Journey Magazine December 2011

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY'S CAMPUS MAGAZINE

THE KOMEBACK

DEC 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

CAN FORMER MAYOR AND FAMU GRAD, KWAME KILPATRICK, PIECE HIS LIFE BACK TOGETHER?

THE SOUND OF

SILENCE A LOOK

INSIDE THE UNIVERSITY’S “HAZING CULTURE”

What do you think about this issue? Tell me on Twitter

@OhSoSwilleyious

EDITOR’S

LETTER //////////////////////////////////////

P

utting together this issue was frustrating. Not because of blown deadlines or disappearing staff members, not because we changed the theme twice, not even because a few weeks in, we switched advisers. From the moment you check journalism on your college application, you learn to roll with and even appreciate the punches that come with the production process.

No. Compiling this particular edition of Journey was tough because nothing pains me more than to disappoint. Like editors-in-chief of yesteryear, I feel immense pressure to maintain the publication’s legacy while striving to make every issue better than the one before.

I also didn’t want to let down my staff, my “write-ordie” crew, who has weathered my frequent mood changes and scatterbrained personality for the past semester with little more than an eye roll and an ear-piercing “Swillllleeyyyy!!!”

Most importantly, I didn’t want to disappoint you. With a few exceptions, the Homecoming edition got a lot of love. What we didn’t realize then was exactly how much Journey meant to you. From the professor who uses some of our racier articles in his women’s studies class to the girl who ripped out pages from last semester’s fashion issue to decorate her dorm room, you make us feel like our endless nights don’t go unnoticed.

So FAM, never forget that this and every issue is for you.

Journey is a reflection of your struggles, your loss (Sound of Silence, pg. 26), your pain, and your insurmountable spirit.

Whether you’re the partier looking for tonight’s move (Party Crashers, pg. 14), the wannabe model constantly stalking our photographers for a spot in the fashion spread (Bad Girl pg. 19), the screw-up trying to rebuild your reputation (The Komeback, pg. 16), even the ever-present critic waiting to rip this whole thing to shreds, I just want to do the type of work that could possibly justify me occupying a page in every issue of your magazine.

So, I’ll take the hurdles, the haters, the sleepless nights, and, yes, the unrelenting pressure because as much as I hate all of it, I love having you along for the ride even more.

Until next time,

//////////////////////////////////////// Kristen Swilley Editor-in-Chief

Table of

CONTENTS ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

FEATURE STORIES “99” to One.....................................06 Locked Out......................................08 The Komeback.................................16 The Sound of Silence........................26

FAMU MATTERS Now Hiring....................................................10 Downey Tribute..............................................30

A look inside the “hazing culture” of HBC KRISTEN SWILLEY

WILKEN TISDALE

KEENON DOA

F ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Project Party Crashers......................14 According to Demp...........................28

amily pictures blanket every inch of t paneled walls. The Champion famil a handful of visitors on a brief tou suburban home. The wedding pict family snapshots throughout the Decatur, Ga the epitome of a happy, well-adjusted family. the biggest smiling face is painfully absent.

It’s a Friday. Tomorrow will be exactly to the day from the death of the Champion’s Robert. As he rakes his fingers through his pepper hair, Robert Champion Sr. resembles version of him, perhaps what the college stud have looked like in thirty years.

“I’m gonna miss him tearing up the cei that baton,” he says with a laugh, breaking period of awkward silence. The family is in m but they still find the humor in remembering who they nicknamed “Mr. Band” for his s infallible commitment to his craft.

Rawr

LIFE & STYLES

vvv

Street Style....................................05 Bad Girl..........................................19

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style

mind, body, & soul WHAT ARE YOU WEARI Face Off............................................12

DON’T SEE YOUR PHOTO HERE? VISIT JOURNEYMAGONLI

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Copyright 2011 by Florida A&M University. All rights reserved. This issue of Journey magazine was producedLANORRIS by the student organization Journey with essential support from the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication. Journey is funded through the student activity and service fees, as allocated by the Student Senate of Florida A&M University.

For more information on Journey or the Magazine Program, contact the Division of Journalism, 510 Orr Drive Room 3078, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL 32307

BLUTCHER

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Cover Photo by: Raymond Love II Disclaimer: Cover model, Padric Scott, has Cover Design by: Quintavious Shephard no relation to the story “The Komeback” or On the Cover: Padric Scott Kwame Kilpatrick in any way.

RAYMOND

LaGretta Johnson

Morgan Grain Online Editor

Kristen Swilley

Jared Floyd

Editor-in-Chief

Deputy Online Editor/Stylist

Bianca Salvant

Photo Editor

Managing Editor

Wilken Tisdale

Art Director/Web Director

Raymond Love II

Deputy Photo Editor/PR Team Leader

Interim Adviser: Glyndell Presley Printer: Gandy Printers Contributors: Jeremy Davis, Fernesha Hurst, Julian Kemper, and Ashley Williams Art Team: Chidozie Acey, LaNorris Blutcher, and Quintavious Shepherd Photo Team: Keenan Doanes, Christian Allen Special Thanks: Dorothy Bland, Laura Downey, Ayanna Kilpatrick Ferguson, Dean James Hawkins, and Robert Richardson

EDITORIAL LEGEND KEY

WORDS BY

04 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

DESIGN BY

MODELS

HAIR BY

MAKEUP BY

PHOTOS BY

STYLING BY

VIDEO BY

Names: Nathaniel Martineau, Sanari Ushery, Samantha Sinclair, Nigel Woods, Troy Harris, Christian Harper, Branden Gadsden, Alex Bryan, Kendra Neal, Twaney Harding, Lanise Harris, Melanie Mitchell, Marlon Anderson, Loreal Jamison, Jazmin Hodgeson

Cute !

Bow

Rawr

h

ss! e r ot d

C.’S E.I. ICK P

!

style

LANORRIS BLUTCHER

LOVe that bag!

swag!

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?

DON’T SEE YOUR PHOTO HERE? VISIT JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM RAYMOND LOVE II

TO PHOTOR’S EDIPICK

LIFE & STYLES • 05

“99”

ONE TO

What the “Occupy” movement means to FAMU Fernesha Hurst

Lanorris blutcher

lagretta johnson

Visit journeymagonline.com to see how other HBCU students “occupy” their cities.

iara Taylor’s 5’6” frame stands proudly on the lawn of the state capitol hoisting a sign that reads “99%” in the air. A camouflage FAMU hat covers her blonde and brown colored hair, shielding her fair skin from the blazing October sun. Her big brown eyes passionately gleam as she screams “Unify! Occupy!” alongside an army of fellow protestors.

Ciara, a senior political science student, says her passion for politics stems from her role as the oldest of four children. “I look at the future for my sisters and my younger siblings and I think, ‘Man I have to make sure they go to college.”

Before coming to Florida A&M University, Ciara attended Agnes Scott College, an all girls private school in Decatur, Ga., so the transition to a historically black university notorious for its faulty record-keeping system took some getting used to.

“My sister was the one who

06 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

brought me over to FAMU. It was sort of a culture shock. At first I hated it here. I came from this $40,000 private school that basically catered to us just for being there, and here it’s just like they make you work hard for everything.”

Despite a few hiccups, Ciara quickly adjusted to the university.

Before changing her major to political science she majored in Spanish because she dreamed of going into foreign service, but her program was eliminated because of the university’s cutbacks. “It was ridiculous, I received an email probably a month before classes started telling me that it would take me another year and a half to graduate.” This and many other things that bothered Ciara about the university influenced her to start Grand Theft Education.

