- THE COMPASS - SPRING 2008 3
ENTERTAINMENT
Spiderman 3
Bj: Cecil Hestei
Spiderman 3 is a return to form in the
Spiderman franchise. Unlike the previous
installments, Spiderman battles not one,
but mvdtiple villains. In the latest film,
Spiderman battles unsavory viUains like
Sandmcui, Hobgoblin and Venom. But the
heairt of Spiderman 3 is Spiderman’s turn
toward the dark side.
In the film Peter Parker (Spiderman) is
affected by a shroud of darkness in the film
by way of the symbiote suite. The symbiote
suite is an alien parasite that bonds to Peter
while he is asleep; as a result, Peter takes the
image of Black Spiderman, a much darker
version of Spiderman. As Dark Spiderman,
Peter Parker has no inhibition with regards
to decency. In fact, Peter acts rather unscru
pulous towards his friends and family. One
can make the case that the symbiote suit is
metaphor for addiction. Worse yet, Peter
must battle his friend Harry Osbourne/
Hobgoblin who still holds Peter responsible
for his father’s death back in the first film.
Peter must also contend with Hint Mar-
ko/Sandman, a convict escapee who can
morph into any shape of sand he desires. All
the while, Peter must struggle with the sym
biote suit, which is slowly corrupting him.
Eventually, he removes the suit at a local
church, but there is a small price to be paid.
The suit bonds to Peter’s rival Eddie Brock
creating Venom, a lethal alien monster who
has all the powers of Spiderman. Does Peter
have power and fortitude to defeat Venom
and the other villains?
Spiderman 3 is definitely more entertain
ing than the previous installments in many
ways. For one, it makes the hero of Spiderman
morally ambiguous for a while, until he even
tually redeems himself. It also had a sympa
thetic villain in Sandman who robs banks to
support his terminally ill daughter The one
truly evil villain in Spiderman is Venom who
is extremely vicious. Although, Spiderman 3
is darker than the other films, it is still enjoy
able, Aside from intense action, it has a good
message about the power of redemption,
and for that it gets my recommendation.
Hip Hop D.O.A.
Bj:Ashlej' Williams
“I’m the king of rock there is none HIGH
ER, Sucker MC’s should call me SIRE,”
That’s a line from one of hip hop’s greatest
cmd most remembered songs “ King of Rock”
by Run DMC. Artists like Run DMC, btult
their careers on a solid foundation of songs
and albums that some thought would last for
an eternity, but that has proven not to be the
case for many hip hop fans and artists today.
Many people in the hip hop culture believe
that hip hop is slowly decaying, eroding, Jind
maybe even dying, and will soon be gone
forever When asked if he thought Hip Hop
was dead, devoted hip hop fan Travis Files,
22, said, “Hip Hop is not dead its just that
so many artists make “fad” music, thinking
about record sells more so than the message
in the music.” Files was also asked what he
thought could help bring hip hop back to
life. He said, “Listen to all the classics, like
Nas’s Illmatic, Dr, Dre’sThe Chronic, jay Z’s
Reasonable Doubt, Notorious BIG’s Life Af
ter Death, and Tupac’s Thug Life etc,,”
Another devoted fan. Sherry Williams,
44, had a very different view of this issue.
She said, “Hip Hop has been dying long be
fore now,” Williams believes it started in the
early nineties with the “ Gangster Rap” Era,
Artists like Ice T, and N, WA, glorified the
negative aspects of the culture, “Hip Hop
use to be about having fun,” Williams said
“Now it’s about killing, pimping hoes, zmd
gang banging,” “What happened to artists
like Curtis Blow and The Sugar Hill Gang?”
“ That was real Hip Hop,”
Amae Spicer, 16, a fan of the newer hip
hop feels that hip hop is not dying at all, “I
think Hip Hop is just keeping up with the
times like any other thing,” Spicer said that
this is just broadening hip hops horizons,
“Hip Hop shouldn’t be set aside for only a
certain group of people. Hip Hop should be
able to cross all color barriers, racial lines,
and demographics” he said.
There are many perspectives on whether
Hip Hop is dead or thriving at its highest
point ever but, only we (Hip Hop Fans) can
determine that If we support otir culture
we are the only ones who can determine its
future. Hip Hop Dead On Arrival, or Hip
Hop Dead Or Alive,
Alcohol Consumption and College Life
By: Whitney jMcKoy
The marriage between alcohol consump
tion and college life has long been accepted
as the norm within the confines of campus
existence. Therefore, the consequences of
excessive and underage drinking affect virtu
ally all campuses, college commimities, and
college students whether they drink or not.
