RayJExposed
Krystle Lee presents,
Pagent of Queens”
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welcome to. Shi-town
5
Voirrj^ No 2
December 2005
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Rosa Parks laid
to rest in Detroit
Thousands attend
funeral service
By T’sha Wilson
Staff Writer
Thousands turned
out to moum the death of the
civil rights pioneer Rosa
Parks on Wednesday, Nov.
2, at Greater Grace Temple
Church in Detroit Michigan.
Many gathered early that
morning to honor Parks
hours before the service
began, to get one of the
2,000 seats. More than 36
people spoke of Parks’
heroic act in Montgomery,
Alabama, when she refused
to give up her seat to a white
man on a city bus in 1955.
The city of Detroit paused in
remembrance of Parks on
Wednesday. Members of
congress and national civil
rights activists also attended
Parks’ service.
“You ought to make one
commitment in her name to
yourself. You ought to resolve
that you are going to do
something that makes a
difference, because we’re
here because she made a
difference,” said the
Reverend A1 Sharpton, head
of the National Action
Network.
At the age of 42,
Parks worked at a
Montgomery department
store as a tailor’s assistant.
She paid $ 14 in court costs
for her act. Her refusal to
give up her seat triggered the
boycott of the Montgomery
bus system led by Martin
See PARKS on Page 2
Johnson Hall
to open in January
■
By Derrick Bozkurt
Staff Writer
Dr. Gale Isaacs, LLC department chair, tours Johnson Hall.
Johnson Hall, one of the
oldest structures on ECSU’s
campus, has undergone a
massive renovation cfver the
past year. More than just
being remodeled for simple
aesthetic tastes, Johnson
Hall’s series of renovations
are sure to increase the
functional and educational
capacity of the entire
Language, Literature, and
Communication
departments, as well as the
Honors department. With its
already rich history, E.A.
Johnson Hall is poised to
catapult the LLC and honors
departments to even greater
heights.
Unbeknownst to most
students, Johnson Hall was
actually erected in honor of
Evelyn Adelaide Johnson in
1972. Evelyn Adelaide
Johnson was the university’s
choir director nearly 40 years
ago. Besides her long tenure
of service and involvement at
ECSU, she also wrote “A
History of ECSU,” which
was a factor in her being
recognized with the
construction of E.A. Johnson
Hall. Ever since, the facility
has served as the home of the
LLC and Honors
departments.
In 2001, a planning
committee was assembled
to assess the university’s
building needs and draft
plans for the remodeling
halls, including Johnson
Hall. The decision to
remodel Johnson Hall was
brought on by various
factors including, heating
and cooling problems, poor
acoustics, and the age of the
facility. Through grants,
ECSU received a $46
million bond referendum to
help with renovations and
new constructions, some of
which were necessitated by
the university’s projected
enrollment increase over the
next three years.
Work began on Johnson
Hall in October of2004, and
has been progressing full
steam ahead, and is expected
to be ready for faculty to
begin moving in December.
The project manager for the
renovation, Clayton Peele,
was once an ECSU student
himself. He says he is excited
to see
“Back in 1973, we
were proud of this building,
and now we are ripping it all
out,” he said with a smile.
Peele says that the building
will most likely make its
Continued on page 2
ECSU studentdies
in auto accident
By Tominka Minter
The Viking family
lost one of our students on
Friday, October 28, 2005.
Michael Erik Veilleux, 34, a
Business Administration
student, died of injuries due
to a traffic accident.
According to authorities, it
appeared Veilleux was
traveling at an unsafe speed
around a curve and lost
control of his
vehicle. Veilleux, who was
traveling by himself,
appeared to have been
ejected from his vehicle,
which rolled approximately
500 feet before stopping.
Authorities reported that the
vehicle that Veilleux was
driving was damaged so
badly that the vehicle could
not be identified.
Friends and family
left words of condolescence
on the mortuary’s Web page
dedicated to Michael.
ECSU Professor Dr.
