The Compass
Monday. February 17. 2003.
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY
Antonio Barrow
Editor
ftnsucompasseditor® valioo.com
I would like to start this editorial
off by welcoming the staff and stu
dents, old and new, as we head off
into a new year.
During the past semester I
wanted to get more students and staff
involved with the paper by asking
them to send me their responses to
our issues.
This semester, I want more
responses and criticisms, especially
ones that we can place in the paper.
Your responses and criticisms help us
to grow and that is what I want.
I would like to thank those who
did respond. Your responses helped
to make our issues better because of
your suggestions. Some responses
were pretty humorous. If there had
been any misinforming information, it
was not intentional.
I would like to invite any one
who would like to work with us to
come forth because some of my staff
members have graduated.
I hope that you and your spouse,
fiance/fiancee, boyfriend^irlfriend
had a nice and enjoyable Valentine’s
Day.
So far, I heard from a lot of
people that the paper had been
good. I can only hope that it gets
better as this semester goes by. I
hope that this semester will be a
good one for you, and I hope that the
Compass will continue to serve as
one of your main sources of enter
tainment and Information.
ALCOHOL: IN SEARCH OF A SOLUTION
LaQuishaTisdal
Assistant Editor
Apostolic_quisha01 ©yahoo.com
Making the choice of how much
alcohol to consume is just as important
as making the decision to have unpro
tected sexual intercourse. In both
instances, the person is taking a risk: a
risk that could cost the individual the
rest of his or her life. In order to be a
positive influence on younger people
who have to make the choice of drink
ing alcohol, I encourage students to
practice abstinence or restraint, offer
them support, and provide examples
that can serve as wake-up calls.
The unlawful use of alcohol
causes problems socially, morally, and
spiritually for not only college students
who misuse this substance, but also
for everyone else in the world. Some
students may wonder why is this so if it
is their body, their use of the alcohol
and basically, their business.
Tragic examples surround us, like
accidents caused by drunk drivers or
the alcoholic boyfriend who wreaks
havoc on his girlfriend’s dorm room. As
a result, a woman’s life has been
damaged because a young man did
not make an intelligent choice about
his consumption of alcohol. Not only
has this young man ruined his
girlfriend’s life, but he has also ruined
his own because now he faces pos
sible legal punishment. He also has to
live with guilt of hurting someone he
cares for, wrestling with these thoughts
locked in a jail cell. In addition, the
boyfriend also has to live with the
thought that he has displeased God,
meaning he could be enjoined from
entering into heaven.
My advice about alcoholism to
college students about how they can
play a positive role when it comes to
making choices around drinking alco
hol would be to practice what they are
attempting to accomplish. If the stu
dents want to absolutely abstain from
alcohol intake, they should make sure
that other students would witness
them doing the same. They can also
offer to drop off and pick up any
friends who have plans to drink at an
event or social occasion. By doing this
they show their fellow students that
they care about their lives and the
lives of others. This also could show
their fellow students that drinking and
not being able to drive themselves
home is ridiculous.
Finally, students can offer spiritual
advice or counseling and warn others
what Paul showed in the Bible: that
engaging in boisterous celebrations
and activities causes a person to also
be associated with sins such as lust,
strife, sexual immorality, coveting,
idolatry, slander and envy. Like Paul,
Peter taught a valuable lesson by
showing in the Bible how drinking is a
part of a lifestyle of unbelief that drives
away people’s health and character.
As a young Christian, I am con
stantly attempting to be a positive role
model on campus. I emphasize our
personal responsibility to ourselves as
well as our respect for God’s law in my
advice to students concerning their
choices about life, especially drinking
alcohol. I encourage other students,
invite and bring some to church and
tell them that in today’s times, it is
imperative that we seek God’s guid
ance in anything we attempt to accom
plish. The unlawful use of anything in
God’s creation is a sin. Without God,
we are lost.
