VOLUME 73 ISSUE 5

Visit our website Volume 73, Issue 5

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

WHAT’S INSIDE

www.southerndigest.com

NEWS

SPORTS

A&E

COMMENTARY

see News pg. 3

see Sports pg. 4

see A&E pg.9

see Comm. pg. 11

GM Strike: in Week 2

Rivalry Renewed: SU falls to FAMU

For the Love of Art

Dual Enrollment Sees a Surge in Number of Students Dante Davis

The Southern Digest

Current and prospective students listen attentively to the variety of programs Southern University has to offer.

(DIGEST FILE)

a nursing student from New Orleans, Louisiana said that “The program is a good, cheap way to knock some pre-reqs out before getting to college.”

Southern’s dual enrollment program is sadly only available to students who are within the state of Louisiana, but the program

allows students some flexibility in how they take the course.

Students looking for a more traditional class experience have the option of taking courses at one Southern University campus or at their home school with an approved faculty member, or, if they prefer a more hands off

approach, as a hybrid course with the course being entirely online with a faculty member at the student’s home school serving as an advisor to ensure that the student is keeping on See ENROLLMENT page 3

Samsung’s folding phone hits the US AP News Now New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung’s folding phone is finally hitting the U.S. Samsung will start selling the Galaxy Fold, a phone with a screen that folds together like a book, on Friday. There will be an AT&T version as well as an unlocked version sold at Best Buy and Samsung stores.

The South Korean tech giant had put the Galaxy Fold’s launch on hold for months after reviewers encountered problems with the device’s innovative folding screen. Some reviewers peeled back a protective layer meant to stay on the screen, other devices flickered and turned black.

The nearly $2,000 phone launched on Sept. 6 in South Korea and Sept. 18 in France, Germany and Britain, with versions for next generation 5G

Nursing School catches fire Whitney Thomas

The Southern Digest

As a small part of campus, the dual enrollment program has seen a big jump in the number of high school students taking course work within the program. Up to about four hundred twenty students from about three hundred and thirty students, the program has seen a hundred and twenty six percent jump in enrollment from 20182019.

Dual enrollment has seen an uptick in popularity at not just Southern, but around the United States as the cost of college has soared, as the program offers high school students a way to earn college credits at a fraction of the cost. For Southern University’s dual enrollment program, high school students can earn college credits for about fifty dollars a credit hour.

To put that in perspective, students at Southern pay around two hundred dollars per credit hour, making it a fourth of the cost of a regular student.

When asked how he felt about the program, Derrick Stewart,

Block Party Redo

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2019, file photo an employee holds the Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Fold for a photograph at a shopping mall in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung’s folding phone is finally hitting the U.S. Samsung will start selling the Galaxy Fold, a phone with a screen that folds together like a book, on Friday, Sept.

27. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

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

Due to an unexpected fire on the second floor of the Southern University School of Nursing (SUSON) building in the early morning of September 14, classes were canceled last week. No faculty or students were injured and it has since been no more than an unfortunate occurrence.

The reasons for the fire breakout are still unknown and have not been announced but students speculate any number of causes from outright arson to a simple electrical fire. Andrea Parker, a Sophomore nursing major, briefly gave her side of what she thinks could have happened. “I believe that the fire happened by accident, probably due to the wiring or some other issue with the building since a lot of our campus buildings are old. This incident wasn’t a setback for me personally, but was one for other students and the school.”

Classes have been getting completed online at this time as the repairs are currently made and the damage is accessed with classes, as aforementioned, being set to resume on Monday.

Due to the on-going repairs, approximately half to a third of the building is going to remain closed and any class areas impacted by the fire are going to be temporarily or permanently relocated.

Prior to September 23, when SU officials announced classes were to resume, the only entrance into the building was the front doors leading to the lobby areas for the time being as the safety of students and faculty was priority number one.

All things considered, the fire could have been much worse.

Judging by the lack of exterior damage and the presence of windows in adjacent classrooms, the fire seems to have been isolated to a few classrooms and the hallway at most. Senior nursing major, Eboney Scottland, explains how she’s happy it wasn’t worse. “Of course, being out of class this week wasn’t my plan at all being that the school year just started, but it could have been much worse so hopefully classes will resume really soon.”

See SUSON page 3

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Page 2 - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

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Campus Briefs

Jaguar Speakout Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the latest edition of Jaguar Speakout. Who knows, YOU could be featured on our next episode!

School of Nursing The SUSON will be holding its annual WIC clinic weekly, Mon - Fri from 9am - 3:30pm in the nursing building. For more information or to set up an appointment, contact the clinic at (225) - 771 - 3324.

Honda National Quiz Bowl Competition Calling the Best and the Brightest!!!!!!

Become a Part of the Southern University National Quiz Bowl Team The local Honda National Quiz Bowl Competition will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2019, at 6:00pm in Smith Brown Cotillion Ballroom. Please sign-up for the competition in Room #103 at the Dolores Spikes Honors College before Tuesday, October 14, 2019 at 5:00pm. Prizes will be given to participants. Contact: Deadra James Mackie- 225-771-4854 College of Business The Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics is offering ten $2,000 scholarships to current freshman and sophomore students to provide support to Finance majors who are pursuing a concentration in risk management and insurance. Contact Ms. Holmes at 225-771-5934 or adela_ holmes@subr.edu for details.

Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition The Southern University Visual Arts Gallery in Hayden Hall will be displaying recent works from visual arts faculty members. The gallery will be open Mon - Thurs from 10am - 4pm through Oct 3.

Contact Randall Henry at 225771-4109 for more info.

Lacumba Spinners The SU Lacumba Spinners are holding auditions on September 20-21 in the Intramural Complex.

Students are required to wear all

black dance attire, bring a $25 registration fee, and student ID. All interested individuals email your name and classification to su_lacumbaspinners@yahoo.com Headshot Day The Urban Forestry Graduate Association will be providing $7 professional headshot services campus wide on Tuesday 9/24 from 12:30pm - 4:30pm in Rm. 104 of Fisher Hall. All proceeds go towards efforts to improve and sustain the on-campus environment.

