Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / Dec. 10, 1991, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 THE COMPASS Tuesday, December 10,19^1 CAMPUS NEWS Schools can impede progress of blacks, speaker tells ECSU By Steve Cooke “Black men have a one in 4,000 chance of becoming doctors, a one in 94 chance of becoming teachers and a one in four chance of dropping out of school,” Robert K. Goodwin told the ECSU family during the American Education Week Assembly. The statistics for black women aren’t much better, Goodwin added, pointing out that black women have a one in five chance of dropping out of school and a two in five chance of being a mother in their teens;” The topic of Goodwin’s speech was “The Educational Problems of Minorities, and the Role of Educa tors.” To help change these grim statisti cal portraits, Goodwin said that “educators need to identify negative factors in schools that affect minority youngsters.” One of these factors is that society treats groups differently. He also said that teachers and their classrooms have an effect on students’ abilities. “Tracking of student abilities and teacher expectations are the two main concerns of educators who argue that schools can impede minority achieve ment,” Goodwin said. Low teacher expectation and ability grouping sort blacks into a hidden curriculum “that is less demanding and believed to advocate and socialize blacks toward lower levels of attainmentand achieve ment.” Goodwin believes that “educators must be available to help raise state policy makers’ awareness by provid ing educational information and data that improve the policy making proc ess.” As an example, he mentioned the role ECSU Chancellor Jimmy Jen kins and other administrators play in the decisions made by the state legis lature. Goodwin also said future teachers need to change institutional behavior and leadership patterns “where there is an absence of commitment and a desire for cooperation and collabora tion.” “Educators,” continued Goodwin, “know what the problems are. Now they need to know what to do about them.” On the role of educators Goodwin used as an example the “Noah Prin ciple” as stated by the former chair man of Federal Express; “Today there can be no prizes for predicting rain; there can only be prizes for building arks.” Goodwin said that the role of edu cators is “to build human arks one ship at a time.” He also said that the danger today is not that machines will learn to think and feel but that men and women will cease to do so. To solve this problem educators must “return to the basics and build arks, not just in reading, writing and arithmetic but the basics of thinking and feeUng.” Goodwin said that the task of the educator is to urge the students to set academic goals for themselves and then to help the student achieve those academic goals. Goodwin, Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Initiative on Historically Black Col leges and Universities, holds degrees from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa University and the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Goodwin is now working on a Ph.D. in higher education administration at Texas A&M University. International Week celebrated with singing, dancing, feasting By Lavenia Dameron ECSU opened their twenty-eighth annual celebration of International Week with singing, dancing and a cornucopia of dishes from around the world Nov. 4, at the Kermit E. White Center. The International Dinner featured food samples, entertainment and open discussion. The programs were geared toward promoting a better understand- ing-of different cultures, according to Alvin Lewis, chairman of the Interna tional Week Committee. “Education has to be international, worldwide and open,” said Lewis. “We need to know our own cultures, but we need to learn about others’ too.” Included on Monday’s menu was tuna patte from Bangladesh, Tai wanese pork with Chinese cabbage. Banana Fritters from the West Indies and American sweet potato pie. In keeping with the event’s international mood, ECSU instructors and students who are from other countries wore clothes from their native land. The event’s theme, “peace through unity,” was symbolized by the table decorations, paper cut-outs of chil dren holding hands in a spectrum of colors. The dinner also featured a dance performance by the Philippine United Ilocano Youth Dance Troupe. The dancers, whose ages ranged from 8 to 18, performed folk dances from Spain, Hawaii and the Philippines. The Dancer’s more difficult maneuvers and intense concentration dazzled the audience. “I loved it when they danced with the glasses of liquid on their heads,” said Ursula McMillion, a senior Eng lish major. “They were dancing, spin ning, twisting and turning, and ^ey didn’t spill it. It was really neat.” ChanOellor Jimmy Jenkins spoke at the diqner. “As we look around the world today and as we look at it chang ing, wexan truly see a new world order,” said Jenkins, “Through com munication we will