Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / Nov. 30, 2001, edition 1 / Page 8
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The Compass Friday. November 30,2001 Campus News J THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY AT ECSU TERRORISM TODAY AND TOMORROW Detra Stith Depot9@hotmail.com The Concerned Black Awareness Council of Elizabeth City State University held a forum entitled ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly at ECSU” on Wednesday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall. ECSU students and CBAC mem bers Brandon Cannady and Tiffanie King moderated the forum. The topics for discussion included a wide variety of concerns that affect the ECSU student body. These concerns include questions about the housing, financial aid, and admissions process. There were also concerns about the performance of campus police and security. As always, there were complaints about the cafeteria quality of food and the staff’s reluctance to allow students to take food out of the cafeteria. Those present to address these concerns were Chancellor Mickey L. Burnim, Mr. Andre Farley for financial aid, Mr. Bruce Boyd for housing, Ms. Paula Simpson and Ms. Ruth Williams for the cafeteria. Dr. Jean Holt for student activities, and Mr. John Smith Assistant to the Chancellor, and Captain Beamon lor campus police and security. The forum started with an African Folktale that was presented by Valenta Wade, CBAC President. “The truth must be told no matter how harsh it may be, it may redden your eyes, but it won’t blind you,” she said. The concerns that have the stu dents most upset is the performance in admissions and financial aid. Students complain that they are never contacted when they have received grants, schol arships, and cutbacks on loans, and if they are, it is a few days away from when forms are due. “Some things can not be straight ened out over the phone, and when you do send information home, it seems as if it is sent by pony express,” said Tiffanie King. Andre Farley tried to respond, but was unsuccessful because of the unwill ingness of the students to accept his response. They became rowdy and discontent. He let the students know that the verification of financial aid is a timely business and that he would be happy to discuss their complaints in his office at an appointed time. Farley’s persona was put to the test by students, Sherri Horner, SGA Attorney General, and senior Tiffany Shearn.They implied that his persona changes depending on his enviornment. During this time, he refused to respond to their comments about how his persona changes around certain groups of people. Housing also was addressed a few times and the students had much to say. “Why am I getting fined for feces in the shower, and vomit in the stool when I didn’t do these things, and why are people cleaning the bathroom with a leaf blower, that is not cleaning anything”, comments Ira Mitchell, a junior. This bit of humor caused the audi- ECSU GLITTERS ence to laugh, but Mitchell was serious about the dilemma. Some other housing concerns involved the question: “why were room checks being given when students weren’t in the room,” “why isn’t there internet or kitchen access in the com plex,” “why aren’t the cleaning people doing their jobs,” and “why are they trying to build a new dorm when the old donns need repairs?” ® There is a meal plan thfet is in effect until 2003, and part of this ptan is if a student reside on campus, bating in the cafeteria, is a part of it. '■ However, the cafeteria panel was approached with reasonable questions surrounding this meal plan. “Why are only cold plates allowed for takeouts,” asked junior, Keshia Mallory. She rea soned that if we pay the same amount for our meals, we should be able to get a hot plate regardless of whether we eat in or out of the cafeteria. “We do not want students trying to get more than one meal, that’s why cold plates are given,” says Ruth Williams. “We are the only university within the other constituents schools with a selected meal plan,” states Kevin Wade, a senior. The campus police and security were also a target for the night. “When the tickets are given out for parking, no favoritism should be given,” commented Jenelle Simpson, a senior. On an occasion, Simpson’s car was given a ticket for parking, but she would see someone in that same spot with no ticket given to them, she would report her complaint to the campus police. Captain Beamon let her know that there was only one officer who write tickets and he tries to stay consistent as much as possible. Students were also con cerned about why the campus security does not conduct a lot of foot patrol. Instead they