Campus EchoCCaammppuuss .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11--44

BBeeyyoonndd .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 55

PPhhoottoo FFeeaattuurree .. .. 66--77

AA&&EE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 99

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JANUARY 16, 2008

A&ENo time for clowning

around — JerryBlackwell juggles

school and rap

Page 9

BeyondSo what happened inNew Hampshire? Howdid the polls miss the

Clinton win?

Page 5

Photo FeatureStar teachers and star

students make theHillside High Schoolarts program a jewel

Pages 6-7

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 99, ISSUE 71801 FAYETTEVILLE STREETDURHAM, NC 27707

919 530 7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDUWWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM

CampusStudent debt: The crisis

just goes from bad to worse

Page 4

Gooddeeds,

inc.Law studentsserve public

BY JABARI BLACKMONECHO STAFF REPORTER

Professor Kevin Foy hasbeen teaching at N.C.Central University’s Schoolof Law for five years. He isan NCCU Law School alum-ni, an avid Eagle basketballfan, and the mayor ofChapel Hill.

Foy recently won histhird re-election as mayorof Chapel Hill with morethan 70 percent of votes.

Throughout his tenure asmayor, Foy has worked tomake make Chapel HillTransit fare-free. He hasformed the Chapel HillDowntown Partnership andinitiated a new land usemanagement ordinance anda new parks and recreationplan — all while teachingenvironmental law to NCCUlaw students.

He describes juggling histwo jobs as a “manageableexperience,” that allowshim to find solace from thecity office in classroom andvice-versa.

“As mayor, I’m not out allday at ribbon-cutting cere-monies, and my office doesa great job of managing theday-to-day tasks,” Foy said.

“If anything, teachingallows me to get away fromthe office and read aboutthings and talk to students

instead of dealing with poli-tics all the time,” he said.“It’s a chance to get awayfrom that office.”

Foy said his jobs arealike in that both involveserving the community,investing in future genera-tions and addressing envi-ronmental problems.

Foy said that “a largepart of local government isabout land management. Asmayor, I have to deal withmaintaining progress with-out causing traffic and envi-ronmental problems.

“We just have to decidewhat we want Chapel Hill to

be as a city in growth with-out taking on problems thatother cities face, and thatbecomes a large part ofwhat I teach.”

Urban sprawl is one ofmany subjects Foy willaddress during his fourthterm as mayor.

Foy plans to focus ondecreasing the town’s envi-ronmental impact, improv-ing the city’s state-fundedhealthcare program,addressing Chapel Hill’shomelessness problem, andthe development of North

BY CANDICE MITCHELLECHO STAFF REPORTER

Pro bono adj. Done with-out compensation for the pub-lic good: a lawyer's pro bonowork.

Many of N. C. CentralUniversity’s law studentshave decided that sitting ina classroom isn’t enough.

There’s a world out therethat already needs their

e x p e r t i s eand train-ing. And that’swhere LawSchool’s ProBono pro-gram stepsin — it pro-vides a wayfor studentsto get out ofthe class-room and

into the community. “This is a way for stu-

dents to get their feet wet,”said Page Potter, director ofthe pro bono services, whosaid that each semesterabout 15-20 students areinvolved in a course-creditpro bono clinic.

According to the pro-gram’s orientationbrochure, NCCU’s pro bonoclinic coordinates pro bonoand public service activitiesat the law school.

Obama-Clinton in epic fight

OBAMA/CLINTON|BATTLE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

n See PPRROO BBOONNOO Page 2

KID ART DAZZLESBY JIMMY VINCENT

ECHO STAFF REPORTER

One hundred and sixty-eight of “Durham’sFinest” were given the chance to havetheir artwork displayed in N.C. Central

University’s art museum this month.

KKeevviinn FFooyy,, llaaww pprrooffeessssoorr aanndd DDuurrhhaamm--CChhaappeell HHiillll mmaayyoorr tteeaacchheess hhiiss TThhuurrssddaayy nniigghhtt EEnnvviirroonnmmeennttaall LLaaww ccllaassss

MITCHELL WEBSON/Echo Staff Photographer

This year’s Democraticpresidential primary isshaping up to be an epicfight between Sen. BarackObama (D.-Ill.) and the Sen.Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) —and NCCU students and fac-ulty are watching the con-test closely.

This is the first time inhistory either a woman oran African American havebeen viable presidential

candidates. SGA president Tomasi

Larry said he is hopeful foran Obama victory in the Jan.26 South CarolinaDemocratic primary,despite Obama’s loss inNew Hampshire.

“People are listening towhat he has to say,” saidLarry. “I’ve kind of beenmellow about the wholething.”

The political science andhistory senior said hebelieves in his policies and

feels that Obama is makingpositive strides towardpresidency.

Though Obama is not thefirst black to run for presi-dent, being preceded byJesse Jackson in 1984 and1988, and Al Sharpton in2004, Larry credits Obamafor coming closer to beingpresident while serving asan influential role model.

“Barack Obama is send-ing the message that all

MMEERRRRIIMMAACCKK,, NN..HH.. —— Womenpoured into Democraticprimary polling places inNew Hampshire with aloud message for the rest ofthe country: We’re forHillary.

They delivered a dra-matic, come-from-behindvictory for Sen. HillaryClinton over Sen. BarackObama that checked whatmany thought was hismarch to the nominationand the history books.

Clinton’s dramatic

comeback set up whatcould be an epic struggle incoming weeks, a clashbetween generations andpolitical styles under-scored by the historic pos-sibility of nominating anAfrican-American or awoman for the first time.

Republicans face acoast-to-coast struggle aswell.

The New HampshireRepublican primary wentto John McCain, a maverickwho promises to win thewar in Iraq and overhaul

BY STEVEN THOMMAMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT)

BY SHELBIA BROWNECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Campus reacts

NCCU hosts K-12 art

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MICHAEL PEREZ/PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER/MCT

NCCU’s mayor profChapel Hill mayor Kevin Foy’s two jobs

Touchytopic

touchesnervesBY GEOFFREY COOPER

ECHO STAFF REPORTER

Controversy anddebate can play a part ina day’s work for studentsand teachers.

Mass communicationsenior Janera Fedrickcan relate. She neverthought a simple classassignment would sparkso much of it.

When Fedrick wasgiven an assignment inher letter and typedesign course lastOctober to compose atwo-page graphic compo-sition on an experiencein her life, she chose toshare with her class-mates her battle withcoming out as a bi-sexual.

Fedrick said she wascompelled to tell herstory because she feltpeople should be madeuncomfortable at timeswith certain topics, main-ly because they are partof everyday life.

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SAVIN JOSEPH/Echo Staff Photographer

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n See FFOOYY Page 3

n See KKIIDD AARRTT Page 9

n See TTOOUUCCHHYY Page 2

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SSeerrvviicceess

2 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008Campus

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

Potter said she tries toplace students into thecommunity areas thatmatch their interests.Students can even designtheir their own pro bonoproject.

Housed in NCCU’s LegalClinic, the clinic worksclosely with the studentPublic Interest LawOrganization (PILO), withother student groups, andwith the Office of CareerServices to promote lawstudent involvement in probono service and to providepro bono opportunities,public interest program-ming, and public interestcareer development servic-es to students.

As part of the clinic lawstudents can either volun-teer or gain credit hoursworking with more than 20public interest organiza-tions.

Even though mostly sec-ond- and third-year law stu-dents participate in the probono clinic, first-year stu-dents have the option ofdoing other pro bono workat the law school, workingon activities such as theInnocence Project.

In this project, studentsvolunteer with the N.C.

Center on ActualInnocence, where they lookinto cases of prisoners whosay they are innocent.

Another pro bono serv-ice offered to first-year law-students is VolunteerIncome Tax Assistance(VITA).

This free income taxpreparation service is heldat the law school everySaturday starting inFebruary.

Cherie Long, second-year law student, said thepro bono clinic is a majorbenefit to law students.

“I would recommend allof the students to partici-pate … you get practicalexperience,” said Long.

Last semester, Long vol-unteered with the ChildAdvocacy Commission ofDurham, working on childcustody and child supportcases.

She said the programgave her valuable trainingand helped her make con-nections with lawyers.

Another participant inthe pro bono clinic, third-year law student LarryBrown, said one of thebiggest rewards was seeinghow much children benefit-ed.

“The pro bono programis a great program to giveback to Durham and theschool system,” said Brown.

Through mock trialswith middle and highschool students and someelementary schools, Brownshows students how the lawworks.

The public school systemalso has benefited fromNCCU’s law school throughits street law program, saidBrown. Second- and third-year students go into mid-dle and high schools, teach-ing students about the courtsystem and theConstitution.

