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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROLINA A&T

investigation of student death closed necoLe jacKSon

Athletic Director Wheeler Brown was fired effectively immediately, on Friday Ocrt. 15 as a the result of the death of Jospin “Andre” Milandu stated in a press conference from Chancellor Harold Martin. As a result of the firing of Brown, Martin also sent a release to the university stating the closing of the internal investigation surrounding the death of Milandu. The Special Assistant to the chancellor, Dr. Deborah Callaway, is to “assume administrative oversight” until a new director is found according to

Martin. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released the autopsy of Milandu brown T h u r s d a y, Oct. 14 showing that he died from the result of “complications of sickle cell trait.” The student died at an unauthorized and unplanned tryout for a track team. There was no physical on file for Milandu. According to the division I legislative council of the NCAA, the decision for the 2010-2011

“His presence has been and will continue to be missed at North Carolina A&T State University,” -Chancellor Martin

academic year that all studentathletes must be tested for sickle cell trait, show proof of a prior test or sign a waiver releasing institution liability. “I have consistently stressed the importance of adherence to University policies, practices and procedures with all University administrators,” said Martin. “This has been reaffirmed throughout my tenure, and even more so since this tragic incident. I commit to you that I will take constructive steps to move our athletics program in a different direction.” Chancellor Martin will immediately start a national search for a new director.

Aug. 16 Jospin Milandu dies

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NC A&T Sports Medicine policies requires prospective student-athletes to complete a signed release waiver for participation in try-outs.

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N.C. A&T Athletics Department practices require trainers to be present at all athletic events, try-outs, practices or competition.

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NCAA requires prospective student-athletes who are trying out for a team to undergo a medical examination or evaluation by a physician prior to trying out.

timeline of milandu and investigation events

milandu

Aug. 25 University officials assigned to internal investigation

Violations of ncaa and a&t policies

Aug. 31 NC A&T admits NCAA policies were violated

Sept. 8 Chancellor Martin release indicates no physical on file for Milandu

Sept. 22 Track coach Roy Thompson announces his retirement effective Dec. 1

A&T professor meets with Obama KeLcie mccrae

Managing Editor

After working for over a year to meet with President Obama, director of The Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies (IFAJS) at North Carolina A&T and professor, DeWayne Wickham got his opportunity to address concerns with the president last Friday Oct. 15. Wickham, along with members from the Trotter Group, a group of black columnists that he co-founded in 1992, sat in the Roosevelt Room of The White House with the president addressing concerns that affect the black community. According to Wickham, Obama’s coalition of support in the road to The White House in 2008 came mostly from blacks, Hispanics, Asians and young

Did you know?

whites. Now in office, recent polls shed a different light. Concerned with this waning support from Obama’s cohorts, Wickham says he was curious to the reasoning behind the issue. “Polls indicate that support for the president has dropped sharply over the past year,” said Wickham. “ The members of his political base are not enthusiastic about voting for Democrats in next month’s congressional elections.” Obama addressed this issue by discussing the current economic climate within the country. “We haven’t seen anything like this in our lifetimes,” said Obama referring to the current financial crisis. “And so what’s remarkable is, I think, how well that coalition has held together in the face of just extraordinarily difficult times.

National unemployment is 9.5 percent according to Obama, and he says he understands people’s frustration with the matter. “All communities have been hit during this crisis,” said Obama. “There’s the old saying that when America gets a cold, black obama America get pneumonia. We have seen obviously a huge spike in unemployment in the African-American community, with all the attendant problems that go with that.” According to Obama, in order to satisfy all communities, “we have to make sure that we are dealing with some of these

• Every 13 min- • One in eight women or 12.6 utes a woman percent of all dies of breast women will get cancer. breast cancer in her lifetime.

structural problems in the economy.” Also in attendance from the Trotter Group was Tonyaa Weathersbee, Senior Project Manager for IFAJS and columnist from the Florida TimesUnion. As a follow-up to Dwight Lewis’ question, columnist from the Nashville Tennessean, regarding the strategy for rallying support for the Democrats in the midterm elections, Weathersbee was curious to Obama’s approach on turning out minority voters this November. “Gallup says that you have a 26 percent edge in approval over Congress,” said Weathersbee. “That’s the highest edge over the four previous Presidents. How do you translate that into votes, particularly in the midterm?”  See obama on Page 2

Oct. 14 Autopsy shows Milandu died from complications of a sickle cell trait and physical exertion

City public library begins ‘one city, one book’ Laria LanD

Challenging a metropolitan city to engage in a book discussion may sound a bit difficult to many. However, the Greensboro Public Library seems to feel the citizens of Guilford County are more than capable of succeeding at the task at hand. Currently under way this fall is “One City, One Book,” a biennial program sponsored by the public library system in conjunction with several community partners, including North Carolina A&T. This year’s book of choice is “The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemp-

tive Power of Music” written by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez. “The Soloist” is the true story of the relationship formed between Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic and former student of Juliard, one of the most prestigious performing arts conservatories in the world. Their story is most widely known from its film adaptation staring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. “This year [the committee was] looking for a book that dealt with the importance of the arts,” said Steve Summerford, director of the “One City, One Book” program. “[The Soloist] was a great selection in terms  See one city on Page 2

• Over 80 percent • More than 1.7 • 71 percent of black women diagnosed of breast lumps million women with breast cancer experience a fiveare not cancerous, who have had year survival rate, while 86 percent but benign such as breast cancer are of white women experience five-year fibrocystic breast still alive in the survival. disease. U.S.

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Ocotber is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Be sure to raise awareness and check yourselves.

The mid-term election is approaching fast. The voter guide gives a breakdown of NC candidates.

Opinions editor Trumaine McCaskill gives his reasons why he believes the Aggie Football team keeps losing.

Alpha Phi Omega hosted its 2nd annual Coffee House poetry Slam in Stallings Ballroom.

