Volume 67 Issue 4

Volume 67, Issue 4

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Inside this Issue Campus Briefs ............. 2 News ........................... 3

Exclusive content @

www.southerndigest.com

Sealing the deal 2016 Career Fair exploration day a success

Have a coke and a hug

BY EDDIE BYNOG

Sports .......................... 5

DIGEST NEWS EDITOR

Students visiting the SmithBrown Memorial Student Union Thursday morning were in for a refreshing surprise as Coca-Cola graced the University with its one-of-a-kind vending machine.

From 11 AM until 2 PM, amongst a gathering of students eager to see what was happening, Coca-Cola representatives lured students into hugging the vending machine, which in turn dispensed a coke.

Appropriately called the “hug machine”, the device works by requiring students to place one hand on each side. It then

Photos of the Week ....... 7 Arts & Entertainment ..... 9 Commentary ................11

The Wifi Reboot

BY EDDIE BYNOG

DIGEST NEWS EDITOR

Internet woes that have plagued students for years will be a thing of the past as a complete overhaul of the Southern University Baton Rouge’s internet and wireless access is finally underway.

With many students and faculty now depending on the use of programs, like Moodle and e-mail, to do assignments or stay in touch with their professors, a robust and healthy wireless network has become almost necessary to students in this day and age.

According to statistics compiled by the online statistic congregating website, Statista, millenials account for more thatn70 percent of internet usage, a bulk of which includes streaming music, TV, and movies through mobile devices.

Chief Technology Officer Dr. Gabriel Fagbeyiro, says that the upcoming upgrades to the University’s wireless structure will result in an 800 percent increase in the wireless speeds students are currently using.

“This is going to be a significant improvement to what we have” said Fagbeyiro “Technology has changed; the campus hasn’t kept up with it and that is what we’re trying to address”.

Fagbeyiro explained that the new Wi-Fi backbone being implemented would have redundancies built in so that issues like spotty internet, slow speeds, and little to no connections will be a thing of the past.

“Right now if the power in Moore Hall goes out the the whole campus will be without internet services” said Fagbeyiro “what we’re building now will ensure that students can always stay

See REBOOT page 3

Julian Alvaraez/DIGEST Gerren Smith, a Junior Civil Engineering major from New Orleans, chats with a potential employer during the 2016 Fall Career Fair held on Wednesday, September 21, in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

BY BRIA GREMILLION DIGEST MANAGING EDITOR

Students, faculty, staff, recruiting employers, and corporate sponsors eagerly filled the F.G. Clark Activity Center this past Wednesday, September 21, 2016, in participation of the fall 2016 Career Exploration Day hosted by the Southern University Career Services Center.

Nearly 90 companies from around the country filled the activity center with approximately 400 students in attendance

beginning at 10 AM until 3 PM. Employers such as the Lafayette Police Department, WBRZ, Microsoft, ExxonMobil and the US Department of Agriculture Farm Service occupied booths, ready to communicate with students and allow them to pitch their potential value.

Jennifer Stewart, Director of Public and Government Affairs for Genesis Energy, a company seeking to recruit students, was enthusiastic about attending the career fair.

“We have a partnership with Southern University and we offer scholarships and internship opportunities for engineering and business majors,” said Stewart.

Stewart stated that it was the company’s second year attending the university’s career day.

According to the career fair itineray, the goal of the career exploration day was to inform Southern University students

See CAREER FAIR page 3

Out of state students struggle with financial aid

BY JUSTIN BROUSSARD DIGEST STAFF WRITER

Over the summer a record number of students attended freshman orientation. The numbers from then and now are not looking so much the same. When going to class this semester, there are less students in classes where normally there would be no chairs in the classes to even sit down in. But why is this? Alexis Baptiste, senior psychology major from New Orleans, LA says “A lot of my out

of state friends are not here, they have been going home left and right and they’re saying they’re going home because financial Aid isn’t processing their loans quickly enough. It is causing them to get kicked out of their housing and their classes being purged.” Baptiste continued to say “I have been in financial aid this year and all of my stuff was processed on time and I just had to go in once to make sure everything was in order.” So if there is no problem with her

financial aid being an instate student what may be the problem with out of students? Kent Battiste financial aid Counselor explains “There is no difference in the processing of Financial Aid for in-state students or out of state students, it is all the same process. The reason students are not getting their financial aid on their account is because they aren’t taking the necessary precautions when submitting

Eddie Bynog/DIGEST

dispenses an ice cold drink to the student, sending them on their way with a smile.

According to Coca-Cola’s website, the purpose of the machine is to spread happiness in an otherwise tense environment.

Alexandria Nelson, a freshman majoring in nursing from Texarkana, Texas, who was one of the first students to receive a drink from the machine, said how excited she was to participate.

“My friend called me and said she was hugging a coke machine so I came over here,” said Nelson “Who would think if you give a hug you would get something for it?”

Nelson also said that even though she didn’t really drink coke, the promotion was an exciting thing for students to participate in.

Freshman class VicePresident and history major, Carlon Johnson, also took his turn hugging the vending machine and talked about how excited he was that students had a chance to participate.

“I’m glad this opportunity was able to get students together and get them involved,” said Johnson, adding that he might

See FINANCIAL AID page 3

THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

See COKE page 3

Campus Briefs

THE

SOUTHERN DIGEST

Page 2 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Southern Digest SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

SUITE 1064 – T.H.HARRIS HALL – P.O. BOX 10180 – BATON ROUGE, LA 70813 225.771.2231 PHONE / 225.771.5840 FAX WWW.SOUTHERNDIGEST.COM The Southern DIGEST is written, edited and published by members of the student body at Southern University and A&M College.

The Southern DIGEST is published once weekly (Tuesday with a run count of 4,000 copies per issue during the Southern University - Baton Rouge campus fall, spring semesters.

The paper is free to students, staff, faculty and general public every Tuesday & Friday morning on the SUBR campus. The Southern DIGEST student offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday. The offices are located on the first floor of T.H. Harris Hall, Suite 1064.

ISSN: 1540-7276. Copyright 2016

by The Southern University Office of Student Media Services.

All articles, photographs and graphics are property of The Southern DIGEST and its contents may not be reproduced or republished without the written permission from the Editor in Chief and Director of Student Media Services.

The Southern DIGEST is the official student newspaper of Southern University and A&M College located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Articles, features, opinions, speak out and editorials do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the administration and its policies. Signed articles, feedback, commentaries and features do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, staff or student body.