be able to ensure that other cultures will be respected and people will get along with each other.” Other International Week activi ties included a Panel Discussion on “Change and Challenge in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union,” and a showing of the movie Ghandi. “International Week has been rec ognized at ECSU since 1963 and will continue to be ^ annual event,” said Lewis. “In future years I hope Interna tional Week will get bigger and bet ter.” Program leads to health careers By Kimberly Whitaker If ECSU’s Ms. Izila Mouring has her way, the University will be pro ducing a great many more students like StuartSquires and Gary Edwards. Squires and Edwards, both 1991 graduates of the University, are cur rently enrolled in East Carolina Uni versity’s school of medicine. Mouring, Director of ECSU’s Health Career Recruitment/Counsel ing Center, helped steer both of these graduates into their health sciences careers. “I helped them prepare for their schools, take tests, go to seminars and find out what type of financial aid was available for them,” she says. “And from then on they picked the schools Jammin' that they want to attend.” Counseling students regarding health science careers is all part of Mouring’s job. The Center, in operation on the campus since 1973, was estabhshed to “address the serious shortage of health professionals in North Caro lina,” says Mouring. ECSU’s program is also geared toward increasing minority represen tation in health science careers. The center provides recruitment, counseling and enrichment services, “to increase the number of under rep resented minorities and disadvantaged persons being trained and employed in the health professions,” according to a center brochure. The center provides information Photo by Jaclde Rountrtt ECSU freshman Kiwanee Powell shows off his musical talent during the ■Talent Show, held in Moore Hall. on health careers, assists students in applying to health profession schools and in identifying and applying for financial aid. Mouring also provides students with study materials for Medical College Admission Test and Dental Admission Test preparation, high school and college health career woric- shops and personal contact with health professionals. During the summer the center conducts a clinical work/study sum mer health program providing paid on-the-job experience in local health agencies and science enrichment ac tivities to participating health science majors. This past summer students participated in the summer programs at University of North Carolina, Howard University, East Carolina, Wake Forest, Dorothia Dix, Ohio State and Cambridge University. Tonja Williams, a senior psychol ogy major, did her internship at Dorthia Dix. The internship provided her with the opportunity “to work with resi dents, nurses and doctors,” she said. “I worked with patients in private practice and rest homes,” Williams continued. “I had hands on experi ence with patients and I was required to file a daily schedule like the doc tors. I would encourage any student who is undecided about a major to consider the health career field. It’s a great, wide field for minorities.” Mouring admits that some students have a built-in resistance to sciences, but adds, “I try to get students to understand that any course you’re not familiar with is hard. Take the tying your shoes example, for instance. When you don ’ t know how to tie your shoe, it seems so hard, but once you leam, it’s easy.” To reach more students and tell them about health science careers, “We are now in proccss of a hotline,” said Mouring. “It’s a linkage to com municate with ECSU students, high school students and the community. The hotline will provide information on the health career field, test dates, catalogs, summer programs, different seminars and field trips. You can also find out what the center has to offer and the procedures on how to join the Healll) Career Club.” Crowning a Queen I i Photos by Jackk RoMntrtt I: II r ' .. Miss Tonya DeVaughn shows her joy at bring crowned Miss ECSU on Coronation night, Oct. 19 in the Vaughan Center. The new Miss ECSU, a 1988 graduate of Clinton High, is a senior business administration major. Special Report Refund blues: students struggle to adjust to school's new polic}? By DeAnna Rudisili ECSU has two financial policies that are giving students the blues; one new and one old. The new policy—governing work study students and their bills, has turned students away from registra tion because they did not have the ability to pay their bills without work study credit. Until this year ECSU allowed students to apply their work study money to their bills in advance. Tlie old policy withholds full re funds on financial aid or scholarships until the last of November. Instead of receiving the money all at once, stu dents receive it in increments. Many ECSU students say these policies create hardships for them. In the spring of 1990, for example, junior math major Kevin Dunston was “forced out