ECSU Celebrates
The
Black History Monthl
Compass
Vol. 70, No. 4
February 2005
Elizabeth City, N.C.
Trahan rocks
the boat!
Sports/page 3
The sky is
the limit
Page 4, page 8
Terri’s fight
After a botched operation,
Terri Schindler-Schiavo
was left with severe brain
damage. Who has the right
to decide if she lives or
dies?
Page 6/Editorial
Unemployed
By Matt Steen
EARL, YOU PUT TOO
MANY STAMPS ON THIS
LETTER.
KNOW. J ^
Page 7/Entertainment
What’s Inside
Page 2 - ECSU calendar
Page 3 - Sports
Page 4 - 5 - Campus news
Page 6 - Editorial
Page 7 - Entertainment
Page 8 - Special feature
300march to honor King
Elizabeth City cel
ebrates MLK Day
By Toby Tate
Editor-In-Chief
Over 300 Elizabeth City State
University and College of the
Albemarle students and
community members, braving
below freezing temperatures,
assembled at the ECSU library
and singing “We Shall
Overcome” and carrying banners
for ECSU and the Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity, marched
downtown to the front of the City
Hall building in remembrance of
the accomplishments of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The crowd was met at City
Hall by Mayor John Bell along
with the Reverend Charles
Foster of the Holy Trinity
Community Church; Raymond
Rivers, president of the
Pasquotank County NAACP;
guest speaker Keith Richardson,
who is an educator at Pasquotank
County High School and an
advisor for Alpha Phi Alpha, the
same fraternity as Dr. King, and
City Representative Myrtle
Rivers, all of whom were invited
by the sponsors, ECSU, the Beta
Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha
and the City of Elizabeth City,
to greet the crowd.
In his greeting the mayor said,
“This is our present, what we see
here today, and I guess it’s the
result of the past and the great
Richardson
leader Dr. Martin Luther King
and what he caused to happen in
this great country.”
Raymond Rivers followed the
Mayor’s speech by reflecting on
King’s past as a minister from
Alabama who became the
president of the Christian
Southern Leadership Conference
and committed himself to
responding to the cry of freedom.
Rivers said King’s refusal to
back away from confronting
racial bigotry and injustice by
demonstrating in peaceful
protest caused him to win the
Nobel Peace Prize. Because of
King’s vision. Rivers said, the
1964 Civil Rights Bill was
passed.
“As we come each year to pay
tribute to this great man, what
vision do we have?” Rivers
asked. “I challenge each of you
to get involved, and to pick up
the torch Dr. King left behind.”
Following Rivers, Michael
Hogg, vice president of the
V
ECSU student
Carleta Ricks
performs acapella
for the crowd at
the Martin Luther
King Day Cel
ebration in front
of the Elizabeth
City Town Hall.
Photo by Toby Tate
College of the Albemarle
Student Government
Association quoted a passage
from King’s 1968 speech made
the day before his assassination.
“I have looked over and I have
seen the Promised Land. I may
not get there with you, but I want
you to know tonight that we as a
people will get to the Promised
Land.”
Cecil Perry, Vice Chairman of
the Pasquotank County Board of
Commissioners, standing in for
Chairman Bill Trueblood,
commended the crowd for
attending the rally despite the
cold weather.
See March on page 2
Rental prc^jram still unresolved
Price of new books too
high for many students
By Marshall Goatley
Staff Writer
The book rental system has been
in place at Elizabeth City State
University for a number of years.
According to ECSU Campus
Bookstore manager Pedro
Holley, now the administration
wants to do away with the book
rental system so students can
“build a personal library.” If
students
want to
keep any
of their
books
they can
buy them
at the end
of the
semester,
but many students say they do
not have the money to buy their
books.
One of students’ main
concerns about doing away with
the book rental system is
financial aid. Some students say
they are
just
barely
getting
enough
financial
aid to pay
their
tuition
now. If
forced to buy their books next
fall, some may have to go
without books all semester.
Some students from both in
and out of state still live with
their parents who make too much
money to get enough financial
aid to pay for everything, so
some say they may have no
alternative but to leave ECSU if
the book rental system is done
away with.
Dr. Carolyn Mahoney recently
stepped down as Vice
Chancellor to take a position as
President of Lincoln University,
and was one of the main people
pushing for the end of the book
rental system on campus, leaving
it in a state of limbo.
Last November, ECSU
students showed their unity in
disagreement with the
administration in trying to
discontinue the book rental
system. The students marched
to the Thorpe administration
building with a signed petition
in a dispute over the program
that has yet to be resolved.
Some students say the book
rental system is not only a great
selling point for ECSU, but is a
unique aspect of the college.
The book rental system sets
ECSU apart from other
universities and colleges where
students have no choice but to
purchase their books, for about
See Program on page 2
Remodeling to begin
for Johnson Hall
Total cost estimated
at over $3 million
By Bruce Midgette
Staff Writer
Elizabeth City State University’s
Johnson Hall has been sealed off
for the start of renovations to the
cramped and outdated building.
Preparations for the upcoming
renovations actually started last
year as classes and fimiiture were
removed from the building.
Johnson Hall is expected to have
larger classes, more office space
and updated labatories.
Language and Literature Dept.
Head Administrative Assistant,
Pemell Bartlett said, “There will
be more modem labs. There will
also be Mass Media, Speech
Pathology, and Resource Writing
Labs.”
Students and staff will have the
advantage of better sound quality
in classes. The new rooms will
provide fewer echoes, so the
sounds of pencils hitting the
floor and paper being crumpled
should not be as annoying.
Johnson Hall will also feature
Hazardous waste?
Does Johnson Hall
have asbestos?
See story on page 4.
See Remodeling on page 2
\ iill H ii
■
J'i
VANS picks up new
members at ceremony
Returning members
also honored
By Kimberly Lilly
Staff Writer
Vikings Assisting New Students,
one of the 60 clubs and
organizations on Elizabeth City
State University’s campus,
inducted 24 new members at its
annual Induction and
Recognition ceremony on
Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the K.E.
White Graduate Center.
The ceremony featured the
accomplishments of VANS,
originally known as the “BIG
BUDDIES,” a program that
began in the early 80’s with very
few members.
VANS, coordinated by the
ECSU Counseling and Testing
Center, has been in operation for
more than seven years.
Mrs. Deborah G. Branch,
Branch
Assistant Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs and director of
the Counseling and Testing
Center, said, “The purpose of the
program is to make all new
students and their families and/
or guests feel welcome while at
the University.”
Members of VANS host many
activities throughout the school
year. They serve as peer
See VANS on page 2