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September 7, 2000
The Nubian'Message was startedby a group of students who knewwhat sacrifice was all about. Thefirst editor in chief Tony Williamsonlaid papers out in his dorm room.After that, he had to drive toDurham to deliver it to the printers.Back then, there was no funding,these students had to find themoney on their own. Donationsfrom students, faculty and staff keptthe paper alive.The point is, I think about the
sacrifices made by those who start—ed this paper. I know that withoutthem, they might not be a “NubianMessage.” Just as this paper had itsforbearers, so do all of us as AfricanAmerican students. Many peopledied for the right to get a collegeeducation. I askyou not to squanderthis blessed opportunity. Make themost of it, get involved and mostimportantly, get your books. Try tobuild every day on the awesomelegacy your ancestors have built foryou.The opportunites are endless!
B Nadira A. Mathlin &Natalie E. Dugg‘ins ‘
Contributing Writers
At the end of last year, the studentbody elected three African—Americans to hold the three highest—ranking positions in StudentGovernment. Harold B.Pettigrew, Jr. was electedStudent Body President,Conen Morgan was elect—ed Student SenatePresident, while MichaelAnthony was electedStudent Body Treasurer.Each of these positions .serve as the coreStudent Government.While elections are over, ‘2?the work is just beginningfor these three newlyelected StudentGovernment officials.
Last year, Pettigrew defeatedincumbent Raj Mirchandani tobecome the university’s thirdAfrican—American Student BodyPresident. With only two weeksgone by into the school year,Pettigrew is already looking forways to make Student Governmentappeal to the entire student body."My first and foremost thoughts
Nacoste named as Vice Provost ofDiversity and
African American. Affairs
by Shawn BarnesNews Editor
On September 1 Dr. RupertNacoste became Vice Provost ofDiversity and African AmericanAffairs. Dr. Nacoste is a trainedexperimental social psychologist 'with an outstanding resume thatincludes undergraduate studies at theUniversity of Florida, graduate workat UNC—CH, teaching at Auburn,thirteen years at State as aPsychology professor, and outstand—ing research on the impact ofAffirmative Action programs onminorities. Of his research Dr.Nacoste says, "My objective was totry to understand how and underwhat conditions Affirmative Actionmay have psychological affects.[My findings show] what affectspeople when it comes to AffirmativeAction is the way it’s done."When considered by a search
committee, which included JoanneWoodard among other faulty mem-bers, an outstanding resume madeNacoste a strong candidate for theVice Provost position. "Nacoste fits
are to let students know that StudentGovernment is a resource. Wewould like to hear the students’thoughts and concerns", saysPettigrew.While‘Student Government has
been looked down upon in the past,he would like to change its’ image.Pettigrew knows that many studentsdo not realize the opportunities that
Anthony (1), Morgan, and Pettigrew during last spring’s debate.
Student Government holds andwould like that to change. Thissummer, Pettigrew attended severalfreshmen orientations to recruit newstudents to join StudentGovernment. Also, last Tuesday, thePettigrew administration heldStudent Government Night in theCampus Cinema to enlist new mem-
the bill, as a scholar and researcher.Nacoste has an effective voiceamong colleagues and is recognizedby the outside world," explainsNCSU Provost Kermit Hall.
"In many ways we have a diversecampus. We need to make sense ofthe diversity we have. We are anurban society. The underlying ques—tion is how to create a more sophisti—cated cosmopolitan community,"says Provost Hall.
The Vice Provost position isdesigned to "create a diverse andinclusive community. " Dr. Nacosteasserts, "My intention is to raise theroof by increasing activities wherepeople can talk about diversity.Increase discussion will increaseawareness. It would be irresponsiblefor students to spend four years [inthe University] and not engage indialogue about diversity. "
The new Vice Provost is con-cerned not only with increasing thequantity, retention rate and gradua—tion rate of African American stu-dents. Dr. Nacoste considers himselfa link for all underrepresented stu—dents, such as women in
bership.Following Pettigrew’s trend of
changing the way the Student Bodylooks at Student Government,Morgan is hoping to increase Senatesize and productivity. After only oneyear at NCSU, Morgan'ran and easi—ly defeated Jason Cotter in the racefor the Senate presidency.
Morgan, Pettigrew and Anthony., are workingogether to
r i n g
_ Government'on the same
September5—17 for the
courtesty ofC. Morgan GOVCI‘nantretreat. This'will be the
first time that the Executive, Senate,Judicial and the Office of theTreasurer will come together forleadership development.