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DIGEST STAFF FALL 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Brandon Prince

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Alliyah Moore

MANAGING EDITOR Bria Gremillion

DIGEST STAFF WRITERS Justin Broussard Konner Johnson Tyler Gibbs Russell January Patricia Foster Trevor Moore Amber Queen Dashonda Smarr Traci Smith Rasheed Watkins

COPY EDITORS Stephen Rideau Trevor Moore NEWS EDITOR Eddie Bynog PAGE DESIGNER Joshua Mcknight

SPORTS EDITOR Skyler Franklin PHOTO EDITOR Kayla Foster

CAMPUS BRIEFS

PAGE 2 is only available to officially registered campus organizations, Southern University Departments.

All briefs should include a date, time, contact name & number.

Submit announcements to: The Southern DIGEST - Suite 1064 Harris Hall, Attn: PAGE 2 You my also email: digest@subr.edu

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Campus

WALK LIKE A MODEL Elite Fashion Sociey, SU Senior Class, and AWS will host “WALK LIKE A MODEL” on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom starting at 6:30PM.

Briefs

JAGUAR SPEAKOUT Do you feel that students wear proper attire for “Pretty Wednesday?”

CREATIVE LEARNING WORKSHOP The Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement will be holding a series of Keys to Success workshops the week of September 1st. Students interested in learning more about the workshops can stop by Support Services in Suite C, room 152 Harris Hall Annex.

FACULTY SENATE MEETING The SUBR Faculty Senate will hold a special meeting at 12PM. on September 29, room 127 inside T. T. Allain to discuss the appointment of the Acting Vice-President of the SUBR Faculty Senate for Fall 2016, and other necessary appointments.

SENATE MEETING The Student Government Association (SGA) will hold a senate meeting at 6 PM in the Mocha room of the student union. Students are encouraged to attend to stay informed.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS The Democratic Society of SU is now accepting applications for new members. Students interested are encouraged to contact the society via email at DemsSocietySU@gmail.com

CANDIDATE FORUM Will be held on this Wednesday, September 28 in the Event Center at 6 PM. Students and faculty are encouraged to attend.

KEEP SU CLEAN Due to a growing concern of littering on campus, students are asked to utilize all receptacles and bins to dispose of waste.

Lets all do our part to keep SU clean!

ROCK THE VOTE There will be a Rock the Vote party on Wednesday, September 29, at 8:30 PM in the University Event Center.

SHAMYRA WALKER SOPHOMORE MAGNOLIA, AR ACCOUNTING

“Pretty Wednesday WALKER was first started for business majors, however, all you see these days is people with clothes too tight and short. I can’t tell if I’m at the club or at Southern University.”

43RD ANNUAL BAYOU CLASSIC Tickets for the 43rd annual Bayou Classic will go on sale Tuesday, September 6th and can be purchased online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or at the Southern University ticket office located at 7722 Scenic Hwy, they can be reached at (225) 359-9328.

CRANKFEST The Southern University Human Jukebox Marching Band along with the Sonic Boom of the South from Jackson State University, will battle in a head-to-head competition on October 2, at 6PM. in Tad Gormley Stadium.

SU VISUAL ARTS FACULTY EXHIBITION The Faculty of the Southern University Visual Arts Department will be exhibiting artwork September 1 – October 6, at the Visual Arts Gallery located in Frank Hayden Hall. Gallery Hours are from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Gallery is free and open to the public.

ARE YOU VOTING? Come out this Thursday, September 29 and join the Southern University Law Center Student Bar Association along with The Student Government Association (SGA) for the “Are You Voting?” event in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom of the student union at 6:30PM

CORRECTIONS Fact and accuracy is our goal and our job. As the voice of the Southern University student body we are committed to ensuring to most fair, truthful and accurate accounts of our work. In the event of an error we will make all corrections on Page 2.

Bring corrections to The Southern DIGEST office located in Suite 1064, Harris Hall.

“I think some students’ JOHNSON choices can be over the top, but that’s their style so you can’t hate.”

ZAWIA BRYANT

TYRELL ROBINSON FRESHMAN LAFAYETTE CRIMINAL JUSTICE

CALLING THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST!!

If you thought you knew the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, THINK AGAIN. The HBCU National Quiz Championship is back with a new format, new questions and more FUN! Do you have what it takes to challenge your mind and your reflexes? Get in the game and find out! Become a member of Southern University’s National Quiz Bowl Team.

“I think the students’ ROBINSON choice of clothes on pretty wednesday are phenominal. It carries on a stylish tradition amongst the University.”

DATE: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 (Applications due Monday, Sept. 26th in the Honors College by 5:00pm) GAME TIME: 6:00pm

JEREMIAH DOUGLAS

PLACE: Smith Brown Cotillion Ballroom MORE INFO: DOLORES MARGARET RICHARD SPIKES HONORS COLLEGE Room #103 225-­‐771-­‐4854 (Deadra James Mackie)

SENIOR ZACHARY FINANCE

Submit your news to

digest@subr.edu 1064 T.H. Harris Hall

SOPHOMORE NEW ORLEANS CIVIL ENGINEERING

“On pretty wednesday, I think most BRYANT students dress classy and respectable.”

Got News?

Or Stop by

JOSHUA JOHNSON

FRESHMAN RAYVILLE CRIMINAL JUSTICE

DIGEST PHOTOGRAPHERS Arnita Dove Robert Harris Stephen Rideau Ealiya Toplin Brandon Tucker Alliyah Moore Julian Alvarez

A&E EDITOR Morgan Becnel-Adams

All submissions must be received by 3p.m. each Friday for Tuesday’s Issue.

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926

“I love it, especially the DOUGLAS way the young ladies dress. It’s nice that one day of the week people come out and enjoy the atmosphere.”

THE SOUTHERN DIGEST 4 - DAY WEATHER OUTLOOK TUES. SEPTEMBER 27

MOSTLY CLOUDY

HI - 88° / LO - 63° 20% CHANCE OF RAIN

WEDS. SEPTEMBER 28 THURS. SEPTEMBER 29

MOSTLY SUNNY

HI - 88°/ LO - 62° 0% CHANCE OF RAIN

MOSTLY SUNNY

HI - 87° / LO - 58° 0% CHANCE OF RAIN

FRI. SEPTEMBER 30

MOSTLY SUNNY

HI - 82° / LO - 58° 0% CHANCE OF RAIN

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926

THE

SOUTHERN DIGEST

School administrators paint over Black Lives Matter mural

This Monday, Sept. 19, 2016 photo provided by kboi2.com shows a mural that school administrators at Mountain Home High School In southern Idaho say has to be removed because its placement in a school parking lot violates school policy. About 100 students have started a protest amid concerns the “Black Lives Matter” message of the art is the real reason officials want

BY APNEWSNOW

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (AP) — School officials have painted over murals painted onto high school parking spaces in southern Idaho after one image of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked student protests.

