The Compass
Elizabeth City State University’s award-winning student newspaper
Vol,64yNo. 1 February 15,2001 Circulation 2,200
Tuition and Fees Increase for Fall 2001
Heather Malone
cammymalone@hotmail.com
The price of an education at ECSU
will soon increase. Effective in the fall
2001 semester, tuition will increase by
4 percent for undergraduate students
and 6 percent for graduate students
for the 2001-2002 academic semesters.
The major fees, which include, student
activities, health services, athletics, edu
cation and technology, as in computers
and other tools used in the classrooms.
jei
The new computer lab is one of the facilities that will benefit students.
-Photo Courtesy of Inger Parker
will increase by 9 percent along with
dining and residence hall fees which
will increase by 4 percent.
According to Ernest G. Murphrey,
Vice Chancellor for Business and Fi
nance, tuition and fee increases are
needed to cover faculty and staff salary
increases, inflationary increases in the
cost of services, and in the expansion of
these services.
Normally, tuition and fees increase
every year. Murphrey explained why
the increase in tuition and fees, which is
usually about 5 percent, is larger this
year. "The fee increases are larger than
normal to offset several years of spend
ing which has been higher than rev
enues. In those years, the University
used balances which were already on
hand from previous years to cover the
higher expenditures. Those balances are
being reduced however, and the Uni
versity must cover the operating costs
of the four areas covered by these fees,"
said Murphrey. One reason contribut
ing to the reduction of balance is the
book rental fees. They were kept un
changed for five years because the
University wanted to keep book rental
affordable for students.
The University's Administrative
Council, which includes student rep
resentatives, agreed on the increase.
Afterwards, the recommendation
went to the Chancellor, the Board of
Trustees and was finally approved
upon by the Board of Governors.
"I absolutely agree that these in
creases are needed to provide the ser
vices that our ECSU students de
serve," said Murphrey. "We will al
ways seek to minimize increases,
while at the same time being aware
that out students need to be provided
first class services."
Information regarding tuition and
fee increases is available on the
University's web page. Also, students
are encouraged to email Mr. Murphrey
at egmurphrey@mail.ecsu.edu.
CBAC Continues to
Go the Distance
Elizabeth A. Martins
bondgirl69@collegeclub.com
CBAC, The Concerned Black Av^are-
ness Council, continues to go the dis
tance in enlightening students about
African-American culture.
The organization's president, junior,
Valenta Wade, said the club has activi
ties planned for the remainder of the
semester that relate to the African-
American experience. "We plan to place
more emphasis on African-American
history dviring the month of February,
and in March, we have our armual Cul
ture Day, which will feature poets,
dancers and a keynote speaker," Wade
said.
CBAC was founded in 1994 on the
Elizabeth City State University cam
pus and during the mid 90's, the orga
nization experienced a boom in mem
bership that now includes student's
from other historically black colleges
and universities.
The organization was founded in an
effort to better inform students and the
community about the importance of
embracing African-American history in
their lives. Having self-love and show
ing a respect and appreciation for other
people and other cultures were also
reasons the group came into existence.
Over the years, CBAC has gained a
reputation for being an organization
exclusively for black students. "Despite
the name of the club, CBAC is not an
organization for blacks only. CBAC
brings not only blacks, but other groups
of people together in an effort to unify
all people," said Wade. The club's ad
visor, Dr. Glenda Griffin also explains
the organization's objective this way:
"CBAC's objective is to encourage stu
dents to thrive on positiveness; it em
phasizes commonalties among people
and helps one to understand their own
inner greatness and use that as a link
to improve the future."
CBAC kicked off this year's black
history month with a forum entitled
"Can you pledge and worship God,"
which explored whether or not it was
possible for students to pledge a frater
nity or sorority and simultaneously
maintain their religious beliefs. The pan
elists for the forum included members
from some of the major sororities and
fraternities on campus. Dr. Margery
Coulson-Clark, Assistant Chancellor for
Academic Affairs, students in honor so
cieties, social fellowships and religious
advocates.
The club will conclude its black his
tory month celebration with a visit to
the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in
Baltimore, Maryland. The Museum
has a nationally acclaimed "Middle
Passage" exhibit, which Wade feels
will help educate students and mem
bers of CBAC about the importance
of remembering slavery and the con
ditions that African-Americans have
overcome over the years.
CBAC’s President, Valenta Wade