October 23, 2013

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The A&T

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volume lXXXVII No. 7

REGISTER ncatregister.com

serving the aggie community for over 80 years

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Wednesday

The student newspaper of north carolina A&t

Misuse of social networks has negative outcomes TAYLOR YOUNG

Register Reporter

Social media is sure to skyrocket with homecoming vastly approaching. Social media will play a big role in every event. Though social media can have its advantages, students should be aware of its negative affects when used inappropriately. Social media sites date back to 1985 when people had to search computers, but now social networks are accessible through mobile phones, tablets, iPads, or computer. Today, there is not just one way to stay connected to what is going on. Social media sites are meant to keep people connected. Being socially connected is always good, but the problem is when it takes a negative turn. A person’s character is in question when sexually explicit actions are being put out. When girls begin to post dancing videos or both males and females post pictures of themselves participating in illegal activity, it usually results in a negative outcome. “Social media is a powerful tool for our generation and the generations to come. In about ten years, social media has been established as a reputable means

for sharing information,” said Courtney Jackson, Social Media Manager for North Carolina A&T. “Social media has fueled revolutions. It has ended careers, and it has become a staple in all the major organizations in the world.” Some members of the student body are considered Generation Y, meaning they live in the now instead of focusing on what is to come later. According to Forbes magazine, Generation Y is the generation that is going nowhere and they are fine with that. During the time of the most socially connected generation, Generation Y, word spreads quickly. Someone can attempt to figure out who an individual is through social networks, such as Instagram and Twitter, and never lays eyes on him or her in person. “I think it reflects negatively on our generation because you see it a lot. But I do think that it’s impactful to know what people around the world are doing,” said Kendrick Smith, an A&T junior. “It allows us to see how certain societies live or how they react to different things. It’s a negative and a positive.” SGA President Canisha Turner sent out a letter to the student

body on Oct. 14 regarding various social media post that are and have been associated with A&T. In the letter, Turner says, “The University is requesting that students do not use #ncat hashtag or its logo to make derogatory statements about another person or to post sexually explicit photos and videos that may cause embarrassment of humiliation.” “We are an HBCU, so we are constantly under the radar… It’s a spiraling effect of negative things that can happen from the misusage of social media,” said Turner. “Now, I don’t think that all social media is bad, at all, we just have to use it in a positive way.” A&T has taken many negative hits when it comes to social media because students are unaware that tagging the school in posts creates havoc for the university. Though the student handbook does not specifically state the consequences for inappropriate and negative social media posts, administration strongly urges that students be aware of u See SOCIAL NETWORKS on Page 3

Grambling football returns for play JOSH MOON

MCT Campus

That breeze — and the shivers that accompanied it — originated in Grambling, La., where the entire Grambling State football team, angry about a number of things they had every right to be angry about, had just refused to board buses headed for Jackson, Miss., and a scheduled Saturday game against Jackson State. It was the first protest of its kind. And it demonstrates once and for all just how much power college football players — and some other college athletes — hold in today’s money-centric college athletics world. A cash-strapped Grambling University will now fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and lost revenue for forfeiting the game. It will deal with months, if not years, of negative PR that’s likely to drive away a number of future recruits and coaches. And it must work feverishly to placate donors and boosters, along with the Louisiana state government and the general public, who all must be questioning the leadership at the school today. The annual budget, awful as it was, is now shot for Grambling, because jerking six figures from a football budget that was only around $2 million will do that. The school, which had already transferred nearly $2 million from its general fund to athletics, will undoubtedly be forced to make cuts, some of which will likely fall outside of athletics. All of that because players didn’t get on the bus.

That’s quite a bit of power. And it’s power every AD in the country had better fear. Because more and more, college athletes are coming to realize that not only are they getting hosed by some current NCAA rules, but that they have at least some power to do something about it. Now, to be fair, the Grambling situation isn’t relatable to most schools, if any, on the Football Bowl Subdivision level, where the upper echelon of college sports teams compete. Grambling is on the Football Championship level — the old Division I-AA — where teams like Alabama State and other small-budget, small-fan base teams play. The Alabamas and Auburns of the world don’t deal with issues such as unsafe flooring, staph infections, dingy training areas, 10-hour bus rides, skipped meals on the road or substandard equipment. All of that, plus administrative in-fighting that led directly to the firing of former head coach Doug Williams, plagued the Grambling program. And many of those things plague other SWAC teams. ASU has vastly improved its facilities over the last few years, but it wasn’t long back that a player stepped through the floor of the old training room, which was housed in a mobile trailer. Those everyday safety issues at FCS schools are a product of school administrators who refuse to accept reality — that their fan bases and donor bases simply can’t support life at the Division I level. The SWAC should be a Division II league, where rules and

National Day of Protest The October 22nd Coalition marches each year in major cities to protest against police brutality and abuse. Yesterday the organization commemorated its 18th anniversary march as well as its 14th march in Greensboro. The coalition verbally displayed its distrust of the police and displeasure with the $114 million Guilford County Detention Center. The group also held a protest last month on the corner of Dudley and E. Market Streets to protest against police brutality. The October 22 Coalition will continue to protest and reach out to the families of these victims. PHOTOs & story by Keith Jones

u See GRAMBLING on Page 3

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PLANNED PARENTHOOD

THE REGISTER APOLOGIZES

AGGIES PLAY FAMU

EDITOR GOES TO TEEN VOUGE

Keep up with breaking news on our Web site. Slideshows, videos and more are available online.

The organization celebrates 30 years of service to the community and young women.

See what The A&T Register staff has to say about last week’s 20 Questions.

The football team will play the the Rattlers Saturday. Can the Aggies bounce back after three losses?

Get the inside scoop of Scene Editor Kourtney Pope’s experience at a top magazine.

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WEATHER wednesday

63° Low: 37° High:

Thursday: Partly Cloudy | High 57° friday: Partly Cloudy | High 52°


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October 23, 2013 by The A&T Register - Issuu