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Oct. 15 Chancellor Martin announces immediate discontinued employment of Athletic Director Wheeler Brown

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Man sentenced for attempted explosion jeff carlton

Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — A Jordanian man caught in an FBI sting trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison after telling the court he was ashamed of his actions and renouncing al-Qaida. Hosam Smadi, 20, faced up to life in prison but received a reduced sentence after pleading guilty in May to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Just before being sentenced, Smadi addressed the court. “I’m so ashamed for what I did. I’m very sorry for my actions,” Smadi told Lynn just before he was sentenced. “I could not live with myself if I had hurt anybody.” Smadi also renounced alQaida and called its leader, Osama bin Laden, “a bad man.” Smadi acknowledged leaving what he thought was a truck bomb in a garage beneath the Fountain Place building in September 2009. Smadi said he parked the truck, activated a timer connected to the decoy provided by undercover FBI agents, then rode away to watch the explosion. Smadi dialed a cell phone number from the roof of a nearby parking garage, where he had planned to watch the explosion. The number was supposed to set off his truck bomb. It instead

alerted tactical agents hiding in a stairwell, who swarmed the rooftop and arrested the teenager. “Every day, I want you to think about the people in that building,” U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn said while sentencing Smadi. “They are your sisters. They are your teachers. They are your neighbors. And you were prepared to end their lives.” Smadi showed no emotion as he heard the sentence, but his father and sister sobbed. In an unusual move, Lynn agreed to let Smadi spend two hours with his family later Tuesday before he is taken to federal prison. She recommended that he receive mental health and drug abuse treatment while in prison. Lynn did not order him to pay a fine because she said he wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway. He will likely be deported after serving his sentence. “We of course would have liked a lower sentence, but we’re satisfied the process was fair,” defense attorney Peter Fleury said after the hearing. Prosecutors planned to hold a news conference later Tuesday. Posing as members of an al-Qaida sleeper cell, three undercover FBI employees had monitored Smadi since January 2009. After he shared his plans to blow up the office tower, they helped him secure a truck and

fake bomb used to carry out the mission, according to court documents. Since the arrest, Smadi’s public defenders have portrayed their client as a troubled and depressed young man, who exhibited signs of depression and mental illness when his parents separated and then suffered a breakdown after his mother’s death from brain cancer. At the plea hearing in May, Fleury said Smadi had been diagnosed with schizophrenia by a prison doctor and a physician working for the defense. FBI officials, however, tell a different story. After monitoring Smadi for nine months, they say the defendant was a committed would-be terrorist determined to connect with alQaida or Hamas. It was fortunate, they say, that they found him first, spewing hatred for America on an extremist website. “Smadi was asked what he would do if he had never met the al Qa’ida ‘sleeper’ cell ... ,” said Tom Petrowski, a supervisory special agent with the FBI in Dallas, in an affidavit. “Smadi replied that he would keep looking for such an entity to be a part of, even if it meant him having to leave the United States and go to Palestine and join Hamas or go back to Pakistan and join the Taliban.”

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obama From page 1 November’s election will determine the make-up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Currently the majority leaders for both the House and Senate are Democrat. “Ultimately, this election is going to be decided on a race-by-race, district by district basis,” said Obama. “And so we can help kind of set the overall tone, make the overall

one city From page 1 of themes. [It explores] the arts, homelessness and mental illness.” The planning committee received numerous book nominations and read all of them before making their decision. Over the course of six weeks, in various locations around the city, there will be over 40 events exploring the central themes of the book, including group discussions, plays, concerts, workshops, movie nights and many others. The planning committee worked to make sure there were events to satisfy every age group and family-oriented activities as well. Iyann Sims, Systems Librarian at A&T’s Bluford Library and member of the planning committee for “One City, One Book” said one of the book discussions were held this past Thursday, Oct. 14 during the October edition of “Lunch and Literature.” “[The discussion] went really, really well,” said Natasha Johnson, Reference Librarian and Co-Facilitator of “Lunch and Literature.” “It opened everyone’s eyes to the topic of homelessness in Greensboro, [and examined the ideas

argument, but it’s going to be this hand-to-hand combat that’s taking place in these various districts that is probably going to make the biggest difference.” For an hour, Obama addressed the concerns from this group of columnists that make the voices of black issues heard throughout the nation. Using the information derived from this meeting, Wickham wrote a column for USA TODAY, where he is a colum-

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Voter Registration Awareness

of it being] a matter of choice or a matter of condition. We, [also, received] a lot of different perspectives on homelessness and the main characters in the book.” One of the main events participants are looking forward to is the Greensboro visit of Nathaniel Ayers’ sister Jennifer Ayers-Moore today Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the War Memorial Auditorium. She is an advocate for mental illness and the founder and chair of the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation. Her non-profit organization is “dedicated to its mission of supporting arts programs at mental health and arts organizations.” When looking at book sales, library check-outs, ticket sells and other factors, Summerford estimated that 10,000 people have participates in the “One City, One Book” program each session since its beginning in 2003. “Those who participate consistently say that they find it to be meaningful and enjoyable,” said Summerford. For more information on how to participate in the “One City, One Book,” program visit http://www.greensboronc.gov/departments/Library/ One+Book/ or a local Greensboro Public Library.

Memorial Student Union Lobby 1 11:30 a.m.

Congo Week- Film Screening

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Junior Class Meeting

Proctor Hall Auditorium 6 p.m.

NY/NJ Connection Spades Tournament

Memorial Student Union Room 214 7 p.m.

Impact Bible Study Memorial Student Union

Room 005 7 p.m.

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General Classroon Building Room 109 7 p.m.

Blu White Gym Jam

Moore Gymnasium 9 p.m.

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Induction ceremony Memorial Student Union Stallings Ballroom section A 6 p.m.

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editor in chief: Jasmine Johnson Managing editor: Kelcie McCrae news editor: Sylvia Obell opinions editor:Trumaine McCaskill sports editor: Lauren Morgan ASSISTANT Sports editor: Prince Grimes scene editor: Jonathan Veal copy desk chief: Yolanda Henderson photo editor: Kenneth Hawkins staff photographers: Michaela Edwards, Shanté Mathes

editorial cartoonist: Evan Summerville ncatregister.com: Malcolm S. Eustache, (Online Editor) senior reporter: Charles Johnson reporters: Alessandra Brown, Ashley Vaughn, Necole Jackson, Chanel Davis advertising& business manager: Ashley Minter business staff: Brooke Waller, Jamia Harrison, Nisha Streeter faculty adviser: Emily Harris

The A&T Register is published every Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters by students at North Carolina A&T State University. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Register’s newsroom (subject to availability). All subscription requests should be directed to the Business department. The A&T Register has a weekly circulation of 5,000 copies on-campus and in the community and is a member of The Associated Press, The Associated Collegiate Press and the Black College Wire.