"[I want] to bring us together asone functioning organization—I wantto make Student Government thenumber one resource for studentorganizations," said Anthony.W
Nfiflgkt Stats fricanAme-rican communt
Volume 8 Issue 1
A. Banwo/NubianNacoste meets with concerned students during last week’s SAAC meet-mg.Engineering, and challenges studentsto "put [his] feet to the fire".
Nacoste explains, "Studentsshould not assume this office [ViceProvost] can do everything on itson." Nacoste, who recently attendedthe first meeting of the Society ofAfrikan American Culture this pastThursday, is calling forstudentinvolvement.
Nacoste anticipates that the mostchallenging aspect of his new pos—tion will be to get people to under—stand diversity at the core of theUniversity.
Nacoste notes, "New knowledgecomes from the clash of ideas.Every University is built on thatclaim, bring together different expe-riences and watch the fireworks."
Library caters to NCSU'S African and
African American interests
mmStaff Writer
Students who wish to study andcheck out books should know thatthe African-American CulturalCenter Library is another resourcebesides DH. Hill Library.
The library is open from 9 am.to 9 pm. Monday-Thursday; 9 am.to 5 pm. on Friday; and 1 pm. to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday. It islocated on the second floor of theWitherspoon Student Center.
The Cultural Center Libraryopened in 1991 and has an extensivecollection of educational resourcesby and about Africans and AfricanAmericans. The library has 3,600books and more than 100 videocas-sette titles. In addition, the computerworkstation provides access to NC.State Libraries’ on-line catalog andto 328 electronic databases.
The main focus of the library isthat it supports the African-American Culture Center's goal ofincreasing the awareness of Africanpresence to N.C. State students, fac—ulty, staff, and community. Studentsfrom nearby universities such as
NC. Central, Shaw University, andSt. Augustine College come to thelibrary as well.
"The library is importantbecause students and faculty cancome to learn more about Africansand African Americans. It (thelibrary) also supports the multi-dis-ciplinary classes," said SandraDunn, the part-time librarian. "Ithink we have a very good researchcollection to serve the undergradu-ate and graduate students' needs."
Dr. Iyailu Moses, director ofthe Cultural Center, added, "It'simportant to have a collection suchas this in one specific place. Thelibrary also gives a sense of whatthe cultural center is all about."
Two part-time graduate stu-dents and 16 work-study studentsare in the process of being hired tohelp Dunn.
Besides academic materials.the library offers leisure materialssuch as magazines, newspapers, andfiction books.
see Library, page 2
NC State Has New Diversity Coordinatorby Kelise Taylor
staff writer
As the new diversity affairs coordinator, Eureka Daye is mostcertainly living up to her newly-bestowed title, she is an extra-ordinarily "diverse" individual. The California native and for-mer mental-health practitioner for Nebraska's minority popula—tion, Daye has a family background of multifarious ethnicgroups, with a few being Iranian, Afghanistan, and Peruvian.On top of having a richly-diversified family, Daye has also trav-eled and lived in a wide variety of places, including Japan,Germany, and Alaska. With NC State‘s growing minority popu—lation, coupled with its' diversity, it is no wonder NC Statebecame Daye‘s next "home away from home".
"There is a feeling of community here," says Daye. "Ifeel that students of all races, ethnic groups, and backgroundscan be a part of some organization or club here on campus."Daye continues expounding on this statement by mentioningthat the gay and lesbian population is still on an uphill climb asfar as their gaining full respect and acceptance from students isconcerned. Daye feels that NC State presents all groups withopportunities and privileges to express themselves and to maketheir presence known and felt on campus.
While this university has an enormous amount of positiveattributes in its diversity realm, one problem area, however, isthat it "does not have a common, well-articulated message aboutits diversity stance,” asserts Daye. "It is very important that theuniversity come up with a common and clear definition on
where it stands." Daye acknowledges that the average person, ifasked, could not clearly define or explain where NC Statestands on the diversity issue. "This university," says Daye, "isstill at the beginning stages of creating that common definition."Daye goes on to say that she can feel the energy level growingin the diversity aspect, and that in order to keep this energy for-ever vigilant, the students must be reached in a very special way."Students are the energy behind diversity on campus,“ affirmsDaye, "and without them, NC State will be going nowhere, fast."
Daye is doing her part to make an impact on the stu~dents by holding a program this coming October. The programwill focus on bridging the diversity gap on campus and takingsteps to ensure the inclusion of all students. "I want the studentshere to know that difference does matter and that our differencesas individuals are important," continues Daye. She goes on tosay that the real world "is made up of all types of people,“ andthat if the students are to be successful in life, they must learnhow to first be respectful of diversity.
