Inside
ECSU women
meet the
challenge , r'
ofROTC
-Page 9
Jonathan
Jackson
speaks to ECSU -page 4
Tfie
Compass
Inside
With ECSU’s
own
-Pages 6, 7
WRVS:On
the Air
"Page 8
April 29,1988 Voi 49, No. 4. Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City , North Carolina Circulation — 3,500
I
ECSU candidates seek area political influence
By Lisa Gregory
I “ECSU can make a difference,”
said the Rev. Charles Foster, ECSU’s
i Director of the University Center.
1 “The University can be a powerful
I voice in the community.”
I Foster is one of three ECSU em-
I ployees who are running for offices in
! the May 3 election. Their candidacies
indicate the University’s growing in
volvement in local politics.
Foster is running for the N.C. House
of Representatives for District One,
i which includes Pasquotank County.
ECSU’s Hezekiah Cooper and Dr.
Robert “Bob” Thome are running for
the Pasquotank County Board of Edu
cation.
Cooper, acting Director of ECSU’s
Physical Plant, is running for re-elec
tion to the board. Thome, a veteran
English professor at ECSU, is a candi
date for the at-large seat.
“A professional educator should be
on the Board of Education,” said
Thome. “I have 23 years of classroom
experience, including secondary
school teaching. I have dedicated my
life to education.”
Cooper, who is seeking a second
term on the school board, said he is
running on “experience, dedication,
and responsibility.”
The Pasquotank County Board of
Education has three city seats, three
county seats and one at-large seat.
Cooper and Thome are not oppo
nents in the May 3rd elections, since
Cooper is running for the city seat and
Thome is running for the at-large
seat.
School Board elections are non-par
tisan. Winners of the May 3rd election
will run unopposed in the November
general election.
All three of ECSU’s candidates
have stressed their strong commit
ment to education-especiaUy to in
creasing the educational opportuni
ties available to area citizens. Both
Cooper and Thome support the estab
lishment of an alternative school in
Pasquotank County, and increased ef
forts to combat teenage pregnancies
and to alleviate the problem of stu
dent drop outs.
Rev. Foster has said he will serve
the district by increasing appropria
tions for education, as well as high
ways and other public projects.
All three candidates agree that
ECSU students and employees are an
important part of their campaigns.
“If students use their votes, they
could make a real difference in this
community,” said Foster. “In this
school year, there have been more
students registered to vote than in the
past ten years.”
“About 400 ECSU students have al
ready registered to vote,” said
Thome. “There are three ECSU em
ployees running. If we win, it will give
the University a bigger voice in the
community.”
Honors Day: Scholars
\given awards, praise
By Robin Sawyer
‘You are the best we have, our
lope for the future,” Walter R.
jmerville Jr. told a group of
ICSU students during the Honors
>ay Convocation Program, held
kpril 21 in Moore Hall Audito-
ium.
I “You are the pride of the com-
^unity,” Somerville told the
iidents.“But with every gift
tomes a responsibility. There are
free lunches. The gifts you
ive are to be used to be used to
lake life better for mankind.”
Somerville, the Chief Officer of
Svil Rights for the U.S. Coast
luard, was the featured speaker
[or the Honors Day Convocation
^'ogram. The event is held an-
lually to honor those students
/ho have excelled academically
fct ECSU during the year.
y Pointing out that 13.6% of the
\ American population lives below
I he poverty level, Somerville
»dded, “We have miles to go be-
jore we sleep. You cannot afford
JW just do your own thing. It’s
lime for you to step on stage and
^ccept the challenge. It’s time to
May for your lunch.”
i Somerville advised the stu
dents to “find a balance between
[iBnancial security and the better-
jfcent of humanity. We must look
fihead to what we can do to help
^thers.
“In you we see that the system
^orks. You have much to give,
TBnd you have all of us on the side-
[iine, rooting you on.”
B Following Somerville’s speech,
l^ards were presented to the stu
dents by Dr. Floyd Robininson,
||3iairman of the Honors Council,
and Dr. Carol Jones, Director of
the Honors Program. Michelle
Anderson, a sophomore Honors
students, assist^.
Five students became charter
recipients of the Chancellor’s
Distinguished Emblem Scholar
Blazers: Faria Alam, Benjamin
Durant, III, Glenn Taylor, Der
rick L. Wilkins, and Valerie Wil
liams. The award is presented to
full-time students who have re
ceived Chancellor’s List honors,
a 3.75—4.00 grade point average,
for a minimimi of six out of a pos
sible eight semesters.
Dr. Jimmy Jenkins, assisted in
presenting the navy blazers to
the first group of students to eam
this honor.
Other recepients of awards
during the Honors Day Convoca
tion follow.
Evell Barco, Monique Branch,
Pamela Brown, Benjamin Du
rant, III, Vertina Foxx, Gilbert
Godfrey, Robert Goodman, Jr.,
Antonio McDaniel, Cary News
ome, Edgard Oakley, Darryl
Sanbury, Atleacia Stokes, Joe B.
Underdue, III, and Derrick Wil-
Ikins received Senior Honors
plaques.
Johnny Reid won the Honors
Program Darin Cole Award.
Graham S. Cox, II received the
Clarence E. Biggs Award and the
Evans/Patterson Award; Anita
L. Gregory, Richard E. Smith
Award; and Bonnie Cuffie, Fred
erick Joyner, II, David G. Perry,
Johnny G. Reid and Lynn R. Stal
lings received Department of Bi
ology Academic Achievement
Awards.
