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APRIL 16, 2014 N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y VOLUME 105, ISSUE 101801 FAYETTEVILLE STREETDURHAM, NC 27707

919 530.7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDUWWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM

CampusTheatre departmenthas the box office

blues

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FeatureBehind the Music:NCCU’s campus

musicians under lens

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CampusJuvenile JusticeInstitute targetsschool-to-prison

pipeline

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A&E9th Wonder resurrects

hip-hop institute

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BY LEAH MONTGOMERYECHO A&E EDITOR

N.C. Central University’sdepartment of theater willclose the season with its lastthree performances thisweekend.

The Lydia R. Diamondstage adaptation of ToniMorrison’s novel “The BluestEye” is directed by AssistantProfessor Stephanie “Asabi”M Howard.

A fan of Toni Morrison’ssubject matter and writingstyle, Asabi chose the playbecause of its message.

“I like to do things thatrelate to African-Americanidentity, African-Americanworks and anything that can

Ukrainian separatists onthe offensive

The Bluest Eye: Three days left Toni Morrison’s tale of an abused girl onstage at NCCU

Left to right: Deja Middleton, Moriah Williams, and Kalyn Smith. Courtesty NCCU Department of Theater

BY SERGEI L. LOIKOLOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)

MOSCOW — Heavily armedseparatists held Ukrainiangovernment buildings andhostages Tuesday as ten-sions increased sharply andthreatened to push a disputeover treatment of the coun-try’s ethnic Russians intobloodshed.

Ukrainian governmentofficials said pro-Russiaseparatists had rigged explo-sives in a building inLuhansk and were holdinghostages inside. Officialsdispatched a deputy primeminister to another city,Donetsk, to try to negotiate apeaceful solution to thetakeover of an administra-tion building in that miningcity.

Russia seized control ofUkraine’s Crimea region, inthe south, with minimal vio-lence in February, butUkrainian forces have actedforcefully against sepa-ratists who took over build-ings in the country’s east inrecent days. On Tuesday, theUkrainian government saidit had cleared hundreds ofpro-Russia protesters from aregional administrationbuilding in a third city,Kharkiv.

A move in easternUkraine would be far moredifficult for Russia than itsCrimea seizure was. Theregion has a sizable ethnicRussian population but,unlike in Crimea, it’s aminority. And Crimea wasfor centuries part of Russia.

Analysts say it’s crucialfor Ukraine’s interim gov-ernment to manage the dis-cord until May 25 elections.The vote is likely to showthat the government doeshave popular support, theysaid, blunting Russia’s argu-ment that Ukraine has beentaken over by extremists.

Reacting to Ukraine’smoves to impose order,Russia issued a blunt warn-ing Tuesday in a ForeignMinistry statement: “Theorganizers and participantsin the operation are assum-ing huge responsibility forthe creation of threats to therights, freedoms and lives ofpeaceful residents ofUkraine.”

It said Ukrainian forceshad been augmented byabout 150 security contrac-tors from the U.S. privatesecurity firm Greystone, whowere wearing Ukrainianuniforms.

nSee UKRAINE Page 5

NCCU flock welcomesnew Lady Eagle

STORY BY CHELSEE POMPEYECHO STAFF REPORTER

Some 400 students, faculty and other guests gathered in McDougald Gymnasium Friday

to celebrate the installation of the first permanent female chancellor, Dr. Debra

Saunders-White. “It’s a great occasion,” said Moses Best, N.C. Central University

alumnus. “You don’t see these dignitaries every day. It’s good to be able to hear them

speak. I hope a lot of students come out and see who’s a part of the education system.”

Anti-Euromaidan, pro-Russian protesters stand on guard outsidethe Donetsk Region administration building in Donetsk, eastern

Ukraine, April 8.Mikhail Pochuyev/Zuma Press (MCT)

Spirit moves himMusic scholar goes gospel

BY KIMANE DARDENECHO STAFF REPORTER

When Will Boone wasasked to play guitar at FaithAssembly Christian Center,an African-American con-gregation on FayettevilleStreet, he knew that he’d bethe only white member ofthe congregation.

What he didn’t know wasthat his experiences at thechurch would one day leadto a doctoral dissertation inethnomusicology at UNC-Chapel Hill.

He titled his dissertation“Hearing Faith: MusicalPractice and Spirit-filledWorship in a ContemporaryAfrican American Church.”

On April 11, Boone wasinvited by N.C. Central

University’s Ralph Barrett,department chair of music,to talk about his experi-ences at Faith Assembly.

Boone described his dis-sertation as “an experi-ience-centered explorationof musical practices amongAfrican American spirit-filled Christians.” Boone joined the FaithAssembly in 2002 afterreceiving an invitationfrom a college classmate toplay guitar.

Unaccustomed toAfrican-American religiouspractices, Boone acceptedthe invitation understand-ing that he would be theonly white person in thecongregation.

nSee GOSPEL Page 3nSee BLUEST EYE Page 2

President Thomas Ross opened theceremony with a brief history ofNCCU and greetings to the guests andSaunders-White’s family.

Ross said he believes theUniversity has enormous potentialunder the leadership of Saunders-White.

“There is not a doubt in my mind

that Debra Saunders-White is theright person to lead North CarolinaCentral University today and in theyears ahead,” said Ross.

Ross read a statement byCongressman G.K. Butterfield.Butterfield congratulating Saunderson her installation.

Butterfield said Saunders-White is

a great leader who uses her wordsand actions to show students what ispossible.

“Great leaders motivate others toreach their full potential and showothers through their actions that theycan make a difference,” Butterfield

nSee CHANCELLOR Page 2

Chancellor Saunders-White receives applause from the crowd.Jamar Negron/Echo assistant editor

wrote.William R. Harvey, presi-

dent of Hampton University,and Saunders-White’s broth-er, Ralph Saunders, princi-pal of Bethel High School inHampton, Va., both praisedthe new chancellor’s workethic and intellect.

Saunders said the starshave always been alignedfor his younger sister as hereflected on her accom-plishments from gradeschool through a series ofaccomplishments leading toher installation as NCCU’s11th chancellor.

Student Body PresidentStefan Weathers said he isconfident and appreciativebecause the chancellor hasmade student success a pri-ority since her first day inthe position.

Johnson O. Akinleye,provost of academic affairs,said the day was importantto NCCU’s history.

He said he could imagineno finer leader thanSaunders-White to inspireand advance NCCU.

“I know no other personwho can out-work her,” saidAkinleye.

“She moves at such a fastpace that you would behard-pressed to keep upwith her.”

Ross said that althoughSaunders-White is the firstfemale chancellor, hestressed that she was select-ed because she is well-equipped to do the job andthe “best person to leadNCCU.”

Saunders-White showedgreat appreciation to hersupporters. She said theyinspire her with their dedi-cation to excellence.

“We this morning arebuilding upon a foundationlaid 103 years ago by Dr.James E. Sheppard,”Saunders-White said.

“It is his vision that wecelebrate today, for thisplace that we now call NorthCarolina Central Universitywould not have been if hedidn’t have the courage, thefortitude, to fight forward.”

Saunders-White said theresponsibility of leading auniversity cannot be viewedas a job.

“You have to comebecause you were calledand you have to comebecause you are on a mis-sion,” she said.