Daye, who has adopted an open-door policy in order to be"easily accessible to the students," is poised, confident, andenergetic about her new position and responsibilities. She hopesto start a rippling effect, in the diversity realm, that will be feltfor years to come at NC State. She, too, hopes that this energywill spread deep into the hearts of the students, because they arethe ultimate deciders as to the fate of the growth in diversity atNC State. '
YOUR AID!
CALLCASPER \\ CJII JOHNSON
AT515—1468
Library continuedfrom front page
"We try to acquire the latest popular fiction and best sellersfor leisure reading. We have a nice collection to offer," Dunnsaid.
Dunn thinks that people are attracted to the librarybecause of the wide selection of reading and because it islocated in one room. Students who come to the library can alsovisit the art gallery, which contains paintings by African—Americans from around the world.
Dunn said that the library has come a long way since itfirst opened.
"There was very little here when it first opened. Nowwe're adding 200 to 300 books and videos a year," she said.
Within the past three years, more than 1200 book titleshave been added to the shelf.
Dunn has visited other schools and their African-American libraries or African-American collections. She saidthat their collections or libraries was "nothing compared toours." Someone from East Carolina University has already vis-ited her and took notes that will help with planning if the uni-versity decides to build an African-American Cultural Centerlibrary.
But, there are some concerns that Dunn has concerningthe library. .
Last year, Dunn said that 1,832 people visited the libraryduring both semesters. She said that the number of patron usehas increased since she started in 1995, but she hopes thatmore students and faculty will take advantage of the library.
"The usage, while it has increased every year, can certain—ly be improved. But people are becoming more aware of ourpresence," she said.
Another concern has to do with staffing. She is the onlylibrarian, but she only works there 20 hours a week. Shespends the other 20 hours at DH. Hill Library. Therefore, a bigportion of the hours fall on work-study students. She said thatthey are not always the best reliable source since their sched—ules are changing and naturally, they need to put their acade—mics first. ,
Moses also agrees with Dunn concerning staffing short-ages.
"It is critical in our operation that we have a full-timelibrarian and graduate students to supervise our work-studystudents. We have never had a full—time librarian, and we wentfour or five years without a librarian. Sometimes I had to stopwhat I was doing to be the librarian," said Moses.
But, Dunn is optimistic and looks forward to a newschool year.
"We're in pretty good shape," she said.
Wfrom front page
"We need one Student Government leading the university."Anthony, Student Body Treasurer, is the only Student Body
official that does not have a full staff working with him.However, he hopes that students will continue to look to usehim as a resource. Anthony will chair this year’s Fee ReviewCommittee, which will access the current usage of student feesand determine if an increase is necessary."Who are [the students] paying and why are [the students]
paying it-Student Government should be able to answer that,"Anthony said.
Additionally, all three officers Will be working to unite thecampus by establishing liaisons with campus organizationslike the Student Media Authority, the Union Activities Boardand Inter-Residence Council. Pettigrew, Morgan and Anthonyhave targeted the Higher Education Bond Referendum as theirprimary focus for the coming year. Efforts are already under-going within Student Government to register student votersand encourage support for the bond.
By Keesha DoverSports Editor
It is probably known by most peo-ple by now that former CarolinaPanther V and newly tradedIndianapolis Colt Fred Lane wasfound shot to death in his home inearly July. Who would have donesomething like this and why wouldthey do it? ‘
Shortly after the Lane was foundin his home in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, his wife, Deidra Lane, wasquestioned by authorities. It waslater discovered that Lane wasindeed shot by his wife. And wehave here another case of domesticviolence in the world of AfrikanAmerican athletes. Ray Carruth andhis involvement with the shootingdeath of his pregnant girlfriend camefirst, and then Fred Lane is shot
when his daughter is just 7 days old.You see any connection there?Obviously, Carruth didn't want any—thing to do with another child, andLane allegedly denied the fact thatthe newborn baby girl was his.Lane was no angel but I am sure '
that we can all agree on the fact thathe didn't deserve to die whether hewas the greatest husband in theWorld or not. There were some pastinstances where Lane had some run-
~ ins with the law himself. In fact, justthat week, he had been indicted onmisdemeanor drug charges. Nope,Lane was no angel. So we look atprofessional athletes like him andthink-what a waste. He could havebeen another positive role model inthe lives of young African Americanmales who need a male figure tolook up to. He could have been afather whose son could have one day
Tony Dungy: A
‘ Man on a MissionB Alexander S.ThompsonStaff Writer
Tony Dungy was born onOctober 6, 1955, in Jackson,Michigan. Anthony Kevin Dungy'sfootball career began when heattended Parkside High School inJackson, Mich.. He went on tobecome a star player at theUniversity of Minnesota. As,Quarterback with the University ofMinnesota (1973-76), Dungy playedin the Hula Bowl, the East-WestShrine Game and the Japan Bowl.He finished his college career as theGophers' all-time leader in attempts,completions, passing yards andtouchdown passes and finished infourth place in Big Ten history intotal offense. Dungy was named asthe team's most valuable playertwice.