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2010 Mid-Term Election Cheat Sheet U.S. Senate

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, October 20, 2010

‘Hang them’: Uganda paper threatens gays Godfrey olukya & Jason StraziusO Associated Press Writers

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The front-page newspaper story featured a list of Uganda’s 100 “top” homosexuals, with a bright yellow banner across it that read: “Hang Them.” Alongside their photos were the men’s names and addresses. In the days since it was published, at least four gay Ugandans on the list have been attacked and many others are in hiding, according to rights activist Julian Onziema. One person named in the story had stones thrown at his house by neighbors. A lawmaker in this conservative African country introduced a bill a year ago that would have imposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts and life in prison for others. An international uproar ensued, and the bill was quietly shelved.

But gays in Uganda say they have faced a year of harassment and attacks since the bill’s introduction. The legislation was drawn up following a visit by leaders of U.S. conservative Christian ministries that promote therapy they say allows gays to become heterosexual. “Before the introduction of the bill in parliament most people did not mind about our activities. But since then, we are harassed by many people who hate homosexuality,” said Patrick Ndede, 27. “The publicity the bill got made many people come to know about us and they started mistreating us.” More than 20 homosexuals have been attacked over the last year in Uganda, and an additional 17 have been arrested and are in prison, said Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda. Those numbers are up from the same period two years ago, when about 10 homo-

sexuals were attacked, he said. The bill became political poison after the international condemnation. Many Christian leaders have denounced it, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signaled to legislators that they should not take it up. Four members of parliament contacted by The Associated Press for this article declined to comment, and instead referred queries to David Bahati, the parliamentarian who introduced the bill. Bahati did not answer repeated calls Tuesday. Homophobia is rife in many African countries. Homosexuality is punishable by death or imprisonment in Nigeria. In South Africa, the only African nation to recognize gay marriage, gangs carry out so-called “corrective” rapes on lesbians. Solomon Male, a pastor and the head of a group of clergy in Uganda, said he is glad the anti-homosexual bill has not yet passed, but said there needs to

be an investigation to find out “why homosexuality is increasing in the country.” The Oct. 9 article in a Ugandan newspaper called Rolling Stone not the American magazine came out five days before the one-year anniversary of the controversial legislation. The article claimed that an unknown but deadly disease was attacking homosexuals in Uganda, and said that gays were recruiting 1 million children by raiding schools, a common smear used in Uganda. After the newspaper hit the streets, the government Media Council ordered the newspaper to cease publishing not because of the newspaper’s content, but rather that the newspaper had not registered with the government. After it completes the paperwork, Rolling Stone will be free to publish again, said Paul Mukasa, secretary of the Media Council. That decision has angered

Man in bomb plot was depressed Jeff Carlton

Associated Press Writer

DALLAS (AP) — A 20-year-old Jordanian man caught in an FBI sting trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper was depressed and slept by his mother’s grave after her death from cancer four years ago, his father testified Monday during his son’s sentencing hearing. Hosam Smadi faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty in May to attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Under a plea agreement, however, he will likely receive a 30-year sentence and face deportation. The hearing was expected to continue Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn at the federal courthouse in Dallas, just blocks away from the 60-story office tower that prosecutors allege Smadi tried to take down. Smadi’s public defenders said he may take the stand. Smadi’s father, 60-year-old Maher Smadi, testified that his then-16-year-old son tried to revive his mother even after doctors in Jordan pronounced her dead in October 2006. He said she died from brain cancer, and his son stopped eating after her death. “Hosam was very affected by his mother’s illness and stayed with her at the hospital all the time,” Maher Smadi said, testifying in Arabic through an interpreter. He said he sent his son to the U.S. in March 2007, because their relationship was strained

and he wanted the teenager to get an education and “start a new life.” The elder Smadi acknowledged that he often beat his son with his fists and a chain, and once tried to run him down with a car. He said his son wasn’t very religious or

“Hosam was very affected by

his mother’s illness and stayed with her at the hospital all the time,” -Maher Smadi politically motivated. Maher Smadi said he visited his son in the San Jose, Calif., area less than a year later and was upset to find him smoking, drinking and cursing Islam. The younger Smadi moved to the Dallas area a short time later. The father acknowledged that his son was a terrorist and said he was embarrassed. He asked prosecutors for leniency. “I am sure that if he leaves prison now, he would learn from his mistakes and be a good person and get away from bad influences,” Maher Smadi testified. According to the plea documents, Smadi acknowledged leaving what he thought was a truck bomb in a garage beneath the Fountain Place building in September 2009. Smadi said he parked the truck, started a timer connected to the decoy provided by undercover FBI agents, then rode away to watch the explosion.

Smadi dialed a cell phone number from the roof of a nearby parking garage, where he had planned to watch the explosion. The number was supposed to set off his truck bomb. It instead alerted tactical agents hiding in a stairwell, who swarmed the rooftop and arrested the teenager. Posing as members of an alQaida sleeper cell, three undercover FBI employees had monitored Smadi since January 2009. After he shared his plans to blow up the office tower, they helped him secure a truck and fake bomb used to carry out the mission, according to court documents. FBI officials said that after monitoring Smadi for nine months, agents decided he was a committed would-be terrorist determined to connect with alQaida or Hamas. It was fortunate, they said, that the FBI found him first, spewing hatred for America on an extremist website. But Hosam Smadi’s attorneys, like his father, portrayed their client as troubled and depressed. They said he exhibited signs of mental illness when his parents separated and suffered a breakdown after his mother’s death. Doctors also offered opposing views Monday. A psychologist testifying for the defense, Xavier Amador, pointed to interviews in which Smadi said he saw a devil in his home who tied down his hands and grabbed his mouth. Smadi also

told the doctor he felt certain he helped his dying mother survive a year longer, thoughts Amador said were “delusional and grandiose.” But prosecutors’ psychiatrist, Raymond Patterson, said Smadi “makes up psychiatric symptoms” and seemed to weather the divorce of his parents and death of his mother. Smadi’s father and 12-yearold sister broke into loud sobs when he was led into the

“I am sure that if he leaves prison now, he would learn from his mistakes and be a good person and get away from bad influences,” -Maher Smadi courtroom at the start of the hearing wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with his ankles chained together. He was polite, occasionally speaking to the judge. Mohammad al Zughoul, a former neighbor of the Smadis in Jordan, said in tearful testimony that his neighbors were a happy family until a rumor began about the elder Smadi’s wife being involved in an affair. The rumor infuriated Maher Smadi, who acknowledged he began beating his wife and four children. “Hosam had a lot of suffering,” al Zughoul said. “He was taking the responsibility of fighting his father. It destroyed Hosam this rumor and I know he is still suffering from that.”

