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COURTBOUILLON A DILLARD UNIVERSITY student production

18 March 2010

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DU retention on par with other schools

NEWS

Dr. Ruby Broadway plans joint meeting of science groups here March 24-28

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Five years post-Katrina, Dillard University’s first-year freshman retention rates are on par with other schools around the state and nation.

An average of one in four freshmen drop out of college, according to the American College Testing site. U.S. News & World Report places the ratio lower, at one in three, with reasons such as family

problems, loneliness, academic struggles and lack of money.

As of 2008, the first-year retention rate at Dillard was 70 percent, according to statistics provided by the Office of Student Success. That’s on par with the national average of 69.9 percent from 1983-2009, according to CollegeToolKit.com, a resource site for college statistics and information.

The ACT said four-year U.S. private schools with bachelor’s degrees had an average completion rate of 55.9 percent, compared with 41 percent of Dillard’s 2006 freshmen around to graduate in 2010, according to DU statistics.

Within the state, Tulane University here

See Retention on Page 2

Spike Lee filming

NEWS Printer paper shortage at library blamed on malfunctions, patrons

3

ETOUFEE Alan Carmel unopposed as Mr. Dillard; 3 others win SGA by acclamation

ETOUFEE

4 Associated Press photo Director Spike Lee works with a film crew near the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans on March 6. Lee is working on the follow-up to the 2006 documentary “When The Levees Broke.”

Rules tighten in dorm after several incidents

Party spots within U.S. more popular with local students for spring break Charley Steward

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INDEX Campus news ............................................ 2-3 Etoufee ............................................ 4-5 Opinion ..................................6 Op-editorial...........................7

Editor-in-chief

The more than 400 residents of Dillard University’s freshmen coed dormitory, Williams Hall, are under a strict curfew and are forbidden to have guests until further notice following several incidents of vandalism and property defacement in the dorm.

The most recent incident occurred Feb. 28, before the start of midterm week, when a water sprinkler was set off in a dorm room occupied by three male

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ set to run

students on the second floor of the three-story building. Some students in rooms below had to move temporarily to the DUALS apartments.

Other confirmed incidents in Williams include four fights, a fire set in a stairwell, the spraying of fire extinguishers, broken windows and exit lights, and defacement of property, such as graffiti on the walls and doors, broken bottles and urine in hallways.

Two professors will be among the cast of the Dillard University’s African American version of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” set for the weekends of March 19 and 26 in Cook Theatre on campus.

The mostly student cast will include theatre department Chair Sherri Marina as Big Mama Pollitt and department Technical Director Cortheal Clark as Big Daddy Pollitt in performances scheduled for 8 p.m. March 19-20 and March 26-27.

Matinee performances are scheduled at 3 p.m. both Sundays. Tickets are $12 for the general public, $5 for DU students and $7 for other students.

A “Dollar Night” performance was held at 8 p.m.

Wednesday; a second “Dollar Night” performance is set for 8 p.m. tonight, with understudies portraying Big Mama and Big Daddy.

See Dorm on Page 2

See Play on Page 5

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COURTBOUILLON

DILLARD UNIVERSITY

COURTBOUILLON Volume 74, Issue 4

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-chief .................. Charley L. Steward Managing editor ...................................Traci Ray Sports editor .................... Ernest Robertson Photo editor .................... Stephawn Spears Online editor ...........................Angela Harris Faculty adviser ..................Cleo Joffrion Allen, Ph.D., APR

BUSINESS STAFF Advertising manager ...................................... Vacant

FROM PAGE 1 Such incidents are forwarded to the Office of Student Affairs and handled on a case-by-case by Dillard’s judiciary system, campus Assistant Police Chief Dwight Deal said.

A notice taped on the front door and inside the dorm announced the guest ban and curfew policy. Curfew for freshmen students is midnight to 7 a.m. Sunday through Monday and 2-7 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

“It’s kind of ridiculous,” said Kevin Perry, a freshman theater major from New Orleans, referring to the incidents and the cancellation of visitation rights. “The only time something happens is when we have visitors.”

Residential Community Director La’Toya Lewis was contacted several times by phone and email for an interview, but did not respond.

