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The A&T

VoLuMe LXXXiV. no. 17

SERVING THE AGGIE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 80 YEARS

January 19, 2011

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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROLINA A&T

FILE pHoTo

ProJECT hAITI: After the earthquake that devastated Haiti, students from A&T began donating canned goods, clothes, bottled water, etc. that was to be sent to the country. one year later, the items collected were never sent. Instead they were given to various donation-driven organizations within the u.s.

Project haiti fails to deliver sYLVIA oBELL News Editor

You may remember Project Haiti- the ad hoc initiative that shook the campus into action last year. After the earthquake in the caribbean country, it was through Project Haiti that a campus wide collection of clothing, canned food, bottled water, and non-perishable items commenced. Drop boxes were placed all over campus. Enough goods were donated to fill a whole trailer. A “sorting” party was held to fill and organize the goods for send off, and a community partner was supposed to ensure its send off. Well, none of those items made it to The

Republic of Haiti. “I am glad that people who needed the goods were able to use them, but I am ultimately disappointed that the goods never made it to Haiti,” said Malcolm Eustache, Senior journalism and mass communications major and one of the leaders of Project Haiti. The A&T community collected approximately 10,000 bottles of water, 5,000 lbs of canned goods and non-perishables and almost 100 bags of clothes with an average weight of 20 lbs per bag. According to Ryan Maltese, another leader of the project, there were very few agencies in the area working with community groups to get items shipped.

So where did the goods end up? The bottled QUAnITY water was supposed to go to 10,000 a local church in Winston5,000 LBs. Salem that was attempting to 100,00 100 BAGs sent bottles of water to Haiti. However their first and only shipment was sent in the middle of February 2010, around the same time A&T started the drive. “Apparently, these agencies, along with the government of Haiti, were partnering directly with some bottling companies, which were proving millions of

WhAT WAs CoLLECTED ITEM BoTTLEs oF WATER CANNED GooDs CLoTHEs “The organizations that were originally contacted had since ended their projects long before we finished our collection drives,” said Maltese. “The closest organization we were able to find is located in south Florida, and the cost of taking that amount of goods there is quite prohibitive.”

bottles to the region. My understanding is that much of the bottle water that was donated from other sources is still sitting in some container somewhere with no intentions of being used,” said Maltese. The water bottles ended up going to seven of the YMCA’s summer programs for children in Greensboro. Larry Burnette, executive director at the HayesTaylor YMCA, expressed sincere gratitude on behalf of the Greensboro corporate offices. The clothing was taken to the Greensboro Goodwill in hopes that, “what is one student’s trash can be another person’s treasure,” said Maltese. “In fact what we later found was no one was sending over clothes, as it was not a priority of the Hai-

tian government and seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.” The original partnership for the canned goods was with the Regional Coordinator of the MERCI Mission Center in Goldsboro, NC. However, that coordinator retired the week before and that the organized had since changed their donation policies and could not accept the canned goods. The canned good were then given to The United Methodist Church of Salem, NC. Despite Project Haiti’s failure to deliver the goods to Haiti as advertised, its leaders still believe some good came from the situation.  See hAITI on Page 2

suAB hosts 2nd annual ‘soled out’ Honors program gets new director The Student University Activities Board in association with Entourage Entertainment presented the 2nd annual sneaker gallery, Soled Out Jan. 12th in Stallings Ballroom. “Basically it is an art gallery, but instead of paintings there are shoes,” said senior journalism and mass communications major and marketing chair for SUAB, Rob Hill. This year’s event was a repeat of last year’s premiere of the sneaker gallery when SUAB’s marketing chair, Chris Martin brought the event to A&T’s campus. “Everyone loved it last

year and they wanted to do this again so I took it upon myself to bring it back,” stated Hill. Stallings Ballroom was filled with tables of shoe collections with different name brands and many colors from various students on campus. “Soled Out was a success. Its dope that SUAB is in-tune with the sneaker culture enough to expose it to the campus. Being a sneaker head is more than a hobby,” said senior double major in marketing and business management from Caroline County, VA, LaQuan Stevens. Along with the masses of shoes, some tables were collections of a variety of fitted hats. Throughout the event Verge

Modeling Troupe performed a runway showcasing the shoes of the collectors present at the event. Along with the gallery, live painting was taken place from students who are apart of The Art Circle. “Not only were there just shoes for guys, but there were shoes for females as well,” said sophomore psychology major, Johnika Golden. For this being the first event for SUAB for the new year, they plan to calm things down. “We are going to bring it down a little bit we have karaoke night but our major stuff will be happening when it gets hot outside,” said Hill.

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Scene Editor

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The honors program new director Michael K. Cundall Jr. started Jan. 4. He will also serve as an assistant professor of philosophy. Cundall was brought to A&T to help implement the plan of turning the honors program into the honors college. “The honors college would be the next step up for the honor program,” he said. One of the reasons A&T wants to make the honors program into a college is to keep up with other universities that have already done so. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky

and went to graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. Before coming to A&T he was at Northwestern State University where he proved his ability to transition an Cundall academic program into an academic college. He knew little about A&T’s history and legacy before coming to the university, however he is quickly learning. Still, he already has plans to incorporate leadership elements into the

honors curriculum. He feels that leadership should be taught throughout each major and concentration to coincide with the role A&T played as a leader within the civil rights movement. The plan of Cundall and the university is to have the honors program completely transformed into the honors college by fall 2012. “That gives me 18 months,” he said. Cundall wants to increase knowledge of the honors program across campus. He is concerned with ensuring instructors, advisors and other persons on campus are knowledgeable

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WEATHER

MLK day Photos

Was “the GaMe” oVerrated?

one-on-one With aLuM

students serVe CoMMunity

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All over the nation, cities held marches, parades, etc. to remember the civil rights leader.

Ashley Vaughn weighs on whether the popular show “The Game” has changed for the worse since BET picked it up.w

An Aggie One-on-One with an A&T alumni that works at a company that makes wood bats.

A&T students participated with C.A.S.E. to complete servicelearning hours on MLK Day.