GTE is an organization that helps to promote student welfare on campus.

Their mission: “To seek responsible changes in fiscal, structural and academic management at FAMU.”

Ciara helped to start this organization last semester. She felt as though there was a need for students to take matters into their own hands, especially considering the recent cutbacks throughout the university.

Although Ciara has remained fervent in her political endeavors, she isn’t always praised for them. Last spring when the student body called a Town Hall meeting to question President Ammons and other university officials about their concerns, Ciara, along with many other students, felt as though they were cheated out of that opportunity.

“He came in late and then presented us with this PowerPoint of future plans that most of us have already seen, and then proceeded to tell us that there wasn’t enough time to answer everyone’s questions.”

Ciara was livid. When it was time for students to speak she stood up and boldly stated her opinion directly to Ammons.

“I told him that the fact that he had the audacity to come in 30 minutes late, give this empty presentation and then not talk to the students shows the blatant disregard that he has for the student body.”

Ciara was just speaking her mind, but a number of students didn’t support her and began bashing her on social networks. Meaghan, her sister, called and said that people were on Twitter calling her a b*tch and saying things like, “Who does she think she is? She can’t talk to President Ammons that way.” Ciara fears that students are too afraid to fight back toward their own institution sometimes.

“We give money to the school, we’re the masters here. This is our school. The fact that these people are on bended knee while the administration whips our backs is outra=geous to me. It’s a constant battle trying to get students to fight their own university sometimes.”

we all planned to have the first official Occupy Tallahassee meeting that Thursday,” she says.

At the first Occupy Tallahassee meeting in early October, more than 300 people showed up. The outcome was so overwhelming that they ended up moving the meeting from its initial venue at Farside on Railroad to the empty lot across the street. Ciara was not only surprised by the outcome, but also how receptive and eager everyone was to get things started. “We had planned to have the first rally around November but everyone thought that was too late.

They wanted to start it now.”

The first protest was held two weeks after that initial meeting.

Ciara was appointed FAMU facilitator, which meant that her job would be to get the word out about Occupy Tallahassee to the student body, and with her experience in other rallies and protests, this wasn’t a hard or unfamiliar task. “People were really

an amount wasn’t expected. The climate has started to change and people have started to educate themselves on the issue and not rely on false representation to speak for them. There is no way to get a voice heard other than raising your own.”

Ciara plans to continue protesting for her rights and the rights of future students. She wants people to understand that this movement is not just about her or even her classmates.

“I think it was Alice Walker who said, ‘The greatest way to lose power, is to feel that you don’t have any to begin with.’ I feel like that’s what happened in America. This is something that should have strength and longevity. I want this movement to empower people after me so that this can continue.”

“This is our school. The fact that these people are on bended knee while the administration whips our backs is outrageous to me.”

– Ciara Taylor, FAMU Coordinator of occupy tallahassee and Founder of Grand Theft Education

Ciara first learned about Occupy Wall Street the same way most people did, through the media. The idea of bringing Occupy to Tallahassee sparked within before a friend at Florida State University called with the same exact idea. They discovered a Facebook group for Occupy and contacted members of an organization called the Center for Participant Education and began planning.

“One of our main goals is educating people. People who are most resistant to Occupy don’t understand what it’s about, what the 99 percent is. They’re still disillusioned into thinking that things are the way they are just because they’re that way, they don’t know that we can change things.”

Ciara says getting the initial meeting set up was difficult, but participants were enthusiastic.

“It was a frustrating process, we all sat down and met on a Sunday and

responsive to the movement, there were so many supporters who were eager to learn about it and get out there and do something. It was awesome to see so many FAMU students wanting to get involved. As students who are going to an HBCU, we have to f ight twice as hard.”

Occupy Tallahassee has been goingstrong since mid-October and Ciara says that they don’t plan on stopping. With numerous committees and sub-committees dedicated to educating the masses about the movement, feeding the protestors, health and sanitation, and a team designed to protect them from legal action, they have been working hard to make sure that their protestors get the word out.

Ciara feels that this movement has and will continue to make a difference.

“I’m pretty sure the ability for the people to come together at this large of

What is Occupy?

by Alexia McKay

Inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Occupy Wall Street is a movement that aims to expose the “corruptive power” of major banks and f inancial institutions in America. It points to high unemployment, economic inequality and the greed and absolute power of these multinational corporations as the source of the country’s f inancial woes. the slogan “We are the 99%” refers to the difference in wealth between the richest one percent and the rest of the population. Comprised of college students, veterans, blue and white collared workers, OWS protestors strive for change in America’s corporate system.

FEATURES • 07

Jeremy Davis

Chidozie Acey

Christian Allen

how

o o t t u u o o y y e e r ar a e ? e s s s o o l s l c c sne

s s e l e m o H

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08 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

having Lance invade his personal space, but besides a little awkwardness Lance’s first semester seemed to be going smoothly.

After returning to the school from the holiday break to start his second semester, he decided he wanted to branch out and expand his circle of friends. He joined an organization called Black Male Achievers for an extracurricular activity where he met new people and developed friendships.

Tension started building between Lance and his older brother at the start of his second semester. Lance said he just wanted to be respected as a man and didn’t feel like his brother always gave him that courtesy. They disagreed on several occasions, each argument seeming more intense than the last.

Then, it happened.

Their argument continued that day about the new cable boxes and in a fit of rage, his brother began to gather all of Lance’s clothes and belongings and threw them outside in the rain.

The model, Kelvin Williams, used in this photo has no relation to this story.

e remembers it was raining. A dreary day in early April started as any other would for 18-yearold Lance Williams and his older brother.

Both headed off to school and made their separate ways across campus. When Lance got home from class that day, he and his brother began to fight.

“The argument was so petty. It was a big miscommunication between my brother and me about the cable guy coming and delivering the new boxes,” Lance says.

But this time would be different.

The situation quickly escalated as the two started to unleash all their pinned up frustrations. Insults and valuables were thrown, damage was done, and by nightfall Lance was out on the street.

Lance was living with his big brother during his first year in college. Like any older sibling, he was less than thrilled about

In retaliation, Lance unleashed all his aggravation that he had built up toward his brother and the two got into a physical altercation. “Everything happened so fast and I blacked out. I just remember being so angry with what was happening and I beat him up pretty bad.”

Immediately after the quarrel, Lance walked outside to calm down and blow off some steam. While venting, his brother left the apartment and sped away leaving Lance locked out in the rain with no phone or keys.

He later returned to their home and began to bring his belongings inside from the rain. When he got his phone back, the message from his brother was brief, but said it all.

“You have to be out of my place by this afternoon, or I’m calling the cops,” he said.

After receiving that message from his brother and briefly speaking with their mother who attempted to resolve the issues, Lance gathered all his possessions and left the apartment.

In the middle of his school term Lance was homeless. His mother insisted that

he come home. However, Lance was determined to finish the semester. To keep his mother from worrying about him, he lied to her and said that he was staying with a friend, but he didn’t have any place to go.

Stephanie Beckingham, the assistant director of the Big Bend Homeless Coalition, says last year, approximately 10 percent served by the agency were of the college age group. “I suspect more than embarrassment is fear or simply not knowing where they can go to get help. This is also a time when other youth of their age are branching out into independence. It must be very hard to be separate from that experience as a young adult, a time that most of us remember as very carefree and exploratory.”