She said she wants to pro-vide gateways to opportuni-ty so that the young will seevisions and the old willdream dreams.

She said she’s beenwarned that this will be dif-ficult, but she believes noth-ing is worth having if it’ssimply given.

“We are now faced withthe fact that tomorrow istoday,” said Saunders-

White. “Procrastination is still

the thief of time.”Saunders-White spoke

passionately about the sur-vival of HBCUs and herhopes that NCCU studentsgraduate with the skills nec-essary for the workforce.

“HBCUs must survive,”she said. “NCCU must leadthe way.”

She also highlighted sev-eral NCCU accomplish-ments, announcing toDurham Mayor Bill Bell thatNCCU completed nearly200,000 hours of communityservice, and praising themen’s basketball team forreaching the NCAA tourna-ment.

Public health seniorLaquesha Cannon saidSaunders-White’s installa-tion is a great accomplish-ment and she is excitedabout what the chancellorhas in store.

“It’s great that she listedour accolades and what weare preparing to do,” saidCannon.

“It’s great to bring that toeveryone’s attention andshows how we affect thecommunity.”

Theatre arts juniorSuewong McFadden saidSaunders-White hasinspired her to pursue grad-uate school when she spokeabout students striving toachieve their dreams andgoals.

“NCCU is growing everyday and she is growing withus,” said McFadden.

“She’s making a mark andhelping us get our foot in thedoor.”

Mass communication sen-ior Franklin McCoy said heis looking forward to whathappens on campus withSaunders-White at the helm.

“We’re on the verge of amajor change, and she is theperfect candidate to bringthat change,” McCoy said.

2 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014Campus

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

CHANCELLORCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Chancellor Saunders-White takes the oath of office April 11, surrounded by her sister, her daughterand son, and her mother.

JAMAR NEGRON/Echo assistant editor

James E. Shepard Memorial LibraryNational Library Week Activities

Fine Free Week: April 13–19, 2014 Return overdue NCCU books (not includingInterlibrary Loans [ILL’s], lost books, andDVDs) without paying a fine!

Faculty/Staff Publications Showcase When: Wednesday, April 16thTime: 2 p.m. Location: 2nd Floor, Shepard Library Faculty & staff publications on display.

Poetry/Spoken Word PerformanceWhen: Thursday, April 17thTime: 2 p.m. Location: 2nd Floor, Shepard LibraryRenee Natson, Miss NCCU & StefanWeathers, SGA Body President will co-host.Open to students, faculty, and staff. To register call 919-530-6220 or email vfaison@nccu.edu.

Suspensions canlead to prison

BY STACI GREENECHO STAFF REPORTER

Curtis Rucker’s story isall-too-familiar in NorthCarolina schools.

Both he and his olderbrother have been suspend-ed from school repeatedly.

Rucker, a 19-year-oldfreshman at WakeTechnical CommunityCollege studying to be a taxattorney, said his brother,Deandre, was first expelledin primary school after afight. Later expulsions in highschool put his brother intoa downward spiral by giv-ing him free time in theneighborhood, where hewas surrounded by nega-tive influences.

Rucker’s 22-year-oldbrother is serving a 30-yearsentence at N.C. FoothillsCorrectional Instutition forhomicide.

Rucker said the sourceof his problems at schoolwere related to the fact thathe was working up to 50hours a week to help sup-port his mother and family.

“I was coming to schoolwith two or three hours ofsleep, and you expect me to

study?” he said. According to Rucker, his

teachers didn’t make aneffort to try to understandhis situation. Instead, “theywere more worried aboutme failing their test.”

[Getting suspended andexpelled] “affected mebad,” Rucker said. “I kindabroke out of it.

“My brother didn’t get tobreak out of it. He was avictim to it. It affected himreal bad. He went to gettingexpelled from elementaryschool to being in prison formurder.”

N.C. Central University’sJuvenile Justice Institutewants to address thisschool-to-prison pipeline.

The institute’s mission isto influence juvenile jus-tice policies and practicesby providing research,technical assistance andinformation to youth-serv-ing agencies and to thecommunity at large.

For example, the insti-tute provides a resourcemanual for juvenilesarrested as first-timeoffenders.

“The idea is to first look

Wake Tech freshman Curtis Rucker escaped the school-to-prison pipeline.

STACI GREEN/Echo staff photographer

nSee PIPELINE Page 3

BY ALEX SAMPSONECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The award-winning N.C.Central University depart-ment of theatre is endingits 2013-2014 theatre seasonwith “The Bluest Eye.”

The job of puttingtogether a theatrical per-formance is hectic enough,but it’s even more hecticwhen the program is strug-gling financially.

The department of the-atre largely depends on therevenue made from per-formances to fund produc-tion operations.

But steep box office fees— which can run up to sev-

eral thousand dollars — aredraining the program of itsrevenue, and the depart-ment and its students arefacing a crisis.

This February thedepartment was set to per-form the musical “Ain’tMisbehavin’.” Because ofissues with funds, the sixinitial scheduled perform-ances were reduced to one.

However, that wasn’tenough. Royalties mustalso be paid for permissionto perform shows. Forexample, the royalties forAin’t Misbehavin’ weremore than $2,000, accord-ing to Johnny Alston, chairof the department of the-atre.

The strain of paying offthe royalties was enough toforce the department tocancel the show.

“The most popular[shows] that you’re mostliable to make the mostmoney from … the royaltiesare the most expensive onthem,” Alston said.

From the show beforethat, “Don’t Bother Me, ICan’t Cope,” a revenue of$2,800 was made. However,the department had to paythe University’s box officealmost $2,500 in fees.

Alston said other venuesin the area were consid-ered for the performance,but the cancellation wasinevitable.

Alston said he doesn’twant to go back to doingonly two shows a seasonbecause of funding issues.

“If you’re only doing two

shows a year, everybodycan’t be in those twoshows,” Alston said.

“So some people aregoing to lose their opportu-nities.”

The University’s policyis that all campus eventsmust be funneled throughthe ticket office.

Director of Business andAuxiliary Services TimothyMoore said the point of thispolicy is to make sure theevents are processed prop-erly.

“It is certainly not ourgoal to gouge anyone,”Moore said.

The ticket office is a self-supporting entity meaningthat it’s entirely financedwith event fees.

Moore said ticket feesdepend on a number of fac-tors, including the numberof seats in a space, theamount of time ticket tak-ers need to be at the event

and the equipment used toscan tickets.

Christine Allen, a psy-chology and theatre senior,has been vocal about herdiscontent with the boxoffice and has started apetition to get the boxoffice to reduce their fees.

Allen said there is a dis-crepancy between the pro-motion of the arts and ath-letics.

“Sports are going to sellall day, every day,” Allensaid.

She said a liberal artscollege needs to take moreinitiative toward promotingthe arts instead of some-thing like sports, which willinevitably sell tickets.

“Nobody wants theirdepartment shut down,”Allen said.

“We’ve already seen thathappen with sociology. Wecan’t let this happen to thearts.”

Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014 Campus

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

3

Box office feesbring bad business

NCCU actor Christine Allen says NCCU box office fees are excessive and hurting drama students.

