NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 | 2
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Hey guys, My name is Anahzsa Jones, and I’m the 2017-2018 Editor-in-Chief of the Nubian Message. Writing it out like this seems almost surreal, but in a good way. I’ve seen the amazing things this paper can do, from covering possibly the craziest election in our country’s history, to speaking out and holding our community accountable, and I’m committed to keeping that momentum going. I served as the managing editor for the Nubian under Stephanie Tate, and if there’s anything I learned from her, it’s that there’s no such thing as impossible. She consistently made things work on days when it looked like there might not be a paper, and she made it look easy. She taught our staff how to make an award winning publication and made us feel like a family at the same time. I am so proud to be her friend, and her successor, and I think I speak for the entire staff when I say that it’s with heavy hearts, but with hope for the future that we say good-bye. This coming year, the staff and I have a lot of ideas to make the Nubian even better. One of these is a possible new satire section we’re calling The Ebony Bell Tower. You’ll find it on page six with the opinions. Let me take this chance to say that the article is purely satirical and isn’t meant to offend, but to offer a critique on pop culture. We’re considering making satire a more permanent part of the publication, so please let us know what you think. Feedback can be submitted to nubian-editor@ncsu,edu. As always, your thoughts and opinions are welcome and valued.
THISISSUE 3 BIRT UP AND RUNNING NC State’s BIRT is officially here
3 WOLF TALES Archiving your NC State stories
4 WITHERSPOON UPDATE Renovation plans in the works
5 BLACKADEMICS: Dr. Tracey Ray
6 GUEST COLUMN Importance of language diversity
6 EBONY BELLTOWER Satire on trap music
7 STAFF EDITORIAL Reflecting on the past year
And on that note, enjoy your LDOC. I know dead week and finals isn’t anyone’s definition of a good time, but don’t forget to take some time for you. Self care is especially important when life gets stressful, so put the textbook down for a little bit, take a bubble bath, go for a walk or lunch with a friend. Remember, balance is the key to life. To our graduating seniors, congratulations, and all the best wishes. Know that the Nubian is behind you one hundred percent as you go off and spread your black excellence across the world. And in the future, when you’ve done the incredible things you were born to do, there will always be space for an alumni feature in our pages. I haven’t thought of a catchy sign off yet, so I’ll keep it simple: Love, Anahzsa
The Sentinel of the African -American Community at N.C. State Since 1992. Anahzsa Jones
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ashley Darrisaw
LAYOUT DESIGNER
Keilah Davis
MANAGING EDITOR
Allona Wilkerson
LAYOUT DESIGNER
Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message:
Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 | 3
NEWS
BIAS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM UP AND RUNNING ANAHZSA JONES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The Bias Incident Response Team is a campus entity that aims to identify and respond to reported incidents of bias on campus. This program, officially launched at the end of March, combines personnel and resources from the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity and the Division of Academic and Student Affairs. Linda McCabe Smith, the vice provost for OIED, oversees BIRT, and the BIRT Coordinator is Reggie Barnes, senior director for campus community centers. Barnes defines BIRT as, “A mechanism that now allows NC State to better support individuals and communities who are impacted by bias incidents on campus.” A bias incident is defined by BIRT as “any activity that intimidates, demeans, mocks, degrades, marginalizes, or threatens individuals or groups based on that individual’s or group’s actual or perceived protected class.” Acts of bias can occur regardless of the intention behind the incident. When identifying a bias incident, BIRT focuses on the impact of an action, not the intention or motivation of the actor, according to their website. BIRT is organized into two levels; the initial review team (IRT) and the secondary response team. The initial
