Technician
thursday june
30 2011
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Plans in the works to honor lost basketball legend While the nation reacts to Lorenzo Charles’ death, plans are being made to honor his life.
did everything right.” Jackson said he and his employees are already making plans to attend many of the memorial services. “He was a great guy, he’d do anything he could to help you. We’re reBrooke Wallig ally going to miss him,” Jackson said. News Editor “Our thoughts and prayers go out to While still reeling from the sudden his family, and our hearts go with loss of an ACC legend, N.C. State and them as well.” According to the athletics departthe surrounding community are moving forward with plans to honor the ment’s media relations office, the life and achievements of former bas- University’s plans to honor Lorenzo Charles includes the following: ketball hero Lorenzo Charles. • The men’s basketball team Debbie Yow, athletics director, is will sport a commemorative one of the thousands of people expatch on their uniforms for pressing their sorrow for the loss of the 2011-2012 season. such an iconic figure. Yow said she • Recognize Charles’ contriwill remember Charles as both an butions to the University at accomplished athlete and a winning the first football game of the personality. season. “We are deeply saddened by the un• Charles was recognized timely passing of Lorenzo Charles, a during the James A. Naismith Wolfpack hero,” Yow said. “The Sportsmanship Award ceremoWolfpack Family mourns today as ny, which also recognized Kay we remember his athletic accomplishYow, Dean Smith and Mike ments, his excellent character and Krzyzewski. his winning dunk • Creation in the 1983 Nationof a possible endowal Championship ment in Charles’ game. Our thoughts name for the men’s and prayers are with basketball program his family during through the Wolfthis most difficult pack Club. While time.” this hasn’t been disBrad Jack son, cussed with the famgeneral manager for ily yet, this would Elite Coach, knew potentially be given C h a rle s de c ade s to a student-athlete after his winning once fully endowed. moment, and gave Brad Jackson, general manager According to Charles high praises of Elite Coach Brandon Yopp, asfor being more than sistant media relaa great athlete. “He was a great employee—the tions director, while there have been best,” Jackson said. “I always said if I ideas released on how the University had 10 buses and 10 Lorenzo Charles will honor Lorenzo Charles’ memory, I’d be set. He went the extra mile and details of the plans have not been de-
“He was a great guy, he’d do anything he could to help you. We’re really going to miss him”
Facts about the accident: Lorenzo Charles, died at age 47 after crashing an Elite Coach commercial bus into several trees nex to the Chapel Hill Road off-ramp on Interstate 40. Charles was pronounced dead on-scene. The bus had ventured into the grass shoulder—reason still unknown— and the investigation is still ongoing to determine the cause of the accident. Preliminary reports show that the wreck was not due to mechanical issues with the bus, poor weather conditions, or other obvious exterior conditions. The wreck report also indicates that Charles’ physical condition at the time was also unknown. While Charles was slightly speeding, speed has not been identified as a factor in his accident. According to Jim Sughrue, director of public affairs for the Raleigh Police Department, said at this time the Police are particularly interested in hearing from eye witnesses to help piece together what happened. Source: wreck report
termined as of yet. “The funeral and memorial service plans haven’t been finalized yet,” Yopp said. “This has all happened so quickly. We’re working with the family right now, so none of this stuff is physically planned yet. We’ll have to wait and see.” Alex Williamson, senior in history and athletics commissioner for Student Government, said the Student Government athletics commission is also coming up with ideas on how to memorialize Charles’ legacy. “Right now we want to send a me-
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Photo courtesy of N.C. State athletics
Lorenzo Charles grabs a rebound away from a UNC-Chapel Hill defender. After his sudden death Monday, the University is in conversations with the Charles family on how to honor his memory and legacy. However, as Charles’ funeral has not officially been set, Brandon Yopp, assistant media relations director for athletics, said the University’s plans are “taking a backseat” until his memorial service is held.