Lance was also unemployed. His school tuition was paid for earlier in the semester through federal aid. He had no means of income aside from the small allowance his mother gave him, which he used for food.

He never got a chance to wash any of his clothes from the rain, and as a result, they ended up mildewing. “I pretty much only had one outfit left after my clothes were ruined: a blue TCC hoodie, a plain

by their peers or have issues dealing with pride. Because of that, they keep their housing situation a secret.

Louis Dilbert, the faculty adviser for Black Male Achievers, says that he noticed a slight change in Lance’s attitude. “At the time, he didn’t have his normal cheerful demeanor that I recognized upon meeting him, and I became concerned.”

His grades suffered tremendously.

“I tried to stay focused on school but doing my homework and studying in my car posed a challenge for me. At the time I was attending TCC so I had to use a friend’s password to connect to the FAMU network to use the Internet, which was sometimes unreliable.”

To clear his mind, Lance met up with some of his new friends. They realized that most of his belongings were in his car, and they began to ask questions. Not knowing the strength of their friendship, Lance confided in them about his circumstance.

Joash Gonsalves, one of Lance’s friends said, “The situation that Lance was in was unfortunate. After he told us what happened we were shocked and said enough is enough. You need a

You have to be out of my place by this afternoon or I'm calling the cops.

his friends would swipe him in the café or let him use their flex bucks. At night, he slept on the floor between their two beds in a sleeping bag.

Lance lived this way with his friends for the remainder of the semester until returning home to Pensacola to live with his mother for the summer. He came back to Tallahassee with a new job working at Educational Talent Search, which is a program designed to help high school students transition into college.

He hopes it will help them have the type of difficult conversations Lance wishes he’d had with his brother years ago.

“If I would have been more vocal with my big brother and communicated the way I felt, I definitely wouldn’t have retaliated by fighting,” Lance said. Now a student mentor, the advice he gives to others is whenever someone extend, take it and put the pride aside.

The situation affected Lance and his brother’s relationship greatly. For a brief period of time they avoided each other and were not on speaking terms. They eventually put the past behind them and Though their ups and downs, they each gained not only individual growth, but a prevailing brotherhood.

,

white T-shirt, a pair of Levi jeans, and a pair of shoes,” Lance said. “I had to wear it every day so you could imagine the embarrassment.”

Lance continued going to class each day, but admitted he felt discouraged because he had to wear the same outfit.

“I lived out of my 1997 Acura CL for about a week and I took showers in Paddyfote Complex A on the ground floor. I was parked in the FAMU parking garage facing the stadium. And I didn’t get very much sleep either. There were always organizations practicing on one of the levels.”

Statistics about homeless college students are scarce. Because of the shame Lance and others like him feel, exact numbers are hard to come by. Studies show that one in three homeless people are 18 and under just like Lance. Many of them are afraid of being stigmatized

place to stay.”

Joash and Lance’s other friends offered him a place to stay in Paddyfote Complex A Room 105, and they wouldn’t take no for answer.

Humbled by their generosity, Lance took the offer and moved into the dorm with the other young men. With that came new challenges. Paddyfote is extremely small even for two people. Now three people were occupying the very limited space.

It was against the rules for him to reside in the dorm with his friend. To keep them out of trouble, Lance had to maintain a low profile and avoid any resident assistants. He said it wasn’t very hard because there were always so many people coming in and out so no one ever noticed.

Lance was forced to spend most of his money eating fast food. Occasionally, FEATURES • 09

Whether you’re looking to land your first job or trying to lock down that illusive summer internship, Journey has you covered.

These FAMU grads are starting their own businesses, rising to the top in their fields, and most importantly...

MORGAN GRAIN

Tanya Caldwell new your times NEW YORK TIMES

L

ike many “J-school” pupils today, Tanya Caldwell was heavily involved in student media.

She was both online and news editor for The Famuan, managing editor of Journey magazine and gospel show host for WANM 90.5.

Originally from Cocoa, Fla., Caldwell graduated in 2005 from the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication with a concentration in magazine production.

Today, Caldwell is a web producer for America’s No. 1 online newspaper, better known

Austin Williams

Bound to be entertainment

A

ustin Williams, a spring 2011 graduate, is a perfect example of how it doesn’t have to take years after crossing the stage before success strikes. Originally from Orlando, Williams graduated from the School of Business and Industry with a

Kevin Burch

B uKevin r c h hBurch a b e r dUSA ashery kevin burch

A

t first glance, Birmingham, Ala. native Kevin Burch may not seem like the fashion designer type. The 1987 FAMU graduate earned his degree in computer information systems and currently serves as a senior manager for a global data warehouse. What most don’t know is that Burch has his own unique custom clothing business.

10 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

CHIDOZIE ACEY

as the New York Times. Her job includes producing images, videos and stories for the site, designing pages, and pitching stories to more than 30 million customers.

Aside from student media, Caldwell attributes much of her success to her participation in eight internships.

Yep, that’s right. She landed eight internships in undergrad. “I was blessed,” she says.

Indeed she was. Like most students, she went home for the summer her freshman year without an internship. However, while at home in Cocoa, she heard a local newspaper needed an online intern and decided to volunteer.

“I wanted to be a good journalist. And I knew the only way to do that was to get hands-

on experience.” She interned for the Tallahassee Democrat and the Sun Sentinel, before grabbing a coveted spot in the New York Times Student Journalism Institute.

Caldwell describes the Institute, which brings HBCU students from across the country together in New Orleans for an intensive twoweek workshop, as inspirational and says any FAMU student should enjoy working at the Times.

“Why wouldn’t they? It’s an honorable and exciting place to be. Some of the greats in the business work here, and it’s very easy to learn and grow from co-workers. Great work is contagious.”

If you want to apply for a job or internship at The New York Times go to nytco.com/careers.

degree in accounting. He currently interning at PricewaterhouseCoopers and owns an entertainment company with a few of his college friends.

Austin and some of his friends started Bound to Be Entertainment while they were sophomores. He, along with Cleavon Johnson, worked on the promotion and management side of the business booking shows, creating contacts, deciding on media marketing and

setting up features and collaborations.

“I feel like, if you have something you want to be a part of you have to find it and attach yourself to it.”

Bound To Be Entertainment is looking for a studio engineer and always needs people to be featured. For more information, contact Williams at austin2.williams@gmail.com.

Burch’s interest in fashion started during his days as a model in the now defunct Couture Modeling Troupe. Instead of buying clothes from expensive retail stores, Burch shopped at thrift stores.

Unlike most students, however, he took his frugal shopping to the next level.

“I wasn’t a tailor, but I always loved style. Whether it be travel, dining, hotels, clothes, so I had to do something that would express that.” With this spirit in mind, Burch Haberdashery was born. His store is lined with business casual attire and hand-made neckties.

Recently, Burch Haberdashery was changed to Kevin Burch USA. He continued the luxury shirt line where clients can create their own custom designs. “Men can create their own style of the shirt down to the thread,” Burch says.

Burch says this method encourages creativity because the client becomes the designer and no two customers leave the store looking the exact same.

Burch is currently looking for a summer intern who lives close to his business in Hollywood, Fla. For those interested, email Burch at www.kevinburchusa.com.

Catarah Hampshire & Soneji Robison Southern Girl Desserts Bakery

(L(Lto Soneji Robison toR): R: Soneji Robisonand andCatarah catarahHampshire hampshir

N

obody can attest to how large the FAMU alumni network is better than Catarah Hampshire and Soneji Robison. These two talented ladies own a bakery in Los Angeles, California. They didn’t meet on campus and attended FAMU at different times.