John Sawyer
New SGA officials elected
ECSU students elected John
Sawyer the new President of the
Student Government Associa
tion, in the April 21 election.
Sawyer, a junior business ma
jor, is a commuter student. He
defeated incumbant Karl A.
Jones by winning 56% of the vote.
Sawyer said his primary goal
as president is to motivate ECSU
students to participate in the
SGA. “Once this goal is accom
plished, student imput wiD play a
great role in events and activities
throughout the year.”
Clinton Williams, the new SGA
Vice-President, also said he
plans to encourage students to
become more involved in SGA.
“More student involvement will
assure us of a stronger SGA. This
will activate student morale, in
establishing and attaining higher
goals.”
Williams defeated opponent
Tanya Little, with 70% of the
vote.
James McMillan was elected
treasurer of SGA, and Virginia
Blount was elected secretary.
Angelia Nelson, the new Miss
Elizabeth City State University,
won her title with 41% of the vote,
narrowly defeating opponent
Carol Scott, who received 40%.
Felicia Griffin received 19% of
the vote.
Nelson said that during her
reign as Miss ECSU she wants to
encourage the students to be
come more involved with campus
activities.
“I feel that it is very important
that every Viking has that Viking
pride,” said Nelson.
See Awards, page 12.
ECSU honored its top scholars during the Honors Day Convocation Program, April 21,
in Moore Hall. Five student became charter recipients of the Chancellor’s Distin
guished Emblem Scholar Blazers. The five, pictured above with Chancellor Jimmy
Jenkins, are (left to right) Benjamin Durant, HI, Valerie Williams, Chancellor Jen
kins, Faria Alam, Derrick L. Wilkins, and Glenn Taylor. photo by Matthew coates
Compass
wins first
in contest
The Compass, ECSU’s student
newspaper, has received a first
place rating from the Columbia
Scholastic Press Association, in
the Association’s 65th annual con
test.
Judges in the national colle
giate press contest praised The
Compass for having “interesting
and informative stories,” and
“first rate organization.” The
judges’ summary concluded,
“The Compass is a lively pack
age that serves ECSU well.”
Criteria for judging include
quality of writing, lay-out, use of
graphics, photography, attention
to technical details, and overall
professionalism. The contest in
cludes a detailed critique of each
publication’s strengths and
weaknesses.
See Compass, page 12.
New Academic Plan to make graduates more ‘competitive’
ECSU to ‘stand behind our product’
By Lisa Gregory
“By 1989 we have to 1^ in a po-
^sition to offer an educational war-
^nty,” said Dr. Lois Green,
Piairperson of the Department
pf Education at ECSU.
/of Education at ECSU.
“That means when we grad-
ji^te a student in Teacher Educa
tion, we must be willing to stand
pehind our product. We will have
guarantee that our graduate is
ualified, and capable of doing
'hat is expected of a teacher.”
u Under the Initial Certification
pogram (ICP) Teacher Educa
tion graduates will be evaluated
raring their first year as teach-
I'ers.
“We are currently in the proc-
less of putting ECSU’s educatio
nal warranty in place,” said
Green. “For example, we are re
quiring our students to pass the
National Teacher’s Exam, before
they can graduate. We are going
to look at the person’s total
image—speech, writing skills.
Their basic skills must be impec-
cible.
Dr. Boise Williams, ECSU’s
new director of Teacher Educa
tion Student Teaching, is also op
timistic about the program.
“In terms of where we’re
going, things look real positive
and structured,” said Williams.
“We’ll be very competitive as it
relates to other teacher training
institutions in North Carolina.
The new changes in the Depart
ment of Education are part of
ECSU’s new Academic Devel
opment Plan, which is resulting
in many other important changes
at ECSU.
For example, under the new
plan education majors will also
be required to take a second ma
jor.
“The first major will be a tea
cher education major,” said
Green, “like early childhood edu
cation, intermediate and special
education. The second major
must be purely academic, such
as biology, math, or computers.”
Green said that majors such as
English education and math edu
cation will be eliminated. “Stu
dents majoring in English will re
ceive an English degree, and in
order to be certified to teach,
they will take a sequence of pro
fessional education courses.”
The Department of Education
must be accredited by the Na
tional Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education, said
Green.
“The task force has recom
mended that all institutions in the
University of North Carolina sys
tem have NCATE accredita
tion,” said Green. “We must
have ours by 1990.”
“The changes in Teacher Edu
cation have required a complete
overhaul of our program areas,”
Green continued. “Many courses
have been deleted or combined to
incorporate the second major.”
Green said the department now
offers a course that covers the en
tire development of a child, in
stead of a separate course for
each stage. “This new course,
Lifespan-Human Development,
will begin with birth, and go all
the way to the older population.
That way the students get the
benefit of all the age groups of
developmental milestones and
how they overlap and affect each
other.
Courses such as Elementary
“By 1989 tee have to be in
a position to offer an edu
cational warranty.”
Dr. Lois Green
Teaching Reading, Early Child
hood Teaching Reading, Inter
mediate and Secondary Teaching
Reading have been condensed
into two courses, Green said. El
ementary Reading Instruction
(for K-4 and K-6 grades), and
Teaching Reading in the Content
Area (middle grades and second
ary education.
“We are now looking more at
competencies,” said Green. In
other words we are building the
course around the needed compe
tency, instead of the title.
“Competencies are areas of in
struction that are deliniated by
the State Department of Public
Instruction. TTiey include instruc
tional areas such as teaching the
handicapped and multicultural
education.
See Education, page 9.