After leaving the University ofMinnesota, Dungy signed with thePittsburgh Steelers as a free agent inMay of 1977 and was convertedfrom Quarterback to Wide Receiver[0 Safety. At the time there were notmany African American quarter-backs in the NFL and it was thoughby many that these quarterbacksweren’t "smart enough". In trainingcamp, Dungy impressed the Steelersstaff enough to become the first freeagent to make the team's final rosterin two years. In his two years withthe Steelers, Dungy had nine inter-
ceptions in 30 games, (second in the .AFC with 6 in 1978), and played inSuper Bowl XIII when the Steelersdefeated the Cowboys 35-31. Dungyhas the unusual distinction of mak-ing and throwing an interception inthe same game (1977 versusHouston). He was traded to the49ers in ‘79 and to the Giants in ’80.
In ’80, he returned to theUniversity of Minn. to become adefensive backs coach. In 1981,Dungy became the NFL's youngestcoach at 25 when he was hired bythe Steelers as an Assistant Coachunder head coach Chuck Noll. Hehad‘already won a SuperBowl as aplayer, his new mission was to win aSuperBowl as a coach. In 1989,Dungy became the Defensive Backscoach for the Kansas City Chiefs,where he spent three years beforereturning to Minnesota to coach theVikings. In Minnesota, Dungyhelped the Vikings' defense lead theNFL with 95. interceptions in hisfour years as Defensive Coordinator.On January 22, 1996, his life
made a change for the better, thecity of Tampa welcomed TonyDungy as the Buccaneers sixth headcoach as he was signed to a six yearcontract. The Bucs lost the first fivegames under Coach Dungy. "As acoaching staff, we never hit thepanic button,” Dungy said. "We kepttelling our guys that we were closeto winning some games and that our
PURE TALENT,
FATALFLAW
taken to school for career day orshow and tenor something like that.A father whose daughter would havebeen so proud of when she invitedher friends home for parties or sleep-overs. Instead, it's yet another onegone.We seem to put most of our focus
on the headline in the newspaper thatsays, "Black teenager killed in adrug deal gone bad." Never do wegive too much thought to the mil-lionaire athletes who are killedbecause maybe they didn't haveproper guidance after they made itbig. Maybe they didn't have anyoneto lead him or her in the right direc-tion with their money. They go outand purchase 5 million—dollar insur-ance policies as Fred Lane did justbecause they can. Did this man notset himself up to be killed? Who inthe world wants to be-worth 5 mil-lion dollars anyway? So ok, if youwant your children to benefit fromyour fortune, put accounts in theirnames. Take out savings bonds forthem. I assure you, there are otherways to go about dealing with thesituation- But don't make yourselfworth 5 million dollars.So anyway, to get back on track,
now we have two children. One ofthem is 5 years old--old enough toknow his mother and father. He willfor sure never see one of them again,and depending on how this thingturns out, he might not see the otherone. The daughter, who was at thetime 7 days old, never got a chanceto'know her mother or her fatherbecause of "a family gone bad."
So now where do we go with thefamily life? Do we send the childrento be raised by their grandparentslike so many children are, and leaveone of them with the pain and agonyof having to remember what hap-pened to his father and possibly hisfather? Do we leave the other childwith only stories and pictures of herparents? Or do we take them awayand throw them into the system,leaving one child with only vaguememories but not clarification, andleaving the other child to only imag-ine? What do we do? And then weask ourselves the question, "Did thishave to happen to these children?"No, it didn't have to happen. And ifwe as a people don‘t start putting ourfamily life, especially our children,in front of fame and fortune, this isgoing to happen to so many more
children.And now that these kids get a
chance to see one parent murderedand the other go to jail, if the psy-chologists and sociologists are right,then we have a few more kids insociety who are going to be headcases because they didn't have the"proper" family life. I’m not saying Iagree with this ridiculous excuse fordelinquent kids. I'm just trying tosay this: Why make US the target inthe intelligent little professional'sstupid little conversations about sin—gle parent homes and children whodon‘t grow up with their parentsmost likely turning into delinquentswho are a menace to society and selldrugs and drop out of school and getpregnant. Why don‘t WE be a goodrepresentation of OUR people? Ifour athletes are going to be in thespotlight, why not do it right? I'mnot saying at all that Fred Lane is toblame for his own death. But whatwere the events that lead up to thistragic one? Is it something that this5 year—old boy will never forget?
