in 1999 after she witnessed Central American children painting the soles of their feet with tar to protect them during a festival race. An orthopedic surgeon told Purdy that if the children had shoes, he would not need to perform so many amputations on infected feet. Purdy’s first shipment of “gently worn” shoes went to an orphanage in Honduras. Today, shoe drives have been held in more than 30 states.

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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EXPANSION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

A view from the corner of Dupree and Concord streets, a neighborhood into which NCCU will expand. MIKE DEWEESE-FRANK/Echo Staff Photographer

and suite-style residence complexes, including a housing district encompassing Tyronza R. Richmond Residence Hall and New Residence Hall II, a renovated Chidley Hall, and newly constructed residence halls on the other side of Lawson Street and in the space created by the demolished Chidley Annex. This transformation of the campus is detailed in the University’s 2007 Campus Master Plan Update, a strategic plan aimed at modernizing the university in four key phases. The plan requires that the University acquire more than 100 private properties bordering the campus by Phase III, scheduled for completion in 2017. Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management Zack Abegunrin said there are

“mixed feelings in the community,” regarding the University’s plans for expansion. “Some groups don’t want it, saying ‘no, not in my backyard.’ “Other groups are saying ‘we are ready for growth,’” he said. SGA vice president Courtney Robinson represented the student perspective at a community forum Chancellor Charlie Nelms offered in the spring to explain his plan. “The response has been varied,” she said. “Some residents are upset that the University is already this close to their property, particularly near Formosa Avenue [adjacent to Eagle Landing]. “But one lady wanted to know how soon they could buy her house because she wants to help out the University, so I guess it all

depends on perspective.” Phase I, set for 2010, calls for the construction of a five-story residence hall dubbed Chidley Commons and a new School of Nursing, among other plans. Phase II, which will be implemented in 2013, includes the off-campus relocation of Varsity Athletics, construction of the four-story Lawson Commons dorm, and a new library and a five-story student union. Phase III features the construction and relocation of academic and research buildings and the restoration of the Library Bowl. A more tentative final chapter in the master plan includes a proposal for a Hotel and Conference Center and the construction of Burlington Commons, a housing precinct between Cecil

Street and Burlington Avenue. “These new state-of-theart facilities will improve the environment that students live and learn in,” said Timothy McMullen, University architect and director of design and construction services. “This improves our ability to educate students so that we can hopefully create better students.” Other important changes include a new 20,000-seat football stadium and the renovation of the Leroy T. Walker Physical Education Complex as a campus Wellness Center. These new common areas and open spaces will be aimed at enhancing campus life and encouraging more pedestrian circulation. In all, the project will add 1,500 parking spaces in a parking garage and lots.

HBCU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Jocelyn Foy, assistant vice chancellor for Enrollment Services and director of Undergraduate Admissions at N.C. Central University. “Not only the ethnicity but also the age, as well as seeing more international students,” said Foy. Diversity on college campuses is often looked at as a selling point. Many schools, including HBCUs, do their best to encourage diversity on their campuses. The U.S. Department of Education reports on its Web site that “HBCUs are presently more racially desegregated, with respect to their enrollment and staff, than traditionally white institutions.” Eduardo Mazariegos, a secondary history education junior from Guatemala, said, “The more diversity you have, the more you have different points of views and perspectives. “[Diversity] gives you the ability to kind of put yourself in the other person’s shoes,” Mazariegos said. While many students and faculty members

embrace the idea of a diverse campus, others have not been as supportive. Recently, Morehouse College, an all-male HBCU in Atlanta, graduated its first white male valedictorian, Joshua Packwood, to mixed reviews. CNN News reported that several students were “chafed” that of roughly 3,000 black men, a white man was awarded the prestigious accolade. Comments made in articles and blogs on the subject reveal that some blacks at HBCUs fear that their campuses could end up like West Virginia State University. West Virginia is an historically black college that now has a 90 percent white student body. But Foy said NCCU will have no trouble maintaining its cultural identity. “When I look at the five historically black public universities in the North Carolina system, each one of them has alumni that will ensure that its identity is not lost,” said Foy. “You can look at this campus and see the strong

support, not only locally but in the legislature as well.” Cornelius Frazier, biology junior, said he is not concerned about NCCU’s increased diversity. “HBCUs have just as much to offer as a regular university,” he said. “They [whites] can get a lot from an education at NCCU.” And whites seeking a college education are starting to look at HBCUs a lot more closely. The Web site College Scholarships.org includes a five-page guide instructing white males on how to get minority scholarships at HBCUs. The guide lists HBCUs as a “best bet” and “one of the best places to shop for a ‘minority’ scholarship.” Foy said the UNC System has a consolidated grant whose purpose is to attract more diversity to UNC campuses. She said the grant is not limited to black or white. Lyle Burnham, a 2008 NCCU alumni and current NCCU law student who is white, applied to several schools before deciding on

NCCU. “NCCU was one of the few schools with a criminal justice program that sent me a letter back offering me a partial scholarship,” he said. He said his experience at NCCU has been valuable. “Living and working with different types of people … that’s how you get the experience of different cultures,” Burnham said. In searching for a history program, Mazariegos looked at three institutions, two of which were traditionally white schools, before deciding to go with NCCU. “I felt like I was going to find people who were more passionate about history here,” he said. Cornelius Frazier scoffed at the idea that someone would be upset over the fact that nonblacks would decide to attend an HBCU. “We can’t stop white students from getting accepted to NCCU,” Frazier said. “If they want to come here then let them come. Things aren’t the same as they were in the past.”