PaGe 2

PaGe 6

shEQUIA CoLE

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 See honors on Page 2

Wednesday

52° Low: 29° High:

thursday: Partly Sunny | High 48° Friday: Partly Sunny | High 36°

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

honors From page 1

MLK DAY: Martin Luther King, Jr. speak during the Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963.

photo by MCT Campus

of and understands what the honors program is about to better inform students. Cundall hopes to make the honors program more visible across campus by moving to the new education building on the first floor. He also plans to increase the presence of philosophy across campus while serving as an assistant professor. Currently, the honors program is located on the third floor of Gibbs and is open to freshman entering the university with a cumulative unweighted GPA of a 3.5 or above or an unweighted cumulative GPA of a 3.7 or above combined with a SAT score of 1050. Students who already attend the university may enter the honors program with a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or above and have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours. New members are only accepted in the honors program through their first semester of their junior year. Some benefits of being in the honors program include special honors on your

academic transcript, graduating with honors, smaller classes, and access to special reserved housing. Cundall hopes to improve the program by emphasizing more undergraduate research, developing a more honors specific curriculum and placing more emphasis on critical thinking and resourcing skills. He also wants to make it easier for students transferring into the university to become a part of the honors program. “I hope that the program will gain national recognition,” he said. Cundall insists that transforming the honors program into the honors college could eventually give honors alumni a “stronger sense of themselves.” Even though he was brought in to lead the honors program, Cundall believes he can better lead with help from those who have first-hand knowledge. Honors students will be asked to give their opinion on what they would like to see within the new college. Cundall also said he is willing to take input from anyone interested in the honors program. “I’m prepared to sit back and listen,” said Cundall.

Spring Community ServiceLearning Fair

Memorial Student Union Stallings Ballroom 10 a.m.

Verge First Looks

Memorial Student Union Exhibit Hall 7 p.m.

Open Auditions Harrison Auditorium 7 p.m.

complishment of the initiative. Looking back on the first article written about Project Haiti, “Earthquake in Haiti shakes students into action,” the drive was the only accomplished idea of the initiative. In the article, a few ideas for Project Haiti were in talks. There was an awareness program, using campus medias to raise awareness, and a “skip-ameal for Haiti” day at Williams Cafeteria, were all proposed. None were accomplished. A program was held, but not officially by Project Haiti.

photo by MCT Campus

Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, Thursday, August 28, 2008.

Wednesday

Couture Tryouts

hAITI From page 1 “I am very impressed by the way the students came together. Although we didn’t reach our goal, it was good for our students to take action. It was a good attempt by the Syene [Jasmin] administration. The staff and faculty here at A&T will always encourage and support activism,” said Maltese. Project Haiti was, in essence, NC A&T’s response to the earthquake that left Haiti in ruins. The clothing, canned food, and bottle water drive was the most successful ac-

events

thursday

Bookstore Advisory Meeting

Williams Dining Hall Faculty Dining 5 p.m.

Couture Tryouts

Memorial Student Union Stallings Ballroom 5 p.m.

MLK Commemorative Program

Are you interested in writing? The A&T Register wants you! Stop by the newsroom. GCB 328

Harrison Auditorium 7 p.m.

friday

Gym Jam

I Am Music & Media Moore Gym 9:30 p.m.

saturday

Lady Aggies Basketball Game

Corbett Gymnasium 2 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Game

Corbett Gymnasium 4 p.m.

photo by MCT Campus

Gwinnett King Day events began at the courthouse square in Lawrenceville, Georgia, with a rally and then a march to Central Gwinnett High school where speakers and readers addressed a gathering in the auditorium on Monday, January 21, 2008.

theBLOTTER January 12

11:15 a.m. General Classroom Building PVA- Vehicle Accident Case Closed 1 p.m. Barbee Hall- Weapons Violation Case Under Further Investigation 3:45 p.m. General Classroom BuildingLarceny Case Under Further Investigation January 13 3:45 p.m.

The A&T

Craig Hall- Larceny Case Under Further Investigation

January 14

11:22 p.m. Curtis Hall- Drug Violation Case Closed

1:32 a.m. Aggie Suites PVAWeapons Violation Case Closed with Arrest 7 p.m. Moore Gym- Larceny

sunday

January 16 2:50 a.m. Benbow Rd.- Service of Warrants Case Closed with Arrest

January 15

Memorial Student Union Stallings Ballroom 7:30 p.m.

Case Closed

4 p.m. Aggie Suites- Drug Violation Case Closed with Arrest

2:05 a.m. Sullivan St.- Drug Violation Case Closed with Arrest

Erica N. James Scholarship Gala

University Church Service

Harrison Auditorium 3 p.m.

monday

January 17 9:30 a.m. Curtis Hall- Vandalism Case Closed

Lady Aggies Basketball Game

Corbett Gymnasium 6 p.m.

January 18 Men’s Basketball Game

2:30 a.m. Vanstory Hall- Burglary Case Closed

editor in chief: Jasmine Johnson Managing editor: Kelcie McCrae news editor: Sylvia Obell opinions editor:Trumaine McCaskill sports editor: Lauren Morgan scene editor: Jonathan Veal copy desk chief: Yulanda Henderson Copy editor: Justine Riddick photo editor: Kenneth Hawkins staff photographers: Michaela Edwards, Shanté Mathes

Corbett Gymnasium 8 p.m.

editorial cartoonist: Evan Summerville ncatregister.com: Keclie McCrae senior reporter: Charles Johnson reporters: Shequia Cole, Chanel Davis, Ashley Vaughn advertising& business manager: business staff: 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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Celebrating MLK through service College students not SYLVIA OBELL News Editor

Over 200 volunteers, most of whom were NC A&T students, decided to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King through service last Monday, by coming together to put energy-efficient light bulbs in a historic Warnersville community in Greensboro. The event is officially titled, Let’s Raise A Million (LRAM). A student-led, policy-supported, urban ecological project that conducts complete energy efficient light bulbs retrofits and energy audits, free of charge, for residents of modest means while informing recipients of the health, economic and environmental benefits of energy conservation. The ultimate goal is to exchange 1 million “clean bulbs” within four years following the ongoing pilot phase, now operational in Atlanta, GA and Grambling, LA. The project was brought to