Collegiate 100 Informational C100 will host an informational in T.T. Allain 3rd floor Auditorium on Wed 9/25 at 6PM. The attire is business casual.

Food Pantry SU students are able to visit the Jaguar Eats food pantry located next to the computer lab in the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union every Mon, Wed, and Fri from 4:00pm-8:00pm to receive free food items. Student IDs must be present.

Camphor Memorial UMC Wesley Foundation Bible Study, Fellowship, Food and Fun! Join Pastor Elenora M. Cushenberry and Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church every Wednesday at 5:30 pm at the Wesley Foundation. ALL students are welcome! Please call (225) 7754106 for more information!

SU One Card If you have completed the registration process and have not received your Southern University ID “SU1 Card”, please follow the attached instructions to obtain your card. Only first time students, transfers and returning students who require an ID at this time should complete the SU1 Card ID Form. The ID office is currently located in J.B. Moore Hall auditorium.

2019 Bayou Classic BizTech Challenge Students have an opportunity to win $10,000 by entering

SUBMISSIONS POLICY

The Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public. We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on its editorial and commentary pages. The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification. Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words. Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number.

Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813.

Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

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Got News?

Do you know of any pressing issues on campus affecting students? email us digest@subr.edu You may also stop by our offices located at 1064 T.H. Harris Hall

business ideas into the Fall Pitch Competition. Proposals must be submitted by teams of 3-5 members no later than Oct 22 at 5pm. Visit www. biztechchallenge.com for more info.

Jaguar Athletics Football Sat 9/28 ~ 6pm v. UAPB Pine Bluff, AR Soccer Sun 9/29 ~ 11am v. Howard Volleyball Fri 9/27 v. Alcorn ~ 10am v. Alabama A&M ~ 7pm Sat 9/28 v. Jackson State ~ 3pm V. Alabama State ~5:30pm Sun 9/29 v. Mississippi Valley State ~ 12:30pm

Go Jags!

Beat PineBluff

News southerndigest.com

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Meet the Dotsons: Dedicated to Service Diamond Butler

The Southern Digest

Established in 1880, Southern University has seen a variety of students and faculty members come through its doors over the years so it is not hard to imagine that some have decided to stick around for the long term like Marie and Margarette Dotson.

Being the two oldest employees on campus, the Dotsons having been working as custodians for the university for over thirty five years.

In 1982 Margarette Dotson, when Mr. T. R. Smith was the housing director, started working on Southern’s campus as a supervisor in Boley Hall.

A year later, in 1983, Marie Dotson came to work as a custodian cleaning the various university apartment complexes.

Throughout their tenure, the two have worked diligently, both having won the Best Custodian award, Marie in 1996 and Margarette in 1995. Their hard work makes these two ladies stand out, but it is their love and joy of everything Southern related that really makes these

Marie and Margarette Dotson celebrate their birthdays with family and friends in Bethune hall on September 18. (Davon Jackson/DIGEST)

two shine.

Fellow employees, the Assistant Director for Facilities and Maintenance in the Department of Housing, Ernest Bowman, comments that, “They are the oldest and most efficient workers I have…. they are dependable and will go the extra mile to make sure everything is working fine.” Janince McCoy, the Aerial Supervisor, agrees

with stating that “…we are a big family…we are here nine hours a day and we get along with each other and we love each other.”

A birthday party was thrown for the two this past Wednesday, September 18, in Bethune Hall as a way for the faculty and the students to show their appreciation for two long time members of the Southern family. When asked why she

loves Southern, Margarette Dotson is quoted as saying, “…I like the nice attitudes from everybody…I love the students and how they are so loveable.”

It is easy to say that the Dotsons are wonderful workers and that Southern University’s students and faculty are grateful to have the Dotsons around.

GM strike in 2nd week: Some progress but no end in sight Tom Krisher

AP Auto Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The strike against General Motors by 49,000 United Auto Workers entered its second week Monday with progress reported in negotiations but no clear end in sight.

Bargainers met all weekend and returned to talks Monday morning as the strike entered its eighth day.

Talks continued even as GM accused picketers in Tennessee of blocking traffic, placing screws and nails on public roads, harassing motorists and damaging vehicles.

The company detailed its complaints before a local judge approved a temporary restraining order Sunday barring certain unruly behavior at the Spring Hill factory complex, which makes engines and SUVs. Court documents say about 100 nonunion salaried GM employees and contractors remain working at the plant so it can resume normal operations when the strike ends. GM is also shipping 1,000 finished vehicles ordered by customers via commercial haulers. The company says safety and security are the highest priority

and a minority of picketers was unlawful.

Several protesters were arrested for blocking the roadway last Wednesday.

UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg says the union is committed to conducting strikerelated activities safely and lawfully and is working with law enforcement as issues arise.

In the talks, a person briefed on them said bargainers are haggling about wages and profit sharing, new product for factories that GM wants to close, a faster route to full wages for new hires, and use of temporary workers. The person didn’t want to be identified because details of the bargaining are confidential.

Workers walked off their jobs early on Sept. 16, paralyzing production at about 30 manufacturing sites in nine states.

Already the strike forced GM to shut down two Canadian factories that make engines, older-model pickup trucks and two car models. If the strike drags on much longer, GM likely will have to close more factories in Mexico and Canada because engines, transmissions and other components are built in the United States. Companies

that supply parts to GM also will have to start cutting production.

Consumers this week will start to see fewer trucks, SUVs and cars on dealer lots. Cox Automotive said that GM had stocked up before the strike with a 77-day supply of vehicles.

But before the strike, the supply of larger SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe already was below the industry average 61 days’ worth of vehicles.

Workers also will feel pressure. They got their last GM paycheck last week and will have to start living on $250 per week in strike pay starting this week.

The union wants a bigger share of GM’s more than $30 billion in profits during the past five years. But the company sees a global auto sales decline ahead and wants to bring its labor costs in line with U.S. plants owned by foreign automakers.

The top production worker wage is about $30 per hour, and GM’s total labor costs including benefits are about $63 per hour compared with an average of $50 at factories run by foreignbased automakers mainly in the South.

