The Compass Monday, October 29, 2001
5
terrorists overwhelm “MOVING BEYOND THE
THE WESTERN WORLD ROOTS OF RACISM”
C. Knight
Thewisestudent@yahoo.com
While students are attempting to
concentrate on academics, the world
outside our campus swarms with
news and reports about war and
Terrorism. Since the Attacks on the
World Trade Center, the Pentagon,
and Pennsylvania many students are
worried about the future of our coun
try. Osma Bin Laden is the man alleg
edly responsible for the fear that
spreads on our Campus and abroad.
Who is'Osma Bin Laden? Ac
cording to the website,
www.msnbc.com, Bin Laden was
born on July 30,1957, the 17th of 20
sons of a now deceased Saudi con
struction magnate of Yemeni origin.
Bin Laden gained prominence during
the Afghan war against the Soviet
Union. In 1989, when the war ended,
he returned to Saudi Arabia to work in
the family business, the Bin Laden
Construction Group, but his radical
Islamic contacts caused friction with
Saudi authorities. As a result of his
opposition to the ruling Al Saud
family Saudi Arabia revoked his
citizenship in 1994 and his family
disavowed him, though some of his
brothers have reportedly maintained
contact. In 1996, under strong U.S.
and Egyptian pressure, Sudan ex
pelled him and he returned to Af
ghanistan, where he has lived under
’’the protection of the Taliban. On June
7,1999, bin Laden was place on the
FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List and a $5
million reward was offered for his
capture.
Many students are wondehng
why Osma Bin Laden, has Attacked
Anherica. Further the answers lie in a
“Fatwa” Issued by bin Laden on Feb.
23, 1998, against all U.S. civilians
and military.
V A Fatwa is; ‘The ruling to kill the
■ Americans and their allies — civilians
and military — is an individual duty
for every Muslim who can do it in any
country in which it is possible to do it,
in order to liberate the al-Asqua
Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy
mosque (in Mecca, Saudi Arabia,)
from their grip, and in order for their
armies to move out of all lands of
' Islam, defeated and unable to
threaten any Muslim.”
A junior Marketing Major says,
“We should be prepared to deal with
Osma Bin Laden and his affiliates
because we don’t know who they are”
The terrohsm that our nation has
seen since the Sept. 11'^ attacks has
many students considering and
reconsidering Flying. However,
Emmanuel Basknight, who is flying
Delta later this month, said, “ I feel
safe.”
When students were asked
about the United States going to war
with Afghanistan, a Sophomore in
Pre-med Biology said “ (I feel that) in
a way (going to war) had to be done
because someone had to pay for
what was done here, but also a lot of
innocent people will die and they had
nothing to do with it (the September
11'^ attacks).”
To make matters worst, more
lethal attacks have been made on
Americans. Recently Anthrax Poison
ing or acts of Bio-Terrorism have
been reported throughout the United
States. NBC nightly news anchor Tom
Brokaw has had mail sent to him that
contained this deadly bacterium.
According to the website,
www.bt.cdc.gov^Anthrax “is an acute
infectious disease caused by the
spore-forming bacterium Bacillus
anthracisl’The Center of Disease
Control website made this comment
about Anthrax:
“Direct person-to-person spread
of anthrax is extremely unlikely, if it
occurs at all. Therefore, there is no
need to immunize or treat contacts of
persons ill with anthrax, such as
household contacts, fhends, or co
workers, unless they also were also
exposed to the same source of infec
tion.”
A senior. Criminal Justice Major,
said “I had never heard of Anthrax
until I saw a story on the news. From
now on I will always be careful about
all mail that I receive”.
In the days that have passed
since Sept. 11, students, and the
nation at large has changed. As the
President of the United States and
our extensive military strikes back,
and our nation launches its attack on
Bin Laden forces, we’re all attempting
to continue with our studies and
normal lives.
Jessica Barrier
White_dov@hotmail.com
The “Moving Beyond the Roots
of Racism,” forum conducted by Mr
Forrest, Parker was held at Elizabeth
City State University on September
27. Mr. Parker is the President and
Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia
Educational Council on Multi Ethnic
Concerns. Mr. Parker summed up the
focus of his speech when he said, “To
move beyond the roots of racism, you
have to understand your own biases
and prejudices.” “America was built
on a homogenous mindset...based
on similarities, not differences,” he
added. He went on to explain that
society discourages differences
through the process of assimilation.
According to the American Heritage
Dictionary, “assimilation” is defined as
“the process whereby a minority
group gradually adopts the customs
and attitudes of the prevailing culture.”
Mr Parker gave an example of
assimilation using his personal
experience as a basketball official.
His boss told him he had to shave off
all of his facial hair in order to be
allowed to officiate. Also, all of the
basketball officials were prohibited
from wearing glasses; if their eyesight
was impaired, they had to wear
contact lenses. These stipulations
about appearance did not affect how
well the officials directed the game,
but rather were only aesthetic require
ments. However, Mr. Parker did not
want to shave his beard, but he did so
because he wanted to keep his job as
an official.