Angelina Jolie gains Bosnia filing permit back aida cerkez

The Associated Press

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Angelina Jolie has been given back a permit to film in Bosnia that was briefly withdrawn because of rumors that her movie featured a rape victim who falls in love with her assailant, her producer said Monday. Jolie was given back the permit for her first project as a director after the country’s culture minster was given the script in an attempt to assure him the rumors were false, said

Edin Sarkic, Jolie’s Bosnian producer. The minister did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Mass rape was a taboo topic in the immediate aftermath of the country’s 1992-95 war between Serb and Bosnian Muslim forces but since then victims have formed a group to campaign for their rights, which has become one of the country’s most powerful lobbies. The Association of Women Victims of War protested Jolie’s production after hearing rumors that the film’s main

characters a Bosnian woman and a Serb man were a rape victim and rapist. Culture minister Gavrilo Grahovac pulled the filming permit Wednesday. Sarkic said that the newly restored permit will allow Jolie and her crew to start filming in Sarajevo in November. They are currently filming in Hungary. He said the whole controversy was “unnecessary”. Bakira Hasecic, leader of the association, told The Associated Press that she had tried to meet Jolie since August, when

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she first heard the rumors about the film’s plot. “We expect to meet with her now finally and we hope she will convince us that what we were suspecting and what we were afraid of is not true,” Hasecic said. Jolie said in a written statement Friday that it would be a shame if “unfair pressure based on wrong information” prevented her crew from shooting her film, whose title hasn’t been publicly released. “My hope is that people will hold judgment until they have seen the film,” Jolie said.

the gay community further. Onziema said a lawsuit against Rolling Stone is in the works, and that she believes the publication has submitted its registration and plans to publish again. “Such kind of media should not be allowed in Uganda. It is creating violence and calling for genocide of sex minorities,” said Mugisha. “The law enforcers and government should come out and protect sex minorities from such media.” Rolling Stone does not have a large following in Uganda, a country of 32 million where about 85 percent of people are Christian and 12 percent are Muslim. The newspaper published its first edition on Aug. 23. It publishes about 2,000 copies, but a single newspaper in Uganda is often read by 10 more people. The paper’s managing editor, Giles Muhame, said the article was “in the public interest.” “We felt there was need for

society to know that such characters exist amongst them. Some of them recruit young children into homosexuality, which is bad and need to be exposed,” he said. “They take advantage of poverty to recruit Ugandans. In brief we did so because homosexuality is illegal, unacceptable and insults our traditional lifestyle.’ Members of the gay community named in the article faced harassment from friends and neighbors. Onziema said the proposed bill already has led to evictions from apartments, intimidation on the street, unlawful arrests and physical assault. “We are an endangered species within our country,” said Nelly Kabali, 31. “We are looked at as if we are outcasts. One time I was in a night club with a friend when someone who knew me pointed at me shouting ‘There is a gay!’ People wanted to beat me up but I was saved by a bouncer who led me out.

Chilean leader gives mine rock to queen AP

AP Exchange

LONDON (AP) — Chilean President Sebastian Pinera is presenting Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II with a rock taken from the bottom of the collapsed San Jose mine a symbol of his effort to turn the dramatic disasterturned-success story into an international image makeover. The rescue of 33 men from the stricken mine where they’d been trapped for more than two months united Chileans and sent a wave of sympathy around the world. Pinera’s European tour, which began over the weekend in London, may help brighten the image of a country many here still associate with the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. “I think it has changed everybody in Chile,” Pinera said in a half-hour-long interview broadcast live on the BBC. “When you have to go through such an emotional experience that started as a tragedy and ended so successfully, you change.” He noted that the ethic of the response to the mining disaster could be applied to Chile’s problems of underdevelopment and poverty. The 69-day saga of the miners drew attention to the progress Chile has made since Pinochet

relinquished power in 1990. Pinochet’s brutality he is blamed for hundreds of disappearances in his campaign to crush opposition to his rule had turned him into a personification of right-wing repression in Latin America, while his arrest in London in 1998 on a Spanish arrest warrant kept Chile’s troubled history in the European public’s eye. Media here and elsewhere have lingered on the implications of the mining rescue for Chile’s past. One recent Times of London headline read: “Chile’s big heart has buried its history of dictatorship.” ‘’Chile’s leader lays the ghost of Pinochet,” another U.K. paper reported. Pinera is carrying tokens of mine rescue with him on his tour. One is the rock from the mine destined for the British monarch. Another stone goes to Prime Minister David Cameron, who is due to meet Pinera at his Downing Street office later Monday. Manchester United, which has invited the freed miners to visit the soccer club, is also getting a memento of the mining drama. Pinera is taking in meetings with businessmen, lawmakers, and Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg before leaving for France and Germany.