Alex Sampson/Echo editor-in-chief

For more information contact Rev. Michael Page at 530-5263

or by e-mail at mpage@nccu.edu

United Christian Campus Ministry

525 Nelson Street, NCCU Campus

Michael D. PageCampus Minister

JOIN US!Get involved withCampus Ministries

today!

expand your horizons STUDY ABROAD

Deadlines for study abroad applications•To study abroad in the spring semester September 1

•To study abroad in the summer, fall, or an academic year February 15

• First Thursday study abroad information session – May 1. 10:40 break,

Lee Biology, 202

• Academic unit/class/Small group/study abroad information sessions are

available on request

• All students planning to study abroad in spring 2015 should contact

the Office of International Affairs before the end of this semester.

STUDY ABROAD

NCCU’s OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL

AFFAIRS

Contact Dr. Olivia Metzger Jones at ojones@nccu.edu or 919.530.7713

Resources• Copies of “A Student Guide to Study Abroad,” an IIE and AIFS publica-

tion by Berdan, Goodman and Taylor, are available in the reference sec-

tion of the Shepard Library and in the Office of International Affairs.

GOSPELCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I often say that I havenever felt simultaneouslymore out of place and moreat home than the first time Iattended Faith Assembly,”Boone said.

Boone began his doctoralresearch at Faith Assemblyin 2010.

By the fall of 2013, andafter defending his disserta-tion, he had become thechurch’s longest-remainingmusician.

“My relationship with thepeople there was one of fam-ily,” Boone said.

His conversations withthe late Bishop LeroyMcKenzie were rarelyfocused on objective aca-demic topics, but more oftena conversation betweenfriends.

At one point during hisresearch, McKenzie evenasked Boone to become theminister of music.

Boone declined, sayingthat he didn’t have experi-ence training singers andthat he was there to studyand learn, not lead.

But McKenzie persisted. “You’re getting a doctor-

ate for God’s sake, Will,” saidMcKenzie, who laterannounced to the congrega-

tion that Boone would be thenext minister of music.

In his presentation Boonesaid that McKenzie “— incontemporary pentecostalparlance — [tried] ‘to speakinto existence’ my accept-ance of the position.”

Boone provided a humor-ous contrasting account ofhis experiences attending awhite Methodist church inWashington, N.C. The musicthere was “lame,” he said.“It’s a lot more fun at FaithAssembly.”

Boone said McKenzie andthe congregation supportedhis proposal to conductreseach at Faith Assembly,but that some musicallyinclined churchgoers werepuzzled by his questionsabout music and musicaltechniques, given his exten-sive musical training.

He said he would getlooks like, “Don’t you alreadyknow that?” and questionslike, “Don’t you already havea degree, man?”

Boone explored the skep-ticism born from hisinquisitiveness:

“Instruction relies on apower imbalance willinglyentered into by both parties.

In the social and cultural

environment of black spirit-filled churches, the notionthat someone with my aca-demic credentials wouldwillingly enter into such animbalance seemed suspect.”

Boone also explored thecomplex identity tensionsthat existed in his simultane-ous roles as a researcher, achurch musician and aChristian.

Negotiating these con-flicts, helped him set intorelief what doing researchwith living people is reallyall about.

When researching a com-munity, Boone rejects theidea of pure objectivity or ofentering into research as ifone has a puzzle to solve.Rather, he seeks to provide“an edifying account of exis-tence.”

Boone said he wants hisexploration of music in theAfrican American spirit-filled worship to serve as achallenge “to deeper andmore empathetic under-standing,” and to promotethe recognition that “peoplewithin all communities livelives shaped by the desireand struggle to exist better.”

Ethnomusicologist Will Boone at work at Faith Assembly Christian Center on Fayetteville Street. Kimane Darden/Echo staff photographer

PIPELINECONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

into the book and see if thereare services available beforesending them to the juvenilejustice systems,” saidExecutive Director ArnoldDennis.

According to theAmerican Civil LibertiesUnion, the school-to-prisonpipeline refers to the poli-cies and practices that pushschoolchildren out of class-rooms through suspensions

and directs them into thejuvenile and criminal justicesystems.

This pipeline, someargue, prioritizes incarcera-tion over education. And theproblem is especially perni-cious when it comes to thetreatment of African-American males.

Statistics provided byYouth Justice North Carolinashow that black students in

North Carolina are fourtimes more likely than whitestudents to get suspended.

“Negative impacts arefalling much more heavily onpeople of color,” saidJennifer Story of Legal Aidof North Carolina.

Story spoke March 10 atan NCCU forum on thepipeline. “What wesee is that some of the whitestudents will get in-school

consequences, while some ofthe black students are get-ting the out-of-school conse-quences,” Story said.

The National Associationfor the Advancement ofColored People LegalDefense Fund has found thatacross the United States,African-American studentsare nearly three times morelikely than their white peersto be suspended from school.

And Latino students arenearly one and a half timesmore likely to be suspended.

According to YouthJustice North Carolina,there were 258,197 short-term suspensions, 1,607 long-term suspensions, and thirtyexpulsions during the 2011-2012 academic year in NorthCarolina public schools.

Students with disabilities,who make up about 14 per-

cent of the student popula-tion, received about 25 per-cent of short-term suspen-sions.

NCCU’s Juvenile JusticeInstitute will hold anotherforum on challenges facingjuveniles, including theschool-to-prison pipeline, atApril 25 at 6 p.m. in theWhiting Criminal JusticeBuilding.

National Day of Prayer12:00 Noon

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014Campus

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

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campusecho.comFree c lass i f ied ads for anyone wi th an @nccu e -mai l account .

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Relationships 101 Corey Guyton and Jamal Williams school students on relationship etiquette

BY KENDRICK MOOREECHO STAFF REPORTER

Keynote speakers Dr.Corey Guyton and JahmalWilliams headlined theannual relationship confer-ence, “Hump Day,” in theMiller Morgan auditoriumWednesday, April 9.

Guyton is N.C. CentralUniversity’s assistant direc-tor of student leadership,training and development

Williams is a studenthealth counselor at NCCU.

The conference was a col-laboration of the multiplestudent organizations,including project SAFE, theLGBTA Center and theNCCU Counseling Center.

“One of the reasons why Istarted talking about rela-tionships was that I saw col-lege students getting in rela-tionships and they weregoing sour,” Guyton said.

Williams spoke about keythings college studentsshould do to maintain a suc-cessful relationship.

“Make sure you identifyyour needs and wants,because people get those twoconfused,” Williams said.

Guyton and Williams dis-cussed numerous issues andchallenges college studentsface while trying to maintainhealthy relationships,including text messaginginstead of communicatingface-to-face, “booty call”

relationships and giving yoursignificant other a relation-ship title.

Guyton discussed ways inwhich relationships can behealthy or unhealthy.

“How can you have ahealthy relationship if youdon’t love yourself first?”Guyton asked. “An unhealthyperson is not at full strengthin relationships.”

Williams said that in orderto have a successful relation-ship, both individualsinvolved have to believe intheir union.

He said having a creativespace in the relationship willhelp both people develop inthe relationship as it pro-gresses.

Williams also said beingable to compromise alsohelps foster a healthy rela-tionship.

“You’re not going to builda successful relationship ifyou don’t work on it,”Williams said.

Guyton said actions speaklouder than words.

He said making sure thatrelationships maintain alevel of consistency and com-promise is the key to havinghealthy relationship.