VOTING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Barber said that North Carolina has same-day registration and that if people still don’t go, they are, as his grandmother put it, “just trifling.” Michaux said the Nov. 4 election will make history. He warned students that they may be worse off 12 years in the future if they don’t vote. Atwater said blacks must do better and get out the

vote. “If Obama doesn’t win, then it’s our fault,” she said. “And when I say our fault, I mean black people. If we don’t do no better than we did before then we might as well die.” Atwater also encouraged students to get their roommates to register. “You’ve got to get it in your hearts and in your sys-

tem and stop looking lost,” she said. Students reacted positively to the panel presentation. “I thought it was very informative,” said mass communications freshman Dosmera Gatewood. Gatewood said all NCCU should have attended the event. “It’s important that we bring back that enthusiasm

about making a change ... because now we have a candidate who can represent that change for America.” Psychology senior Zalyce Morgan said, “It was a great opportunity to learn a lot of things about Durham, and to hear those personal stories from each of the panelists was touching.” The panel was hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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Eagle has a taste for local politics

Poly science senior Danielle Adams will be on the ballot Nov. 4 BRYSON POPE/Staff Photographer

BY MARK SCOTT ECHO STAFF REPORTER

The constant coverage of Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama has drastically taken attention from local elections around the country. This has some students here at N.C. Central University totally unaware of the fact that one of their own is running for office in Durham County this November. Political science senior Danielle Adams is running for Durham soil & water conservation district supervisor. The position is set up to help the Durham community become a cleaner and safer environment. The position also calls for the person elected to make sure money is available to continue to do projects such as cleaning up the area and recycling.. District programs like the Sandy Creek/Duke University project have

taken steps to preserve Sandy Creek from erosion. Brenda Howerton currently serves as the supervisor, but will be vacating that seat to become the county commissioner. The race for the position is a non-partisan one, as there are no parties represented on the ballot. The race is between two other candidates: Ryan Echoles, Kathryn Spann. Adams, 24, said that her age does not mean that she is incapable of doing a good job. “You can never be too young [to make a difference],” said Adams. “Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 26 when the Montgomery Bus Boycott started.” Biology sophomore Desiree Wright also agrees that age should not be a factor. “You don’t have to be a certain age to make a change. You just have to be at an age to understand what

you’re advocating for.” she said. Adams said that she’s running in order to educate people on conservation. On NCCU’s campus she wants students to refrain from being wasteful. “We’re wasteful of plastic bottles and Styrofoam especially,” said Adams. She also said that we need to be aware of all the construction to make sure there is no harmful material getting into our water system. The faculty at NCCU has been advising Adams during her campaign as well. “The professors in the Political Science department have been very helpful; they have all challenged me to think beyond,” Adams said. Adams also found inspiration through students like Josh Parker, a May 2008 business administration graduate. At 25, Parker ran for Durham County commissioner in the May elections, but lost to five candidates. “Seeing him run for city councilman while still in school really inspired me,” said Adams. Adams’ decision to run at a young age has also won the admiration of her peers at NCCU. Nursing sophomore Jasmine Scott certainly is inspired by Adams’ leadership. “As a senior, she could be focused on so many other things. It’s really selfless of her.” Though Adams’ friends and peers respect and admire her, no one is more proud than her mother, Stella J. Adams, who has held the same position for which her daughter is running . “It was really different from when I was running,” said Adams. “Issues like global warming, I wasn’t able to change. Now she may have a chance to change them.” Adams also recalls her daughter’s early years as an indication that she is ready for the job. “She was always the child running around organizing programs and activities. I’m just so proud of her.”

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Getting you ready Career Services holds mock interviews to get students prepared for Career Fair

Business management junior Sarah Brown is critiqued by Kim Drumgo, chief diversity official of Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, at the mock interviews held in the William Jones Building. BRYSON POPE/Staff Photographer

BY LEESA SWIFT ECHO STAFF REPORTER

There is a saying that people’s three biggest fears are public speaking, job interviews, and death. Well, University Career Services can’t help with public speaking or with death, but they are determined to help students succeed with their job interviews. N.C. Central University held its first Mock Interview Day Sept. 12 in the William Jones Building. “We’re doing this to help students prepare for the Career Fair,” said Tonya Winchester, associate director of Career Services. This year’s Career Day will be on Thursday, Oct. 2, in the Leroy T. Walker Complex from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. A variety of companies, including BB&T, N.C. Correctional Institution for Women and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, will have representatives on hand to interview students. Steven Talbott, a

recruiter from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, said one of the biggest mistakes a person interviewing for a job can make is failing to do enough research about the company or about the position they are being interviewed for. “Interviews are a twoway street,” said Talbot. He said recruiters need to get to know the potential employee, but the potential employee also needs to get to know the company. Talbott advised students to be enthusiastic, genuinely interested, and to keep practicing their interviewing skills. He also said students need to take advantage of their school’s career services office, something he said he failed to do when he was in college. Tikeya Banks, a music industry junior who interviewed with the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women, said they advised her to always know where the interview would be held, a head of time, to be early, and to try not to tense up during the interview.

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“You should dress professionally, make eye contact and think before talking,” she said. Winchester said students urged Career Services to sponsor mock interviews before Career Day. In all, 36 students registered for the mock interviews. Winchester said her office decided to bring the mock interviews to NCCU after its success with mock interviews conducted with the Environmental Protection Agency. “I hope that the NCCU Mock Interview Day will grow each year,” she said. Career Services, located in the William Jones Building, is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. The office phone number is (919) 530-6337.

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Professor explores roots Hernandez devotes his academic career to studying the African presence in Mexico BY DAVID FITTS ECHO STAFF REPORTER

We’re all familiar with the term African American, but few have heard the term African Mexican. But that’s how one N.C. Central University associate professor describes himself. Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas, who is Mexicanborn, has spent his academic career exploring what he calls the “African presence and persistence” in Mexico. “Latin America would not be what it is without its diverse African influences,” said Hernandez. According to Hernandez, Africans had a fundamental influence in the development of the Latin America cultures. The influences were on language, music, religion, cooking, painting and more. “Africans had a tremendous influence on every aspect of culture,” said Hernandez. Hernandez’ work is part of a larger research tradition that studies the displacement of Africans by Europeans throughout the world. Experts estimate that as many as 11 million African slaves were brought to the Americas between 1450 and 1900. During this period, about 2.5 million of these African slaves were taken into the Spanish Empire. About 4 million were taken to Brazil, and about 500,000 were taken to North America. According to Hernandez, as many as 300,000 Africans were taken to Mexico. The African diaspora is the term used to refer to these Africans. Hernandez said that he is committed to teaching students about the traditions and experience of

Marco Polo Hernandez outside his office in the Farrison-Newton Communications Building. The poster is from Chicago’s American Fine Arts Center Museum. MITCHELL WEBSON/Staff Photographer