However, Deal said that in the most

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recent incident, the students in the room claimed to be studying at the time the sprinkler went off. However, the fire department was called to investigate the incident and concluded the incident was not a malfunction, Deal said.

“Likely, some human intervention is to blame,” said Deal.

Although, the incident was not a criminal matter, several students on the floor below had to move out of their rooms. Perry, whose room was not physically damaged, was among them.

“The smell was bad,” said Perry.

“A lot of those incidents are pranks by people who don’t realize the criminal implications,” said Deal. “Where it’s a crime out there [off-campus], here it’s a prank.”

Deal said students often don’t realize beforehand how their actions could harm others.

Campus police have “more of a discretionary area than the local police in that we work in tandem with Student Success and Student Affairs,” said Deal.

Incidents believed to be violations of the student code of conduct are handled on a case-by-case by Dillard’s judiciary system, so long as they don’t involve guns, domestic violence or a sexual assault, Deal said.

According to the student handbook, a review with each implicated student is held, followed by hearings before a board that includes administrators, faculty and students, if required.

If the student is found responsible, a sanction may be applied, including campus service, a fine, research assignments on a topic related to the offense, suspension or expulsion. The university may withhold one’s transcript or registration, or even one’s degree.

Dillard to co-host joint science meet

Retention at Dillard 2001-2008

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18 March 2010

Dorm

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Number and percentage of returning students Freshmen Enrolled

Year 2

2001

608

460

76%

382 63%

339

56%

102 17%

2002

630

457

73%

352 56%

316

50%

71 11%

2003

609

422

69%

351 58%

211

34%

84 14%

2004

501

363

73%

202 40%

171

34%

69 14%

2005

495

224

45%

178 36%

146

29%

67 14%

2006

222

136

61%

106 48%

92

41%

N/A

N/A

2007

175

120

69%

98 56%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2008

173

121

70%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Year

Year 3

N/A

Year 4

N/A

Year 5

Source: DU Student Success

Retention FROM PAGE 1 in New Orleans and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge had the highest freshman retention rate in 2007, at 88 percent and 85 percent, respectively, according to CollegeToolKit.com.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette had 74 percent, and both Loyola University in New Orleans and Xavier had 73 percent.

However, some four-year Louisiana schools posted lower numbers for freshman retention, according to the Web site.

The University of New Orleans joined Dillard at midrange, posting 69 percent in 2007. Others were Southern University in Baton Rouge and McNeese State, both 68 percent; Nicholls State University, 67 percent.

Lower freshmen retention

rates were posted by Grambling State University, 59 percent, and Southern University in New Orleans, 43 percent.

Dr. Toya Barnes-Teamer, vice president of Student Success, said, “Katrina, although a major obstacle for overall enrollment, also has been an opportunity to assess all practices in the areas of recruitment and retention.

“University-wide efforts have and will continue to make a difference,” said BarnesTeamer, referring to the revised Enrollment Recovery Plan of 2007, which aims to increase retention.

Even before Hurricane Katrina, Dillard retention rates were declining, according to a Student Success report on retention from 2001 to 2008. In

2001, Dillard had 608 freshmen enrolled and retained 76 percent the following year.

The freshman count steadily dropped between 2001 and 2004, when 501 freshmen were enrolled and 73 percent returned the following year. The worst came post-Katrina, when 495 freshmen enrolled, but only 224, or 45 percent, were still at Dillard in 2006.

Since then, however, retention has improved, with a 61 percent retention rate of the 222 freshmen in 2006; a 69 percent retention for the 175 freshmen in 2007; and 70 percent retention for the 173 freshmen in 2008, the most recent year for which data was provided.

(Martin Bradford contributed to this report.)

Nearly 800 participants are expected as Dillard University co-hosts the 67th joint annual meeting of the National Institute of Science and Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society on March 24-28, according to Dr. Ruby Broadway, event coordinator.

Broadway, a biology professor at Dillard, is vice president and archivist of the institute.

She also is chairwoman of the event planning committee.

The meeting will feature plenary and breakout sessions at the Hilton Riverside Hotel and sessions on-site at the co-host schools, Dillard and Southern University at New Orleans.