Brown implemented TheFuture Lawyers andLeaders of America pro-gram with Kevin Hicks lastsemester at two Durhammiddle schools, in coordi-nation with Durham’s after-school program.

The program focuses onincreasing the study, read-ing and writing skills of thestudents involved.

“It helps us to help oth-ers,” said Brown.

Brown hopes the FutureLawyers program might bea vehicle to help toenhance the street law pro-gram in the future.

REACTIONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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KENICE MOBLEY/Echo Staff Photographer

African-American men arenot apathetic or misguid-ed,” said Larry.

“This can be the catalystthat can change the ideolo-gy of African-Americanmales.”

Larry said this electionwill be monumental notonly because of Obama’srace and Clinton’s gender,but because of the issues athand concerning immigra-tion, the economy and thewar.

“There are a lot of thingscausing people to getinvolved,” said Larry.

Associate history profes-sor Jim Harper said thiselection in particular, isopening the eyes of moreyoung Americans and caus-ing them to be more activein the political process.

“Obama’s presence isgoing to energize African-American voters, especiallyyoung voters, to register tovote and to find out moreabout presidential candi-dates, where they stand,what their policies are,”said Harper.

He said if John Edwardsmoves up in the SouthCarolina primary, it couldchange Americans’ perspec-tives again about who couldpotentially be president.

“I would like to see howclose the elections are goingto be,” said Harper.

“It’s a different kind of

thinking down South.”He hears more discus-

sion buzzing around campuseven in his class as proofthat more youth and stu-dents are becoming politi-cally inclined.

But Harper would like tosee more campus organiza-tions focus on encouragingyoung voters to participatein the upcoming elections.

More than 525,000 voterstook to the polls lastTuesday in New Hampshirefor the first primary of the2008 presidential candidacy— one that some regard ashistoric.

Many, including poll-sters, presumed Obamawould win based on his winin the Iowa caucuses.

“They said this daywould never come; theysaid our sights were set toohigh,” said Obama duringhis Iowa victory speech.

“We are one nation. Weare one people and our timefor change has come.”

Obama emphasized thatmany political figuresbelieve money and influ-ence are what control thecountry.

But Obama says he wantsto take the country back.

“We are sending a power-ful message that change iscoming to America,” hesaid. “The time has comefor presidents who will behonest.”

Yet, it was Clinton whoswayed New Hampshirevoters and slowed Obama’smomentum.

Sen. Hillary Clintonreceived 39 percent of thevotes, placing her above allother Democratic candi-dates.

Obama came in a closesecond with 37 percent.

“Let’s give America thetype of comeback NewHampshire has just givenme,” said Clinton after hervictory in New Hampshire.

After assessing thepotential for America‘sproblems to spin out of con-trol, Hillary said that “thisis one of the most importantelections America has everfaced.”

Both Clinton and Obamawant to address the nation’seconomic downturn andincrease accessibility tohealthcare.

On the Republican side,Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)won the New Hampshireprimary with 37 percent,while former Massachusettsgovernor Mitt Romneytrailed behind with 31 per-cent — a six-point increasefrom his showing in theIowa caucuses.

Mike Huckabee, formerArkansas governor, came inthird with 11 percent inNew Hampshire, but camefirst in the Iowa caucuseswith 34 percent.

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She said these topicsshould be discussed as longas they are relevant to anassignment.

Melvin Carver, professorand art department chair,gave Fedrick’s class theassignment and said heoriginally felt uncomfort-able with Fedrick’s topic,but eventually had to adjustto her story.

“I will admit that at first,I was a little uneasy withher topic,” said Carver.“But that was a personaladjustment that I had tomake on my part.”

When Carver assignedthe papers, topics were notspecified.

When Fedrick turned inher rough draft, Carver saidhe regarded it as well-writ-ten but still advised her toconsider the nature of hertopic because classmatesmay not know how to handleit.

“Objective opinions comewith the territory,” Fedricksaid.

“I didn’t think my story isexplicit in any way to war-rant it.”

Carver said his reasoningbehind all of this was to pro-tect Fedrick’s best interests;he said he also was consid-ering the comments stu-dents might make.

“If I can soften the blowfor a student, through myexperience, then I will doit,” Carver said.

So the question is, should

a student’s grade be underradar because theirlifestyle or personal beliefsare evident in classworkand in the classroom set-ting?

And how should teachersdecide whether a student’swork should be censored-when it comes to personalbeliefs causing uneasinessin their classroom?

Many professors, likeCarver, express their con-cern for a student’s well-being, not to censor thembut to pinpoint an area in astudent’s work that mayexpose the student toridicule.

“I try to approach eachstudent and their situationobjectively,” said WendyRountree, assistant profes-sor of English.

Rountree said that whendealing with her students’work she focuses mainly onprofessionalism andwhether it meets the crite-ria stated in her rubric.

Rountree also said thatshe does try to pinpoint con-tent in her student’s workby scheduling individualstudent conferences. Thenshe can advise the studentas to whether it would be inhis or her best interest tospeak on a certain matter.

“I do sometimes feel veryprotective,” Rountree said.

“But ultimately I leavethose choices up to the stu-dent.”

What happens if the stu-

dent’s beliefs clash withanother student’s in theclassroom?

Some professors, such asMichael Rectenwald, assis-tant professor of English,say that “everything is onthe table,” with discussionsranging from sexuality andabortion to religion and pol-itics.

“I teach these controver-sies as fields in which stu-dents can practice theirrhetoric skills,” saidRectenwald.

Rectenwald said he doesthis to help studentsbecome more critical atdebating their points.

Rectenwald also saidthat during his classroomdiscussions he demandsfrom each student respectand for each person to con-sider others’ points of view.

“Every conversationmust have groundworkqualities in which to startand end effectively,” hesaid.

Overall, students andteachers agree that in orderfor assignments to be donecorrectly, teachers must beclear about what they arelooking for and not base agrade on content alone.

“You just have to take adeep breath,” said assistantprofessor of English KarenKeaton-Jackson about deal-ing with controversialissues in the classroom.

“You can’t play it safe allthe time.”

Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 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

PLS don’t LOL when you read thisScholars debate the influence of text messaging on the future of formal English

BY STACY HAUKECHO STAFF WRITER

Do you speak text? LY, NM, PLS.Do you know what these mean?

These abbreviations are commonly used in text messagingor instant messaging, and stand forlove ya, nothing much, and please.

And scholars and educators arenow debating how the use of texttalk will affect standard Englishand grammar.

BBAACCKKGGRROOUUNNDDText messaging, sometimes

known as Short Message Service,originated in Europe in the early1980s. The first text message wassent in December 1992; text mes-saging went commercial in 1995.

Instant messaging arrived in the1990s but took off in 1996 whenMirabilis introduced an instantmessaging program called ICQ,which stands for “I seek you.” Thefollowing year, America Onlineintroduced its own version, calledInstant Messenger.

Over the last decade, the use oftext messaging and instant messag-ing has exploded.

The language used in thesecybertrends consists of shorthandused to abbreviate terms andshorten messages. In texting andinstant messaging, less is more.

If you are unfamiliar with thiscyberspeak, just look online or inthe bookstore.

Webopedia.com has a textabbreviations page that includesdefinitions for more than 600 com-monly abbreviated text terms.

The online dictionary includesterms such as AML, which meansall my love, and SRY, which standsfor sorry.

Users also can e-mail sugges-tions for abbreviations that are notincluded in the list.

Netlingo.com has a list of short-hand terms along with their defini-tions, to help users decipher textlanguage. For $10.99, you can pur-chase the Get Messaging Guide toInstant Text Messaging onAmazon.com.

Text messaging minutes areavailable on many cell phoneplans, and commercials for cellcompanies such as Cingular makelight of the use of this abbreviatedlanguage, especially amongteenagers.

You’d be hard-pressed to findmany teenagers who don’t sub-scribe to an instant messaging pro-gram.

AACCAADDEEMMIICC RREEAACCTTIIOONNSome scholars and educators

believe that the problem withusing SMS and IM comes from theoveruse of the abbreviated text,which is beginning to pop up incollege applications, studentessays and other correspondence.Some say that relying on abbrevi-ated language affects the use ofstandard English and grammar.

Brandy Carter, English instruc-tor at Bunn High School in Bunn,NC, said her students often usetext abbreviations in their classassignments.

“I am constantly remindingthem that text language isn’tappropriate for formal languagesituations,” Carter said.

Carter said that today’s youthuse text language too much.

“Texting seems to have totallytaken the place of other forms ofwriting,” she said. “I feel thatusing too much text language cankeep kids from being able to dis-tinguish formal language frominformal language.”

