April 30, 2014 by The A&T Register

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April 30, 2014

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Hip-Hop takes over environment uniqua quillins

The Act On Climate tour, brought by WNAA 90.1FM, recently visited North Carolina A&T to discuss how climate change is affecting black and low-income communities. Featured guests and panelists were President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, Reverend Lennox Yearwood, host and comedian Amada Seales, director of Dartmouth College’s Climate Justice Research Project, Dr. Michael Dorsey, retired senior pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church located in Atlanta, Ga., Reverend Gerald L. Durley, RCA Inspiration recording artist Dee-1, singer and songwriter Raheem DeVaughn and N.C. A&T’s very own Maryann Ibeziako. The Hip Hop Caucus first explained exactly how people of the United States are affected by climate change. Carbon pollution is one of those effects. Power plants, coal and other various fossil fuels emit carbon in the air, which creates pollution, and this pollution creates cancer and asthma. Pollution causes climate change. Extreme weather and African American communities are at the nexus of environmental issues. According to Yearwood, while the tour was in Newport News, Va., they saw three and four year-old children having heart attacks. “It’s that serious,” said Yearwood. African Americans are 20 percent more likely to have asthma than Caucasians, and are three more times likely to die from asthma related causes than Caucasians. In North Carolina, 7.9 percent of African American adults reported having asthma and 15.4 percent of children reported having asthma. One prominent reason for that are the power plants being built in the African American and low-income communities that emit toxins into those communities. African Americans also contribute 20 percent less than Caucasian Americans to the causes of global warming, but are more vulnerable to extreme weather such as heat waves and floods. The power plants, according to Yearwood, were seen on every tour directly next to chil-

Taylor young

Cooper Hall has been named best residence hall by the Resident Hall Association and Student Affairs during the GALA awards. According to its residents, Cooper Hall is an all-male dorm that is based out of brotherhood and fellowship. This year Cooper has gone through a transformation by attempting to shed its bad reputation for the sake of its residents. Most know of Cooper’s reputation by current students and alumni. Even Orientation Freshman Leaders spread this information to freshmen during orientation. Girls walk out

LACI OLLISON

that we’ve built here with the residents by opening up the office to them to come in and talk about real life situations and pretty much what goes on throughout the day also played a role in that… It also created a brotherhood… a brotherhood that we will cherish for the rest of our lives here…” Ernest McDuffie Jr., graduate hall director, expressed how you have to meet students where they are and not use power to regulate them. He is humble and puts himself in a position where residents feel comfortable around him even though he is one of the oldest staff members. The entire staff of Cooper

Beginning the fall semester of 2014, the university will implement a plus and minus grading system for incoming freshmen and future students. “The new system should have minimal impact on students,” said Akua Matherson, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management. “With the exception of being clear on the grading scale for their individual class and translating that into the GPA and final grade you want to have by the end of the semester.” Adding the new grading system will not affect previous cumulative GPAs. Matherson noted that students should understand that their grading scale is clearly outlined in the course syllabus that they receive for each class in which they are enrolled. The associate vice chancellor also advises that students should know what the numeric grade translates to on the grading scale and in turn corresponds to in respect to the GPA. “For students that have always sought to do well, this will be an easy transition. For students who may not have concentrated as much as they need to, this should serve as a wake up call to re-engage and re-focus on academics.” The addition of the grading system is meant to function as a motivator for students to strive for higher grades in their classes. Matherson explained that “students who have sat squarely at C’s should now strive to hit a B- and move from there. Likewise, students who have been strong B students should look to become a student at an A- and push from there.” Britney Newton, a Secondary Education Major said that although she is not very familiar with the new grading system, she does not feel that it would benefit students. “My best friend goes to East Carolina University, who uses the plus/minus grading system. From her experience, the new system makes it harder for students to maintain a decent GPA.”As an education major, Newton thinks the system will be horrible for students. “The system will essentially be the collegiate equivalent to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The new system will cause students to focus more on grades rather than retaining content, just as NCLB caused students and teachers to focus more on standardize testing.” Matherson said that staff members are content with the new changes. “Many faculty members who have come from other institutions were already familiar with plus minus grading.” “As the university contin-

u See COOPER on Page 2

u See GRADES on Page 2

Photo by UNIQUA QUILLINS • THE A&T REGISTER

MARYANN IBEZIAKO, DR. MICHAEL DORSEY, AMANDA SEALES, REVEREND GERALD L. DURLEY, DEE-1,AND RAHEEM DEVAUGHN talk about climate change and what students should do to take action against it.

dren’s playgrounds polluting the surrounding communities. Actions can be taken to prevent more power plants from becoming existent by showing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards are wanted for power plants which in turn will prevent unlimited carbon pollution from being dumped into the air protecting those communities from health risks and impacts of climate change. “Every major city, inner city, poverty stricken community, there are power plants right next to the elementary schools, kids outside playing and it’s a direct impact on why asthma is on the rise, cancer is on the rise and birth defects on the rise,” said DeVaughn. Sophomore, criminal justice major and native of Washington D.C., Zephanie Gore could relate to the specific stories told about the power plants. “Right behind the capitol is a power plant and across the highway is a playground and schools,” said Gore.

Gore says she is ready to take a stand and believes students should too. “This is a serious issue and it’s going to get worse unless we do something about it,” said Gore. Dorsey believes that climate change is a civil rights issue because it is leading and worsening the crisis of environmental racism. “It’s most heavily impacting not only the black community in the U.S. and N.C., but it is heavily impacting poor black and brown peoples all over the world,” said Dorsey. According to Dorsey, the worst affected by the unfolding climate crisis are those not only in marginalized communities of black and brown in this country, but in marginalized communities around the world in countries such as Asia, Latin American and Africa. Yearwood brought attention his audience’s that this issue is not a racial issue, but a human u See TOUR on Page 3

Photo by UNIQUA QUILLINS • THE A&T REGISTER

RAHEEM DEVAUGHN sings old single “Bulletproof.”

with shades on or would not even walk on the sidewalk near Cooper. It was seen as a place where no female should go unless they want to be called out of name. It was also seen as a place where no male wanted to call home. In 2011, Men of Coop Mondays (MCM,) was just an idea, but was not implemented until this year. To help change the reputation of Cooper, MCM was finally implemented this year by the staff of Cooper Hall. It influences the men to dress in business casual on Mondays and to set a standard for how all gentlemen should conduct themselves on campus. This alone has set a new norm for

the men of Cooper Hall. Resident Hall Director William Smith pushed for the program to be implemented by starting with the staff. Then once elected the hall council was the first to actually participate before it first begun. They have at least 20 men participate each Monday. Tronell Wynn, secretary of Cooper’s Hall Council, said, “It [MCM] has molded a lot of students into progressive students. It has taken a reputation that was not very good and turned it into great.” Wynn, a freshman student, expressed how it gave him a sense of pride in his residence hall.