Recently, a friend of mine calledme on the phone with much enthusi-asm about a CD she had just pur-chased. Previously, I had asked myfriend where I could get a hold ofErykah Badu's song, "Bag Lady,"and I thought my friend's enthusiasmand delight over the phone wasbecause she had pondered across myinquiry. However, she didn't careabout my inquiry and had no ideawhere to get Badu‘s "Bag Lady." Allmy friend kept saying was, "MC,you have to get Jill Scott's CD."Because all my ears screamed forwas Badu's latest hit, I could notshare my friends enthusiasm aboutthis artist she spoke of, nor could Iallow myself to let the slightestamount of curiosity enter my blood—stream to find out more about JillScott. I wanted Bag Lady.However, my friend would not letme rest until I brought this CD, andtold me that Jill Scott was better thanErykah Badu. Wait a minute?!!Better than Badu? How could thisbe? Now I was out on a mission.Breaking down, I finally decided togo out and purchase the CD.
Because of my "frugality" and of thefear I possessed from buying Nelly'salbum "Country Grammar" a weekprior to buying Jill Scott's, I washesitant to open the CD. But I reas—sured myself that I would not allowNelly to stop me from buying anoth-er CD in my lifetime. (Folks, Ifound out the hard way. Let this bea warning about Nelly's CD. Just tryto get the single). So with extremecaution, I opened the CD and beganto play "Who is Jill Scott? Wordsand Sounds Vol. 1." And I listened,and I listened, and I listened somemore. It wasn't until I looked downat my CD player and saw the deadbattery light blinking, only to realizethat I played her CD three timesstraight, repeating songs along theway I selected as my favorites.Nevertheless, I found namingfavorite tracks extremely hardbecause the entire CD was so. . .?Yes, that's it. Captivating. No, that'snot it. Peaceful. Yes, peaceful.How about "exotic?" Yeah, exotic.Wait, her CD was honest. Yeah,honest. ERRRRRRR! To describeher CD with one word would not befair in describing this poetic artist or
her talents. I can't find the rightword to sum up her whole CD.Maybe it is brilliance, but whateverthe word is, it should give muchprops to Jill Scott. 'To the ear, one may mistake Ms.Scott as an echo of Erykah Badu.But, no, no my dear friends. Scottreveals a more poetic and passionateside than Erykah Badu. No, I'm nottaking anything away from Badu,I'm just saying that these are twoseparate artists with different voicesand insight.Off of the new label, Hidden Beach,Scott, the Northern Philadelphiaborn singer/songwriter/poet, opensup her world of imagery, sounds,words, passion, love, tranquility,honesty, and ecstasy to the listener,and in return her world becomes thelisteners world. If you sit back andclose yours eyes, you can feel everyounce of what Jill Scott is feelingthrough her words. Feel that poeticvibe. That poetic aura.Jill Scott is no stranger to the musicbusiness, and she is definitely not astranger to success. She wrote fel-low Philadelphian’s, The Roots’,Grammy winning hit "You Got Me,‘ I
as well as starring on the "Wild,Wild West" soundtrack, WillSmith’s multiplatinum CD,"Willenium," the "In Too Deep"soundtrack, and rapper Common’sCD, "Like Water for Chocolate."The honesty in this CD is shown intracks such as "I Think It's Better",which talks about letting go of a pastlove to move on with a present love.(I think it's better that I tell younow/He's so sweet and good, good, Ican't let him go). Flowing in step isthe next song "He Loves Me (LyzelIn E Flat), which recognizes the lovefor her fiance, Lyzel. (You schoolme, give me some things to thinkabout, Invite me, you ignite me, co—write me, you love me). Poems suchas "Exclusively" and "Love Rain"present the seducing and erotic sideof Jill Scott. And songs such as"Slowly Surely" echo the pain ofwalking away from an unhealthyrelationship. Positivity and inspira—tion flow out of songs such as"Brotha" and "Try Me." Hold up! Ican’t forget to mention the song,"It’s Love," whicmmade my head nodto that go-go beagfe‘mphasized bythe drums and trumpet.