Issues that are snagging the talks include the formula for profit sharing, which the union wants to improve. Currently

workers get $1,000 for every $1 billion the company makes before taxes in North America.

This year workers got checks for $10,750 each, less than last year’s $11,500.

Wages also are an issue with the company seeking to shift compensation more to lump sums that depend on earnings and workers wanting hourly increases that will be there if the economy goes south.

They’re also bargaining over use of temporary workers and a path to make them full-time, as well as a faster track for getting newly hired workers to the top UAW wage.

GM has offered products in two of four locations where it wants to close factories. It’s proposed an electric pickup truck for the Detroit-Hamtramck plant and a battery factory in the Lordstown, Ohio, area, where it is closing a small-car assembly plant. The factory would be run by a joint venture, and although it would have UAW workers, GM is proposing they work for pay that’s lower than the company pays at assembly plants.

This is the first national strike by the UAW since 2007, when the union shut down General Motors for two days.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - Page 3 ENROLLMENT from page 1

top of his/her course load.

The program also offers high school students who would need to take remedial courses due to low ACT scores an opportunity to take those courses. Michael Smith, a freshman majoring in business administration, says that the dual enrollment program allowed him to test out of one of the remedial math classes, “I was lucky my counselor told me about [the program, because of her] I was able to get out a math class.”

The dual enrollment program has increased its staff of one to two, but the spike in enrollment can be traced to Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dr. Camacia Smith-Ross. As a class of 1992 Southern alumnus and a relatively new employee, Dr. Ross felt an obligation to not only fulfill her role, but to attack it, “the program was a tad bit stagnant, so we wanted to do some things that were a little bit more creative with our approach…to strengthen our program to allow us to compete with other institutions.”

SUS President -Chancellor, Dr. Ray L. Belton has said that he eventually wants there to be twenty thousand students in the Southern University system. The dual enrollment program is one of the many programs that need to continue to improve in order for that vision to happen.

SUSON from page 1 Dr. Sandra Brown, Dean of of the School of Nursing, is working hard to ensure classes will be able to continue as normal and vows that “The School of Nursing will prevail and we will be stronger.”

Join Student Media Stop by: 1064 T.H. Harris Hall or call: 225-771-5812 Be HEARD!

Sports southerndigest.com

A Rivalry Renewed: Jaguars Claw Back But Come Up Short to FAMU Page 4 - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Jalyn Garner

The Southern Digest

A record-breaking crowd of 27,191 was in attendance at Bragg Stadium as the Jags renewed their rivalry with FAMU. The first game between rivals Florida A&M University and Southern University since 2012 saw the game starting off just how FAMU wanted, and unfortunately, ended just how they needed it.

Southern received the ball to start the game, hoping to get off to a fast start. FAMU’s defense however, had different plans as they answered every call they received from the Southern offense early on.

FAMU’s offense got acclimated to the Southern defense early. Getting in rhythm on offense especially, Rattlers QB Ryan Stanley took Southern’s defense right down the field on their first drive. The first score of the night was from Stanley who connected on a 26 yard pass to WR George Webb to put the Rattlers up 7-0 early in the game.

Late in the first quarter, Southern’s defense was still struggling to find answers against the FAMU defense.

FAMU’s offense on the other hand, continued to move down the field with the help of WR Xavier Smith, whom

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Southern’s secondary had no answer for much of the night. A touchdown run by Azende Rey saw the Rattlers go up 17-0 to end the quarter.

Coach Odums and the Jaguars were completely shutout in the first quarter, and coming into the second quarter knowing that it couldn’t be the same result, the Jaguar offense came out in the second quarter firing on all cylinders.

LaDarius Skelton was only 2-of-6 for 24 yards in the first half, but Glendon “Bubba” McDaniel saw first half snaps as well as he went 3-of-7 for 63 yards and a touchdown run.

The Jags managed to bring the deficit to 17-7 before the FAMU safety.

McDaniel took the Jaguars 99 yards down the field, while finishing the long drive with a QB keep for 2 yards and the Jaguars finally scored halfway through the second quarter.

As the Jaguars start to feel some momentum going their way, FAMU goes down the field again, but misses a 52 yard field goal.

McDaniel overthrew his receiver and the Rattlers intercepted the ball late in the second quarter, but fortunately, the Jaguar defense stepped up and forced a three and out.

More errors by Southern include a mishandled snap on

Courtesy/SU Athletics

fourth down that turned into another safety for the Rattlers as SU punter contained the ball in the Rattlers endzone.

The Jaguars ended the first half of the game with no real offensive rhythm ever being established with the. defense

playing flat and giving the opposing team points off of silly See RIVALRY page 5

Soccer Falls To Warhawks in Weekend Play

Garland Johnson

The Southern Digest

On Wednesday, Southern University’s soccer team took on the University of LouisianaMonroe Warhawks in a head to head match up at Jaguar Park.

The game started off with lots of energy from the home team as the Lady Jags quick play matched their intensity on the field. The defense was also stellar the first half despite not being able to put points on the board.

The team moved quickly and didn’t allow any easy goals from ULM. That same defense is what elevated the Jags late last season to the SWAC championship.

Chioma Eriken held her ground and continued a stellar sophomore campaign at goalie.

She was able to stop nine of the 11 shot attempts made by ULM in the 1st half. Recording 72 minutes during Wednesday’s game, Ericken added nine more saves to her season total.

In the second half, the

Forward, Aniya Clark steals the ball from a ULM player last Wednesday, September 18 at the Jaguar field.

(Kyndall Jones/DIGEST)

team was overwhelmed with the number of shot attempts made by the Warhawks. The

Warhawks shot a grand total of twelve shots compared to only four by Southern.

The teams only goal of the night was scored by Aniya Clark at 86:40 in the game. The final

score was 5-1 as the Lady Jags fell just short of victory. Despite the loss, there are some positivity that can be taken by this game.

The team knows they have the talent and the ability to be able to compete. The first half showed that Southern is still a dominant force to be reckoned with in the SWAC when their defense is as good as it was.

Similar to last season, the Lady Jags look to bounce back and finish better than they started as they get deeper into the season.