“It was funny how we became business partners. When I first moved to L.A., I was just craving southern sweets like banana pudding and sweet potato pie. I started baking for friends and they would pay me for the desserts I made,” Hampshire says. “Soneji and I didn’t know each other but had mutual friends from FAMU and once they heard both of us were doing the same thing, they suggested we meet.”

Once they met, they decided to become business partners and continue with Southern Girl Desserts.

“FAMU is a breeding ground for the great. It prepares you for everything; it really teaches you how to grind,” Hampshire says.

Currently, they are preparing to open their second location, which means they need workers. If you’re interested in possible participation with their business, email them at info@southerngirldesserts.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Kevin Burch

Lamont Howard

W

Check out Lamont and Itopia’s resume’s at journeymagonine.com

Itopia mills

her campus

Montruh

ith an extensive resume’like Lamont Howard’s, it’s hard to imagine how he fits his latest business venture into his busy schedule. Howard, a graphic design student, also serves as the visual communications artist for the Office of Student Activities and an assistant graphic designer for Student Government Association.

Howard realized he was passionate about graphic design after playing with Photoshop for hours on end, learning about all the different tools and how they worked. “ I was very intrigued with layout design, photo editing and other creative graphic art. I began designing fliers, posters, CD covers and many other thimgs.” What’s Howard’s latest venture? He recently started his own clothing line, Montruh. “Montruh was created to represent the face of optimism through apparel, to embrace creativity and cultivate a sense of appreciation for uncommon encouragement.” Right now the line consists of creatively designed T-shirts with the Montruh logo on them and are selling for $15 at http://www.facebook.com/Montruh.

I

topia Mills is a news editorial student from New Rochelle, New York, a suburb in Westchester County located outside of New York City. Mills plans on going to graduate school to receive her master’s in magazine writing and editing.

“Eventually I’d like to become editorin-chief of my own magazine that’s high fashion like Vogue, pop like Complex, cultured like Essence but still has its own unique taste,” Itopia says.

Mills says she has the drive and confidence that most New Yorkers innately possess.

“I always had a love for reading, writing and fashion. I believe that growing up in New York had a lot to do with that,” Itopia says. “There’s so much art, culture, fashion, and food. It’s hard not to be influenced and fall in love with it!”

Recently, Mills launched an online magazine, Her Campus Florida A&M. “Our main goals are to connect with the women and men of FAMU, help uplift the FAMU community, write about real issues affecting our students and inform them about events on campus.” The site is comprised of sections like Campus Celebrity, Events, Photo Blog and the most popular, Campus Cutie.

Make sure to check out Itopia’s site by going to hercampus.com/famu.

FAMU MATTERS • 11

Isyour yourfavorite favoriteclub club dress setting more drinks?

Is dress setting youyou up up forfor more thanthan freefree drinks?

Bianca SAlvant and Julian Kemper debate the side effects Journey’s Bianca Salvant and Julian Kemper debate on theof side club wear. effects of club wear.

Julian Kemper and Bianca Salvant

bianca

12 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

“

Raymond love II

All men are dogs,”

is a saying that has rolled off the lips of many women across the world. It is a phrase that can get under any guy’s skin because, he would insist, every man isn’t a jerk. So why, I wonder, is every woman who gets hit on categorized as a slut who deserved it?

I recently went to a barbecue that was hosted by a fraternity. I was having a lazy day, so I decided to wear a pink sweatshirt, black tights and boots. My hair was pulled back in a bun and my face was free of makeup. After being there for an hour while laughing and joking with friends, a random guy approached me and said, “I just have to let you know that you are so thick right now.” My face grew red from embarrassment and I remember wishing the floor would swallow me as I looked around to make sure no one heard. A friend of mine noticed the irritated expression on my face and insisted I explain what he said to me.

After that, I couldn’t stand being there any longer, so I left.

The craziest part: I began thinking of ways to lose weight so that I wouldn’t give another guy any reason to make comments about my thighs. I was convinced that being

Chidozie Acey

skinner would solve all my problems until I, suddenly, snapped myself back into reality.

There is no reason why I—or any other woman for that matter—should feel pressured to look any less beautiful that what I naturally am to avoid the uncomfortable stares of men who can’t seem to hold their tongues (or private parts).

In March of this year, Rep. Fla. state Rep. Kathleen Passidomo blamed an 11 -ear-old girl for being gangbanged by 18 men. Yes, 18. Passidomo claimed the young girl was dressed like a 21 year-old prostitute on her way to school and had it coming. I attempted to explain this situation to a guy friend of mine and before I could finish my statement the words that rolled off his lips were, “Wow, what did she do?” The immediate, automatic reaction is that she had to have done something to deserve being violated. I was suddenly enraged. He didn’t even allow me to finish my sentence before she was blamed for being a woman.

Women who refuse to take drinks in the club are considered rude and are called a bitch, right? But a woman who takes the drink and engages in friendly, flirtatious conversation is “leading a guy on.”

OK, I get it now. We should wear turtlenecks and sweat pants while hiding in a corner in hopes that no man will ever notice we even exist.

Or men can man up, realize that they have given their penis power over their brains, and take responsibility for their disgusting actions. Until then, I will continue to be “so thick right now” because my “thick” thighs have absolutely nothing to do with the opposite sex—whether you believe it or not.

One day in the evening...

what’s your name?

Let me holla at you!

Julian boy please!

hand! the end

“Ladies,

we understand that just because you dress that way, does not mean you are that way. But what you need to understand is, that sh*t is confusing”, quoted from the great philosopher and comedian Dave Chappelle. Truth be told, it’s counterintuitive as well. In the skit “Killing Them Softly” from 2,000 Chappelle went on to implore listeners to consider this analogy: it would be like someone wearing a police officer’s uniform, and being offended when a person comes up to ask them for help with a police matter. We made the assumption that you were “that girl” because you were wearing the uniform.

Before we go any further (because I can already feel the hate-mail to @journey_mag being written) let’s get one thing clear: I am, in no way, shape, or form, implying that a woman being victimized, assaulted, harassed, etc. is excusable. Any guy who does so needs to do a split on a bear trap.

I will say this, however. Men are visual

creatures. If we see something we like, we will do whatever it takes to get it and will not think further than that. Let’s say we’re in a club setting (as is prone to happen).

I’ll play the role of the typical “ain’t sh*t n*gga” that is so apt to approach a lady of such high standards as yourself. When you walk past me in a skin-tight dress that leaves less to the imagination than a BET Uncut video (yes, I just threw it back to BET Uncut), my thought process is not on your personality. At this particular point in time, I’m not concerned with your 3.7 GPA, or that you made the highest grade on your anthropology mid-term. It matters not to me that you came out to relieve some stress from your long day at the pharmacy lab.

Want to know why I don’t care? Because I don’t know any of that. All I know is what I see: Legs. Thighs. Breasts. Booty. Underwear.

And the only detailed thought in my mind, as the typical “ain’t sh*t n*gga” is how to get myself closer to all of that as quickly and decisively as possible. To me, that outfit looks exactly like something the loose, non-college educated girls I used to know would wear. And they definitely didn’t care how I rolled up to them, or whether or not I grabbed their butt when they walked by.

But you, my sister, do. That’s why I advise switching up your outfit if you want to

avoid undue attention from that guy.

