OP/ED
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Ernest H. Pitt
T. Kevin Walker
Elaine Pitt
Blair Hutchinson
Publisher/Co-Founder
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Office Manager
New Chancellor
WSSU Photo by Garrett Garms
A self-described "country boy" has
been given the reins of Winston-Salem
State University.
Don't mistake Dr. Elwood Robinson's
description as self-depreciating. He is
proud of his simple roots and credits his
upbringing with the many wonderful things
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Today, Ivanhoe - the
Sampson County hamlet from
which he hails - has a popula
tion of just over 300. That's
seams-bursting compared to
Robinson's boyhood Ivanhoe,
when the population was
about a third of that. His par
ents were not educated people
in the traditional sense, but
had Ph.Ds in hard work.
Robinson's father never made
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son will make more than 37-times that as
WSSU's next chancellor.
By dint of dedication, Robinson left
Ivanhoe after high school for Durham and
N.C. Central, where he would graduate
with a magna cum laude degree in psychol
ogy, a field where blacks are rare even
today. He headed to another storied histori
cally black college for his master's degree -
Fisk University. NCCU and Fisk - along
with an internship at Duke Medical - set
him up for success at Penn State, where he
earned his Ph.D.
It's ironic that Robinson will now lead
an HBCU because his personal story illus
trates the power and importance of these
institutions. Look around your state, city or
town! You can count the black leaders who
were not educated at an HBCU on one
hand. These schools have quite simply edu
cated the plurality of our doctors, teachers,
lawyers, preachers and elected officials.
They gave ambitious students like
KODinson a piace 10 grovy and
shine, opening the door wide
when white schools were hes
itant to even tum the knob.
We think Robinson will
indeed "thrive" at WSSU
because he understands the
value of HBCUs and knows
that - despite rhetoric to the
contrary - their mission is just
as important today as it was
when Simon Green Atkins
founded WSSU 122 years
ago.
But HBCUs will not simply succeed
and survive on reputation alone. They need
the kind of recalibration that Robinson is
advocating. They must become famous for
providing top-notch student services, not
infamous for doing the exact opposite.
They must re-engage students, alumni and
recharge faculty.
WSSU chancellors who have dared to
rock the boat have not all been well
received. (Some folks just like to wallow in
mediocrity.) Robinson is gregarious and
has enough Ivanhoe in him to win over
even the most myopic. His pledge to
change WSSU for the better should be
cause for celebration, not cause for alarm.
Koy Cooper
To the Editor:
As a candidate for
Governor in 2016, 1 read
with great interest your
Editorial entitled "Cooper
Does Not Deserve Our
Vote." I found it quite
informative and consistent
with what I have been hear
ing for over the past year as
I have traveled our state,
and spoken with scores of
North Carolina's citizens.
The vast majority of people
I've spoken with are deeply
concerned about casting
their ballot for someone
who's more concerned with
their political image, than
the well being of the people
of North Carolina.
Still, prominent
Democrats and the Party
Kingmakers have "anoint
ed and appointed" Roy
Cooper as the "Next
Governor of North
Carolina." The problem is
that the people of North
Carolina deserve better,
and their vote should not be
taken for
granted. Fortunately for
the people of this state, in
2016 voters will have a
elear choice between a
hand picked career politi
cian and a candidate who is
picked by the people, one
vote at a time.
For decades, we have
had no choice but to follow
the Party Kingmakers'
decisions because only a
select few have had the
courage to challenge the
money and perceived
power they wield. Often,
many of these statewide
office seekers have been
more concerned about their
own personal political
careers, than they have
been about the personal
concerns of the people of
this state.
1 have also been one of
the 2.6 million loyal North
Carolina Democrats who
have gone to the polls and
voted for our Democratic
statewide office seekers,
because the other candi
dates clearly didn't seek our
support or stand for equal
opportunity and racial tol
erance, or support other
core Democratic values of
caring and compassion.
For 2016, this is going
to change. As a candidate
for the Democratic nomi
nation for Governor, I am
bound and determined to
be a voice for the millions
of Democrats and
Unaffiliated Voters who
feel left out of the decision
making process for deter
mining whom our nominee
will be. Roy Cooper will
not be pre-ordained,
anointed or appointed as
the Democratic nominee.
There will be a Democratic
primary and the people, not
the kingmakers or insiders,
will decide whom our nom
inee will be. This election
will be a choice between
the people's voices being
heard or the inside king
makers' perceived power
being continued. I rest my
fate with the people.
