SPARTAN ECHO · Norfolk State University · 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504 NEWSROOM: 757. 823. 8562 · E-Mail: spartanecho@nsu.edu

The voice of the Spartan community

ContinuedSpeCial edition:nSu HiStoryInterested in greek life?

See page 5

Norfolk State University’s Marie V. McDemmond Center for Applied Research, which opened in April 2007, is a state owned, six-story, approximately 128,000 square-foot structure. This building is the gateway to the upcoming RISE campus, and it is the operating place for graduate level education and research. It is also the future home of new science and technology buildings.

Named after Marie V. McDemmond , the university’s first female and third president, the building is a recent addition to the campus. McDemmond is the first woman to serve as the chief executive officer of a four-year, state supported university in Virginia. Prior to becoming president of NSU on July 1, 1997, McDemmond served as vice-president for finance for Florida Atlantic University and its seven campuses.

McDemmond received her doctorate in higher education administration and finance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. During her eight year tenure, she eliminated a $6.5 million budget deficit.

“It’s a great building named after a great former president,” said Marcia Long, a 2002 NSU graduate. “She did a lot for the university during her tenure and she deserved to have that state of the art building named after her.”

McDemmond also helped increase fundraising in the community, and introduced a marketing campaign to improve the image of NSU. In a major agreement with Tidewater Community College, she developed a PASSport program for students not meeting admittance requirements at NSU. This program helped the university raise admission standards and improved graduation rates.

McDemmond resigned in 2005 due to health reasons. The building is the first phase to the upcoming Rise Campus.

“The Rise Campus is the beginning of a new NSU,” said Greg Moore, a computer science major at NSU. “Pretty soon there will be a lot of resources on campus geared towards research and technology.”

Vol. 55, No. 3 02.27.08

When past influential black figures are brought up in conversations, it’s likely that many of the same names surface. Though these individuals certainly earned immortality through their contributions to society, one would be remised not to mention some of the lesser known participants in the struggle for equality-- especially those that helped change the face of education in an entire nation.

M. Boyd Jones, a Virginia Beach native and former Norfolk State University professor passed away in January of a cardiovascular disease. He was 98 years old.

In 1951, Jones was the principal at Robert R. Moton High School in Farmville, Va. Students at the all-black school staged a protest against segregation that year-- a protest that cost Jones his job. He did not know that they were

planning a school walkout that morning, although later, after he lost his job and after Prince

Edward County shuttered public schools rather than comply with court orders to

desegregate, he admitted that he wasn’t surprised by his students’ audacity.

Dr. Jones told The Washington Post in 1999 that he had been “training them for four years” to stand up for their rights. “We taught them to become dissatisfied with mediocrity, with hand-me-downs,” he said.

Though he lost his job, it wasn’t a total loss. It started the spark which set the fire that is

Former NSU ProFeSSor made HiStorical mark iN civil rigHtS era

By Lerone Grahammanaging editor

See Jones Page 3

FirSt claSS BUildiNg Named For FirSt Female PreSideNt

By Jaedda Armstrongeditor-in-Chief

thomas Wilson / The Spartan EchoMarie V. McDemmond Center for Applied Research is named after NSU’s first female President and first woman to serve as the chief executive officer of a four-year, state supported university in Virginia.

NOWCHECK USYOU CAN

ON THE WEBWWW.SPARTANECHO.COM

”“a casual observer of the atmosphere on nSu’s campus would be right to assume that the impacts of Jones’ contributions are still felt.

Photo illustration Bryon Summers /Spartan Echo

“I didn’t know who he was until after he died. It should be more known that someone who taught here has done so much.”

Megan Bailey

The voice of the Spartan community

02.27.08

Submit all letters and suggestions to: Spartan Echo, Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Va. 23504Newsroom: (757) 823-8562Email: spartanecho@nsu.edu

The voice of the Spartan community

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Behold the green and gold! As a freshman, you

immediatly learn the Norfolk State University school motto. The theme behind any school motto is to promote camaraderies, unity, and school spirit amongst students, faculty, staff, and alumni. But as the semesters move along, it seems as if school spirit is escaping the masses.