Not just the outfit, but dancing by yourself, too. If you dance by yourself in a way that looks like The Invisible Man is behind you getting the entire business, you’re going to get approached. It’s that simple. It’s not that we don’t understand the concept of dancing by yourself; we just believe it never happens around us. Any guy believes nearly every girl that’s already gyrating in his immediate vicinity is simply waiting for someone to dance on.

“So what am I supposed to do, Julian?” you ponder in the most righteously indignant voice you can muster, “just go dressed in a parka and sit down all night?” Of course not.

That wouldn’t be fun for anyone involved.

Truth be told, no matter how conservatively you dress or dance, there are always going to be guys who approach you enti rely in the wrong.

It’s no f ault of yours; they just didn’t get enough home training. But you can dress sexy in a way that still leaves something to the imagination.

Worst comes to worst? Look back at him and give him the “negro-please-like-I-wouldever” face (every single woman at FAMU knows or has made that face), and think twice before you step out of the house looking like a deleted scene from a Plies video.

MIND, BODY, & SOUL • 13

P

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LaGretta Johnson 20/20 My favorite saying is, “If it’s free, then it’s me!”, and that’s what 20/20 is on a Friday night. Of course you have to get there before the clock strikes 12, but why wouldn’t you want to come to a place where you will gain free entry and drinks?

Now don’t expect to hear “Walk around the club. F*ck everybody”; it’s not that kind of vibe. Be ready for dub step, fist pumping, and all the generic rap music you can handle in one place.

You know the routine: The Moon one day and Baja’s the next. The Journey crew is here to help you switch it up!

At other clubs I can pretty much tell you what the disc jockey is going to spin. When its time to go to New York, I’ll hear “allow me to re introduce my self, my name is HOV.” Then, of course, we have to take it to the 305 with some Khia and Trick Daddy. Although these songs are classic and some of my personal favorites, the DJ at 20/20 will always keep you guessing. If you don’t like to dance then I advise you to stay away. Seating is limited, and once you hear this music you are destined to move your feet! I treat 20/20 as a pre-game. I go there at 10, get my dance and sip on, then head out at midnight to the next move.

Raymond Love II A.J. Sports Bar & Grill

Word of Caution: I am a professional partier. This might be too much to handle for some people in one night. So, if two parties are way too much, stay at 20/20 all night and rock out to a great DJ and free drinks!

It’s Tuesday night, your early morning Wednesday professor has canceled class and there is seemingly nothing to do that will peak your interest. With the closing of Buffalo Wild Wings, commonly known as “B-Dubs,” the traditional Tuesday night hotspot has also disappeared.

So the question is, while the FAMU socialites were kicking it at “B-Dubs,” where were our peers across the tracks socializing?

Less than half a mile east on Tennessee A.J Sports Bar & Grill, which hosts a weekly event called “Flippin’ Tuesday.” This weekly event is the bar’s fun game and drink special that allows party-goers to gamble for a free shot if they call the coin during a coin toss done by the bartender. Along with the coin toss socialites can enter a beer pong contest, enjoy a game of pool, play a free game of darts or just dance the night away to the mix of DJ Johnny Mac upstairs on the sky deck or downstairs to the sounds of DJ Dropkick. No matter your choice, A.J.’s is guaranteed to leave you asking “B-Dubs who?”

Cover: $5 after 11 p.m.

Drinks: $2 shots Attire: Very casual 14 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

Age: 18 + Overall experience: 

Cover: Free Drinks: Free until midnight Attire: Casual Age: 18+ overall Experience: 

Kristen Swilley level 8 So what? I’m not 21. But that doesn’t mean I can’t party with the best of ‘em. Hotel Duval’s Level 8 provides a top-shelf experience all its own. Every Wednesday night, the swanky hotel hosts an event atop its eighth floor called Fashionably L8. With everything from an all pink night highlighting breast cancer awareness to “Western Progressive Fashion,” which invites patrons to showcase their hottest hats and cowboy boots, the party’s ever-evolving theme is sure to make hump-day anything but routine. Not exactly your vibe? The older clientele and laid-back atmosphere also provides a great networking opportunity.

While it may not have the Moon’s “urban appeal,” the change of scenery will be a welcomed switch-up for those trying to land a job and take a load off. If that’s not enough incentive to stop by, ladies get free champagne, hors d’oeurves are served, and the occasional live band stops by to perform. Complete with a red carpet designed to make you feel like a local celebrity, Level 8 provides affirmation that there’s no place like the top...even if, like me, you won’t be drinking. #UnderageSwag

Cover: free Drinks: free Champagne Age: 18+ ATTIRE: TRENDY Overall Experience: 

Jared Floyd Bullwinkle’s For students without classes on Fridays, a Thursday night at Bullwinkle’s is a prized weekend treat. This club-style bar opens at 9 p.m. for a wild 21 and older crowd looking to peruse the local drink buffet. The wallet-friendly way to enjoy Bullwinkle’s on Thursdays is to get there early; sometime before ten. This way you can avoid long lines at the bar and watered down drinks from bartenders. The cover is $7 and the drinks are free until 1 a.m.

Bullwinkle’s features four bars, a platform-style dance floor and a live band in their courtyard outdoor area. There is ample seating and great ventilation, so don’t worry about standing on your feet roaming a hot, sweaty club all night. What I love about this place is the mixed crowd. You can find every race in Bullwinkle’s on Thursdays and with the disc jockey spinning everything from ‘90s reggae to new millennium pop music, the music matches this mixed crowd. This night is live, but it’s probably not the time for your favorite shoes or anything white because a lot of unwarranted crowd interaction and drink spillage is bound to occur. So throw on something comfortable, and bring in your next weekend at Bulls!

Cover: $7 Drinks: Free until 1 Attire: Casual

What’s your favorite night spot?

Tell us about it on Twitter. @Journney_mag

Age: 21+ Overall experience:  ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • 15

JOURNEY EXCLUSIVE

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16 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

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jovial, baritone voice resonates through the receiver as he apologizes for delaying our conversation. This is the third time in two weeks this interview was supposed to take place. Between trips to McDonald’s and his son’s parent teacher conference, the husband and father of three carves out an hour for our afternoon interview. The sound of children’s voices provides the background for our conversation.

“Be quiet,” he says jokingly to one of his sons. “I’m gonna beat his butt. I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

Despite a few scheduling difficulties, Kwame Kilpatrick is charming. His voice is warm and sincere.

His answers are candid and filled with laughter. With enough personality to seemingly fill every inch of his 6’4’’ frame, the voice on the other end of the line does not sound like the corrupt politician from headline grabbing arrests four years ago.

Perhaps that was the old Kilpatrick.

The one who, at 31, became the youngest mayor in Detroit’s history, the one his professors predicted would one day be president, and the one who lost it all for lying under oath.

Kwame Malik Kilpatrick was born and raised in Detroit. At age 10, he told everyone who would listen that he would one day be mayor of his hometown. Reared in a conservative Christian home, Kilpatrick grew up believing he could save the notoriously poverty stricken city and restore it to its glory days.

His early life was the making of a successful political career, starting with his education. He was courted by Central Michigan University and Bowling Green State University in his home state to play football, but fell in love with Florida A&M University for the trademarks that give an HBCU its homegrown appeal.

“I’d never been to a black college before. I walked into Gaither for a basketball game and the band was playing Doug E. Fresh. Everybody was dancing and having a good time. That’s when I knew FAMU was for me,” he says.

Kilpatrick enrolled in the spring of 1990. He became captain of the football team, joined the Beta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and upon graduation attended Michigan State University’s law school.