review team reviews all reports of bias incidents and follows up on incidents. They also recommend action steps and evaluate the outcomes of incidents. In certain cases, they may refer cases to individual departments or pass on the incident to the secondary response team. Once the IRT concludes that the secondary team is needed, Barnes convenes a small team to review and implement intervention strategies.The secondary response team is comprised of representatives from several offices around campus. A list of the campus organizations and members of the IRT, can be found on the BIRT website. Tayah Butler, director of diversity and inclusion for Poole College of Management, serves on the initial response team. She came to NC State in August of 2016 from the University of Oregon where she acted as a unit responder on their Bias Education and Response Team. Upon her first week at NC State, she was approached by a student who was seeking help to deal with the bias they were experiencing. Due to her previous experience, Butler knew how to help the student, but her first question was “how do we report this?” “I was surprised but happy to hear that NC State was
about to implement a formal system,” Butler said. “They didn’t have one before, so I was surprised to hear that, but I was happy and excited to hear that one was going to evolve, and that it was a high priority for the university this year.” Both Barnes and Butler said that more things will become clearer as BIRT continues to operate. Responses are tailored to specific incidents, so it is difficult to lay down a clear and set pathway for incidents that have yet to happen. “There’s a lot of these components that we need to work out,” said Butler. “There’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all response.” While BIRT is working through the technicalities and policy, the team encourages the community to report incidents to their online tool, which is located on several university websites, and especially on their page, bias-incident.ncsu.edu. “Our hope,” said Butler, “is that we will help various units in places where individual are impacted by the use of bias, that we can talk about it, that we can learn from it, maybe heal from it, and maybe this is me being overly optimistic, but move forward.”
SHARING OUR WOLF TALES VLADIMIR URENA STAFF WRITER For the third consecutive year, NCSU Libraries will be making their Wolf Tales booth available for students, alumni, faculty, and staff. The program allows participants to record short 10-20 minute videos in which they tell stories about their experiences at NC State. The Wolf Tales booth will be available at three separate points this weekend. On Friday April 28, Wolf Tales will be open for recording from 11 am to 4 pm in Talley Room 2108A. Additionally, the booth will be available at the GLBT Center’s Lavender Graduation this Wednesday, April 26 in Talley Room 3221. Lastly, it will be open for recording at Ebony Harlem on Sunday, April 30 from 7:15 - 9:30 pm in Talley Room 3285. One of the key focuses of Wolf Tales is to give a voice to the underrepresented individuals on campus. Whether it’s recordings from Harambee from last year or the stories of Elwood and Diane Becton, founding members of NC State’s Black Alumni Society and part of the graduating class of 1973, these anecdotes serve as not
“Having more diverse voices included in the historical record means that, going forward, more students will see themselves represented in the archives and know that their voices are valued and remembered as part of our community’s history [...]”
-Todd Kosmerick,
University Archivist only a way for participants to share their experiences, but also as a way for future students to hear how campus used to be. Virginia Ferris, the outreach and engagement program librarian, sees the value in a wide range of participants. “At NCSU Libraries, we want to empower members of the NC State community to be active participants in documenting their own history. It’s important to make sure that especially those voices that have been ignored or underrepresented in our
history have an opportunity to tell their stories today, so that we can continue to learn from them in the future,” Ferris said. Thanks to Wolf Tales, future students who at times may feel alone, confused, or anxious will be able to hear that graduates before them felt the same way and at the same time were able to pull through and ultimately enjoy their time at NC State. Additionally, the program allows the university to know what its occupants think of the school and what their expe-
riences have been. Todd Kosmerick, a university archivist and one of the minds behind Wolf Tales, also commented on how Wolf Tales benefits the university. “Having more diverse voices included in the historical record means that, going forward, more students will see themselves represented in the archives and know that their voices are valued and remembered as part of our community’s history, and that their stories can become a tool to support teaching and learning about diversity at NC State, both today and for future generations,” Kosmerick said. Those interested in participating can sign up at go.ncsu.edu/WolfTales_LDOC. All participants will get a free copy of their Wolf Tales recording, which will also be preserved the archives of the NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center and shared online through the Wolf Tales Digital Archives at http://www. lib.ncsu.edu/scrc/wolf-tales.