Freshmen are impressionable and the staff of Cooper hopes that they have set a new standard and even legacy for Cooper Hall. From MCM began a true fellowship between residents and staff. Conversations take place all of the time covering topics such as school, history, relevance of HBCUs, gender roles, and even appearance. Over 400 men live in Cooper. Staff feels that they have impacted at least a fourth of its population. The resident assistants (RA) and graduate hall directors (GHD) are seen as mentors to the residents. Tyler Swanson, resident assistant, said, “The bond

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A&T gets new grading policy Register Reporter

Cooper Hall wins first place Register Reporter

Wednesday

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, April 30, 2014

theBLOTTER April 23 2:02 a.m. Cooper Hall Drug Violation Closed 4:03 p.m. Fort IRC Larceny Further Investigation 5:30 p.m. Aggie Villiage 3 Larceny Further Investigation April 24 1:54 p.m. Marteena Hall Simple Assault Further Investigation 3:50 p.m. Carver Hall Fraud-Impersonation Closed April 25 11:45 a.m. Marteena Hall Vehicle Accident Closed 4:08 p.m. Aggie Villiage 1-6 Found Property Closed

5:16 p.m. Marteena Hall Larceny Further Investigation April 27 2:31 a.m. Aggie Village 4 Lost Property Closed 2:54 a.m. Aggie Suites E Simple Assault Student Referral 5:25 p.m. Aggie Suites E Disturbing the Peace Student Referral 10:09 p.m. Pride Hall Fire Alarm Further Investigation April 28 9:57 a.m. GCB Weapon on Campus Further Investigation 10:34 p.m. Pride Hall Communicating Threats Further Investigation Compiled by Tiera Richardson

gradES From page 1 ues to push for excellence and seeks to have a greater presence as a research institution both at the graduate and undergraduate level, plus/minus grading is the standard. It allows faculty to have more flexibility and more appropriately score assignments and tests based on the individual student.” A&T is the first HBCU to implement a new plus/minus grading system. —Email Laci at lkolliso@aggies. ncat.edu and follow The Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

Cooper

From page 1

Hall has met students where they are and have made the residents better men. Though most of the staff members were not assigned to Cooper next year or are not going to be associated with Residence Life anymore, they said that they will help preserve what they have started with Cooper Hall.

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—Email Taylor at tlyoung1@aggies.ncat.edu and follow The Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Wednesday

SGA Inauguration

MSU- Exhibit Hall 5 a.m. -9 p.m.

PROUD Meeting Union 214 7:30 p.m.

WOW Night GCB 218 Aud 7:30 p.m.- 10 p.m.

thursday

Transitional Lunch Union SBR 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Unpaid internships affects students livelihood taylor young

Internships have the option of paying who they choose to intern for them. The College Board reported, “When room and board are included, total charges at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades.” With tuition rates on the rise how can students afford to gain experience in their field if some internships are unpaid. Money is a necessity for college and it does not grow on trees. Students are expected to pay tuition, pull out loans and then also pay for books and any other expenses that may come up throughout the semester. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is an association whose mission is to lead the community of professionals focused on the employment of the college educated by providing access to relevant knowledge, resources, insight, and relationships. According to NACE, almost 97 percent of employers plan to hire interns and co-ops in 2014. Internships and co-ops most of the time guarantees job security.

NACE said what makes a successful internship program is exposing interns to all facets of a business. A successful internship should also include pay. If an internship does not pay the United States Department of Labor has standards that an employer must meet. The Department of Labor six standards must be met in order to establish that an intern qualifies to work unpaid: 1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar training which would be given in an educational environment 2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern 3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff 4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on no occasion its operations may actually be impeded 5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship 6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship

MSU- Exhibit Hall 3 p.m

Friday

MEAC Championship Track and Field Aggie Stadium 8:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.

CAE Reading Day

NACB 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

Saturday

MEAC Championship Track and Field

Aggie Stadium 8:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.

Women’s Softball

Aggie Softball Field 1:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.

sunday

Janay boone Contributor

Coach Xavier Carrington and the North Carolina A&T Legacy Basketball team have reached the top once again. The women’s intramural basketball team upset the Angelo State Impact 59-56. This is the second championship for the Aggies in three years. Xavier Carrington, A&T’s intramural sports director and a visual arts professor, is in his third year of coaching. A graduate of Valdosta State University, Carrington lives by the quote, “It doesn’t matter how small the task is at hand. You should always take pride in accomplishing it because you never know who is watching. Perception is everything.” The team started working out in late November. The ladies found success early in the season going 8-0. A&T’s Legacy won both the Martin Luther King Invitational at Wake Forest University, as well as the NIR-

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Moore Gym 6:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.

Monday

MSU- Exhibit Hall 3:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.

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Commencement Information pickup Dowdy Building

TUESday

Municipal Primaries MSU- Exhibit Hall 7:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.

Open Gym

Moore Gym 6:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.

The A&T

Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) are the future not many are being produced. Stewart said, “I have seen some of the laziest engineers with no extracurricular activities and low GPAs get jobs just because we learn how to learn and analytical skills apply everywhere we go.” Unlike business majors who are being produced by the hour, they are not in high demand so they will not get paid the most. The Institute of Education Sciences reported that in the 2009-2010 academic school year 358,000 of the 1,650,000 students that graduated were business majors. Ernest McDuffie, Jr., a graduate student, held many internship positions during his undergrad years as a sports science major at A&T. Two of his internships were paid and they were with DB Consulting Group and Bowie Baysox. Another was with the Washington Redskins, which was unpaid. McDuffie, Jr. expressed how the experience working with the Redskins was great and it opened many doors for him. He had bills to pay and had to live on a tight budget but he described how in the end it was worth it. McDuffie, Jr. said, “I hon-

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SA Regional Basketball Tournament at the University of Maryland securing their bid to the National NIRSA Tournament. The team took its first two losses at the University of Georgia bringing their record to 9-2. That humbling experience was just what the team needed to prepare them for the remainder of the season. They ended the season 19-3 and claimed the NIRSA National Intramural Women’s Basketball Championship. Missing the championship game last year, Brianey Winslow wanted redemption. Brianey Winslow, a junior from Capitol Heights, Md., was an important piece to this year’s Championship team. “Although I tend to come down on myself, I knew that my teammates had my back.” Throughout the tournament, Winslow recorded 27 points, 14 rebounds, 6 steals, and 5 blocks. ”It’s an amazing feeling. We

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Open Gym

Municipal Primaries

Majors such as engineering, computer science, and mathematics earn the most during internships. Garner Stewart, a junior industrial and systems engineering major, stated that engineers earn the most because of their value in the marketplace. He has had plenty of internships and this summer he will be paid $21 per hour with Ford. That is the most he has ever been paid. NACE put the average intern salary was $16.21 per hour for other majors. The Department of Labor expresses that interns if paid should receive at least minimum wage. Stewart said, “Engineering students make the most [during internships] because engineers make the most. Some people work their life to make at least $50,000 a year. With the demand and culture of engineering, I expect to make no less than $70,000 when I graduate and $100,000 by the time I’m 25.” The demand is high for engineers, computer science, and mathematics students but the supply is low. It is hard to see that at A&T because the school is known for engineering, but within other colleges and universities many are not graduating with these majors. Making them rare, even though Science

estly think the fact that it [the internship] was unpaid helps weed out the candidates that just do it for the money.” He believes that an intern should be paid based on how much the internships requires from the intern. Some internships have students working regular hours and doing the same amount of work as full-time employees, but they do not get paid. Students do have the right to choose. McDuffie, Jr. and Stewart both stressed the importance of gaining experience and how it opened doors for them in their individual careers. Students can network and learn during internships. Some things cannot just be taught in the classroom, so it is better when a student is able to actually apply knowledge in the real world. In the end employers, no matter what major, are going to look for students with experience and who can benefit their company. If a student lacks experience it will be difficult to find a job. —Email Taylor at tlyoung1@aggies.ncat.edu and follow The Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