Noble wrote, “Michael was
a student in our
Environmental Science class
this fall at ECSU. When the
class heard of Mike’s death,
we were all shocked and
very sad. Mike was a great
student and contributed a lot
to our class. Our love and
prayers go out to his family
and friends. Keep happy
memories close to your
hearts.”
Michael was a loyal
person who always tried to
help others.Survivors of
Veilleux family included wife
Dana Wood-Veilleux and
two daughters AUycia-Lynn
Daisy Veilleux and Chelsie
Elizabeth Veilleux. A
memorial service was held
Tuesday, November 1, at
Swindell Funeral and
Cremation Services from 7
p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Evelyn Johnson Conununity Singers to perform Handel’s Messiah at local churches
Choir named for
ECSU music director
and author
By Fae Deaton
Staff Writer
Evelyn Johnson
Community Singers will
perform Handel’s “Messiah”
at Olive Branch Missionary
Baptist Church, 510 Brooks
St., in Elizabeth City, at 7:00
p.m. on December 18 and at
Winton Community Historic
School, at 7:00 p.m. on
December 14.
Evelyn Johnson is a
household word on the
campus of ECSU. The late
Dr. Evelyn Adelaide Johnson
is the former director of
choral activities, and the first
retired professor emeritus at
ECSU. She passed away on
Monday, July 10, 1995, at.
the age of 85.
Johnson Hall is
named for her, as is this
musical choir. The Evelyn
Johnson Community
Singers. Dr. Johnson came
to ECSU in 1933, when it
was still a Normal School, the
term used for a teacher
preparation school in early
years all over the United
States. She became music
instructor and her titles
moved forward from music
instructor, 1933-35; director
of music, 1936-40; chairman
of Fine Arts department,
1958-61; to chairman of the
Music department, 1961-
65. She served as director
of Choral Activities from
1933-75.
Johnson is the author of
“History of Elizabeth City
State University: A Story of
Survival,”and she created the
traditional activities of the
ECSU campus choir tours,
choir banquets honoring
graduating seniors, and choir
Christmas caroling; she also
organized the Lyceum Series,
purchased the first concert
Grand Piano, and integrated
the Music Educators National
Conference along with Dr.
Warner Lawson, Howard
University; Mr. Frederick
Hall, Alabama State College;
and Mr. John J. Ballou,
Hampton University, in St.
Louis, MO(1944). Along
with that, Johnson accepted
the advisor ship of the “Be
Natural Club,” (which was
started by Dr. Jesse Welch),
a club which raised money to
place the first marker on a
lamp post on the front
campus that read “State
Normal School,” and in 1972
she raised $20,000 for the
European choir tour, and
raised $12,000 in 1975 to
take the choir to the Grand
Bahama Island upon an
invitation from the United
States Embassy in Nassau,
Bahamas.
When she retired
from Elizabeth City State
University in 1975, she was
named the first professor
emeritus by the ECSU Board
of Trustees. Dr. Johnson
organized the Bicentennial
Community Chorus for the
dedication of the New
Physical Education Facility,
now named the Robert L.
Vaughan Physical Education
Center. The group re-named
themselves, “The Evelyn
Johnson Community Singers”
and this group has continued
to perform around the area
every year, except two years
ago when a number of the
performers were ill.
Johnson is also
honored in several other
ways: The Evelyn Johnson
Alumni Chapter; The Evelyn
A. Johnson African-
American Festival; The
Evelyn A. Johnson Hall
(previously mentioned);
Director Emeritus of
Pasquotank County Arts
Council; and Charter
Member of the Music Club
in Elizabeth City; awarded an
honorary Doctorate degree in
Music; Member of the
National Association of
University Women; Charter
Member of ECSU
Association of Retired
Persons; Honorary Life
Member of ECSU General
Alumni Association; and Life
Member of North Carolina
Association of Music
Educators.
She was also very active in
her church. Comer Stone
Missionary Baptist Church.
Professor Billie C. Hines,
here for 30 years, is now the
director of choral music in the
School of Music and directs
the Evelyn Johnson
see SINGERS onpg3