However, he had a warn-ing for those who decide toforego his advice.

“If you choose to move for-ward with the red flags,please proceed with cau-tion,” Guyton said.

Keynote speaker Dr. Corey Guyton spoke to a crowd of students about factors that could hurt or help a relationship.KIMANE DARDEN/Echo staff photographer

Kiddie Kollege Early Learning CenterPreschool and infant/toddler locations just blocks from NCCU

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Reading PainNew course explores survival, healing

BY JAMAR NEGRONECHO ASSISTANT EDITOR

This fall, the depart-ment of language and liter-ature will offer a newcourse.

Two English professors,Camille Passalacqua andRachelle Gold, wereawarded a grant from theNational Endowment forthe Humanities to create aclass that would address anenduring human question:how do we survive traumaand grief?

It is the first NEH grantawarded to N.C. CentralUniversity in 18 years.

The class, part of theirproject, “On Survival andHealing,” examines therole literature plays inhelping people who haveendured trauma transcendtheir suffering.

Passalacqua, who willteach the class in the fall,said literature is an essen-tial aspect of being human.

“Literature is very valu-able to our lives,” she said.

“It’s just as important asthe other disciplines.”

Students will read anumber of survival narra-tives that address the roleof grief and suffering, andthe character’s ability towithstand them.

Books include memoirs,such as “Left to Tell,” anarrative of the Rwandangenocide, and classic fic-tion, like Homer’s “TheOdyssey.”

Students also will learnabout the psychology andphilosophy behind suffer-ing and emotional pain.

Gold said she does notwant students who are con-sidering taking the class tobe intimidated by theheavy content of the course

material. “[The literature] is not

just a collection of sorrow-ful suffering,” she wrote inan email.

“In fact, the readingsare a testament to faith,optimism, and hope in thehuman spirit.”

Passalacqua said litera-ture should confront andchallenge students to stepoutside their comfort zone.

“The writers they’regoing to encounter, they’regoing to remember them,”she said.

Gold said studentsshould prepare to havetheir minds stretched.

“College should be aplace where you’re engag-ing with profound ideas,”she said.

Gold said she hopes theclass serves as catharsisfor students going throughtough times in their per-sonal lives.

She said everyone goesthrough some form of suf-fering, and readingextraordinary accounts ofpain and healing couldhelp encourage students.

Gold said the hiddencurriculum of the class isto empower students.

“The class is reallydesigned to inspire,” shesaid.

“If you read, then thathelps opens people’sminds to hope,” she said.

“If you read, then thathelps people say, ‘if thisperson can survive, then Ican survive.’”

The class, ENG 3400,will be held from 11 a.m. to11:50 a.m. on Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays.

There is currently stillroom in the class.

5Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014 Beyond NCCU

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

UKRAINECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In Washington, Secretaryof State John F. Kerryaccused Russia of fomentingunrest.“Everything that we’ve seenin the past 48 hours fromRussian provocateurs andagents operating in easternUkraine tells us that they’vebeen sent there determinedto create chaos,” he said inan appearance before theSenate Foreign RelationsCommittee.

“No one is fooled by whatcould potentially be a con-trived pretext for militaryintervention, just as we sawin Crimea.”

Kerry met with PresidentBarack Obama on Tuesdayto discuss several issues,including Ukraine.

After the Crimea seizure,the U.S. and EuropeanUnion imposed sanctions onseveral Russian officialsand associates of PresidentVladimir Putin. Kerry saidthe West was consideringtoughening the sanctionsbut first wanted to explorethe possibility of a diplomat-ic solution at a meeting thisweekend that will includeofficials from the U.S., EU,Russia and Ukraine.

White House press secre-tary Jay Carney praised theUkrainian government forhow it has handled the cri-sis.

The dispute began latelast year when Ukraine’sthen-president, ViktorYanukovich, rejected closerassociation with theEuropean Union in favor ofan accord with Russia. Thatlaunched months of streetprotests in Kiev, the capital.Yanukovich ultimately fledand took refuge in Russia.

The deputy head of theUkrainian Security andDefense Council, Victoria

Syumar, said in a post to herFacebook account thatabout 500 separatists hadseized a government build-ing in Luhansk and were

holding hostages. “Theyhave more than 1,000firearms and some heavyweapons. (Ukrainian) spe-cial units are ready, but the

risks are very serious.”In Donetsk, tycoon Rinat

Akhmetov, a former ally ofYanukovich, was trying tonegotiate a solution.

Separatists barricadedthemselves inside theadministration buildingbehind stacks of tires andbarbed wire. His appeal to

protesters was broadcastlive on independentHromadske TV.

“If there is a storm, I willbe with you, sufferingtogether with you, but I wantto address the governmentand ask them ... to put off thestorm,” he said.

“To fight is not anoption,” he added. “Whowill be better off if blood isshed?”

First Deputy PrimeMinister Vitaly Yarema saidhe had postponed an opera-tion to clear out the sepa-ratists in order to giveAkhmetov time to find asolution.

“They promised that theywill be handing overweapons ... and will be leav-ing the building,” Yarematold Hromadske. “Inresponse I gave them myword that we will not useforce, and I hope our agree-ment suits both the protest-ers and the police and therewill be no bloodshed.”

In reaction to the turmoilin eastern Ukraine, thenation’s parliament votedTuesday to toughen penal-ties for crimes linked to sep-aratism, including raisingthe maximum penalty to lifein prison.

Security and defense ana-lyst Dmitry Tymchuk saidUkraine was building up itsforces along the Russianborder, “sending a clearmessage to the Kremlin thatany attempt at invasion willresult in a bloody militaryconflict between the twocountries.”

Staff writers Paul Richterand Christi Parsons inWashington and special cor-respondent Victoria Butenkoin Kiev contributed to thisreport.

@campusecho

Map of Ukraine locating latest incidents in the ongoing crisis; Ukraine authorities claim to have taken back control of the regionaladministration building in the eastern city of Kharkiv from pro- Russia separatists and hope to do the same in Lugansk and Donetsk.

MCT 2014 APRIL SAUL/Philadelphia Inquirer(MCT)

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

CENTRAL’S MUSIC MAKERSW E D N E S D A Y , A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 4

6 7

N.c. CentralUniversity isno strangerto talent.The

University breeds first-class athletes, scholarsand musicians.

Many music lovers startin college, laying downbeats in their dormrooms and singing loopsin their friend’s bath-room for betteracoustics.

NCCU’s college musicscene is no different. Weare all scholars by day,but few are talented pro-ducers, writers, rappersor singers by night.

Rapper VincentFinney—stage nameVinnie Dangerous—is amarketing major whoplans to take the hip-hopindustry by storm.

He uses his music as away to express histhoughts and feelings.

Singer AyodejiOwolabi—stage nameAyo The Humble—, amass communicationmajor, said his motherhas sung to him since hewas a baby. He said herlove of music transferredto him.

Self-described as “NewAge,” Owalabi says hisgreatest influences arehis mother and singerJamie Foxx.

He said he could see

himself touring in a cou-ple of years.

Mass communicationsophomore JoaquinLopez is a producer whomakes beats for artists.

He said his passion forbeatmaking started as akid, when he was con-stantly turning objectsinto percussion.