While NSU offers a plethora of educational forums and opportunities for its students, student participation is purely staggering. The number of flyers that are approved in Office of Student Activities or Office of Residential Life and Housing compared to the number of students that actually attend the program is baffling. Sororities and fraternities seem to have the largest turnout in people attending programs, but what about other organizations? Why do events have to promote some related topic on sex or racism for students to attend?

Colleges should be a balance of social and educational events,

but are we more concerned with going to the block party behind Gills Gym than a forum on graduate schools? Or a seminar on available scholarships for students? Something else to think about, do we essentially care about the governorship of our school? Last semester, the faculty and staff outnumbered students attending the General Assembly meeting in Brown Theatre, yet students complained about the cafeteria, parking, residence hall issues and so forth, but the majority did not attend the meeting. The Student Government Association was terrific in conveying our issues to the administration, but how about individuals’ responsibility of having a voice. With students having to compete for financial aid, and tuition rates going up annually, we should be rising, we should be participating and be knowledgeable in the strategies of the administration.

At Morgan State University in Baltimore, an article was published in their yearbook about a protest given by their students when the state of Maryland cut their funding for

a new library to be built on their campus. Their president cancelled classes, and students staged sit-ins and marched around the statehouse in protest.

At Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., the Black Students’ Association sponsored an anti-racism campaign when a surge of hate mail was sent to their black students and a student’s car was vandalized with racist slur. The campaign drew nearly all of the students and some professors to start a petition for a new dean of Multicultural Affairs and increased staff diversity.

In institutions where we are taught about prominent blacks such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, or Mary McLeod Bethune, why are we not taking a stand? Is this a dream deferred where the people who have sacrificed for us to be educated are no longer truly appreciated? Are we a generation more concerned with the latest fashion or music video than their own political voice or intellectualism? Go figure.

The Welfare of Spartan PrideBy Joshua J. Houston

Copy editor

The voice of the Spartan community

02.27.08 NSU HiStory 3

To some it’s just a stadium that Norfolk State University’s football calls home during the regular season. For others, it’s a place they come to and watch the Spartans take on some of the best teams in the MEAC.

The stadium is called Dick Price, but many people don’t know how that name came about.

The stadium was named after former NSU football coach William “Dick” Price. Price claims the record for the most wins as a head coach in NSU history. He coached from 1974-1983 and compiled a record of 61-42-4 over 10 seasons. His teams finished .500 or better in eight of his 10 years at the helm of the program. To this day, 53 of his former players went into the ranks of professional football.

Besides coaching football, he also coached the men’s track team to the NCAA Division II national championships in 1973 and 1974. He was also named the NCAA Division II Track Coach of the Year. In 1975, he was the first recipient of the Virginia Beach Sports Club’s “Director’s Award”, an honor only given to a sports personality in the Hampton Roads area who demonstrates integrity and a profound character. He was named “Sports Figure of the

Decade” and was honored by the Virginian-Pilot sports writing staff in 1979.

In 1989, Price became the athletic director of NSU. In that same year he was his NCAA Division II colleagues deemed him CIAA Athletic Director of the Year. In 1997, he was an

Inaugural Inductee of the Hampton Roads African-American Sports Hall of Fame and was named Sportsman of the Year of the Norfolk Sports Club. In 2001, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Two years later, he was inducted into the Norfolk State University’s Athletics Foundation Sports Hall of Fame.

The stadium itself was built in 1997. It has a seating capacity of 30,000

and it is recognized as one of the largest sports and entertainment venues in Hampton Roads. It is also one of the largest Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) football stadiums in terms of capacity. The stadium was constructed at a cost of $12.2 million. The stadium has a brick façade, a natural grass surface, an all-weather eight-lane rubberized track, a two-story press box and concession arenas located throughout the stadium’s ground level.

William Barnville, a member of NSU’s Spartan Legion marching band, said he loves the feeling that rushes through him when he marches in the stadium.

“When you’re on the field, you feel as if the world is yours and that’s a feeling you can’t take away,” he said.