Photos courtesy of the Associated Press

Kilpatrick then became minority floor leader for the Michigan Democratic party, and house minority leader in 2001, becoming the first African-American to hold that position.

He returned home to teach at an inner city school before running his campaign for mayor on a $10,000 budget. He won without endorsements from trade unions, congressional districts, or the Democratic Party, becoming the youngest mayor in Detroit’s history.

The next part of Kilpatrick’s story is less flattering.

It includes the four-year-old charges that still find their way into the Detroit News, continuing to chip away at what’s left of his reputation. Kilpatrick lied under oath to

cover up an affair with his chief of staff,Christine Beatty, an incident which destroyed his reputation and crippling his political future.

Kilpatrick elicits an audible groan. He is uncomfortable and annoyed. It’s the same question that has played like a broken record in every interview, at every press conference, in every television studio for the past four years, “Why?” The person asking the question has changed throughout the past decade, but the answer is always the same. He pauses, taking time to compose his thoughts.

“I don’t know why I did it. I can’t explain stupidity.

It was just stupid – the single dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

He calls his indiscretion “the one minute of my life that changed everything.”

Obstruction of justice and violating probation would separate Kilpatrick from his wife and kids for four months. Surrounded with a scene befitting a horror movie, he says he was forced to confront a hidden side of himself.

“I was in a cell so small I could sit on my bunk and touch all four walls. I was fed through a hole in the bottom of the door and given a 10-minute break three times a day. It was just me, a steel sink, a steel toilet, and a steel bunk. When you’re on a cement floor alone a lot of people go crazy because in solitary you have to face yourself.”

It was there, trapped in the walls of his own transgression, that Kwame says he gained a greater sense of peace, one that has allowed him to get in touch with his spirituality.

“Before prison, I never experienced depression. I never experienced that overwhelming feeling of failure.

I think being mayor of Detroit is, next to the President of the United States, the most stressful job in the country. I don’t want to blame my position, but I think that pressure is what led me to do this. Sometimes we can get so much power, we can forget we’re still human.”

Reflecting on his prison experience he says, “It was the only place where God could change me. I’m closer than I’ve ever been to him, closer than I’ve ever been to myself, closer than I’ve ever been to my wife or my children. Even though the process was hard and I hated it, it was the biggest blessing I’ve ever gotten.”

So, 10 years after the scandal, Kilpatrick is sitting in his Dallas home trying to rebuild his life several projects in the works, including a new book He details these experiences in his autobiography, “Surrendered: The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick,” which chronicles his experience behind bars and his journey toward rebuilding his new life.

“I feel like there are a lot of other men, especially other black men, out there going through what I went through, feeling what I felt, with no real outlet. This is here to let anyone know it’s never too late for second chances. You’re never too old to start again,” he says.

It is then, perhaps appropriately, that his latest effort FEATURES • 17

“That’s an interesting question. I

don’t know what

‘next’ is...That chapter is still being written.”

18 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

is called “New Start.” Kilpatrick has abandoned his political aspirations for his first calling, education. He is collaborating with the Texas justice system to write a new curriculum for correctional education. He says it’s a way for him to pay his debts to the city of Detroit and teach people to take charge of their lives.

“At some point you have to decide to grow up on your own. You have to make that change for yourself and clean yourself up because no one is going to do it for you.”

When asked about his future, Kwame offers a simple answer. “That’s an interesting question. I don’t know what ‘next’ is,” He says, pausing once again. “That chapter is still being written.”

Why fade into the background, when you can be a...

BAD

G RL l Sit!

CREDITS:

LAGRETTA JOHNSON

JARED FLOYD AND ROBYN MOWATT

JASMINE MITCHELL

WILKEN TISDALE

ALEXANDRIA COLLINS LOREAL SANGSTER ALEXIS YOUNGER

JABARI PAYNE AND RAYMOND LOVE II FOR BEHIND-THE-SCENES FOOTAGE VISIT WWW.JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

AYANA BRADFORD

LIFE & STYLES • 19

Alexandria Collins

Alex Younger

Forever 21: Leather Top - $17.80 Forever 21: Leggings - $10.50 Urban Outfitters: Laced Wedges - $29.99 Model’s Own: Earrings

I Am Kouture Boutique: Sheer Shirt - $18.00 Goodwill: Sheer Skirt - $10.00 Steve Madden: Sunglasses - $99.95 NY & Company: Earrings - $12.50

Last Chance: Print Sheer Shirt - $3.99 Goodwill: Velvet Skirt - $4.99 Forever 21: Earrings - $7.50 Aldo: Shoes - $49.99

LOREAL SANGSTER 20 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

Goodwill: Striped Crop Top - $3.00 Vintage: Leather Gold Trousers - $3.99 Aldo: Shoes - $49.99 Betsey Johnson: Earrings - $40.00 Eve’s Beauty Supply: Turban - $2.99

BCBG: Leather Jacket - $179.00 Top Shop: Leather Shorts - $50.00 Charlotte Russe: Shoes - $19.99 Goodwill: Cross Earrings - $4.99

Goodwill: ‘80s Style Jacket - $9.91 Model’s Own: Bra Walmart: Highwaisted Bloomers - $3.99 Journey’s: Combat Boots - $49.99 Walmart: Scarf - $5.00

LIFE & STYLES • 21

Forever 21: Blazer - $21.50 Liz Claiborne: Striped Collared Shirt - $50.00 Icing: Chain Necklace - $2.00 Stacy Adams: “Hat” - $12.50

22 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

Red Apparel: “Corset” - $25.00 Rachel Roy: “Pumps” - $129.95 Bella Bag: Chanel purse - $1,195.00

LIFE & STYLES • 23

24 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

Goodwill: Dress - $4.99, Goodwill: Fur Coat - $29.99, Henri Girl Boutique: Leopard Platforms - $50.00, Goodwill: Earrings - $2.00

I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it!

LIFE & STYLES • 25

UNDERSTANDING THE “hazing culture” of HBCUs KRISTEN SWILLEY

F

WILKEN TISDALE

KEENAN DOANES

amily portraits blanket every inch of the wood-paneled walls as the Champions escort a handful of visitors on a brief tour of their suburban home. The wedding photos and casual snapshots throughout the Decatur, Ga. residence are the epitome of a happy, welladjusted household. However, the biggest smiling face is painfully absent.

It’s Friday. Tomorrow will be exactly one week to the day from the death of Robert Champion Sr.’s only son. As he rakes his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair, he resembles an older version of his son, perhaps what the college student would have looked like in 30 years.

“I’m gonna miss him tearing up the ceiling with that baton,” he says with a laugh, breaking a lengthy period of awkward silence. The family is in mourning, but they still find the humor in remembering their son, who they nicknamed “Mr. Band” for his seemingly infallible commitment to music and the world renowned “Marching 100.”

Robert Champion’s first instrument was the clarinet, which he learned to play in fifth grade. After a middle school teacher recognized his talent, he was picked to lead the school’s orchestra and perform with the Southwest DeKalb High School’s band as an eighth grader. He could also sing and play the keyboard. He enrolled in Florida A&M University with hopes of fulfilling his dream of playing for the worldfamous “Marching 100” and, according to former band director Julian White, was slated to be head drum major next year.