Greensboro by local nonproﬁt organizations in partnership with LRAM. Its sponsors include Warnersville Historical & Beautiﬁcation Society, Ignite Greensboro, Campus Progress, City of Greensboro, Beloved Community Center, Democracy at Home, and Face to Face GSO. “We worked for six or seven weeks trying to put this together,” said Ignite Greensboro’s founder and coordinating director, Zim Ugochuckwu. “One of the beautiful things about this project is that it is 100 percent run by young people.” The day started with all the volunteers signing in and splitting up into teams, each with a team leader who had gone through prior training. Volunteers then went through a brief sensitivity training. A press conference was held outside of the Wernersville community center to inform the crowd about the event and its importance. Speakers included District 1

representative Diane BellamySmalls. “You are in the oldest planned African-American community in Greensboro, so this is historic. I’m very proud that you are here today and I hope that you know that you are the future, now,” BellamySmalls told the audience, “And that’s important because you’re going to lead the way. I come from a time where it was about buying it, using it, and throwing it away. Now it’s all about recycle, reuse and reclaim. I hope our citizens of Warnersville will be receptive.” After the press conference, each team was given a bag of CFL light bulbs, a step latter, evaluation forms, and gloves. Each team leader had a map highlighting the street their team was to tackle. Teams then went door-to-door to exchange up to 10 bulbs as well as provide helpful information on the beneﬁts of the upgrade and proper bulb disposal. It was great; they just needed

a second plan for when people don’t come to the door. Overall it was a great initiative to help save energy and money,” said Avery McKoy, Junior Criminal Justice major. “I had a positive experience, I’m from Greensboro so I enjoyed being able to give back to my community, ” said Leyonce Moses, Junior Agricultural Economics major. The event started off with 1500 light bulbs, and 180 residents to reach. “We don’t have the ﬁnal count of how many light bulbs we installed, but if we came anywhere close to our goal, we saved the community over $100,000 in energy costs. The CFL light bulbs use 75percent less energy than the incandescent light bulb,” said Anthony Kurr, co-chair of PR for Ignite Greensboro. LRAM was just one of many community service oppurtunites made available to A&T students via C.A.S.E.

Students in need turn to campus pantry LAUREL ROSENHALL MCT Campus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – College students are known to eke by on meager meals like peanut butter sandwiches, cold cereal and ramen noodles. But as tuition skyrockets and family ﬁnances remain tight, some students are having trouble buying even such humble staples. It’s given rise to a small but growing trend: the campus food bank, where hungry students can get a free can of soup, box of oatmeal or package of spaghetti. A food pantry opened last week at the University of Cali-

fornia-Davis, following similar efforts at the University of California-Los Angeles, Bakersfield College and Oregon State University. “It’s the most basic need of a student - to eat,” said Davis student Ashley Thomas, who plans to use the pantry. “You can’t study for a chemistry final if you’re hungry.” A recent survey of Davis undergrads found that almost 25 percent “somewhat to very often” skipped meals to save money and another 25 percent “occasionally” skipped meals for the same reason. The finding spurred student government leaders Justin Gold and Hannah Kirshner into ac-

tion. During the fall term they contacted campus organizations and local businesses. Donations came in from Campbell’s Soup, Sprouts Market, the Davis Food Co-Op and several campus organizations, Gold said. KDVS, the campus radio station, gave up a sound room in the basement of the student union building that’s now lined with shelves full of cereal boxes, jars of tomato sauce and cans of soup. A sign next to the service counter tells student volunteers how to help customers. Pantry volunteers must ask students seeking free food to show their student ID cards but

don’t record their names or ask about their ﬁnances. Students can visit the pantry as often as they like and can get enough food for three meals during each visit. “We are a little concerned about people taking advantage,” said Gold, 21. “But there’s an inherent risk any time you start a new project, and there’s so much overall beneﬁt from this project that we’re hoping it’s worth the risk.” The pantry has enough food to last about 10 weeks, Gold said. He’s hoping with contributions it can stay open at least until the end of the school year.

learning to think critically SARA RIMER

MCT Campus

NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education. Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn’t determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin. Arum, whose book “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses” (University of Chicago Press) comes out this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective. Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called “higher order” thinking skills. Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits. By contrast, students spent 51 percent of their time - or 85 hours a week - socializing or in extracurricular activities. The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in

learning than those who studied in groups. “I’m not surprised at the results,” said Stephen G. Emerson, the president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. “Our very best students don’t study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves.” Arum concluded that while students at highly selective schools made more gains than those at less selective schools, there are even greater disparities within institutions. “In all these 24 colleges and universities, you have pockets of kids that are working hard and learning at very high rates,” Arum said. “There is this variation across colleges, but even greater variation within colleges in how much kids are applying themselves and learning.” For that reason, Arum added, he hopes his data will encourage colleges and universities to look within for ways to improve teaching and learning. Arum co-authored the book with Josipa Roksa, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. The study, conducted with Esther Cho, a researcher with the Social Science Research Council, showed that students learned more when asked to do more. Students who majored in the traditional liberal arts - including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics - showed significantly greater gains over time than other students in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills. Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the least gains in learning. However, the authors note that their findings don’t preclude the possibility that such students “are developing subject-specific or occupationally relevant skills.” Greater gains in liberal arts subjects are at least partly the result of faculty requiring higher levels of reading and writing, as well as students spending more time studying, the study’s authors found.