Aggies win championship

Turner Administration Farewell

Every Wednesday 5 p.m. in GCB Room 328

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worked hard as a team this season. There were so many emotions going on at the time. The entire team was overjoyed. We grew not only as a team, but they are my family. I love them,” said Winslow. “I’m very proud of the ladies for accomplishing their final goal as national champions. The hard work that was put forward in 6 a.m. practice, grueling condition drills while maintaining their academic excellence was all worth it in the end. With this being the last season for only one player, All Tournament Senior, Tiffany Williams, we will have a lot of experience returning. Moving forward into next season, I feel confident that the A&T Legacy will be in a position to be a major contender for the National [title] again.” —Email Janay at jboone@aggies. ncat.edu and follow The Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

hip-hop

From page 1

Dorsey believes that sometimes, citizens forget that the government works for the people and should constantly be held accountable. “We have to remind those individuals that they work for us, represent us, we put them there with power, our power,” said Dorsey. He also stated that people should be constantly vigilant when engaging with officials. Another solution discussed is making sure citizens hold each other accountable to make sure goals are made and the changes voted and protested for occur. “We have to have accountability partners,” said Dee-1. Overall, this tour was created to inform and spark passion into those indirectly and directly affected by climate change. “You should leave here upset, you should leave here angry and I hope that you leave here feeling empowered to start your own movement. Become that superstar or that leader in your family to spark change,” said Raheem DeVaughn. —Email Janay at jboone@aggies.ncat.edu and follow The Register on Twitter @TheATRegister

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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Nigeria up against Boko Harem ROBYN DIXON

MCT Campus

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa— When a small group of Nigerian Islamist militants attacked two police stations and killed an officer, government security forces moved in swiftly, announcing they had “crushed” the revolt. Ten months later, the militants attacked two more stations, slaying four officers. This time Nigerian security forces killed dozens of fighters, and the state police commissioner announced that it was just “a matter of hours before (all) the militants will be flushed out.” More than a decade later, that hasn’t happened. Instead, the northern Nigerian group known as Boko

Haram, in response to the government crackdown, has grown exponentially and is increasingly targeting civilians. In the last week alone, it has been blamed for a suicide bombing at a bus station in the capital, Abuja, in which 71 civilians were killed, and the abduction of more than 230 teenage schoolgirls from a northern village. The girls remain missing. On Wednesday, rumors on social media that the militants had seized a highway in southern Nigeria caused chaos and panic as security forces raced to the area. Since January, a quarter of a million Nigerians have ﬂed their homes. The attacks come at a particularly embarrassing moment for Nigeria, only weeks before it is to host an annual World

Economic Forum on Africa, with hundreds of delegates from around the globe set to ﬂy in to a nation that has just emerged as Africa’s biggest economy, surpassing South Africa. The campaign to destroy Boko Haram has turned Nigeria’s impoverished, predominantly Muslim northeastern desert region into a war zone, as the ﬁghters repeatedly change tactics and up the ante: urban assaults in 2009; suicide bombings, assassinations and drive-by shootings in 2010 and 2011; devastating mass attacks on schools, barracks and unprotected northern villages more recently. Thousands of Nigerians have died, schools and colleges have been closed, and the region’s economy has been ripped apart.

Analysts say a key reason for the failure to eradicate the group is that it is nearly impossible for an army to use brute force alone to ﬁght indigenous guerrillas who can melt away in a vast desert region. Moreover, they say, reliance on brute strength doesn’t create the conditions for winning hearts and minds in the nation, which is divided between the marginalized mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south. “The Nigerians have long used one instrument, which is a very blunt instrument: military force,” said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank. “You also need intelligence,” he said.

US is expected to sign military deal with Philippines STUART LEAVENWORTH MCT Campus

MANILA, Philippines — With President Barack Obama scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Monday, the administration announced Sunday that the United States will sign a defense agreement with the island nation that will give American troops, ships and aircraft more access to the Philippines than they’ve had since the last U.S. military base closed here in 1992. The accord, which will be signed by U.S. ambassador Phil Goldberg before Obama’s plane lands, “is the most signiﬁcant defense agreement that we have concluded with the Philippines in decades,” said Evan Medeiros, the administration’s senior director for Asian affairs. It had been unclear whether

U.S. and Philippines negotiators, who’ve been working on the accord for eight months, would agree before Obama’s visit, the ﬁrst by a U.S. president since 2003. Signing it will symbolize American support for the Philippines as it confronts China over competing claims to vast stretches of the South China Sea. It will also give Obama something solid to crow about as he returns to Washington Tuesday night. In an interview with a Philippines media outlet, ABS-CBN News, released Sunday, Obama said the agreement helps reafﬁrm the “incredible ties” between the U.S. and the Filipino people. But he was careful to note it will not mean new U.S. bases in the Philippines, which would rile up nationalists and anti-war demonstrators, some

of whom have protested in advance Obama’s visit. “Given the long history between our nations, some Filipinos have questions about what any new defense agreement might mean,” Obama said. “I want to be absolutely clear _ the new defense cooperation agreement that we are negotiating is not about trying to reclaim old bases or build new bases. Rather, any new agreement would give American service members greater access to Filipino facilities, airﬁelds and ports, which would remain under the control of the Philippines.” Medeiros described the 10year agreement as a way for the U.S. military to have “enhanced rotation presence” in the islands. “It’s a framework that will allow us to train and to exercise with the armed forces of the Philip-

pines on a range of missions.” As examples, he cited “humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, maritime security, countering transnational crime, (and) proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” Relations between the U.S. and Manila soured in 1991, when the Philippines’ senate rejected a long-standing security agreement with the United States and ordered it to leave the Subic Bay naval base, the last of its military installations, the next year. The naval base had been a mainstay of the U.S. Navy’s presence in the Pacific since 1902. Manila gradually has asked the U.S. back, first to help fight Muslim insurgents on the southern island of Mindanao and also to help train and equip the Philippine’s meager military.