“Good Note: With 3 keys players returning to practice this week, we head to conference play with the healthiest team since I been here, said head coach Jeremy Fontenot on his takeaways for his team going forward.

The Jags will look to shake back next week as they go into their final out of conference game against Howard University next week until SWAC play begins in it’s entirety.

Sports southerndigest.com

Jags Tumble in Troy Tourney

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Debrandin Brown

The Southern Digest

In an attempt to shake off a chaotic stretch of play to start the season, head coach Vanessa Jacobs and Southern’s volleyball team headed to Troy, Alabama this weekend in hopes of racking up their first win of the season.

The first match of the Troy Tournament saw Southern take on the Citadel in what was an all-around effort from both teams. Despite the back and forth however, the Jags dropped the first set 25-15.

After dropping the first set, Southern proceeded to win two straight sets over the Citadel

before their next loss. Winning the second and third sets with scores of 26-24 and 2523 respectively, Southern led the Citadel 2-1 going into the fourth set.

Despite their effort to make a comeback, the Citadel was in the process of their own as they continued fighting back and won the fourth set with a score of 25-16 to tie the series 2-2.

The Jaguar comeback fell short as Southern dropped the fifth and final set 15-12 to lose the series 3-2 to end their first match.

The second match of the Troy Tournament saw Southern take on FAMU, which featured much of the same from the Jags

as they dropped their match opener with a score of 27-25.

The Jags pulled off a win in the second set after trailing by 10 points behind improved blocking compared to what had been seen previously in the first set.

This would be the only victory the Jags got in this round of the Troy Tournament, losing the next two sets consecutively with a 29-27 in the third and a 25-16 win in the concluding 4th set.

The Jags would take on Troy in their final match of the weekend, hoping to get one match win before the 2019 SWAC West Round Up. Troy came out of the gates with a high level of intensity

as they won the first two sets to give Southern an early 0-2 match deficit. Southern would continue to fight back in the third set to get their lone victory of the night 25-19 in the third set.

The Jags dropped the final set with a score of 25-17 to bring the Troy Tournament to its conclusion. The Jags recorded twenty five kills on the afternoon, as well as seven blocks. The Jags will look to get some tallies in the win column as the Jags take on Alcorn in the SWAC West Volleyball RoundUp on September 27.

Taking L’s: HBCUs and The Occurrence of Money Games SPORTS COMMENTARY

Jordan Victorian

The Southern Digest

On a Saturday afternoon in September, excited college football fans from around the country pile into stadiums to cheer their team. While many college football games remain competitive, the occurrence of “money games” has led to many lopsided contest and a sense of shame in the game of college football.

On September 7, the University of Memphis hosted Southern University in what what was predicted to be a lopsided affair. The result was a 55-24 loss for the Jaguars. While the team was crushed by the AAC powerhouse, they received $400,000 for the game according to the Baton Rouge Advocate.

When asked his opinion on HBCUs and money games, Senior, mechanical engineering Major, Jonathan Banks stated, “I feel like money games are beneficial for the team as the money they make can be used to help provide the necessary resources that the team needs.

Oftentimes, people have this expectation that because we are playing a money game we are supposed to lose, however I feel like if we can win more of these games then that would open up the opportunity for bigger name universities as well as bigger payouts.”

The concept of a money game occurs when a much larger FBS school plays against a smaller FCS school. When these schools play each other, an exchange takes place. The larger school pays the smaller school large sums of money to play them. In exchange, the smaller school is usually defeated due their programs being “inferior” on paper.

Around the country, college football players, coaches, executives, and fans have contrasting views on whether or not money games should be played, with parties involved taking different views for various various reasons.

One of the most prevalent reasons why money games are played is in the phrase itself; MONEY. While the smaller school is almost always is defeated, they will in turn receive over upwards of $100,000.

According to the Huffington Post, in 2016, Prairie View lost toTexas A&M by a score of 67-0, and were paid the six figure sum of $450,000. As demoralizing as the loss was for the smaller HBCU, the money was much needed by Prairie View’s athletic program, whose university endowment of 82 million dollars dwarfs that of Texas A&M, which is 13 billion dollars.

When asked about the significance of money games, Junior nursing major Nysha Orebreaux stated, “Black colleges are

highly underfunded. While these games have a significant negative impact on both teams involved, they also serve as ways for underfunded schools to get money.”

While these pay days are beneficial to smaller colleges, they sometimes come at a greater expense than just a humiliating loss.

In 2015, Southern University Wide Receiver Devon Gales was paralized when he was hit on a kickoff against SEC powerhouse Georgia. The argument can be made that Southern University had no business playing Georgia. Being a school with superior resources, they simply overpowered and outmatched the smaller FCS school.

Senior history major Brandon Butler stated, “Under the current business model, I think that the revenue generated from playing money games is vital for many HBCU athletic programs, so I understand why they play them. On the other hand, I think that since most football teams are predominantly black, if the top athletes choose to go to HBCUs in the first place, there wouldn’t be a need for a money game, because the money follows the talent.”

While it is a polarizing subject, it can not be denied that the subject of money games will continue to be ingrained in college football.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - Page 5 RIVALRY from page 4 mosques with all momentum in Rattlers favor.

In the third quarter the Jaguars started to wake up and get that rhythm on both sides of the ball going, something that they couldn’t get consistently all first half.

Quarterback LaDarius Skelton threw a touchdown pass to WR (Jr) Jamar Washington which led to a huge momentum shift for the Jaguars, who were finally able to get their feet back under them and make the Rattlers sweat.

On an early 2nd half possession for the Rattlers, Jaguars defensive back (Jr) Jakoby Pappillion intercepts the ball and brought Jaguar Nation to their feet.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Jaguars had the Rattlers backs against the walls. Skelton used his feet and took the ball nine yards to the endzone to give Southern their first lead of the game after the FAMU interception.

The Jags defense couldn’t weather the storm however as Xavier Smith scored late and gave the Rattlers a 27-21 lead after the Rattlers converted the two-point attempt.

Southern tried to answer back one more time, but were unsuccessful after a tough comeback to get back into the game fell just short.