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Film sparks debate about sexual harassment Shashank Bengali MCT Campus

CAIRO— The big screen shows a man eyeing a middle-aged woman on a jam-packed bus and sliding up quietly behind her. Even before his hands reach for her hips, the young women watching in the darkened theater squirm in their seats. They know the offending move all too well. In overcrowded, male-dominated Cairo, four out of five Egyptian women say they’ve been brushed, rubbed, squeezed, teased, catcalled, trailed or otherwise treated inappropriately by strange men in public. Now, what experts describe as Egypt’s epidemic of sexual harassment is the subject of a new feature film that’s sparked debate over an everyday crime long shrouded in silence. Released last month and inspired by true stories, the film is titled “678,” for the number of the bus that one of the main characters rides to work each morning, where she becomes the

helpless object of lewd behavior. Writer-director Mohamed Diab said the numerals also signified a problem that was increasing steadily as Egypt confronted a complex mix of social issues: economic stagnation, rising religious conservatism and changing attitudes about women and sex. In the film, a mob of men assaults a jeweler outside a soccer game; afterward, her husband says he can’t bear to look at her. A pretty young woman from a well-to-do family chases frantically after a truck driver who grabbed her breast as he drove past. The two victims form an unlikely friendship with the working-class woman on the bus, and together they plot to exact violent revenge on Cairo’s men. After a screening one recent afternoon at a Cairo shopping mall, a gaggle of college-age girls nodded enthusiastically when they were asked whether the stories rang true. “It’s so real. I loved it so much,” gushed Nariman Farouk,

a 20-year-old fine arts student. “Every shot is real. Those things happen all the time,” Farouk said. They happen so often, in fact, that she’s taken to carrying her keys in one fist when she walks through the city, the sharp metal edges ready to strike in case someone tries anything. Experts say the phenomenon risks pushing women further into the shadows of Egyptian society. In this proud, polyglot country of more than 80 million people, however, the film also drew criticism. At least one lawsuit already has been filed against Diab, accusing him of inciting women to violence. Another accused him of sullying Egypt’s image; that suit was thrown out of court. “I knew this would happen,” said Diab, a 33-year-old screenwriter with several blockbuster films to his credit. “It’s creating a huge debate, which is the reason I made the film: to break the silence.” American moviegoers might

recall “Disclosure,” the 1994 Hollywood film that featured Michael Douglas and Demi Moore in a he-said she-said battle over harassment allegations in a corporate executive suite. In Egypt, sexual harassment is a street-level phenomenon that experts say is rooted in the shrinking public space for women, an idea that “678” drives home in every shot of a bus, market, stadium or theater filled with men. In 2008, a survey by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights, an independent advocacy group, revealed a startling statistic:

Eighty-three percent of Egyptian women reported that they’d been sexually harassed. A majority of incidents aren’t physical, and very few are outright violent. Most happen in a flash, women say: A man grabs you from behind on a busy street and disappears into the crowd, or he lets his hand linger for a moment as he brushes past. While 53 percent of the men in the survey blamed women for “bringing it on” by wearing provocative clothes, the study showed that most incidents targeted women who were dressed

modestly, often wearing the traditional Muslim head covering known as hijab. In the film, harassers equally victimize veiled women and those in Western outfits; one of the characters goes jogging in a sweat suit through a tony Cairo suburb and elicits catcalls from passing cars. “When I interviewed girls, I discovered that it doesn’t matter who you are, if you look good or not, if you’re covered or not,” Diab said. “If you’re a female, it’s going to happen to you.”

Duvalier’s return to Haiti Jacqueline Charles and Lesley Clark

McClatchy Newspapers

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier remained holed up in a swank hotel Monday, receiving visits from the secret police that once terrorized the country and fueling fears that his return will deepen a political crisis from disputed presidential elections. The visit caused foreign governments to scramble. Canada and the United States denounced his return, with Canada releasing a terse statement referring to Duvalier as a “dictator.” Meanwhile, the French denied suggestions that it was complicit in his arrival from France, where he has lived since he fled into exile amid a popular revolt 25 years ago. “This was no plot. We did not know he was coming,” French Ambassador Didier Le-Bret said, adding that he only learned about Duvalier’s intended visit after he boarded an Air France flight from Guadeloupe. He immediately notified Haiti’s foreign affairs minister and prime minister, he said. “He’s not a focal point of the French government,” Le-Bret said. “He’s a simple French citizen, he’s allowed to do what he wants to do.” The Obama administration expressed concern and worry that Duvalier’s sudden appearance could have “an unpredictable impact” on Haiti’s delicate political state. Haiti’s government, meanwhile, sought to downplay Duvalier’s presence and its impact on the country as it wrestles with who will replace President Rene Preval as he nears the end of his five-year presidential term. The government announced that a controversial report on the presidential elections will officially be handed over to the Provisional Electoral Council, which will determine which candidates among the three front-runners should advance to a runoff. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said Monday that he “had no opinion” on Du-

valier’s visit. Instead, he sought to downplay the impact of the OAS election report, which suggests that popular singer Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly replace government-backed candidate Jude Celestin in the runoff. The report, Insulza said, is based on “calculations” and not results. “It’s not in our power to give results,” he told The Miami Herald. “We are not publishing any kind of results.” Preval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive have disputed the report, saying its conclusions were based on faulty methodology. Insulza, who defended the findings, said he was “in no position to change the report.” But the focus Monday was less on who would enter the runoff, and more on Duvalier, who returned to the country shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday. Throughout the capital, victims relieved their trauma as his friends and supporters smiled with nostalgia, arguing that the country was better during his rule. “After 25 years, we are nostalgic,’ said an elderly woman who visited Duvalier and identified herself as Madame Gerard Destin. “He’s happy that we were able to see each other again after 25 years. He wants peace, unity and love.” Ralph Brossard, 53, an urban planner, said he, too, was happy to see the dictator’s return and hoped that more exiled presidents would follow. Duvalier’s father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, he said, was a witness at his parents’ wedding more than 50 years ago. Still, even he was baffled by the visit and its timing, particularly after visiting Duvalier at the Karibe hotel. “What’s happening is Preval’s last stand,” he said. “Preval doesn’t want to go into exile. This is his last card. I think he made a deal for Duvalier to return.” Preval has not publicly commented on the return, but those close to him said he was as surprised as everyone. Bellerive said the passport Duvalier used to leave France