The group will be on DU’s campus for a Town Hall meeting and lunch at 10:30 a.m.

March 26 featuring Dr. Kevin U. Stephens, director of the New Orleans Health Department. The group plans a Gentilly Cleanup effort that afternoon.

Four guest speakers are scheduled, including Stephens and Dr. Roger Y. Tsien, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and pharmacology professor at the University of California, San Diego.

The primary aim of the joint meeting is to promote scientific interest, development and interaction through high school, undergraduate and graduate presentations in 10 scientific categories in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

(Thelisia Davis contributed to this report.)

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COURTBOUILLON

18 March 2010

Library blames malfunctions, patrons for printer paper shortage

Kenneth W. Palmer

Halfway through the spring semester, the allotment of copy paper for printers at the Will W. Alexander Library has been depleted.

Cynthia Charles, interim library dean, blamed the problem on defective printers and misuse of printing privileges by both Dillard students and alumni.

Alexander Library has more than 60 computer work stations, and Latkisla Bernard, circulation administrative assistant and the person responsible for tracking the library’s paper supply, said paper usage at Alexander is at an “all-time high.” She said the library began the semester with 170 reams of paper, was provided

another 50 reams by Dr. David Taylor, the provost, and then ordered another 10 reams.

Charles said the library is having a problem with printers incorrectly reading commands and printing more pages than students request. She said she is trying to get the printer problem fixed.

Charles also said students tend to overprint Internet information, class assignments and frivolous information that is trashed as soon as it is printed.

However, Bernard said alumni are as much to blame for the shortage as students, citing one alum who printed more than 200 copies of a flier promoting her mother’s fish fry fund-raiser.

The current paper shortage appears to be confined to the library. Each division maintains its own budgets for supplies, and Zena Ezeb, office administrator for the Humanities Division, said she strictly controls paper usage in light of Dillard’s desire to “go green.” She said Humanities starts every semester with 200 reams and re-orders when the reserve falls to below 20 reams.

Dianna Holiday-Woods, the office administrator for Student Support Services, said her office has not experienced a paper shortage but has loaned paper to other departments periodically.

Charles said library users must help, noting, “Paper waste eats into the library budget.”

‘Hip-Hop and Gender’ talks in Women’s Studies examine misogyny, sex roles Editor’s note: This article includes frank and offensive language.

Hip-hop performers set trends for young African American males, according to a student presenter at a DU Women’s Studies’ “Hip-Hop and Gender” presentation last week.

Tiffany Parson, a sophomore nursing major from Memphis, cited sociologist Shirley A. Hill’s assessment of setting trends in the book “Black Intimacies: A Gender Perspective on Families and Relationships” as Parson discussed “I’m a Dog,” by rapper Gucci Mane.

Yet Parson said the rappers put on a façade: “[T]hey do not necessarily live

that way. They want people to think they live that way.”

Parson was one of eight students in English Professor Andrea Boll’s International Women’s Studies course who offered their perspectives on hip-hop in three sessions open to the public on March 4, 9 and 11.

Boll called the presentations pretty intense, with the discussion of the song “Nasty Bitch,” by New Orleans rapper Bust Down being the most intense on March 11.

Jasmine Kepp, a sophomore nursing major from New Orleans, discussed the song of three women’s separate interac-

tions with one male as described from the man’s perspective. Bust Down tells a story of sex with a lesbian crack addict, a “no-good freak” who walked around like she was too cute and a prostitute on crack.

Kepp said that in each instance, the man was using his penis as a weapon, and his goal was to hurt the woman’s feelings. During the discussion, Boll said the man was hypocritical: He is having sex with the women he calls nasty.

Anastacia Scott, a senior psychology major from New Orleans, said the women in the song are sad because they accept their situations.

“They don’t want to better themselves,” she said.

In Parson’s discussion, she quoted part of Mane’s lyrics in which he says of a woman, “I’m a treat her like a dog/ feed her like a dog/ beat her like a dog/ then pass her to my dog.” She said it’s sad that some African American women in poor communities accept being demeaned and disrespected to get some sort of status.

She said women must stand up for themselves: “I’m not a bitch or a ho; I’m Tiffany.”