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Citigroup earns big as loans decrease Oil falls Pallavi Gogoi

AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup Inc., one of the largest banks in the world, reported its third straight quarter of profit Monday in another sign that the American consumer is healing. The New York bank, which is still 12 percent owned by the government, earned $2.15 billion, or 7 cents per share, in the three months ending in September. The results were better than analysts were expecting, and compared to a loss of $3.24 billion, or 27 cents per share, during the same period last year. Citi’s stock rose nearly 4 percent, lifting shares of other

banks along with it. Almost all of the profit came from dipping into funds that Citi had previously set aside to cover bad loans. That reflects the bank’s increasing level of confidence that its customers will be able to make payments on credit card and mortgage loans in the future. In an encouraging sign, losses from bad loans fell 30 percent during the quarter to $7.66 billion as defaults in Citi’s retail partner cards, Citi-branded credit cards and real estate portfolios all fell. It was the fifth consecutive quarter of declining losses from soured loans. The improvement in Citi’s earnings came as the bank re-

leased $1.97 billion in money it had previously set aside to cover bad loans. Citigroup was one of the hardest-hit banks during the financial crisis of 2008 and received $45 billion in government aid, $25 billion of which was converted to stock. The government continues to reduce its stake in Citigroup and has indicated that it plans to sell off the entire stake by December. So far, Citi has managed to steer clear from the ongoing foreclosure mess that has ensnared other major U.S. banks. Rivals Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan have stopped most or all their foreclosures because of evidence that thou-

sands of foreclosures were handled improperly. “We believe that our overall process is sound and our reviews indicate that nothing is amiss,” John Gerspach, Citi’s chief financial officer, said in a call with reporters. Citi also benefited from having a global profile; more than half of the bank’s revenue comes from overseas. While revenues from North America and Europe fell, Citi was able to take advantage of growth in emerging markets. Revenues from Latin America and Asia both grew. “Citi is well-positioned to participate in a credit quality cleanup in the U.S. and also the high pace of growth in Latin

America and Asia,” said Anthony Polini, managing director at Raymond James. Overall, there were 19 percent fewer consumers who were late by 90 days or more on payments on credit cards, Citi reported. Those that were late by 30 days also declined 24 percent. The drop in delinquencies is a signal that consumers are starting to get their footing again. Rival banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. also reported better results last week as losses narrowed from failed loans. Bank of America Corp. reports results Tuesday. Citi’s shares rose 14 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $4.09 in morning trading.

US sues Mich. Blue Cross Blue Shield Pirate attacks off Africa Pete Yost

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department alleged Monday in a lawsuit that Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield is discouraging competition by engaging in practices that raise hospital prices, conduct an assistant attorney general vowed to challenge anywhere else it is found in the United States. The suit targets “most favored nation” clauses between Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield and health care providers which, according to the government, essentially guarantee that no competing health care plan can obtain a better rate. Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield has most-favored-nation clauses or similar language in contracts with at least 70 of 131 general acute care hospitals in the state, the government alleges. The lawsuit said that Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield intended to raise hospital costs for competing health care plans and reduce competition for the sale of health insurance. “As a result, consumers in Michigan are paying more for their health care services and health insurance,” Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney, who runs the Justice Department’s antitrust division, told reporters. In response, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield said the law-

suit is seeking to restrict the nonprofit company’s ability to provide the most deeply discounted rates from Michigan hospitals.

“As a result, consumers in

Michigan are paying more for their health care services and health insurance,” -Christine Varney The company said that negotiated hospital discounts are a tool that Blue Cross uses to protect the affordability of health insurance for millions of Michigan residents. “Our hospital discounts are a vital part of our statutory mission to provide Michigan residents with statewide access to health care at a reasonable cost,” the company said. In some instances, the lawsuit states, Blue Cross has negotiated most-favored-nation clauses in exchange for increases in the prices it pays for the hospital’s services. In those instances, says the suit, Blue Cross has bought protection from competition by causing hospitals to raise the minimum prices they can charge to Blue Cross competitors. “Blue Cross has not sought or used MFN’s to lower its own cost of obtaining hospital services,” says the lawsuit. The state of Michigan joined

the Justice Department in the case filed in federal court in Detroit. The lawsuit outlines two types of most-favored-nation clauses requiring a hospital to provide services to Blue Cross competitors either at higher prices than Blue Cross pays or at prices no less than Blue Cross pays. In alleging violations of the Sherman Act and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act, the government said that under the “MFN-plus” clause, Blue Cross negotiated agreements requiring

“Blue Cross has not sought or used MFN’s to lower its own cost of obtaining hospital services,” -the lawsuit

22 hospitals to charge some or all other commercial insurers more than the hospital charges Blue Cross. Under the other clause, Blue Cross has agreements requiring more than 40 small, community hospitals to charge other commercial health insurers at least as much as they charge Blue Cross. Varney declined to say whether the Justice Department has open inquiries in other states of most-favored-nation clauses, which are not illegal unless they stifle competition.

Sean Yoong

Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Pirates are increasingly attacking ships in the South China Sea and Indonesian waters, but fewer incidents off Somalia have caused the worldwide total to fall slightly this year, a maritime watchdog said Monday. The number of attacks tripled to 30 in the South China Sea between January and September over the same period last year, mainly because of pirates operating off Indonesia’s coastline, according to data compiled by the London-based International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Malaysia. Armed pirates have been robbing mostly merchant vessels in the South China Sea off the Indonesian island of Mangkai, said Noel Choong, head of the reporting center. The area is a transit route used by vessels heading southeast to the Singapore Strait or northwest to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. The pirates appeared to take advantage of periods when Indonesian naval patrols were relatively weaker, Choong said. Attacks in other parts of Indonesia’s sprawling archipelago away from the South

China Sea also increased from seven to 26 in the same period, probably because patrols in those areas were reduced as well at certain times, Choong said. Choong said Indonesian authorities have not told the bureau why patrols were sometimes cut back, but he noted they boosted vigilance after the bureau wrote to them last month about recurring attacks in the South China Sea. However, the global number of attacks dipped from 306 in the first nine months of 2009 to 289 this year, the bureau reported. The improvement was because attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden dropped in this period from 100 to 44. Lawlessness in Somalia has caused piracy to spiral off the country’s coastline in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, which is patrolled by an international flotilla of warships. Naval intervention has helped ease attacks in the Gulf of Aden this year, coupled with monsoon weather that moved piracy farther out to sea. However, the monsoon season’s end in mid-September may mean that attacks increase in the final three months of 2010, the bureau warned.