African Mexicans. “He enlightened me about the presence of black people in Latin America culture,” said Jolanda Kindell, mass communication senior. In a series of books, blogs and even on YouTube, Hernandez explores a variety of issues related to the African presence in Mexico. In one book, “Africa in Mexico,” he explores the impact of Africans in the development of Mexican identity. In another book, “African Mexicans and the Discourse on Modern Nations,” he explores the way Mexican institutions have worked to erase

“Africanness” from national memory. Hernandez was born in Mexico City. His father ran a restaurant and his mother was a professor of Spanish language and literature in the Mexico City school system. His mother, who died last year, was black and his father who died in 1975, was Mexican. He came to the U.S. in 1970 when he was 17. He moved to Minnesota first, then to Wisconsin. He said moving to the U.S. was a culture shock and that he noticed a different world from the one shown on television. “I found out the reality and TV images were differ-

ent,” he said. Hernandez said he did not feel welcome and his Afro did not go over too well in Minnesota. “People told me I would have less problems if I cut it off,” he said. One thing that he remembers when he came to the U.S. was a sign in Louisiana outside a restaurant which said, “No Dogs, No Mexicans.” “It was a shock. I thought the time of segregation was over, but in some places, it was still alive and well,” he said. Hernandez earned his bachelor’s of arts degree and master’s degrees in Spanish Language and Literature at Portland State University in Oregon. He taught at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada while working on his Ph.D. in Italian Hispanic Studies . Hernandez taught at Emporia State University in Kansas from 2001 to 2005. He has been at NCCU since fall 2005. Hernandez said he wants to strengthen NCCU’s Global Studies Initiative with a symposium on the African diaspora. “It is good to be knowledgeable about the different cultures of the world, especially when it comes to understanding someone and their language,” said Hernandez. Students say they enjoy his stories about the influence that Africans had in Latin America. “He’s the ideal professor who is nice, warm and caring as well as informative,” said Jennifer Wilson, social work senior. Hernandez is married to Kimberly Hernandez. They have three children. He has recently published an entry in “The Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture.” Students and faculty will be able to learn more about diaspora studies at a Nov. 8-9 conference at NCCU called “The Diasporic Kaleidoscope: New Approaches to African Diaspora Studies.”

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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¡HABLEMOS! Let’s talk! Program helps Hispanic kids with language disorders BY CARA OXENDINE ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Few know about it, and it doesn’t get a lot of press, but there’s a program at N.C. Central University that’s helping two- and three-year-old Spanishspeaking children affected with communication disorders. The program — called ¡HABLEMOS! or Let’s Talk! — is housed in the Bilingual Speech-Language Clinic in NCCU’s department of communication disorders. The program began in 2005. Five NCCU graduate students work in the preschool program. Each is paired with one child and spends the semester providing therapy to that child in his or her native language. “The program has given me cultural exposure and enabled me to study norms based on another language,” said Nataki Clemmons, a second year graduate student. Clemmons described the program as “a community for the development of children.” Two of the graduate students are native Spanish speakers, and the other three students have studied at least three semesters of undergraduate Spanish. Raquel Strauss, a native Spanish speaker, is the director of ¡HABLEMOS! and the department’s bilingual clinical supervisor. Strauss said the preschoolers they work with have a variety of communication disorders. These include expressive language disorders, where they understand language better than they can communicate verbally; pragmatic language disorders, where they have a non-verbal learning disability and phonological disorders, where they have difficulty recognizing and organizing all the sounds needed for clear speech, reading and writing. “In this setting, the program has a dual purpose,” she said. “We help people, and we

train people to help people.” The graduate students read stories, sing songs and play games with the children to make them feel comfortable and confident. They work on sounds, syllables, word formations, and many other therapeutic techniques to improve the disorder. Each child has an individualized program, with specific therapy, catered to their impediment. Hispanic families learn about ¡HABLEMOS! by word of mouth, from nearby hospitals like Duke University Medical Center and Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. The program also accepts referrals from local child developmental service agencies. It is funded entirely by contributions, except for the facility which is provided by the School of Education. “We will take anything,” joked Strauss. And they pretty much do — from toys to snacks to pampers. The Mexican consulate recently donated books to the program. Strauss said that admission is quite competitive. “We often have a waiting list and it’s hard to choose,” said Strauss. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that North Carolina’s Hispanic population increased by just under 8 percent in 2007. About 640,000 Hispanics now live in North Carolina, making them the second largest minority in the state after the state’s 2 million blacks. Strauss said they need volunteer translators and interpreters for the program, especially individuals who who speak Spanish fluently and who are Spanish majors. The group meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon and has been helping languageimpaired children since February 2005. Strauss can be reached at (919) 530-7504 or rstrauss@nccu.edu.

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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WALL STREET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 credit crunch thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s causing lending of virtually any kind to seize up. Without lending, the economy faces peril. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing like this in the postwar period,â&#x20AC;? said Lyle Gramley, a veteran markets watcher who was a Federal Reserve governor during a turbulent period, from 1980 to 1985. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going into the Great Depression, no question about that. But we could get into a recession that accumulates if things donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get better in financial markets. I think we have to worry a lot that this may be the turning point that puts this economy into a very significant recession.â&#x20AC;? Wall Street fretted that AIG could be the next shoe to drop. Late Monday, the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve rejected a request from AIG for an emergency loan and instead were pushing Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase to create a private-sector emergency lending facility valued at least $70 billion to help AIG stay afloat while it tries to shed valuable

assets to raise capital and remain solvent. AIGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems underscore why Wall Street is in a state of near panic. AIG isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t insolvent; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already raised $20 billion this year to shore up its balance sheets. But its falling stock is forcing it to sell assets such as its aircraft-leasing business and to plead for investment from private equity companies. It needs to raise about $40 billion in new capital but it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t borrow because of the credit crunch. Absent more capital, ratings agencies could downgrade its credit, requiring even more capital to stay afloat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a perverse situation,â&#x20AC;? Bill Gross, the chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest bond fund, said on CNBC. If AIG fails, it poses unique problems for financial markets because not only is it a conventional insurance company but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a big player in a complex parallel market called credit default swaps. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where Wall

Stocks get shellacked Stocks fell sharply Monday as U.S. investment banks faltered.

