Rec Sports pick
up steam
Parking annoys
community
Words to
live by
Page 6
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The News Argus
www.thenewsargus.com
Winston-Salem State University's Student Newspaper
Feb. 18, 2008
Upward
Bound
program
restored
Staff Report
Winston-Salem State •
University was recently noti
fied by the U.S. Department
of Education that funding to
operate its Upward Bound
Program has been restored
with a four-year grant award.
Effective Dec. 1, 2007,
WSSU received a first-year
award of $383,534. Seven
other Upward Bound pro
grams in North Carolina also
received restored continued
funding. WSSU is currently
seeking 9th grade applicants.
The funding period for the
renewal grants is Dec. 1, 2007
through Nov. 30, 2008.
The legislation that sup
ported the restoration of the
funding of these eight pro
grams, and others throughout
the country, will provide aca
demic support and financial
aid counseling to prepare an
additional 12,000 high school
students to attend college.
"We are truly excited that
we will be able to continue
providing eligible high school
students with tutorial serv
ices, assistance in securing
financial aid for college, cul
tural enrichment events, col
lege tours, summer school,
and mentoring programs,"
said Clarence McKee, WSSU
interim director of the
Upward Bound program.
"I want to personally thank
parents, the commvmity, the
WSSU family, and our
Congressional Delegation for
their untiring support and
guidance in helping to restore
Upward Bound's funding."
WSSU's program, which
ceased operation May 31,
2007, because of federal
budget cuts, will again serve
80, 9-12 grade students. The
program is tentatively plan
ning to begin tutoring and
support services Feb. 18, for
students previously enrolled.
Tutoring will be offered for
new 9th grade students by
March 14. The Upward
Bound Office is now located
in the Anderson Center, suite
141.
For more information call
McKee at 336-750-2673.
Feeling the Pain?
Students learning to adjust to high gas prices
Tecarra Sutton
AD MANAGER
A
cross the
United States,
spiking gas
prices have left con
sumers in general,
and students in par
ticular, anxiously
waiting for relief.
Gas prices continue
to rise, seemingly by
the hour, leaving
many people won
dering when the
price will stabilize
or, more impor
tantly, drop.
According to
CNN.com, gas prices
nationwide dropped
approximately nine
cents earlier this
month; good news
for drivers yearning
for the days of inex
pensive joyriding,
owners of gas-guz
zling SUVs, and reg
ular consumers who
have been staying
put and citing
expensive gasoline
as the main cause.
While the decrease
may be welcome,
there is little indica
tion that gas prices
will likely remain
under $3.
Consumers can
thank slight
decreases in crude
oil prices and corpo
rate profit margin
shrinkage for the
price break, but as
drivers enjoy the
cheaper gas and buy
more, the price will
rise again.
At Winston-Salem
State, students and
faculty are strug
gling to deal with
fluctuating gas
prices.
"Gas prices have
been affecting me
tremendously. It's
been taking a lot of
money out of my
budget to keep my
car filled so I can go
places," said junior
Quiotti Ratliff.
Although he can't
Photo by; MCT Campus
ABOVE:Consumers have been feeling the burn of fluctuating gas prices in their pockets.
LOWER RIGHT: Charting gas prices for the last two years.
drive his car on cam
pus, freshman
Kelvin People has
felt the sting of ris
ing rates for gas.
"I don't have
enough money to do
what I want to do.
It's so expensive for
me to go home since
I live so far away,"
he said.
On the other hand,
senior Marcus Gill
doesn't think too
much about the
prices.
"I think [gas is]
rather costly, but
you have to do what
you have to do if
you want to go
somewhere. It's not
really affecting me
that much. It is an
inconvenience," he
said.
Justin Grandison,
a staff member at
O'Kelly library, is
outraged by what
he sees as price
gouging.
"Exxon Mobil,
which is one of
biggest crude oil
refineries in the
world, posted
record-breaking
earnings for the
years 2006, 2007,
and probably 2008.
This means that
they're in no short
age of money
or funding to dis
tribute their gaso
line at a price that
everybody can
afford. I think it's a
total debacle on the
part of the govern
ment, state agencies,
and the companies
that provide the serv
ice to us," he said.
Steven Epps, direc
tor, at Gleason-
Hairston Terrace
says he does not like
the fact that he
spends $80 to $90 at
the pump every
week, but he sees lit
tle that can be done
about it.
"I'm going to do
what I want to do
regardless," said
Epps. "I just have to
spend more than I
want to spend."
Pump prices
U.S. weekly
average retail
price for one
gallon of regular
unleaded
gasoline:
Two-year trend
$3
Since last week
Down
50
Week ending
Jan.21,2008
$3.02
T
$2
2006
2007 2008
Chart courtesy of MCT Campus
Perfect Brew: Nugroove Cafe' hits the spot
James Cherry
ONLINE EDITOR
By day, Winston-Salem State's Java
City is a coffee house where students
and instructors gather to enjoy a cup of
morning or afternoon coffee w^ith the
occasional pastry. By night, Java City
transforms into the soulful Nugroove
Cafe.
Dale Williams of the Office of Student
Activities organizes events at
Nugroove, including an Open Mic
Poetry Night, Neo Soul night with a live
band, and a Featured Author Night.
The events take place between 7 and 9
p.m., a time when students can come
and enjoy a relaxed and culturally stim
ulating atmosphere.
"Nugroove has its own following,"
said Williams, "We try to do program
ming once a month in the form of cul
tured arts, poetry, authors, and
music."
Nugroove is a genre of music, similar
to that of Neo Soul.
Open Mic Poetry Night, is the most
popular event as Java City is always
jam-packed with students with an ear
for poetry listening to local poets "spit"
their thoughts in flowing, lyrical verses.
Both Neo Soul and Featured Author
Night spotlight the creative minds of
local authors and the sultry harmonies
of live bands.
"I use a lot of local authors, authors
contact me, alot of the bands are local.
A lot of bands play in small venues,"
Williams said.
To celebrate Black History Month, on
Feb. 11a Black History storytelling pro
gram featured Lorenzo Mecchum, a for
mer WSSU professor. The art of story
telling is an ancient and large part of
African tradition. Author and WSSU
alumna Trice Hickman, will be on cam
pus, Tuesday, March 4, to discuss one of
her books.
Williams said the atmosphere is
important.
"We want to continue Nugroove at
the coffeehouse. Coffeehouse program
ming is a current trend for students,
creating a thought provoking, relaxed
environment."
6itf
Java City hosts Nugroove.
Photo By Grant Fulton
/