The Jaguars look to bounce back in their first SWAC matchup against Arkansas PineBluff in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on Saturday September 28 @6pm.

EDITORIAL POLICY The Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public. We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed in submissions, editorials, opinions and commentary pieces.

It is the sole opinion of the writer and does not reflect the views of any professional faculty, staff or administrator of the University.

The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification.

Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words.

Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813. Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

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Page 6 - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Students gather in the mini dome to learn about various companies and network at the Fall Career Fair on September 18. (Davon Jackson/DIGEST)

Students gather in line to sign in for the 2019 Fall Career Fair.

(Davon Jackson/DIGEST)

Men’s Federation member Tyrin J. explaining to a group of campus visitors the purpose of the SU Cuts for Success event at the Smith-Brown Memorial Union inside the Lakefront Room on September 17. (Te’yanah Owens/DIGEST))

Barber Dameon Jackson lining up Lukah T. at the SU Cuts for Success held by the Men’s Federation in the Smith Brown Memorial Union Lakefront Room on September 17.

(Te’yanah Owens/DIGEST)

Family and friends gather in Bethune hall around the Dotson sister’s birthday celebration on September, 18. (Davon Jackson/DIGEST)

Freshman Forward, Aniya Clark steals the ball from ULM defenders on Wednesday September 18 at the jaguar field. (Kyndall Jones/DIGEST)

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Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union Royal Cotillion Ballroom Introductions, platforms and Q&A with candidates for: Governor Attorney General State Senator State Representative More This event is free and open to the public.

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Silence the Shame: A Community Conversation Page 8 - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Najeri Evans

The Southern Digest

On Wednesday, September 18, a conversation around mental health for students on campus occurred in the Horace J. Moody, Sr. Intramural Sports Complex. The focus of the event was to have “A Community Conversation to Knock Out Stigma Around Mental Health and HIV in the Black Community”.

Southern University partnered with Silence the Shame to host guest speakers, Founder and Director of Silence the Shame, Shanti Das, Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, actress and community activist, Keri Hilson, and Advocacy Consultant at AIDS Healthcare Foundation Louisiana, Sashika Baunchand.

Both Keri and Shanti opened up to the audience about stressful times in their lives, and how their mental health was affected. Shanti spoke vulnerably, “My father took his own life when I was seven months old, it was really hard for my family… we never went to counseling, we didn’t talk about it… I didn’t have a lot of

Keenon Glover

The Southern Digest

Grammy nominated singer Keri Hilson having a community conversation to knock out stigma around mental health and HIV in the Black Community in the Intramural Sports Complex on September 18.

(Te’yanah Owens/DIGEST)

healthy coping mechanisms for my own depression.”

Commonly considered to be taboo in the black community, mental health has been a generational issue recurrently ignored. In fact, Health and Human Services

Office of Minority Health documents African Americans as 10% more likely to experience serious psychological distress.

Culturally, other factors such as faith, fear of humility, and lack of resources typically stand in the way of many black

Americans from reaching out for the help many may need.

For celebrities, and those with high visibility, the issues still persist. Speaking to Keri about her transition from See SILENCE page 10

Campus Queendom: An In Depth Look Whitney Thomas

The Southern Digest

Each year, new campus queens are elected as leaders for their class in representation for the university. This year’s campus queens are all devoted to push the understanding that they are all more than just a pretty face by using a different approach with the student body.

Newly elected campus queens are ensuring openness and transparency with all students this year. Their main focus is to make students feel comfortable with approaching and talking to them about on-campus issues, and about things they’d like to see happen while on campus. Students are also very confident that these queens will get the job done. Amber Thomas, a computer science major at Southern, expresses her joy about the new queens. “ Normally the queens don’t really interact with us , but these queens are different. They’re all so down to earth and humble.

I truly believe things will be different this year with them and I’m excited to see everything they’ll bring to the table.”

The election process was long for each of the queens, but became an overall fun

Numbers Don’t Lie: Gender Disparities in the Black Male Community

DIGEST ILLUSTRATION

experience as they got a chance to interact more with different students. Each queen is beyond confident that she will be able to obtain great leadership skills for her class and for the university.

Director of Student Leadership and Engagement, Tiffany Freeman, knows exactly what the queens have planned for this year, and assures that the

queens will have a wonderful experience. “ My job is not to plan things for them, but I help them execute anything that they would like to do for this academic school year.”

Although all queens are working hard to impact the campus in different ways this year, Alacia Brew, a senior Speech-Language Pathology

major now elected as the 89th Miss Southern, is working in a different way by putting her leadership style into works with all the queens. “ Its supposed to get better every year, I served as Miss Junior which gave me the ability to watch Miss Southern up close and personal, so everything that she did from the great things down to her mistakes I made sure I took note of it and I said ok this is what im going to keep and this is what im going to change. Becoming a role model to not just my class or the university, but to queens prepairing to feel my shoes one day was one of the things I decided to change.”

The queens have not been open to what exactly they have planned for this year but have made it clear that the students wont be let down. Dominique Taylor, a political science major recently elected as Miss Freshman stated, “We want to know everyone’s names and actually make a difference. This year is going to be amazing and I can see it already.”

Overall, the student body of Southern University has elected phenomenal campus queens, and can look forward to an impactful semester.

The nuance in discussing the gender identity of Black men lies in their experience, with their population ratio being approximately 88 men to every 100 Black women (Governing, 2019). Comparing this to the ratio of White men to White women - 97 to 100 - there is a clear disparity.

The gap between the population of Black men and women can be linked most notably to mass incarceration.

According to the Sentencing Project, “African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to face stiff sentences. Black men are six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men.”

This large issue of the unproportionate imprisonment of Black men leads to one stark conclusion for many who are affected by this disparity: Black men are absent in the lives of their families. When one takes into account the fact that approximately 65% of Black children were raised in homes without a father present in 2017, this may appear as not such a far fetched conclusion (Kids Count Data Center).

The aspect of mass incarceration is far from the only root of disparity, as gang violence, health issues, drug addiction and police brutality also account for the gap. This issue, however, is one that has seen recognizable movement, with the percentage in 2017 being a 2% decrease since the year 2009. Although this may be a slight growth in the presence of Black fathers, growth of national recognition of the issues that plague Black men will warrant even more growth in these numbers.