Should formal English andgrammar be stressed in highschool so these problems don’tcarry into college and professionallife?

Maureen Sanders, criminal jus-tice senior at N.C. CentralUniversity, said she sometimesuses abbreviated terms or slang inher papers, but that she tries tocatch the errors before turning inher assignments.

“Thank God for spell checking,”said Sanders.

Sanders said the common use ofabbreviated text does cross overinto other areas of life “a little bit.”She said that high school studentsshould be taught proper Englishand grammar and that there is “atime and a place” for the use ofabbreviated text.

“If nobody ever tells them it’swrong, they’re going to keep doingit until they get in college,” saidSanders.

She added that college studentsshould not have a problem withusing abbreviated language.

“College students should not bedoing this. They’ve taken all theEnglish, all the proper courses toalleviate this,” Sanders said.

AATT NNCCCCUUHowever, sometimes abbreviat-

ed text does show up in collegeassignments.

Michele Ware, associate profes-sor of English, said she receivedan assignment from one of her stu-dents that included the use ofabbreviations such as OMG tostand for oh my god, and the num-ber 2 to stand for the words two ortoo.

“It doesn’t happen very often,but it does happen,” said Ware. “Ithink that for many students, it’slike shorthand — more of a habitthat they don’t consciously noticeunless they’re proofreading care-fully.”

Ware said the use of abbreviat-ed language can affect the use offormal English and grammar “to acertain extent” but she said thatEnglish is “incredibly flexible andresilient.

“The real difficulty is in teach-ing students to make a distinctionbetween informal and formalkinds of writing and to know whena certain type of language is appro-priate or inappropriate,” saidWare.

RREESSEEAARRCCHHSome scholars argue that the

abbreviated language used in SMSand IM is not to blame for thedownfall of formal English andgrammar.

An article on the University ofToronto website, describes a 2006study of Toronto teens by universi-ty linguists which compared theteens’ spoken language to the lan-guage they used in instant messag-ing. Linguists Sali Tagliamonteand Derek Denis found that theteens used both formal and infor-mal language in communication.

In the Toronto study, Denisfound that out of more than a mil-lion words of IM languagereviewed, abbreviations “account-ed for less than 2 percent of theword count.” They also found thatsuch abbreviations don’t carryover into our speech.

“They are a genre-specific fea-ture,” Derek Denis, researcher inthe Sociolinguistics Lab at theUniversity of Toronto wrote in ane-mail interview about the study.

Denis compared instant mes-saging abbreviations to abbrevia-tions used in everyday speech.

“If teenagers were using theseabbreviations in speech, English isfull of abbreviations already,”Denis wrote. “When was the lasttime you watched TV or a DVD?What was the last CD you bought orasked someone to do somethingASAP? These forms aren’t beingdemonized as abhorrent English,but they are the same as IM abbre-viations.”

In contrast to the scholars whosay that abbreviated language isruining formal English, the

Toronto study found the opposite. “When our study looked at the

grammar of these teenagers, wefound that their IM conversationsconsisted of a robust mix of formal,standard and informal language,”Denis wrote.

“The teenagers displayed amastery of the system, not a bas-tardization.”

BBAACCKK TTOO NNCCCCUUJoyce Ellis, instructor of

English at NCCU, has receivedassignments from her studentswhere they used abbreviated text,such as using b/c to stand forbecause.

“Of course I always strike itout,” Ellis said.

Ellis said bad grammar is usedeverywhere these days.

“The state of people’s knowl-edge and proficiency in grammarpretty much is deplorable any-way,” said Ellis.

Ellis said that bad grammarcannot be attributed solely to theabbreviated language that is usedfor SMS and IM.

“I think the problem is here, hasbeen here for a while. It perhapsmakes it more noticeable andmore disconcerting, but it’s notnew,” she said.

Ellis said schools should putmore emphasis on English andgrammar in their curriculum, andthat this should have occurredbefore SMS and IM became preva-lent.

“I’ve been teaching more thantwo decades and I have seen asteady erosion of basic writingskills,” Ellis said.

Ellis added that the job of edu-cators is “to teach students good,solid writing.”

However, Ellis said that if peo-ple are able to write “literate,cohesive” papers, then text mes-saging is okay.

“If you abbreviate but you knowwhat a really good sentence is,then text messaging as a shortcut,to me, should not be our nemesis,”Ellis said.

TTEEXXTT MMEESSSSAAGGIINNGG 110011Some educators have gone as

far as suggesting that test messag-ing language should be taught inschools.

In a 2006 interview on theAustralian news show The WorldToday, John Frow, professor ofEnglish language and literature atthe University of Melbourne inAustralia, supported the additionof text messaging language in thecurriculum of Australian schools.

Frow said that it was okay toteach students about the manytypes of languages and how theydiffer.

In an October e-mail interview,Frow wrote that text messaging“should be studied rather thantaught — students will know it bet-ter than their teachers anyway.”

Frow said that studying textmessaging will teach students thatdifferent types of language areappropriate in different contexts.

“If I were doing this teaching I’dbe saying that SMS is fine in itsplace but that other language vari-eties are needed for other purpos-es,” Frow wrote.

Other educators don’t feel thatSMS or IM language has a place inthe school setting.

“I believe the need for standardformal English is more urgent, andstudents will learn SMS in morecasual ways,” said Carter.

Ellis said, “We have all mannerof languages. People sign, peopleuse abbreviated forms, and if theculture is probably moving towardthat, I think it will be learned by

those who need to know it.” Shewas doubtful, however, aboutwhether text language should bepart of the curriculum.

WWHHEERREE TTOO NNOOWW?? So can the downfall of formal

English and grammar be attrib-uted to SMS and IM language?

Ellis said text messaging is not“the monster, or whatever, thatperhaps people are making it outto be.”

However, Ellis said, “It ampli-fies the fact that students are woe-ful in many ways when it comes tojust basic grammar and syntax.”

And how do we stress the impor-tance of using formal English andgrammar? Should the responsibili-ty fall on parents or educators?

Sanders said that the responsi-bility should fall on both parentsand schools, but that ultimately,parents should be responsible.

“The school is already teaching

proper grammar, English, andthings like that. It’s up to the par-ent to enforce it,” said Sanders.

Carter prefers a partnership.“Like any healthy life practice,parents and schools should have apartnership in informing studentsabout the use of text language,”she said. “Parents need to supportthe school’s efforts to teach stu-dents standard formal English.”

Whether SMS and IM languageis “destroying” formal English andgrammar remains to be seen. Whoshould enforce formal English isup for debate. However, it is clearthat abbreviated text language isnot going away.

Right now I am SMHID (scratch-ing my head in disbelief), and youmay be too. But, if you want to SC(stay cool) and keep up with cyber-speak, just visit the web or a book-store or ask any teenager, andmaybe you’ll get the MSG. TAFN(that’s all for now).

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BBeellooww:: MMaarrccuuss FFaalllleenn,, mmaassss ccoommmmuunniiccaattiioonn jjuunniioorr,, llooookkss ffoorr aa ffrriieenndd..BRYSON POPE/Echo Staff Photographer

Text messaging is not the monster, or whatever,that perhaps people are making it out to be.

JOYCE ELLISNCCU ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR

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Carolina, UNC -ChapelHill’s planned 8-million-square-foot campusdevelopment project.

For now, Foy is com-mitted to leading ChapelHill and continuing histeaching career at theSchool of Law, with no

immediate plans to pur-sue a Congressional pub-lic office.

“I really have to thinkabout it,” said Foy.

“My responsibility ismainly here, as a teacher.

“Given that the term isjust starting out, I can’t

say what I will plan to doin the future. I agreewith and supportCongressman Price, so Iwon’t say, ‘next year I’llrun for Congress.’

“I’m just focused onthe term right now.”

The mayor’s political

concentration remainsfocused on the city ofChapel Hill.

Asked whom he wassupporting in the nation-al presidential election,Foy said: “Well I metBarack, and I think he’dreally be great.”

BY KENNETH FITZECHO STAFF REPORTER

In French, it’s “l’eau.” InSpanish, it’s “agua.”Scientists call it H20. But weusually just call it water.

It’s one of the humanbody’s most essentialneeds.

The human body is 60percent water.

A human being can sur-vive for weeks without food,but just a few days withoutwater.

According to WebMD.com, water is vital to oursurvival. It helps removewaste through urine, main-tain a healthy metabolism,and control body tempera-ture, heart rate and bloodpressure.

But a survey of morethan 100 North Carolinauniversity students, onlyabout 75 percent of AfricanAmericans drink waterdaily, while almost 100 per-cent of whites do.

