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LUME 94 - NUMBER 46
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2015
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
Athletes, bands take student
protests to another level
By Jesse J. Holland
WASHINGTON (AP) - Few
■ attention when a black stu-
■ started a hunger strike at the
zersity of Missouri to protest
il strife on campus. As soon
as the football team supported
that hunger strike by refusing
to practice for or play in the
school’s lucrative NCAA games,
the university’s president and
chancellor were forced out and
changes were discussed.
The stand taken at Missouri
illustrates a new trend for col
lege millennials. Frustrated with
what they perceive as insensitiv
ity by school administrators,
LASS GIFT - From left to right are: Chancellor Debra Saunders-White, Class
975 members, NCCU Board of Trustees Chairman Mr. George R. Hamilton,
ss of 1977.
VCCU Alumni Increased Spirit of
Giving During 2015 Homecoming
arly Calculations Total More Than $1 Million in Alumni Gifts During
Annual Homecoming Celebration
orth Carolina Central
ersity (NCCU) received
:cord number of alumni
during the 2015 Ultimate
ecoming Experience as
irs responded generously to
‘Every Eagle. Every Year.”
)aign.
More than 1,061 alumni
showed their support
through contributions during
Homecoming with the total
growing to just over $1 million
and setting the record for the
most donors ever during the
weekend festivities.
: ormer US Rep. Tim Valentine of
North Carolina dies at 89
ROCKY MOUNT (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Tim Valentine of
shville, who also served as a state legislator, has died at the age
89.
Valentine died Nov. 10, said Sherry Peace with Wheeler and
lodlief Funeral Home in Rocky Mount.
I “When you grow up in the same neighborhood, you get to learn
I real character of people,” Attorney General Roy Cooper, who
I w up two blocks from Valentine in Nashville, told the Rocky
I >unt Telegram. “His quick wit was legendary, and he had a way
I idd humor even in the toughest of times. That helped him be a
[at leader and public servant.”
I The Democrat served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1995,
I resenting what was then the 2nd Congressional District. It in-
Ided parts of the Raleigh-Durham area. He also served in the
I rth Carolina House from 1955 to 1960.
I After his state House terms, he served as a legal adviser and
[islative counsel to Gov. Dan Moore.
[Valentine served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II.
I graduated from the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, in
948 and graduated from law school at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1952.
[After retiring from Congress, Valentine helped create the Tar
liver Land Conservancy and served on the board of directors of
f Country Doctor Museum in Bailey.
“He lived a good life and made a real difference- no question
bout it,” Cooper said.
[A funeral was held Nov. 14 at Lakeside Baptist Church in
Joky Mount.
Supporters discuss future of rural
hospital in Belhaven
[WASHINGTON (AP) - Representatives of the North Carolina
[pter of the NAACP and others will discuss the next steps in the
Bit to reopen Pungo Hospital in Belhaven.
| The Rev. William Barber, the head of the state NAACP, will
BP Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal on Nov. 11 at Beaufort Supe-
[ Court in Washington to discuss health care issues.
[Since Vidant Pungo Hospital closed Julyl, 2014, O’Neal has
tolled officials to reopen the facility.
[Vidant took over Pungo District Hospital in 2011. Hospital of-
[als have said that operating losses of $5.7 million since that
fcover and the need to replace the aging building were two of
I main reasons for the closing. They said state officials’ refusal
[expand Medicaid also was a factor, but not the main reason for
“The increase in alumni
contributions to the university
during Homecoming signals
significant momentum in support
ofthis year’s ‘Every Eagle. Every
Year.’ campaign,” said Harriet
F. Davis, Ph.D., vice chancellor
for Institutional Advancement.
“We are extremely appreciative
to our alumni who recognize the
importance of supporting the
university.”
Homecoming festivities
brought alumni back to NCCU
to participate in activities
hosted by NCCU’s Division of
Institutional Advancement and
Office of Alumni Relations. The
NCCU alumni concert featuring
R&B artist Jeffrey Osborne and
saxophonist Michael Phillips
was a sold-out event.
Participation in “Every
Eagle. Every Year.” came from
alumni of all ages throughout
the weekend of Homecoming.
Individuals celebrating class
reunions this year played a large
part in elevating the giving
numbers, with so many giving a
gift through “Every Eagle. Every
Year.”
The following three
reunion classes have the
highest contributions
and participation rates:
• Society of Golden Eagles:
Class of 1925 - 1964
($619,082) - 31 percent
class member participation
• Class of 1965, the “Golden
Class” ($124,021) - 57 percent
class member participation
• Class of 1975 ($186,179)
- 35 percent class member
participation
NCCU Chancellor Debra
Saunders-White hosted a special
Donor Tailgate celebration for
members of the Shepard Society
and above. More than 460 donors
make up the Shepard Society.
During the last fiscal year,
alumni giving participation
climbed to 15 percent, a 3
percent increase over fiscal year
2013-2014. NCCU received $2.1
million in gifts donated by
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they are taking their genera
tion’s penchant for social media
protest to the next level: Using
their on-campus celebrity to
pose a threat to the bottom line.
“They forced the administra
tion to take the protest seriously
given the money that is generat
ed via athletics. To say that you
will not play on Saturday is tan
tamount to a major donor pulling
their funds,” said D’Andra Orey,
a political science professor at
Jackson State University in Jack-
son, Mississippi.