Administrators with the Mountain Home school district said Monday that the parking lot was painted over after coming to an agreement between the superintendent and the associated student body president.

School officials said the murals — which were part of fundraiser for homecoming — had to go because they violated school policy. But students countered that the real issue was the content of a portrait of a black woman with a “Black Lives Matter” caption. About 100 students took part in a two-day silent protest at the mural at Mountain Home High School.

Superintendent James Gilbert says under the new agreement students will be allowed to repaint a smaller area within each parking space, but they must be pre-approved by administration.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - Page 3 COKE from page 1 just “hug the machine again”.

Roderick Crockett, a Business Development Manager and representative for Coca-Cola reiterated that statement.

“This was something we wanted to do as a surprise,” said Crockett, “To give back to college students who are our number one demographic,” he finished.

Crockett estimated that the hug machine would give away more than 600 sodas to SU students while it was on campus.

The hug machine is currently on a nationwide college tour and is making its way throughout Louisiana, already visiting colleges in Lake Charles and Lafayette.

After Baton Rouge the machine will end its journey through Louisiana in New Orleans, before being whisked away to other unsuspecting college campuses all across America.

Crockett said that so far the “hug machine” has been embraced by more than 3,000 students all across the country with even more on the way.

“This machine is going to be hugged by the world,” finished Crockett.

REBOOT from page 1

FINANCIAL AID from page 1 their FAFSA. If you submit all of the documents on time with the FAFSA then you will have everything posted on your banner account before the semester starts.” Battiste elaborates saying “A top reason that students do not think that their financial Aid is on their account is because they do not know how to use or access their self-service banner account. It may just be as simple of a problem that they have been awarded but they haven’t accepted the full award.” But if that’s not your problem and you have to talk to a financial aid counselor, you can go and wait in a long line, wait never mind there are no lines. “This is the first time in years that there were no long lines for financial aid, and the reasoning of this is because of the new Jag Q app that I had the pleasure of helping to start and implement to the student body.” says Battiste. Battiste advises students to take the necessary steps next semester to make sure all of their registration is complete and to do everything by the deadlines so that it can give the financial aid office enough time to process everything and make sure that every student has their correct award amounts. If you have any questions about your financial aid you can always go into the financial aid office or contact them at 225-771-2790 or via email or on the Fafsa. ed.gov website. Hopefully if you go through these steps that were explained you will never have any trouble while being an in-state or out of state student during your matriculation here at Southern University.

News

connected” In addition to improving the internet’s speed, Fagbeyiro also added that an additional 250 access points will be added around campus.

This should come as welcoming news to sophomore speech pathology major, Keyana Williams, who said that she now has to go the the library because internet access in her dorm is so unreliable.

“Everybody has assignments to do and when the internet goes out on us how are we supposed to do our work?” said Williams “In Reed, we have weak Wi-Fi that constantly goes out and it makes us mad”.

Chancellor and President Dr. Ray Belton, who is spearheading the effort to address these student concerns, says that the new improvements are one of the most important things the administration can do for students.

“For us to be able to reach the lofty goals that we have in mind to include, establishing a more viable and robust online delivery system for instruction, we need the type of infrastructure that will advance

those goals,” finished Belton.

With the price of the improvements exceeding more than one million dollars in equipment and labor, Belton says that Southern budgets should always reflect student concerns.

“Our budgets reflect our priorities” said Belton “Although that’s a big number we really thought that enhancing our (wireless) infrastructure had to be a big priority for our campus”.

Senior mass communications major and Houston native, Alexandra Trigg, thinks that the money used to make these improvements was a good investment from the university on behalf of its students.

“We pay money to go to this school so things pertaining to the campus should be running properly for students.” said Trigg. “Students utilize the campus either the library of electronics to the Wi-Fi has to be up and running so if it has or go to that, that’s number one”.

Although a definitive date has yet to be set for the full implementation of SU’s new Wi-Fi backbone, Belton is hopeful that it will be up and running this Fall.

CAREER FAIR from page 1 and alumni of the potential career opportunities offered to them and to increase the number of students gaining full-time, corporate employment and internships.

The director of the Office of Career Services, Tamara Montgomery, spoke of how the center is such a success because of help from sponsors and resources outside of the University through fundraisers, donations, and contributions from the Jaguar Nation.

“Southern University’s Career Services Center is really one of the premiere career services centers in the country. We’re known for how resourceful we are, sharing information, giving back to the students, how well organized we are and how well we prepare our students,” said Montgomery.

“The Career Services Center

does not necessarily prepare the student for career day. We are here to prepare the student for life after college. That is most important,” she stated.

Student volunteer at the Office of Career Services from Hammond, Louisiana, Erin Banks, is a pre-nursing major and spoke of how important it was for students to attend the career day.

“Career Services, we have everything that you guys need to be able to get a job after you get your degree. It’s all up to you to take that chance and be willing to give yourself a better opportunity in the next few years,” stated Banks.

Tiffany Smith, a graduating senior from Shreveport majoring in criminal justice chose to attend the career fair in order to seek out potential employers.

“I was expecting to gain a lot of

information from the companies, get a good experience, and interact with them,” said Smith.

Tyiesha Eames, a senior from Baton Rouge majoring in business management, stated that attending the career fair was a learning experience for her.

“I talked to some big corporations, Shell and Energy.

They were very responsive in what they expected of me,” said Eames.

Other companies in attendance as potential employers were Ochsner Health System, International Business Machines Corporation, The United States Marine Corps, the New Orleans Police Department and the US Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration.

SU professor chosen for national education policy program SU MEDIA RELATIONS

Leslie T. Grover, associate professor, public administration and public policy, Southern University Baton Rouge, has been selected as a fellow in Glover the Educational Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP).

The Education Policy Fellowship Program is a 10-month leadership program that focuses on strategic policy making, collaborative efforts, and national networking in order to improve public education outcomes. EPFP, a program of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), is a nationally recognized fellowship program that develops a diverse and collaborative community of strategic leaders for effective public policy.

“I am so excited to have all these opportunities to affect policy, particularly in the areas I know are most important to making life better for us all. As a fellow in this program, I am joining over 300 fellows across the nation this year and a powerful network of policy leaders that work at the local, state and federal levels to make change. My focus in particular is the chronically impoverished population of students prone for early drop out and early incarceration,” said Grover.