N.C. Central Universitystudents confirm the find-ings.

“We use it to wash ourcars, but not to drink,” saidan NCCU marketing junior.

“We want the body of ourcars and rims to look shinyand perfect, but when itcomes to our bodies …”

Jackie Wagstaff, hospital-ity and tourism junior, said,“We drink everything butwater.

“I guess that’s how wegrew up. Growing up, wedrank Kool-Aid,” Wagstaffsaid.

The topic of drinkingwater is even rapped aboutin BET’s “Read a Book” ani-mated video by BomaniArmah.

The song seeks toincrease awareness in theyoung hip-hop communityon multiple topics.

“Your body needs water,so drink that stuff,” Armahrepeats multiple times inthe song.

The Institute ofMedicine recommends thatwomen consume a mini-mum of two liters of fluids aday and that men consumeat least three liters a day.

A liter is equal to approx-imately 1.056 liquid quarts.

Exercise and excessivesweating increase fluid lossfrom the body.

According toMedicineNet.com, signs oftoo few fluids includeincreased thirst, dry mouth,weakness or lightheaded-ness, dark odorous urine,decreased urination and/orlower back pain.

Many foods contain

water. Fruits and vegeta-bles, like lettuce, watermel-on, cucumbers, and oranges,have high water content.

Surprisingly, some meatscontain about 60 percentwater.

Coffee and soda alsocount in the attempt tomeet daily fluid require-ments, according toWebMD.com.

Other findings of the sur-vey include:

• 75 percent of white stu-dents are coffee drinkers,while only 25 percent ofblack students are coffeedrinkers.

• Black students drinkalcohol at lower rates thanwhites.

• About 25 percent fewerblack students than whitessay they exercise weeklybasis.

• More black studentsthan white students saytheir parents encouragedthem to drink water everyday.

Some NCCU studentslearned the message fromtheir parents that water isvital to their health.

“I drink water everyday,”said social work sophomoreSheree Knight.

“I guess it’s just a habit.“It flushes your body out —besides it’s good for you.”

Campus EchoCampusN 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

4 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008

Empty pockets L’eau, agua, H2O

BY KRISTIANA BENNETTECHO STAFF REPORTER

“I’m 20 years old and Iowe $50,000,” said JabariBlackmon, a mass commu-nication junior at N.C.Central University in refer-ence to his student loandebt. “Because of that, mycredit’s ruined.”

Blackmon attendedOakwood College, a privateinstitution in Alabama, fortwo years before transfer-ring to NCCU last year.

Blackmon said it waseasy for him to call the SallyMae Foundation and getapproved for $26,000 peryear. A check was mailed tohim within seven days.

It was even easier forhim to get a personal stu-dent loan from RBCCentura. Forty-five minutesafter his credit waschecked, Blackmon wasissued a check for $9,500.

“It happens to like, somany people,” saidBlackmon. “They come tocollege and they get thesemassive amounts in loans,and financial aid doesn’teven encourage them to getscholarships.”

Blackmon’s financial sit-uation, though not typicalof undergraduate studentswho have only attendedpublic universities, is hard-ly unique.

“I owe the governmentabout $25,000 as of rightnow,” said Joshua Harrison,a senior business adminis-tration major. Harrison hasfinancial advice for his fel-low students.

“If you can get the dog-gone grades, get the flip-ping scholarships andapply for all the grants youcan — every last one youcan get your hands on,”said Harrison.

“When you have to payback $5,000 as opposed to$25,000 or $50,000, it’s somuch better.”

According to FinAid.org,the “average student loandebt among graduating sen-iors is $19,237,” and theloan debt for students seek-ing graduate degreesranges from $27,000 to$114,000.

Kenisha Armstrong-Hill,23, a processing assistant atNCCU’s Scholarship &Student Aid office and a2005 graduate of MountOlive College, owes $10,800in student loans — andthat’s with grants and ascholarship.

“I would probably beabout $50,000 in debt if Ididn’t have knowledgeabout the Coca-Cola schol-arship and the Lions Clubgrant,” said Armstrong-Hill.

Sherry Henderson, anenrollment services officerand scholarship coordina-

tor in NCCU’s scholarshipand student aid depart-ment, said planning aheadand applying for fundingthat does not have to berepaid are critical to avoid-ing heavy debt.

“The key is to start earlyapplying for scholarshipsand grants, especially foroutside scholarships,” saidHenderson. “Most of thescholarship applicationsstart coming out in Octoberor early November.”

However, grants andscholarships don’t cover alleducation expenses, andloans become the primarysource for students and par-ents in paying college tuitionand other related costs.

There are four types ofeducation loans: studentloans, private student loans,parent loans, and consolida-tion loans, which allow bor-rowers to combine all theirloans into a lump sum.

According to the CollegeFoundation of NorthCarolina website, cfnc.org,“The Federal Stafford Loanis the most widely usedloan in the student educa-tion program,” with repay-ment schedules of up to 10years.

The U.S. Department ofEducation runs two differ-ent Stafford loan programs:the Federal FamilyEducation Loan Program,and the William D. FordFederal Direct LoanProgram.

Direct loans arefinanced by the federal gov-ernment with a fixed inter-est rate of 6.8 percent,while FFEL loans arefinanced by private banksor organizations with inter-est rates up to 8.02 percent.

Direct loans are repaidto the Department ofEducation, while FFELloans are repaid to the pri-vate loan holder.

Stafford loans can beeither subsidized andunsubsidized.

The federal governmentpays the interest on subsi-dized loans, as long as thestudent is enrolled at leasthalf-time and for sixmonths after the studentwithdraws or graduates.

After that, the student isresponsible for paying backthe loan with interest.

Subsidized Stafford loansare only available to thosewho meet the government’scriteria for financial need.

Unsubsidized Staffordloans are available to any-one and begin accruinginterest immediately afterthey are taken out. Theborrower must pay backthe loan and all accruedinterest.

Federal Perkins loansare financed by universi-ties and colleges and are

repaid to either the schoolor its agent. They aregranted to students withthe greatest financial need,with top priority granted toPell Grant recipients.

PLUS loans, likeStafford loans, are offeredthrough the Direct andFFEL programs, but aregranted to the parents ofqualified undergraduatestudents.

Student loans can bereduced or cancelled, butonly under specific circum-stances, according to thefederal aid websitewww.studentaid.ed.gov.

These circumstancesinclude but are not limitedto death, total or perma-nent disability, bankruptcy,non-completion of a degreeprogram due to the schoolclosing, and the school’sforging a student’s signa-ture on a promissory note.

Loan forgiveness pro-grams, available throughthe federal government,involve volunteer workthrough organizations likeAmeriCorps and the PeaceCorps.

Borrowers who work forthese organizations for spe-cific time periods have por-tions of their loan debtdeducted.

Another alternative fordebt reduction is made pos-sible by the College CostReduction and Access Actof 2007. The Act, passedSept. 27, allows the dis-missal of debt accruedthrough the Direct Loanprogram if the borrowerworks full-time in a publicservice position for 10years.

A list of these positionsis available at FinAid.orgunder public service loanforgiveness.

To qualify for the for-giveness benefit, the bor-rower must have made 120payments within the 10-year span. Only paymentsmade on or after Oct. 1,2007 count toward the 120payments.

“I think it’s reached apoint where Congress hasrealized that the loan debtis too great,” said ElizabethMcDuffie, director forgrants, training, and out-reach at the North CarolinaState Education AssistanceAuthority.

Though loan forgivenessprograms and the CollegeCost Reduction and AccessAct are available, McDuffiesaid students should try toavoid getting loans as muchas possible.

“One of the things we [atthe SEAA] try to stress withstudents is to only borrowwhat they need,” she said.

“Work, seek other typesof financial aid and livefrugally.”

Students discuss the hardships of college debt

For More Information, Contact Career Services William Jones Building, Lower Level

Hours of Operation Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Phone: 919-530-6337 Email: nccucareerservices@nccu.edu

Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming EventsInternship Application

Deadlines (for more information and to apply

visit www.monstertrak.com)

Institute for Humane Studies Paid internship and scholarships Journalism/Public Administration

Thursday, Jan. 31

The Washington CenterWashington, DC-London Internship Program 2008

Friday, Feb. 29

UNC in WashingtonSummer Program Saturday, Mar. 15

Fall Program Friday, Apr. 25

Career Fairs NCCU Spring Career Fair

L.T. Walker ComplexThursday, Mar. 27

10:00 am-1:00

Information Sessions(held in the Student Union)

Peace Corps Monday, Jan. 14, 4:00– 5:00 pm

Thursday, Mar. 27, 4:00– 5:00 pm

CIATuesday, Feb. 12, 5:00– 6:00 pm

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 5:00– 6:00 pm

Campus Interviews(for more information and to apply visit

www.monstertrak.com)

Credit Suisse Thursday, Jan. 24

CIAWednesday, February 13

Thursday, Feb. 14

Norfolk SouthernThursday, Feb. 21

US Census Bureau Thursday, Mar. 28

Water vital to human life, but do we drink enough of it?

