The Compass
Monday, February 17, 2003
^ Campus News ])
VIKINGS ASSISTING NEW STUDENTS: ACTIVITIES m PROGRESS
DeTra L. Stith
Depots @ hotmail.com
Vikings Assisting New Students
(V.A.N.S.) is about to start training
sessions for new and old members,
on February 12. Returning members
and new members will be in atten
dance at these training sessions,
which will take place twice a month.
New members were inducted
into the organization on Thursday,
February 6, and a dinner proceeded
the ceremony. The new members are
Marquita Perkins, Shonica Sweet,
Felecia Vann, lliana Daniels, Tracey
Ward, Tiffany Sutton, Lacoyia Cobb,
Argyle Collins, Danielle Graves,
Monique Johnson, Brandye Kellogg,
and Melba Valentine. Deborah G.
Branch, Director of V.A.N.S., opened
the ceremony. Takia Winrow, Vice-
President and a 3"'^ year V.A.N.S.
member, welcomed the members,
followed by the pinning of the new
members. Next the candle-lighting
was done then the reciting of the
pledge, led by Manuel Hyman, First-
Year Counselor. The dinner prayer
was said by Brenda Davis, University
Counselor.
‘The banquet was excellent
because it gave the new members,
including myself, time to converse
with other members. Overall, every
thing was organized and well estab
lished,” comments Shonica Sweet, a
sophomore new V.A.N.S. member.
There are many activities that
the V.A.N.S. will be involved in
during the upcoming months. First,
there will be a Sexual Responsibility
activity in the cafeteria on Wednes
day, February 12, during lunch. The
theme of the activity is “Keep it
Smart and Safe.” The V.A.N.S. will
also start planning for the Southern
Regional Orientation Workshop
(S.R.O.W.) that will be held at the
University of North Carolina-Greens-
boro on March 7-9. This is the 28”^^
annual workshop entitled “That 80’s
SROW” and consists of interest ses
sions, state meetings, a song/skit
competition, a spirit and banner com
petition, a T-shirt competition, a North
Carolina Pig Pickin’, and a Flash
Dance BO’s party. These events will
help the V.A.N.S. build teamwork and
develop new ideas for future orienta
tions.
“We are going to prepare early for
this year’s orientation workshop so
that we can have everything together
before we leave,” comments Sabrina
Brown, President and a 3^'^ year
V.A.N.S. member.
A Safe Spring Break Pledge will
also be done during the week of
ensure that students take responsi
bility for their actions during that
week and stay safe, while away from
school. Spring Open House for high
school students will be held in April.
“V.A.N.S. is an organization that
I will take seriously and commit
myself to. I will always make sure
that I will be that individual who is i
always there for incoming and trans-
fer students, as well as parents, to
make sure ECSU is a University they I
can depend on,” comments Sweet. I
V.A.N.S. has a lot to offer the |
students this year and they are living
proof to their orientation theme that i
ECSU is what you make it. I
SPRING BREAK SURVIVES
BE ALERT: STATIC AT GAS PUMPS
Jeremy Jennings
Cheap sci fi@hotmail.com
Two weeks ago, frigid tem
peratures delivered a crippling
blow to Elizabeth City’s water
system. Seventy-year-old pipes
froze and burst, leaving many
without water pressure. Students
here at ECSU were treated to a
week off from classes, which we
all enjoyed in some way or an
other.
As we returned to class on the
following Monday, many students
have been wondering what will be
done to make the days up and,
more importantly, ARE WE STILL
HAVING SPRING BREAK!
During a phone conversation
with Student Government Associa
tion Vice President Damion Lewis,
he discussed the compromise that
had been reached. Instead of
taking our Spring Break, the ad
ministration has decided to hold
classes on Good Friday and the
following Monday (April 18 and
21, respectively). The semester
will also have four extra days
tacked on after graduation.
Lewis said that the reason for
this decision was simple.
“Many students and faculty
members have already made
plans for their Spring Break. It just
wouldn’t be fair to someone who
had already paid good money for
a plane ticket or a hotel reserva
tion.”
So, to all who have made
plans for their Spring Break, have
fun and be safe. If you haven’t
made plans, there’s still time to
call your travel agent.
Anonymous Author
The Petroleum Equipment Institute
is working on a campaign to try and
make people aware of fires as a result of
“static” (that is, static electricity) at gas
pumps. They have researched 150
cases of these fires. The results were
very surprising:
1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of
them were women.