EPFP has been a vehicle for developing a deep understanding of policy issues from diverse perspectives, building leadership skills, and connecting to a lifelong, collaborative network of high-impact leaders. EPFP is the longest running national fellowship of its kind with more than 320 Fellows annually across 16 sites, and more than 8,500 alumni in all 50 states. Since 1964, IEL has equipped leaders to work together across boundaries to build effective systems that prepare children and youth for postsecondary education, careers, and citizenship.

“I am so honored to join this highly competitive and selective program, because these alumni usually go on to cabinet positions, presidential and congressional advisory positions, state leadership positions, and of course positions in education. At some point, before I leave this earth, I would like to build a network of boarding schools for those at risk for homelessness, but perhaps I have a while yet,” said Grover.

Jaguar Sports Page 4 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016

THE

SOUTHERN DIGEST

Tamed Jaguars put a leash on Bulldogs, still perfect in

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926

SWAC FOOTBALL Standings

SWAC play

BY JUSTIN BROUSSARD DIGEST SPORTS WRITER

The Southern University Jaguar Football team is on a two-game win streak in conference play. The Jaguars went to Huntsville, Alabama with high determination to come out victorious against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.

In the first quarter of play, the Jaguars scored 2 touchdowns, one of those was a 27 yard pass from junior Quarterback, Austin Howard to junior Tight End Dillon Beard.

The biggest play of the 1st quarter was without question the fumble recovered by the Jaguars, which helped them get the 2nd touchdown of the night, which put them up 14-7 by the end of the 1st quarter.

Going into the 2nd quarter the

Who’s Next?

Jaguars were ahead of the Bulldogs and steady gaining momentum and gained even more when senior Running Back Lenard Tillery rushed for 2 yards giving the Jaguars their 3rd touchdown with just 12:03 on the clock. The Jaguars just kept scoring as junior quarterback Deonte Shorts from rushed for a 2 yard touchown.

The Jaguars slowly pulled away as the Bulldogs deficient became even greater. The game was led into halftime with a 22-yard touchdown

by Junior wide receiver Dontrell Brown.

Southern went on to score 3 more touchdowns with one of them coming from Senior wide receiver Willie Quinn for 58 yards and another from Tillery for 65 Yards and the last coming from Beard for 11

yards, putting the Jaguars ahead 5624 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Jaguars defense stood tall, holding the Bulldogs to only 1 touchdown and the junior kicker Ruan Albuquerque helped seal the Jaguars win with a 4o yard field goal. The final score was 59-31, and the Jaguars improved to 2-2 overall.

Howard passed for 280 yards and 5 touchdowns. Quinn finished with 112 yards receiving with 1 towndown while Tillery rushed for 179 yards with 2 touchdowns. With theis continued offensive production, the Jaguars have a good chance of being unstoppable the rest of the season.

The Jagaurs move on to face the Jackson State University Tigers who are 1-3 in Jackson, MS on Saturday October 15, 2016 at 6 p.m.

SWAC W L East Jackson State 1 1 Alcorn State 1 2 Alabama A&M 1 2 Alabama State 0 3 Miss. Valley St. 0 3 West Prairie View 3 Grambling State 2 Southern U. 2 Tex. Southern 2 Ark.-Pine Bluff 1

October 15

0 0 0 1 1

Overall W L 1 1 1 0 0

3 2 3 4 4

3 2 2 2 1

1 1 2 2 3

VS.

Jackson, MS @6:00PM

No walk in the park SU Soccer downs Grambling State in home play

BY SKYLER FRANKLIN DIGEST SPORTS EDITOR

The Southern University Women’s Soccer team (1-6, 1-0) hosted Grambling State University (0-3, 0-1) on Friday, September 23 2016 as its SWAC home opener. fans attended the rainy day game to see the Lady Jaguars slide past the GSU Tigers 5-1 in their first win.

Unlike previous games, the Jaguars and Tigers attempted for nearly the same amount of shots in Friday’s effort. SU attempted 10 while GSU attempted 9. Sophia Zavala, a freshman native of California, rallied for the Lady Jaguars scoring 4/5 goals for the night. The first half was dominated

by Southern U. With less than five minutes into play, Freshman Forward Sophia Zavala of SUBR scored the first goal of the game after an assist from Junior Midfielder Jessica Persico. Grambling would hold off the Jaguars for another 35 minutes before Nasheka Doyley, a Junior Forward, managed to put another goal on the board with an assist from her fellow forward ,Nickesha Williamson.

Jennifer LeSage of Grambling State University served as Goal Keeper for the entire 90 minutes of the game. Southern directly attempted 5 goals, she saved 2.

SU Goal Keeper, Victoria Mendes,

saved three goals after 4 attempts were made on target. Just less than 5 minutes into the second half, Sophia Zavala, scored yet another goal for SUBR. After a foul, yellow card, and offside against Grambling, Southern continued its streak after a corner kick attempted

by Jessica Perisco led to a Header Goal by Sophia Zavala, leaving the score 4-0 just a little over 20 minutes left to play.

One minute following the Header Goal by SUBR, Grambling scored its first goal of the game. Savannah John, who serves as a forward,

allotted for Grambling’s first and only goal of the night after an unsuccessful corner kick attempt

by Damilola Akano. This goal was the first of the season for the Junior Forward. 84 minutes and 55 seconds into the game (less than 6 minutes left of play), Sophia Zavala scored the last goal for Southern of the night (5-1). Zavala ended the game with a game and career high of four goals. Some mentionable players include Victoria Mendes, Jessica Perisco, and Nasheka Doyley for Southern University.

SWAC Soccer

Standings

SWAC

Overall

W

L

W

L

Tex. Southern 2

0

4

5

Ark.-Pine Bluff 2

0

2

5

Howard 1

0 - 1

4

3-2

Alabama State 0

1

1

9

Jackson State 1

1

1

7

Southern U. 1

1

1

7

Miss. Valley St. 0

0 -1

0

5 -1

Alabama A&M 1

1

2

8

Alcorn State 0

1

0

3

Prairie View 0

1

0

7

Grambling State 0

2

0

4

Upcoming Matchups: 9/30 - @ Alcorn State - Lormann, MS. Time: TBA 10/2 - @Mississippi Valley - Itta Bena, Miss @1:00PM 10/9 - vs. Howard University - Baton Rouge, LA at Jaguar Park @1:00PM Stephen Rideau/DIGEST Sophomore Defender Desirae George-McCool attempts to stop Grambling State’s Jemila Davis during the match held on September 23 at Jaguar Park.