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BRYSON POPE/Staff Photographer

CampusEcho

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100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

WhiteAfrican-American

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Source: Kenneth Fitz – 2007 survey of 105 students from four NC universities.

Do you drinkwater on a daily

basis?

Key Other

Do you drinkcoffee?

Do you drinkalcohol?

Do you exerciseone or more

times weekly?

Did your parents encour-age you to drink waterwhen you were young?

BY STEVEN THOMMAMCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS(MCT)

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Whenpoliticians see polls theydon’t like, they recite acliche: The only poll thatcounts is the one onElection Day.

Tuesday, the voters ofNew Hampshire provedthe cliche right.

For days, poll after pollshowed Illinois Sen.Barack Obama opening abig lead heading into theNew HampshireDemocratic primary. Butwhen the votes werecounted, New York Sen.Hillary Clinton won. Evenshe seemed surprised.

Were the polls allwrong? Did the pollstersmisjudge how manywomen would vote? Didvoters lie when pollsterscalled? Or were the pollsright about Obama lead-ing, proving that debatesand campaigning the lastweekend really do matterand can sway voters at thelast hour?

Regardless of theanswers, many analystsurged a postmortem to fig-ure out what the heck hap-pened in New Hampshire.

“It is simply unprece-dented for so many polls tohave been so wrong,” saidGary Langer, the pollingdirector for ABC News, ina memo posted at his Website. “We need to knowwhy.”

Every poll done for thenews media in NewHampshire after the Iowacaucuses showed Obamagaining and opening a leadon Clinton.

A McClatchy-MSNBCpoll conducted immediate-ly before and after Iowashowed Obama with thesupport of 33 percent inNew Hampshire, Clintonwith 31.

Polls conducted afterObama's Iowa win showedhim with a bigger lead.One survey for C-SPANand Reuters showedObama up 42-29 percentover Clinton. Six public

polls for news media anduniversities showed himwith an average lead of 8.3percentage points.

None showed Clintonclose, let alone ahead. Yetshe beat Obama by 39-36percent.

So what happened?One possibility widely

mentioned Wednesday wasthat white NewHampshire voters mighthave lied to pollsters,expressing support forblack Obama, then votingagainst him once theywere in the privacy of thepolling booth.

That's happened before,and it's noteworthy thatthere was no big discrep-ancy on the Republicanside, where all top candi-dates were white.

“There will be a lot ofclaims about what hap-pened, about respondentswho reputedly lied, aboutalleged difficulties pollingin biracial contests,”Langer said.

“That may be so. It alsomay be a smokescreen, aconvenient foil for poll-sters who'd rather faulttheir respondents thanown up to other possibili-ties _ such as their ownfailings in sampling and`likely voter' modeling.”

One possible reason thepolls were so far off wasthat pollsters miscalculat-ed when they screenedthose who answered theirphones to find “likely vot-ers.”

Another is that the tim-ing of the polls missed alate surge of support forClinton, particularlyamong women, influencedby a debate Saturdaynight, Sunday talk shows,round-the-clock campaign-ing and an emotionalresponse from Clinton onMonday to the stress of thecampaign.

“What the weekendpolls found was an Obamalead as primary dayapproached,” said LeeMiringoff, a political sci-entist and the director ofthe Marist Institute forPublic Opinion at Marist

College in New York, in anarticle on his Web site,www.maristpoll.marist.edu. “What they do notreflect is what was appar-ent here in NewHampshire. The context ofthe campaign was chang-ing. The last hours of thecampaign were a mediafeeding frenzy overClinton's show of emotionwhen responding to avoter's question onMonday morning.”

“Timing is half of every-thing,” said Brad Coker,the managing partner ofMason-Dixon Polling &Research, which conductspolls for McClatchy andMSNBC.

In Iowa, a McClatchy-MSNBC poll conductedDec. 26-28 found Romneyahead of Huckabee, butthe final voting results lastThursday were thereverse.

Coker noted that twoother polls taken at thesame time produced simi-lar results.

A survey by theAmerican Research Groupconducted Dec. 26-28found Romney with 32 per-cent and Huckabee at 23percent. A Strategic Visionpoll Dec. 26-27 showedHuckabee with 29 percent,Romney with 27 percent.Both showed Romney withmore support than he'dhad before Christmas andHuckabee with less.

The Des MoinesRegister poll took a differ-ent snapshot over a slight-ly different period, Dec.27-30. It had a larger sam-ple, 800 likely voters ineach party versus 400,which cut the error marginfrom 5 percentage pointsto 3.5.

The Register poll alsoassumed a greater turnoutby first-time caucus atten-dees. Coker said he based

his assumed turnout onhistoric averages.

He said he thought thatthe McClatchy-MSNBCpoll was accurate at thetime, and that circum-stances changed to benefitHuckabee.

The key, he said, wasHuckabee's decision Dec.31 to pull a negative adhe'd planned againstRomney.

“Romney had been clos-ing the gap on Huckabee. Ithink our numbers wereaccurate,” Coker said.“What happened that wecan't account for is whathappened in the daysbefore the caucus washeld. Huckabee turned thewhole thing around withthe decision not to go neg-ative.”

Huckabee also thinkshis support swelled afterthat.

“I really believe thedecision I made was partof the reason that we wonand won decisively,” hesaid.

While the news mediascoffed at the gesture,Coker said, evangelicalChristian voters liked it.

All polls, of course, arejust numbers. How they’reread depends in large parton how the news mediaportray them. That’s onereason that the NationalCouncil on Public Pollsrecommends that newsmedia be cautious in inter-preting polls.

Another thing to lookfor in polls is the margin oferror.

That means that 95 per-cent of the time, any num-ber in a poll could be high-er or lower by as much asthe margin of error. It’s amatter of statistical proba-bility.

The other 5 percent ofthe time? They’re flat-outwrong.

5Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 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

Why are polls sometimes so wrong?

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the way Washington works.Just five days earlier, Iowa

went for another outsiderpromising change, MikeHuckabee.

The two must face oneanother and several otherrivals in weeks to come, in awide-open race. First comesMichigan next Tuesday,where McCain, Romney andHuckabee will square off.Meanwhile, former Tenn-essee Sen. Fred Thompsonalready left New Hampshirefor South Carolina, workingfor a victory there on Jan. 19.Former New York MayorRudy Giuliani is headed toFlorida, looking for a Jan. 29win there.

The picture is clearer inthe Democratic Party, whereit’s now a two-person raceand a contest over who hasthe more appealing voice andthe style better suited to deliv-er such Democratic goals asending the war in Iraq andexpanding health care.

Obama had momentumfrom Iowa, his fresh face andupbeat message appealing toyoung people. Overnight hehad become the very face ofchange at a moment in historywhen Americans hunger for itin many ways. Many pre-elec-tion polls hinted that Obamamight win in a landslide.

But Clinton still has themost famous brand name inthe party. She fought back inNew Hampshire, retoolingher message to take onObama directly as a wafflingnewcomer. Former PresidentBill Clinton jumped in aswell, calling Obama’s pitch a“fairy tale.”

By stressing her experiencein the White House, she con-vinced many that she knewhow to pull the levers of power.

While both Obama andHillary Clinton personify his-toric change — the firstAfrican-American and womanwith real chances of beingnominated and elected —Clinton and Obama offer vast-ly different approaches.

He’s the freshest face in aparty that historicallyembraces newcomers. In thelast half-century, Democratsonly twice nominated non-incumbents who’d runnationally before — HubertHumphrey in 1968 and AlGore in 2000.

Obama looks more likechange. A new face, a newgeneration — and a promiseof a new, more civil approachto politics that resonates par-ticularly with the post-BabyBoom generation that came ofage after the combative ‘60s.

But Clinton, who was onthe verge of being written offby some pundits, showed aresilience that should allowher to tap into her well oforganized supporters anddonors, particularly amongwomen of her own generation.

The Clinton-Obama con-test will be fought along gen-erational and gender linesthat divide the party and helpexplain Tuesday’s results.

Women were 57 percent ofthe vote, exit polls showed;they went for Clinton by amargin of 47-34 percent,while men went for Obamaby 42-30 percent.