***NOTE: For those who say they
are “casual drinkers”or those who only
drink on occasions, did you know that
a drop of alcohol kills your brain cells?
The Compass
The Compass is published by EHzabeth City State University under the direction of the
Department of Language, Literature, and Communication, Dr. Velma Blackmon,
chairperson.
Antonio Barrow
Editor LaQuishaTisdal
Assistant Editor u ^ i
Copy Editor r
Arts & Entertainment Editor “
, . Rich Harvey
Photographers , ■
^ . Antonio Barrow,
Layout Designer(s)
Kymber Taylor „ . ^
Lavonda Whitt, Kerry Ann Cummings,
Michael Webb! nmbe7l7Hock^ Cordell, Jeremy Jemiings, Elizabeth
Martins, Shannon Perm ^ , xt i.
Fonpage Designers Taylor, Golar Newby
Advisor Kip Branch
Financial Advisor Kip Branc „ t i
Contributors April Emory, Dr. Jean Holt, Jamal
Williams
Please send your letters to the editor and poetry to ECSU Box 815,
Elizabeth City, NC 27909. All letters must include writer’s signature,
address, and telephone number.
A TiCe of C[ay
The. wor(d has moved on,
And I'm standing here atone.
I do not move forward,
9{pr do I go Bacl^ards.
I just stand fiere alone,
‘Wfiik the lUorCdhas moved on.
My souChasflmon azvay,
^ven tfie bCue clouds have turned gray.
The raindrops begin to fatt hmmfy,
And sti[[ no one has come for me.
Slowly I Begin to melt away,
Until aU remaining is a pile of clay.
-‘KimSerly ^ocl^aday
^Uie Approac/i
“E^use me sweetheart
May I have a moment of your time
Jirst of a[[let me introduce myseCf
My name is
Love, honesty, compassion, strength, provider
(Basically sweetheart I e^^mplify everything a woman needs
‘But enough about me
My whole purpose in my approach
Was to get to tqww tfieyoutig lady
With the persona of Cleopatra, b[acliciueen
Chilhn so gracefu^y in the cut
9{pw your outer appearance way surpasses that of the Mona Lisa
But please teUmeyour name is
Love, understanding, companionship, faithfulness, homemal:§T
9(old on why are you loolqng at me that way
I didn’t mean ^t last one to offend you
See I’mfuCly aware of the 2iiWoman
Ms. Independent
Ms. I don’t need nothing from a man
I got my ozms, right!
But that’s coolziHth me baby
Igrew up watching the Cosby’s not the Brady Bunch
you must understand Ms. I on^ want to compCiment what you dready have
Sidd my honesty and your faithfulness
My compassion and your companionship
My strength and your understanding
ComBined zoith out [ove
With both of us providing for the house that zve mal^
Sweetheart we can’t go v^ong
9^t used to a brother coming at you unth some lqiow[e(^e huh?
I i^w
you used to the
^ey shawty hold up
Or, girl ivith the tight jeans on come here
That’s cool though
I could have did that
But if I did not approach you With class
you would have looli_at me liie every other dude
So I didn’t approach lil^ every other dude
Because I’m not
T,very other dude!
-Jamal Williams
!My
Um...
!forso long I’ve waited here
for a love yours to come
now I’ve got you in my arms
god... you feelso good to me
and I iqww you feel it too
losing you would be abuse
Oh so bng I’ve waited here
trying to l^eep my faith near
a dream you’ve come to me
(wasted days and wasted nights)
I thought love wasn’t for me
since I was always lonely
aruf then one day finally...
Oh I stayed down on my ^jiees
every night begging pleas
7WWI have what I need
I’m so than/(fu[you found me
at a time when I was in Tieed
I’m so glad to Iqtowyou...
I’m so glad to touch you...
I’m so glad to hold you...
Oh so long I’ve waited here
trying to l^p my faith near
li^ a dream you’ve come to me
(wasted days and wasted nights)
~Mc%dth Cordell
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