10/14 - vs. Alabama State - Baton Rouge, LA at Jaguar Park @1:00PM

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926

THE

SOUTHERN DIGEST

Jaguar Sports Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - Page 5

Not so “Brave” this time Southern’s seven point streak, Alcorn put two more on the scoreboard with a kill by Barbara Garrett and the attack error by Shelby Jolly. Alcorn strikes back with two more as a result of a point from Dnanda Smith and the kill from Barbara Garrett. By the end of the set, Southern took home the first set with a score of 12-25.

As the next set starts, Southern gets the first point with an attack error by Sydney Mellom. Melodie Malone, with the attack error ,gives Alcorn their next point.

The Jags next four scores points consecutive. The kill by Arabella Hall, ball handling error by Leticia gonzales, then two attack errors, one by Barbara Garrett then by Sydney Mellom. Now Alcorn puts two more points on the scoreboard for this second set.

These points were acquired by the service error.

The SU Jags will take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Arkansas on Friday, September 30.

BY JULIAN ALVAREZ DIGEST SPORTS WRITER

Southern University women’s volleyball team arose victoriously as they took on Alcorn State on September 23 on Alcorn State’s turf. It was a flawless victory for Southern University as they brought the fight to Alcorn and kept playing to the best of their abilites throughout all three sets.

(25-12, 25-19, 25-19) “Once we hit the gym this week we’ll be able to fight back for our match against Alcorn,” said Melanie Malone last week after being defeated by Alabama State University, and she correctly predicted the outcome in the battle that took place last Friday.

Melanie’s prediction was an understatement. The women’s volleyball team beat Alcorn without losing a set.

In the first set, Southern gained the first point as a result of an attack error made

by Sydney Mellom. Following that error, Southern scored seven consecutive points. After

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Orgeron: Coaching LSU ‘a dream,’ offense will be ‘tweaked

BY JULIAN ALVAREZ DIGEST SPORTS WRITER

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ed Orgeron says that as a Louisiana native, it’s “a dream” to have the opportunity to be LSU’s head coach.

The 55-year-old Orgeron, who was formally introduced as Les Miles’ interim replacement on Monday, says he has no idea whether he’ll have the job past this season and isn’t saying whether he sees his opportunity as an audition to remain for the longer term.

He says his only concern is the

happiness of LSU players and seeing them win.

Orgeron says he’s tapped current assistant, Steve Ensminger, a former LSU quarterback, to replace offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who was fired on Sunday along with Miles.

Orgeron says the offense will be “tweaked” to feature more spread formations.

LSU’s first game under Orgeron is Saturday in Tiger Stadium against Missouri.

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In this Jan. 14, 2015, file photo, LSU defensive line coach Ed Orgeron speaks during a news conference in Baton Rouge, La. Orgeron says that as a Louisiana native, it is “a dream” to have the opportunity to be LSU’s head coach. He was formally introduced as Les Miles’ interim replacement on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016.

(AP Photo/Hilary Scheinuk, File)

Photos of the Week SOUTHERN DIGEST THE

Page 6 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Julian Alvarez/DIGEST Junior Public Relations major Darrel Griffin from Greensboro, MS shakes hands with fellow junior Public Relations major, Jordan Stewart during the Career Fair held in the F.G.Clark Activity Center on Wednesday, September 21.

Arnita Dove/DIGEST Members of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi get pied in the face during Pretty Wednesday in the union courtyard on September 21.

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Arnita Dove/DIGEST Members of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho strolling at the Student Organization Fair held in the Events Center on September 20.

Ealiya Toplin/DIGEST Students respond to a question asked by SUAF-Dallas Chapter president and chair of Texas Instruments, LaQuitta Thomas, during Career Bootcamp 101 on Tuesday, September 20, in the Pinchback Engineering building.

Courtesy of SU Media Relations Students browse around at the Organization fair held in the Event Center on September 20.

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Students recieve free line-up barbershop offered by Men’s Feder

Students gather to play pool Memorial Union during the Saints wa

Destinee Jordan/DIGEST Students gather in The Smith-Brown Memorial Union to watch The New Orleans Saints play during the watch party held by Men’s Federation on September 26.

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Arnita Dove/DIGEST ps in the Smith-Brown Memorial Union ration while gearing up for the Career Fair.

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Ealiya Toplin/DIGEST Students, with the help of representatives from IBM, ExxonMobil, Lockheed Martin, and SASOL, learn how to give an elevator pitch correctly during Career Bootcamp 101 held on Tuesday, September 20 in Pinchback.

Destinee Jordan/DIGEST l in Lacumba’s Play Pen in Smith-Brown atch party held by Men’s Federation on September 26.

Photos of the Week Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - Page 7

Eddie Bynog/DIGEST A Southern University student waits patiently for her drink to be dispensed after taking part in Coca-Colas hug machine marketing campaign currently touring colleges across the country.

Julian Alvarez/DIGEST Southern University students interact with potential employers during the Career Fair held in the F.G. Clark Activity Center on September 21.

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Meek Mill vs. The Game Sparks fly between two big industry rappers

BY TYLER GIBBS

DIGEST STAFF WRITER

Twitter has exploded over the past few days from the new trending “beef” between rappers The Game, and Meek Mill. With diss tracks flying all over YouTube ,in a matter of hours, people are having a hard time keeping tabs on the situation and understanding its beginning.

The Philadelphia native Robert Williams, aka Meek Mill, has been in the public eye for a while now, but it’s not his music that earns him much publicity.

Over the past few years, Williams has been involved in three different battles which occur over monetary accolades or petty points of view. With his last dispute against fellow rapper Drake ending in, what OVO fans say, a flop, Williams has

come back to redeem himself against a new opponent.

The whole issue seems to have started from allegations made by Williams toward The Game, aka Jayceon Taylor, about the Sean Kingston incident back in June. While out partying with his crew, Kingston was hit over the head with a bottle and stripped of his chains. In an Instagram video, Jayceon clarified his side of the story by saying Kingston called him first asking for help, but soon after, called back with assumptions that Taylor ordered the attack. Later finding out that Meek Mill had told Kingston about this, Taylor, about to leave for a tour, was approached by several detectives about the subject which indicated that Williams snitched on him for no real reason.

With these claims hanging over Taylor, he brought attention to the matter the only way he knew how, through words.

Meeky Mouse is just one of the names Taylor called Williams as they battled over social media.

Meek fired back with his diss track “OOOUUU(Remix)” which highlighted Taylor’s past of being a male exotic dancer which seemed to be a major blow, but in actuality, he was well prepared.

The Game came back with not just one shot, but two. These tracks featured rat jokes, as well as low blows on Williams family, and relationship, all in which Drake would give an approving thumbs up.