Student wins competition to host debut TV show Competition winner will host Time Warner Cable talk show.
that hard work really does pay off. It felt really good.” Last year, Bascombe flew out to Los Angeles for a different casting call afJustin Rose ter submitting a video for the Oprah Staff Writer Winfrey Network’s “Your OWN Students might recognize his name Show” competition.Bascombe almost from student body president cam- won; he got fourth in the nation and paign posters and signs two years ago, racked up almost 6 million votes on when he ended up being the publicity Facebook. “It was an amazing experience,” commission chair. But many more will soon recognize Bascombe said. “The producers all Kornelius Bascombe, senior in crimi- gave great feedback. They told me I nology, who recently found out he won had a knack for this and I should folone of four available hosting spots for low a TV-related career. So when I Time Warner Cable Inc.’s new nation- got back I started to look out for TV production-related wide television show. jobs.” Bascombe and the After the Oprah three others were show entr y, Baschosen out of the 500 combe wasn’t plancontestants who enning on submitting tered TWC’s “Born another video for the to Shine” competiTime Warner Cable tion, a three-month show. But after more search for TV perbrainstorming and sonalities best suitfeedback, he said ed for the debut talk Kornelius Basconb, senior in he realized he had show, called TWC criminology nothing to lose. Presents : Born to Demi Olubanwo, Shine. According to Time Warner Cable, who graduated from N.C. State last the program--airing in the fall--aims year, said he has known Bascombe to tell the stories of African Ameri- for years as a friend and fraternity cans paving the way in entertainment, brother. Olubanwo helped brainstorm ideas and shoot both videos Bascombe sports and community. Bascombe–also the youngest win- submitted. “He has this unique personality,” ner in the competition–said he was Olubanwo said. “We’ve always joked floored when he heard the news. “I genuinely could not believe that that he should be on TV and have a I won,” Bascombe said. “For the first show. When he told me he won I was time in a long time, I started crying. like, ‘Are you serious?’ It was kind of It was a huge sense of relief, knowing surreal.”
“It was a huge sense of relief, knowing that hard work really does pay off.”
Series of projects brings students more space to do work and relax. Justin Rose Staff Writer
Christi ogu/Technician archive photo
Kornelius Bascombe, a sophomore in criminology and a member of Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, performs stepdancing at the Black Finesse Spring Modeling Showcase at Stewart Theatre in Talley on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 7 pm.
In the winning video, Bascombe played a TV host and interviewed random Raleigh residents, including a rapper, singer, football player and a couple he ran into downtown. After submitting the video, again on Facebook, and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans and the celebrity panel of judges, he got the call. Bascombe’s experience hosting shows also prepared him for where he is now. The Korn Show, which featured student interviews about life at N.C. State, quickly became one of the most popular and highly rated shows on Wolf TV. The successful journey has not been without a series of personal struggles, however. At 17, Bascombe was forced
to take over as guardian of the family when his grandmother and only previous caretaker suffered a stroke, and a fire devastated his house. “I persevered and made it through high school,” Bascombe said. “Preparing for college during all that was my rock bottom point. But I’m here now, focusing on being successful.” Bascombe will fly out to Florida next week to do an interview for the show. Bascombe mentioned big names in the TV and movie industry that have impacted their communities, including Will Smith and Spike Lee, whom he hopes to interview one day.
Wilson attending Madison in fall
The legacy of Lorenzo Charles
insidetechnician viewpoint features classifieds sports
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Grad students bring bugs to community
Creepy-crawlies. Critters. Whatever they’re called, insects often get a bad name. Seee page 3.
nc state bookstores WHERE THE PACK SHOPS
D.H. Hill gets new study rooms
Former State quarterback released from ROckies to play with Badgers in the fall. See page 8.
Former Wolfpack forward dies in bus crash. See page 8.
With many large construction projects currently underway on campus, it can be easy to overlook the more subtle changes. In response to requests from the student advisory board, D.H. Hill Library is getting spruced up with the addition of new quiet study areas. David Hiscoe, N.C. State libraries director of communication strategies, said the problem boils down to too many students and not enough space. “One of the problems we’ve always had is not having enough bookable rooms,” Hiscoe said. “We’re taking small areas here and there that weren’t efficiently using space and turning them into student seating.” According to Hiscoe, N.C. State can currently only seat about five percent of its student population in libraries. While this figure should double by the time the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on Centennial Campus opens, the UNC System strongly recommends that at least 20 percent of the school population should be able to find space in the libraries. “N.C. State just hasn’t had the money,” Hiscoe said. “But we’re gradually making progress.” Students may be familiar with the large quiet rooms in the south tower book stacks – visible upon exiting the elevators – and how they were often not used to full capacity. On floors three through eight, each of the big rooms has been converted into two quiet rooms, for a new total of 12 rooms in the stacks. Each room has new furniture, two
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FIND US ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF HARRELSON HALL UNTIL THE NEW TALLEY STUDENT CENTER OPENS IN 2014 www.ncsu.edu/bookstore | bookstore@ncsu.edu | 919.515.2161 | facebook.com/ncsubookstore