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NEWS
PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS RENOVATION PLANS DION FIGUEROA STAFF WRITER
On April 17, designers from Perkins+Will architecture firm held a series of presentations, paired with open-discussions, outlining the goals and preliminary designs for the Witherspoon Student Center (WSC) remodel set to begin in the next few years. Through the open-discussion, the school and designers were looking to ensure that the needs and concerns of students, alumni, and faculty were met. None of the floorplans shown throughout the presentation were finalized; however, they gave attendees an opportunity to see where the design is headed. Since the planning is in its early stages, the budget or any financial information was not yet disclosed.
lege of Design in 1975 and received his master’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has since been involved in major design projects around the country. Freelon was a part of the WSC’s renovations in the past, in addition to leading the design team on the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
“Wherever you
went, you needed to understand the history of Dr. Witherspoon.””
“It could not be a
student union with a cultural center component; it needed to be a cultural center with student union components.” Along with necessary repairs, the primary goals of the renovation are to bring more life and recognition to the WSC. This involves creating more lounge space for students, increasing lighting, updating the Campus Cinema and adding more opportunities for students to learn about the significance of Dr. Witherspoon’s legacy and the
WILL SKINNER/Staff Photographer Phil Freelon, the lead architect for the Witherspoon Student Center renovation, speaks to a crowd in Witherspoon on April 17 regarding his ideas for the building. A graduate of NC State’s College of Design, Freelon is best known for leading the design team of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
African American Cultural Center. Within the plans, the WSC would remain the home for the AACC and not be turned into simply another student union. Keeping this identity was important from the start, according to Jeffrey Welter, a representative from Perkins+Will. “It could not be a student union with a cultural center component; it needed to be a cultural center with student union components.” To tackle the aesthetic issues of the building, the plans call for replacing the towers and front of the WSC with
glass panels, inviting passersby to take a look at what is going on inside the center. By also replacing some of the concrete walls that face Cates Avenue with glass, WSC would be much more open to foot traffic walking passed the side of the building. The remodel also looks to solve the building’s identity issue with more branding. On this issue Phil Freelon, a notable NC State alumnus and designer on the project, said, “wherever you went, you needed to understand the history of Dr. Witherspoon.” Freelon graduated from the Col-
The preliminary floorplans include moving office spaces, like the Military and Veterans Resource Center and the Student Veteran Association, to the second floor, turning the first floor into a general staging and lounging area leading to the cinema and possibly a cafe. The second floor could also house the AACC library and administration offices. The third floor would possibly house student media as well as gallery space for AACC and multi-purpose areas. The Witherspoon Student Center was opened as the Student Center Annex in 1991, designed to expand on the existing student and cultural centers, including the AACC. In 1995 the building was renamed to the Witherspoon Student Center and dedicated to Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, a notable alumnus and former faculty member who was only the second African American student to receive a PhD at NC State.
FEATURES
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 | 5
BLACKADEMICS: DR. TRACEY RAY FROM STUDENT ACTIVIST TO MENTOR AND ADVOCATE KEILAH DAVIS MANAGING EDITOR NC State had recognized its first Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. Augustus Witherspoon had just been named associate provost and the Board of Trustees had adopted a racial harassment policy. The African American Culture Center was housed in the cramped West Dunn building and the first black student body president’s term had just ended. This was the state of NC State when Dr. Tracey Ray entered as a freshman in 1989. It was during her freshman year that she attended her first meeting for the Society of Afro-American Culture, now SAAC. Ray served on the executive board and as president of SAAC during her sophomore and junior years, respectively. “SAAC was where I found a sense of home and community and purpose,” said Ray. She became the chair of the African American Student Advisory Council, AASAC, during her senior year. It was during this time that many black students at NC State and other local universities were engaging in protests and demonstrations. “Our protests originally kind of connected with UNC-Chapel Hill because they were trying to get a black cultural center and we already had ours.” Like NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill had a Black Cultural Center at the time, but it was was not a freestanding center and students claimed it was too small to accommodate their needs. After the joint protest, the Technician ran an opinion column that described the protesters as “Ku Klux Blacks” and a letter to the editor that referred to the group as “terrorists.” “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Ray said. Students burned Technician issues in the brickyard in response. The Nubian Message was founded two months later on November 30, 1992. Ray also credits undergraduate research with shaping her undergraduate career. She presented during her senior year at
the first annual symposium sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research. “Rupert Nacoste had a huge influence on me,” said Ray. “At the time he was
State’s first African American dean, and Dr. Greg Washington, a former grad student in engineering, as strong supporters and mentors.