These issues not only affect Black men, but most Black women as well. The lives of Black women has been a lengthy discussion, particularly in reference to their over encumbrance in the Black community. Many Black women are experiencing the second shift, which sociology professor Arlie See NUMBERS page 10

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For the Love of Art

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - Page 9

Debrandin Brown

The Southern Digest

Under the watchful eye of curator Randall Henry, a new art exhibit has opened on campus that includes works from professors in the Art Department.

Titled “Recent Work: Southern University Visual Arts Faculty,” this year’s showcase focuses in on work from Hayden Hall’s own faculty and staff. The exhibit opened on September 5 in Hayden Hall, which marks the beginning of the department’s first exhibit of the Fall semester, which will remain open until October 3. The exhibit showcases all different types of art from a variety of artists with different styles.

One of the more noteworthy pieces of art came from John Alleyne, who presented his “Monotype” in this years faculty art show. The art work itself illustrates two smiling faces placed side by side as they floated on the vacuum of the page. Both faces are tilted to the side, not fully presenting themselves to the viewing audience. The head on the

“Silkscreen”, a piece done by Southern University faculty member, John Alleyne, on display in the Southern University Art Gallery, located in Frank Hayden Hall.

(Rocelyn Hamilton/DIGEST)

“Royal March Into The City”, painted by Southern University faculty member, Randell Henry, on display in the Southern University Art Gallery located in Frank Hayden Hall.

(Rocelyn Hamilton/DIGEST)

left presents the most depth, offering a multitude of colors on the head crown, with the color scheme moving swiftly to static as you look further to the back of

Inspiring speeches on diversity, equal pay rule Emmy night

Billy Porter accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “Pose” at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

JOCELYN NOVECK

AP National Writer

Emmy night is always a chaotic mix of the humorous, the emotional and the inspirational, mixed with some major sequins and glitter. And on this Emmy night, all those elements came together in one glorious moment: Billy Porter’s win as best actor in a drama for “Pose,” the first openly gay actor to win the award.

But Porter’s speech wasn’t the only knock-your-socks-off moment. Michelle Williams gave the audience an eloquent and impassioned lesson on the importance

of equal pay for women, especially women of color.

And Patricia Arquette paid tearful tribute to her late transgender sister, issuing a rousing call for better treatment of transgender people.

Some key moments of Emmys 2019: PHOEBE RULES If you didn’t know Phoebe WallerBridge before, well, you certainly do now.

First, the British writer-actress of See EMMYS page 10

her head. Sporting the same mischievous smile as the first, the head on the right had a complete head of hair made of the same multitude of colors on the crown. In

opposition of the first head’s static-esque imagery, the back of this head is more humanoid and realistic. “It’s ominous in a way. Their smiles are creepy looking when you add the colors on top of their design,” said junior math major Taylor Smith Another standout was curator Randall Henry’s “Royal March Into the City”, which featured more of an abstract design than most of the other pieces of art on display. Henry’s piece is a colorful environment of faces and humanoid figures that come together to make a densely populated image. The humanoids in the background are faceless, yet always in motion as they make up most of the background. On a building made up of other humanoid shapes is the sole figure with defined facial features peeking from See ART page 10

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Page10 - Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

EMMYS from page 9

she called the honor “an acknowledgment of what is possible when a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feel safe enough to voice them, and respected enough that they’ll be heard.”

She explained that when she’d needed anything to help her better play dancer Gwen Verdon — more dance classes, more voice lessons, a different wig — she heard “yes,” not “no,” even though they cost money.

She also thanked the FX network and Fox 21 studios “for paying me equally, because they understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value.”

Jharrel Jerome accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie for “When They See Us” at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

“Fleabag” won for writing on a comedy series, telling the crowd that she found writing “really hard and painful” — but that she did it for the awards. She got to repeat the joke when she won best actress in a comedy, a huge upset over prohibitive favorite Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the last season of “Veep.”

And then Waller-Bridge, 34, made it up to the stage yet again when her show won for outstanding comedy series, again besting “Veep.”

“This is getting ridiculous!” she exulted. In true Britspeak, she called her show’s journey to success “absolutely mental.” She was pretty entertaining when she presented an award with funnyman Bill Hader, too — all in all, a massive night, as the Brits would say.

A MEMORY BOTH POWERFUL AND EMPOWERING Alex Borstein, winning her second consecutive Emmy for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” started out in predictably humorous mode, making a racy underwear joke.

Then she made a dramatic pivot to a poignant and harrowing memory about her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, who during the war had been in line “to be shot into a pit.”

She said her grandmother had asked a guard, “What happens if I step out of line?” and the guard had replied that he didn’t have the heart to shoot her, “but somebody will.”

She did — and they didn’t. “And for that, I am here,” Borstein said. “And for that, my children are here.”

“So step out of line, ladies!” she told the crowd, to cheers.

FAR FROM THE BRONX When Jharrel Jerome won his Emmy for “When They See Us,” he said he felt like he “should just be back home in the Bronx right now chilling, waiting for my mom’s cooking or something.” But, said the 21-year-old, “I’m here in front of my inspirations.”

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He thanked, of course, director Ava DuVernay, and his “beautiful mother,” who actively cheered him on from the audience.

But he saved his most important thanks “for the men we know as the Exonerated Five.”

And all five stood up and cheered from their seats: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, the man Jerome played onscreen.

The four-part Netflix series tells story of the Central Park Five, black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were coerced into confessing to a rape they didn’t commit.

A SISTER REMEMBERED When Patricia Arquette won an Oscar in 2015, she made a plea for pay equality. On this Emmy night, rights for transgender people was on her mind, and for a very personal reason.

Accepting her award for “The Act,” Arquette said she was still in mourning over the death of her sister, Alexis Arquette, who died at age of 47 in 2016.

Alexis, who was transgender, died from a heart attack and battled HIV for 29 years, according to her death certificate.