to near $81 per Pablo Gorondi

Associated Press Writer

Oil prices fell to near $81 a barrel Monday as a monthlong rally lost momentum as the U.S. dollar recovered some ground. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for November delivery was down 11 cents to $81.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.44 to settle at $81.25 on Friday. Oil broke out of a yearlong trading range between $70 and $80 last month, fueled by a rally in global stock markets and a falling dollar. But equities have faltered in the last few trading sessions and a recovering dollar is making oil more expensive for investors with foreign currencies. “The previous price increase was driven mainly by financial investors and was not based on a tightening of the fundamental supply situation,” said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “Already during the past days, there were indications that the oil price increase would gradually run out of steam when it could hardly benefit any longer from the continuing weakness of the U.S. currency.” The euro fell to $1.3914 on Monday from $1.3963 on Friday while the British pound slipped slightly to $1.5887 from $1.5985. All major Asia stock markets were down Monday, while mostly rising slightly in Europe. “Investors sold against weakness in equities and a resurgence in the dollar,” Cameron Hanover said in a report. “The economic data is not helping.” Investors will be closely watching how a high U.S. unemployment rate may have affected corporate earnings. Apple Inc., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. report third quarter results this week. Still, some analysts suggested $80 could take its place at the bottom of a new trading range, instead of the top.

Banks of America posts $7.7 billion loss on special charge pallavi gogoi & stephen bernard AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday it lost $7.65 billion during the third quarter due to a charge related to credit and debit card

reform legislation passed over the summer. The bank also announced a change in its consumer banking strategy to focus on providing customers with incentives to do more business with the bank instead of generating rev-

enue through penalty fees such as overdraft charges. The bank is already starting to implement some changes, and has cut overdraft fees on small amounts that customers charge to their debit cards. “Customer scores have im-

Are you registered to VOTE? It’s not too late. Downtown Old Courthouse 301 W. Market St. is the one-stop voting site for Aggies. (336) 641-3836 for info

proved, complaint volumes are down,” CEO Brian Moynihan said on a conference call with analysts to discuss earnings. The new legislation that caused Bank of America to take the $10.4 billion charge limits fees banks can collect when merchants accept debit cards. BofA said that change would reduce future revenues in its card business. Excluding the one-time charge, Bank of America earned $3.1 billion, or 27 cents per share, in the three months ending in September. That easily topped the 16 cents per share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Analysts don’t typically include special charges in their estimates. BofA’s shares were down 18 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $12.16 in morning trading. The better-than-expected results were due mainly to a sharp

drop in losses tied to defaulting loans. The bank set aside $5.4 billion to cover bad loans during the third quarter, compared with $11.71 billion during the same quarter last year. JPMorgan Chase & Co., which reported results last week, also benefited from a big drop in losses from failed loans. BofA has already started introducing components of its new strategy. For instance, it offers free checking to customers who use its “eBanking” channel or solely use online banking. The bank plans to begin testing new offerings in December that will reward customers for using certain kinds of banking products or keeping higher balances. A drop in defaults is a sign that customers could be regaining their financial footing after the recession, which led to widespread defaults on mortgages, home equity loans and

credit cards. Bank of America and other banks have been stung in recent weeks by accusations that they failed to properly review documents used in foreclosures. Bank of America had halted foreclosures in all 50 states, but said Monday that it would resume foreclosure proceedings in 23 states after reviewing cases there. CEO Moynihan said it would take three to five weeks for the bank’s employees to review the documents and restart the foreclosure process. Including the special, noncash charge this quarter, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America lost $7.65 billion, or 77 cents per share. In the third quarter of last year, BofA reported a loss of $2.2 billion applicable to common shareholders, or 26 cents per share.

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The misconceptions of black people part 2 ‘You’re fine for a dark-skinned chick’ Someone once told me that when it comes to black women, the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. Years later, I was told that if your skin is light, bright and two shades away from white, that automatically makes you right. With this being said, I am here to set the record straight. Both of these statements are the most ignorant things that could ever come out of anyone’s mouth. How can people, black people especially, be so dumb and blind to accept these stereotypes? It’s as if we are saying that if your skin is not dark then you clearly miss the mark of being a truly qualified black woman. And if your skin does not show signs of whiteness, then everything you do and say is irrelevant in terms of being beautiful. Trust me, outside of relation-

ships, your skin complexion very rarely, if ever, has anything to do with what happens in your life. And even in terms of relationships, the ONLY reason it matter is because of personal preference by human beings. This is no different than preferring skinny over fat, or a tall person opposed to a short person. But this does not mean you should cry about all of your problems just because your skin is light, dark, or “in between.” Because when you meet someone outside of the black community, you are addressed as an African American. Not a light skinned American, nor a dark skinned American. You are a simple minded individual if you feel that skin complexion matters that much. The black community has accepted stereotypes such as

Deltas are dark-skinned and AKAs are lightskinned. Or light-skinned brothers are not in style. Even foolishTRUMAINE ness such as MCCASKILL dark-skinned means rough and ugly, light-skinned means prissy and sadity, and brownskinned does not mean much nothing since they fall in between. However, to show you these stereotypes are completely wrong, I’ve met plenty of light skinned Deltas, in addition to dark skinned AKAs. Also ladies, I’m sure many of you would fall for Drake, T.I, J. Cole, and Will Smith long before you fall for someone of my complexion; regardless if I’m “in style” or not.

And last, but not least, to assume that people such as Tasha Smith are classless because she’s dark skinned, Maya Angelou is sadity just because she is light-skinned, or that Gabrielle Union does not matter just because she falls “in between” is not only wrong, but it is also disrespectful to even think this way. This idea of “my skin complexion is holding me down” is nothing more but another excuse by the black community to be lazy and blame the world for their problems. Why can’t it be your lack of mental capacity holding you down? Why can’t it be your laziness that is holding you down? Do you think a pale, white person has ever gone home and cried about losing a job opportunity to another white person with a tan? Truth be told, I would be

willing to listen to you complain about the white man is holding you down before I would listen to you complain about your skin complexion is holding you down. Because to think our skin complexion is really that important is not only misguided, but it is also completely wrong. Get over these small internal racial conflicts. Your skin complexion plays such a small, insignificant role in what happens to you and the people around you. You think Wesley Snipes became a great actor because his skin was dark? Do you think Billie Holiday gained her vocals just because she was light skinned? Do you really think anyone pays attention to the fact that Denzel Washington’s skin tone is not dark or light? None of these individuals have ever let their skin stop

them from doing what they do best and neither should we. This is just one thing we let hold us down in the black community but trust me, there are many more. However the significance of this one is major. Because if we continue to believe that we are in competition with other people of the same race just because their skin complexion is different, then it shows that we are more like crabs in a barrel than an actual race of people. Constantly clawing, pulling and tearing one another down just to prove our dominance over someone who goes through the same struggles as everyone else. If we can get over this skin complexion hump then maybe our lives would be much easier and progressive. However if not, then progression in the black community seems to be more of a dream than an actual reality.