As the week goes by, more light is being shed on the matter of the he said she said allegations.

Taylor claimed that the cops came to his home and banged on his door several times, yet the Los Angeles County Police say no such incident occurred.

Law enforcements has revealed that Taylor was in the club with Kingston when the incident occurred, and was blamed by Kingston’s mother on social

Really Marc?

Fashion designer Marc Jacobs comments sparks controversy

BY KONNER JOHNSON DIGEST STAFF WRITER

Last Thursday afternoon, during New York Fashion week, the renowned Designer Marc Jacobs released his Spring/ Summer 2017 collection in a show. Some of the best models were featured but it was something in the show that caught many off guard.

Although the clothes were very stylish, the main focus were the multicolored dreadlocks that were originally inspired by the transgender filmmaker, Lana Wachowski. The hairstyle sent the media in a frenzy because there were dreadlocks on predominately white models. People

took their thoughts to Twitter and the designer was accused of appropriating black culture. Tweeters were very upset, especially the black community, because they couldn’t understand why black models, with actual dreadlocks could not meet the criteria for the fashion show. In response to the backlash Jacobs stated, “And all who cry “cultural appropriation” or whatever nonsense about any race of skin color wearing their hair in a particular style or manner – funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I See MARC JACOBS page 10

DIGEST ART

media the next day for setting him up.

Law enforcements also added that they dropped the case after Kingston refused to answer their phone calls in attempt to continue the investigation.

With all these claims, there seems to be limited to no truth anywhere. All we know is that they all have some sort of “beef” with one another, over what really happened in that L.A. club. “Ain’t gone be no East coast West coast war” claims Nipsey Hussle as he expresses how he feels on the matter through Twitter.

Like most, he believes it’s all just petty arguments for publicity that aren’t necessary as they try to reenact Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G feud.

“Nobody’s perfect; We all have days where we’re at fault and we make mistakes, and you know, some days are good, some days are bad. So we gotta take them all together,” The Game concluded on the Wendy Williams Show.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - Page 9

New black museum prepared to deal with visitors’ emotions

BY JESSE J. HOLLAND ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s newest museum brings to life all the pain and tribulations of the black experience and its creators expect many visitors will be shaken by what they see and hear.

Slave shackles sit ominously in a glass case, surrounded by whispering hymns of past pains. Nearby are artifacts from a slave ship which carried black men, women and children to lifetimes of servitude in a land not their own and a whip used to punish the backs of those whom survived the ocean voyage by cruel white masters.

In preparation, the new Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture has been training more than 250 docents to help visitors process their emotions. They’re being taught what to do if someone gets angry, distraught or depressed by the exhibits — to offer tissues to help dry tears, or to direct those who need to collect themselves to the museum’s Contemplative Court.

There, a circular waterfall — symbolizing the water path that many enslaved African-Americans took to freedom — cascades down the center of the room from an oculus, or circular window, which will allow sunlight to

diffuse underground onto benches strategically located around the calming waters. Spread throughout the museum also are “recording booths” where visitors inspired by what they’ve seen unburden themselves and share their own stories

A statue of pioneer Clara Brown, who was born a slave in Virginia around 1800, is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Brown travelled to Colorado, after she was freed when her slaveowner died in 1856, where she established a successful laundry business. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

with the Smithsonian to collect and store for future generations. In addition, it will serve as a catharsis for some.

“People get to leave behind their thoughts,” said Lonnie Bunch, the museum’s founding director.

When the museum opens on Saturday, thousands will be transported back to the time of slavery, a time of horrors few know outside of history books and sanitized images from television and movies. But technology and the museum’s environment combine to provide a more “intimate” experience, officials said, and hopefully greater understanding and reconciliation with the past.

Everything in the “Slavery and Freedom” gallery, the first place visitors are directed in the museum, is designed to attack the senses and draw out emotion: The ceilings are low, the rooms are dark and oppressive, and the walls are covered with quotes from the slavers and the enslaved, whose voices have been reproduced and are broadcast through See NEW MUSEUM page 10

American Horror Story: Roanoke

BY AMBER QUEEN DIGEST STAFF WRITER

Season six of the critically acclaimed FX series, American Horror Story, premiered Wednesday, September 14th with much anticipation. American Horror Story is an anthology television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.

Each season follows a different story line sometimes with different cast members but they mostly stay the same.

Season one, Murder House, focused on the Harmon Family: Dr. Ben Harmon, Vivien and their daughter Violet who moved from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has affair with a student. They move into a Victorian style mansion unaware that it is inhabited by the former residents and their victims.

Season one received mixed reviews praising the cast while criticizing the writing. The second season titled Asylum,

is set in 1964 in Briarcliff Manor, a mental institution, and it follows the lives of the doctors, patients, and nuns. Like the first season, the series was well received by critics and fans, gaining seventeen Emmy Award nominations.

Season three, Coven, takes place in 2013 New Orleans and it follows a coven of Salem witches. In the third installment of the series, Freak Show, is set mainly in 1952 Jupiter, Florida, telling the story of the last remaining freak shows in America. The premiere episode of this season attracted a series high of 6.13 million viewers. It ultimately became FX’s most-watched program ever. The season garnered a total of 20 Emmy Award nominations, more than any season up to date.

Season five, Hotel, broke from the anthological format. The season is interconnected to the first and third seasons and features an appearance by the Murder House and Coven cast. The

Lou Eyrich, from left, Helen Huang and Marisa Aboitiz pose in the press room with the award for outstanding costumes for a contemporary series, limited series or movie for “American Horror Story: Hotel” during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

season centers around Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles, California and the residents who live there. The season included Lady Gaga as The Countess, a vampire fashionista. Hotel received multiple

award nominations and Gaga won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

See HORROR page 10

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Page 10 - Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Sentinel of an Enlightened Student Body since 1926 MUSEUM from page 9

the exhibits.

Scattered throughout the exhibit space are heart-rending exhibits like the slave manacles used on a child, the auction block from a slave auction site, and ballast blocks from a Portuguese slave ship that sank in 1794 carrying hundreds of African slaves.

“You’ll really be thinking of the people who experienced this and hear it through their own voices,” said Nancy Bercaw, curator of that gallery. Added Bunch: “This is really almost like a kind of commemorative memorial space that you can go in and pay homage to those who were lost and those who survive.”

Museums have to be prepared to deal with a variety of emotions when dealing with charged subjects like slavery and civil rights, said Priscilla Hancock Cooper, vice president of institutional programs at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama.