Lopez cites Pharell,Gucci, Master P andeveryone around him ashis influences.

KennethLampkin—stage nameSir Lampkin—, a masscommunication junior,does not identify as aspecific type of artist.

“Music is my first love,but it’s one of the manythings I do,” he said.

“I’m not a rapper orsinger. I am a producerof art, through all formsof expression,” Lampkinsaid.

“I am an artist.”

Photos and story by Jakai Baker

Kenneth Lampkin -- Sir Lampkin -- thinks about his next verse as the instrumental plays in his headphones.

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” BOB MARLEY

REGGAE SINGER

Ayodeji Owolabi -- Ayo The Humble -- sings the melody on a song he is working on.

Ayodeji Owolabi -- Ayo the Humble -- records his new song, “Move It.” Vincent Finney -- Vinnie Dangerous -- writes some raps as he listens to a beat.

Joaquin Lopez makes a new instrumental track on his computer for another producer to collaborate on.

8 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

9Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

NOTICE OF PARTISAN PRIMARY, SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION Polling Location Changes and Early Voting Schedule

May 6, 2014 The Partisan Primary and School Board Election will be held in Durham County, NC on Tuesday May 6, 2014. All Durham County precincts will be open from 6:30 am until 7:30 pm. A photo ID is not required for this election but will be required for all elections beginning in 2016.

All 17 year old voters who are registered and will be 18 on or before November 4th may vote in the Primary.

A voter’s party affiliation and residential address will determine their ballot style. Voters registered as Republican, Democratic or Libertarian must vote the ballot for their party. Unaffiliated voters will choose one of the party ballots or a ballot containing only non-partisan contests. To view your correct ballot style go to https://www.ncsbe.gov/webapps/voter_search/

The following contests will be on the ballots:

One Stop No Excuse Absentee Voting will be held at:

Voters who are currently registered need not re-register. Registered voters who have moved or changed other information since the last election should notify the Board of Elections of that change by Friday, April 11, 2014. Same day registration is no longer allowed during the early voting period. The polling location for the following precincts has changed: Precinct 24 Precinct 30-1 FROM: Hillandale Elementary School FROM: Oak Grove Elementary School

TO: DPS Staff Development Center TO: East Regional Library 2107 Hillandale Rd. 211 Lick Creek Lane

Precinct 33 Precinct 32 FROM: Lowes Grove Middle School FROM: Neal Middle School

TO Lowes Grove Baptist Church TO: East Regional Library 4430 S. Alston Ave. 211 Lick Creek Lane

Information regarding registration, polling locations, absentee voting, or other election matters may be obtained by contacting the Board of Elections.

Website: www.dconc.gov/elect Email: elections@dconc.gov Phone: 919-560-0700 Fax: 919-560-0688

BY LEAHMONTGOMERY

ECHO A&E EDITOR

The third annual Art ofCool Festival will kick offwith a volunteer party onFriday, April 25 atReverbnation in downtownDurham from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. with live music byZoocru.

N.C. Central University’sJazz Festival will collaboratewith the event.

The show will host morethan 30 world-class artistsfor two days in two outdoorand six indoor venues.

R&Boom venue curator,Kris Boykin said she hand-picked each artist based onhis or her hard work anddedication to craft.

She said she found herartists by visiting local showsin Durham.

She said her goal was tohighlight live music and tal-ent in ways that haven’t beendone before.

She said she anticipatesperformances from LauraReed, Tony Chestnut andInflowential.

“I’m extremely excitedabout having Inflowential onstage … I haven’t seen themperform much because I leftNorth Carolina after under-grad,” said Boykin.

“No one has a beatboxeranymore and they havethat.”

Boykin also expressedher enthusiasm for sistertrio KING, whose musicbegan gaining fame in 2011.

The group has alsohelped in Grammy-nominat-ed acts and has been recog-nized by Prince andQuestlove of the Roots.

“I love King so much …they are one group that Iwant everyone and theirmoms to listen to,” saidBoykin.

“They have the purestvoices … they make youwant to sing and dance andcry and laugh all at the sametime.”

Among these artists isHeather “Victoria” Gavin,who said her sound isinspired by the hearty soulof Chaka Khan, ArethaFranklin and Patty LaBelle.

She said her sound is

mixed with the 90s R&Bsounds of Mary J. Blige, JillScott and Monica.

“We have the soul councilthat specializes in makingbeats using seventies sam-ples,” said Gavin.

Gavin’s latest streetrelease was “Hip Hop SoulLives EP” (2011), which fea-tures Rapsody, Sundown,Sean Boog, Big Remo andTyler Woods. Gavin alsoworked with 9th Wonder,Eric and other producers tocreate the album.

A graduate from N.C.Central University inDecember 2011, Gavinobtained a B.A. in musicindustry with a minor inbusiness. She said artist-in-residence Elvira O. Greenwas one of her most influen-tial vocal coaches.

Gavin is currently work-ing on her new album,“Black Girl Story,” which shedescribed as the raw andvery soulful story of her life.

“It talks about my lovelife, my work life and justdaily ups and downs thatI’ve been going through,”said Gavin.

Gavin said she has beenworking on the album withMela Machinko, a soulsinger from Brooklyn.

“It’s something I reallywant women to be able torock with and relate to,” saidGavin.

She is scheduled to per-form during the festival at1:10 p.m. on Sat., April 26.

Boykin said all the ven-ues, except the HaytiHeritage Center, are withinwalking distance of eachother and will be laid out bya path. The Bridge Bus andDurham Connector will runperiodically to transport fes-tival-goers to and fromdowntown and the center.

“You’re going to be hop-ping around the wholenight,” said Gavin. “We wanteveryone to download theapp.”

The app, Art of Cool 2014,can be found on android andiPhone devices.

The festival will takeplace from April 25 to 26.

Tickets can be purchasedas one- or two-day passes ataocfestival.org.

10A&EN O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014Campus Echo

BLUEST EYECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

send a message to theAfrican-American commu-nity,” said Asabi.

Morrison’s novel, pub-lished in 1970, was bannedfrom many schools andlibraries because of its sex-ual content, domestic vio-lence, and scenes involvingrape, prostitution, racismand child molestation.

“I read the novel yearsago…it always made mesad. I kind of forgot howsad it made me until I readthe play again,” said Asabi.

The story, set in 1940sLorain, Ohio, concerns thelife and experiences of alonely and abused 11-year-old black girl named PecolaBreedlove, who wishes shehad blue eyes.

“She wants blue eyes sothat people can see her andlove her the way that shesees white people beingaccepted,” said Asabi.

Asabi said although theplay is a period piece, it isstill relevant today. Shementioned a commentmade by a few darkerskinned women during anaudience Talkback heldFriday.

“Often times things thatare historical as an issue

for us, in this case skincolor. Colorism is some-thing years later that westill deal with in our com-munity,” said Asabi.

The girls pointed out afew incidents in which guyshad passed them up for alight girl, or “compliment-ed” them, saying, “Hey,you’re cute for a dark-skinned girl.”

“We have to be carefulabout how we perceive our-selves and how we passthat message on, even if it’sin a very subtle way,” saidAsabi.

In light of colorism,Asabi said the script calledfor the main character andher family to be dark-skinned. Asabi held audi-tions back in February,making sure she had castthe play before springbreak.

