Pulse Fall 2011

Fall 2011 Double Issue Second Edition

Pulse  Like?

We Are Family A look at the controversial Facebook group

Sex Ed in CPS page 4

The Tragedy of Troy Davis page 8

page 5

Making it with Mixtapes page 9

Pulse Magazine

Pulse

Pulse Magazine Executive Board Ashley Powell | Editor in Chief, President

Baindu Kallon | Managing Editor, Secretary Sydney Smith | Chief Design Editor, Vice-President Sarah Watson | Copy Editor Clarke Humphrey | Marketing & Advertising Executive Terrance Scotton | Web Editor Shannon Powell | Style Editor Iman Childs | Entertainment Editor Ashleigh Nelson| Events Editor Trey Gibson | Health Editor Jorona Johnson | Beauty Section Editor Staff Abiola Aderonmu Becca Abara Adrianne Harmon Vanessa Lecky Nadira Long Haley Pilgrim Dawn Scotland Cierra Strawder Designers Amanda Anumba April McFadden Writers Ryan Arrendell Iman Childs Trey Gibson Diamanta Panford Shannon Powell Jarohn Johnson Jorona Johnson

Jasmyne McDonald April McFadden Ashleigh Nelson Terrance Scotton Contributing Writers Tonantzin Carmona Daniel Flores Colette Ghunim Jazzy Johnson Pavan Krishnamurthy Photographer | Dallas Wright Special Thanks Charles Kellom Susan Mango Curtis NSBE ASA FMO

2 | Pulse Magazine Fall 2011

Letter from the

Writers

We’re back and better than ever! We’re so excited to be able to present these stories to you after a quarter of waiting, wishing and hoping. Everyone on the staff worked hard to produce stories that our readers would enjoy. Although fall has passed, these topics are still relevant in the black community. This fall issue covers everything from sex education in Chicago Public Schools to Troy Davis.

As our staff grew in size and in ability, we were encouraged to begin anew. However, we realized that in order to start over, change had to occur. This is the product of that change. While we are grateful for the support we received, in the end we feel this was the best decision in order to make the best possible magazine.

We truly appreciate you, the reader. It is because of you that we strive to create a magazine to challenge your thinking and to enhance your cultural perspectives and your overall experience at Northwestern.

Happy reading!

-Staff Writers: Iman Childs, Baindu Kallon and Jorona Johnson (not pictured: Paris West and Leigh Gordon-Patti)

Pulse Magazine

Contents

Fall 2011 Double Issue

Are Black Girls Out of Style?

Commentary on how black girls fare in the eyes of others.

3

Life

Politics

page

Sex Education

Sex education programs in Chicago Public Schools and why we should care.

Cover Story

page

4

We Are Family

Feature

The “We Are Family” Facebook group was the cause of a lot of drama, and the beginning of a conversation about inclusivity in the black community.

page

2

The tragedy of Troy Davis can also be the start of a discussion about the merits of the death penalty, and how it affects the black community.

page

8

Music in the Digital Age

Entertainment

Social Justice

Capital Punishment, Lowercase Justice The music industry in changing, with more people downlading music than ever before.

Artists are able to jumpstart their careers with mixtapes as opposed to albums. How is the industry responding to the changing market?

page

9

Fall 2011 Pulse Magazine | 3

life

Are Black Girls Going Out of

Style?

M

edia attention surrounding Ralph Richard Banks’s recently released book, “Is Marriage for White People?” and his claims that black women should look outside of their race for a mate, continues the search for a new answer to an old question: how does a black woman find love?

Reasons such as differences in male and female incarceration rates and education levels seem to support the idea that it’s harder for black women to find relationships with black men.

Another reason may be racial “preference.” Racial preference or “being in style, has connotations of dehumanization and inauthenticity. From a pop culture standpoint, different ethnicities have taken turns being “in style” or popular. For example the late 90s, there was a Latin (or better yet Puerto Rican craze), through the popularization of Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin. It can be argued that race has “never gone out of style” as Professor Cheryl Judice , director of the Alliance of Graduate Education, says, but that it is gender’s

4 | Pulse Magazine Fall 2011

new role that makes things more baffling.

According to a New York Times article, 22 percent of black males marry outside of their race in comparison to 9 percent of black females. While the numbers of black women dating outside of their race is low, it’s starting to change. After a troubling conversation with her younger brother, SESP senior Ojoyi Agbo decided to open herself up to the prospect of dating non-black males. Agbo’s brother listed a number of negative stereotypes about black women to support his argument that black women are just “too much to handle.”