Voters under the age of 30went for Obama by 61-22 per-cent, while those aged 65 andolder went for Clinton by 48-33percent.

The key question goingforward to contests inNevada on Jan. 19, SouthCarolina on Jan. 26, then arush of more than 20 stateson Feb. 5, is how much thetwo candidates will adapt.

Obama, for example, willface intensified scrutiny.With Clinton in close pursuit,he also might have to sharp-en his message or risk look-ing too cautious, a mistakeClinton herself made last fallwhen she thought she had asolid lead.

She has to decide how hardto hit Obama in the weeks tocome, and whether that wouldweaken him as it did in NewHampshire — or spur a back-lash against herself.

For Republicans, the con-test turns next to Michigan,which votes next Tuesday.McCain won there in 2000,but Romney has strong ties inthe state, which his fatherserved as governor.

Republicans then face offin what could be a hotly con-tested primary in SouthCarolina. McCain lost therein 2000, Thompson hopes tomake a regional pitch andHuckabee looks to get on thecomeback trail in a state withmore Christian conserva-tives.

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CHUCK KENNEDY/MCT

Polls predicted an Obama win by an average of 8.3 percentage points, but he lost by 3

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

Hillside High’s Future ArtistsW E D N E S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 8

66 77

The arts are essen-tial to every child’seducation, but atHillside HighSchool’s

Performing Arts Department,the arts are a way of life.

It’s an arts program thathas shaped the lives ofnumerous N.C. CentralUniversity students, includingtwo NCCU alumni standouts,Derek Pantiel, ’07, and ReneeClark, ’06.

Derek Pantiel, the firstNCCU student ever to beelected president of the UNCAssociation of StudentGovernments, said Hillside’sarts program changed his life.

He said he was going to bea mechanic, but after partici-pating in the arts program, hedecided to attend NCCU. Hewas elected to the UNC ASGin 2006.

“It taught me how to findmy weaknesses and turnthem into strengths,” saidPantiel. “It challenged me touse my talents not just on thestage, but in the community.”

Pantiel is now a graduatestudent at The Ohio School ofPediatric Medicine.

Former 2005-2006 NCCUStudent Body PresidentRenee Clark also saidHillside’s arts program influ-enced her profoundly.

“The Hillside High School

Performing Arts Center taughtme more than dance, music,or theater. It taught me aboutlife,” said Clark.

“If not for the HHSPerforming Arts Center, Iwould not know that it is pos-sible to overcome struggles,”she said. “I definitely wouldnot know that passion culti-vated by creativity, love andhard work manifests great-ness.”

HHS’s performing artsdepartment, led by XavierCason, Paula Nunn, NicoleOxendine and Wendell Tabb,is arguably the most celebrat-ed department at Hillside. Ithas won numerous awardsand accolades.

Cason, an NCCU alumnus,has been the band director atHillside since 1997 and wasmusical instructor and direc-tor of the band at NCCU from1987-1997.

In 2006, Cason was award-ed the B.C. Powder “RealPeople” Award and selectedfor “Who’s Who AmongAmerican Teachers.”

Choral director Nunn hastaught music with theDurham Public School systemfor 17 years. She has beenchoral director at Hillside forfive years.

Oxendine, a Hillside alum-na, has been a dancer for 14years and teaching at Hillside

for three. She also is a performer and

choreographer and has beena member of HollinsRepertory Dance Company,Sacred Fire Worship DanceTroupe and Hillside’sAdvanced Dance Team, andwas a guest performer at theAmerican Dance Festival in2006.

NCCU graduate WendellTabb has worked as dramadirector and teacher for morethan 21 years at Hillside. Hehas directed more than 40plays nationally and interna-tionally.

Tabb has performed in sev-eral NCCU dramatic produc-tions, including “Two TrainsRunning,” “Tunnels” and“Heart to Heart: Ain’t Your LifeWorth Saving?”

He was awarded the 2006James E. Shepard SertomaEducator of the Year Award,and the Black Living LegendEducator award.

Asked about the impact ofthe band on the students,Cason said, “Music is thesoundtrack to these students’lives.”

He explained that musicand creativity are the fluidthat connects students totheir culture and environ-ment. He said that the artscan provide the first steps togreatness.

Photographic Essay by Ray Tyler

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8 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008

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9A&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

Black raps balance

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008Campus Echo

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People can be quick toclassify black singers withcornrows or natural hairas neo-soulartists,but thattitle keepshardcoreR&B fansfrom giv-ing differ-ent musica chance.

Now,no onehas anexcuse tolook over RaheemDevaughn. With a freshfade and fresh production,Raheem Devaughn isready to claim his placeamong artists who mademusic for grown folks sexy.

His latest album, titled“Love Behind the Melody,”released yesterday, is arefreshing diversion fromthe adolescent-dominatedR&B platform.

“Love Behind theMelody” sets the perfecttone for any romanticnight out, or a candlelitdinner in.

Raheem Devaughn is agrown man. He’s notgrowing into manhood, nor

is he a few years or lifeexperiences away from it.

Instead of dancingaround issues of love,relationships, emotionsand loss, he gets straightto the point from the per-spective of a man withenough experience toknow what he’s talkingabout, and the insight thatcomes with maturity.

The 18-track albumincludes uptempo, guitar-heavy rhythms like“Butterflies,” and smoothsynthesizer-laden pieces

like“Empty.”

On“Customer,”he tells hiswoman, “ifyour heartis hungry,you canplace yourorder herewith me.”On the

song “MoBetter,” he

delivers a breathy confes-sion to his love that shehas made his life betterwith her presence.

“You know I’m kind ofyoung, but I’ve got an oldsoul,” Devaughn sings.

He reminds you of atime in R&B when R.Kelly, Joe, Tyrese,Ginuwine and Avant werein their heyday. He hasalmost single-handedlybrought the music to alevel that it hasn’t been atin a long time.

The character and stylehe brings to each song isthe love behind themelody.

— Larisha J. Stone

JJuunniioorrss DDoonn SSiimmmmoonnss’’ aanndd JJeerrrryy BBllaacckkwweellll’’ss lloovvee ooff hhiipp hhoopp ppuusshheess tthheemm ttoowwaarrdd ssttaarrddoomm bbuutt nnoott aawwaayy ffrroomm tthheeiirr ssttuuddiieess.. ..SAVIN JOSEPH /Echo Staff Photographer

J. Black speaks about balancing responsibility and passion

BY BROOKE SELLARSECHO A&E ASSISTANT EDITOR

Soon after I first sat down withJerry Blackwell, English junior, I for-got this was an interview.

It felt more like a conversationwith a lifelong friend.

Discussing hip hop, college andspirituality with him was like breath-ing fresh air.

Despite all the quirky distrac-tions, Blackwell remained focused.He was confident and spoke freelyabout his ambitions.

Blackwell believes maintaining a3.5 GPA and perfecting his talent as ahip hop music artist is a matter oftaking responsibility and knowinghow to prioritize.

He began rapping at age 10 afterbeing influenced by Greensboro rap-per, Jay Irish.

Other influences on his musicinclude Common, Joe Budden,Norma Nordstrom and LisaMcLendon.

“By far Joe Budden’s ‘Mood Music

2’ has been the biggest influence inmy music,” said Blackwell. “He putshis heart and soul into it.”

Rapping continued to beBlackwell’s passion through highschool and into college.

Dreams of law school shifted tomusic last year when Blackwelldecided to take his music to the nextlevel.

“I was on Facebook, sent Darrell amessage about my music and helooked out.”

After hooking up with NCCUalumni Darrell Coleman, who worksfor MTV, Jerry was flying to NewYork for the first time.

“His music struck a chord withme, because it is so inspirational,”said Coleman.

“There is nobody in the musicindustry tackling the subjects that hecovers.”

Under Coleman’s management,Blackwell recently completed aphoto shoot in Brooklyn and record-ed a clip on MTV’s Sucker Freestylethat will air on MTV 2 in March.

Blackwell’s friend Eric Jefferson,criminal justice junior, saidBlackwell’s best characteristic is hispassion, hunger for change and hisdesire to represent his spiritualitythrough his music.

“You can hear the passion in hisvoice. It’s real, not just rhymingwords,” said Jefferson.

Aside from the music, Blackwellhas been active on campus as sopho-more class president 2006-2007 andas a Chancellor’s Scholar.

Encompassing all things learned,Blackwell has incorporated rhetori-cal strategies and literary techniqueshe discovered in his literature cours-es.

In five years, Blackwell wants tobe an accomplished musician, signedto a record label.

“I see Jerry becoming an interna-tional star, filling a void in hip hopthat has been empty for years now,”said Coleman.

“He has the potential to be thecatalyst for a new evolution in hiphop.”