In 2003, Viacom Outdoor Sports Marketing constructed a $400,000 Opto Tect LED video display board at the east end of the stadium to shoe crowd and field actions shots, pre-recorded messages, and live satellite feeds for Norfolk State’s televised games.

The first contest played in Dick Price Stadium drew a record 34,000 fans, as Norfolk State played Virginia State in 1997 at the annual Labor Day Classic.

Out of all of the buildings on Norfolk State University’s campus, the Bozeman Education Building is perhaps the most overlooked building on campus; even though it is passed by students’ everyday as they walk pass the Student Union Building. Being one of the smaller buildings on campus, the Bozeman building is usually off the radar for students who aren’t studying education. However, its history, and the man that the building is named after, should not be ignored.

The Bozeman building, fully constructed in 1963, was named after Herman Hollis Bozeman. He was born on July 8, 1914 in Benson, Ala. Bozeman received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Union University and his master’s and doctorate degree in education from the University of Michigan.

Bozeman continued to build his reputation in the nation for his contributions to education. Bozeman worked in many Virginia school systems before becoming chairman of the Division of Teacher Education at the Norfolk division of Virginia State College in 1958.

Under Bozeman’s direction, the school made great progress. NSU, then Norfolk State College, gained national recognition when a cooperative teacher education program was formed called the New Canaan Project. This project was created to research common teaching problems at cultural levels. From this study it was concluded that it is easier to advance towards affluence, rather than to scale down to poverty.

“Wow. If it wasn’t for his accomplishments here, I probably wouldn’t be at NSU studying education,” said Carlia Branch, a sophomore at NSU.

Bozeman was described as a strong leader who cared for his students, as well as his wife and two children.

Brown vs. Board of Education, the lawsuit that led to the desegregation of schools.

A casual observer of the atmosphere on NSU’s campus can see the impact of Jones’ legacy. Though it is a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), it is not uncommon to see students and faculty of all ethnicities perusing the campus. This atmosphere shows that blacks now attend HBCU’s by choice, not just because they aren’t allowed to attend the same school as whites.

“I think that there should have been a memorial for him after he passed. He definitely should have been honored,” said Elisa Sylver, a sophomore at NSU.

During his tenure at NSU, Jones taught math, and eventually ended up leading the department. Faculty that Jones encountered also spoke highly of him.

Sandra DeLoatch, dean of the School of Science and Technology told The Virginian-Pilot that Jones was a “wonderful mentor.”

“He hired me as a young inexperienced college graduate, He took a chance on me,” DeLoatch said.

“We’re going to miss him

terribly.”Megan Bailey, a junior at

NSU feels that more students should be aware of his contributions.

“I didn’t know who he was until after he died. It should be more known that someone who taught here has done so much,” Bailey said.

Jones is also remembered by his fellow members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

“Dr. M. Boyd Jones was a counselor, mentor, fraternity brother, co-worker, and friend to me. His teaching and leadership provided guidance and direction to all who knew him,” said Charles Pleasants, a member of the fraternity and NSU retiree.

Though he may not be mentioned in textbooks as a well-known civil rights activist, those that remember Jones acknowledge him as a man of high importance.

JonesFrom page 1

thomas Wilson / The Spartan EchoThe first contest played in Dick Price Stadium drew a record 34,000 fans, as Norfolk State played Virginia State.

StadiUm Named For Former record BreakiNg NSU coacH

By Marques GilliamSpartan echo

iNFlUeNtial leader Paved tHe Way For NSU’S edUcatioN dePartmeNt

By Johnathan CopelandSpartan echo

thomas Wilson / The Spartan EchoThe Bozeman building, fully constructed in 1963, was named after Herman Hollis Bozeman.

“When you’re on the field, you feel as if the world is yours and that’s a feeling you can’t take away.”

William Barnville

Former NSU professor m. Boyd Jones, passed away in January of a cardio-vascular disease. He was 98.

The voice of the Spartan community

02.27.08NSU HiStory4

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Norfolk: 624-9224Virginia Beach: 473-8116

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Harrison B. Wilson’s major purpose as an educator was based upon a unique American vision, “To take students where they are and show them what they can be.”