Basically, we suck! Congo: the genocide the world ignores Someone on twitter stated this weekend that A&T is wasting so much money for the band to travel from school to school during football season each year. However, I believe the wasted money is not going towards our band. The members of the football team are the ones who are wasting our money. It is amazing how much money is WASTED on our football team each year. Year after year we continue to face losing season after losing season. Is it too much to ask for a competitive football team? And for those of you who feel that The A&T Register goes in too hard on our beloved football team, please spare me! It does not make any sense for our football team to be ranked DEAD LAST in the Jeff Sagarin NCAA football ratings (which can be found in USA Today). That’s right! Of the 245 teams in Division 1 football, we rank number 245. Maybe we should start letting our Flag Football team host homecoming in the Holland Bowl instead of wasting our time and money hosting it in Aggie Stadium. Maybe we would actually break this seven-year homecoming-losing streak. I know most people may blame the coaches. I will be the first to admit that if the coaches cannot motivate a team, then the chances of the team being any good is slim to none. However, the weight should not fall all on them. I personally feel that our head coach’s resume was fine before he came to our God-awful football program. It would be extremely hard, if not impossible; to motivate a group of people who feel that losing is natural. Coaching may be a problem, but the players surely do not make it easy for anyone to support them. And without an athletic director, it’s become a sad day to be an Aggie football supporter. At most schools, the way the athletic program works all starts

with the football team. If games are won, better players and coaches can be recruited. If better players and TRUMAINE coaches are MCCASKILL r e c r u i t e d , then attendance will increase. More attendance means more sponsors and alumni support and obviously more money. The money that is typically made during football season can be distributed throughout the entire athletic department. So naturally, if your football team is doing its job, many of the other teams become better because they can simply recruit better players and have more money to build their respective programs. However, when your football team is some trash like ours, then volleyball, baseball, track, bowling, swimming, etc. all suffer. These teams need funding that they typically will not get since they have very little attendance. So when the football team continues to produce garbage week in and week out, the entire athletic department suffers. As an Aggie, I am tired of seeing you guys make up 10 of our 20 Questions every single week. When talking to people from different schools, it is really embarrassing to bring up the football team. I would at least love to talk about how things used to be, but I can’t. Since I can remember, our team has been getting run over, around, and threw for far too long. I wish I could still support the football team in public; but until I see some changes, I have stopped claiming you as a representative of this university. So instead of everyone pointing fingers in the locker room, I suggest everyone just sit down and realize that you all have just got to do better!

SHAYLA MASON

How is it that those in power are more willing to put money into destroying lives than saving them? Today, nearly six million people have died as a result of conflict related causes in the Congo since 1996, and yet we rarely hear about it in the news. There is a genocide occurring in Congo right now, and all our government can focus on is putting money into worthless things like wars that should not have been started in the first place. For those of you who do not already know, there is a crisis in Congo that has been going on for years ever since the ruling of King Leopold II of Belgium. While in power, Leopold exploited the people of Congo by only using the country for its natural resources such as rubber, copper, diamonds, coltan etc. He profited from the distribution of these resources and refused to put the money back into the country that pretty much produced it. He forced the people of Congo into labor to extract these resources, and then sold them and kept the profits for himself. Since then, the country has been in a state of chaos. The main resource that

seems to be the heart of this crisis is coltan. Coltan is a black tar-like mineral found all throughout the Congo. The Congo possesses 64 percent of the world’s coltan. This resource is used to produce laptop computers, cellular phones, jet engines rockets, cutting tools, camera lenses, X-ray film etc. With the exception of Patrice Lumumba, Congo has yet to have a leader that has seriously been concerned with the well being of its people. Each person put in power is only used as a tool by the rest of the world, to reap the benefits of the natural resources. When Congo elected its first leader, Patrice Lumumba, he was assassinated and then replaced by Mobutu Sese Seko who was supported by the U.S. and Belgium. It should not be surprising that the one leader that the people get to elect is assassinated and opposed to holding another election wealthier countries appoint a dictator to rule over Congo. What is even more chaotic is Laurent Desire Kabila, who is backed by Rwanda and Uganda, ends Mobutu’s rule. Kabila is soon sought to be overthrown which results in a war breaking out involving seven other African countries. Rwanda and Uganda continued to do what every other leader did and that is exploiting Congo’s resources. The people

of Congo were being forced into labor to assist the distribution of their country’s resources that they rarely get the chance to benefit from. Congolese women are being raped as a scare tactic to get the people to comply with the orders of those in power. What is even more disturbing about this conflict is the inaction our government is taking. The U.S. is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Each year the U.S. puts ridiculous amounts of money into the military. According to an article written by Anup Shah, in 2009 the U.S. spent up to $1.531 trillion in current dollars on the military. Also, according to Nishant Tharani, who wrote an article about how much money is being spent on the war in Iraq, $445,817,285,000 has been spent on the war in Iraq since 2007. This is completely ridiculous to spend this much money on a pointless war, which technically is not even a war because neither side has officially declared war. The U.S. is just over there “patrolling” things while getting themselves killed for no reason. All that money can go towards something impactful like helping the people in Congo. It is appalling that people can sit around and do nothing while innocent people are losing their lives. Women are being raped and their children forced into la-

bor all over natural resources. The U.S. has the power and the time to step in and restore order. If one were to argue that this is not the U.S.’s problem and why risk our lives for the people of Congo, a response for that is, we are already risking our soldiers’ lives every day that we are in the Middle East. At least helping Congo is a clear and sensible mission. We are not even sure whom we are fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. The government tells us we are fighting a war on terror, but terror is not a country or a person. It is not a tangible object that can be fought. It’s a social construct used to instill fear for some political reason. So in actually we are not fighting anyone. Our tax dollars are being wasted daily on the destruction of innocent people’s homes. What better way to get your money’s worth then to put your dollars towards liberating the people of Congo. These people need our help more than we realize. We probably cannot get our government to change its whole agenda and heavily support Congo, but we can find other ways to help without the government. One way is by supporting this week since it is national Congo week. For more information about Congo and Congo week and how to support these people, go to friendsofcongo.org.