My friend bugged the heck out ofme to buy this CD, and I am so gladthat she did. Now I can relate towhy my friend was so ecstatic aboutJill Scott. I could totally feel andunderstand why this CD made herclose her eyes and took her to a dif—ferent world filled with memories,serenity, love, truth, pain over lovethat you know will fade, pain overlove that it is hard to let fade becauseof not wanting to lose memories of arelationship or that closeness, andhope. This CD takes R&B, hip-hop,and jazz to different levels. Iencourage all who love poetry,relaxation, peace of mind, and otheremotions that add to the personalpsyche to purchase Jill Scott’s CD. Ican’t let you borrow mine becausethat would be doing Ms. Scott agreat disservice. And may I also addthat the CD is also pretty. So, don’thesitate like I did when purchasingJill Scott’s CD. Go out and experi—ence the CD firsthand, so YOU cananswer the question "Who is JillScott?"
The African-Students Union looks to make a big impact atState this year, which was obvious by the way their
banner shined
Two staff members from K 97.5 chill out in front ofWitherspoon last week
Shenice Wright,a first year student
hangs with sophomoreLawrence
Thompson at K 97.5’sevent held last week.
Senior Jamilah Morris hangs with her home boyJunior Mike Tabran in front of the multi-purpose room. -M
Jarvis Abbott chills out after SAAC’s“first party of the year.”
aThe new Vice Provost, Dr. Rupert Nacoste attends last week’s Student Senate President ' NSociety of Afrikan American Culturemeeting in Witherspoon. Michael Anthony strikess
a pose in front of theStudent Government office
Page 6 Nubian Message September 2000
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By Brandon Buskey ’Staff columnist
The dawning of a new day.That’s how many African-Americans see the beginning of thisnew academic year... .the dawning ofa new day. With so many changesaround the university that affectblack people, it is easy why someare optimistic about our prospectsfor the upcoming year. For the firsttime in recent memory, our StudentBody President, Student SenatePresident, and Student BodyTreasurer are all African Americans.After the unexpected departure ofDr. Lathan Turner to East CarolinaUniversity, the office of AfricanAmerican Student Affairs hasbrought in the charismatic, compe-tent, and well respected Tracey Rayto give a welcomed new flair to theposition. The Provost’s office hasinaugurated two new positions, theVice Provost for Diversity andAfrican American Affairs and theDirector for Diversity Programs, inorder to address the daunting ques—tions associated with diversity and
howminority populations are toflourish in NC. State’s predomi-nantly white culture. Everywhereyou look, there is evidence that weare heading for something of arenaissance in terms of improvingthe African-American presence atNC. State and understanding what itmeans to be a diverse campus. But Iam not completely convinced thatthings are going to improve.
You see, last year, espe—cially during the elections, there wasconstant discourse among studentleaders about the discouraginglyhigh level of student apathy on cam—pus. No one seemed to care aboutwhat happened around the universi-ty, and they couldn’t have picked aworse time to drift into lethargy.When the battle to halt tuitionincreases reached its most criticalmoments, students felt the least 'empowered to make a positive influ-ence on the situation. Protests fal-tered, Wills crumbled, tuition rose,and most people remained content tohide behind the conviction that theywere powerless to do anything aboutit. But was this really the case?
The truth
about welfare ‘
B Brandi Livin stonstaff columnist
Throughout the past few years thewelfare system has come under fire.Many believe that welfare in itself isan institution that creates and main-tains poverty. We’ve all heardsomething about this debate in thepast year. However,iBlack peoplehave been lead to believe that theend of welfare will affect their com-munities the most.Government officials and media
reporters may not directly say "blackcommunities, the end of welfare
will hurt you the most" but they doslant the View of who is most greatlyaffected by welfare reform. Anexample would be when you watchthe evening news, and the anchorhas 'just finished discussing welfare,they almost always cut to a taping ofan impoverished black neighbor—hood to end the segment. Thiswould suggest that Black peoplehave the most to lose, right?
According to the U.SDepartment of Health and Human
services white people hold the great-est percentage of people on welfareat 38.8%. Americans have also hadthe idea that most people on welfareare not only black, but-they areteenagers withmultiple children.Only 7.6% of mothers on welfareare teenagers and 43.2% of themothers on welfare have only onechild. Given the statistics above,mainstream media has depicted wel-fare recipients to us incorrectly. It isup to each individual to decide why.Yet, this article is not meant to insultthe media or any group of people.Knowledge is power, and we havebeen presented with inaccurateinformation for a while now.Inaccurate information causes peo—ple to make inadequate decisions.This article is to simply even thescales.'