“I’m so sad that I lost my sister Alexis, and that trans people are still being persecuted,” she said. “Let’s get rid of this bias that we have everywhere. They’re human beings and let’s give them jobs.”

In the audience, transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox stood and cheered. Cox was carrying a purse that bore a message: “Oct. 8, Title VII, Supreme Court,” it said, referring to an upcoming court decision on workplace discrimination and LGBTQ rights.

PASSIONATE ABOUT EQUAL PAY t was actress Michelle Williams who raised the flag for equal pay, with an eloquent speech that was one of the most effective of the night.

Accepting the award for “Fosse/Verdon,”

“And then where do they put that value?

They put it into their work,” she continued, pointing out that a woman of color makes 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart.

So when that woman “tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her,” Williams said. “Because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it.”

The remarks won cheers not only in the room, but on social media. “Michelle Williams just took us to the church of women’s equality,” wrote actress Kerry Washington on Twitter.

LOVE, Y’ALL! It was obvious that it was Billy Porter’s night the moment he sauntered into the Emmy Awards in a huge, lopsided black cowboy hat, a sparkling striped black-andsilver suit, and platform shoes.

Porter has emerged as a huge red carpet star of late. But this time, the “Pose” actor matched his carpet prowess with a huge Emmy victory, becoming the first openly gay actor to win best actor in a drama.

“The category is love, y’all!” he crowed to the audience upon arriving onstage.

He then met the historical moment by quoting James Baldwin. “It took many years of vomiting up the filth I was taught about myself and halfway believed before I could walk around this Earth like I had a right to be here,” went the powerful quote. “I have the right. You have the right. We all have the right!”

As he did years ago when his won his Tony, Porter paid tribute to his mother, Clorinda, saying “there’s no stronger, more resilient woman who has graced this earth.”

He also thanked his show’s co-creator, Ryan Murphy: “Ryan Murphy, you saw me!

You believed in us.”

He added that “We as artists are the people that get to change the molecular structure of the hearts and minds of the people who live on this planet. Please don’t ever stop doing that.”

NUMBERS from page 8

Russell Hochschild defines as the job of being double burdened with the role of working and parenting, with little to no assistance. When it is taken into account how many Black men are not present within Black homes - either by choice or force - it becomes very apparent that many Black women are experiencing this second shift in full effect. Based on a study composed in 2017, the Economic Policy Institute reported that “more than two-thirds of all African American working mothers are single moms, making them the primary, if not sole, economic providers for their families.”

Many Black women are forced to forgo various other aspects of their lives in order to maintain their families, particularly affecting

their health. According to the Harvard Public Health publication, while White women typically experience increase in health as they go into adulthood, Black women have the complete opposite experience. “White women in their 20s were more likely to give birth to a healthy baby than those in their teens.”, the publication reports. “But among black women, the opposite was true: The older the mother, the greater the risk of maternal and newborn health complications and death.

In public health, the condition of a baby is considered a reliable proxy for the health of the mother. [Professor Arline Geronimous’s] data suggested that black women may be less healthy at 25 than at 17.”

SILENCE from page 8 singer/songwriter/actress to community activist, she shared, “The transition was about life happening, it was about me having that experience… It was a natural transition, it was never really a decision that I had made...” Keri went on to consider Shanti as the “catalyst” in her transition over recent time.

Shanti actually gave Keri her first speaking opportunity with Silence the Shame.

Bringing them to Southern was a partnership between Silence the Shame and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who have targeted Southern before. The audience was very receptive of the panel.

There was also free HIV testing, with the opportunity for VIP meet and greet with Keri Hilson.

The counseling center was in attendance as well, acting as an additional resource for the students.

Taylor Bolton, junior computer science major from Memphis, Tennessee spoke of her experience, “The Silence the Shame event was great! Mostly the panelists discussed mental health in the black community.

I felt that it was good having a celebrity, Keri Hilson, to discuss mental health with us to show that she can relate to issues facing young, black college students.

What I truly enjoyed was the discussion on “Self Care Time”.

I usually give myself some time alone, but it’s usually secluded.”

Silence the Shame as a growing movement now has a national holiday on May 5, National Silence the Shame Day. “When you’re talking about something so personal, it’s difficult for people to open up.”

Shanti Davis wants students to know, “It’s okay to not be okay, but it’s okay to get the help that you need.” Hilson also had some advice, “Don’t be afraid to go see an on campus therapist if you need to.”

ART from page 9 behind said building. With his face being made up of smaller shapes and colors, this figure is what truly makes the painting as a whole stand out. “The art styles were varied and each had something different to show,” said sophomore history major Charles Barjon from California when asked what stood out to him.

All of the present works of art served to give different artistic perspectives from a variety of different artists who work in Hayden’s own Art Department.

“They never have an exhibit that I don’t like. If the people in charge keep doing it the way they’ve been doing it, I’m looking forward to the next exhibit.” said junior engineering major Devin Raby on what he expects from the Art Department’s next exhibit. Under the watchful eye of Henry, who also presented his own work, the hope is that this exhibit is the first of many great showcases presented in Hayden Hall this academic year.

Commentary southerndigest.com

The Sentinel Of An Enlightened Student Body since 1926

Diamond Butler

Red Flag on the Block Party: Block Party Redo

The Southern Digest

Southern University is known for being one of the top HBCUs in the country, having the baddest band in the land. When football season starts, it is a highlighted event for the student body, as well as Jaguar fans. People from all over come out just to see the Jaguars play. With September 14 being the first home football game of the season, it’s only natural that a party would be thrown to celebrate the start of the season, cause ain’t no PARTY like a JAGUAR PARTY. The SU Athletics Department and Student Government Association decided to throw a block party outside of A.W. Mumford Stadium.

The block party was expected to have a big turnout of Jaguar fans and student body.

Sadly, that did not happen because not too many people showed up.

The block party was set to start at 2 p.m., but it started later than scheduled.

Kiyanna Givens

The Southern Digest

Please, don’t let this title confuse you. I’m pretty sure that you’ve heard of separation of church and state but I bet you’re wondering what I mean when I say “Separation of School and State”. This title refers to students at this school being able to differentiate the school from the state.