KID ARTCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In its 28th year, the annual“Durham’s Finest” exhibition fea-tures artistic creations by kinder-garten through 12th grade stu-dents from all 42 Durham publicschools.

Each school chose four remark-able works to enter in the contest.

This year, the Museum hasalready surpassed last year’srecord by attracting more than600 students, parents and teach-ers.

The exhibit also has a new sta-tistic to add to the archives.

The artwork on display thisyear includes traditional ink onpaper, pencil on paper, and draw-ings as well at two- and three-dimensional works.

Mixed media works, watercolor,pastel, oils, and acrylic paintingsare hung on the walls of theMuseum, displaying vibrant colorsand futuristic designs.

“There has been more dimen-sional works this year,” MuseumDirector Kenneth Rodgers said.

This includes a set of strawbaskets that he has never seenpresented before.

There also are more ceramicand sculptures in paper machéand wire forms in the exhibit.

“We’ve had some really uniquecollages that demonstrated amaz-ing design,” said Rodgers.

Social work sophomoreDesmond Carter attended the pro-gram for his art class, and one

painting stood out to him rightaway.

“I saw a creative black andwhite drawing where a guy washolding his breath under waterand hiding from sharks,” saidCarter.

I really liked it.” He found the creations to be

diverse and was impressed bysome of the work done by youngerartists.

“I found the exhibit uniquebecause there was work done bylittle kids and people my age,”said Carter.

“It wasn’t just paintings — Isaw sculptures and statues.”

“Durham’s Finest” displays thecreativity of the students in

Durham’s Public School systemand the community.

It highlights an array of talentand originality.

The Durham Public Schools’art program gives young artiststhe chance to have their workshown to their peers and the com-munity.

The Museum’s Board ofDirectors awarded blue ribbons tothree winners from each schoollevel.

These students will have theirwork sold in the art gallery.

Timothy Reavis, a 12th graderat Southern High School, wasgiven a blue ribbon and a “certifi-cate of appreciation.”

“My art teacher said a couple

people want to buy my stuff, butthat's all I've heard,” said Reavis.

His artwork was titled “MixedMedia.”

Also selected as winners were“Still Life With Bottles” byLeyonne Howell, a 3rd grader atCreekside Elementary, and“Mexico City 2050” by CarlosVillanueva, a 7th grader atChewning Middle School.

The exhibit is free and open tothe public and is handicappedaccessible.

The museum is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It is located on Lawson Streetacross from the Farrison-NewtonCommunications Building.

The exhibit ends Jan. 25.

““MMeexxiiccoo CCiittyy 22005500”” bbyy CChheewwnniinngg MMiiddddllee SScchhooooll 77tthh ggrraaddeerr CCaarrllooss VViillllaannuueevvaa,, aa BBlluuee RRiibbbboonn wwiinnnneerr.. SAVIN JOSEPH/Echo Staff Photographer

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10 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008

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BY QUENTIN GARDNERECHO SPORTS EDITOR

One battle does notdefine a war, but 0-4 definesthe N.C. Central Universitymen’s basketball team’sstart for 2008.

The Eagles should makee n d i n gtheir cur-rent 16-game los-ing streak

a resolution for the newyear.

Last Wednesday, theEagles played their bestdefensive game of the sea-son thus far during a 54-29loss to N.C. State Universityin Raleigh’s RBC Center.

The Eagles managed toforce the Wolfpack to shootjust 37 percent from thefloor.

Unfortunately, NCCUcould not take advantage ofmissed opportunities, con-verting only 20 percentfrom the floor.

N.C. State’s free-throwand perimeter percentageswere key factors in the vic-tory.

The Wolfpack went 4 of21 from behind the arc,while NCCU made 1 of 14attempts. NCSU also con-verted 18 of 23 attemptsfrom the foul line.

Last Wednesday’s gamewas NCSU’s final tune-upgame before ACC confer-ence play began last week.

“I felt like our defensewas really good, but we stillhave a few things to workout on offense,” saidWolfpack forward BrandonCostner.

“NCCU played gooddefense, but a lot of it wasour fault for not making theright reads and probablytaking too much time orpredetermining what wewere going to do with theball,” Costner said.

Costner led all scorerswith 18 points, includingthree of six from the arc.

J. J. Hickson added 13points for the Wolfpack.

Eagle forward CharlesFutrell led NCCU with eightpoints and seven rebounds.Forward Joshua Worthy

also chimed in 4 points andnine rebounds for theEagles.

Eagles head coachHenry Dickerson was notpleased with his team’s per-formance against yet anoth-er ACC powerhouse.

“Another ACC team,another athletic team —their length just killed us,”said Dickerson.

“You cannot simulatethat in practice — strength,size and speed.

“Our guys just got worndown after a while,” hesaid.

NCCU is currently 0-3against ACC opponents thisseason.

The Eagles lost 121-56 to

Duke University in the sea-son opener in November.

NCCU also traveled toWinston-Salem to lose toWake Forest 75-58 Nov. 19.

NC State out-reboundedthe Eagles 42 to 39.

NC State also turned theball over 15 times.

N.C. State head coachSidney Lowe praised theEagles’ performanceagainst the Wolfpack intheir first Division I season.

“NCCU came out with agreat zone defense andtried to make us take jumpshots,” said Lowe.

Some Eagle players hadmixed feelings about theirperformance.

“I think we played good

defense, but we’re disap-pointed with the way weshot,” said Futrell.

“If we had shot well, wewould have had a chance tobeat a big-time ACCschool,” he said.

“But we haven’t beenshooting well in practice,and most of the time, youplay the way you practice.”

However, other playersblame poor team effort.

“I just think we weren’tmentally prepared,” saidWorthy.

“We had a lack of focus,and we didn’t shoot well atall.”

The Eagles will returnhome to host Coppin Statetonight at 7:30 p.m.

Sports 11Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008

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BY QUENTIN GARDNERECHO SPORTS EDITOR

Last Wednesday, The N.C.Central University Lady Eagles (3-17 overall) successfully defendedtheir home court by defeating theNorfolk State University Lady

Spartans 58-44 inM c L e n d o n -M c D o u g a l dGymnasium.

The gameserved as the Lady Eagles first vic-tory over a Division I opponent.

Nearly 600 fans were in atten-dance to watch the Lady Eaglescontinue their perfect homerecord. Despite the low attendancefigure, Lady Eagle head coach JoliRobinson was satisfied with thevictory.

“It was a good win for us againsta Division I team,” said Robinson.

“It was good to see a greatcrowd here tonight, the girlsworked and played hard in front ofour fans.”

NCCU shot 41 percent overallfrom the field, while holdingNorfolk State to just fewer than 27percent.

Both teams struggled offensive-ly during the opening half. NCCUmade eight-of-24 attempts for 33percent, while Norfolk State shot39 percent on nine-of-23 attemptsfrom the field.

Perhaps the major key to victorywas the difference in teamturnovers. Norfolk State commit-ted 24 turnovers, while the LadyEagles committed a season low 19.

Lady Eagle guard LaVonna

Hailey led all scorers with 13points. Guard Jennifer Hukilladded 12 points shooting 38 per-cent from 3-point range. LatoyaBennett also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12rebounds.

The Lady Eagle victory did notcome easy, as the Lady Spartan’sAreya Walker kept the game closemost of the way. Walker led theLady Spartans with 11 points and 9rebounds.

The win over Norfolk State wasshort-lived as the Eagles werepummeled 71-49 over the weekendin Montgomery, WV by the WestVirginia Tech Lady Golden Bears.

Saturday, NCCU will have achance to face the Lady GoldenBears again as they travel toDurham. The contest begins at 2 p.m.

‘‘PPaacckk ppoouunnddss NNCCCCUU

n-ofe”

E

Eagles display season’s best defensive effort despite a tough loss

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BY MATT BEATTYECHO STAFF REPORTER

On Dec. 4 Florida A&MUniversity PresidentJames Ammons announcedthat he had recruited N.C.Central University athleticdirector Bill Hayes toserve as athletic directorat FAMU.

Ammons served asNCCU’s chancellor from2001-2007.

Hayes, who was NCCU’sathletic director for fouryears, replaces NelsonTownsend in the position.

Townsend served asFAMU’s athletic directorfor just two years.

Hayes signed a three-year contract for $175,000annually.

Under Hayes’ tenureNCCU earned nine CIAAconference champi-onships.

NCCU has won two foot-ball conference titles,three conference volley-ball titles, three crosscountry conference titlesand a softball champi-onship.

Aside from winningchampionships, Hayes alsoestablished the 1,000Eagles Program.