Students have been organiz
ing and protesting racial strife
at universities all year - from
a noose being found on Duke
University’s campus, to spray-
painted swastikas and nooses
at the State University of New
York’s Purchase campus, to a
fraternity video at the University
of Oklahoma using, a racial slur
to describe how the Sigma Alpha
Epsilon fraternity would never
accept black members.
Last month, a popular march
ing band at Howard University,
one of the nation’s premier his
torically black colleges, wore all
black during a halftime football
show in a show of solidarity with
students frustrated about finan
cial aid and other problems.
This week at Yale, students
took to the streets after an Oct.
28 university email warning
about racially insensitive Hal
loween costumes prompted a
professor to complain that Yale
and other campuses were be
coming “places of censure and
prohibition.”
But nowhere have students
been able to force change like
they have at Missouri, the state’s
flagship university and a rela
tively new member of one of the
nation’s premier football confer
ences, the Southeastern Confer
ence.
The student government
president reported in September
that people shouted racial slurs
at him from a passing pickup
truck, galvanizing a weeks-long
protest movement by concerned
students. On Nov. 2, with little
fanfare, graduate student Jona
than Butler went on a hunger
strike to demand the resignation
of university system President
Tim Wolfe over his handling of
racial complaints.
Police investigate
graffiti on Bowie
State University
campus
BOWIE, Md. (AP) - Au
thorities say they are inves
tigating an incident at Bowie
State University where graf
fiti resembling a swastika
was found on a column of the
campus’s Martin Luther King
Jr. Center patio.
Campus police say the
graffiti was found Nov. 12 on
the campus of the historically
black university.
Vice President for Student
Affairs Artie L. Travis sent a
letter to the college communi
ty saying the incident is being
investigated as a possible hate
crime. The graffiti has since
been removed by police.
University spokeswoman
Damita Chambers says the
graffiti was on a visible part
of campus where several de
partments are housed.
Students held a rally Nov.
12 night to speak out against
hate speech.
SPIKE LEE
Spike Lee calls for
diversity as he accepts
honorary Oscar
By Sandy Cohen
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Spike Lee told an audience of entertain
ment luminaries that it’s easier for a black person to become President
of the United States than head of a Hollywood studio or network.
Lee made the remarks Nov. 14 as he accepted an Oscar statuette
at the film academy’s seventh annual Governors Awards dinner in
Hollywood, where Gena Rowlands and Debbie Reynolds were also
honorees.
“We need to have some serious discussions about diversity and get
some flavor up in this,” Lee said. “This industry is so behind sports
it’s ridiculous.”
The filmmaker praised Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci
ences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs for “trying to do something that
needs to be done.” Earlier in the evening, Isaacs called on the in
dustry powers in attendance to take action toward “recognizing and
embracing a broad cross-section of talent.” She also announced the
academy's new five-year plan to improve diversity in its staff and
governance.
Isaacs opened the Governors Awards ceremony with condolences
for France in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
“All of us here stand in solidarity and support of France and
the French people,” she said. “Our connection with the film-loving
French is especially deep.”
Lee offered “peace and love to people in France” as he received
his award. Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes and Samuel L. Jack-
son brought the filmmaker onstage for his Oscar.
“Spike Lee has put more African-Americans to work in this busi
ness than anyone else in this business,” Washington said in his intro
duction.
Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney each paid tribute to Rowlands,
calling her a trailblazer and inspiration. The 85-year-old actress,
whose career spans six decades, received her Oscar from her son,
Nick Cassavettes, who directed his mother in 2004’s “The Note
book.” He noted that the award was “the first Oscar in the family.”
Looking lovingly at the golden trophy, Rowlands thanked the
academy governors for “introducing me to this fine fellow.”
“He’s very handsome,” she said. “You know, he’s just so elegant...
I think I’ll take him home.”
Reynolds received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Jane
Fonda and Meryl Streep introduced the 83-year-old entertainer, who
announced Nov. 13 that she would be unable to attend the ceremony.
Reynolds was recognized for her decades-long commitment to
various charities, including the mental health organization she found
ed, the Thalians. Her granddaughter accepted Reynolds’ statuette.
A live band played throughout the evening, and there were two
musical interludes: Zooey Deschanel performed the Oscar-nominat
ed song Reynolds sang in 1958’s “Tammy and the Bachelor.” Aloe
Blacc sang “A Change is Gonna Come” as part of Lee’s introduction.
Other famous faces at the starry dinner included Johnny Depp and
wife Amber Heard, Daniel Craig and wife Rachel Weisz, Will Smith,
Ice Cube, Mark Ruffalo, Quentin Tarantino, Saoirse Ronan and Mi
chael Caine. Portions of the untelevised ceremony may be included
in the 2016 Academy Awards telecast.
Prosecutor: Distributor of KKK
flier facing criminal charges
By Lynne Tuohy
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A white man who prosecutors say dis
tributed Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers to two members ofthe city’s
small minority community is facing criminal charges.
The fliers didn’t include a call to violence, but distributing them
only to a black woman and a Hispanic woman shows an intent to
threaten and therefore doesn’t fall under free-speech protections,
Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said Nov. 12.
William Schenk was arrested Nov. 12 on disorderly conduct
charges, prosecutors said. Because his conduct was motivated by
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