Abbas denounces Holocaust in debate JOEL GREENBERG MCT Campus

JERUSALEM — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday issued a statement calling the Holocaust “the most heinous crime” against humanity in modern times and expressing sympathy with families of the victims. The statement, on the eve of Israel’s observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, was the ﬁrst of its kind by a Palestinian leader, and appeared to be part of an effort to reach out to Israelis after a reconciliation deal reached last week between Abbas’s Fatah movement and the militant Islamist group Hamas that prompted Israel to suspend U.S.-brokered peace talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Abbas’ declarations, saying that they were meant to “placate international public opinion” after the Palestinian leader had made a pact with Hamas, a group that “denies the Holocaust while trying to create another Holocaust by destroying the state of Israel.” Abbas’ statement on the Holocaust came a day after the Palestinian leader said that the planned unity government under his leadership would recognize Israel and renounce violence. Since the announcement of the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation, analysts have debated whether the deal might meet conditions set by the group of Middle East mediators known as the Quartet _ the U.S., Russia, the European Union and the United Nations _ for a Palestin-

ian government to qualify for diplomatic recognition. Those conditions are recognition of Israel, non-violence and adherence to previous agreements. Robert Serry, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said in a statement after meeting Abbas on Thursday that he was assured that the unity accord would be carried out “on the basis of PLO commitments” to those conditions. Hamas spokesmen have drawn a distinction between the positions of the group, which refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence, and the negotiations with Israel, conducted by Abbas on behalf of the PLO. “You don’t need organizations to recognize Israel,” Ghazi Hamad, the deputy foreign minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, told the Israeli news website Ynet last week. “It’s enough that the Palestine Liberation Organization _ the representative of the Palestinian people _ recognizes the State of Israel.” On Sunday, however, Netanyahu made it clear that Abbas’ statements had not altered Israel’s fundamental position that it would not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by a group it considers a terrorist organization. “I will not negotiate with those who seek to exterminate my country,” Netanyahu said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. He said Abbas was engaging in “damage control” and trying to “have it both ways” by lamenting the Holocaust even as he is accepting the backing of Hamas.

Obama’s Asia trip yields great ties

Better ties but no trade concessions STUART LEAVENWORTH MCT Campus

MANILA, Philippines — President Barack Obama came to Asia with multiple missions: to advance U.S. trade interests, to reassure allies he’d back them in any serious confrontation with China, and to rebut critics who dismissed his “pivot to Asia” strategy as being less than pivotal. He’ll return to Washington on Tuesday partly successful. In Japan and South Korea, Obama reaffirmed treaty obligations and ties with historic allies. In Malaysia, he made strategic inroads in a country that’s long been one of China’s closest friends in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, he arrived as the two countries signed a defense cooperation agreement that will give the United States military access to a former American colony that two decades ago ordered the United States out. At a news conference Monday in Manila, his last in Asia before returning to Washington, the president bragged that “our alliances in Asia have never been stronger.” But it remains to be seen whether Obama’s goodwill trip through Asia will do much to help him at home. For the trip, there were hopes _ inflated, some would say _ for a breakthrough on a trade liberalization agreement called the TransPacific Partnership. If signed, it would help link U.S. businesses to parts of Asia that generate 40 percent of the world’s economic output. From all appearances, the president couldn’t get even an oral agreement from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a way for Japan to lower tariffs against certain U.S. imports, a key step in making the trade pact a reality. “Progress on security is welcome, but it does not compensate for stasis on trade,” said Don Emmerson, a political scientist at the Shorenstein AsiaPacific Research Center at Stanford University. “If the pivot is

to serve American interests as well as Asian ones, it should be about goods and services, not just guns and planes.” As Emmerson concedes, this was a trip Obama had to make. The president was originally scheduled to travel to Asia last October _ visiting Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei _ but the budget impasse in Washington forced him to cancel. With tensions rising in Asia after China’s assertive territorial moves in the East China and South China seas, Obama decided to do a makeup visit to Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines. He added South Korea when Seoul reportedly squawked about being left out. After landing in Manila on Monday, Obama was met at the Malacanang presidential palace with a cannon salute and a band that played, among other tunes, the theme to “Beverly Hills Cop.” He then ducked inside the palace with President Benigno Aquino III, wiping his brow on a typically steamy Manila day. Just before he arrived, U.S. and Philippines officials signed the defense pact, which was negotiated over eight months. It gives U.S. forces greater access to the archipelago than they’ve had since the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay was closed in 1992. At a news conference Monday, Obama stressed that the 10year agreement won’t result in a reopening of U.S. bases in the Philippines, a former U.S. colony and ground zero for some of the worst fighting in the Pacific during World War II. But it will allow U.S. forces to rotate through the area, “not simply to deal with issues of maritime security, but also to enhance our capabilities” in case of a natural disaster, he said. Repeatedly in the past week, Obama and his aides have rejected suggestions that his security push in Asia is aimed at countering or containing China, which is claiming territorial control over vast swaths of the South China Sea. Yet that hasn’t stopped the

president from making statements that could be interpreted that way. Referring to China’s dispatch of ships to disputed areas of the South China Sea, Obama pointed to the handful of jurisdictional disagreements the United States has with Canada over some “islands and rocks.” “But we don’t go around sending ships and threatening folks,” he said. Aaron L. Connelly, a Southeast Asia expert based in Australia, said it would be hard to argue that stronger U.S. ties with the Philippines weren’t an effort to help Manila counter Chinese maritime ambitions. “There are aspects of the pivot that are clearly being done with an eye toward China,” said Connelly, who’s a research fellow in the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. So far, however, the response from Beijing has been muted, other than a commentary from the state-run Xinhua news service Monday that warned that an “emboldened Manila” could upset Obama’s plan for peace in Asia. “I was surprised that the reaction was so mild,” Connelly said. He added that he was encouraged that China last week joined more than 20 other nations in agreeing to a framework aimed at ensuring that miscommunication between naval vessels doesn’t develop into a conﬂict between nations. Obama also noted that his visit showed that U.S. relations and alliances in Southeast Asia have never been stronger. “As recently as a decade ago, there were great tensions between us and Malaysia,” the president said, a marked contrast to the warm welcome he received from Prime Minister Najib Razak when he visited that nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday and Monday. On nearly every stop in Asia, the president offered tributes to victims of disasters

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Killings in Kabul hospital shows risk SHASHANK BENGALI MCT Campus