Nov. 19, Champion was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in a parked band bus in Orlando after the annual Florida Classic game against Bethune-Cookman University. Before the death grabbed the attention of CNN and became a topic of conversation on morning talk shows, hazing rumors flooded the campus. Unfortunately, the side-effects of rigorous “intake processes” are nothing new for band programs at FAMU and many other historically black colleges and universities.

26 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

Marching bands at HBCUs are often regarded as more than just a way to pass football game halftime performances. For FAMU and the 104 other HBCUs across the country, they are the show.

Bands like Southern University’s “Human Jukebox,” Jackson State University’s “Sonic Boom,” and FAMU’s “Marching 100” have performed at Super Bowls, presidential inaugurations and gained countless awards for their respective universities. The “Marching 100” is often hailed as the Hill’s leading recruitment tool.

“The Marching 100 is that band that every black high school student dreams of being a part of and every HBCU aspires to be like,” says Grady Memorial High School student Jordan Ross. “I went to visit the campus and didn’t even go on the college tour. I just went to see the band.”

Like Champion, Jordan’s love of music started at an early age.

For years Jordan says she considered coming to FAMU, due in large part to its respected band program.

She says the alleged hazing incident is especially hard to swallow because she is already subjected to negativity surrounding her decision to attend a historically black institution.

“I get it from my family the most,” she says. Though students like Jordan are shocked by Champion’s death, Sandra St. Amand, who graduated in 1999, says she is “not surprised at all by the incident.”

Given the band’s prominence, some former students say obvious instances of hazing have gone unpunished for years for the “greater good” of the institution.

“Hazing has been going on for a very long time at FAMU in regards to the Marching 100. People haze for the simple fact of peer pressure. People want to be accepted by their peers and are willing to do things they would never normally do. Many of the prospective members are not aware of what will take place until they are involved in the process.”

The secrecy involved allows the hazing to get worse over time as more and more ideas are thought about without real consideration as to how dangerous it may be. Often the potential member does not want to seem like a wimp or sissy. Some people believe that the pledge process is directed at building brotherhood and sisterhood.

Former flag team member Reginald “Reggie” McBride joined the Marching 100 in 1971, the first year the section was implemented.

“When I marched, we weren’t concerned with hazing and trying to have a process on top of playing. We were just trying to be the best and perfect our craft,” he says.

McBride, who is also an Alpha Xi initiate of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. believes hazing in black band programs is something that has developed over time.

African-Americans are a historically oppressed people.

Sentiments surrounding the black community’s stance in society are often associated with fraternities and sororities, which some say may have seeped into marching band culture.

In 2010, “Real Sports with Bryant Gumble” shed light on this issue when they aired an in-depth look at hazing in band programs at historically black colleges and universities.

“These organizations have really devolved into threats to black life,” Ricky Jones says.“What the band has done is replicated the black fraternity and sorority culture so that’s where the violence directly comes from. The idea is you sacrifice for what you love.

The ability to dull out and withstand physical punishment over time has been a part of identity construction in these groups.

Jones, who has been researching brutality in black culture for more than 10 years says, “This has been going on for so long that it is now simply accepted as the way of things. It is simply institutional inertia that nobody knows how to stop.”

In an effort to change the institution’s culture, Florida A&M University Student Government Association held a mandatory forum for students in the university’s gymnasium, where students were asked to sign an anti-hazing agreement.

Jordan says though the recent firestorm surrounding the university is unfortunate, potential recruits should still consider enrolling.

“At the end of the day, FAMU is bigger than the band. It’s still a very reputable university with a rich history. I don’t think anyone should be afraid to go there because everyone makes mistakes.

FAMU just got caught.”

A LOOK AT HBCU BAND HAZING 2005

Five freshmen members of the flute section of Alabama A&M’s marching band were allegedly blind-folded and beaten by two older band members.

2008

Seven Southern University band members were charged with aggravated battery after three members of the band were beaten with a 2x4 wooden board as part of initiation into the band’s French horn section.

2009

Jackson State University officials suspended approximately 45 members of the marching band following accusations of hazing involving the percussion section. One victims shoulder was broken.

FEATURES • 27

MYCOLUMBUSPOWER.COM

One of Tallahassee’s most-celebrated spinners tells how he went from small-town disc jockey to national success.

I

t’s one of those overcast, humid days in downtown Tallahassee. I am sitting on the top floor of Hotel Duval, also known as Level 8, taking in the lackluster skyline. It’s been raining on-and-off all day, and I am forced to move inside to avoid getting wet. I settle into the posh loft area and watch as hotel staff members prepare for the night’s bar scene. It is about 2 p.m., the time I set up to interview the man of the hour with his publicist via email. Ten minutes roll by and still no sign of DJ Demp. My phone lights up with an email from his publicist telling me to call him and tell him where I am located. I send a text to his phone and I receive one back within in the next minute. He replies, “I’m on my way.”

I try to pass the time. After sending a few emails and checking a few blog sites, I glance at my watch again. Just when I think he is going to make me late for class, I hear the elevator open and DJ Demp walks in. This is a disc jockey with his own mayor-appointed week who refuses to give his real name, so I was expecting him to show up with a “Diddy-esque” entourage. But there he was by himself, keeping a low profile, dressed in Air Force 1s and a matching fitted cap.

“I’m normally on time for these things,” 28 • FALL 2011 JOURNEYMAGONLINE.COM

says the Washington, D.C. native. “My publicist just hit my phone about this.”

“It’s okay” I say, standing up to introduce myself. We engage in brief small talk as we move outside, away from the commotion of the employees at the bar.

“I expected you to show up with more people,” I say. He chuckles, “I don’t normally need people with me for interviews,” he says, “I am not an asshole despite what people may think.”

Let’s be honest. Aside from Homecoming, Demp Week is one of the few things students have to anticipate all year. Demp always provides top selling artists and proves Tallahassee’s impact on the entertainment industry goes beyond T-Pain. He was recently nominated as DJ of the Year by the Radio One Dirty Awards and honored with the prestigious TJ’s DJ’s Tastemakers Award.

Demp Week’s 15th anniversary will be this January. The secondsemester staple is a week-long birthday celebration which was created in 1997.

He says he had no intention of having a week-long birthday celebration; it just happened that way.

“It wasn’t something I planned to do for years and years to come,’” he says,

“It was merely just a celebration of my birthday at the time.”

Demp was on tour with Ghost town DJs and they were celebrating their gold album. It turned into a seven-daylong celebration because he was the premier DJ throughout the week in Tallahassee.

Growing up in D.C., he originally wanted to be a drummer, but before he finished high school he began making a name for himself with Demp Productions spinning records at house parties and producing mixed CDs. Once his mix tapes reached the hands of the college crowds at Florida A&M University and Florida State University, the pint-sized DJ gained a big, new fan base.

He made it his mission to network and maintain relationships with celebrities he met in the industry while touring with Ghost Town DJs and fulfilling duties as Uncle Luke’s official DJ. “When you’re on tour, you meet a lot of friends in the industry,” he says. “When it first started there was a couple cats that would come down and celebrate, but nothing like what was going on in Tallahassee at the time besides homecoming.”

He gathered his celebrity contacts and

other resources and planned a week full of events to celebrate his birthday, which actually falls on January 9. Stars like LisaRaye, Juvenile, So So Def, Nappy Roots, Twista, Ja Rule, Rick Ross, Crime Mob, Cash Money, Currency, Yo Gotti, and Trina were all in attendance. “ I t ’s m o r e o f a s h o w l o v e t h i n g , than a booking thing; they come and kick it with me,” Demp says about his ability to bring these c e l e b r i t i e s t o Ta l l a h a s s e e .

