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THE
Clarion Call CLARION UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1913
MARCH 29, 2012
VOL. 98 ED. 20
Speaker shares tough life story with students Rachel Farkas
at
STAFF WRITER
CLARION, Pa. - Starting as an only child from the suburbs of Virginia, then facing 24 and a half years in federal prison, motivational speaker and advocate, Kemba Smith Pradia uses her life story as a cautionary tale to young people. Pradia spoke at Hart Chapel on Monday, March 26 as a part of the Martin Luther King Jr. series of speakers. Pradia started her talk by saying she hoped students could learn from her poor choices. “I don’t believe each and every young person has to make every mistake they can in life. They can learn and listen to other people’s stories and make it a combination, that they don’t want to go down that same path,” Pradia said. After beginning college at Hampton University, Pradia began to associate with the wrong crowd and started dating known drug dealer, Peter Hall. The relationship quickly became physically and emotionally abusive, and her life took a turn for the worse. When Pradia was seven
Jessica Bedeaux / The Clarion Call
Kemba Smith Pradia speaks to students and faculty in Hart Chapel about her time in federal prison. months pregnant with Hall’s child, she was sentenced to 24 and a half years in federal prison. Her minor role in a crack cocaine ring led to her being indicted on conspiracy drug charg-
es. Praida said she never used or distributed any drugs. Hall never served any time in prison as he was murdered in Seattle, Wash. before he could be brought to justice. Pradia’s case drew na-
tional attention, and after only six years of incarceration President Bill Clinton granted her executive clemency to be released from jail in December 2000. Pradia did not waste
any time after being released from prison. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work from Virginia Union University and went on to study law at the law school
Howard University. She has become an advocate against mandatory minimum sentencing, voter suppression and unbalanced crack versus powder cocaine sentencing. She also fights for the other first time nonviolent drug offenders she left in prison. “I speak out to be a voice for the voiceless,” said Pradia. Pradia repeatedly warned students that choices have consequences and “you need to be careful who you associate yourself with,” she said. Throughout the evening, she shared many personal stories about her struggles and triumphs during and after prison. She said it has been difficult for her to get her voting rights restored in her home state of Virginia with a felony conviction on her record. She also said that it is difficult to get a job or receive financial aid for college with a felony conviction. This event was sponsored by the Martin Luther King, Jr. speaker series, the University Activities Board and Resident Life. To find out more information about Pradia, her story and book go to www.kembasmith.com.
Students hold leadership conference National debate Blayne Sheaffer STAFF WRITER
CLARION, Pa. - Clarion held its third leadership conference Saturday, March 24 in the Gemmell Student Complex, an event that Assistant Director of the Center for Leadership and Involvement, Kelly Ryan, said was “truly an exciting opportunity and was a wonderful event.” The conference, solely run by students who attended the National Conference on Student Leadership this past fall semester, gathered those who wanted to learn more and reflect on what the experience taught them and how it could benefit the Clarion community. The committee decided this year’s theme would be “Let’s Talk: Passion, Diversity, Relationships,” for which they made learning objectives
and planned for presenters. “We had a great variety of speakers from the local region, and it was a great mix of opportunities and interests for participants,” Ryan said. Clarion University President Karen Whitney welcomed and thanked those in attendance for their desire to participate in the conference. Whitney was an administrator of the conference alongside the Director of the Center for Leadership and Involvement Shawn Hoke. Also, with a theme of “Be the Change,” the keynote speaker of the event was Troy Stende from Stende Inspirations. Ryan said she found this to be a powerful message. “No matter which of the three objectives was most interesting to any of the individual participants, being the change agent and affecting lasting, positive change is what lead-
ers must do,” Ryan said. Ryan said she felt this message fit in well with the theme of the conference. “Passion? As members of a community and as leaders, we must follow our passions and use them to approach and solve problems so we can move forward together. Diversity? We absolutely must recognize that we are a diverse community with diverse ideas...Relationships? Every conversation, ever interaction, is a piece of a relationship,” Ryan said. “Exploring leadership relationships gives us the opportunity to understand how our actions influence the people and world around us.” The speakers at the conference created a hodgepodge community, with some of them being students, some faculty or staff, others being from the Clarion area, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
These speakers were contacted by the conference’s head of public relations Josh Domitrovich. Cody Rapp, who also held his own presentation, along with fellow students Alyssa McGinnis and Ashley Gibson organized the programs and presentations. The committee from this year’s conference will be taking the feedback given from those in attendance over the next two weeks and using it to inform next year’s committee for a better experience. “Many positive comments and suggestions have been made, and we are grateful so many people enjoyed the experience,” Ryan said. Students who are interested in the November 2012 National Conference on Student Leadership can look for applications at the beginning of the Fall 2012 semester.
Financial aid renewal reminder for students The Office of Financial Aid reports that time is running out to meet the May 1 deadline for the Pennsylvania State Grant. Student’s and the their families should complete their 2012-13 FAFSA Form after the 2011 federal income taxes have been completed, and apply for federal and state assistance at www.fafsa.gov. The renewal process is 100 percent online with federal tax information being downloaded from the IRS if a student waits three weeks after completion of the family’s 2011 tax information Those interested in attending summer school can acquire a summer loan request form online or in person after April 15.
Visit www.fasfa.gov to fill out your FASFA today
competition held at university Amelia Eiger STAFF WRITER
CLARI ON, Pa . - Throughout the entire y ea r, s tudents of the Cla rion Univers ity ’s deba te tea m ha ve been a rdently pra cticing a nd honing their s kills in res ea rch a nd rhetoric. The students got the chance to show off their skills at the American Debate Association National Championship, which Clarion hosted over spring break. Attended by 58 teams from schools all across the U.S., the ADA National Championship consisted of four pre-elimination rounds in addition to the six main rounds. Ea c h t e a m w a s r a n domly assigned the affirmative or negative side of the chosen topic. This year, the topic was democracy assistance in the Middle East and North Africa. “They always try to pick a relevant topic. This is stuff that’s really going on, and it’s a way for us to learn and talk about it,” said debate team member Marquis Lewis. “It’s also a huge re-
THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Inside
INDEX
Charity fashion show put on by ZTA. FEATURES PAGE 5
BIOs club hosts third annual Earth Day Series. ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 8
Baseball team on losing streak. SPORTS PAGE 5
News Opinion Features Classifieds Puzzles & Comics Arts & Entertainment Sports Standings
sume and confidence builder. I’ve gained many skills from this team that I use outside of the debates,” Lewis said. The debates are incredibly research intensive, and the teams spent the year investigating the topic of democracy assistance, along with regularly debating at tournaments across the U.S. Ea ch member mus t a ls o ta ke time, under the guida nce of their a dvis er Ja mes Ly le, to perfect their public s pea king a nd rhetoric s kills . Cla rion’s tea ms deba ted fiercely , a nd the va rs ity tea m a dva nced a ll the wa y to the qua rter- fina ls , with members Jeff Sia k a nd Bra y den Pica rdi compris ing the s ucces s ful duo. Satisfied with his performance, Lewis said, “This was my last tournament, so my first priority was to enjoy it as much as I could. By those qualifications, I would say it was a very successful tournament.” For more information about the debate team visit the website at www.clarion.edu/80704.
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