After going through the Birmingham museum, visitors are offered a chance to talk with volunteers — many of whom lived through the turbulent civil rights era in Birmingham — to help process their thoughts and feelings, Cooper said.

“There’s an opportunity for that person-toperson contact, which may be needed,” she said.

The same will likely be said for the new Smithsonian, which will tell the story of slavery in a ground-level, personal way, officials said, instead of through numbers, dates and a bird’seye view of the past. “One of the goals of the museum is to humanize history, to give it to you on a first-person narrative, to give it to you on a human scale,” Bunch said.

Other emotionally draining exhibits include the casket of Emmitt Till, a black Chicago teen brutally killed for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi; an authentic slave cabin from Edisto Island, South Carolina; shards of glass from the explosion of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four young girls during the Civil Rights movement; a 90-year-old, 44-seat segregated Southern Railway car; and a 20-footplus guard tower and a cell from the Louisiana State Penitentiary prison called Angola after the slave plantation that once was on that spot.

“If we’ve done our job right, I trust the museum will be a place for all Americans to ponder, reflect, learn, rejoice, collaborate and ultimately draw sustenance and inspiration from the lessons of history,” Bunch said.

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

In this photo Sept. 14, 2016, final preparations are being made for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. The museum opens in Washington this Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, aiming to tell the story of black people in the U.S. through compelling artifacts, yet visitors will find few personal mementos from one of the most famous and influential black Americans, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

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A slave cabin from the Point of Pines Plantation is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“OUR VERY OWN”

Dr. Isaac Greggs is featured in the new African American Smithsonian

The exhibit features:

- One of his first trumpets from the 1960’s - Dr. Greggs’ Marching Band Uniform - Video of Dr. Greggs with the HumanJukebox

don’t see color or race- I see people. I’m sorry to read that so many people are so narrow minded … Love is the answer.

Appreciation of all and inspiration from anywhere is a beautiful thing. Think about it.”

This response put social media in more of an uproar. Jacobs simply wasn’t getting the point and it seemed as if he was acting very ignorant and close minded. Many have begun to state that they wouldn’t purchase Marc Jacobs merchandise anymore, due to to his response. “I HAVE READ ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS….” and issued out an apology for his comments and behavior. Jacobs Instagram caption stated, “… and I thank you for expressing your feelings. I apologize for the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity. I wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech and freedom to express oneself though art, clothes, words, hair, music...EVERYTHING. Of course I do “see” color but I DO NOT discriminate. THAT IS A FACT! Please

MARC JACOBS from page 8 continue to express your feelings freely but do it kindly. Nothing is gained from spreading hate by name calling and bullying.” Jacobs refrained from making any more comments on the situation.

It has been an ongoing occurrence that blacks get viewed disrespectfully in their culture. This is not the first time that designers, actors, actresses, and artist in the industry have been accused of appropriating culture, and it definitelywon’t be the last.

Even though Marc Jacobs issued out an apology did he really mean it? Did he understand where the black community was coming from? Having respect for another culture isn’t just saying it, or diversifying your piece of work to please others. It is the actual knowledge that we are equal and should be respected, and treated as such. Those with the given platforms, should pay more attention into what they do, and how it would affect others.

HORROR from page 9 With only having the first episode of Roanoke out the season has already gained a notorious fan base. Series cocreator Ryan Murphy stated that this season of the series would be “more rouge” and “dark”. The pilot episode was depicted as a paranormal documentary series titled My Roanoke Nightmare, that reenacts the experience of a married couple that moved to Roanoke Island, North Carolina from Los Angeles.

Chapter 1 opened with Matt (Cuba Gooding Jr,) and Shelby Miller (Sara Paulson) buying a home in Roanoke Island after Matt was randomly attacked as part of a gang initiation and Shelby had a miscarriage.

Soon after they settle into the house strange and paranormal occurrences begin to taunt them. After Shelby was attacked in her hot tub by an unknown assailant, Matt calls for the aid of his sister Lee, (Angela Bassett) a former police officer with a drinking and prescription drug abuse history, while he’s away on business trips. Matt decides to put out surveillance cameras on the property to secure his and her safety.

Following an altercation between Shelby and Lee, Matt’s phone alerts him that the security monitors detected movement outside the house and he sees men with torches and bloody knives heading into the house. Shelby and Lee hear a noise down in the basement and head downstairs to investigate.

The noise turns out to be an old television playing a VHS tape of a figure wearing a pig’s head.

They head back upstairs to find hundreds of handmade figures of twine and straw hung from the ceiling.

Matt returns home and assesses that it’s just the hillbillies trying to scare them.

But Shelby had enough and took the car and drove off down the road when she hits a woman that’s standing in the middle of the road. Shelby gets out of the car to help but the woman has fled off into the woods. Trying to help Shelby follows her into the woods tripping over tree roots in the process. She comes to a patch of land that seems to be pulsating and as she looks up she can see figures with torches.

The episode ends with the image of a man with no scalp screaming for help. We can only anticipate what will happen in the next episodes as we come up with our own theories of the house and the land that surrounds it.

There’s no denying that this may be the best season yet, with mystery, romance, paranormal activity, and suspense. New episodes of American Horror Story premiere Wednesday nights 8/9 central.

Commentary

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Dreadlocks

Let them fall where they may

BY RASHEED WATKINS DIGEST STAFF WRITER

On September 15, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Catastrophe Management Solutions (CMS) decision to refuse to hire Chasity Jones, a black woman from Mobile, Alabama who was discriminated against by a white human resource manager that had an issue with her dreadlocks. The U.S Court of Appeals also ruled “Employers Don’t Have a Right to Wear Dreadlocks”. The human resource manager told Jones that the dreadlock hairstyle “tends to get messy from time to time, although I’m not saying yours are, but you know what I’m talking about.” How can anyone of another culture, deem a person’s hair that grows out of their head as ‘messy’. They cannot. In fact, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer: (1) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or (2) To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

I don’t believe that dreadlocks are “messy,” and it’s sad that the dominate society has deemed a physiologically, and culturally cultivated style of hair, that can be traced all the way back to ancient Africa, is known as messy and associated with negative stereotypes.

The style was also found in ancient Egypt. Anthropologists have revealed mummies with their hair still intact with locks. Many believed that energy (presumably life force energy) exits the body through the top of the head and that having knotted hair prevents or retards the escape of energy making one stronger and even potentially imbuing a person with supernatural mental and physical abilities. Others just rock it simply because the style carries a unique image for each and every individual who chooses to grow them. A lot of African Americans are descendants of Jamaican roots, so African religious tradition has heavily influenced the culture of Rastafarianism and biblical themes have heavily influenced the religion’s belief system. The most famous Rastafari is arguably Bob Marley, whose reggae music gained the Jamaican movement international recognition. For many Rastafarians, growing dreadlocks teaches patience and is also a spiritual journey.