True, there probably wasn’t muchstudents could have done in the faceof a Chancellor set upon usingtuition increases to further a self—serving agenda, but that is very dif-ferent from saying that there wasnothing students could have done.The whole fiasco becomes even
more frustrating when I considerthat one of the most silent groupsduring the tuition increase debatewas probably the group with themost to lose. African Americanshave traditionally had some of thehighest levels of unmet financialneed at NC. State, and last year’stuition increase placed the academiccareers of many African Americansin treacherous predicaments. Youmay have noticed that some of yourfriends from last year aren’t hereanymore, and the tuition increasewas undoubtedly no small factor inbringing this about.
Yet, despite all that was at stake,we did not‘fight. Were we too busy?Did we just have too much home-work? There were probably a mil-lion different excuses as to why peo—ple chose not to involve themselves
Page 7 The Nubian Message September 7, 2000
‘ Put Up, or Shut Up 3.;
with the tuition battle, and some ofthem were probably quite admirable.In fact, if I wanted to be fair, I couldwaste a whole paragraph or two try-ing to justify why, when our effortswere most needed, we faded into thebackground. But, honestly, I’veceased concerning myself withexcuses. I’ve ceased concerningmyself with mentalities that lamentand harangue every social injusticeimaginable but leave the responsibil-ity of addressing the issues, of actu—ally putting forth an effort, to some—one else. I’ve ceased conCerningmyself with dispositions that shame-lessly posture about all the proactivethings they are going to accomplishand then do nothing else exceptcome up with reasons as to why theyare too busy to help see their owngoals to fruition.ceming myself with talk.Now you can see why I am not
convinced. Yes, our university hasfound some new officers to lead theAfrican American community intobattle next year, but, if we are tofight with the same sorry soldiers,we are doomed. African:Americans
I’ve ceased con—
havelaindor—
mant for far too long. and it is hightime we actually began takingresponsibility for what occurs at thisuniversity.longer be good enough. If, at theend of this year, we have not elevat-ed the status of the AfricanAmerican on campus and protectedour interests in the face of those whowould undermine them, it will beour fault. If, at the end of this year,we have not educated other racialand ethnic groups at NC. Stateabout the culture of AfricanAmericans and consciously soughtto learn more about the groups weseek to educate, it will be our fault.And, if at the end of this year wehave not brought legitimacy to theidea of campus diversity and begunthe process of creating a more toler-ant racial climate at NC. State, wewill have failed both this campusand ourselves.My friends, the future of this uni-
versity is ours, and it is time we didmore than talk about it.
"Too busy" will no
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B The Darkchildmystery staff columnist
2000 is almost over, and suddenlyeveryone is an intellectual. Which isnot necessarily a bad thing, but withall of this institutionalized intelli-gence floating around America thesedays, you would think that SOME-ONE could give a sister a clear defi-nition of what it is to be Black.Now, having suffered throughoutthose bittersweet middle school dayswhen "black WASN'T in," it tookme nearly all of my 21 years to final-1 yd i gthisskin;
GOD put me in. But everybody getspicked on in middle school so inmany ways, my experience isn'tunique. It can't define "Blackness."And yes. bell-bottoms and afrosmade there fashion comebacks, but
By Montitia Talm'.‘adge ,staff columnist
One afternoon, I. sat down andmade a list of the things that 1] wouid
these things are unique to HBCU’S
Every school is different and no twosituations are everalike and I had somuch to say that I decidfedto talkabout only the top ten. .
: 10.N0 "Club Milford"-At North Carolina .A&T we: got
our work done but. . .wehad‘a littiedifferent way of doing it! Very fewplaces you Could walk into thelibrary and see people chillin out instudy rooms and in the generalareas There are some NC State stuv
gossip.
Stxip"
hing upthg:
Mczzzuzaxr dualism:-
: Like This
miss the most about A&T. Some of V
and some are just unique to:'A&T,‘. ,
. know three placeWIIIIII’Ia bloc" o_, A&T to buy a genuine Coach-bag,will not divulge names places or:-
dents who haven’t been iii thelibrary duringtheirentire fouryears ja- 'here whereasWe went almost week»I’y to see just to find out the latest"
A&T was absolutely bean”:
‘ combinationswerebreathtak' ‘ ':QOIII MissA&T atthattime;
' Donyelle Shorte.if: '
9.No morehanging outon: "the? ':
New I know youare asking}
«wanna-(Wk «waif-an” ¢£:W<
gone were the terms nigger, negro,and afro-american (at least in polite,politically correct circles.) And afterthe smoke cleared from the "ebon—ics" bomb they dropped on us, wedecided to attach our identities to alandbase, a shared ancestry and her—itage, a cultural motherland. This,brothers and sisters, is how webecame African Americans! Butwhat about our blackness? Would itdisappear along with the label?