Roy Cooper will have
to answer for his record and
failure of leadership as a
N.C. Attorney General. His
leadership has been lacking
from the very beginning, as
it seems his office leads
him into court, more than
Cooper is leading his own
office. An effective
Attorney General should
possess courage and
strength to resist every
direction the political
winds blow, but rather set a
steady course where justice
prevails and innocent peo
ple don't languish in jail
while the guilty are still on
the loose and where the law
and the constitution are fol
lowed to the letter
On voter suppression,
teacher tenure, private
school vouchers and mar
riage equality, Roy
Cooper's office has sided in
court with and defended
Governor Pat McCrory and
his Republican legislature
every step of the way.
Superior Court Judges have
ruled against Roy Cooper s
office in most of these
cases, saying that their
arguments failed, and were
not consistent with the law
and the Constitution. If
Roy Cooper can't effective
ly lead as North Carolina's
Attorney General, then
how can we expect him to
be an effective Governor?
What I find in your edi
torial to be quite salient and
thought provoking is your
statement that "Cooper
Needs A Wake Up Call." I
couldn't agree more. Quite
frankly, I also feel our Party
needs a wake up call. Our
hard working party workers
and the people of North
Carolina should never be
taken for granted again. All
voters and citizens should
be respected and appreciat
ed. Our Party can do more,
and the so-called Party
Bosses need to demonstrate
a sincere respect and appre
ciation for all of the citi
zens of North Carolina.
In conclusion, I am lay
ing it on the line for the
people of North Cafolina
and I strongly believe that
the people of this state no
longer are satisfied with
"business as usual" and
want to move this state in a
new direction with a candi
date who is seeking to
"serve" the people and not
one who seeks to be pro
moted just because he has
been waiting in line as a
"career politician." Your
editorial was courageous
and enlightening, and I
want to thank the Chronicle
for being a voice for the
people.
Sincerely,
Ken Spaulding, 20i6
Gubernatorial candidate
Ted Kazakos
To the Editor:
It is an honor to be sub
mitting a letter on behalf of
Assistant District Attorney
and District Court Judge
Candidate Ted Kazakos.
Over the past two years that
1 have worked for him, he
has become an incredible
mentor to me. Ted Kazakos
has gone out of his way to
answer questions and to
provide advice and guid
ance to me. As an under
graduate student at Wake
Forest my understanding of
the law is limited, but Ted
Kazakos has always made
me feel empowered by the
knowledge that I do have
and has encouraged my
learning in and out of the
courthouse.
Ted Kazakos has sever
al important qualities that 1
believe a judge should pos
sess. He is intelligent, fair,
grounded, but above all of
those, Ted Kazakos has a
pure heart. He has gone out
of his way to support my
learning, whether it has
been by coming to an event
that I have been involved in
or by simply following up
to see how my day has
gone. Ted Kazakos gen
uinely cares about people
and illustrates this quality
in his daily interactions in
the courtroom, his office
and with his family. It
comes as no surprise that
Ted has received such over
whelming support from the
community in his race for
district court judge and I
feel grateful that I have
been able to work for him.
Katherine Lane Ririe,
Wake Forest University
Class of 2015
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Submitted Photo
Students listen to the speakers.
NeoBlack
from pane A4
ers organized around
community engagement,
pushing things like voter
registration drives, tutor
ing and study groups. As
a member of the Student
Government Association,
Fisher took the lead in
writing the organizational
charter and leading the
group through the
approval process as a stu
dent organization.
NeoBlack Society stu
dents wrote the curricu
lum for the university's
first African American
history course and inter
viewed and submitted
black credentialed pro
fessors to teach the
course. Members also
insisted that the course
stay inside the history
department so that it
might fulfill graduation
requirements. The
NeoBlack Society was
also the impetus for
music and sociology
courses.
The group also prac
ticed civil disobedience,
protesting the poor treat
ment of campus maids,
cafeteria workers and
other under-appreciated
and underpaid workers
who were largely black.
Fisher and Pierce
talked about former
UNCG Chancellor Dr.
James S. Ferguson. They
say his efforts were cru
cial in removing discrim
inatory practices such as
requiring pictures of
applicants on applica
tions. The practice led to
black students being
grouped together in dor
mitories. Ferguson is also
credited with effectively
dealing with perceived
racist faculty.
The NeoBlack
Society's influence grew
with the admission of
men on campus in 1967.
Member Bobbie Roberts
became the first black
male on the basketball
team, and members like
Charles Eddington, the
current vice president at
Lincoln University, and
Steve McCoy helped to
keep up the group's
charge.
In 2012, the UNCG
alumni magazine found
that the school had the
largest percentage (23.5
percent) of enrolled black
students of any predomi
nantly white institution.
Members of the
NeoBlack Society believe
they laid the groundwork
for the diversity the
school is enjoying today.
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