KABUL, Afghanistan — The fatal shooting of three Americans in a charity hospital Thursday punctuated a dismal new trend that has emerged in the waning months of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan: Just as many foreign civilians are being killed as troops. The brazen attack by a police officer at the CURE International hospital in Kabul, which serves 37,000 Afghans a year, shocked even this warweary city and seemed likely to diminish the already dwindling population of foreigners working in the capital. At least 22 foreign civilians have been killed this year in attacks on nonmilitary targets, including a Lebanese restaurant, a luxury hotel and foreign journalists covering preparations for the April 5 presidential election. The toll matches the number of U.S.led coalition troops who have died this year, although nine of those fatalities resulted from non-hostile incidents. As international forces accelerate their withdrawal, Afghan soldiers and police officers have taken on the brunt of security responsibilities. The Taliban and its sympathizers, meanwhile, have infiltrated those forces to perpetrate “insider” attacks against international troops. Now some worry that insurgents have altered their tactics, electing to hit lightly guarded targets to keep pressure on Western countries even though their remaining

military forces _ including about 30,000 American soldiers _ are stationed far from the front lines. “They can be seen as the soft underbelly of the intervention, an easy way to hit Western governments rather than trying to fight well-armed NATO forces, and potentially a highly effective way of driving foreign aid and influence out of Afghanistan,” Kate Clark, country director for the Afghanistan Analysts Network, a Kabul-based research organization, wrote recently. The Taliban denied responsibility for Thursday’s shooting, just as they did early this month after a police officer shot two Associated Press journalists who were part of a convoy of election workers in Khowst province, in eastern Afghanistan. The attack Thursday occurred about 9:30 a.m. in west Kabul at what has become one of the capital’s leading medical facilities. Established in 2005 by CURE International, a Pennsylvania-based Christian charity that runs hospitals and health programs in 29 countries, the hospital specializes in maternal and child health. It also treats birth defects such as fistula and cleft lip and trains Afghan doctors, nurses and midwives. That staff Thursday found itself treating its own colleagues and the gunman, who shot himself. He was turned over to Afghan authorities. Hospital officials identified one of the victims as Dr. Jerry Umanos, who divided his practice between Kabul and

Lawndale Christian Health Center in Chicago. In 2005, Umanos and his wife, Jan, moved to Afghanistan, where he was coordinating one of the country’s only training programs for doctors, according to a profile on Lawndale’s website. “He was a great person, a great doctor. It’s a great loss,” said Umanos’ mother-in-law, Angie Schuitema. “He was doing what he wanted to do. He thanked God for allowing him to help people there.” Lately, however, Umanos had grown worried about his safety in Kabul, telling a friend in the United States that he had been shot at while jogging. “He was obviously concerned,” said the friend, Art Jones, a doctor who twice visited Umanos in Kabul. “At the same time, you can’t count the number of children that Jerry’s impacted, the lives he’s saved on his own and with the doctors he trained. That’s who he was. He was driven by the kids.” The CURE hospital, along a busy highway, is regarded as more modern and sanitary than most in Afghanistan, and patients sometimes travel hours by bus to get treatment there. It is guarded by a few private security personnel in addition to Afghan police stationed at nearby checkpoints. An officer at the closest checkpoint came into the hospital through a visitors entrance and fired on Umanos and two American visitors he was greeting, Afghan security officials said. The pair, a

White House combats campus sexual assault TIMOTHY M. PHELPS MCT Campus

WASHINGTON — The White House will announce new measures Tuesday to deal with campus sexual assault, an issue that in recent years has inflamed college campuses from Yale to the University of California, Berkeley. The recommendations from a task force of federal officials headed by Vice President Joe Biden include publicizing enforcement data, issuing guidelines about confidentiality, and requiring colleges and universities to survey students on their experiences with sexual assault. Three senior White House officials, who briefed the media in advance of the announcement, said that 1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted while in college, usually in the first two years and usually by someone she knows. The Obama administration, they said, is committed to ending that violence. “Colleges and universities need to face the facts about sexual assault,” Biden said in a statement Monday night. “No more turning a blind eye or pretending it doesn’t exist. ... And we need to bring the perpetrators to justice.” The actions, to be officially announced Tuesday afternoon at the White House, include: Colleges and universities will be asked to survey students next year to determine the prevalence of sexual assault on campus and may be required to conduct such a survey in 2016. A website, NotAlone.gov,

will be unveiled to make each school’s enforcement data public, and to publish information about student rights and resources. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release recommendations on how to prevent sexual violence, particularly on how to get bystanders to step in when students are at risk of assault. The federal government will also address the touchy issue of confidentiality. Often victims ask that their names not be revealed to their attackers or the police, putting campus authorities in a bind in conducting investigations. The government will clarify that students can talk to certain guidance counselors in confidence and will issue guidelines on how to deal with confidentiality in resolving reports of violence. Schools will be asked to improve their investigative and adjudicative procedures under guidance from the Justice Department. New guidance will be issued making clear that questions about a victim’s sexual history should not be permitted during school hearings and that a previous sexual relationship does not imply consent. President Barack Obama appointed the task force in January with a mandate to report back in 90 days. The Departments of Justice, Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services participated. Campus authorities are often the first to investigate allegations of sexual assaults between

students. Federal law requires detailed reporting of campus crime statistics and security problems, and also mandates extensive prevention and awareness programs. Three years ago, the Obama administration notified college administrators that it believed sexual assault had become “epidemic” on campus. The Department of Education, which oversees the federal regulations, told administrators that they needed to tighten their procedures and increase preventive measures. The new attention to the issue sparked an outcry from students and former students. They recounted stories of college administrators who they said had not taken their reports of being assaulted seriously and alleged that sex crimes were not being adequately reported. Numerous legal complaints have been filed with the Department of Education, including UC Berkeley, Yale and Columbia. In Los Angeles, students at the University of Southern California and Occidental College have filed complaints. Administrators, for their part, have said that dealing with campus sexual assaults can be extremely complicated, often involving students who know each other and have been drinking. Sometimes, they said, there are no witnesses and the victim wants to remain anonymous

father and son, were not part of the hospital’s staff, said Dr. Yousof Khan, the hospital’s deputy director. The gunman also wounded a fourth American whose affiliation with the hospital was unclear, Khan said. No patients or other staff members were injured, a CURE statement said. The hospital isn’t the only medical facility in Kabul with foreign doctors, but Afghan officials declined to speculate on whether its Christian affiliation would have made it a target of insurgents. Last month, Taliban insurgents attempted to attack a Christian-run day-care center that they accused of trying to convert Afghans to Christianity. However the assailants mistakenly struck a compound next door that belonged to an American aid contractor, triggering a firefight with security guards that left an Afghan girl, a driver and all five attackers dead. In attacks since the beginning of January, a SwedishBritish journalist was shot to death on a Kabul street, 13 foreigners and eight Afghans were killed in a commandostyle raid on a Lebanese restaurant, four foreigners and five Afghans were killed in an attack on the exclusive Serena Hotel and Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, a German citizen, was shot and killed in Khowst. AP reporter Kathy Gannon, a Canadian citizen, was wounded in that shooting. The Serena Hotel attack took place two weeks be-

fore the April 5 election to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, a milestone in Afghanistan that the Taliban denounced as a foreign plot. Several international election monitors were staying in the hotel, including one who was killed, Luis Maria Duarte of Paraguay. After the incident, Duarte’s organization, the U.S.based National Democratic Institute, withdrew its foreign staff from Afghanistan, as did another foreign observer group with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Kabul, which has long had a quiet but thriving nightlife for expatriates, was blanketed with an eerie silence in the weeks before the vote. Restaurants closed and dinner parties became scarce as foreigners curtailed their movements and many international agencies sent staff members out of the country. The deteriorating security has prompted fear among many Afghans that they will lose much of the foreign aid that accounts for most of the country’s operating budget. U.S. lawmakers this year halved development funding for Afghanistan, to $1.1 billion. The hospital attack, some worry, may further reduce foreign assistance. “This was an inhumane and brutal action, and unfortunately will impact our health services,” Health Minister Suraya Dalil told Reuters news agency.