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Editor’s note:The opinions expressed on The Word are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the staff of The A&T Register. All house editorials are written and revised with input from the editorial board, staff, and is approved by the editor. All submissions must be sent to theatregister@gmail.com to be considered for submission and should be no longer than 250 words. Submissions must be received by the Sunday prior to publication at 5 p.m. to be considered. The A&T Register reserves the right to edit all submission content for clarity and grammar. Submissions become the property of The A&T Register and will not be returned.

The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, October 20, 2010

&SCENE HEARD

Coffee House Poetry NECOLE JACKSON Register Reporter

T.I. Returns To Court: Expert Weighs In On Possible Outcomes T.I. will go before a federal judge in Atlanta on Friday afternoon (October 15) after he was arrested last month in Los Angeles on drug possession charges, a violation of his probation that could send him back to prison. The MC’s arrest drew a collective gasp from fans and music industry insiders since T.I.’s recent probation is the result of an experimental plea deal reached after his 2007 arrest and subsequent trial on charges of attempting to illegally purchase firearms. For more information on this story, go to: www.mtv.com/news -Jayson Rodriguez

QUESTIONS

The Kappa Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega held its second annual Coffee House Poetry Slam on Wednesday, Oct. 13 in Stallings Ballroom. Artists, poets and singers were given the chance to showcase their talent for the students of NC A&T. Walking into Stallings, students were embraced with the coffee house aroma and a relaxing atmosphere. The live jazz band Soulful played well known songs including Melanie Fiona’s “It Kills Me” and Drake’s “Fear.” Lights were dimmed, candles were lit and the city at night was shown as a back drop. Light refreshments were served and paintings were placed around the room to carry the theme. One of the featured artists was Lillie Lillan, a visual art and design major from Texas, who showed three pieces. “I would love to see more things like this on campus,” said Lillan. “Maybe next time we can get an artist painting and a poet spitting at the same time. That would be great.” Artists sang songs including Floetry “Say Yes” and SWV “So Weak.” One singer, Todnee Jeffries, sang Chrisette Michele “Mr. Radio” and “Love is You.” Everyone gave her a standing applause as she left and went back to her seat. Between performers, there was a saxophone duet that

hotlist

theSCENE

Oct. 20-26th The A&T Register’s guide to what’s going on this week in arts and entertainment.

ON SCREEN PHOTO BY MICHAELA EDWARDS •THE A&T REGISTER

Coffee House Poetry Showcase was hosted by the Kappa Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity which took place Oct. 13 in Stallings Ballroom. The event showcased A&T student’s skills and talents in the arts. Live bands, singers and poets all were in attendance.

allowed everyone in the audience to sing along to the jazz music. Poets also spoke their piece. A group named S.B.E, Separate but Equal, showed their talent. “Lyrically Blessed” and “D.A.L.E.A.R.” (Doing All Loving Everyone and Religion), who are NC A&T alumni, did a poem together titled Masterpiece. They also did separate poems named The Ugly Side of Love and Rated. Alpha Phi Omega held auditions for the slam and drew it down to 20 ﬁnalists. They also held an extra 30 minutes at the end for anyone to do open mic that missed

auditions. The president of Alpha Phi Omega Damquia Champion, also known as Champ, put the whole program together. She also was one of the featured poets. “We really wanted to have this poetry slam on campus and not off so people could be able to come”, said Champ. “We usually do community service programs, so this is the ﬁrst entertainment program we have held. It’s nice to see people come out, support, and enjoy something you do.”

HEREAFTER starring Matt Damon comes out on Friday. George is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. Marie, a journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. Marcus, a schoolboy, loses the person closest to him. Each are on a path in search of the truth. - J.V.

ON SHELVES

(Right)-A&T students perfromed songs and spoken word poetry throughout the night.

1. Did you enjoy your fall break? 2. Did you know some schools don’t have fall break? 3. Doesn’t that make you appreciate A&T a little bit more? 4. Are you surprised we lost the football game Saturday? 5. Did you realize we are 0-6? 6. Are we heading towards the longest streak again? 7. Did you hear one of the quarterbacks that played for us was a former Aggie baseball player? 8. Did you see tweets that he was really good? 9. How does that make our football players feel? 10. Are you registered to vote? 11. Should we start P Diddy’s Vote or Die campaign to get people voting again? 12. Did you watch the BET Hip Hop awards? 13. How many of you watched Willow Smith on 106 and Park? 14. Are you about to whip your hair? 15. Have you seen her new video? 16. Should she have shouted out greeks when she stepped in it? 17. Did you really talk bad about her? 18. Do you realize she is only 9 years old? 19. Does age make people off limits to talk about? 20. Are you going to the football game against Howard?

PREDATORS starring Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne and Danny Trejo is out on DVD. A mercenary, reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet as prey. With the notable exception of a disgraced physician, they are all coldblooded killers. - J.V.

ON STAGE

BE SCENE Contributor’s Meetings every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in GCB 328A

TASHA SMITH who plays Angela in Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married,” joins the Aggie family and community to share her life story Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in Harrison Auditorium. Presented by the Lyceum Series and Student University Activities Board this is a free event for A&T students, faculty, and staff with a valid university I.D. General Admission in $5. Everyone will need a ticket for this event from Brown Hall. -J.V.

ON CAMPUS Aggie Insider is a production by the A&T TV Studio that will focus on arts and entertainment. The show is hosted by JOMC majors, Ashley Gilmer and Evan Summerville and edited by JOMC majors. The Insider will air bi-weekly on the A&T TV Studio website and on Public Access TVChannel 8. Support your fellow Aggies and tune in! - J.V.