Lately, a lot of out-of-state students have gotten out of hand with criticizing Southern

I don’t know about y’all, but for me, it’s too hot for me to sit around and wait. If an event is scheduled to start at a certain time, most people will pass by and if they don’t see anyone out and about they will keep on going.

We know that a Jag knows how to throw a party, so I won’t question that. I just want to know what went wrong this time. After talking to a few people, not many people knew about the party. For future block parties, whoever is promoting it should go through all possible channels to spread the news. Just sending a flyer to students through email or just placing an ad in the newspaper is just the basics. For instance, having the local radio stations mention the event, making posters and hanging them in the Union, as well as encouraging students to post about the event on their social media pages are all means for spreading the word. This way the information is not being told to only a small circle of people. The news would

now be spread on a broader scale. To have a successful event, you have to spread the news in any and every way.

Along with spreading the news of the event, the school should look into getting cooling stations for the event. During this time of year, there have been plenty of hot and humid days. Many vendors are serving out food and drinks, but there are not that many places for people to sit down and enjoy themselves. So that the people who attend the block party can be comfortable there should be a sponsored cooling station in place for fans to relax, get snacks.

From having a punctual time, better publication and having a cooling station the next block party would be much better than the first one. However, there is one last aspect that needs to be added, and that is having a cleanup crew. After the last block party when everyone left to go watch the game there was trash just lying around everywhere. For the school it is embarrassing to have that trash being seen,

it gives the impression to others that those from Southern University do not care about their campus, and just throwing your trash anywhere is a normal thing. To prevent people from having that perspective about the campus, there should be a cleanup crew assigned to start cleaning up the area once the block party is starting to come to a close. Having an event for others to enjoy themselves is good, but it is still vital that the area is kept in pristine conditions.

Having these block parties for home games is a great idea though various changes need to be made. Southern University, to a lot of people, is held at a high expectation, and it would be a great disappointment it the people behind the scenes fail to uphold those expectations.

So for the next home game, more effort should be put into place so no one will be able to say anything bad about the event or the school.

Separation of School and State

University when they are actually referring to their surroundings and not the school. They say things like: “Why is the weather like this?” “There’s really a plant down the street? That’s ridiculous!” “Why are we in the middle of an impoverished area?”

It’s questions like these that make me wonder why people choose a college campus over getting their degree from home.

Students need to be able to distinguish state from school.

At the end of the day, when you choose the school you’re going

to, you’re not worried about the weather, or the neighborhood that is down the street from the school. When it all boils down, your main concern should be “when I graduate from this institution, what knowledge, information and relationships will I walk away with?”

Trust me, I understand the complications of Louisiana’s weather more than most. It is quite bipolar but that doesn’t affect your education and the quality of it. That doesn’t affect you being able to network and

make connections for your future in your field of work. Being near a low income area isn’t affecting your test scores or homework scores.

College is literally what YOU make it. If you get tied up in small details then all it will do is distract you from your main goals in the end. Attempt to conquer your surroundings and overcome the small cons. It’s better said than done but you have to be willing to rise above the occasion as they say.

Even though Baton Rouge

Between Skin Folk and Kin Folk: The Ancestry of Racial Ambiguity

Keenon Glover

The Southern Digest

On September 17, 1979, a White woman gave birth to a child by the name of Jeffery Shaun King. And, although White women give birth to children all the time, this child suffered from complications.

These complications weren’t simply natal issues, like a premature birth or a breech birth, but issues that questioned the very identity of the child himelf. At that time, it was commonly assumed that King was the average White child born into a White family.

This, however, is not the current notion: King actively identifies himself as Black. This confusion over Shaun King’s race is not a new conversation; in fact, it is one of our country’s oldest. Within the U.S. the common law, race has been based on the one drop rule, which states a “single drop of Black blood” makes a person automatically Black. This

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - Page 11

accounts for the way that many Black people identify, particularly in the deep south. Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Rosa Parks, Beyoncé and Barack Obama have all been figures who have proudly acclaimed their identities as African Americans; even though their ancestry might not be as African as assumed. However, does that matter? Is the link between race - the way we are physically and initially identified by society - and ethnicity - the ancestral story our DNA holds as strong as we may think? Here in Louisiana, this conversation encounters even more confusion.

Louisiana is the state with the 2nd highest amount of Black people with significant European ancestry, tagging right behind Seattle. It’s been accounted by many African Americans here in Louisiana, especially Louisiana Creoles, of having DNA that was approximately 70% European, even though they had two Black

parents. This is linked directly to the states history, with Louisiana being one of the few U.S. states where the only drop rule was not necessarily a constant. Under French law, many of the presumed Blacks of Louisiana were identified with their fathers, who were typically European slave masters. This created a blur on the line of race in Louisiana, with the state also having the highest population of White people with significant African Ancestry.

Many White Louisianians may have as much African ancestry as Tina Knowles, Beyoncé’s Black mother. In fact, they may just be related to her. This complication of racial identity is widespread, and the basis is rarely consistent.

A man who may be considered a full-fledged White man in Brazil may be regarded as your average light-skinned Black man in South Carolina, or a multiracial man in New York. This confusion may very well have been what

catapulted Shaun King into the status he holds now, with many people allowing their fascination by his racial ambiguity to trump the nature of his activism.

Regardless of whether King is Black or just off White , or just White, the Black community has to analyze the way it obsesses over ancestry. We have to also analyze how we fetishize it, and the ultimate damage it holds on all spectrums of Blackness. Whether he is light skin or a man of White skin, all that matters is whether he cares about your skin.

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is the capital of Louisiana it’s not really considered the best city, at least from the citizens eyes that is. They have a lot to work on! This is true but always remember to try not to dwell on unfortunate circumstances and surroundings because that’s not why you are here! You are here for higher education and on that note, Southern University is the best place to be especially being an African American student. I can’t think of a better place.

EDITORIAL POLICY The Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public. We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed in submissions, editorials, opinions and commentary pieces located on page 11. It is the sole opinion of the writer and does not reflect the views of any professional faculty, staff or administrator of the University.

The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification.

Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words.

Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813. Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

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