Wilson became the second president of Norfolk State University in July of 1975. Pleased with a legacy that helped the school evolve into one of the largest historically black universities in Virginia, Wilson has had a number of accomplishments. During his 22-year tenure, he led the school to university status, expanded enrollment, and added 12 new buildings on the campus including a

performing arts center, five dormitories, and an administration building that would bear his name.

The budget and program offerings of NSU expanded as well, elevating its standing among the state’s list of colleges and universities. This is the tradition in which Wilson has dedicated his life.

Wilson was born in Amsterdam, N.Y. and he was the son of a housewife and a brick layer. He moved South after leaving the Navy in 1946 to attend Kentucky State University. After leaving Kentucky, he attended graduate school at Indiana University. He was later hired as a basketball coach at Jackson State University.

Wilson earned his master’s and doctorate degrees at Indiana University. Wilson was voted “Male Most Likely to Succeed” by his senior class at Kentucky State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Wilson was a successful college professor, administrator and coach at Jackson State University.

In 1984, the Harrison B. Wilson Hall which now serves as the university’s administration building was completed. This hall now houses all the administrative functions of the university, including human resources, Office of Admissions, Office of Student Affairs, and Office of the President.

Joseph Echols Memorial Hall is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Norfolk, Va. built in 1982. It is best known as the heart of Norfolk State University’s Spartan basketball team, primary athletics facility, and the home for the school’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps since the first day it opened. It is the second largest arena in capacity among Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams.

The Englewood N.J, native Joseph G. Echols was always a multi-sport standout at both St.Cecelia High School and Virginia State University. Before he began to teach, he had a professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles.

After pursuing his career on the field, Echols served in the Air Force, where he ranked First Lieutenant.

In 1955, Echols was employed as head of the physical education department, head football coach, and director of athletics, an instructor to the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College and Norfolk State University.

In 1960, the college began to offer the bachelor’s degree in physical education which allowed students to pursue careers in this field. It was Echols who led varsity sports in baseball, track and field, wrestling, swimming, tennis and golf.

Ronda Berard, NSU women’s track coach never met Joseph Echols, but she knew his vision.

“Echols wanted a multi-purpose gym where men and women can play games and classes are taught. His vision is now a reality.”

Echols initiated the field work program with the Norfolk Recreation Bureau for Physical Education and Recreation majors. He initiated the baseball movement, and became the first baseball head coach at NSU. Echols served as a chairman of the CIAA Baseball Coaches and Official Committees and as commissioner of officials for the Hampton Roads Board of Officials.

He worked in the development of such athletics programs such as Norfolk State Relays and the Norfolk State Holiday Basketball

Tournament. As a member of the board of directors of the Norfolk Sports Club, he was chairman of the Track and Field Committee. He served variously in the National Football League as talent scouts, observer of officials, and consultant. He also went on a six week tour in Africa as clinician and referee of basketball for the State Department.

In April 1975, he was elected president of the International Association of approved Basketball Officials and became a member of the board of directors and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Echols accomplished tremendous activities towards physical education.

He dedicated his life more than 20 years to the advancement of athletics, health and physical education at NSU.

thomas Wilson / The Spartan EchoJoseph Echols held various positions in the Athletics Department at NSU.

gym Named aFter FirSt NSU BaSketBall coacH

By Jessica S. Mitchellentertainment editor

admiN BUildiNg BearS Name oF NSU’S SecoNd PreSideNt By Sheriese Wilkins

Spartan echothomas Wilson / The

Spartan EchoWilson helped in making Norfolk State University one of the largest historically black colleges in Virginia.

The voice of the Spartan community

02.27.08 NSU HiStory 5

Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) have been around since the beginning of the twentieth century, and

students, faculty and alumni continue to believe there’s a place for them on college campuses and in the community.

Justine Green, a senior journalism major and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., believes that BGLOs are important to history.

“BGLOs are important to history and NSU’s history because they were founded at a time when blacks were not considered people. They were founded in the midst of segregation,” says Green. “It’s not about the organization; it is about the founders and what they wanted for people and the black community.”