The physicality of theactors and how they fittheir roles was importantto the casting process.Some of the roles werechildren, so she had tomake sure her actorslooked believable in thatrole.

“A lot of times when peo-ple don’t get roles, it’s not

maybe because you didsomething wrong, but howdo you fit something orsomebody else,” said Asabi.Asabi said she had to con-

sider the period of thepiece when casting roles—she knew she neededsingers.

“I wanted everything tocome from the world ofPecola so I didn’t want tohave any canned music,and so the actors actuallysing throughout the play --all of the transitions fromscene to scene,” said Asabi.

Asabi said the most diffi-cult concept to convey tothe audience comes at theend of the play whenPecola has a mental break-down. The audience seesher talking and respondingto herself but is never tolddirectly her condition.

“The cast themselveswere a good group of actorswho seemed to be very seri-ous and for those who wereless serious they kind ofhad to mature,” said Asabi.Pecola Breedlove, wasplayed by theatre and masscommunication seniorMoriah Williams.

“I never really finishedthe book in high school, so

I never really understoodPecola the way I had to dofor this production,” saidWilliams.

Williams said theystopped rehearsing theplay for about a week whenthey began preparing toperform for theChancellor’s inauguration.

“At the time I was learn-ing lines for three othershows. To be able to diveback into the character andgive that same emotion--that was extremely difficultfor a lot people that hadtaken a break,” she said.

Williams said it was achallenge to portrayPecola’s story and her lifeas an “ugly” girl.

“When you’re told some-thing over and over andover…you start to believe itand you start to carry your-self that way. So everythingabout you is down. Andthat’s what makes youugly,” said Williams.

Without a support systemand being so young,Pecola’s mind did what itneeded to do to cope withreality. Pecola didn’t knowhow to communicate or byherself, so Williams had tothink about body positions,like slouching and distanc-ing herself, so the audiencewould understand.

“It’s hard, it’s scary, andthe only thing you know ismake-believe, and yourmake-believe starts tobecome your reality. Andthat’s what happened withPecola.”

Like Asabi, Williamsbelieves the piece is stillrelevant.

“This stuff still happenstoday. No, every little girl isnot molested by her father.No, every little girl isn’twalking around believing

she’s not beautiful; butsome little girl somewhereis struggling with self-esteem issues,” saidWilliams.

Theatre junior KalynSmith said she was familiarwith the book and its con-troversy prior to readingthe script.

“It was very sad anddepressing because it did-n’t have much of a resolu-tion.” said Smith.

Smith plays FriedaMcTeer, a stubborn andindependent 10-year-oldgirl who befriends Pecola.Smith said she had somedifficulty distinguishing thetwo personas of her charac-ter, who also doubles as anadult narrator reflecting onthe events of their child-hood.

“I had to study children,how they walk and howthey talk and sometimesthey believe that they knoweverything but hey reallydon’t know what’s going on.Then as an adult …to flip itto an adult’s perspective,”said Smith.

Smith said she feelsMorrison never intendedfor any character to be adefinite protagonist orantagonist.

“Even the bad guys hadbackstories and you feltsorry for them in the end,”said Smith.

Leading up to openingnight, Smith said the castwent through individualstruggles which they chan-neled as fuel for the stage.

“I think it speaks a lot ofvolume in the show’s mes-

sage and the directorialvision and in the actors andthe cast that we were ableto overcome that and stillhave the same fire and thepassion for the play that wehad in the very beginning,”said Smith.

Most of the cast mem-bers agreed that a lot ofunderlying messages areheard rather than seenonstage.“The message of how wetreat people and how itaffects them is very clear,”said Asabi. And I thinkthat’s from a societal viewall the way down to individ-ual; how we treat people,the names we call them,the jokes we have.”

Asabi said she is happywith the play and has beenopen to receiving feedbackfrom audience members,colleagues and mentors.

“I want to see more char-acter from the performers,”she said. One of the things Itell the students is, you cre-ate this illusion for us, andyou don’t stop. There areno limits of that.”

The last performanceswill be held April 18 and 19at 8 p.m. and April 20 at 2p.m. in Farrison-NewtonCommunications Building’sUniversity Theater.

Tickets are $10 for gen-eral admission and $5 forstudents and seniors.Children under five willnot be admitted due tomature subject matter.Ticket information is avail-able at 919-530-5170.

General information isavailable at 919-530-6242.

Photo courtesy of aocfestival.org

BY LEAH MONTGOMERYECHO A&E EDITOR

N.C. Central Universitywill launch its new hip-hopinstitute this fall, spearhead-ed by Chancellor Debra-Saunders White and Patrick“9th Wonder” Douthit.

“It’s going to start withthe hip-hop class and it’sgoing to bleed over into theschool’s communications,the history department—it’sgoing to live in the historydepartment,” said 9th.

The program will alsoinvolve the departments oflaw, business and music. 9thsaid this collaboration willallow students to take differ-ent avenues to becomeinvolved.

A former history major atNCCU, 9th remembers sit-

ting in history class with his-tory department chair JimHarper and basketball coachLaVelle Moton. 9th helpedrun the original hip-hop pro-gram at NCCU from 2006 to2009 before he left to work atDuke University andHarvard University, wherehe still does research.

Saunders-White reachedout to 9th, who said she toldhim, “It’s the perfect timefor you to come back. I wantto see this thing come intofruition -- I want to spear-head it, I really want to doit.”

“This will be active par-ticipance, rap music, hip-hop and the many forms of itis definitely what dominatesyouth culture,” said 9th.

9th stressed the impor-tance of students learning

the basics—the history ofhip-hop culture.

He wants students toachieve their own goalsrather than consuming thegoals of others, referencingDr. Dre’s popular Beatsheadphones.

“He’s an entrepreneur inhis own right and we’rewearing hisheadphones…how can weget to the point where wemake our own headphones?”

9th hopes students realizethe importance of their edu-cation.

“Let me lay this on youreal quick: Do not rush toget out of school,” he said.

The institute will betaught mainly by 9th andHarper this fall.

Showcase of the coolA weekend of jazz, soul and R&B in downtown Durham

Hip-hop institute hits NCCU9th Wonder makes his return to educate students on hip hop culture

Photo courtesy of heraldsun.com

Campus Echo Onlinefollow us on twitter @campusecho

The NCAA is mak-ing beaucoupmoney these days.

Theleague is abillion-dollar-a-year busi-ness thatbenefitsfrom mas-sive expo-surethroughmulti- mil-lion-dollar

television deals.Football programs are

the major driver of thateconomic engine.

The University ofAlabama alone has mil-lions of dollars in its cof-fers.

That money does notstrictly benefit the foot-ball program. It is largelyspread to other athleticprograms that makemuch less.

With all that money,how can the league arguethat the players whomake the money for theschools are getting a gooddeal?

They can’t and they

are witnessing the begin-ning of the end for teur-rent system.

At NorthwesternUniversity, student ath-letes recently receivedbig news.

They are consideredemployees in the eyes ofthe National LaborRelations Board and theyrightly should be. TheNCAA is challenging thatruling, hoping to see itstrike down.

Student athletes can-not hold jobs despitepopular belief.