Courtesy of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity doing research on affirmative action and how perceptions of affirmative action influence students forming study groups with students of color.” Ray was told by an upperclassman mentor about the research opportunity. “I had a lot of good mentors and I just did what I was told,” Ray said. “When you know you’re surrounded by good folks, when they say ‘hey, you should be doing this,’ it makes sense to do it.” Ray also cited Dr. James Anderson, NC
After earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees from NC State, Ray worked for a nonprofit that advocated for individuals with disabilities. “That was an important job because it taught me how to advocate,” Ray said. “When I was a student I thought I knew what advocacy was but when you have to advocate for a group to which you are not a part of, that teaches you how to be an advocate and an ally in a whole different way.”
Her career as a staff member began with a phone call from the then-director of African American Student Affairs, which is currently housed under Multicultural Student Affairs. She served as the interim assistant director and later director. “It was never within my vision to work in higher education,” Ray said, yet she thrived. Former Vice Chancellor Thomas Stafford appointed her as the inaugural director of MSA, where she served for 10 years before being promoted to her current position, assistant vice provost for faculty diversity in the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity. “You many not always know where you’re meant to be,” Ray said. “To be able to listen and entertain what could be is a good thing.” Ray said that it would have been a big mistake to turn down the position because she gets to work with diverse groups of students and has helped her grow as a person. “I get to teach a course, Foundations of Cultural Competence, I get to work on interfaith initiatives, I’m working with military veteran students, I’m still chairing committees and working with underrepresented minority students, and doing outreach,” said Ray. “Those who knew me would say I was a student advocate, maybe some would say I was a student activist,” said Ray. “I tried to be a mentor to a lot of people over the years because that’s what was given to me. So I’ve always tried to pay it forward.” Between her time as a student and a staff member, Ray has witnessed the growth and development of organizations like SAAC and AASAC. “Y’all got the baton,” Ray said. “I’m very excited for what is yet to come of my student body.”
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 | 6
OPINION
GUEST COLUMNIST: ACCEPTING LANGUAGE DIVERSITY MICHAEL SANDERSON GUEST COLUMNIST
Courtesy of Michael Sanderson, senior studying chemical engineering
Chances are if you’re reading this you probably speak English. Well what kind of English do you speak? I speak with a Lumbee dialect most commonly found in the Pembroke, NC or Robeson County areas. It is somewhat similar to Southern English or speaking “country” with an accent that would not sound out of place in a Western. It can also be misconstrued as improper English, which presents an article for judgement on occasion. To give a little more perspective, my high school was 96 percent Lumbee so everyone spoke more or less the same. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest Native American tribe in North Carolina, even bigger than the Eastern Band of Cherokee for comparison. Anyway, there were a few people that spoke Standard English, but usually they had lived outside of the area and had moved back.