(Angelica R. Boyd contributed to this report.)

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A message from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Etouffee

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18 March 2010

COURTBOUILLON

Stephawn Spears | Courtbouillon In photo at left, Tedrine Glover recites lines as the character “Sookey” in rehearsal recently for the upcoming production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Above from left, in foreground, Kevin Perry, Josef Pons, Sherri Marina and Cortheal Clark share a scene. The production will run this weekend and next in Cook Theatre.

Play FROM PAGE 1 The student cast includes senior Rodney Graham of Los Angeles as Brick; junior Ralshella Washington of New Orleans as Maggie; junior Kari Cojoe of New Orleans as Mae; junior Chris Robinson of Miami as Gooper.

Also, freshman Deshawn Dabney of New Orleans as Lacey; senior Tedrine Glover of New Orleans as Sookey; freshman Kevin Perry of New Orleans as Dr. Baugh; and freshman Josef Pons of

Concert choir to visit 9 cities during break Jeannine Cannon Nearly 40 students will represent Dillard University in nine cities during the concert choir’s annual spring tour March 25-April 4.

The choir also will perform at Cornerstone United Methodist Church here Sunday and will hold its annual free spring concert April 18 in Lawless Memorial Chapel.

According to S. Carver Davenport, director, the choir will tour to Alexandria, Houston, Dallas, Parsons, Kan., Kansas City, Mo., St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., Atlanta and Jackson, Miss.

Dr. Lucian Zidaru, pianist and music instructor, will accompany the group.

New Orleans as the Rev. Tooker.

Senior Ian Lawrence of Carson City, Calif., and junior Yaschicia Collins of New Orleans are understudies to Big Daddy and Big Mama.

Faculty member Ray Vrazel, director of the play, sets the action in 1980 on the occasion of Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, which centers on a young man’s disaffection and descent into alcoholism following the death of a college friend.

Meanwhile, his wife tries to ensure he takes over his dying father’s 28,000-acre plantation in the Mississippi Delta.

The performance of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ” – Williams’ third significant play following “The Glass Menagerie” in 1944 and “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1947 – will coincide with the 24th Annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literacy Festival.

For box office information, call (504) 816-4857.

SGA elections under way this week at Dillard Alan Carmel, a junior business management major from St. Louis, the sole candidate, apparently is the new Mr. Dillard for 2010-11, and three Student Government Association candidates were unopposed as well, according to the list provided by Mr. Dillard Michael McField.

Two students were seeking the position of Miss Dillard in the primary election that was under way Wednesday as the Courtbouillon went to press: Shaunessy Carr, a junior political science major from St. Louis; and Lawntai Hudson, a senior business management major from Baltimore. A contestant showcase was held Tuesday.

A runoff, should one be needed, is scheduled for today in lower Kearny. To win outright, a candidate needs 51 percent of the vote, McField said.

Other class elections will be held in April, except for freshmen, which is held in fall.

Three incoming SGA officers had no opposition for their posts: Rubila Smith, a junior political science major from Chicago, secretary; Rachel Williams, a freshman psychology and Spanish major from Baton Rouge, on-campus representative; and Mikal Todd, a freshman political science and sociology major from Mobile, Ala., parliamentarian.

Meanwhile, the final tally of voting for races in question were unavailable as the newspaper went to press Wednesday.

Three juniors sought the post of SGA president: Ebony Wooderts, a sociology/ criminal justice major from Dallas; Gerald Lee, a music business major from New Or-

leans; and Sabrina Bland, an urban studies and public policy major from Oakland, Calif.

Two ran for vice president: Charlie Coleman, a freshman political science and English major from Atlanta; and Jasmi Brown, a junior accounting and entrepreneurship major from Houston.

Two people were seeking the treasurer’s post: Christopher Neal, a freshman biology pre-med major from Mobile, Ala., and Jamie Elliott, a freshman sociology and criminal justice major from New Orleans.

And two were seeking the chaplain’s position: Bridget Sisney, a freshman biology major from Jackson, Miss., and Charles Battles III, a freshman music industry major from Baton Rouge.

(Charley Steward contributed to this report.)