Since students tend to drink, the death rates
of this issue continue to grow. One thou
sand Four hundred (1,400) college students
between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year
from alcohol-related tmintentional injuries,
including motor vehicle crashes, 500,000
students between the ages of 18 and 24 are
imintentionally injured under the influence
of cJcohol, cmd more than 600,000 students
between the ages of 18 and 24 Jire assaulted
by another student who has been drinking.
In addition, stirveys at colleges and uni
versities across the country indicate the per
centage of students who used various other
drugs within the past year other than alcohol:
marijuana (32,3 percent); amphetamines
(6,5 percent); hallucinogens (7.5 percent);
cocaine (3,7 percent); and designer drugs
such as Ecstasy (3.6 percent). It is clear that
the use of these substances tends to hinder
the mission of higher education, leading to a
decline in academic performance.
It has been proven that about 25 percent
of college students report academic prob
lems caused by alcohol use, such as ejirning
lower grades, doing poorly on excims or pa
pers, missing class, failing behind and even
banned from school. This can have an ef
fect on the institution as a whole, reducing
maintenance rates and increasing expenses
of incidents caused from vandalism. These
events can be associated wdth riots, hazing,
and various forms of nonsexual violence on
campus. Student riots have become serious
problems on some campuses, usually tak
ing place after sporting events or after new
campus policies are created. These incidents
pose challenges for campus administrators
and law enforcement officers and can lead
to unexpected economic burdens. Interest
ingly, studies confirm that students at His
torically Black Colleges/Universities and
African American students in general drink
far less and suffer fewer consequences than
do students at predominandy white institu
tions, The difference in alcohol consumption
appears to be strongly related to factors such
as HBCLIs’ emphasis on character develop
ment in their institutional goals and their
enrollment of many students with strong
religious values. Although the amount of
drinking on HBCH’s isn’t as horrifying as
some others, everyone should be prohib
ited from using these substances. Know
ing the dangers of drug use, the Board of
Trustees of Elizabeth City State University
has adopted a policy designed to safeguard
the welfare and protect the integrity of the
University, (http: //wrww.ecsu,edu/ECSLI/
StudLife/slillegal_body.html)The rules and
regulations of the University are designed to
promote academic integrity and the appro
priate leeiming atmosphere for students, fac
ulty, and staff In order to accomplish these
goals, it is necessary that ECSII remain free
of controlled substances (illegal drugs) in ac
cordance vidth local, state, and federal laws
on illegal drugs.
The University held an Alcohol Awareness
Fair in the Ridley Student Complex late Sep
tember of last year, drawing tons of students
with non-alcoholic drinks, games, and a col
lection of information, which was sponsored
by the Substance Abuse Task Force Commit
tee.
At one of the tables set up at the fair,
Garry Cameron downed a shot of cranberry
juice after missing a question in “Jeopardy
Shots.” The game featured one-, two-, three-
and four-shot questions in several drinking-
related categories, A right answer gets the
responder a piece of candy, but those who
answer incorrectly have to drink the appro
priate number of shots,” It shows you how
easy it adds up,” said Cameron, 22, the Stu
dent Government Association attorney gen
eral. “Just as quick as you take shots, your
life can change," he told the daily advance in
an interview.
“ Drinking seems widespread to me,” said
Fields, 20, a junior math major. However,
she said just because students drink does
not mean they drink irresponsibly. She said
students drink by choice, not because they
feel pressured. Students are also aware of
the consequences of alcohol abuse, also re
ported by the daily advance. In addition to
the health effects, which range from liver
disease to brain damage, those consequences
can include the loss of campus housing. Ac
cording to ECSLI’s policy manual, students
who violate the zero-tolerance drug and al
cohol policy in the residence halls qualify for
immediate eviction.
“ We promote zero tolerance and alcohol
awareness,” said Deboreih Branch, associ
ate vice chancellor for student Jiffairs. “But
like any other campus, we cire aware drink
ing is going on.” Branch said alcohol abuse
is not as big problem at ECSU compared to
other colleges. She said the university holds
awcireness events throughout the year. So
far, students seem receptive to the message,
she said. The 14-member task force includes
student representation, as well as ECSU fac
ulty and members of the community.
Elizabeth City
ECSU
State University