The Compass/Feb. 2005 Page 5
ECSU lends helping hand
to non>traditional students
By Nancy Wilson
Staff Writer
When non-traditional students
return to schools like Elizabeth
City State University, they rarely
come back for the same reasons
as their “Traditional”
counterparts. The National
Orientation Directors
Association Nontraditional
Student Newsletter is a
publication which focuses on
helping nontraditional students
get the best out of their college
experience. NODA stated that
when nontraditional students
come back they tend to, “Learn
what they consider to be
important,” and “maintain strong
convictions about returning to
education.”
Non traditional students at
ECSU range in age from 25 to
75 and generally have had many
experiences in the real world of
work. “It’s not easy to do when
you work full time; it’s a very
hectic schedule,” said Ester
Jordan, a criminal justice major
and a nontraditional student at
ECSU. Mrs. Jordan also had a
daughter who is a traditional
student at ECSU. Mrs. Jordan
is happy with the fact that she is
in school with her daughter
because it allows her to see what
her child has to go through on a
day-to-day basis. However, as a
nontraditional student she does
face some challenges. “It’s not
easy either way, we’re basically
loners,” Mrs. Jordan said.
In an effort to curtail these
kinds of feelings among
nontraditional students, the
university offers special
programs for nontraditional
students through the commuter
center. Some of the activities
that the center offers are as
follows: Breakfast with the
Deans, Toys for Tots, and an
Easter egg hunt
for the children of
nontraditional
students. The
university offers
these activities to
try to encourage
nontraditional
students to get
involved. “We try
to get it away
from class to
home, or from
class to work, or
from class to
other
responsibilities,”
said Willa Lamb,
coordinator for
the commuter
students.
In addition to
these activities,
the university also tries to
accommodate the needs of
nontraditional students through
its weekend and evening
program, which provides
nontraditional students with a
flexible class schedule that they
may need to work around their
busy schedules.
Mary A. Lupton, an English
Major and a nontraditional
student at ECSU, said, “I have
found the school to be very
accommodating; distance
learning wise I’ve been able to
complete a lot of courses.”
Mahoney speaks to national educators
By Kesha Williams
ECSU Information and
Communications^
Specialist
Dr. Carolyn R. Mahoney, ECSU
Provost and Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs, was a co
author on the National Research
Council Report “On Evaluating
Curricular Effectiveness:
Judging the Quality of K-12
Mathematics Evaluations,”
Mahofvey
Washington,
DC, at the
National
Academies
Press in
May
2004.
Mahoney
was also
an invited
plenary speaker at the Education
Trust annual national conference
on closing the achievement gap.
Her talk, entitled “Access,
Retention and Completion: The
ECSU Story” was delivered to
national educators, community
leaders and policy makers in
Washington, DC in Nov. 2004.
Dr. Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi,
of the ECSU Language,
Literature, and Communication
Department, has been appointed
to the editorial board of the
Journal of Black Studies for the
next three years. The Journal of
Black Studies has been ranked as
one of the top three journals in
ethnic studies.
Ngwainmbi also presented a
research paper entitled:
“Glocalization, Culture and
Change in West Africa” at the
16^h Annual Cheikh Anta Diop
International Conference in
Philadelphia, PA, in October
Dixon elected chairman of CPC
By Kesha Williams
ECSU Information and
Communications
Specialist
Dr. John A. Dixon, Jr., of the
Department of Special
Education, was elected chairman
of the Cooperative Planning
Consortium (CPC) for the State
of North Carolina. The CPC is
charged with overseeing the
Special Education Programs at
all of the UNC campuses and
private colleges.
The CPC was instrumental in
Dixon
getting the
"■ UNC
Board of
Governors
t o
eliminate
t h e
academic
ccnoaiiadan
for special
education
majors. It is also the liaison
between UNC and the legislature
regarding special education
concerns.
Chancellor Mickey L. Bumim
of Elizabeth City State
University was recently elected
to serve a three-year term as a
* Si
ECSU joins Tsunami relief effort
By Keria Miller
Staff Writer
The New Year brought
devastation for Southeast Asia
when on Dec. 26, 2004, an
earthquake struck under the
Indian Ocean causing a massive
tsunami that killed more than
140,000, leaving scores of
people homeless and without
food, shelter, or a way to survive.
Carlita Jeffers, a resident of
Elizabeth City gave her opinion
about the tragedy. “People don’t
know what they have until it’s
gone,” she said. “I will
contribute whatever I can to
support others. If it happened to
me, I would want people to help
as much as they could.”
Elizabeth City State University
students and faculty are showing
their support for the relief effort,
placing donation boxes in most
of the dorms and halls on
campus. Viking Village residents
ask at the front desk in the lobby
that you donate bottled water or
any other non-perishable goods
to help.
The media took a great
responsibility for letting the
world follow events as they
unfolded by showing
commercials, radio
announcements, and brief news
updates. Many celebrities and
activists such as John Kerry, Bill
Clinton, Alyssa Milano, Angie
Stone, Keenan Ivory Wayans,
Vivica Fox, as well as people all
over the world have already
taken action.
Michael Jordan donated over
$200,000 to the Tsunami Relief,
and went to the Bahamas where
he set up a four-day golf
competition and a poker
tournament. Other celebrities
helped Jordan by performing and
donating money.
Families need help in
rebuilding their lives and
communities, and children need
to be assisted in reuniting with
their families whenever possible.
There are children of the tsunami
tragedy that need protecting
from exploitation and abuse,
such as an eight-year-old boy in
Indonesia who lost his two little
sisters in the tsunami.
The sickly and unhealthy are
also in need from diseases and
viruses that were caused by
rotting corpses of animals as well
as humans left behind by the
killer wave. The American Red
Cross’asks that anyone come out
and donate what he or she can.
SERVE FOR A SHORT TIME
PROUD
FIKAIIFETK
member of the Board of
Directors for the American
Association of State Colleges
and Universities (AASCU).
AASCU is a higher education
association whose membership
is comprised of more than 430
colleges, universities and
systems of public higher
education throughout the United
States and its territories.
Chancellor Burnim has served
as Chancellor of ECSU since
1995. He holds three degrees in
economics-a B.A. and a M.A.
from the University of North
Texas, and a Ph.D. in economics
from the University of Wisconsin
at Madison.
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Where: Elizabeth City Army Recruiting Station
When: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Who- Sgt. 1st Class Poole, 338-2292