Obama visits Malaysia CHRISTI PARSONS MCT Campus

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — As the first U.S. president to visit this Muslim-majority nation in nearly five decades, President Barack Obama will talk trade and security issues with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whom the White House considers a political reformer in a country with a spotty human rights record. But U.S. officials also hope to strengthen “people-to-people” ties, diplomatic speak for trying to spread goodwill and burnish the U.S. image. Obama, who spent several years living in neighboring Indonesia as a boy, relied on his family history to perform those tasks Saturday after he was welcomed at a state banquet by King Abdul Halim of Kedah, accompanied by dancers dressed in brightly hued brocade. Giving a formal toast, Obama recalled his late mother’s fascination with batik, the cloth wraps and shirts traditionally dyed by hand, that are popular across Malaysia and Indonesia. An anthropologist and teacher, Ann Dunham would come home from markets in Jakarta in the 1970s with her arms full of the intricately patterned fabrics, the president said. “For my mother, batik wasn’t about fashion,” Obama said. “It was representative of the work and the livelihood of mothers and young women

who had painstakingly crafted them. It was a window into the lives of others _ their cultures, and their traditions, and their hopes.” Dunham started microfinancing projects to help the artisans sell batik, according to a catalog written by the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, which exhibited Dunham’s batik collection in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. Lyndon B. Johnson was the last U.S. president to visit Malaysia. He came in 1966, at the height of the Vietnam War, when the U.S. wanted to bolster the country’s resistance to the militant communism then sweeping much of Southeast Asia. Obama aims to highlight Malaysia’s religious diversity and democratic reforms. Roughly two-thirds of Malaysians are Muslim, but the country also has substantial populations of Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. The president has no plans to meet with Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister who leads the political opposition. Anwar’s supporters say the pro-democracy figure has been repeatedly jailed on dubious charges to keep him from running for office. Obama’s national security advisor, Susan Rice, is scheduled to meet with Anwar and other government opponents during the overnight visit, while Obama holds a town hall forum with students, visits the national mosque and meets civic leaders.

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Trip to Auschwitz highlights divide JOEL GREENBERG MCT Campus

JERUSALEM — Professor Mohammed Dajani expected criticism when he took Palestinian students to Poland last month to visit the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp. But he wasn’t prepared for the uproar that followed. In online posts and comments, Palestinian critics denounced the visit as treason. Acquaintances counseled the professor to keep a low profile, stay away from his university campus and consider taking a vacation abroad, he recalled. “People said we were giving support to Zionism and promoting its propaganda, as if we were giving up on our rights,” Dajani said in an interview in East Jerusalem, the city’s Arab side, which Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state. He’s no stranger to controversy. The director of the American studies program at Al Quds University, Dajani heads an organization called Wasatia, whose declared aim is to promote a culture of moderation and reconciliation among Palestinians values that often seem in short supply in the festering conflict with Israel. Dajani said the idea of taking students to Auschwitz took shape after he made a journey to the site three years ago on a visit sponsored by The Aladdin Project, a Parisbased organization that promotes understanding between Muslims and Jews. “In my community you see a lot of ignorance of the Holocaust, denial of the Holocaust. People don’t want to recognize the suffering of the other,” Dajani said. “I felt that I did not want to be a bystander, and wanted to bring more awareness and consciousness among Palestinians of this issue.” Because of its crucial role in the creation of Israel, the Holocaust is freighted with political overtones in Palestinian society, where many think that their people have paid the price for the persecution of the Jews in Europe. Palestinians consider their mass displacement and expulsion in the war that followed the establishment of Israel a “catastrophe” of similar magnitude, and they recall it in annual commemorations just as Jews will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day this year beginning at sundown Sunday. “The Holocaust is not taught in Palestinian schools and universities,” Dajani said. “It is a history ignored, mentioned as part of a plot to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, or as Zionist propaganda with exaggerated figures.” Dajani has advocated publicly for Holocaust education among Palestinians and has devoted part of his own classes to the subject. The trip to Auschwitz was arranged as part of a reconciliation research project sponsored by the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, which also included a visit by Israeli students to Deheishe, a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. The project was funded by the German Research Foundation, and the Israeli students and faculty, some of whom accompanied the Palestinians to Auschwitz, are studying conflict resolution at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba. Organizing the Palestinian visit to Auschwitz was a sensitive undertaking. “We didn’t want to jeopardize the visit.”

theWORD 6

The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Shelby christie

A Senior’s Guide to Post-Graduation

Contributor

“What are you doing after graduation?” Those few dreaded words have been hunting seniors, since the dawn of time. Has your time at A&T has come to a close? Are you not quite sure what the next step is? Has your GPA suffered an injury on the count of that required economics class? Never thought of yourself as the grad school type? Has your mom asked you about that position you applied for more often than you would like her to? Wishing you had not spent so many summers lounging, while your

friends interned? No worries! Certainly not everyone is cut out for graduate school and not everyone knows exactly where they will be working post graduation. Do not fret. In the meantime, here are three strategies for conquering life after graduation: 1. Join professional organizations: Get involved with the professional version of an organization that relates to your major. For example, if you are a journalism student, join your local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists as opposed to a student chapter. This will give you exposure to real professionals, with real ex-

End of Semester Inspiration Laci ollison

I got the email Easter Sunday, while I was sitting at my keyboard in church. I just so happened to look over at my phone and see the name on the screen with an email that I had been awaiting for almost two weeks. It was the answer from a fall internship program in Washington D.C. for which I applied and interviewed for. My heart dropped. I eagerly opened the email, expecting to see the answer that I had prayed and fasted for. “I am sorry that we are unable to offer you an internship with our program.” Tears immediately welled up in my eyes. I rushed into the bathroom and began to cry. I called my mother, and cried some more. I went back into my church, grabbed my purse and keys, got in my car, and cried some more. I got back to my apartment, cried some more. I went to my mom’s apartment, and cried even more. I was crushed. I literally wanted to give up. Hurt was an understatement. My confidence in myself and in the future of my career began to diminish just with the simple opening of one email. I began to strategize a plan B. Something that I could do instead of my dream career, since it seemed at the time that I was not good enough. The truth is, my faith is very strong. I am the one who encourages all of my friends. I am supposed to know what to do in these types of situations. And I do. However, when it is the third time in a year that you have had a huge let down, things tend to become a little harder. I am so used to winning, and doing well in things that I pursue. Granted, I have a few let downs as most do, but never anything this major. And never this many major let downs in