The program wasdesigned to raise $1 mil-lion for athletic scholar-ships and recruiting.

Hayes also playedhelped move NCCU out ofthe CIAA and into DivisionI athletics.

Hayes, a Durham nativeand Hillside High Schoolgraduate, coached N.C.A&T to three MEAC cham-pionships.

Hayes then led Winston-Salem State University tothree CIAA champi-onships.

As of Dec. 7, NCCUannounced the appoint-ment of Ingrid Wicker-McCree as the new interimdirector of athletics.

Wicker-McCree hasbeen with NCCU athleticssince 1998.

“The depth of Ingrid’sexperience will continueto serve the university

well,” said NCCU chancel-lor Charlie Nelms.

Wicker-McCree beganher career at NCCU as ahead coach for women’svolleyball and softball.

Wicker-McCree is theonly coach at NCCU to winchampionships in multiplesports.

She captured theschools first ever CIAAtitle in softball in 1998.

Wicker-McCree alsocoached the Lady Eaglesvolleyball team to confer-ence titles in 1999, 2004and 2005.

She has been namedCIAA volleyball coach ofthe year three times in1999, 2002 and 2005.

Wicker-McCree wasinducted into the Alex M.Rivera Athletic Hall ofFame in 2004 as the headcoach of the 1998 softballteam.

Wicker-McCree hasserved as leader in bothconference and nationalorganizations.

Wicker-McCree’s mostrecent position is the pres-ident of the CentralIntercollegiate AthleticAssociation executiveboard from 2004 to 2006.

She is the secondwoman in conference his-tory to ever hold that posi-tion.

In honor of her workWicker-McCree was giventhe CIAA leadershipaward for her service aspresident and in 2006 shewas named Senior WomanAdministrator of the year.

”We are very fortunateto have someone with sucha demonstrated record ofleadership within theranks who can continue tolead our athletic depart-ment forward,” saidNelms.

NCCU is still searchingfor a new athletic directorand there has been noword on the status of a newapplicant.

“The new athletic direc-tor will already have asolid program here atNCCU,” said Wicker-McCree.

Hayes out,who’s in?

NCCU 58

NSU 44

NNCCCCUU gguuaarrdd BBrryyaann AAyyaallaa aatttteemmppttss aa rreevveerrssee llaayyuupp WWeeddnneessddaayy iinn RRaalleeiigghh’’ss RRBBCC CCeenntteerr.. DREW AUSTIN/NCCU Athletics

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Lady Eagles trump Spartans on homefront

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KAI CHRISTOPHER/Echo Staff Photographer

Wicker-McCree serves as interim

12 Campus EchoWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008

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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LLeetttteerrss && EEddiittoorriiaallssThe 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.

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NCCU, Durham, NC 27707

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Opinions

CampusEcho Online

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“It’s your newspaper”

L e t t e r s

GGrraaddss MMIIAADear Editor:

While I’m quite surethere are numerous morepressing and vital issuesthat should be addressedamong the students hereat NCCU, I felt it neces-sary to express my utterdisappointment, and“disbelief,” if you will,for the lack of participa-tion shown at the BlackGraduate StudentAssociation SouthernRegional Conferenceheld in RTP lastNovember.

Prior to the officialconference, there was a“mixer” for the graduatestudents at the samelocation the night before.

The difference:“Mixer”-loud music, freefinger food and spiritedbeverages, during “afterhours” time.

The approximatedattendance from one ofthe entryway volunteerswas 150. I assisted withregistering attendees forthe conference the nextmorning, and the totalnumber of registeredattendees was approxi-mately 25 (no NCCU stu-dents in attendancebesides the volunteerswho helped throughoutthe day and our regionalrepresentative).

This information wasextremely unnerving forme, considering the factthat graduate studentsare expected (as theyshould be) to seize andtake advantage of everyacademic, professional,and networking opportu-nity that they can.

This conferenceencompassed all of thoseopportunities and somuch more. Additionally,professors from our uni-versity participated aspanelists.

It is our responsibilityas academicians andfuture leaders to lead byexample. This turnout, orlack thereof, was a poorrepresentation of whatwe as African-Americangraduate students are allabout. Engaging in aca-demic scholarship withstudents around thecountry, without the man-date of completing aresearch paper, or givinga presentation shouldhave been more thanenough of a reason toattend.

I’m sure there were anumber of legitimate fac-tors that led to such a lowturnout, but I also wouldlike for all of the gradu-ate students to imaginewhat type of surface mes-sage this sends to every-one (including under-graduates) looking atNCCU graduate students.Among many other attrib-utes, we are encouragedto exhibit personalresponsibility, integrity,and constant academicpursuit.

Unfortunately, by notattending this conferencethis proves we as a stu-dent body still have muchimprovement andprogress to make beforewe enter the professionalworld or make a signifi-cant difference in theacademic world.

SincerelyTracy MooreNCCU MPA Candidate

The worth of a manHow do you measure the

worth of a man? BobJohnson is definitely

not the kind of man whostirs in me any feelings ofpride or solidarity, especial-ly when, coming to thedefense of Hilary Clinton, hemakes an issue of Obama’sconfessed use of drugs in his

youth. In his book,

“Dreams ofMy Father,”Obamadescribe hisdrug use as“reflective ofthe strugglesand confu-sion of ateenage boy.”

It is anadmirablefeat for a

man to come from Hickory,Miss., the ninth of 10 children,and work his way towardfounding and maintaining con-trol of BET, the first cable tele-vision network aimed at anAfrican-American audience, forover 20 years.

But what do the accomplish-ments and accolades mean if

Bob Johnson is still a 21st cen-tury slave who would soonersell out his company and hisbrother for money or approval?

Barack Obama is the firstviable black candidate thiscountry has ever had, not tomention a very brave man toreveal parts of himself that apolitical adviser would beg himnot to reveal.

For Bob Johnson to attemptto use something that hasalready been made publicknowledge to discredit thisnation’s possible first blackpresident is deplorable.

Upon deeper examination, Iasked myself- what would Iexpect from a man like BobJohnson?

A Princeton graduate whocreated the BET network in1979, the first network specifi-cally meant to target anAfrican American audience.

Exactly 30 years later, BobJohnson sold the network toViacom for $3 billion dollars.He is currently part owner ofthe Charlotte Bobcats.

What does a business man assavvy as Bob Johnson stand togain through supporting theClinton campaign?

The Clinton campaign stoodto gain much from the supportof public figure Bob Johnson,who coincidentally stood up tosupport Clinton right beforethe South Carolina primary, astate with a large African-American population.

I don’t discredit Clinton asthe person most qualified torun this country. This currentdispute is not about her abilityto run a country, but moreabout her selectivity in whoshe asks to act as an intermedi-ary between herself and blackvoters.

LLaarriisshhaaSSttoonnee

Redefining a kingT his year will mark 45 years

since Dr. Martin Luther,the King, stood on the

steps of the Lincoln Memorialin Washington, D.C. and deliv-ered his “I Have a Dream”speech, which for many hasbecome the last remaininghallmark of the civil rights era.

For themajority ofour popula-tion, thedetails ofthis part ofAmericanhistory is for-gotten, andour memo-ries arewrapped upin a singlesermon, or

rather a single statement. It’s amazing to me that while

Dr. King accomplished somuch, and fought for so long,

we only remember that onephrase.

Dr. King marched throughevery major city in the South,brought African-American vot-ing rights to the forefront ofthe nation’s conscience, shutdown a bus company for a year,went to jail, survived twoassassination attempts, and didso much more in his lifetime.

And the only thing we speakabout is the dream.

Dr. King’s philosophies ofnon-violence were much morecomplex than the words hespoke that day.

And they covered a landmass much greater than theUnited States of America.

In his 1968 publication, “TheTrumpet of Conscience,” a col-lection of 5 speeches the yearbefore his death he spokeagainst the Vietnam War.

His opposition to the warwas viewed as unpatriotic, and

caused people to question hisreasoning.

People ask what is the stateof the dream, and at somepoint we have to realize thatthe dream went overseas.

King raised awareness to thefact that America’s participa-tion in war drained moneyfrom our economy, hurtingspecifically the lower class.

The way America sent youngmen and women to sacrificethier lives, who happened to bethe young disenfranchised whowere never able to enjoy thefruits of America’s wealth.

When we ask the state of thedream we need to acknowledgethat America is still pouringtax dollars into Iraq, and dis-cussing how many zeros thenext check should have.

The dream was the sons ofslaves and slaveowners sittogether, not terrorize together.

KKaaiiCChhrriissttoopphheerr

What does a business man as savvy as Bob Johnson standto gain through supporting the Clinton campaign?