The U.S Court of Appeals has definitely stirred the pot with this one.

This is a form of discrimination that tends to be overlooked simply because the dominate society doesn’t like the way dreadlocks look. This means that countless African American women, and men will be discriminated against with employers refusing to hire them because of their hair and not by their potential work ethic. Many have lost jobs and still cannot get a job due to the discrimination of dreadlocks. We are tired of having to defend ourselves constantly and try to survive through the eyes of those who already have a preconceived notion of who and what black people are. We, as a people ,cannot let this continue to go on. We must stand for what is naturally ours.

EDITORIAL POLICY Staff editorials represent the opinions of the author and the majority opinion of the Southern DIGEST Student Editorial Board, which is comprised of the student staff of editors and columnists. The Southern DIGEST provides an open forum to educate, inform and enlighten the students, faculty and staff at Southern University, Baton Rouge, La.

Liberty and Justice for All

BY AMBER QUEEN DIGEST STAFF WRITER

The more recent arrest and prosecution of Stanford student, Brock Turner, who is guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and was given a six-month jail sentence, has stirred up a great deal of controversy in America’s households. The judge in this case, Aaron Persky, thought it would be harsh to impose anything higher than a six-month sentence. He was quoted saying that, “A prison sentence would have a severe

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 - Page 11

Racism: Does it still exist?

BY PATRICIA FOSTER DIGEST STAFF WRITER

Recently, rap phenom Lil Wayne did an interview on “Undisputed” with Skip Bayless to put the rumors of his possible retirement to rest. While many fans were relieved to find that he wasn’t retiring from the rap game, his statements about racism definitely raised some eyebrows. In the interview when asked about his reaction towards San Fransico 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest, Lil Wayne stated “I don’t want to be bashed ‘cause I don’t want to sound like I’m on the wrong—if there is a side but I thought that was clearly a message that there was no such thing as racism. That’s what I thought that was. I thought that was a perfect example. When I look out, when I come up off the stage, when I’m coming out the bottom of the stage at my show, when I’m on tour, and I’m in my stance or whatever and I open my eyes and I see everybody. I don’t see, I don’t have this type of crowd or that type of crowd, my crowd has always been everybody, thank God. And that’s all I can answer for.”

When asked if the younger generation is moving away from racism Lil Wayne stated “It’s not cool to them. It doesn’t matter to them. It’s so not cool to them that it doesn’t even matter to them”. Social media didn’t take kindly to Lil Wayne’s comments and although I was pretty annoyed at the comments myself, I wasn’t very surprised.

Many people often forget that Lil Wayne was signed to cash money at the age of nine years old and has been in the public figure for a long time now. Lil Wayne has been labeled as the epitome of the modern day rap world. His fan base is not just black but it is white. So should we really be surprised that he said he never experienced racism?

In the interview, Lil Wayne stated “God knows I have been nothing but blessed.

My path, these 33 years, have been nothing but a blessing. I have never, never is a strong word, never dealt with racism.” I very much agree with that last statement because even though I have been stereotyped on many occasions and called

impact on him, I think he will not be a danger to others.” Judge Aaron Persky of the Santa Clara County Superior Court is a Stanford University alumni and was a star athlete during his time there. Which dons the question, was Persky persuaded

by Turner’s athletic and academic background? Persky was once a criminal prosecutor where fighting sexual assault, and other sex crimes were a top priority for him and he prided himself on being tough on rape.

Earlier this year, Persky sentenced 32-year-old Raul Ramirez, an immigrant from El Salvador, who admitted to sexually assaulting his roommate, to a three-year prison sentence a part of a plea agreement. These are parallel cases that involve similar actions and have very different outcomes, which is just another example of our unjust justice system.

the “N” word by my fellow Caucasian and black friends who thought it was “cool” and no longer has no racial meaning to it, I have also never truly experienced racism.

However, the thing that really made many raise eyebrows was when he said he thought there was no such thing as racism. Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamar Rice and Terrence Crutcher were not a figment of everybody’s imagination. I’m pretty sure that most of these victims have never experienced racism before they died in an unlawful manner. Not every white cop is racist but not every cop abide by the law and I think the deaths of many unarmed black people throughout the years have proven it. It was also interesting when Lil Wayne said the younger generation no longer finds it “cool” to them to be racist because just recently a girl who attends Kansas State University posted a picture on Snapchat of her and a friend with their faces painted black with the caption “feels so good to be a n*****.” I believe that those teenagers were doing it because they thought it would be “cool” and earn them a cheap laugh.

Racism is not a trend that goes in and out of style ,it’s something minorities races have dealt with for centuries and also something we are still dealing with to this very day.

I also had a little trouble believing Lil Wayne’s statements about believing racism doesn’t exist because in the song “My Heart Races On” on his “Free Weezy” album there were lyrics that went “Oh Lord, what are we running from? The police cause they already killed enough of us, stay out them streets cause they don’t f*** with us, they hurting us…” I personally think it’s okay to have an opinion different from the majority however there also has to reasoning behind what you’re saying. Just because white and black people are fans of Lil Wayne does not mean racism no longer exist, it just means they have the same taste in music. Just because he has never experienced it before does not mean it no longer exists. There will always be a person in the world who believes that they are more superior than another because of their race or social class.

There are countless judges like Persky out there who are only going to think one sided. It is up to our generation and the generations after us to pick up the pieces of our corrupt justice system and correct the damage left behind by our broken and biased legal system.

The only way we can fix this and bring justice to our millions of victims is to educate ourselves on current and past mistakes made by our present day leaders in the system. Instead of boasting our beliefs on social media and at rallies we need to show our support by taking it to the polls and vote for who we believe in, and who we think will make a difference in our country. Recent surveys have shown that more teens and young adults are making a dent in the political and legal world by voting and running for places of leadership in their cities

and towns. Many people wonder why our justice and legal system is the way it is now. Why policemen and women can kill unarmed minorities without legal precautions or consequences? Why convicted rapists can be sentenced to jail for a couple of months then set free to commit more crimes? The answer to these questions are the men, and women at the head of our justice system. If we want to make a difference in our country, the first step is voting them out of office and voting in candidates that are truly committed to the cause, and who make it their life duty to govern the right way and bring justice to criminals. I would never try to tell people who to vote for or who to like, but in order for our country to become what it was meant to be there needs to be serious changes.