For example, thethinking is that if a stu-dent athlete works at aDomino’s Pizza and cus-tomers know he or sheworks there, customerswill be more inclined toorder from that Domino’s.

This would give moretip money to that player,thus making money fromtheir image which theyhave cultivated throughthe university.

If they were presentedwith a job that demands20-30 hours per week,they probably couldn’tspare the time.

Student athletes rou-tinely take 15 credithours, plus practice,workouts, games and pub-lic appearances.

There is not muchroom for a job at arestaurant or anywhereelse to make a decentwage and take care oftheir responsibilitieswith their school.

They can’t make moneyfrom their own likenessin video games, or jerseysthat bear their number.

Johnny “Football”Manziel of Texas A&M,didn’t like that idea andwas in hot water with theleague for signing memo-rabilia and reportedlymaking thousands ofunmarked dollars .

Yes, it was against therules; he understood therules and knowinglybroke them. Yes, heshould be able to makemoney that way.

There is not much ofan alternative for studentathletes.

Manziel is not likemany college athletesthough.

He is not black andcomes from an uppermiddle class family andprobably never had toworry about working ajob to make money to eata decent meal.

If he needed money hecould most definitely callhis parents and ask for alittle spending money. Inthese economic times, ayoung athlete withoutthose resources couldnot.

There is not an overallalternative in these situa-tions. If you’re broke,you’re going to stay brokeif you are a college ath-lete for the time being,especially if you’re froma lower income house-hold.

Many argue that the

student’s compensation isthe scholarships theyreceive.

Those scholarships arenot guaranteed.

If a catastrophic injuryhappens to a player theyare out of luck. The uni-versities don’t have tohonor those anymore.

Others argue that thesystem that’s in place iswholly un-American.

The league is impedingthe rights of citizens tomake money in the nameof amateurism.

The public at large isnot buying that narrativeanymore.

These athletes workdesperately hard to chasetheir dreams of stardom.

Their dreams are elu-sive and only the mostelite will make it . Theyshould be allowed to cap-italize on their talentswhile they can. Theymake our overall collegeexperience memorable bytheir actions on the fieldor court.

At N.C. CentralUniversity that has beenclear this year.

The Eagles men’s bas-ketball team made histo-ry that will be replayedfor as long as this institu-tion is still standing andthe players won’t see adime from it.

SportsCampus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014 11

N O R T H C A R O L I N A C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y

Eagles craft team visionMaroon and Gray game measures football team’s progress during the spring

COMMENTARY

BY AVERY YOUNGECHO SPORTS EDITOR

On Friday, April 11, N.C.Central University hostedtheir annual spring Maroonand Gray football game atthe O’Kelly-RiddickStadium under the lights.

But it was no ordinaryspring game.

The number of fans inthe stands increased.

A lot of hype is built uparound the football pro-gram for the upcoming sea-son because of the newcoaching staff, recruits,transfers, and the vision ofprotecting the nest.

“I am extremely satis-fied with the support of thefans,” said football headcoach Jerry Mack.

“I appreciate those fanssupporting us. I appreciatethe alumni association tail-gating and providing foodfor our guys.

Defensive back HakiDennis was shocked at thenumber of fans in thestands Friday night.

He congratulated thecoaching staff for reachingout and gathering fans.

“Coach Mack and hisstaff are getting people allon one accord, from theplayers to the fan base,”said Dennis.

“We had the most peopleat a spring game since Ihave been here, so thatmeans people are trying tosupport.”

The fans had great rea-sons to attend the game.

With the new additionsto the team, everyone wason their toes to see how theteam is going to play.

Both sides of the ballshowed improvementssince last season’s end.

The offense was moving

a bit quicker and thedefense was a lot more dis-ciplined.

Both quarterbacks didextremely well in thespring game.

Sophomore transferfrom New -Mexico MilitaryInstitute, Quinn Billerman,had 63 percent of his pass-es completed with 286yards and two touchdowns.

Redshirt sophomoreMalcolm Bell completed 66percent of his passes, with136 yards in the air.“We started out a little bit

slow, but as the game wenton we picked it up,” saidBillerman.

“I feel like we cametogether during the springgame and we workedtogether as a team,” saidfreshman wide receiverArmani Lanier.

Wide receiver AdrianWilkins, played a huge partin turning things aroundfor the offense.

He had six receptionsfor 87 yards and caughtboth touchdown passesfrom Billerman.

“We got Adrian into theend zone.

“Whenever you getAdrian the ball, it is goingto be a good day,” saidBillerman.

The defensive side of theball played a great gameand showed a lot of poten-tial for the upcoming sea-son.

Mack was impressedwith how his defense han-dled certain situations onthe field.

“We simplified ourdefense.

“We just allowed guys tolet loose and play.

“That was one of themost important things wewanted to accomplish,”said Mack.

The defense stacked thestatistics sheet with oneinterception, 13 tackles forloss of yards and six sacks.

Haki Dennis accountedfor the interception thrownby Billerman late in thegame.

The defense at the timewas in cover six and Dennisjumped the route early tomake the big play.“I jumped off one and got

on two to make a play onthe ball.

Thankfully I caught itbecause I dropped the firstone,” said Dennis.

Of course a lot of goodskills were shown duringthe game, but coaches andplayers noticed areas thatneeded improvement.

Coach Mack graded theteam’s progress a “C.”

“We have a ways to gofrom a conditioning stand-point and also become asmarter football team.

“We just have to studyfilm a little bit more,” saidMack.

Junior defensive backC.J. Moore, commented onthe team’s needed improve-ments.

“We need to improve ongrowing together andlearning the plays.

“Any time you implementnew systems it takes a bit oftime to get used to as awhole.”

Dennis said that every-one must be consistent andmore disciplined at theirposition.

“Coach Eastman alwayssaid, ‘One through eleven.’If everyone wins their ownindividual battle, then as awhole we will be fine,” saidDennis.

Coach Mack thinks it istoo early to tell how theteam’s vision is playing out,but he is determined to ful-fill it.

“We have a long way togo until our first game andwe just have to keep push-ing forward,” he said.

EAGLELAND

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Are you looking for a rewarding careerwhere you can use your major

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Apply online at www.rsi-nc.org

Hard workdoesn’t always

pay off

recycle

Defensive coordinator Granville Eastman gives players a pep talk before the Maroon and Gray game.Eastman has more than 20 years of collegiate experience and is a new addition to head coach Jerry Mack’s staff.

Kimane Darden / Staff Photographer

RobertLewis

“The league is impeding the rights ofcitizens to make money in the name

of amateurism ... ”

So you’re a student, proba-bly pretty broke, andyou’re black?

Good luck with that votingthing.

NorthCarolina’s newvoter I.D. lawsare targeted asoffensive by theconservative wingof this state.

North Carolinaand a few otherstates have turneda dangerous cor-ner since the 2012

midterm elections. A big concern for the

Republican majority has beenchanging voting laws.

Why? If there was an overwhelming

problem of voter fraud, how havethey gained control of the statehouse, state senate and gover-norship?

The math doesn’t add up.Maybe they just want to enjoythe majority they have in the

general assembly. After all, conservatives

haven’t had this kind of controlover the state for decades.

I don’t blame them for theseaggressive tactics.

Democratic governors havehad veto power for a long time.