2) Almost all cases involved the
person getting back in their vehicle while
the nozzle was still pumping gas. When
finished, they went back to pull the
nozzle out. The fire started then as a
result of static discharge.
3) Most men never get back in their
vehicle until completely finished. This is
why they are seldom involved in these
types of fires.
4) Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
5) Don’t ever use cell phones when
pumping gas. The RF energy from a cell
phone (a radio transmitter) can cause a
sparking on bare metal, much like alumi
num foil in a microwave oven).
6) It is the vapors that come out of
the gas that cause the fire, when con
nected with static discharges.
7) In 29 fires, the vehicle had been
reentered and the nozzle was touched
during refueling. This occurred in a
variety of makes and models. Some
result in extensive damage to the ve
hicle, to the station, and to the customer
8) Seventeen fires occurred before,
during or immediately after the gas cap
was removed and before fueling began.
NEVER get back into your vehicle
while filling it with gas. If you absolutely
HAVE to get in your vehicle while the
gas is pumping, make sure you get out,
close the door TOUCHING THE METAL,
before you touch the nozzle. This way
the static from your body will be dis
charged before you ever remove the
nozzle.
As mentioned earlier. The Petro
leum Equipment Institute, along with
several other companies now, are really
trying to make the public aware of this
danger. You can find out more informa
tion by going to http://www.pei.org. Once!
here, click in the center of the screen
where it says “Stop Static.”
A HERITAGE OF HATE
Kymber Lee Taylor
Kltavlor2@mail.ecsu.edu
The debate over the confederate
flag impacts all southerners’ lives;
whether they live in Columbia, South
Carolina, where the flag is raised on
the capitol lawn, or whether they live
in Elizabeth City, North Carolina,
where the flag adorns neighboring
homes and vehicles. The real debate,
however, concerns the meaning that
is attributed to the “Southern Cross:”
opponents see the flag as a symbol
of racism and slavery, while support
ers maintain that the flag honors the
Confederate past.
In January of 2000, Gary
Bledsoe, the President of Texas’
National Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People, wrote to the
then Governor Bush requesting that
the confederate symbol be removed
from the states public schools and
courthouses. The flag is depicted on
a plaque located in the Texas Su
preme Court and is used as a mascot
in some high schools in Texas, as
well as other southern states. Bush’s
Executive Assistant denied the
request in a letter from the
Governor’s Office to Texas NAACP
stating:
“The Governor believes that
local communities can best make
decisions that reflect their interests.”
Many of the southern communi
ties in support of the flag claim that
the Confederate battle flag symbol
izes a struggle for freedom from
oppressive, centralized, government-
not a defense of slave ownership or
inequality.
‘The Confederate flag is a
symbol of states rights,” stated one
Elizabeth City State University stu
dent.
And yet, as Bledsoe pointed out,
the Ordinance of Secession states
that preserving Negro slavery was
the primary reason Texas, as well as
other Confederate states, seceded
from the Union.
We hold as undeniable truths
that the governments of the various
States, and of the confederacy itself.
were established exclusively by the
white race, for themselves and their
posterity; that the African race had no
agency in their establishment; that
they were rightfully held and regarded
as an inferior and dependent race,
and in that condition only could their
existence in this country be rendered
beneficial or tolerable.
“The flag is an indicator that the
person defiantly displaying it on their
home, car, or business is racist,” said
another ECSU student.
Denmark Groover, the Georgia
House floor leader who in 1956 spon
sored the legislation to add the South
ern Cross into the state flag, concurs
that the flag was a defiant stand
against integration.
“For the most part, the Southern
states that raised the confederate
battle flag or incorporated it into their
state flag did so during the 1950’s
and1960’s,’’Groover stated.
But still many advocate that the
Southern Cross is merely a symbol of
southern pride and that slavery thrived
under the United States flag longer
than it did under the Confederate.
“The Confederate flag, not the
United States flag, is the one appro
priated by hate groups, moreover,
slavery was brought to an end undef
the United States flag, not the Con
federate flag,” argued Elizabeth City
State University’s NAACP Chapter
President, Catina Alston. The Soutii-
ern Poverty Law Center recognizes
over 500 extremists groups, includ
ing the Ku Klux Klan, that use the
Southern Cross as one of their
symbols.
“The Confederate flag is a
belligerent symbol of hatred. It repre'
sents the oppression of African
Americans. Though some use the
excuse of heritage, this [flag] still
remains a constant reminder of hate
and represents pain, agony and ,
abuse for the black community,”
stated Cylea Seabrook, a senior at
ECSU.