The Student Voice of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Since 1900
WWW.THEFAMUANONLINE.COM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2011
VOL. 114 ISSUE 17
Wesley Foundation withdrawn Church officials race to close FAMU facility Tyrone Law Staff Writer The Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry made a decision Oct. 7 to temporarily close The Wesley Foundation at Florida A&M by next Monday. The FAMU Wesley Foundation is a United Methodist organization intended to spread the ministry of The United Methodist Church. The group
also provides spiritual and emotional support to the university community. David Fuquay, interim executive director of BHECM said that although the current director of the FAMU Wesley, Tara Seabrook, worked persistently, the nationwide standard for the foundation to engage at least one percent of the campus wasn’t being met. “The current staff wasn’t able to come up with a viable approach,” Fuquay said. “The purpose of the temporary
close is precisely to come up with a model for ministry that does make a huge impact on campus. We want to involve 50 to 70 students and then grow from there, which obviously requires a different approach.” Cecile Washington, faculty adviser to the Wesley Foundation, said she disapproves of the foundation closing and the organization’s sabbatical is a result of a cultural diversity issue within the United Methodist church. Washington claimed
that because the church is a predominately White Christian denomination, the United Methodist Church isn’t embracing diversity as a whole. “I love The United Methodist Church, but I think they are being culturally insensitive to African-American students,” Washington said. “I don’t think the Board understands how to deal with cultural differences. They claim they want to reach out to African-Americans, but being that FAMU is the
Thousands walk for cause
largest HBCU it doesn’t make any sense to close (the Foundation).” According to the United Methodist Demographic Snapshot found on www.umc.org, the Church’s official website, blacks make up 2 percent of the church as a whole. Fuquay said resources aren’t the issue, and the board recognizes it must come up with a modified strategy to engross students at HBCUs. “I do expect people involved to be disappointed and upset,
NASA Days at FAMU kicks off Oct. 25 in the Student Union Complex with a résumé buildng workshop and Student OnLine Application for Recruiting (SOLAR) briefing starting at 8:30 a.m. There will be workshops until Oct. 27. NASA is interested in students studying business, IT, chemistry, engineering, computer sciences and journalism.
On Oct. 22, 2011 at about 10:50pm, an armed robbery occurred on Academic Way near the Business Building on the north end of Florida State’s campus. A male and a female where walking together when they were approached by two males, one of whom was armed with a handgun.
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for killing his infant son because he bothered him during his video game. Nineteenyear-old Andrew Keith Johnston pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the October 2010 death.
Lifestyles pg.4 Pink bras were everywhere Sunday as the American Cancer Society sponsored Tallahassee’s 8th annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. Thousands showed up to support family and friends, walking for the cause.
Sports pg.6 The Florida A&M football team deafeated the South Carolina State Bulldogs 27-24 on Saturday. The victory was the first in Oliver Dawson Bulldog Stadium since 1997.
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SBI students bring first place to the ‘Hill’ Jannina Spates Staff Writer
Britney Buchanan The Famuan Breast cancer supporters like Mecca Thornton (above) wore pink bras for the Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday that took place in Southwood.
but the call of all churches is to make disciples of Jesus Christ,” Fuquay said. “We’re taking into account the school’s rich history and current student body make up, and we are looking to draw key United Methodist AfricanAmerican leaders and FAMU alumni to help out.” Fuquay said the foundation will return to campus in 2013 after reassessing outreach strategies. “We plan on
Three students from Florida A&M’s School of Business and Industry accounting MBA program beat competitors from Pennsylvania State University and University of Georgia to win first place at a national competition. Benjamin Evans, 26, from Philadelphia, Antoinyce Eaton, 21, from Raleigh, N.C., and Cianna Reaves, 23, from Prairie, Fla., were announced as the winners at a luncheon Oct. 8. The keynote speaker was singer John Legend. The team spent one month preparing for the competition. The assignment was to construct a business strategy that would help broaden communication efforts at Chrysler. The team competed against 21 universities to win first place in the National Black MBA Case Competition sponsored by Chrysler Group, LLC. The two-day event with more than 10,000 attendees was in Atlanta. “This is a real life application,
and in class we learned a lot of things about the business and how to develop business strategies to help make a company successful,” said Reaves. SBI Professor of Management Joycelyn FinleyHervey meticulously chose the students who would compete. “The key to success is chemistry, and that chemistry is a combination of the team’s preparation, persistence, dedication,” said FinleyHervey. “If you have taken Professor Finely-Hervey’s class before, she knows what type of student you are,” said Evans. “That’s why you must be your best at all times, because your never know who might be watching and for what reason. We were chosen because we performed well in her class.” Evans, Eaton and Reaves received $25,000, which they split equally among themselves. They also had the opportunity to interview with Chrysler. “The professional SBI 3
FAMU student arrested in law enforcement ‘sex sting’
Chavez Marie Eustache Staff Writer Last week, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, arrested and charged 35
Tallahassee men with using a communication service to seduce or solicit a guardian, obscene communication and traveling to meet after using computer solicitation, including one Florida A&M student. Among the individuals arrested were a Florida State English professor, four FSU students, a Jacob’s Chapel Freewill Baptist Church minister, an attorney in the Agency for Persons with Disabilities’ general counsel office, a football and baseball coach, a corrections officer for the Florida Department of
Corrections and Neil Douglas Chavez, a 19-year-old FAMU student. TPD and special law enforcement agents took Chavez, a second-year graphic design student from Fort Lauderdale, into custody on Oct. 13 after his alleged attempt to have sex with a minor. Chavez arrived at 234 E 7th Avenue, where he thought he was meeting a 28-yearold woman and her 14-yearold sister to engage in sexual activities with the young girl. According to an arrest affidavit, Chavez engaged in a series of e-mail conversations after a
law enforcement investigator posted “sisters of need in some experience” on Craiglist.com. Investigators said Chavez then responded “Hey, I’ll be the one. Hit me up I am serious.” After the investigator informed Chavez of the minor’s age, Chavez was then asked if he was “okay” with that. According to the arrest report, Chavez then sent a sexual explicit photo and a detailed response explaining what he was going to do with who he believed was a minor. Chavez 3
USPS workers fight abrupt university termination Tamisha Hawkins Staff Writer At the typical “9 to 5,“ the best part of the workday usually comes at the end of the shift. For some workers at Florida A&M this summer, however, the end of the workday turned out to be the worst. After several discussions
of budget cuts and the subsequent restructuring of the university by President James Ammons, more than 100 employees were given their walking papers. “A total of 142 staff were displaced as a result of the budget cuts,” said Teresa Hardee, chief financial officer and vice president for administrative and financial affairs. Since the 2009-10
academic year, FAMU received $15.8 million in stimulus dollars through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “Ninety-eight percent of those positions were funded from federal stimulus dollars,” said Hardee. Several departments, including the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, General
Studies and J.A. Mulrennan Science and Research Lab, were impacted the most with the highest number of staff cuts, Hardee said. Although many staff members have recently been laid off due to budget cuts, the decision to lay off employees started much earlier, said William Tucker, retiree and USPS 3