OPINION
The Chronicle i
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Ernest H. Pitt
Donna Rogers
Elaine Pitt
Publisher/Co-Founder
Managing Editor
Business Manager
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Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Chancellor
proves he's
a leader
by example
A saying in the business world is, if you walk into
a room and can't tell who is in charge, then you
havea true leader. The leader is leading by example.
That happened at Winston-Salem State
University (WSSU) last week.
WSSU's office of Career Development Services
held a Career, Internship and Graduate School Expo
on Thursday, Oct. 22. Hundreds of WSSU students
and alumni representing all majors were there.
Photo by Donna Rogers
Winston-Salem State University Chancellor Elwood
L. Robinson speaks with Jelisa Preston, left, and La
Shunda Booker at WSSU's Career, Internship and
Graduate School Expo on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Scores of recruiters representing scores of com
panies were there, too.
Someone else was there, also, someone unexpect
ed. WSSU Chancellor Elwood L. Robinson was
there. But if you didn't know who he was, you
wouldn't know he is the person in charge.
Robinson wore a professional suit and tie. He
walked around the room at the Donald J. Reaves
Student Center as though he was looking for tables to
approach, seeking job opportunities. He stopped and
talked with students doing just that. He engaged with
some recruiters and other adults in the room. He set
an example for those he leads.
An informal survey of recruiters at the Expo
showed that WSSU impressed many of them.
One recruiter said he had been to two job fairs
earlier in the week but was impressed with the
WSSU Expo because it ran smoothly, the students
asked questions and the kinds of businesses recruit
ing varied.
Several recruiters said they were looking for lead
ers. They didn't talk about majors. One company
executive at the Expo said she had an engineering
degree. Yet, she was recruiting for Sam's Club. She
was looking for leaders.
WSSU has produced leaders in many ways. Take
for instance the three recruiters for Duke Energy.
They are all alumni of WSSU.
And on Friday, Oct. 30, Robinson will officially
become the leader of WSSU when he is installed in
a ceremony. He came to the university in January.
Robinson doesn't need a ceremony to label him a
leader. He is already proving that he is one.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Use of force
by officer
at S.C. school
is offensive
To the Editor:
The video we have seen of a
school resource officer violently
flipping, tossing and thereafter bang
ing the head of a young girl in her
[Richland County] South Carolina
classroom is offensive.
The videos shot by students dis
play in morally vulgar vividness an
unacceptable level of brutality and
misuse of force. This type of brutal
ity deserves no place in modem
policing - it is even more outra
geous that it would occur in a high
school
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This
young stu
dent may
have bro
ken school
rules, but
there is
nothing
that indi
cates she
broke any
criminal
laws or
was a
physical
threat to/anyone at the level that
would require this officer to treat her
like a violent criminal.
This is yet another example of
the misuse of force and the exceed
ingly disproportionate contact of
resource officers with young minori
ty students.
This officer's actions in front of
a room full of young teenagers will
no doubt have a devastating impact
emotionally on the young victim and
her classmates. It is our hope that
these students are provided with
counseling after witnessing and
experiencing such a violent
encounter. Those who provide secu
rity in our schools should only hold
those positions after rigorous and
thorough training, education and
strict oversight.
It is even more disturbing that
l
the guidance crafted by the U.S.
Department of Justice and the U.S.
Department of Education on the use
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of Resource Officers in our Nation's
schools have clearly not been imple
mented in this public high school.
This is also a clear indication
that the shifts in resource and spend
ing by school districts have created
an over-reliance on armed police
instead of educated and trained
school administrators. It is unfortu
nate that our school principals and
vice principals, the traditional
administrators of discipline, have
been put in a position to rely on
street policing inside our school
classrooms rather than administering
tried and true education discipline
tactics.
There is no acceptable explana
tion for this officer's treatment of
this young student. The NAACP
applauds federal officials on their
announcement of a full investigation
and demands that this officer be ter
minated and never again employed
in a position where he has any law
enforcement encounter responsibility
with the public.
Cornell William Brooks
NAACP President and CEO
Baltimore, Maryland
Thank you
for helping
us fight ALS
To the Editor:
When people are struck by ALS
[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], it's
important that their friends and fami
ly step up to help. One of the first
steps is finding a team of medical
professionals to provide the highest
quality of multidisciplinary care.
I'm incredibly grateful that The
" ALS Association aids our ability -?
and the ability of 48 other ALS
Association Certified Centers of
Excellence? across the U.S. - to
enhance care for people living with
ALS.
The grant we received from the
association, made possible by your
generosity, allows our hospital's ALS
team to exist so that people living
with the disease can visit specialists
across care disciplines - neurology,
pulmonology, and physical therapy
among others - all during one
appointment.
Thi?
approach I
to care is I
critical for I
helping I
people I
live the I
best life I
possible I
with this I
terrible I
disease.
A s 1
A L S 1!
Association
chapters
across the country do, the chapter in
our community provides staff sup
port to our ALS clinic in order to
bridge the gap between hospital and
homecare, in addition to lending
medical equipment that might not be
covered by some insurance pro
grams.
So, what I want you to know
above all else is that your donations
to The ALS Association make a dif
ference. I see it every day in the work
that 1 do and in the lives of the people
with ALS that we all care so much
about.
For that, I offer you my sincere
gratitude.
James A. Russell, DO, FAAN
Co-Director, Curt & Shonda
Schilling ALS Clinic
Vice Chair, Department of
Neurology
Lahey Hospital and Medical
Center
Raliegh
Brooks
Russell
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