The Chron.v _
Vol. XXXVIII No. 5 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, September 29, 2011
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Suspensions at
schools linked
to incarceration
down the road
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE '
Attorneys from a Legal Aid of NC program told a erowd at
Winston-Salem State University last week that there is a direct
correlation between the disciplinary actions that are taken
against students in schools and whether or not they end up in
prison.
Jason Langberg and Lewis Pitts of Advocate for Children's
Services, which advocates on behalf of "disadvantaged young
people" spoke on Sept. 21 at a program sponsored by Real Men
Teach, which
encourages more
men to become
educators.
Langberg said
when comparing
white and black
students, 75 per
cent of African
Americans receive
long term suspen
sions (over 10
days) for their first
transgression ,
compared to only
25 percent of
whites who com
mit similar offens
es.
"The punish
ment for African
Americans is dis
proportionately
higher than other
students," stated
WSSL' Photo by Garrett Garms
Lewis Pitts speaks as his col
league Jason l.angberg looks on.
Langberg. who said African Americans account for 69 percent of
ali expulsions statewide. 'There's no evidence that these stu
dents have committed more offenses."
Langberg walked the audience through the basics of the
school to prison pipeline, which he defines as "a system of
laws, policies and practices that pushes students out of schools
and into the juvenile justice system." before touching on the
societal issues that fuel the pipeline, and what educators and
others can do to help stop it. Students who receive punish
ments that keep them from the classroom arc more likely to
become disengaged in the educational process, and in some
instances, their punishments have actually kept them from edu
cational opportunities. Langberg said. This sense of disenfran
chisement, coupled with the fact that students are more likely
to sustain criminal charges for small offenses in school because
of the presence of school resource officers (law enforcement) on
most campuses, often translates to a much higher likelihood of
contact with the juvenile justice system, he explained.
The presence of school resource officers has increased 250
percent since the 1995-% school year. Langberg said.
"Schools are becoming the most controlled, criminalized
environment that we have in our society." remarked the
Asheville native. "...No studies that I have been able to find
can definitively say that SROs are making schools safer."
See Suspensions on A2
Judge Hartsfield
ready to move on
Commission to recommend a suspension
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
After six months of scrutiny, a light is final
ly at the end of the tunnel for District Court
Judge Denise Hartsfield.
Hartsfield. who appeared before the N.C.
Judicial Standards Commission at a three-day
long hearing in Raleigh earlier this month,
received word late last week that the Commission
has recommended that she be suspended for an
unspecified amount of time. The recommenda
tion will now be considered by the state Supreme
Court, which will ultimately decide Hartsfield's
fate, explained David Freedman, Hartsfield's
treedman
File Phot<
A regular community presence. Judge
Hartsfield speaks at a local church.
, attorney. Freednian said the process would likely take several
See Hartsfield on A9
True Homecoming for Howell
Renowned actress/ singer
returning to her Ram roots
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
When songstress Maria Howell graces the
stage at Winston-Salem State University's
Homecoming Alumni Scholarship Gala
tomorrow night in the Embassy Suites' Grand
Pavillion Ballroom, it won't be just another
show for the veteran vocalist. It will indeed
be, well, a homecoming. Howell, an accom
plished vocalist who is known internationally
for her talent, is also a WSSU alumna.
"I feel like I'm going home," said the
Gastonia native, whose mother also attended
the school. "It's a family reunion to me."
Though her singing career has taken her
many places -including Japan, where she lived
for six years - Howell says some of her most
important life experiences took place at
WSSU.
"My experience was ... life changing."
commented Howell, a member of the school's
Class of '83. "Coming from a small town ...
it just opened up my world. I already had big
dreams and aspirations, but being here with so
many different people from so many different
places, it really inspired me to want to see the
world."
Howell, a member of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. and former biology/chemistry
major who once considered becoming a physi
cian, was active on campus in a variety of
capacities, serving on the Pep Club, the Mass
University Choir, as a resident advisor, class
leader and member of the student government.
"Winston-Salem State was the beginning
of my life, it was the beginning of my adult
hood," said the Atlanta resident. "I grew up
Set* Howell on A9
WSSl' Photo by Garrett Garms
Maria Howell performs at the CIAA Tourney earlier this year.
Scholar: Medical pioneers used blacks as guinea pigs
BY JAESON PITT
FOR THE CHRONICLE
An untold history of African-Americans and medical
research was shared by Dr. Harriet A. Washington on
Thursday. Sept. 22 at Winston-Salem State University.
The former Harvard Medical School Fellow based
much of her discussion on her best-selling book
"Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical
Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial
Times to the Present."
Like the book, her lecture highlighted several of the
wrongs that the medical community has inflicted on
African Americans. The practice of using blacks as
medical guinea pigs. Washington said, dates back to
the days when the first blacks set foot in this country.
She spoke of doctors like J. Marion Sims, who is
celebrated and credited as being the founding father of
gynecology. Few discuss the fact that the South
Carolina native perfected the medical speciality by
using female slaves for testing. Washington said Sims
did many horrible things to the women - without
using any sort of anesthesia.
See Washington on A5
WSSU Ptnito by Garrett Garms
Dr. Harriet A. Washington speaks at WSSU.
Family Matters
Photo by Lay la Farmer
Mayor Allen Joines issues a
proclamation to Angela Parms in
honor of Family Day, which
encourages families to eat
together. Read more on page A3.
Spend it here.
Keep it here.
BUY LOCAL FIRST!
CHAMBER
A Mind For Business.