Among those stereotypes were the ideas that black women are more dramatic than those of other races and thus are less desirable as mates.

Agbo insists that the most pertinent factor to this issue is one that we have yet to witness the extent of: the generational evolution of societal norms and acceptance levels. “As time progress, it is just more acceptable [to date outside of one’s race] and we are moving away from that black-white racial binary.”

Nonetheless, people aren’t the only

major players in this equation. Negative images of black women portrayed in television may have something to do with black men’s opinions of their physical counterparts. However as the media becomes more conscious of the beauty and diversity of all women of color, these negative images can change.

“I really like it when I see a black female star having an organization for young black females. It gives them a role model to encourage them to be confident and love who they are,” says Agbo.

Regardless media images, Professor Judice thinks that before you can start a relationship with anyone you have to have a strong relationship with yourself.

“When a woman is comfortable in her own skin then she is in style,” said Professor Judice. “It doesn’t matter what race you are or the history of your demographic, if you have confidence, and love the skin that you are in, someone will realize the value that you have always known yourself to possess.” Written by Paris West

politics

S

Sex Ed in CPS

ex. You might think it would be a pretty easy topic to write about considering how much fun it is, but it seems that Chicago’s publicity about sex education is about as effective as the programs themselves.

Senator’s positions, supporting organizations, school’s opinions: there is not much information out there. Do you know what House Bill 3027 is? Don’t feel bad if you don’t, it almost feels as though no one wants you to.

This legislation, which has been held up in the Illinois General Assembly, is structured as an if-then bill, requiring that if a public school offers sexual health education in grades 6-12, then the curriculum must be medically accurate, comprehensive, and developmentally- and age-appropriate. While proponents of the bill are not satisfied with the vague and flexible language of the bill, opponents have strongly fought it on the basis of controversy, ignoring the severe need for improvements in sex education.

Considering that research from the Illinois Department of Public Health ranked the state 18th in teen birth rates, 3rd for the highest rates of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea infections, and 6th for the highest rates of HIV transmission, the need for appropriate sex education seems pretty apparent. This void of information is especially apparent in Chicago where Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D. demonstrated in an April 2011 Chicago Public Health Report that “citywide birthrate for teens under 20 years old was 31.8 per 1,000 women, however, the high rate communities are as high as 54.7 per 1000.”

In Chicago, public health issues are inevitably correlated with ethnic groups, posing a question to social justice. The report revealed that be-

tween 1990 and 2005, health disparities expanded substantially for “heart disease mortality, female breast cancer mortality, diabetes mortality, suicide mortality, and tuberculosis case rate.”

They also found that Hispanic and African-American teen girls are much more likely, two to three times more, to give birth than white teen girls. The report also revealed that the daughters of teen mothers are 33% more likely to

also become pregnant during their teen years.

In addition to disproportionately affecting minority women and their progeny, teenage pregnancy is a result of insufficient education. Communications junior, Alexa Carreno, 19, said “there were multiple mothers in my high school and I would have to say that they probably all got pregnant before or early during our sex ed session,” which began being administered in grammar school.

However, the same access to sex education is clearly not available throughout all Chicago public schools; Carreno said her brother did not have sex education in grammar school.

So, it might seem natural to assume that education is a viable solution to this social trend and legislators would be eager to support it to bolster their communities and afford all parts of the population equal access to opportunities.

“Some people don’t like women having birth control access,” said Brigid Leahy, Director of Legislative Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Apparently this opposition to “easy access” has permeated all forms of information.

Rather than enhance education, the city of Chicago is focusing on enforcing compliance with immunizations and attendance to health care providers.

This approach appears unrealistic and insensitive to the young people who are most at risk for teen pregnancies and STI infection due to a lack of information.

These programs (when they do exist) often do not take into the cultural aspects that are relevant to talking to young people about sex that may depend on their respective communities.

It would be naïve to think that teaching sex ed to kids on Chicago’s South Side, for example, would be the same as teaching kids on Manhattan’s upper east side. There are different cultural and socio-economic factors at play here that are not being taken into account by most educational approaches, which is probably why they are so ineffective.

Despite these short comings, we also might expect to hear from our peers about this issue. “The most effective way to persuade legislators is to have them hear from their constituents,” Leahy said.

It is our generation that is being hurt by these issues and is therefore responsible for catalyzing a change in direction. In order to fully realize positive steps forward, a shift needs to occur in how the government administers education, addresses community-specific issues, and how society views a sexual population and culture.