of school” when he couldn’t pay his entire bill up front, although he had been approved for work study. “The problem is having to pay your entire bill in advance and then receiv ing work study as a refund,” said Dunston. “It seems diat the purpose of work study or any financial aid should be to help those who can’t afford to pay their bill.” “Work study is granted to the stu dent but they have not yet earned it,” said Barry Herring of the Accounting/ Business and Finance Department. “We have had to enhance oiu' policy in collecting money because of prob lems in the past. We are a school, but we are also a business and we were losing money.” The department is willing to work . widi anyone who has “justifiable rea sons” said Herring. For instance, if you are a boarding student and owe only the amount that work study will cover on your bill then the University will allow you to enroll, but a non- toarding student must pay work study in advance. But students such as Wallace Gibbs, a freshman Criminal Justice major, are still struggling with this policy on collecting money. “I had no problem with being able to get work study this year,” said Gibbs. “My only problem was I had to pay my whole bill before I could get into school.” The policy on student refunds has also created problems for students. Refunds on financial aid or scholar ships are not given to students imme- ‘It seems that the purpose of work stud] or any financial aid should be to help those wk can’t afford to pay their bill” \ ■ { Kevin Dunstoi! diately, even when the award exceeds the bill due to the school. The policy was designed to “main tain the integrity of the program” and assist students with budgeting, ac cording to Roger McLean, Vice Chan cellor for Business and Finance. Students, however, feel that this money is theirs. They argue that the state decided they needed this finan cial aid to stay in school and that not receiving that money right away de feats the purpose. “How are we supposed to meet our living expenses for the first month of school, when our refund is withheld and we don’t receive a \york study check until the end of the month?” asked one student. “It’s not a refund. It’s our money to start with, given to us by the federal government.” The ECSU Student Refund Check Policy states that, “ A student refund is the difference between tuition paid (receipts from financial aid and/or otherwise) and the current tuition and fee charges...” In order to get a refund, students must fill out refund request forms four times a year. ECSU pays refunds in increments. For example, for the fall semester students receive half of their refunds on Sept. 20 and the other half on Oct. 19. Students must “prepare a separate request for each refund.” However the fall semester started on Aug. 24, almost a month before the students see any of their refund. And yet according to Barry Herring finan cial aid is “supposed to help the stu dent with books, food and housing” so that the student can stay in school. This practice is not followed by the other schools in the UNC system. UNC-Chaj)el Hill, UNC-Greens- boro, NC State, UNC-Wilmington, Wake Forest University and A&T State give full refunds to their stu dents right away. “Any money left over is given to the student, said Eleanor Morris of the Business & Finance Departniei of Chapel Hill. “It’s the studa ' money.” Appalachian State and UlJC Asheville give full refunds after ti drop-add period. Pembroke State, FayettevilleStat Shaw University and Winston-Salei State give full refunds within eigt weeks after the close of registratibi UNC-Charlotte and ECU giveji' refunds their on the first day of clas^ NC Central completely refuric ' their students 30 days after their dm ' add period. None of these schools break funds down into increments, ho# ever. They each give all of the refiini at one time. In commenting on the discrepant! between ECSU and the other school!| in the system. Herring said thattho* schools probably have a “better siJt cess rate” and that the school is lialiki for drop-outs. “We are dealing with a differs® clientele,” said Herring. “We have“ lot of people who qualify for finands aid. Our policies and procedures arts result of problems.” According to McLean, the stude» refunds are to assist students. Tl*’ policies have tightened up due to sin dents having problems managing money. “We’ve had land ladies banging® the school’s door. And we’ve students who live in luxury for first half of the semester and theni* for their next semester refunds wW they have no food to eat,” Mcl^ said. Many students disagree, howeve|‘ “It’s not the school’s responsiw ity to manage my money,” said oi* student. I really struggled that first monll'^^ another student said. “I don’t see w ! I have to pay for a few irresponsi freshmen who don’t know how manage their money.”
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
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Dec. 10, 1991, edition 1
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