Sometimes they would be teased for speaking “white” and “all proper,” and looking back, I can definitely relate to how out of water they would have felt. Personally, up until college, I had never had a problem with anyone understanding what I said. However, once I arrived at N.C. State as a freshman in 2013 I was the fish out of water; half of the people I spoke to had no clue what I was saying. I would get a paragraph in before people would look blankly and say “What?” Sometimes people would assume that I was dumb, because let’s face it, some accents and dialects are looked at differently. One of the most common dialects is African American Vernacular English (AAVE), often called Black English. Much like my dialect, AAVE sometimes omits final consonants and uses double negatives, words described as slang and other conventions that defy the
English that is taught in the classroom. However, Black English and Lumbee English have their own grammatical rules, pronunciations, and unique words that are just as complex as any other languages. Examples such as “Where they been at?” or “Imma fix you somethin real nice” are commonplace, but they nonetheless mean the same as “Where were they?” or “I will make you something nice.” One of the most common words, “Pa sack,” means male friend, equivalent to “bro”. The point I am trying to make is this: think about and pay attention when someone speaks differently than you. Coming into the conversation with a preconceived notion about their intelligence will only close doors. Chances are there is a lot of history and background to their speech. In a world where we should celebrate diversity and use it as a learning tool, take the opportunity to do so.
DISCLAMER: THE EBONY BELLTOWER IS PURELY SATIRICAL.
EBONY BELLTOWER: A TAKE ON TRAP MUSIC ROBBERT THOMAS NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE HHH
Hello to all, my name is Robbert Thomas, and I’m the national director of the Hu Hux Han (like the Klan but extra h’s for hate). At a recent rally in Burlington, North Carolina, a good, strong, Aryan brother named Heath Rural asked me how I felt about rap “artist” Future saying “The Hu Hux Han and the streets with me.” He asked me about it while I was taking questions and I couldn’t express my delight for rap music at the time. Normally, we hate all things associated with those filthy primates, but rap music and its artists do our work to remind society of how pitiful black people are, for us. Let’s take Future, for example. Listen to his lyrics and look at his lifestyle. He has four kids by four different women and only fights in court to see one of them. What could be better for us than those savages making a bunch of kids that they’ll ignore? Who else is going to fill those jail cells and project development housing? Surely not my kids, whose misdeeds I’ll be there to pay away. Then, listen to how he speaks about women. In his song “No Charge” he said, “I’ll give them xans to you baby no charge/ I look inside your eyes and see the same thing I’m going through/ tryna take your heart away you gotta be bulletproof.” What better way can these primitive, big-nosed baboons have of relating to their women than getting them hopped up on Xanax in a failing attempt to divert pain? Chances are, men who follow this delightful method of imitating an intimate connection will create a
junky or go to jail for illegal distribution or possession of these drugs. Why wouldn’t we Hansmen support that? He isn’t the only one we love, though. I appreciate most rap from way back in the days of west coast gangsta rap. Dr. Dre has more “beats” on women than his headphone company has put on the heads of millennials. He has a long history of violence against women and his music displays these feelings. While he was a producer at NWA, he produced a track where Ice Cube said, “A bitch is a bitch/ So if I’m poor or rich/ I talk in the exact same pitch/ Now the title bitch don’t apply to all women/ But all women have a little bitch in ‘em/ It’s like a disease that plagues their character/ Taking the women of America” We know he’d never dare talk to our pure, clean, white women like that. He’s directly coming for those nappy headed hoes he hangs around, because even after our daughters slum it with rappers in their youth, they marry a nice lawyer or senator. My personal favorites are the rappers who make “drill music” or, as 21 Savage so eloquently put it, “murder music.” Almost every rapper makes a song or two about how tough they are, shooting and killing people who look like them. These uncivilized brutes make an entire career surrounding the premise that murdering other black people is cool. In November of 2013, Chief Keef is quoted making a promise that one of his mixtapes would, “Raise
the murder rate up.” He’s from Chicago, one of the most violent cities in America, and he wants more poor black kids to listen to his music and go kill each other. This helps prove former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s prediction that black people are 99 percent likely to be killed by other black people. I’m telling you I couldn’t be more delighted with what these stupid apes are making and calling music. But the killers and woman haters aren’t the only ones we appreciate. Most of these imbeciles only need a few checks and all of a sudden they become ignorant to racism and social injustice. In the song, “New Slaves,” Kanye West said, “You see it’s broke n---- racism/ That’s that ‘Don’t touch anything in the store’/ And it’s rich n---- racism/ That’s that “Come in, please buy more.” Long story short, I love rap as a whole, but the rappers as people are what really makes my heart smile. Whether they’re denying the existence of racism, promoting the degradation of their women or urging each other to kill one another, we love all of it. We do indeed endorse Future and many other rappers. We will ensure that all of these baboons have sizeable checks steadily flowing in as long as they’re pushing our agenda and saying it’s their “reality.” I couldn’t invite them to Burlington, but maybe one day I’ll give those ignorant spearchuckers a to-go plate from the back door of my house.