In New York Daily closes on the Dow 11,500 11,300 11,100 10,900

9/2

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In London Daily closes on the FTSE 100 5,600

5,204.20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;212.50

5,500 5,400 5,300

A photograph taken of the The New York Stock Exchange on July 24, 2002. Wall Street suffered its biggest decline since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Sept. 11, 2001

5,200 5,100

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TODD PLITT/Chigago Tribune

Street companies take out a form of market insurance against the risks of bond default. This unregulated market was estimated in

& $ % '()

$ $ %

10,917.51 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;504.48

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June 2007 to have a notional value of $42 trillion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The market is opaque, and it is opaque by design,â&#x20AC;? said Howard Simons, the president of the economic research firm Rosewood Trading in Glenview, Ill., noting that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no exchange or clearinghouse for unwinding these swaps if a big player goes bust. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to come back and bite everybody, because now you are in an information vacuum.â&#x20AC;? Wall Street has suffered this kind of financial turbulence only a few times before, most notably during the Depression. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading scholars on the Depression, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s putting that knowledge to use as he tries to avoid a complete collapse of the global financial sector. On Sunday, he

broadened the collateral the Fed is willing to take as it makes emergency lending to investment and commercial banks to keep them solvent. President Bush tried to calm the waters Monday, using a White House visit by the president of Ghana to tell the nation that his administration is working to contain Wall Streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As policymakers, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re focused on the health of the financial system as a whole. In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful, both for the people concerned about their investments and for the employees of the affected firms,â&#x20AC;? Bush said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the long run, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m confident that our capital markets are flexible and resilient, and can deal with these adjustments.â&#x20AC;?

In Frankfurt Daily closes on the DAX 6,500

6,064.16 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;170.73

6,400 6,300 6,200 6,100 6,000

9/1

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ÂŠ 2008 MCT Source: Yahoo! Finance Graphic: Pat Carr

Wall Streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s woes seem sure to make it harder to get a mortgage or car loan in the near future. But one silver lining for consumers is that oil prices fell by $5.47 a barrel Monday to $95.71. Gasoline prices are likely to fall sharply in the weeks ahead, and inflation, which eats away at consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spending power, is also likely to ease as energy prices fall.

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Beyond NCCU

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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Texting in class, high schools face challenges BY TONY GONZALEZ MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE (MTC)

MINNEAPOLIS — Beneath the desk, agile fingers flit across the keypad. Above, eye contact with the teacher never breaks. The cell-phone text message is sent, unnoticed. Or noticed. Then it’s up to teachers to offer a warning, or confiscate the cell phone, and almost unavoidably disrupt class time — yet another text-messaging distraction that teachers and administrators see as a growing nuisance. The Pew Research Center reported this year that 71 percent of American teens own a cell phone (compared with 45 percent in 2004), that 50 percent of teens sometimes use informal capitalization and punctuation in school assignments and that 38 percent have used texting lingo (such as “LOL,” for “laughing out loud”) in schoolwork. During class, teachers see students texting on phones “hidden” in pockets. Highpitched ringtones, which adults can’t hear, add a new challenge. “In this day and age, if you take a cell phone away from a teenager, it’s like carving out their heart,” said Steve Hill, principal at Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minn. To avoid such gruesome punishment, parents and students may heed the advice of Hill and other teachers and administrators, who offer the following warnings and suggestions for teen texting etiquette at school. 1. There’s a time and a place for texting. At Humboldt High School in St. Paul, Minn., teacher Paul Richardson, 26, says

that many students have a firm grasp on when textmessaging nicknames and abbreviations are acceptable. “I’ve heard other teachers be vocal about being frustrated with some of the slang that shows up in papers,” Richardson said. “I feel like, as long as they can switch back and forth (from formal to informal styles), and if they’re writing, they’re learning to communicate in a writing way.” Kofi Adragni, a graduate student and statistics instructor at the University of Minnesota, explicitly wrote in his syllabus: “All course work must be fully readable; text messaging acronyms and jargon are not accepted.” “I see abbreviations so many times,” Adragni said. “Sometimes I can’t single them out to find out what they stand for.” He doesn’t worry about texting during class. Students suffer if they do: “For someone to come to my classroom for a lecture, but spend their time text-messaging, is a waste of time. But that’s their business.” 2. Know the consequences. Teachers said students don’t often test the rules after a cell-phone confiscation demonstrates that a teacher means business. “Usually after the first time, the issue is corrected,” said Jinger Gustafson, principal at Oak View Middle School in Andover, Minn. The rules are simple, after all: Turn phones off during instruction; no textmessaging during tests. But rules and consequences do change. This year, some schools have banned cell phones even

Re4

during passing periods and lunchtime. Some have added fines or long-term confiscations. Administrators understand that outright bans are impractical, but are on the lookout for cases of textmessage cheating. Such cheating can earn students a zero score on a test or an F in the class. 3. Don’t push it. A cell-phone reprimand is distraction enough, but prolonged argument about cell-phone use or confiscation rules between the texting student and the teacher only extends the distraction. “Sometimes the kids argue back with the teacher, which causes more of a distraction,” Hill said. “It also damages the relationship when teachers and students argue about something that shouldn’t even occur.” 4. Ask in advance. Many teachers will allow students to receive emergency messages or stay in touch with parents during family crises. But students should ask ahead in such situations. 5. Expect texting to become a teaching tool. As teachers and administrators realize that texting isn’t going away, some are suggesting that the medium be embraced as a classroom tool. Besides using texting for emergency responses, teachers could use texting-centric lessons. “I don’t know how much longer we can try to stave off the entry of technology into schools,” said Bruce Locklear, principal of Edina High School. “It would make sense for us to embrace it and identify a positive use for it. But we’re not quite there yet.”