Written by Leigh Gordon-Patti

Fall 2011 Pulse Magazine | 5

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By Iman Childs

Community. It’s a word that many people grapple with, and it is often the center of discussion on Northwestern’s campus.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines community as “a unified body of individuals: a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” While we are all a part of the Northwestern community as students of the university, there are a number of smaller communities based on race, athletic affiliation, sexuality, religion, etc. However, a lot of focus is placed on racially and ethnically based communities. The black community’s purported exclusivity once again became a hot button issue at the start of this fall quarter; however, the discussion took shape quicker than ever thanks to the internet.

Weinberg sophomore, Vernon Smith, joined a Facebook group over the summer called NUestra Familia.

Then Communications senior, Veronica

6 | Pulse Magazine Fall 2011

Morales, and Northwestern alumnus, Mayra Plascencia, created the group to reach out to Latino freshmen over the summer. Communication sophomore, Lucia Leon, who helped form the concept of the group, stated that its purpose was to inform freshmen about La Colaboración, a group created to foster a “stronger Latino community through social bonding.”

Smith liked the camaraderie he saw in the group and decided to start a similar group for black freshmen. The group’s purpose was to be “a way for black people to reach out to incoming freshmen, get to know a few familiar faces when they got on campus, and to know about opportunities on campus.”

The Facebook group entitled “We Are Family: NU’s Black Community” originally started out with upperclassmen introducing themselves and providing a brief overview of what they do on campus. Smith found many of the freshmen through the Summer Academic Workshop (SAW) and

EXCEL, two pre-orientation programs targeting incoming black students, and added them to the group.

Not long after the We Are Family group was started in July, McCormick junior Opeyemi Kusoro questioned why the group was closed. Smith stated that he chose to make the group closed for “privacy reasons and to give the group more meaning.” He felt that doing so would allow “people [to] feel more comfortable saying what they feel and to give their honest opinions.”

Smith also asked the creators of NUestra Familia why they chose to make their group closed. He agreed with their reasoning that if the group is closed “people are more invested if you have to contribute.” Based on this reasoning, the group was kept closed.

According to Facebook, anyone can see a closed group and its members; however, only members can see the posts. Both open and closed groups require Facebook users to request permission to join the group and the request

Home

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be approved by someone currently munication junior, JeremyShpizner, Hikemust FREE Tab Builder in the group. wrote on the group’s Facebook wall that

The closed status of the We Are Family group was once againHike brought up You and - Social Apps during the first week of classes by Paul Jackson, a Weinberg junior.

The discussion soon became heated, with a number of juniors People You May Know and seniors demanding that the group be made open. Jackson stated that he feels the group should be open because the black community is “structured around openness and fighting closed-mindedness” and therefore, should portray an image of inclusivity “so that no one ever has an excuse why they don’t come to the State of the Black Union” or other events hosted by members of the black community.

“It was okay to discuss the issue [because] it’s about problems that really matter to us, but the debate took over the group,” said Smith. He subsequently decided to delete one of the original posts concerning the issue because it was “leaving a bad impression of NU on the freshmen.”

While the debate was mostly between black students, a number of white students were added to the group

by Jackson. They soon began to bring up the issue of the black community average viewport: 620px being too exclusive. Many openly expressed their gratitude for being added to the group and hoped that it would foster more cross-racial dialogue. Com-

it was closed is simply untrue. All who requested to join the group were while the university can increase the added; even though Smith created the number of group, all members are free to approve minority membership requests. Based on this You and Hike - Social Apps students, it information, it is safe to assume that the is up to us to discussion was more about the con“create a dinotations of the word “closed.” While alogue about it is understandable that black students cultural do not want their community to be differences, 5 IULHQGV OLNH WKLV perceived as exclusive, one must wonexperiences, der why other groups are not subject to and even be- the same degree of scrutiny. The Latino Peoplestudent You group May isKnow See A yond that… also closed but none just hang of their members are upset by this. The User Name out.” real question that needs to be grappled While with is whyAGG )ULHQG Northwestern students find Smith was any words relating to people of color, happy to see particularly the words black and multithat other cultural, off-putting and exclusive. ◆ User Name races felt welcome in the group and the 2 PXWXDO IULHQGV black community at large, AGG )ULHQG he maintains that “the group People You May Know See All is geared toward the black User Name community.” In his opinVernon Smith ion, issues pertaining to the AGG )ULHQG AGG )ULHQG black community in relation to the larger Northwestern community should be disUser Name cussed in another forum.