OPINION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 | 7
STAFF EDITORIAL: YEAR IN REVIEW RECAP
This academic year has been...interesting to say the least. From feeling the Bern, to being with Her, to dealing with It, not to mention our own campus protests and scandals. (We’re looking at you, Sullivan GroupMe.) We have had many successes like winning Outstanding Student Organization at the Chancellor’s Creating Community Awards and having one of our stories featured in Blavity. But we’ve also survived some downfalls, including the GroupMe incident, white supremacist flyers hung on campus and placed in our newsstands, and inadequate coverage of campus incidents by local and national outlets. The one positive thing all of this has done is show us what our campus community really looks like, what its priorities really are, and how it’s capable of handling itself.
ADMINISTRATION
In the work world, if you harass anyone based off of their visible or perceived identity, especially if that person falls under a protected class, there are repercussions. Whether it’s a workshop or a seminar on sexual harassment or racism, a meeting with your superiors and the affected party, or getting fired, there’s some kind of “hey, you can’t do that.” What we don’t understand is why, if college is supposed to prepare you for the working world, is it any different here? Rather than hiding behind the first amendment and relying on the perpetrators of bias to comply with correction, why not offer cultural competency training to those who obviously lack it? You don’t have to call it a punishment. You can call it mandatory enrichment, since language is so important.
BIRT
thank you for sticking with us so far. Now, we want you to be an active part of what we do. On that note, Reggie Barnes said that visibilSubmit columns, let us know what’s happening ity plays a large role in how people involved in and keep us accountable. Letters to the editor “bias incidents” respond to offers of conversaare always welcome and let us know what we’re tion and education. Basically, the more visible doing right and what we need to fix. It is our job the issue, the more pressure to resolve it. So we to be your voice, so help us do it. want to encourage everyone to report biased Basically, NC State has a lot of room for incidents to the Nubian Message as well as to growth. But we are hopeful. We have seen how BIRT. Part of our job is to keep our community students come together to organize protests and accountable for its actions, which we can’t do without information. We encourage our readers demonstrations of solidarity during politically to let us know what’s going on. If you experience tense times. We have seen the dedication of faculty and staff who challenge the status quo and a “bias incident,” be it blatant racism, sexism or push our university to be its best. another kind of prejudice, you’re always welThe history of our community on campus is come to submit a guest column, or tell us about not so distant that we can forget. Sometimes, it’s it and we’ll see what we can do. If making these the ugly parts that we need to remember most. issues more visible will encourage communicaLet us take the events of the past year as a call to tion and resolution, allow the Nubian Message action and keep moving forward. to be your spotlight.
EXPECTATIONS
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Administration, Technician, world, we expect better. This year has highlighted some trouble spots, and now that we know they’re there, we can fix them. To the administration, BIRT is a great start, but NC State still has a long way to go as far as recruitment and retention of students of color, as well as convincing the students that are already here that you care. Technician, we won’t reopen old wounds, but we want to publicly encourage you to work with us. It’s both of our responsibility to represent the campus community, and diversity is a big part of that, so let us help you when you need it. If you aren’t sure if you need it, ask anyway. A good reporter always has multiple sources. To the students,
“Basically, NC
State has a lot of room for growth. But we are hopeful.”
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