was issued in June 2005 by the then U.S.-backed interim government of Gerard Latortue. It expired last year. Others who have seen the travel documents confirmed that the passport was expired. Haiti was calm Monday as the crowds that greeted Duvalier at the airport were replaced at his hotel by three dozen journalists waiting for the chance to talk with Duvalier. A planned news conference was canceled. Human rights groups in Haiti and the U.S. demanded Duvalier’s arrest as victims, such as United Nations official Michel Montas, relived trauma from the Duvalier’s reign of terror. “I am outraged, angry and dismayed that this could happen,” said Montas, a former journalist and radio station owner who spent six years in exile after being jailed for 10 days, then expelled in 1980. Montas said she had no explanation for her treatment. She said she plans to file a civil action against Duvalier for “arbitrary arrest, forced exile, torture.” “What bothers me the most is the fact that so many people seem to have forgotten what happened,” she said. “When I talk about Nov. 28, 1980, when our radio station was ransacked, destroyed, when all of the journalists present at the station were arrested _ young people have no notion that something like this could have happened. “I tell them that the price that we paid for freedom of the press they are enjoying right now was a price paid in blood. Journalists died, they were killed.”

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Mother unplugs teenagers for six months BETH J. HARPAZ

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Susan Maushart lived out every parent’s fantasy: She unplugged her teenagers. For six months, she took away the Internet, TV, iPods, cell phones and video games. The eerie glow of screens stopped lighting up the family room. Electronic devices no longer chirped through the night like “evil crickets.” And she stopped carrying her iPhone into the bathroom. The result of what she grandly calls “The Experiment” was more OMG than LOL and nothing less than an immersion in RL (real life). As Maushart explains in a book released in the U.S. this week called “The Winter of Our Disconnect” (Penguin, $16.95), she and her kids rediscovered small pleasures like board games, books, lazy Sundays, old photos, family meals and listening to music

together instead of everyone plugging into their own iPods. Her son Bill, a videogame and TV addict, filled his newfound spare time playing saxophone. “He swapped Grand Theft Auto for the Charlie Parker songbook,” Maushart wrote. Bill says The Experiment was merely a “trigger” and he would have found his way back to music eventually. Either way, he got so serious playing sax that when the gadget ban ended, he sold his game console and is now studying music in college. Maushart’s eldest, Anni, was less wired and more bookish than the others, so her transition in and out of The Experiment was the least dramatic. Her friends thought the ban was “cool.” If she needed computers for schoolwork, she went to the library. Even now, she swears off Facebook from time to time, just for the heck of it. Maushart’s youngest daughter, Sussy, had the hardest time

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going off the grid. Maushart had decided to allow use of the Internet, TV and other electronics outside the home, and Sussy immediately took that option, taking her laptop and moving in with her dad Maushart’s ex-husband for six weeks. Even after she returned to Maushart’s home, she spent hours on a landline phone as a substitute for texts and Facebook. But the electronic deprivation had an impact anyway: Sussy’s grades improved substantially. Maushart wrote that her kids “awoke slowly from the state of cognitus interruptus that had characterized many of their waking hours to become more focused logical thinkers.” Maushart decided to unplug the family because the kids ages 14, 15 and 18 when she started The Experiment didn’t just “use media,” as she put it. They “inhabited” media. “They don’t remember a time before e-mail, or instant messaging, or Google,” she wrote. Like so many teens, they couldn’t do their homework without simultaneously listening to music, updating Facebook and trading instant mes-

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transition to life without Google and cell phones. It was a strategy that would have made Maushart’s muse, Henry David Thoreau, proud. She is a lifelong devotee of Thoreau’s classic book “Walden,” which chronicled Thoreau’s sojourn in solitude and self-sufficiency in a small cabin on a pond in the mid1800s. “Simplify, simplify!” Thoreau admonished himself and his readers, a sentiment Maushart echoes throughout the book. As a result of The Experiment, Maushart made a major change in her own life. In December, she moved from Australia to Long Island in New York, with Sussy. Of course, the move merely perpetuated Maushart’s need to live in two places at once: She kept her job as a columnist for an Australian newspaper and is “living on Skype” because her older children stayed Down Under to attend university. Ironically, the Internet eased the transition to America for Sussy, who used Facebook to befriend kids in her new high school before arriving. Another change for Maush-

art: She’s no longer reluctant to impose blackouts on Sussy’s screentime. “Instead of angsting, ‘Don’t you think you’re spending too much time on the computer? Don’t you think you should do something else like reading?’ I now just take the computer away when I think she’s had enough,” Maushart said in a phone interview. “And now that she’s been on the other side and remembers what it’s like, it’s less of an issue.” Maushart realizes that living off the grid for six months is unrealistic for most people. (She also admits getting her kids to go along with it partly by bribing them with a cut of proceeds from the book, which she planned to write all along.) But she encourages families to unplug periodically. “One way to do it is just to have that one screen-free day a week. Not as a punishment not by saying, ‘I’ve had enough!’ but by instituting it as a special thing,” she said. “There isn’t a kid on the planet who wouldn’t really rather be playing a board game than sitting at the computer.”

Two charged in stealing iPad information Associated Press

Federal & All States Returns

sages. If they were amused, instead of laughing, they actually said “LOL” aloud. Her girls had become mere “accessories of their own socialnetworking profile, as if real life were simply a dress rehearsal (or more accurately, a photo op) for the next status update.” Maushart admits to being as addicted as the kids. A native New Yorker, she was living in Perth, Australia, near her exhusband, while medicating her homesickness with podcasts from National Public Radio and The New York Times online. Her biggest challenge during The Experiment was “relinquishing the ostrichlike delusion that burying my head in information and entertainment from home was just as good as actually being there.” Maushart began The Experiment with a drastic measure: She turned off the electricity completely for a few weeks candles instead of electric lights, no hot showers, food stored in a cooler of ice. When blackout boot camp ended, Maushart hoped the “electricity is awesome!” reaction would soften the kids’