drive around in their cars, and they wanted to know exactly how they were supposed to secure anything from a car. On another note, another person’s persona was questioned. This time it was Chancellor Mickey Burnim. “You seem to be quite shocked when you hear the issues being ad dressed, and as a chancellor you don’t interact much with the students on campus,” says Tiffany Shearn. Burnim expressed himself and reasoned that he does interact with the students on a regular basis, but some times he has meetings that he has to attend and just does not have the time. The night was filled with important issues being discussed. There were a few outbursts of sarcasm and humor, but a few questions were answered. But the question remains, what is really going to happen? Is anything going to change? These issues are becoming repetitive and it is time to see some improvements. Only time will show if these students’ complaints will be resolved. McKeith Cordell mckcordell@htomail.com On November 14, the ECSU Plan etarium hosted its annual Thanksgiving Mght shows. The evening’s spectacle began at 5:00 pm with an animated Thanksgiving movie, “Mouse on the Mayflower.” At 6:00 pm the show contin ued with a laser show. This show was much more interactive and contained music. This show combined music and colorful bands of bright lights. The images were quite timely for Thanksgiving. “We have about four wide angle projectors and about twenty regular projectors”, said Dr. Sultana Khan, who directs each show with the assistance of Ms. Jennifer Thoms. Next was the 6:30 presentation of "Night Sky.” This 30 minute display guided the viewer through a starlit sky as It would appear on any given night any place in the world. Guests seemed to be equally intrigued by this show. Upon Jessica Barrier White_dov @ hotmail.com Just as New York City and the nation had begun to heal after the tragic loss of life at the World Trade Center, another 265 individuals have been lost to a horrendous plane crash in New York On Veteran’s Day, November 12, 2001, Flight 587 lost control due to mechanical failure and crashed in Far Rockaway on Long Island. All 260 passengers on the jet were killed and five Belle Harbor residents. Only four days earlier, students and faculty at Elizabeth City State University had a panel discussion to further discuss terrorism. Dr. Reed Adams, a Criminal Justice professor at ECSU, hosted the discussion. The panel included Dr. Glen Bowman, an Assistant Professor in History, Randy Cartwright, Sheriff of Pasquotank County, Dr. Naginder Dhillion, a Political Scientist, Mr. Frank Parish, District Attorney for Pasquotank County, and Ms. Pricilla Penny, Busi nesswoman. Dr. Bowman discussed the issue of whether terrorism was new or not. Dr. Bowman said, ‘Terror is violence com mitted by a group to reach a political goal. Terrorism is the political use of terror.” Dr. Bowman gave examples of prior incidences that could be considered terrorism. “One example is the movie Braveheart, based on William Wallace. In Scotland, William Wallace was a hero, but to Britain he was a terrorist. Whether an act is a terrorist act or not depends on how you look at it.” Mr. Bowman said, “Many people say that what happened two months ago in New York City is brand new, it maybe brand new in Ameri can sense, but terrorism is not new.” Sheriff Cartwright discussed the local law enforcement’s response to terrorism. Cartwright said, ‘Terrorism has changed the way we handle things at the municipal airport and water treat ment system. Two years before the World Trade Center bombing we had put a terrorist plan into place to try to identify possible sources of terrorism, but we had to change the guidelines after the terrorist acts. The terrorists actually did something very different than terrorists have ever done by using their own force. Things we didn’t look at for years—we have to look at now. Law enforcement has had to deal with more acts of retalia tion than actual terrorism. Is that terror ism too?” Dr. Dhillon’s topic included political illustration and explanations of terrorism, Dr. Dhillon said, “Human nature has not changed in thousands of years, essen tially mankind has remained violent and we have always tried to rationalize and justify the violence. Terrorism has been going on for a long time and only recently has it affected America. We thought terrorism had ended with Hitler, but it has not. It probably will not even end with bin Laden.” Dr. Dhillon ended his discussion by suggesting individuals be more like Ghandi. Dr. Dhillon said, “Ghandi was' willing to die for many causes but he wouldn’t kill for any cause. So, I think we should move toward moderation [like Ghandi]. Mr. Parish