Pa rtie s a r e th r o w n M o n d a y t hroug h S u n d ay. S o m e e v e n t s a t pre v io u s D e mp We e k s h a v e c onsi s te d o f a camp u s ‘ O n D a S e t ’ i nva sio n ; a ‘ W h o ’s W h o P a r t y ’ a t T he M o o n n ig ht c l u b f e a t u r i n g c e l e br ity g u e s ts Rick Ro s s , Yung J o c a n d Tr ic k D a d d y ; ‘ T h e U l t i m ate D emp We e k F a s h i o n Show ’ h o s ted b y r a p p e r J a Ru l e fe a t urin g FA M U ’s Epicurean Fa shi o n Ex p er ien c e , F a c e s a n d Im a ge s mo d elin g t r o u p e s , a n d a ‘D e m p C o med y J am ’ a t T h e M o o n fe a t urin g co me d ia n / a c t o r A l e x T hom a s an d co me di a n L i l D u v a l .

D e m p s tri v es t o b e an y t h i n g b u t a t y p i c a l DJ . He s ay s h i s l o n g ev i t y i n t h e i n d us t ry i s a d i rect co rrel at i o n t o h i s u n i q u e mu s i cal s p i n n i n g s t y l e a nd s k i l l s , wh i ch mak e h i m s t a n d o u t i n h i s p ro fes s i o n .

“It’s not really a big separation when it comes to DJs nowadays because you have so many but I do know that the hype around how I was DJing, my selection of records and how I demanded the attention of the crowd has set me apart. I was kind of like the Michael Jordan of DJs” he says. “I could do a lil bit of everything.”

He spins records at some of the hottest parties around the country, yet throws his birthday bash here in Tallahassee.

“People have tried to get me to move it and bring it to Miami or New York, but this [Tallahassee] is where DJ Demp originated, this is where I actually started Demp Week. It was founded here and derived from here. This is home; this is the city that embraced me from the beginning.”

“It’s more than just a party. I do stuff for charity. It’s a mixture of things to give

back to the city of Tallahassee and also bring people to the city that don’t come here on a regular basis,” he said.

Every year he picks at least one or more various charities around Leon County to give funds collected from events throughout Demp Week.

“I was always trying to give back” Demp says. “I found that Demp Week is avenue that I could do a lot of things, I could give back, I could introduce new people and I could help new DJs.” He wants to start a scholarship fund where he can give money to a deserving student and says that giving back is “how you keep the world going.”

It takes a great deal of time and effort for someone to get their own day in their honor. T-pain has a day in Tallahassee, Bun B got a day in Houston a few months back, but Demp has a sevenday week. There is no other DJ in the world that has a mayor-proclaimed week. Demp calls it a blessing. “It is something that is really unheard of, but I’m still very humbled, and it’s been some years since I received that award. It’s still a shock to me.”

He is leaving a legacy that will be hard for other DJs to follow, but says even when he’s dead and gone there will still be a Demp Week.

We wrap up the interview, but there is one last question that pops into my head. I quickly ask before he leaves, “Who’s coming for Demp Week XV?” “I never really know because it’s all about people’s [artist’s] schedules, I don’t really know yet who is coming, I know we are looking at a lot of different people,” he says.

Demp is trying to get one of his all-time favorite artists, Diddy, to come for next year’s Demp Week but can’t make any promises. He has also been in the process of talking to Jay-Z about making a trip down to Tally too.

“I don’t know if that will ever happen, but it is something on my schedule,”Demp says.

“I really try to stay away from the ‘who’s coming.’ I try to have that surprise element.”

Something tells me I should trust his 14 years of experience and come out regardless of who is performing.

Like his legion of followers I know the party will be live.

“It is my birthday, but I do this more for everybody else more than I do it for myself.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT • 29

Journey bids adviser Laura Downey farewell

W

hen we found out our adviser was resigning, our initial reactions of sadness and confusion were shortlived. They were soon replaced with our true emotion: utter panic.

“Oh Crap! What are we going to do?” became our new office catchphrase.

Not because your beloved Journey crew is incompetent or lazy (most of the time), but because we felt like we were losing our support system and best friend. What would we do without our homie? Laura Downey was our shoulder to cry on, our honorary mom, best friend, cheerleader, therapist, and takeno-crap professor all wrapped up in one curlyhaired package.

Through all the late nights in the office and relentless constructive criticism, she taught us to have fun and endowed us with too many life lessons to list. Above all, she stressed the importance of knowing your worth and realizing when to pack it up and hit the road.

With this last sentiment in mind, Downey is skipping town before the cops catch up with her. Just kidding! She actually landed a dope magazine job doing what she loves in Las Vegas. So, let’s not treat this like a eulogy.

Consider these two pages a congratulatory pat on the back. To the woman who was charged with making us stronger journalists, thanks for molding a bunch of misfits into better people.

Journey

Cheers!

The 250 word articles on fantastic pets and hotel reviews made me strongly dislike Professor Downey, and her relentless inquiries into the status of the latest issue of Journey and the mental condition of my staff made me despise “Downey the Adviser.” But the tearjerking confessionals in her office and reality checks she made out in my name transformed Laura J. Downey into one of my closest and most respected friends. Thanks to her “sprinkle cake” and Hungry Howie’s contributions during late nights in the office, the “J-family” grew stronger and saw great success. Downey is the embodiment of the motto “Excellence with Caring,” and I am fortunate to have had her as a professor, adviser and friend. Have fun in Las Vegas! … #Journeyreunion2012. -antonio Rosado, Editorin-Chief (Fall 2010) When I retired after being Journey’s adviser for 24 years, I was happy to find out that Laura Downey would be taking over in that position. I knew that, with her, Journey would be in good hands, and she would guide students to produce outstanding issues of the magazine. - Gerald Grow, Journey adviser (1985-2009) Thanks to Laura Downey for taking Journey to new heights.

During her short tenure as a FAMU professor, she played a key role chaperoning and mentoring students who have won Southeast Journalism Conference Awards and Society of Professional Journalists competition. You’re a living example that Journey editors can make dreams come true in the classroom, on the basketball court and in the business. Best wishes in Vegas. – Professor Dorothy Bland, Journalism Division Director, SJGC

When I first met Professor Downey, I had just taken the managing editor position at Journey and was a little hesitant about getting a new faculty adviser for the publication. I didn’t think it was necessary.

Gerald Grow, our previous adviser, had always given the staff space to do as we pleased and to be honest, didn’t really get involved until layout week. I was afraid that our new chaperone would actually want to be hands on throughout the magazine production process, which she was. While Grow will always be the father of Journey, Professor Downey was exactly what the publication needed after his departure. I am proud to have had her as both a teacher and faculty adviser, and honored to still have her as a mentor. Thank you, professor Downey, for everything. – Brandon Neasman, Managing Editor (2009-2010) Professor Downey is the type of woman you grow to love.

She mercilessly massacred stack upon stack of Journey drafts. I got dozens of demanding text messages and phone calls from her while in class and at my internship. Her sing-song voice bluntly lectured my team and I during our short regime and, through that all, I never grew tired of her. Behind my eye-rolling, deep sighs and grumbling lived a budding journalist who was grateful for her help and tireless dedication. She pushed me to my limits. I thank her for being an adviser, mentor and most importantly, a friend. – Janeen Talbott, Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2011)

Got a funny Story? Tell us about it on Twitter @Journey_mag #Downeytribute

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