‘Keep It 100 Week’ includes games, worship, service A four-man team from the South won gold at the first DU Olympics on March 10 in Dent Hall, part of the Collegiate 100’s “Keep It 100 Week.”

Meanwhile, newly inducted members of the Collegiate

100 beat veteran members in a “New vs. Old” game March 9 at lower Kearny.

The Collegiate Week also included Men’s Day chapel service, “Cater To You Monday,” a Women’s Appreciation pro-

gram and a picnic.

For the DU Olympics, eight teams competed in five different games, including jump rope, dodge ball and relays and sack races through three rounds.

The team that won the gold

included Autrail Manning of Algiers; Darnell Williams and Jarrod Little, both of New Orleans; and Oscar Moore of Atlanta.

(Jeannine Cannon and Larry Williams contributed to this report.)

Etouffee

18 March 2010

5

COURTBOUILLON

Frosh, seniors offered prizes to participate in 2 surveys Two national student surveys on student engagement and learning are under way, and officials are encouraging students to participate by offering prizes.

Dr. Carla Morelon-Quainoo, director of Undergraduate Studies/Honors Program, said freshmen and seniors are asked to complete the 20-minute National Survey of Student Engagement, or NSSE (pronounced “Nessie”), which is being administered through April 30 both online via Dillard email and in paper form to their local addresses.

The freshman and senior classes will receive $1 for every freshman and senior completing the NSSE for

freshman events and graduation activities respectively, she said.

The second one, the Collegiate Learning Assessment, or CLA, is for seniors only and is administered through mid-April. Scores are aggregated for the institution, not by student. One CLA session was held Monday, and a second is set from 2-4 p.m. Friday in the Alexander Library’s computer room.

Seniors who complete the CLA are eligible to draw for gift cards, including a $25 bookstore gift card and $5 Grille cards.

The director is seeking 75 percent to 100 percent

participation.

Both surveys, she said, easily identify the problems that exist on campuses, but if too few Dillard students complete the surveys, the data cannot be used. That happened in 2008, when fewer than 100 students completed the NSSE, she said.

NSSE data will allow DU to identify aspects of the undergraduate experience inside and outside the classroom that can be improved, according to the Web site. The CLA’s offers analytical exercises that students write about to measure critical thinking skills.

(Tess Williams contributed to this report.)

Local students expected to remain closer to home for spring break Traci Ray Managing editor

Most college students in the New Orleans area will be traveling within U.S. borders for spring break this year, although Cancun is usually the most popular destination for area students, according to Going Places Travel Inc., a local travel agency.

However, travel agent Pam Taylor of Going Places said many students are staying closer to home this year because of the recent surge of violence in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Spring break dates for U.S. colleges and universities range from as early as Feb. 15 to as late as April 9, according to springbreak.com, which has a list of most schools and their spring break dates.

Dillard has scheduled spring break for the week of March 29, which means DU students will not be off for any of the “Spring Blings” scheduled at four Florida locations this year, according to Black Entertainment Television’s Myspace page.

The one in Dayton was last weekend, and the ones in Panama City and Miami are this weekend. A fourth in West Palm Beach is set for April 10.

A list of 2010 hot spots for spring breakers, compiled in order of popularity, by Studenttravel.about.com are: • Cancun, Mexico • Acapulco Bay, Mexico, where mtvU was to film Spring Break 2010 this week.

• Panama City, Fla. (Concerts and events are planned for the entire month of March, with a list available at springbreak.com.)

• The Bahamas and Jamaica • Miami and South Beach, Fla.

co

• •

Europe Puerto Vallarta, Mexi-

• South Padre Island, Texas • North American ski resorts.

Dillard student plans varied.

Kim Homer, a freshman international business major from Washington, D.C., said she plans to travel to North Carolina for the break to see her best friend.

Sheba Washington, a junior mass communication major from New Orleans, said she plans to go to Miami.

Other students, such as Leatrice Wilson, a sophomore community health education major from New Orleans, said she plans to visit family and relax.

(Angela Harris contributed to this report.)

Variety of Web sites offer travel safety tips for tourists Traci Ray

Managing editor

If you’re one of the rare DU students traveling abroad for spring break, officials suggest you leave a travel itinerary with friends or family and check travel warnings to see if your destination has any tourist warnings.