Mayra Plascenia The debate over the black 2 PXWXDO IULHQGV 2 PXWXDO IULHQGV community’s perceived AGG )ULHQG AGG )ULHQG exclusivity and insularity brings up interesting quesUser Name tions about race relations at Paul Jackson Northwestern. The heated AGG )ULHQG AGG )ULHQG discourse over whether the We Are Family group should be closed or open seems unnecessary based on the Opeyemi Kusoro minor difference between 2 PXWXDO IULHQGV an open or closed group.

AGG )ULHQG The argument that the group was not searchable because

“It was okay to discuss the issue [because] it’s about problems that really matter to us, but the debate took over the group,”

Lucia Leon AGG )ULHQG Fall 2011 Pulse Magazine | 7

social justice

Capital Punishment, Lowercase Justice

I

Did Troy Davis deserve a second chance?

t’s been a little over two months, and people still remember him; or rather, his final day. They remember how he appealed to clear himself one last time, They remember the four-hour delay as the court made their decision. They remember his appeal: denied. And we all remember that on September 21, 2011, Troy Davis was executed for the murder of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail. And while they question his guilt, the execution of Troy Davis also has the African-American community questioning the need for the death sentence.

The death sentence, formally known as capital punishment, has been used in almost every country in the world at one point in time; however, the majority have curtailed the practice. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 35 states in the United States still enforce the death penalty, including here in Illinois.

Opinions on Davis’ innocence and Georgia’s use of the death penalty are varied even post-mortem, but most people agree that the case was still unsolved because of its witnesses. Marlon Tiller, a student at Valdosta State University, said that they should have given Davis’ appeals more thought based on the fact that witnesses were recanting their statements.

“I felt like they really stripped him of that last right to defend himself,” Tiller said. “I don’t see what that would have

8 | Pulse Magazine Fall 2011

done if they would have let him present his last appeal.”

Rohan Lewis, a Northwestern student, also agrees that the criminal system could have done more. “It was completely unfair,” he said. “There was evidence to prove his innocence, but the possibility was not even consid-

Troy Davis

ered.”

However, those within the legal profession see the situation differently.

Although the evidence brought before the Georgia and U.S. Supreme court was compelling, some feel that the courts made the right decision.

“I know that there were petitions from his defense team saying that there was some new evidence, particularly some of the key witnesses recanting some of their stories on the trial,” said Kimberly Bourroughs, a Georgia attorney. “However, I knew that if there was

any evidence that would have led the courts to believe it would have raised a reasonable doubt in the jury’s, mind, even in one juror, they would have given it serious thought and consideration, and potentially have overturned the decision.”

Another point of divergence that surrounded the case actually had nothing to with evidence or testimony, but rather the public response. While Lewis can attest to the lack of “buzz” felt at Northwestern around Davis’ execution, Tiller tells a different story about his campus.

“It was all over the news, nothing else, and almost everyone I saw on campus was talking about it,” Tiller said in his recollection. “Even on Twitter, the majority of people I follow were talking about it.”

But Tiller believes, that rather than a lack of concern, the uproar he saw was because his location: Valdosta, GA. “Because of the racial tension that has always been here, the case definitely had more of an impact and was more widely known and talked about here.”

While any and every one can (and probably does) have an opinion about this case, the cold, undeniable truth is that Troy Davis is just one case, just one person. What deserves a greater analysis is the death penalty, and to a larger extent, the criminal justice system itself.

Facts are thrown around left and right when people begin to talk about the death penalty, particularly when

social justice the circumstances in which it is usually asked who is on death row. Because an opponent either,” said Bourroughs used. I agree with it strongly in printheir case are more spectacularly when she spoke about the death penciple: if someone has committed a heidisplayed in the media, many believe alty, as both a former prosecutor and a nous crime like that African murder or rape, Americans are and it’s been the majority, proven withbut that is not is out any doubt, not true.. When they should be looking at the sentenced to race of defendeath. But could dants on death I be one of those row, it turns twelve jurors to out by a small do it? Could I difference in really vote yes percentage that in the taking whites are the of another life? true majority.

Another human However, this is life? I still don’t not to say that know. there is not an While the issue; the same game of moral graph shows tug-of war still that at 56 perpulls people cent, the majorin over capital ity of death punishment, row is made of People protesting Troy Davis’ execution there should minorities.

And the thoughts on the death law-abiding citizen. “I’m a former pros- be no disagreement concerning the criminal system as a whole: it needs to penalty are just as complex and interecutor; had I been required or asked to change. changeable at the data on the subject. pursue the death penalty, wherever it “Autonomy within the state governTiller said that although he understands would be warranted according to the why the death penalty is in place and is law, I would have had no problem doing ment needs to have limitations,” Lewis said. “I believe higher levels used, as a humanitarian, he could not see himself do“If anyone is given the death penalty, it means of government need to be more persistent in their overing what many juries have that at some point in time you are going to die. view of crime and punishdone: sentence a man or ment.” woman to their death.