Questions

such close proximity. After a few hours of shedding many tears, and one long nap, I began to think. Everything that I know began to resurface to the top of my mind. Life is not going to be easy. In fact, life is going to be hard. Doors will close but that does not mean that you have to stop trying to open them. You will fall, bump your head, and get hurt. You will cry, but that is because you are human. Never stay down. Pick yourself up and try again. Keep pushing yourself. You may not get the internship or the position that you wanted, but that does not mean your worth decreases. It just means that that specific position was not meant for your current situation. Try something else. As we approach the end of the semester, do not let the stress of trying to do your best, keep you from doing your best. Keep pushing, knowing that your end is almost near. Understand that no matter what happens, there is a plan in mind for your life. Trust in the process, realizing that your tests will produce a testimony. You will be successful. And if you do not do as best as you would have hoped, try to do better next semester. Never stop trying. You did not make it to this point in your life to only give up. Remember that as you are encouraging yourself; spread inspiration to others as well. Your story is a key that can unlock someone else’s prison. Everyone you meet is going through their own personal battle that you know nothing about. Keep your head up. Smile. Dream big and work hard. Your outcome will be greater than your struggle. And never forget: you are important. —Email Laci at lkolliso@aggies.ncat.edu and follow her on Twitter @QueenWithADream

perience and real connections to get you a real job. Your network is your net worth. Connecting with professionals is very important in your quest for success. You never know who’s the bridge between you and your next opportunity. 2. DIY: Do it yourself. Do not wait for a career opportunity to come knocking on your door. Create an opportunity for yourself. A blog is a great way to brand yourself and build your credibility. A blog is also a great way to flaunt your talents. For example, if you are a fashion merchandising and design major, you could blog

about street styles or even start a youtube channel on which you give weekly style tips. Once you have a strong follo wing you could collaborate with clothing brands and do product reviews. Create a window of opportunity for yourself. Blogging will help you build a network and a following, no matter what your desired profession or major is. It also adds another layer of field experience to your resume. Being able to run a website or youtube channel, write blogs regularly, keep people interested, and relay useful information are all marketable skills that are gained while blogging.

3. Clean House: Get your digital house in order. Do a clean sweep of all of your online accounts and social media. Create a LinkedIn account and update it regularly. The Internet has opened the floodgates of post-grad opportunities, but you have to be ready to receive them. What does your Twitter and Instagram bio read? Are there one too many emojis and hashtags? Is there anything in your bio about the profession that you are in? Are you sharing information relevant to your desired career field? Does your followers even know your major? Then you need to revamp.

We know Nike for sportswear and Paris for romance, what should the world know you for? Start there and answer that question via your social media and online accounts. You would be surprised at the number of employers and companies are out there looking for the skills you have to offer, but they cannot find you because your social media is littered with content that does not relate to your career and your bio says nothing about what you do professionally. Clean it up! —Email Shelby at theregister@ gmail.com and follow us on Twitter

Benefits of legalizing marijuana Mary Jane, loud, doing anything expot, whatever the cessively, and one’s word of your choice productivity may not is, should be legalbe very beneficial if ized, like tobacco getting high was on products and alcothe agenda 24/7, but hol. marijuana should be Marijuana has legalized. been documented My grandmother since 7,000 B.C. It died from alcohol is said to have origipoisoning; therefore nated in Asia and was MEAGAN I am constantly being used as medical treat- JORDAN warned about my alcoments for cramps, hol intake and the adaches and pains. When the dictive behavior that runs on United States first got a hold both sides of my family. Unlike of the drug, it was used for the other drugs and liquor, studies same purposes. have proven that marijuana is After the Prohibition Era, not addictive. If anything peofrom 1920-1933, which de- ple may over indulge. You do clared alcohol to be illegal, not break into midnight sweats, marijuana was used for recre- itch uncontrollably, or overational purposes. Many have dose which is common with declared that marijuana has no other drugs. medical benefits. According to While watching a documenresearch marijuana has in fact tary on legalizing cannabis with helped ease the pain of head- a good friend, doctors and law aches and create an appetite for enforcement both shared stats those who are sick with cancer and opinions on the plant being or HIV and AIDS. legalized. One police officer Why is it that a substance began to address that marijuana that causes cancer such as the would cause a problem because tobacco in a cigarette is al- it would be easier to obtain for lowed? I have never heard of school children. When I was in someone getting high off of high school many of peers were marijuana and going home to getting high before school. The beat his or her wife and kids. first time I heard about the drug Granted there is a downfall to in elementary school when one

of my friends identified the “gut” of a cigarillo on our playground concrete. Marijuana is already easy to obtain. Similar to alcohol, marijuana should have restrictions, such as an age limit, do not smoke and drive, maybe a two blunt minimum at the bar before the bartender tells you that you have had enough. The excuse of children being at risk is unacceptable. For those of us who took the rebel route through high school, all it took was knowing one cool adult to go purchase the goods for you. There are numerous ways to work the system if there is not strict control over the system. If the possession of marijuana is held at the same standard of alcohol, it will make it difficult for those under age to obtain it. One of the doctors stated that it could in fact cause memory lost. As a part of the hallucination process one may believe that they can smoke and take a test. One who has common sense should know that it is probably not the most appropriate thing to do if you are trying to pass your classes. Then again people go to class, and or work drunk. If there is no drinking or being drunk on

the job and, or class, why not make it the same standard for marijuana? Marijuana may also be a way to boost our country’s economy. According to the Gazette’s article “Road to Legalization,” the state Department of Revenue reported that medical and recreational marijuana revenues totaled $3.5 million, which was collected from 59 outlets in January. In February they met a total of $ 4.1 million from 83 businesses. In March it was reported that 189 retail stores had licenses to sell along with 249 cultivators and 49 manufacturers. Legal prices are still expensive resulting in drug dealers remaining relevant, however, prices are expected to drop causing more people to utilize retail outlets opposed to black market dealers, this will increase taxes. Overall, marijuana may not be morally acceptable but it does not bother anyone personally. No one is getting hurt in the process, so I say let the stoners be stoned. —Email Meagan at msjordan@ aggies.ncat.edu and follow her on Twitter @itsme_agannn

Privacy concerns about drone technology San Jose

MCT Campus

It’s simple to explain Google’s and Facebook’s sudden, intense interest in drone technology: An estimated 65 percent of the world’s population today lacks Internet access, and flying robots probably can connect those 4.5 billion potential users to the rest of us. Engineers think they can mount lightweight broadband equipment on drones and keep them aloft for days, weeks or months to make connections from the remotest and least advanced regions of the world. It’s exciting. It’s also another reminder that privacy concerns are reaching new highs, and drones can only drive them

higher. The valley already is struggling with worldwide consumer confidence. The National Security Agency is hacking into systems willy-nilly, while tech companies themselves resist telling consumers how their personal information is being used. And now come drones, which the Obama administration uses to kill people. Silicon Valley’s future hinges largely on whether it can rebuild the trust that smartphone, laptop and tablet users have in the privacy of tech products. If it can’t, then the potential of the Internet will be limited. Drones just up the ante. People won’t want them buzzing their once-private backyards, cameras rolling, or track-

ing their movements based on smartphone signals. President Barack Obama’s use of drones to spy on and kill military targets doesn’t make the job any easier. The sinister element goes beyond privacy concerns to physical safety and setting limits will be difficult. Google elevated snooping concerns in 2013 when it admitted intercepting data transmitted over household Wi-Fi networks. If Google’s cars were acquiring hundreds of gigabytes of information from users, imagine what drones equipped with transmission gear can do, flying 50,000 feet above cities around the clock. Google needs to abandon its assertion that data transmitted over unencrypted Wi-Fi

networks is fair game. Instead it should be leading the charge to make emails, photos and data more secure. Back in 2012, Obama set a 2015 deadline for the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with regulations for domestic use of drones. It will be none too soon; drones are expected to emerge as a $6 billion market in the next 10 years. So we’re back to our recurring theme: To protect its own industry, Silicon Valley needs to formulate privacy principles that reassure a legitimately worried public and keep the focus on the positive aspects of technology, including the latest drone advancements.

