Commentary
SGA Heeds Words Of Speaker
By LaKeshia N. Denson
Sta ff Writer
“We need to remove
individuals who are standing in
the way of the progress of the
HBCU,” Reverend Jeffery I.
Johnson, National Director of
the Youth, College and Young
Adult Department of the
NAACP. Have you ever heard
words so powerful that they
made you realize your soul was
going through a long drought?
Instead of water, was your soul
in need of some spiritual truth
and knowledge? The words that
flew from the lips of Reverend
Johnson were fiill of the spiritual
and academic healing that his
audience was thirsty for.
Perhaps the most important
group of people his words
moved to the point that they
wanted to make a change
immediately was the Student
Government Association of
FSU.
“HBCU’s allowed us [black
people] to build institutions that
would be for us, institutions that
would allow us to build
leadership and academic
integrity. Now it seems as if
HBCU’s have shifted in focus.
They are more concerned with
who wins the game rather than
the science competition. How
can I get paid versus how can I
lead my institution to the next
level?,” Reverend Johnson said.
SGA leaders agreed; and so
do I. It’s seems as if Rev.
Johnson hit the nail perfectly on
its head. There are too many
important so-called leaders on
our campus that do not
represent those of us who put
theminoflBce. This opinion was
shared by many students ofFSU
about their leaders within the
SGA. Senators are suppose to
keep their eyes and ears close
to the bodies of the students to
be accurately informed of our
needs. Yes, they may have been
lacking this quality at the
beginning of the Fall semester,
however now the senators, and
the SGA executive leaders are
scrambling to get their act
together Should I assume that
the new rebirth of SGA is solely
due to the knowledgeable liquid
that Reverend Johnson poured
out so abundantly on that special
evening, or is credit due to the
members of SGA who realized
The Broncos’ Voice Staff
Lisa Augustine
Anthony Keene
Cordny Gilchrist
Toshanika Moore
Dawn Redrick
Angele Capel
Erica Bell
Ebony Stonewall
Aisha Brooks
Crystal Broadie
Garrett N. James
Chuck Carr
Kantrell Shelton
Shauna Jones
LaKeshia N. Denson, Editor in Chief
Douglas L. Blake Jr., Copy Editor
Advisor
Mr. Eric Moore
HOW TO REACH us
The Broncos’ Voice
1200 Murchison Road
Fayetteville, NC 28301
(910) 672-1357
(910) 672-1279
Students, faculty and staff may submit editorials and commentary to The Voice.
Articles should not exceed 500 words and should be submitted on computer disk,
IBM format. The Voice staff is located in Room 3 of the Lauretta Taylor Building.
Office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m.
Publication of The Broncos’ Voice is made possible by Student Activities Fees
The Broncos’ Voice is printed by the Fayetteville Publishing Company
that they were not living up to
their responsibilities but had the
decency to do something about
it? I believe it was a combination
of both. Reverend Johnson
provided the light, while SGA
intelligently opened their eyes
and took a good look around
them. It’s about time that all
students open their eyes. There
are so many different assemblies
of politics on this campus that
it’s ridiculous. There is always
some unspoken rule, or some
secret business being
conducted. But in the end, who
is affected by these unjust
procedures? Finally! The
leaders who were suppose to
be for the students, and voted in
by the students have decided to
stand up and get into action.
This is a wise decision,
especially considering if we the
students voted you in, we can
vote you out.
SGA has begun a campaign
to inform all students of the
recent $200 tuition increase,
which is broken down to $ 100
for the next two school years.
The proposal of the tuition
increase includes, money to be
allocated for need-based
financial aid/scholarships,
faculty/staff raises, as well as the
development of cultural
enrichment education programs.
The proposal appears legit, but
SGA members want to ensure
that the monies will be allocated
to the appropriate funds and they
have requested documentation
of these allocations whenever
they are activated. SGA is also
trying to obtain different types
of incentives for the students.
Without these incentives
promised to the students, SGA
wants to table the tuition
increase, or they would prefer
that the proposal returns back
to the drawing board. What
type of incentives is SGA
requesting? A university debit
card, an ATM in the student
center, and several other types
ofbonuses. However, this is an
institution ofleaming and I hope
that SGA has some academic
incentives in mind, for example
a better selection of periodicals
and books in the library as well
as the imperative need to keep
computers up and running.
Perhaps, they should even
consider looking into adding
variety to the curriculum by
doing research to see what
types of courses the students
really want and need that they
are not currently receiving. But
I do understand that SGA has
just awaken and they need some
time to adjust to the whole
leadership concept, and SGA
has taken steps to find out what
students want by hosting several
residence hall meetings to
discuss the tuition increase
proposal, and to hear the
concerns of their people. I just
don’t want us to lose the main
objective that every student has
on this campus, and that is to
obtain a quality education. I
commend SGA for all of its hard
work and dedication. It is
encouraging to see that my
leaders care. The real challenge
that SGA faces is to get the
students to care as well, and they
are off to a pretty good start.
“What are you going to do
with your hands are you going
to sit on them like a punk?”
Reverend Johnson’s words are
living at this very moment. His
words, once spoken, flew into
the atmosphere and landed
within the hearts of the student
leaders of FSU. SGA leaders
are no longer “punking out.”
Their hands have been busy
trying to build a new
administration that wants to do
justice to their people. These
leaders are carrying around
Reverend Johnson’s words and
are Irving by the words’ integrity.
Our SGA leaders have come
into an encounter with Wisdom,
and they fell deeply in love with
her Everyday, they cannot wait
to behold her lovely face; they
marvel at the fact ofbeing in the
same room with her so that by
chance as she breathes, the air
she exhales may contain just a
fraction of the knowledge she
possesses so in return, they will
become just a bit more intelligent
and stronger than before.
Hopefully, this love affair is the
real thing and not some
infatuation that will have lost its
passion as quickly as the love
affair began.
FYI
Keep your eyes open for 2002-2003
HOUSING APPLICATIONS.
Apply EARLY to ensure yourself a place to stay.
Don’t forget about the $50 deposit/housing fee.