Suddenly, daishikis are hanging inour closets next to Tommy andRalph, African art is adorning our
walls right beside thatpicture of JESUS thatour grandmamas havehanging in the livingroom. Some sisterswith hair kinkier thanDennis Rodman con-
: tinue to faithfully sac—rifice those dollarsevery 4—6 weeks at Mr.Dudley‘s altar, I meanstyling salons, all inthe name of maintain-ing the Dark andLovely tresses.
Meanwhile, there's a whole othersection of divas dipping their headsin everything from Vinegar toVaseline, trying to achieve the ulti-mate lock. Are either one of thesegroups any less black when they
hear or around a BBC campu
phone numbers to protect theinncent You can get hats, shirts,body;-oi}, movies,photographs CD’s~aIl; f
' out of theback of thetruck oriii];. some one’57 trunk ’ ' :
7No more threevhour long};.gCoronationsfor:campusQueen ' 'Thelast coronation I :' ‘ttende:
Tim-.5.QMQL "4:1"*m.
walk in for an interview? Are theircomplexions less noticeable in aChanel suit or a Fubu tennis skirt?In other words, are Shanehneh andLequita more/less Black than Pamand Gina? I'm thinking that theanswer is no, so obviously what youwear and how you wear doesn'tdefine Blackness. Maybe it‘s theway we see ourselves.Now, let me take you way back
for a second. Remember that groupDigable Planets that had that onesong that the whole block wassinging, even your mama? Even ifyou can't remember the namebecause it was so long ago, you canremember the words, right? NOW,let those trumpets and smooth beatscarry you to the second verse wherethe female member starts free~styling . . . "I’m phat like that . . . I’mcool like that . . . I'm Black likethat." Hold up (wait a minute.)Wasn't that female about 3 shadeslighter than Jennifer Lopez? I'llnever forget a classmate asking mewhat that line of the song meantsince the rapper was about as blackas Molly Broad (you can insertBritney Spears here).How I wish that this particular
classmate would have made it hereat NC State so that she could havetaken Dr. Lawrence Clark's class onrace. I learned that "race" is little
array of Iitergifor the grenadecrew to
irito anywayats stupid
A m. mean—stuck
:ckat?
sheets of’paper end up on ”the:ground .I overcampusmaking a coiorfui ’ :
eieiairtip On Saturday mommgAndi“:at’8 just the haIf of it I havjeni’ t
. ,en taIked about the creepy guys j[who pass the cute little fIyers:..outTheysaythatthey are Irorri New: »
:Iabamaby wayofKentuckyby:‘wayof SouthwestIndianai They are.,.the::worstAndthe waytheyare:::select1ve of who they Wantto centre j:to the party that takes$2500 to get ' 373
No moregettingupat6am “I, I :'get dressedfor an8am(zines. ‘ :
wn-m n.. wk nut 9: ,Km.
more than a social category set inplace to explain biological differ—ences among peoples located in vari-ous geographical climates. Andsurely had she attended theSymposium session, "Who AM I",could have proved to her how thesedifferences made survival possible.Maybe after listening to some of ourAfrican American student leadersexplain the many organizations theyare involved in, whether its AASAC(African American Student AdvisoryCouncil) or SAAPAMS (Society ofAfrican American Physical andMathematical Sciences), my oldclassmate could understand that allthese political and social affiliationsare in vain if that leader does notunderstand the history behind theirexistence. True, Lauryn Hill wasmis-educated, and it won her fame,respect, and wealth beyond measure,but that was only because after she
as.
had AWAKENED from her long,dark rest. What is being Black allabout? For everyone, the answer isdifferent, but for the many AfricanAmericans that I posed this questionto, the answer inevitably came back:to the same place: that shared experi—ence. The "knowing" in the eyes thebrother you pass walking into thefinancial aid office as you walk out.The peace of a 20—minute lunch atthe Atrium just to see laughing,familiar faces, the way it feels towalk along NC State's campus.Reading this article in the Nubian,and knowing that it was written withyou in mind. The freedom to defineourselves should not be confined to alabel as loaded as "black" ; neithershould this right be squandered orundermined by others who do notshare or attempt to understand ourhistory or experiences. Think aboutIt.
Letsget ready torumbIeim
prizefightinga woman but; youhave. to see sortie of thefig tsthat wouldbreakout because of the ac}: ,0parkingatAng They are,howev ,fer,: but (i ga parkingffijgeck:accommodate the massofseminar;
Yes I reahze thatI have a man;