Now that all the pieces of thepuzzle have fallen into place, it’sall hands on deck for some goodol’ southern oppression.

Shockingly enough, these lawsaren’t going to impact the fiscal-ly, socially or religious conserva-tives who just happen to be pre-dominantly white.

These legislators are attempt-ing and succeeding at settingNorth Carolina back 50 yearsinto the civil rights realm, andthey’re not at all remorsefulabout what they’re doing.

It is their job to make it aseasy as possible for the people ofthis state to exercise their rightto vote. They are failing miser-ably — on purpose. Same-day voter registration –scrap it. Early voting – shorten it.That does not demonstraterespect for the citizens of thisstate.

The argument is that therehas been enough notice aboutthe changes and that noticeshould be enough for compli-ance.

I don’t know about a lot ofyou, but I work and get paidHOURLY. I need that measly payto eat. I don’t have time to gostand in line for hours on end inorder to participate in a democ-racy.

Here’s a quick fix.

Make Election Day a nationalholiday. Give me all day to standin line.

In both of President Obama’spresidential general elections,Democrats turned out by thethousands for early voting.

It is more and more apparentthat these new faux Jim Crowlaws are created to help conser-vatives win the White House in2016.

North Carolina needs yourhelp. Attend a Moral Mondayprotest or two.

Attend an event led by theNAACP and learn something.Contact your local leaders andask how you can help moredirectly if standing in a crowdisn’t your thing.

They are remarkably recep-tive to people participating ingovernment.

The preliminary elections areright around the corner, if youhaven’t heard, and theDemocratic leadership in NorthCarolina is in shambles.

It’s not looking good, folks.

T his will be my last opin-ions piece before my reign(yes, reign) as the Campus

Echo editor-in-chief ends.Before I fade into obscurity,

we need to talk about some-thing.

This year hasbeen filled withmany highs andlows.

The highsincluding thepower of con-trolling my ownword count,authority overmy underlings –um – staff, thepleasure of

meeting many remarkable peo-ple and the honor of beingtrusted with this position.

Then there were the lows:DP’s many mood swings, staffmembers falling through at thelast minute, DP’s mood swings,the Echo office being mistakenfor a computer lab and beingasked where DP is every fiveminutes (for future reference,none of the editors comeequipped with DP trackingdevices).

Throughout my experiencesat the Echo, the most importantlesson I’ve learned is puttingmy sanity first.

There were many days whenI was running off 30 minutes ofsleep or less. Therewere many moments when Ifelt proud of my progress andthere were moments when Ifelt that my best wasn’t enough.

I had to scrap many stories

in order to prevent myself fromfalling into depression.

Despite the stress of theyear, I’m proud to look backand say that I remainedhealthy.

During a year of being toldthat “perfection is key” fromeveryone imaginable, I had tonavigate the line between self-determination and self-destruc-tion.

Unfortunately, this is a lineoften blurred in the black com-munity.

For many of us, “work twiceas hard to gain half as much”has been beaten into ourheads — if you haven’t had thatexperience, you will.

We get it. As black students, we’re

going to have to hurdle manypolitical, social and economicobstacles to success.

At every lecture, meeting,banquet, etc., we’re remindedthat we have to be the best,that we need to be better thanthe next person, and that ifwe’re sleeping then we’re fail-ing.

But let me ask you this: Howis it possible to enjoy success(however you may define yoursuccess) when your mental and

physical wellbeing is suffering?In theory, success is limit-

less, but the amount of pres-sure our minds and bodies canhandle isn’t.

According to the AmericanAssociation of Suicidology, sui-cide was the third leadingcause of death among African-American youth in 2010.

The overall suicide rateamong African-Americans was5.19 suicides per 100,000.

While African Americanshave lower reported rates ofdepression, those statistics maybe skewed since they’re lesslikely to report mental illness.

On top of the stigma andprejudice against mental ill-ness in the black community, aheavy weight of expectation isplaced upon us.

For those of us sufferingfrom depression, anxiety andother disorders, mental andchronic, the Strong andHardworking BlackWoman/Man spiel only servesto shame us.

The stress of perfectionbuilds until you break.

When you do break, why askfor help when your communityis both unintentionally andintentionally invalidating your

pain?I’ve consistently heard pro-

fessors say, “Well, in the realworld (insert nonsense),” as ifcollege is some quasi-reality.

We have 10-, 5- and 3-pagepapers due back to back, testsand quizzes every other day,stacks of homework to com-plete, and community servicehours to gain.

All of that, plus maintaininga high GPA, networking, look-ing for internships, applyingfor scholarships, searching forjob opportunities, working, andif you have an apartment/car,managing your financial situa-tion.

This shit is already real.I’m not saying that we

should be treated like delicateflowers.

But I’m saying that healthshould be prioritized abovesome bastardized image of per-fection.

I salute the students who’drather settle for mediocritythan sacrifice their health.

It takes strength to be vul-nerable.

It takes courage to speak upand say you need a timeout.

That said, I’d like to thankmy assistant editor and futureeditor-in-chief Jamar for man-aging this last issue when heknew I needed a break.

Next year will be difficult,but there are people in thisdepartment who will supportyou when you need them to.

Or if you need a place toescape DP’s mood swings.

12 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014

drawing by Rashaun Rucker

“Becoming moreconfident in myability to speakpublicly.”

— Ashley Dixon,Senior

“Being able tomulti-task waymore than Ithought I could.”

—Joy Timberlake,Senior

Question:What was your biggest

accomplishment this academic year?

‘Be the best’ #ByeFelicia

Opinions

Sound Off by India Wagner

AlexSampson

RobertLewis

“On top of the stigma and prejudice against mental illness in the black community, a heavy weight of

expectation is placed upon us.”

“It is their job to make it as easy as possible for the peo-ple of this state to exercise their right to vote and they

are failing miserably, on purpose.”

Campus EchoNORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

Assistant EditorAssistant EditorOpinions Editor

A&E Editor Sports EditorSports Editor

Staff ReporterStaff ReporteStaff Reporte

Staff Reporter/PhotographerVideo/Multimedia

Staff PhotographerStaff PhotographerStaff Photographer

Cartoonist

Monique LewisJamar NegronIndia WagnerLeah MontgomeryRobert LewisAvery YoungBrandi ArlegeDestiny OwensChelsee PompeyJamila JohnsonBrandon WrightTiara JonesKenneth LampkinGreg WeaverJhordan “Jaguar” Perry

Alex Sampson, Editor-in-Chief

Letters & Editorials

The Echo welcomes letters and editorials. Letters to the editor should be lessthan 350 words. Editorials should be about 575 words. Include contact infor-mation. The Echo reserves the right to edit contributions for clarity, vulgarity,typos and miscellaneous grammatical gaffs. Opinions published in the Echo

do not necessarily reflect those of the Echo editorial staff.

E-mail: campusecho@nccu.eduWeb address: www.campusecho.com

Phone: 919 530 7116tFax: 919 530 7991

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Room 348, Farrison-Newton Communications Bldg. NCCU, Durham, NC 27707

Faculty Advisor - Dr. Bruce dePysslerAlumni Advisers - Mike Williams, Sheena Johnson

“I would say learning mystrengths, weaknesses anddiscipliningmyself.”

—Brianda Bright,Senior

Let’s fix faux Jim Crow