explained the process of prosecuting international terrorists. Parish said, “In this country we take rights seriously... It is these rights that we need to balance against the need to prevent [terrorism] and prosecute the terrorists. John Adams, our second President, defended the individuals that were responsible for the Boston Massa cre. Successful prosecution of terrorists requires scrupulous compliance with the constitution; this should be based on evidence—not prejudice.” A resident of New York for 23 years Ms. Penny, was the last panelist to speak. Ms. Penny said, “I felt the terror ists have such a hate for New York City because of its diversity and international influence.” Ms. Penny said that she had lost a former neighbor in the WTC attack and that she had often visited the WTC once a week while she lived in New York City. She ended her statement by saying “If we don’t learn anything else from this [attack] we need to learn how to be nice to one another because this [terrorism] is not against just whites or blacks but against all of us.” Perhaps we should heed her advice as we deal with the aftershocks of the 9- 11 attack and the accidental flight 587 crash. GRADUATES MAKE VIKING HISTORY completion, the last show was titled “Endless Horizon”. This show depicted eariy explorations in history to modern day space explorations. This show was narrated by Patrick Stewart of Star Trek; The Next Generation, and tested the human spirit of exploration and the question “Why?” The overall course of the evening proved to be very insightful and most entertaining. Dr. Khan and Jennifer Thoms strive to get more ECSU stu dents involved with the Planetarium. Their average audience mainly consists of several ECSU students and a great number of people from the community who come out to support these free events. “Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day are our most popular shows each year,” stated Dr. Sultana Khan. One ECSU student said, “With the stress that builds up each day of the week from classes, it’s good to be able to relax and enjoy something positive. And it’s free!” Enoch Bond EbondOOS @ collegeclub.com Another chapter will be added to the Mighty Viking History book on December 8, 2001 as the first Master’s Degree in Education Program graduate participates in the annual commencement exercises. So, was this a small feat? Not Hardly! Dr. Nancy Reese gave some insight on what was required to achieve such an honor. Dr. Reese stated the needed requirements in order to enter the pro gram. In order for one to be eligible one has to: 1) have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution, 2) two official transcripts, a North Carolina “A” license in Elementary Education or the equiva lent from another state, 3) two years of full-time teaching experience in an elementary classroom, 4) overall under graduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), 5) appropriate score on the GRE or MAT, 6) interview with education faculty, 7) a two page typewritten essay, 8) three profes sional recommendations, 9) complete forms (ECSU Health form. Graduate Application form and ECSU Residence Fonn) and 10) a $30 nonrefundable application fee. After admission into the program the student must still work hard, earning no more than two C’s, 36 semester hours, and producing thesis that will show all that they learned. What about class schedules? Since these students work as teachers also, many of the class are held from 4pm until 9pm. Asked if there were any perks that come from matriculating in the program. Dr. Reese’s answer was a confident “yes!” Some of the perks include being a seasoned teacher, being able to com plete research, investigating real prob lems and being able to attend seminars for National Board Certification, which results in a 12 percent salary increase. Asked if she thought that other schools at the University would pursue the Master’s Degree Program, Dr. Reeves implied that the Schools of both Biology and Mathematics were consider ingthe idea. The first Master’s Degree graduat ing candidates are: Thelma Finch - Perquimans Central School (National Board Certified Teacher), Urania Harrell- T.S. Cooper Elementary School, Cheryl Luton- Weeksville Elementary School (National Board Certified Teacher), Karer Palmer- Sheep-Harney & JC Sawyer (National Board Certified Teacher), Willi® Riddick- T.S. Cooper Elementary School and Anne Ziemba- White Oak Elemen tary School (National Board Certified Teacher). CONGRATULA TIONS FALL CLASS OF 20011! 4
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
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Nov. 30, 2001, edition 1
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