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two hackers stole the e-mail addresses of more than 100,000 Apple iPad users, including those of politicians and famous media personalities, federal prosecutors said Tuesday in announcing criminal charges against the men. AT&T revealed the security vulnerability months ago, and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said there was no evidence that the two men used the information they acquired for criminal purposes. Authorities cautioned, however, that the information could have wound up in the hands of spammers and scammers. Daniel Spitler, a 26-year-old bookstore security guard from San Francisco, and Andrew Auernheimer, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., face charges of fraud and conspiracy to access a computer without authorization. Fishman characterized the men and their cohorts as engaging in “malicious one-upsmanship” as they sought to impress each other and others in the online community. “We don’t tolerate committing crimes for street cred,” Fishman said. “Computer hacking is not a competitive sport, and security breaches are not a game.” Spitler appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark on

Tuesday and was released on $50,000 bail. U.S. Magistrate Claire Cecchi ordered him not to use the Internet except at his job at a Borders bookstore. He is scheduled to be back in court on March 7. Auernheimer was to make a court appearance later Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville. The stolen e-mail addresses are unlikely to be the basis for identity theft, but a spammer armed with the addresses could send e-mail pretending to be from Apple or AT&T, which the recipients might be more likely to open. The criminal complaint against Spitler and Auernheimer details online conversations in which the duo’s peers discuss selling the addresses to spammers. “you could put them in a database for spamming for example sell them to spammers ...” a user named Nstyr wrote to Spitler, the complaint alleges. “tru ipad focused spam,” Spitler responds. The complaint quotes an article published on Gawker.com that contended the e-mail addresses of film mogul Harvey Weinstein, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Diane Sawyer of ABC News were among those lifted from AT&T’s servers. The case was brought in New

Jersey because about 16,000 victims live in the state, Fishman said. AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said, “We take our customers’ privacy very seriously.” He said the company was not under investigation for the breach. In June, AT&T Inc. acknowledged a security weak spot on a website that exposed the e-mail addresses of apparently more than 100,000 iPad users. The company said the vulnerability affected only iPad users who signed up for AT&T’s “3G” wireless Internet service and that it had fixed the problem. It involved an insecure way that AT&T’s website would prompt iPad users when they tried to log into their AT&T accounts through the devices. The site would supply users’ e-mail addresses, to make log-ins easier, based on unique codes contained in the SIM cards inside their iPads. SIM cards are used to tell cell phone networks which subscriber is trying to use the service. A hacker group that called itself Goatse Security claimed at the time to have discovered the weakness and said it was able to trick AT&T’s site into coughing up more than 114,000 e-mail addresses. Both Spitler and Auernheimer were members of the group, authorities said.

A representative for the group told The Associated Press in June that the group contacted AT&T and waited until the vulnerability was fixed before going public with the information. The U.S. attorney’s office disputed that. According to an affidavit filed in June and unsealed last month, the suspects used a computer script they called “the iPad3G Account Slurper” that mimicked the behavior of an iPad 3G so that AT&T’s servers would falsely believe they were communicating with an actual iPad. The theft of the e-mail addresses occurred between June 3 and June 8, according to the affidavit. On June 9, the information was provided Gawker, which published an article on the breach. The affidavit also claims Auernheimer bragged about the operation in a blog posting on June 9 and an interview with CNET published online on June 10, but later backtracked from those statements. It quotes him from a New York Times article declaring, “I hack, I ruin, I make piles of money. I make people afraid for their lives.” Auernheimer also faces state narcotics charges in Arkansas stemming from the search of his residence in June, Fishman said.

Layoffs take effect in struggling N.J. city EMERY P. DALESIO Associated Press

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Some firefighters turned in their helmets and police officers their badges Tuesday as part of deep municipal layoffs destined to further erode the quality of life in Camden, already one of the nation’s most impoverished and crimeridden cities. About 335 workers, representing one-sixth of the local government work force, lost their jobs, according to Mayor Dana Redd. It was worst in the public safety departments, where nearly half the police force and close to one-third of the city’s firefighters were laid off. Laid-off firefighters walked eight blocks together from the police union hall to Fire Department headquarters, snaking past City Hall, then lined up their helmets in front of the building, picked them back up and started to turn them in along with their other gear. “It’s one of the worst days in the history of Camden,” said Ken Chambers, president of the firefighters union.

Redd blamed the public safety employee cuts on their unions, saying they have not been willing to make job-saving concessions or accept the reality that the state government will no longer bail out the city as it has for the past two generations. “Instead of protecting and serving the city, the residents of Camden, they’re choosing to protect their high salaries,” she said. The mayor said she was willing to continue negotiating with unions to try to reach cost savings that would allow the city to bring back some of the laid-off workers. Redd said a proposal to the rank-and-file police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was to be voted on Wednesday. She would not say exactly what the proposal entailed or how many jobs it could save. But she said that if the unions agree to concessions, about 100 police officers and most of the firefighters could be brought back. Chambers said residents should not expect to be safe as the number of fire companies is reduced. He said the union will

continue to meet with city officials to try to reach a deal under which some firefighters could be brought back. Police officers had begun turning in their badges Monday as it became clear that no lastminute deal was going to save many jobs. Located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Camden is rampant with open drug-dealing, prostitution and related crimes. More than half of Camden’s 80,000 residents, mostly black and Hispanic, live in poverty. A local pastor says “the fear quotient has been raised,” and a police union took out a fullpage newspaper advertisement last week warning that Camden would become a “living hell” if layoffs were not averted. The city was the nation’s second-most dangerous based on 2009 data, according to CQ Press, which compiles such rankings. Camden ranked first the previous two years. In 2009, the city had 2,380 violent crimes per 100,000 residents — more than five times the national average, the FBI said.