According to travel.state.gov, travelers can register their trips with the State Department at travelregistration.state.gov.

That way, they can be reached in case of a family emergency or if disasters strike the travel area.

Some safety tips from travel.state.gov, which apply for any travel, include: • Stay in large hotels.

• Check whether your health insurance covers you abroad.

• Be cautious in areas where you may be more easily victimized (crowded subways; elevators, tourist sites, marketplaces

and festivals).

• Beware of scam artists and pickpockets.

• Even if you are lost, act as if you know where you are going.

• Do not allow visitors into your room.

• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash.

• Make two copies of your passport identification page.

• Do not wear valuable or expensivelooking jewelry.

• Do not bring your Social Security card.

• Familiarize yourself with the local laws: You can be arrested for actions that may be legal or considered minor infractions in the United States.

U.S. consular personnel, who know about local government agencies and available resources, are available for any American citizen who becomes a victim of a crime.

Opinion&Editorial

6

COURTBOUILLON

Earlier notice might foster bigger crowds

Lack of participation: Faculty and staff members and even student organizations have been complaining that Dillard students aren’t getting involved with activities.

The questions we often hear are: Why don’t students participate more? Why do students show up for this, but don’t show up for that? Yes, students at Dillard don’t participate as much as they should.

But why is that? How much notice do students actually get?

Some of these events that students don’t show up to are either posted the night before, the day of or literally hours before the event actually starts.

For example, a senior body meeting notice was posted the day of the meeting. Dr. Dewain Lee’s farewell celebration was announced by email at 6 p.m. the evening before.

We can go on, but I think you get the point: We have lives, and you can’t expect us to show up at the spur of the moment.

Timing is also key. Certain events cannot compete with others. An example of this was the probate event last fall and a performance of “Miss Evers’ Boys,” which posed a problem for members of the cast and crew.

Surely, if we had an effective master calendar, someone could have pointed out the two events would compete, and probate could have been rescheduled.

This is a small campus, and it’s not as if we have so many activities that these should compete.

Of course, we’re not completely innocent. Administrators are not just to blame for the lack of participation: A select few give repeated notice about activities well in advance,

and students still don’t show up.

One example was the annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Tournament last November, which had the potential to bolster Dillard’s reputation nationally while offering the participating students cash and a free trip.

The coordinator, Dr. Carla Morelon-Quainoo, needed 32 people to participate. She ended up canceling the event for lack of interest.

For those events, students often say, “Why do we hear about events at the last minute?” However, the question should be, “Why don’t students check their Dillard email?”

Only a handful of us actually use and read emails from our Dillard email accounts. Some of us don’t even read the bulletin boards.

Rather than just complain, here’s what we suggest to resolve the problem: • ITT should fix whatever is wrong with the email system.

• Students should read the bulletin boards.

• Administrators should require that all students use their Dillard email system – once it works properly.

• Event planners must stop posting information at the last minute!

• Event planners should give more than one notice.

• Finally, we students must try to broaden our scope and attend events that involve more than cheering for the team and/or partying.

We can continue to go back and forth, but at some point, each of us will to have to take responsibility and be accountable.

Letters to the editor

Questions, comments or concerns? Voice them!!

Letters to the editor should be no longer than 250 words. Send your letter along with your name/title, address, e-mail address, phone number and classification/major if you are a student to: duopinions@gmail.com or mail to: Dillard University, 2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70122 Room 146 Cook Center. Deadlines for spring issues are Feb. 4 and 25; March 11 and 25; and April 15. Letters must be signed and will not be returned.

Our policy

The Courtbouillon is published by the students of Dillard University. Views expressed on the opinion pages are those of the individual writers, and not those of the administration, faculty or student body. The Courtbouillon reserves the right to edit all writings for space and libel.

18 March 2010

Attention, black men: Recent examples show the impossible is really possible

Traci Ray Managing editor

In a crime-ridden neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago (my hometown), where some people are scared to even let their children play outside, one public high school has done what many people probably considered impossible.

Urban Prep High School is all African-American. It’s all male. And every student in the senior class – 107 young men!!