7 RACE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) talk after visiting the reflecting pool at the World Trade Center during the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Manhattan, New York, Thursday, September 11, 2008. BRUCE BILBERT/Newsday (MCT)

Ipsos Public Affairs, which conducted the poll Sept. 59, its first since the two major-party conventions kicked off the fall general election campaign. “McCain got a very good bump from his convention and now it’s a real race.” Bounces up in polls immediately following conventions are no guarantee of victory in November. Candidates who got higher post-convention poll bounces than their opponents and went on to lose include Barry Goldwater in 1964, Jimmy Carter in 1980, Walter Mondale in 1984 and Michael Dukakis in 1988, according to a study by Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. With the Obama-McCain race so close less than two months until the election,

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several factors could prove pivotal in coming weeks, including how the two campaigns do in winning the support of the roughly 15 percent of voters who could go either way, and how well Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin does in assuring skeptics that she’s up to the job. The poll finds that registered voters continue to wonder whether Palin, a first-term Alaska governor, is as qualified to step up to the job of president as her Democratic counterpart, Joseph Biden, who’s been in the Senate for more than three decades. A majority of voters, 60 percent, think that Biden is qualified to be president, while 31 percent think he is not. By comparison, 48 percent of voters think Palin is qualified, while 44 percent think she is not. “While Palin has electrified the base, her overall appeal is less than Biden’s,” Young said. On issues, McCain leads on foreign policy and national security. Obama leads on jobs and the economy, health care and representing change. Voters split almost evenly on which is a better leader. “Neither has been able to dominate on that,” Young said. At stake for all the candidates are the roughly one in six voters still up for grabs, a total that includes those still undecided and those who still could change their minds about Obama or McCain. Among McCain supporters who are registered voters, 77 percent said they’d definitely vote for him; 13 percent said they’d probably vote for him; and 10 percent said they still could change their minds. Among Obama supporters, 80 percent said they’d “definitely” vote for him; 12

percent said they’d “probably” vote for him; and 8 percent said they could still change their mind. McCain leads 57 percent to 34 percent among nonHispanic whites, and by 53 percent to 38 percent among voters age 55 and older. Obama leads among voters age 18 to 34 by a margin of 55 percent to 34 percent, among non-Hispanic blacks by 90 percent to 3 percent, and among Hispanics by 58 percent to 34 percent. They’re in a dead heat among voters age 35 to 54. ___ METHODOLOGY: The Ipsos\McClatchy poll was conducted Sept. 5-9, 2008. For the survey, a nationally representative, randomly selected sample of 1,018 adults across the U.S. was interviewed by Ipsos. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire U.S. adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. Within this sample, Ipsos interviewed 876 respondents who self-identified as registered voters. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within ±3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample’s regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census.

SAVE THE DATE

525 Nelson Street, NCCU Campus Join Campus Ministry for the Fall Christian Student Convention, Sept. 26-27 in Charlotte Dr. Sheila Allison Call number below for more information.

Michael D. Page Campus Minister

And mark your calendars for “Eagle Rising,” Oct. 10 ~ Register at 919530-6380 For more information or to get involved in Campus Ministries contact Rev. Michael Page at 530-5263 or by e-mail at mpage@nccu.edu

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Dancers light up B.N. Duke N

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

IV E RS ITY

Story by Ablessin Johnson ~ Photos by Ray Tyler

Amulaya Balabantaray and Pabitra Kumar Pradhan. Pradhan plays Lord Vishnu riding a chariot.

Jayanti Paine-Ganguly and Zahra showing a Lord Ganesha.

Dance CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 dent of the Indian Classical Music and Dance Society. “By performing at NCCU we give college students the opportunity to be exposed to a different culture,” he said. “It’s a learning experience.” And surely it was.

“Their style of dancing is very different from the way we dance in America,” said Davis. Dancers used their eyes, hands, and heels to make movements instead of actually dancing. “It was as if their eyes could tell you

what the song was about.” said Davis. There were different types of Indian Classical Music used in the performances. “We don’t dance by the rhythm of the beat, we dance to the meaning of the songs,” said one of the dancers.

Top: Pabitra Kumar Pradhan’s salutation to Lord Jagannath. Bottom: Jayanti Paine-Ganguly, Nazanina Baygani, Amulaya Balabantaray and Pabitra Kumar Pradhan.

Top: Naznin Baygani says “namaste” (thanks) to the audience. Bottom: Amulaya Balabantaray in Kali Stuti.

A&E

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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The house Ujamaa built BY JOSHUA P. LEAK ECHO STAFF WRITER

In the history of Durham County, there has never been a public market for skating outside of your local K-mart, Wal-Mart, or Dick’s Sporting Goods. A year ago, all that changed when Nikolas Spaulding moved from Orlando with a dream of spreading the positive vibes of the skate world to the local youth of Bull City. Around this time , Durham Parks and Recreation had been brewing up plans to build a skate park in downtown Durham. Spaulding soon joined the planning committee. “Durham County’s plans of building the skate park were the catalyst to creating the skate shop,” said Spaulding. “I thought that this would be a great opportunity to open a skate shop to go along with the city’s plans.” He called his shop Ujamaa Boardhouse. Ujamaa is Swahili for “cooperative economics.” The concept and ideals

of the shop focus on incorporating music, art, skating and fashion as a creative outlet for the community. During the time of the opening, downtown Durham had began its beautification process, which was funded by the city to attract tourists. Since its opening, Ujamaa Boardhouse has hosted a slew of events open to anyone. These events range from art exhibits to local talent showcases and, recently, a Reggae jam. “Fashion, music and art are all considered a subculture to skating and all coincide with the background of the shop,” said Spaulding. Local youth feel they can relate to Nik on more than a customer level because he too is a skater and has been for quite some time. Despite constant customer accolades, Nik hopes that he’s doing as good a job as he is being told he is. Anyone feeling the need to cop some new wood, or even tweak an old setup, should head down to 111. W. Parrish Street and pay Nik a visit.

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AudioNet works Broadcast media students prepare for the radio industry

AudioNet Manager Lolethia Underdue works with AudioNet President Geanice Gee, English senior. BRIAN

BY CARLTON KOONCE ECHO STAFF WRITER

AudioNet, WNCU’s radio station, is full of opportunities for those seeking them on N.C. Central University’s campus. The radio station gives approximately 20 students hands-on experience in broadcast media and the chance to promote themselves. “It’s a learning and rewarding experience at the same time,” said English senior Geanice Gee, president of AudioNet. Started as an English practicum program, AudioNet has grown into an award-winning student radio station that gives participants ample exposure. “AudioNet gave me an avenue and an outlet,” said mass communication senior Alshadera Dawson.