theWORD 6

The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I hope “The Game” is not playing a game on us On Jan. 11 the return of the popular show, “The Game” appeared on BET. We all know the show was previously owned by the CW network, and has now been picked up by Black Entertainment Television, otherwise known as BET. Over the years the show had gained its popularity due to BET showing the reruns of seasons one and two, that were perviously viewed on CW. According to ‘TV Series Finale’, the stint on the CW network ended due to low ratings that fell to a low average of about 1.68 million viewers, with a tiny 0.7 rating. With the low ratings, and little to no hype over the television series, CW chose to release the show from the network. That’s where BET comes a year later, and saves the day by picking the show back up on its network with new episodes. This left a lot of fans excited because this had become their favorite tv show; every girl

could relate to Melanie, all the guys liked the football theme of the show, every mother could laugh at Tasha Mack’s tactics to protect her son while trying to make him famous, every couple could argue over Jason and Kelly’s relationship, and of course everyone loved Melanie and Derwin. With BET picking the show back up, the fans were happy their favorite show was back, but they wanted it to be the same show, and not have BET change it around to something different. BET kept the same writers and producers for the show, but the fact that the show was on this network left a little doubt in people’s minds. Everybody tuned in, whether it was at a watch party with friends, or they wanted peace and quiet at home by themselves. I attended a watch party with my girlfriends, and while watching I couldn’t help but notice that this show had completely changed. Yes, the show picked up two

years later in the plot line, but it seemed as though I was watching a generic “hollywood boogie” version of the ASHLEY show I used to love. VAUGHN The first thing I noticed along with a lot of other people was the change in Kelly Pitts’ character. She went from a typical white, down-toearth hollywood football wife/ mother, to an overly made up, tacky, bitter ex-wife that is trying to stay relevant. BET has her with her own reality show trying to emphasize how she has moved on from Jason, and she is a newly freed woman. But in reality she looks lonely, thirsty for attention, and desperate just like those other reality stars that have similar shows that Kelly is trying to portray. We women can no longer re-

late to her story of trying to fight for her marriage, or supporting her husband, or being a good housewife. BET has also downgraded Kelly Pitts’ role to only a “recurring character on the show,” according to an interview Brittany Daniels (who plays Kelly Pitts) did with ‘Vibe’ magazine. She was only contracted to do six episodes, but agreed to 13 because of her love for the show and cast. So I guess, we won’t be seeing that much more of Kelly Pitts’ character. Another noticeable revamp was the change in love partners for Tasha Mack and Jason Pitts; what happened to Stacy Dash and Rick Foxx? Stacy was the whole reason Kelly and Tasha’s friendship ended, and why Kelly and Jason’s marriage never got mended. Now BET has made all that significance irrelevant, due to the fact those characters are no longer involved with the show. And now Tasha is having relations with Terrance J, who is a

sex symbol on the show. I’m not at all convinced by his character, and it seemed like a desperate play by BET to keep fans surprised, because nobody was expecting that move. Something that raised eyebrows and made me question BET’s motive and credibility was the fact that they had Tasha Mack smoking a ‘black and mild’ blatantly on camera! This was something that was pointless and did not need to shown, this just further provoked stereotypes for blacks, and makes black females look ghetto and non-classy. Tasha Mack used to be the strong, career driven single black mother, who always had it figured out, what was the point in having her smoking? The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was the drama with Melanie and Derwin, yes, drama stays in their relationship, but the paternity test results was too much. There was no reason to change the results of the test to it actually being

Derwin’s baby, after Melanie had told him the opposite; that ending was unnecessary.The only thing that seems the same is Jason’s money conscious, laid back character. Even Malik’s cousin T.T. has changed, he’s no longer the funny tag along assistant, now he’s against Malik and his tactics and he’s fallen deeply in love; it’s just not the same. Why is the show even called “The Game” anymore? In last week’s episode there was no reference of football mentioned or shown. It seemed as though BET just went for the drama field surprise factor in the first episode. The show no longer seems realistic, BET tried to push the envelope of surprise too much, and it became annoying. I hope they just wanted to start the season off with a bang, and have the show become more of what we’re used to, because I want the old Game back. It’s not fair, BET seems to be trying to play a game with “The Game” fans, I wonder who will win this one?

Ask a Black Guy Why don’t black men take advantage of a strong black woman until they are much older? Guy #1- Because as far as I’m concerned they come so few and far between right now that I’m not about to waste my time looking anymore. Many of these girls think they are good, strong, dependable black women but they are sadly mistaken. At this age, girls are filled with immaturity, deception, and bitterness. So the reason we don’t waste our time taking advantage of them is because it’s too hard to find them. Guy #2- Well I think this question is very far from the truth. I personally know plenty of men on this campus with good black women. Me being one of those men, I think it is safe to say that men are not afraid of commitment, but it is hard to find a good one at this age. Men want love just as much as women, but at the same time we know we are in college and this is the phase in our life where we are still learning about ourselves. Experimentation is just another part of life. This is why many women get overlooked. Not so much because of you, but more because men at this age are still learning about themselves. And girls should be doing the same. So all I can say for you good women who get overlooked is to not take it personal. Your days will come in due time. You just have to be patient. Guy #3- The same question could be asked to black women. Why are black women not taking advantage of strong black men? Black women typically fall for the same type of men and this is why you are in the situation you’re in now. While the quiet black man sits in class and gets no love, the loud arrogant jerk in the club gets all the girls. Girls can deny this all they want, but I’ve been seeing that since high school. This is why they say, “nice guys finish last!” What are your thoughts on a cheating woman? Guy #1- In most relationships it kind of expected that if anyone is going to cheat, it’s probably going to be the guy. However, when it ends up being the female who cheats it’s just sad. Not only is she classified as “loose” to every guy her boyfriend knows, but even her friends will look at her differently. I may never understand why girls cry about trying to get a man, and then they cheat on him, and expect somebody to feel sorry for her. So girls who cheat are not only loose, but they are dumb as well. That’s one of the most dangerous combinations known to man.