1. So how about that “lock down”? 2. Did you feel secure? 3. Were those Ebony votes secured? 4. You know there’s a such thing as screenshot right? 5. Who’s the Preeminence 2020 bandit ? 6. How many people are going to the “optional” classes Friday ? 7.How many of y’all are going to express the option not to go ? 8. How many of you asked for extra credit opportunities ? 9. How many of your professors hit you with “or nah” ? 10. During lock down did parking services make bank? 11. Was your car on lock down? 12. Is Sterling about to get clipped by the Clippers? 13.Who’s seen Chris Paul’s “12 Years A Clipper” picture? 14. Are the Clippers the new plantation? 15. How many of y’all turned into black activists over night? 16. Was social media your guiding light? 17. Did your NAACP membership card come in ? 18. Speaking of NAACP, how much did Sterling pay for that Lifetime Achievement Award? 19. *Sniff around* is that corruption we smell ? 20. Furthermore, how exactly does one win two Lifetime Achievement Awards ? THANKS !?!

Mad about something? Got something to tell us ? Want something else in the paper?

Well, write for us !

Contributor’s Meeting Every Wednesday 5 p.m. in GCB Room 328 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.

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Undercover Talent:

#Trending Topics

Aggie Chef, Aggie Artist Jerrell Leeper

Aggies held nothing back when tweeting during Monday’s Gunman scare. @WendyRenee The fact that half of the students arent getting any type of Aggie alert should be on the news this time and not our love for chicken @BeezyLaBee My question is... Why is parking services ticketing people during this lock down !? That is RIDICULOUS ! #NCAT #DoBetter @cheesePUFFThug Miss. A&T worried about being in the Ebony magazine & we in a serious crisis !

At North Carolina A&T, students positively impact campus through a variety of avenues from SGA, SUAB, Greek life, and peer mentoring, to name a few. What people may not know is the impact on campus being made by faculty. Yes, you hear about various teachers, but what about the people who work behind the scenes? Thirty-seven year old Johnnie L Sanders Jr. can be seen at A&T every weekday setting up not as a student, but getting ready to for his shift as the primary cook for Aggie Wings. Although he works as the Aggie Wings cook, his true passion is being an artist. Sanders has been working at A&T for the last seven years. He began as a cleaner, and then he began making sandwiches at Blimpie’s. From there, he transitioned to becoming a Team Leader at Chick-Fil-A, and now he works at Aggie Wings. During his 30-minute break, he usually can be seen drawing whatever inspires him in The Aggie Sit-In. Several of his coworkers such as Tonya Williams, who is the lead cashier for Aggie Wings, and Krista Wilson who is the lead cashier in the Aggie Sit-In, know about his talent. Sanders also does select portraits for them. Tonya gave high praises to Johnnie’s abil-

ity to draw saying that, “his artwork is awesome.” When asked about Sanders, Krista Wilson said it best, “Johnnie is very talented. He has the ability to draw any and everything. He just has to pursue it, and find the right avenue.” Being a Greensboro native, he grew up on Phillips Ave, where he came from a twoparent household. He began to draw at the age of nine. His inspiration were his childhood friends, the Webster family. “Allen, Ken, Eugene, Donnella and Kim were so ahead in drawing that it motivated me so much that I had to be just as good if not better than them,” said Sanders. He said his five friends still inspire him, and although his artwork has made tremendous progress since he first started, he feels he has a lot to improve on. Sanders can do it all from stencil to portrait; however, he added that his favorite style of art to draw is Anime. Out of all of the types of Anime, Dragon Ball Z is his favorite. His favorite characters are Vegeta and Goku. Most people who grew up watching the show like those two because of their edginess and how relatable they are. Although he loves anime, his hero when it comes to art is Marvel Comics original comic book writer and former president Stan Lee. In his spare time, Sanders

works on his comic book series “Team M.P.A.C.T.” (Mercenary Patrol Action Control Team), which is a comic that he is currently working on. It is a superhero comic based on the concept “struggle for survival and power.” His comic goes in depth with Good vs. Evil but also the search for renewable energy and maintains peace between rival planets. “Some of the stuff in the comic is similar to what the United Nations are currently going through,” said Sanders. He plans for it to be like the comics of old, which contained action packed scenes but also substance, giving every possible audience something to lookout for. There is no timetable on when “Team M.P.A.C.T.” will be available, but he has aspirations of it being out within the next five years. Along with his comics, Sanders continues to draw what comes to mind in his spare time. Although he is a mystery to most, some students such as Zachary Tanner know about his gift. After befriending Sanders, Tanner saw him draw and knew he was special. “I’m glad he uses his gifts and doesn’t let them go to waste,” said Tanner. A former GTCC dropout, he plans to get back into school and take more classes in Graphic Art. He feels that when he was in school in 1996, he was not focused and did not

realize his true potential. He added that if he went back, his head would be in the books. He would increase his skills and earn a bachelor’s degree in graphic art. For someone who is “always trying to strive for perfection,” he sees himself debuting his comic in five years, living in Japan, and working on the next big thing. He wants to be known as someone who was a great artist, but more importantly, a person who was respected by his peers.

Apr. 30 to May 7 The A&T Register’s guide to what’s going on this week in arts and entertainment.

— Email Jerell at theatregister@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @TheATRegister

Come be a part of theScene Contributors Meetings every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in GCB 328A

on sTage On The run On Monday, April 30th, Queen Bey & Jigga Man announced their On The Run Tour dates. The tour kicks off in Miami on June 1 & ends August 6th in San Francisco. The couple will play 16 shows in 6 weeks. The tour is named after Jay-Z & Beyonce’s recently released single Part II On the Run in which they describe their Bonnie & Clyde-esque romance. Surprisingly the couple won’t be performing in their hometown of Brooklyn.

u presS PLAY Mike Lovehall “Maze”

A fellow Aggie and man of many talents, Mike Lovehall’s track “Maze” is the first of many hits. -K.P.

Moving to the “Big Apple?” Don’t worry, we’re waiting for you.

Whether it’s a new job, graduate school, a change of pace or you’re just coming home, the NYC A&T alumni chapter is here for you. Let us know you’re coming, and we’ll save you a seat at our next meeting. One more thing: your ﬁrst year of dues are free. NYC Chapter of NC A&T SU Alumni Association

NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER

http://nyc-ncatalumni.org

@NYCNcatAlumni @NYCNcatAlumni

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2014! AGGIE PRIDE!