LATTIMER/Echo

Photo Editor

“It gave me some guidance on where to go.” Dawson is a board operator and a weekend disc jockey for WRJD 1410 AM who wants to own his own radio station some day. Wade Banner, mass communication junior, recently received a job as an overnight personality for Raleigh-Durham’s K 97.5 and can be heard over the air from midnight to six a.m. Sunday through Saturday. “AudioNet provided the resources and I took it from there,” said Banner, who is director of promotions at AudioNet. Banner says he never planned to become a radio personality. “In the radio industry business everyone’s talented and talent only places you at the bottom of the totem pole,” Banner said. A point stressed by Dawson who comments, “Radio personalities are

a dime a dozen.” They explain that a new personality is hired at Radio One once every three to five years. Lolethia Underdue, AudioNet manager, said, “We try to keep Audio Net student oriented,” adding that the station is ideal for broadcasting and music industry majors. Gee said, “AudioNet is for motivated, self-starters that are dependable and willing to work.” Dawson added, “AudioNet is for students that love the work,” he remarks. “If you would do it for free, do it. Otherwise don’t waste your time.” The station accepts applications the first two weeks of each semester. The next AudioNet meeting is tomorrow in room 152 of the Farrison-Newton Communications Building during the 10:40 am break.

Tatyana Ali for Obama BY AMBERLY EATON ECHO STAFF WRITER

Ujamaa Boardhouse owner Nikolas Spaulding, sells a variety of unique merchandise at his shop in downtown Durham. SAVIN JOSEPH/Echo Photo Editor

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N.C. Central University students gathered in the Alfonso Elder Student Union Sept. 13 to meet and greet actress Tatyana M. Ali. Currently on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, Ali visited NCCU to speak to students and members of the community about Obama’s message of change and hope. The actress, who gained fame as Ashley Banks on the 90’s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” has been traveling as a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign since January. Her first stop as a campaign representative was in Iowa before the primaries. Ali admitted she was surprised when Obama won the state, though she had hoped for such an outcome. Since Iowa, she has traveled all across the country.

She said HBCUs were one of her targeted audiences. She also visited Shaw University in Raleigh on Sept. 13. Ali also has spent time going doorto-door registering voters. She said she tries to recruit voters and volunteers everywhere she goes. Ali said she chose to campaign for Senator Obama because she “likes what he stands for and what he talks about.” His position on education and the fact that Obama was a community organizer particularly struck home with the soft-spoken Brooklyn, New York native. As the daughter of immigrants, Ali was raised by the standards that have drawn many to Senator Obama — the belief that America is a place where hopes and dreams can always become reality. English freshman Bishari Cooper said she was moved by Ali’s speech. “It was full of passion,” Cooper

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Ne-Yo Year of the Gentleman Def Jam Records

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Ne-Yo is back, as Michael Jackson with his third album, Year of the Gentleman. The album features 12 tracks, most of which the singer-songwriter produced himself. The album’s first single, “Closer,” has been doing well on the pop charts and gives a representative glimpse into the vibe of the album. While listening, I wondered what Michael Jackson was doing, if he was chilling or dancing and sh*t. Songs like “Nobody” and “Stop the World,” an obvious MJ-styled ballad, have moonwalking and sequins all over them. A lot of this album sounds like something I’ve heard before, which raises the issue of Ne-Yo’s lack of originality.

said. “I’m already involved with campaigning, but she inspired me to talk to more people everywhere I go.” Ali described her experience working for the Obama-Biden campaign, which was her first time ever volunteering for any campaign, as “incredible,”and “a really beautiful thing.”

Tatyana Ali speaks with NCCU students. MITCHELL WEBSON/Echo Staff Photographer

First two albums went platinum! Sues R.Kelly for $700,000 Gets arrested in GA Apologizing to Lindsay Lohan? New Kids Video? No!!

But the man has fans, so for those of you who actually see why he is necessary, here are some pros for you. The album has decent but typical song concepts. in “Mad,” Ne-Yo discusses arguing, one of the many hardships of being in a relationship. The song’s second single, “Miss Independent,” puts Ne-Yo’s own little spin on the independent woman. “So You Can Cry” and “Why Does She Stay” stand out as the best of the worst. Ne-Yo named this album Year of The Gentleman in honor of his artistic influences, the Rat Pack, a group of 1950s entertainers (Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra are the most famous). There is nothing special about this album, no surprises. The album is okay — it’s Aaa-ite. Rather than buy this album, buy Michael Jackson’s Number Ones or The Dream. — Miss Why You Gotta Be Anonymous

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

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Nelson Mandela Celebration: Honoring a Great Humanitarian and Leader

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October 11-17, 2008 Student Leadership Training and Development

Join us in our week long celebration of the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela

For more information contact: Mrs. Peggy Watson Alexander, Director of Student Leadership, Training and Development Tel: (919) 5307088 E-mail: palex@nccu.edu Dr. Carlton Wilson: E-mail: cwilson@nccu.edu

Essay Contest : “Nelson Mandela: A model for Leadership in the 21st Century” $500 Book scholarship for Winning Essay Deadline Monday, Sept. 29 Contact Dr. Carlton Wilson at 919.530.6271 or cwilson@nccu.edu for more information. Submit 1,500 word essay to Edmonds Classroom Bldg., Rm. 206 A Habitat for Humanity Service Project Saturday, Oct. 11 Time: 1-4:30 Location: TBA Worship Service and Lunch 10 am Sunday, Oct. 12. Grace Church of Durham Transportation Provided Nelson Mandela Art Exhibition Tuesday, Oct. 14 through Sunday, Nov. 2. NCCU Museum Forum-Dr. James Joseph 4 pm Tuesday, Oct. 14 Former Ambassador to South Africa Location: B.N. Duke Auditorium African Day Wednesday, Oct. 15 NCCU Cafeteria Student and Organization Tributes to Mandela 6:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 16 H.M. Micheaux School of Education Service Project: The Legacy Lives on Freedom Tree Planting Ceremony Friday, Oct. 17 Time: 3:30 pm Location: Outside Criminal Justice Buliding