While the rules Mr. Parker faced
in order to work as a basketball
official were minimal, the obstacles
many individuals face when they
attempt to enter the workforce are
much more serious. Mr. Parker said,
“Twenty years ago, there were only
eight or nine jobs open for females.
And even though there are more
women in college now than men,
women and minorities still have a
hard time getting a job.”
Mr. Parker said that because of
past prejudices like those affecting
women, the government initiated
affirmative action. He said, “Affirma
tive action is an official
acknowledgement to the fact that we
have an un-level playing field.
People who are qualified afford a
chance to get their foot in the door.
While there is still a door of opportu
nity for women and minorities, it is
much smaller than the door of oppor
tunity for the males and majority.” He
addressed the audience, “You
[women and minorities] have to work
harder to receive the job you deserve
but the door is still open for you.”
Mr. Parker also addressed the
issue of people generally isolating
themselves by living among their own
group. For example. Latinos, Catho
lics, and African Americans all live in
separate sections of the same city. Mr.
Parker said, “I can ask any taxi cab
driver to carry me to each area and he
would know exactly where they were
located.” He added, “America is not a
melting pot, but rather a salad. We
stay within our comfort zones and we
live in isolation. We know most
people only on the surface”
When students asked for advice
about how to solve these and similar
issues, Mr. Parker offered “The Ten
Commandments of Human Relations”
as a guide to help individuals build
better relationships and networking
skills, and to overcome personal
prejudices. The ten commandments
are:
1. Speak to people or at least
acknowledge their existence.
2. Smile at people.
3. Call people by their name.
4. Be friendly and helpful.
5. Be cordial.
6. Be genuinely interested in
people.
7. Be generous with praise.
8. Be considerate with the
feelings of others.
9. Be thoughtful of the opinions
of others.
10. Be alert to give service.
As Mr. Parker advised, we must
take the time to recognize our own
biases and work toward becoming
more unprejudiced individuals if we
are to “move beyond the roots of
racism.”
A YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR ON THE RISE
DeTra Stith
depot9@hotmail.com
Elizabeth City State University
has a new rising star in the business
world. Many professors already knew
' who he was before they ever saw
him; he had made personal email
contacts with many of them. He is so
affable that he has made his pres
ence well known with fellow students
on campus as well. This successful
I businessman is the sole owner of
Summers Internet Consulting. This
I freshman Computer Science major is
’ Timothy Summers, a 17 year-old who
has started his own business.
Summers Internet Consulting
specializes in internet marketing,
advertising, international trade,
internet set-ups, secretarial assis
tance, partnerships, promotion, and
e-commerce. Tim Summers also has
• another branch to his business called
Soundeast Music Group, which
discovers and produces talent. The
company has another branch that
deals with a clothing lines that in
cludes, Unity, YE.S., Malik Maricio,
and S.I.e. Wear. Summers also
sponsors a clothing line called
Kornerboy
with
Lshawn
Smith, and
Curtis C.J.
Overton.
This cloth
ing line will
debut in
November
of 2001.
Sum
mers has
done
marketing
for many
customers,
including
auto body
shops, and ^
now he
has clients )
from rotary clubs and Smith Barney
clubs. He has done websites for
radio stations and databases for
other companies. He is the youngest
member of the Elizabeth City Cham
ber of Commerce, and sometimes it
seems as if he intimidates the older
businessmen.
“I’m not
trying to
compete
with any
other per
son in the
business,
because
I’m trying to
do my own
thing,” say
Summers.
The
business
skills began
when he
was only12
and was
selling jolly
ranchers in
middle
photo by Inger L Parker SChOOl. He
says that he has always been busi
ness-minded and driven to succeed.
In high school he burned CDs and
sold as many as 100 copies in one
day After a while, he wanted to start
a business and make more of a profit
off his products. When he was in high
school, he had an even stronger
desire to start his own business. He
asked his peers at Northeastern High
School, to invest in his business. One
student invested $32.00 and from
there the business expanded.
Summers’ said that his inspira
tion comes from his parents and his
grandparents. They were all business-
driven as well, and encouraged him to
pursue his dreams. Summers look up
to Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Michael Dell
(owner of Dell computers), and Sean
(P. Diddy) Combs as role models.
One day he said that he hopes to be
the next Bill Gates. “ I would like to
have a big name in the technological
business. Those people know the
rythm of the business, and that is
what Gates is known for,” he said.
Many people did not believe
Summers would make it in the busi
ness world, but he wants to let people
know that his is optimistic and is only
getting stronger. He is ready to meet
more challenges and weather every
storm. His ultimate dream is to own
his own empire and be internationally
known. This is just the beginning.