That feeling of hopelessness is universal; the Although change is an “If anyone is given the easy topic to talk about, death penalty, it means hurt and pain that it causes is the same.” bringing it about takes that at some point in time finesse, especially when it’s you are going to die. That from the African American community. feeling of hopelessness is universal; the it. But I personally don’t like seeing the But it starts with a simple step: educathurt and pain that it causes is the same.” death penalty enforced.” ing oneself.

If those outside the criminal justice I too identify more with Attorney “Be informed first before they speak system seem to have conflicted opinions Bourroughs’ state of mind. As the out against any institution or any issue,” about the death penalty, imagine the daughter of a law enforcement officer said Bourroughs. “That would honestly challenges someone within the system and spending years reading and learnbe the best way to fight a battle for faces? ing about the law, I understand why social change.”

“I’m not a supporter, but I’m not the death penalty is still practiced and Written by Jorona Johnson

Fall 2011 Pulse Magazine | 9

entertainment

E

ager fans wait outside record stores around the country for the newest release of hip-hop star Drake’s new album, Take Care. As the people flock to the stores, even more find themselves in front of a new record store, the computer screen.

“The first place I go to is a hip-hop music blog or something and they’ll usually have downloads because artists release their music to the Internet first,” says freshman Junius Randolph.

Drake’s album Take Care is predicted to sell 675,000 to 725,000 albums in the first week, which if reached, would make it the album with the third best record of first-week sales in 2011.

The album was leaked the night before the release. When interviewed for Billboard magazine, Drake spoke about the impact the leak had on his music.

“It’s crazy that we’re talking about a night, one link or one post. We’re not talking about them cutting the tape on the brown box and starting to shelve the record. It’s not that world anymore,” says Drake.

Traditionally, companies were only responsible for selling music; broadcasting it on air and gaining revenue.

According to Medill professor Marty

Kohr, music companies today cannot just sell music. “It seems that more where they really make their money is touring, live events, merchandise, there’s 360 degree marketing” says Kohr.

To really gain a fan base, Kohr thinks that artists need to reach out and find a way to interact with them through the Internet.

Artists such as teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and R&B star Dondria were discovered through YouTube, and other artists are taking note of how

“It’s crazy that we’re talking about a night, one link or one post. We’re not talking about them cutting the tape on the brown box and starting to shelve the record.

It’s not that world anymore”

10 | Pulse Magazine Fall 2011

they can gain exposure through new media.

“We have advertised through social media via our Facebook or Twitter,” says Kara Goldsmith, president of NiteSkool, a student group dedicated to fostering creativity and getting Northwestern excited about its underground music scene. NiteSkool also capitalizes on using their new website to attract more fans.

“We have announcements there, we have our street team application there, letting people know about our events,” says Goldsmith.

entertainment before. Yet with easy access to free music, it’s hard to get fans to actual buy albums.

I’ve bought one album in the past year, the rest I get from blogs,” says Randolph.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, about 326 million albums were sold in 2010 which is the lowest amount in sales since 1993.

Although digital music track sales

tracks have declined for the first time.

However, the Internet is not the only source of music and marketing for students. The most effective ways NiteSkool helps students gain a presence are actually traditional, such as word of mouth.

“I actually think it’s the most valuable of advertising because when you see a poster, there are so many on campus and if you get a Facebook event we get like five a day and people are not going to look at it unless they are paying attention,” says Goldsmith.

With strong marketing and a tight consumer base, artists are still able to encourage fans to buy their music, not download online.

“I mean people still buy CDs. Especially with an artist like Drake, people will go out and purposely support him,” says Randolph.

“I’ve bought one album in the past year, the rest I get from blogs.”

With the help of blogs, Facebook and Twitter and the internet, artists have more access to their fans than ever

grew by one percent, it still wasn’t enough to make up for the decrease in album sales. Overall, music sales for all formats such as CD’s and digital

In the end Kohr says to sell music and keep up in the digital age, bands must stay true to who they are and their fan base. According to Kohr, “If they don’t perceive you to be worthwhile, whether you’re a hip hop band, whether you’re a computer, whether you’re a coffee shop, they won’t pay attention.” ◆ Written by Baindu Kallon

Fall 2011 Pulse Magazine | 11