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Sports

Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

The world was watching

More losses Women’s volleyball team drops to 0-11 BY ANIELLE DA SILVA ECHO SPORTS EDITOR

N.C. Central University women’s volleyball team traveled on Sept. 12 and 13 to the Air Force Invitational to take on a slate of matches against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, Kent State, Florida Atlantic and Air Force. The invitational was held on the campus of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. NCCU’s first match and first loss was against the Islanders of Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, who took the Eagles in three games, 25-13, 25-11 and 25-9. Rachel Lloyd, juniorlibero and captain, led the team with 10 digs, while Avaniki Campbell, junior middle blocker, led the team with four blocks. In the second match of the tournament, Kent State handed one more loss to the Eagles, 25-14, 25-11 and 25-14. Shaina Pryor, junior, right side, had a team high of 10 kills. But NCCU’s disappointment continued as the team came back for the second day of the tournament facing its third game and loss against Florida Atlantic University, 25-15, 25-22 and 25-10. Belinda Biney, sophomore outside hitter, led the team with eight kills. The Lady Eagles closed the tournament with a loss against Air Force in three games, 2523, 27-25 and 25-16. Kiara Brown, sophomore setter, tallied a match high of 30 assists and Campbell led the team with nine kills. With those results, NCCU’s volleyball team falls to an 0 - 11 record. “It was a good experience to travel to Colorado and compete against strong Division I teams,” said Pryor. “Even though the final results were not too satisfactory, our team had some very good moments at the tournament,” she said. “We have to learn from our mistakes once again and continue to work hard towards our goals.” The Lady Eagles will travel to South Carolina State University next week, to compete at the South Carolina State University Volleyball Tourney, facing The Citadel, Coastal Carolina University, Charleston Southern University, and Hampton University.

ICONIC ’68 OLYMPIAN MEDALIST HAS ADVICE FOR ’08 GENERATION BY ERICA MCRAE ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

Tommie Smith kicked off a year-long lecture series at the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, in front of a packed auditorium on Thursday, Sept. 11th. The center is celebrating black Americans’ achievements with a series called “1968: The Whole World Was Watching.” Smith is best known for winning the gold medal at the ’68 summer Olympics in Mexico City for his worldrecord of 19.83 seconds in the 200 meter dash. Upon receiving his medal, Smith along with teammate John Carlos, the bronze medalist, raised a blackgloved first in the air, creating an image that will always stand as an iconic representation of black power, liberation and solidarity. Their silent gestures were heard around the world. After the stand in Mexico City, Smith told ABC-TV sportscaster Howard Cosell, “My raised right hand stood for the power in Black America. Carlos’ raised left hand stood for the unity of Black America. “ Together they formed an arch of unity and power. “This was our platform, and John and I used this moment to take a stand. We were embracing those who had no other platform but the streets. My silent gestures were designed to speak volumes, ” said Smith. This worldwide event unexpectedly forced Smith into the national spotlight. He became a human rights spokesman, activist and received numerous humani-

‘68 Olympian captivates audience 40 years later with more than “silent gestures.” SAVIN JOSEPH/Echo Photo Editor

tarian awards. Along with fame, came painful backlashes. After the Olympics, Smith received countless taunts and death threats against himself and numerous violent encounters against his family. It was hard for him to find work. “I had to leave the state of California,” said Smith. “Here I was an Olympic gold medalist, and I was even fired from my job washing cars.” After graduating from San Jose State with a degree in sociology, Smith moved to Ohio. He learned from this experience and made a commitment to dedicate his life to educate and inform African Americans sociologically,

morally, athletically, financially, spiritually, and most importantly, educationally. He eventually became the athletic director and a professor of sports sociology at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. Since then, Smith has been an advocate of higher learning. At the lecture, Smith’s main focus was on the importance of education. He reiterated the significance of knowledge and how powerful it is to all of us. Smith is from a small town in east Texas, and the 7th of 12 children. “Growing up in the South picking and chopping cotton wasn’t what I wanted to do,” said Smith.

“Nobody can ever take your education away from you. My father told me to get an education so I’d never have to go back to picking cotton in the fields where I grew up in rural Texas. I followed his advice.” Since the 68’ summer Olympics, Smith has enjoyed a distinguished career as a coach, athletic director and activist. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by San Jose State University for his courageous efforts of human rights, humanity and dignity. Smith’s humanist stance has inspired a new generation. In August, Smith gave Jamaica’s 2008 Olympic triple

gold medal winner, Usain Bolt, one of his shoes from the 1968 Summer Games as a birthday gift. Smith is still in great demand on the lecture circuit for his recollections of his historic stand. He is the only man in track-and-field history to hold 11 world records simultaneously, and the first man in Olympic history to win a gold medal in record-breaking time in the 200-meter. He has been an educator and a track-and-field coach for 40 years. When asked how he would like his legacy to be remembered, he quoted, “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee.”

Bears cream Eagles 49-7 BY

AARON SAUNDERS

ECHO SPORTS REPORTER

N.C. Central University’s first trip to Baltimore since 1982 left the Eagles disappointed after their second straight blowout. Last Saturday, NCCU fell to Morgan State University 49-7 at Hughes Stadium. Six interceptions sunk the Eagles’ hopes of capturing their first victory of the season. MSU took control of the game with a drive of 6 plays for 66 yards. The opening drive was highlighted by two game-breaking runs, including a touchdown run by Bears tailback Devan James. The Eagles’ first drive was stalled by a stiff Bears defense that made NCCU’s offense struggle the entire afternoon. NCCU was marred by bad field position all day, with an average starting field position at the 23-yard line. The onslaught began in the second quarter when the

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NCCU senior wide receiver Will Scott (83) dives for the goal line. ROBERT LAWSON/Office of Public Relations

Bears raced up and down the field, scoring 28 unanswered points. MSU tailback Keith Lee ran 23 yards for a touchdown run with 9:09 remaining in the half. On the following possession, MSU defenders recov-

ered a fumble by Eagle senior tailback Jeff Toliver on NCCU’s 28-yard line. At the 8:10 mark, MSU receiver Aaron Moore bypassed NCCU defenders and scored on a reverse. For the Eagles, senior quar-