Guy #2- I know this may not be fair to any woman but we live in a world full of double standards. So if a man cheats it’s really seen as whatever. Actually, I would go as far to say that it’s a little bit expected at this age. Most men have to go above and beyond to prove they’re not cheaters. But when a girl does it, she will never be forgiven and will never able to live down that one slip up. Maybe it’s not fair, but a sorry cheating woman receives little to no sympathy as far as I’m concerned. Guy #3- All women cheat. They just don’t get caught as much as guys. So my view of a woman who cheats is nothing. I know women cheat just as much as men; they are just sneakier. So I applaud them for at least not getting caught. As educated black men, what words of advice would you give to your brothers behind bars? Guy #1- Keep your heads up! The world may have turned their backs on you but that does not mean you should quit. This world is only what you make it. My uncle got locked up and when he came out he was a changed man. And I firmly believe that if he can go in and come out for the better, it can happen for anyone. Guy #2- My cousin, who is much like my brother, went to jail about nine years ago. I still talk to him and visit him on a very regular basis. And all I can tell him is to keep his head up. Life is not over for him so he should not ever give up on it because it has not given up on him. Society may tell us that he has no love and no options, but his family will support him until the day that he dies. Change is not impossible; it’s just going to take time. All men in jail aren’t bad guys and I make sure he knows that he’s not. Every time I send him a letter I remind him of Malcolm X’s prison number. 22843! It’s my symbol to him to remember to rise from darkness into the light. That’s the best advice I can give anyone in jail. Guy #3- Well I personally don’t know anyone in jail. But if I could speak to them I would tell them to not get caught up in whatever got them put in jail in the first place. More often than not our black men get caught up in the system and they never get out. I just hope and pray that this changes in the near future. They already have a target on their backs just for being black men, and being black men fresh out of jail means your life is going to be harder than ever. So just fight through it! “When going through hell, simply tuck your head and keep on running.”

AggieLife

Evan Summerville 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.

theSCORE

The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, January 19, 2011 NEws and notes MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE The Aggie Men’s basketball team spilt games this past weekend. On Jan. 15 they defeated Howard 78-65 before falling to Hampton 77-82 on Jan. 16. the Aggies fall to 3-2 in the MEAC.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE This past weekend the Lady Aggies faced two MEAC opponents. They fall to 3-2 in the MEAC falling short to Howard 53-69 on Jan. 15 before falling to Hampton on Jan. 16, 36-71. The Lady Aggies are now 3rd in the MEAC behind Hampton (4-0, 12-5) and MOrgan State (3-1, 9-7)

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1-on-1 with an Aggie Alum

Once a student, athlete, and coach at North Carolina A&T, Ty Hall now spends his days working for Rx Sport, a manufacture of wood baseball bats. Rx Sport, based out of Philadelphia, Pa was founded in 2009 and is now MLB certified for use on every level of minor and major league baseball. Hall graduated from NCA&T in the fall of 2010 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications: Public Relations. He recently set down with Lauren Morgan, the Sports Editor of the Register to tell us more about his job and Rx Sport. LM: Looking back how has A&T changed if any? TH: Staff, I come back to see a lot of my professors and they’re gone. One of the things I’ve noticed is that some of the class work has changed. The dean of the department has changed, I’ve noticed the radio station is on the top floor of Crosby now, that’s a little different; that was shocking. It looks pretty good. LM: You graduated with a degree in Public relations how did you get into the bat business? TH: Luck, perfect timing! We were getting ready to go on a road trip and I wanted some snacks for the road and I went to the convenient store off of summit and when I came out a guy approached me and asked me if I played baseball. I told

him not anymore but I coach and he asked me to stop by his shop and check out what he was doing with bats. It was just timing, being in the right place at the right time. LM: I take it that was someone from Rx Sport, so what exactly is Rx Sport? TH: Yes it was. Rx Sport is the company’s entity; this year the logo on the bats has been changed to chandler bats. The gentleman I work for named David Chandler. What we wanted to do was have a company that could expand into other things like gloves, cleats, apparel you name it, whatever you need for the game of baseball. That’s where Rx came from. We kicked around with Rx bats but that would just limit us to doing bats, so with Rx sport being the head of it all we would be able to branch out to other things, this year is when we are coming out with our Chandler design for our bat. But as far as the company goes right now all we do is bats. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and have to many things going at once. We are a small company and thrive off quality and that’s something we are going to stick to. For our first year we were able to pick up 32 professional players, we would have been happy with six but we got 32. LM: Why wood bats? TH: The company got started out of the love of the game. David got tired of hearing announcers and other people bash maple bats. He has a background in furniture making; he does a lot of high-end furniture. How Rx got started was he started researching bats; what companies were doing at the time, why bats were

ting such a bad rap; it’s a very superior wood. The longevity of it, the ability to process it, it’s just a far superior wood when it comes to ash. LM: If I’m a baseball player, I’m looking for a bat, why would I choose Rx Sport to make me a bat? TH: Confidence. One thing that we are very good at is instilling confidence in players. When you walk up to the plate, you have a number of things on your mind. When you walk to the plate and you know you have a product that’s going to perform, that is going to make you a better player all around, that makes all the difference in the world. LM: Earlier you said you have 32 players swinging bats from Rx Sports, any big names? TH: Josh Hamilton, Shane Victorino, Michael Young, Chase Utley, David Young, Saltalamacchia, the list goes on and on. We picked up a slew of professional players this year. A couple weeks ago I got Freddie Sanchez there’s nothing like having a guy fresh off a World Series Win. LM: You sound like your having fun and just enjoying what you do TH: I am, one of the very first pro guys I met was my child hood ideal and that was Pug Rodriguez and that was the only time I

exploding the way they were. We wanted to prove people wrong. Maple was get-

giggled like a little schoolgirl. I’ve met a lot of retired guys and they’re just amazed at

what we’re doing. To hear expros who were well respected when they were plying to say, “are you kidding me” that’s a very good feeling. LM: How many bats do you produce in an average month? TH: It depends on the time of year, baseball is kind of cold right now, it’s the off-season; but last year we only put out 4,000 bats. With the way things are going we estimate 30 to 40,000 this year. Last year it was just about getting our name out there. LM: What’s next for Rx Sport? TH: Well right now we’re not really going to change our business plan. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing catering to everyone. Our main focus is minor league, college and high school guys. Building trust and building a brand with these guys. But as far as what’s next for us, we would like to be the official bat sponsor of the Aflac All American game, that would be nice. Under Armor would be nice too. Other than that just make sure our standards stay high.

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