The Divine Nine -- fraternities and sororities that are part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council -- include the following:

Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. (1906); Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. (1908); Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (1911); Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc (1911); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (1913); Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (1914); Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.(1920); Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (1922); and Iota Phi Theta

Fraternity, Inc. (1963) are united along with complete the council.

Five of the nine Black Greek Letter Organizations were founded at Howard University.

Alpha Phi Alpha was founded on the campus of Cornell University, Kappa Alpha Psi was founded at Indiana University, Sigma Gamma Rho was founded at Butler University, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Morgan State University.

On May 10, 1930, on the campus of Howard University, the National Pan-Hellenic Council

was formed as a permanent organization with the following charter members: Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternities, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta sororities.

In 1931, Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma fraternities joined the council. Sigma Gamma Rho

Sorority, Inc. joined in 1937

and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity completed the list of member organizations in 1997.

These organizations were founded by black men and women who were college educated and overcame adversity in the era and places that they were all founded.

In 1961, Lyman Beecher Brooks, the president of the university at the time, invited “The Great Eight”, (Iota Phi Theta was not founded at the time), to become an element of Norfolk State University’s student life.

In 1962, “The Great Eight” were all chartered at NSU.

Iota Phi Theta was chartered at Norfolk State College in 1968 to make them the fourth chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated in the world.

Since these fraternities and sororities were chartered at Norfolk State, they have been uplifting the purpose and the foundation of why their founding members started their respected organizations.

Odunayo Oluwole, a sophomore journalism major and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, believes that groups are important history.

The group is “important to history because many contributions that were made in the African-American community were done by Greeks, not just by anyone.”

The Divine Nine’s purpose is to uplift the black community and to be of service.

Markeith Royster, a NSU alum and a member of Iota Phi Theta, said community involvement is important.

“When I attended NSU, Iota Phi Theta held a talent showcase to show people that Norfolk State isn’t just a party school, that NSU has real talent,” said Royster. “We also had a petition and took 35 students on a bus to Washington D.C. for a march against AIDS. We conducted evening services on campus every third Sunday with a guest preacher called the Spiritual Empowerment Service.”

Jamaal Ali Richardson, a NSU alum and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha says the organizations have made a difference on campus.

The emergence of UniTyBy Jasmine McKeiver

news editor

Photos by thomas WilsonThe Spartan Echo

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Norfolk State University’s L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center was named after Virginia’s first black governor, Lawrence Wilder.

The center seats 1,800 people and hosts events such as conferences, theatrical productions, forums, and lectures.

Upon entering the center, guests are greeted with a large staircase and spiral chandelier before entering the large atrium with balcony seating. There are conference rooms and offices for gatherings and discussions.

Lawrence Douglas Wilder was named after abolitionist Frederick Douglas and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. Born on January 17, 1931 in Richmond, Va., Wilder contributed to many of Virginia’s historical achievements.

These include winning the Bronze Star while serving in the Army during the Korean War and obtaining a degree in

chemistry from Virginia Union University. After obtaining a law degree from Howard University and passing the bar exam, Wilder started his own law firm.

Later, he entered the world

of politics and became the first black state senator in Virginia since the Reconstruction period. He spent 10 years in the General Assembly before being elected to lieutenant governor in 1985. Five years later, Wilder became Virginia’s sixty-sixth governor, and the first black governor in history. He was known to be great at balancing the state budget.

The L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center cost more than $9 million to build and finally opened in 1996.

In addition to Norfolk State, Wilder has buildings named in his honor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Union University, and Hampton University. In 2005, he began serving as the first directly elected mayor of Richmond, Va. where he remains today.

Joyce Coker, general manager of the Douglas Wilder Center, remembers when Wilder visited the campus years back.

“Mr. Wilder came for the dedication of the building and he was impressed. He commented on the cleanliness of the building.”

Well-known Wilder center Named for First Black governor of virginia

By Dóréal Quarles Spartan echo

thomas Wilson / The Spartan Echo

The L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center cost more than $9 million to build and finally opened in 1996.