EAGLELAND

terback, Stadford Brown struggled the entire game, completing five passes to MSU defenders. Bear cornerback Darren McKhan intercepted Brown’s pass that led to another score on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Carlton Jackson to receiver Edwin Baptiste. The first half ended on Brown’s interception, which was returned for a touchdown by Darren McKhan. With 13 seconds left in the quarter, the score was 35-0. The Eagles didn’t fare any better in the second half, as the offense was forced to punt on the opening two drives. On the third drive, the Eagles had yet another interception returned for a touchdown by Bear defender Jarrell Guyton. The Eagles appeared poised to get their first points of the game in the third quarter when the usually automatic senior kicker Brandon Gilbert had a 39-yard field

goal attempt. On this day, he was not automatic and missed. The lone bright spot for the Eagles offense came when Brown connected with senior wide receiver Will Scott for a 22-yard touchdown reception for the Eagles’ only points of the game. The last of the MSU onslaught came after Rodney Etienne intercepted a pass by sophomore quarterback Keon Williams, and returned it for a touchdown. This created a 49-7 victory by Morgan State. The Eagles hope to bounce back next week as they travel to Connecticut to take on the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State University in “the NAACP Harmony Classic.” The Eagles will be led by sophomore defensive lineman Teryl White and senior linebacker Alex Winters. University in New Britain CT.

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Opinions

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Campus Echo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008

IVER SITY

A call for civic engagement am tempted to use this space to tell you about my reaction to Senator Barack Obama’s speech when he accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States of America Jarvis on that Hall special day, August 28. Put simply, I, like many, cried. There were tears for Martin, tears for Malcolm, tears for Harriet, tears for Ella, tears for Fannie Lou, and many tears for the nameless thousands who put it all on the line so that this day and other “justice delayed” days would happen. To them, I just said thank you. And for those who do

“... the real history will be made when masses of people, especially young people, introduce themselves to this thing called democracy.”

not know why we cried, well that’s for another column. But I digress. Actually, this where I am supposed to tell you NCCU students that you have an opportunity to make history by electing the first African American president of the United States. While the significance of such an outcome cannot be minimized, in my judgment, the real history will be made when masses of people, especially young people, introduce themselves to this thing called democracy. For far too long the majority of Americans, young and old, have been disinterested, disengaged, disillusioned, and too dismissive of the

impact that politics have on their lives, making this the “Dis” Era. This is demonstrated by the low rates of participation in elections and the lack of basic civic knowledge. This takes place while in North Carolina one of two African American children do not graduate from high school on time and one of three enter the criminal justice system; while 27 percent of African Americans and 30 percent of Hispanics live in poverty in North Carolina; while onefourth of all North Carolina children younger than age 5 live in poverty; while more than a million people in North Carolina do not have health insurance;

and while more than 2 million North Carolinians cannot afford a decent place to live. The time to end the “Dis” Era is now. But mass participation in this and subsequent elections is only the start. Real democracy requires the full engagement of its citizens in all facets of community life, from community service to full participation in political and policy processes. Therefore on our campus we have the opportunity to make real history by creating the truly engaged campus. For example, we should support Chancellor Nelms as he

strengthens our community service program. Students should participate in more community service projects, beyond the minimal requirement; faculty should design more service learning courses that address authentic community needs, and there are many. Politically, students should not only vote but also should learn about the political process and be engaged in debates about how to solve our societal problems. Moreover, NCCU should explore in a systematic and structured way how its academic programs, especially the curriculum, can encourage deepened civic engagement that contributes to real social change. Actually, mass civic engagement should be expected, not historic, but this election can be the start. Vote Nov. 4.

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

Question: Can Barack Obama withstand the campaign tactics of the Republican Party? “Sure, he can do anything.” — Jolanda Kindell

Thanks to you, NCCU ay 3, 2008, at 8 a.m. my life changed forever. I was the first in my family to attend a fouryear university and the first to graduate from college. Finding out where I wanted to attend Edmund graduate Lewis school was the next step toward my goal. I didn’t want to go to any school in North Carolina. I wanted to prepare myself culturally and diversify my college experiences. I wanted to attend an institution that would give me the best opportunity to demonstrate my expertise in my field while giving me the best opportunity to prepare myself for my profession

I came to realize that at NCCU, family was a very important aspect of my life, from my brothers of the mighty Tau Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, to the lady who works in Eagle Landing mail room, Ms. Wendy.

after graduate school. I reflect back to January 2008, when I was sitting in the career services office. Mrs. Stuckey, the career services consultant, provided a lot of support. Getting into graduate school was my most important goal for the semester, and I would let nothing get in the way of my aspiration. So I narrowed my list of schools to Penn, Pittsburg, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State. Then I got worried. Of all these schools and their excellent pro-

grams; they are out of North Carolina! I know I said all that stuff about getting out of North Carolina and experiencing diversity, but these schools are really far away from home. I told my fraternity brother, Dr. Ferebee, about my quandary. He told me about his transition from N. C. Central University to the University of Cincinnati and how he persevered while being completely away from his family and friends. That gave me the nerve to conquer my fear and prepare myself

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for change. One summer morning, a representative from the University of Michigan gave me a call and wanted to know why I hadn’t made a choice yet. He explained that there is a very close family community within the department at Michigan. For me, family was a very important facet in choosing a graduate school. When I entered the sloping hills and verdant green in 2004, I came to realize that at NCCU, family was a very important aspect of my life,

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from my brothers of the mighty Tau Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, to the lady who works in Eagle Landing mail room, Ms. Wendy. When I arrived in Ann Arbor, I felt like a part of NCCU was here. The university has organizations and programs that connect students with people of all professions. Most students here have come from different parts of the world and are here for one ultimate goal: the pursuit of success. So here I am, 800 miles away, saying thanks, NCCU, for equipping me with the tools I needed to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan. Although I am in another part of the country, I have the NCCU foundation that will forever travel with me throughout my endeavors.

“I think Obama can withstand the negative ads and attacks. We will see how the Republican party will respond to the truth.” —Crystal Crump

“As long as people don’t allow their judgement to be clouded by what they see on TV and stick to the issues, Barack will be okay.” —Tasha Davis