– has been accepted to a fouryear college.

Feel free to erase some of the negative images of our young black men from your mind.

We concede we may have a few rotten apples in the bunch – for a variety of societal and familial reasons – but the positive images like those at Urban Prep are ones we should be seeing more of on the news instead of seeing our brothers as the next murder suspect.

Obviously, it is possible for our black men to be successful, so where is the message getting lost?

As they reach a certain age, a lot of black males already feel as if the world is against them. So they develop a “me against the world” attitude.

An old saying goes, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed,” and

Traci Ray that attitude probably prohibits so many of our brothers from getting the inspiration and motivation they need.

Another positive example is Greenlawn Terrace, an elementary school in Kenner, which has 369 students. Some 83 percent, or 306 students, live at or below the poverty line. However, the school has higher performance scores than the state as a whole! The school’s principal praised the teachers in a recent TimesPicayune article, saying, “They give the students confidence. . . [A]s a result, they do better.”

At Urban Prep High School, only 4 percent of the senior class was reading at grade level as freshmen, according to Tim King, the school’s founder and CEO. King said people told him, “Black boys are killed. Black boys drop out of high school.

Black boys go to jail. Black

boys don’t go to college. Black boys don’t graduate from college.”

Take a second to overcome your disgust, and take another second to ask yourself where these thoughts come from.

While a person’s blatant ignorance should never be excused, are we giving people a good reason to believe this nonsense?

How many times have we all heard our own friends and family say they want to be the next Michael Jordan? Or Lil’ Wayne? Or Jay-Z? Too numerous to count, I’m sure.

Conversely, how many times have we heard our friends and family say they want to be the next Carl Stokes, the first black mayor of a major city?

Or Ralph J. Bunch, the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Or Franklin Raines, the first black CEO of a Fortune 500 company?

Don’t worry. I’ll wait.

I say with confidence: I believe Barack Obama has now raised the bar for African-American men and has opened the minds of many black males who never tried because they thought it could never happen. We have to let our black men know that the impossible is, in reality, a possibility that hasn’t yet been discovered.

18 March 2010

Opinion&Editorial

COURTBOUILLON

WORD ON THE AVE

What are your plans for spring break?

Linda Ramirez Junior Secondary English Education New Orleans

“I’ll be going to Richmond, Texas, to visit my three beautiful nieces.”

Eric Denzelle Wright Junior Mass Communication LaMarque, Texas

Kayla Blain Freshman Vocal Performance St. James

“I’ll be going home and then going to a regional convention for my fraternity (Phi Beta Sigma). ”

“I’ll be going on tour with the concert choir.”

18 QUESTIONS Editor’s note: The column “18 Questions” is a popular one with many Dillard students, who may ask questions serious or facetious, insightful or inane. It is named after the year the university was founded,1869.

The following questions were compiled by writer Traci Ray from the offerings of various students recently. If you have a question, send it to ducourtbouillon@gmail.com .

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Why haven’t they fixed the gate at the DUALS? I’m tired of walking around.

Since Lil Wayne doesn’t write his lyrics down, what is he going to do in prison?

Why is B.E.T.’s “Spring Bling” shot in the winter?

Can Kearny be good any days besides Monday and Friday?

Why are these females so thirsty?

How many times do I have to tell you? You’re not cute just because you’re a Kappa.

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Why are there only five people here with swag?

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Why do we always find out about school events at the last minute?

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Is it really fair to cancel the “18 Questions” column just because the newspaper staff doesn’t try harder to get questions? (You can always ask random students on campus or use that tool called Facebook!)

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When did Dillard Security (I mean Police) get cars? And where will they get to with all these speed bumps on campus?

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How can administrators possibly get mad about students not following the “new” dress code if most students didn’t know it was being enforced?

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What’s going to happen to me if I don’t follow the dress code?

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Who’s going to be our next Mr. & Mrs. Dillard?

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Are we going to support Chile, Hawaii, etc.?

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Why can’t we have Spring break and Easter break split into two like we used to?

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How many kangol hats does Stephawn have?

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How many Deltas does it take to run SGA? 18.

How many Collegiates does it take to tie a bowtie?

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