Ei-i/juiF.rn Cl IV
E^SU
THE COMPASS
H>;.2 Circulation 1000 EUZABgTH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY'S AWARD WINNING NEWSPAPER April 29.2009 No.47
Making the NetWork Media Conference:
A Catalyst for Change in the Next Generation of Media Professionals
From to right: Shannon Peen,James Polk, Prt^essor
Greg Childress (rear), Rehema Ellis,Tyi
Bj: Tyrone D. Reid
The eyes of the ECSU campus and beyond
were focused on the Language, Literature,
and Communication Department when it
hosted its'“Making the NetWork” Spring
Communications Conference March 23-
24.
Johnson Hall, which became a mini utopia
for communications students, was abuzz
with ECSU students, faculty, and others
in the community who welcomed back
Rehema Ellis, the NBC news correspondent,
and six other young media professionals—
including five ECSU alums who are making
their mark in the !nedia industry.
The events began with a reception which
saw Ms. Ellis prematurely pressed into
service in an impromptu talk to students
Jolin Hope Franklin
Waj'ne Dawkins (rear), Dr. Gale J. Issacs, Stacy Gatling,
! Heid, Ronel Brewer, Dr. Murel Jone
about her experiences in journalism.
Attendees sat in silence and awe as she spoke
of the terrible events which occurred on
September 11, 2001. “1 wanted him to get
out so I could drive...” Ellis said referring
to the timid cab driver who refused to take
her to the site of the worse urban terrorism
in America’s history, Sept. 11, 2001. Ellis
said that even though it was her day off, she
knew she had to be a part of reporting this
tragic event.
LLC chairman John Luton was effusive
about the conference, having Ms. Ellis on
campus again and also the department’s
graduates.
“The whole idea of the Mass Media
Conference is completely attributable to
Professor [Kip] Branch. I will never forget
how excited he was when he shared with
me his ideas for March. I know that a lot of
excitement stemmed from the opportunity
to bring Rehema Ellis to campus. He
was equally excited about having ECSU
graduates come back and report on their
progress to inspire the next wave of Mass
Media professionals to join the ranks,” Luton
said. “There was an unlimited foimtain of
wisdom stemming from each participant! I
refused to walk away still thirsty in my walk
toward success in my career. 1 thoroughly
enjoyed this conference from beginning
to end,” said Ashley Williams, a senior
Communication Studies major.
Each of the LLC grads who participated in
the program. Shannon Penn, Stacy Gatling,
James Polk and Ronel Brewer have gone on
to become rising stars in the fields of media
and education. Each had very specific advice
for the students who sat before them.
Polk, a former Mr. ECSU, currently works
as Creative Services Producer at Media
General, Inc. in Richmond, Va., Gatling,
former editor of The Compass, is an English
and Language Arts teacher in Maryland,
Brewer, a former Compass writer, is CEO
of his own magazine and has created his own
blog and teaches high school in Virginia
Beach and Perni, who is the voice of Viking
football, hosts a sports radio program in
Raleigh, NC. The moderator for the event
was Professor Wayne Dawkins, a professor
at the Scripps Howard School of Journalism
at Hampton University. Greg Childress, a
writer for the Herald-Sun in Durham, NC.
whom Mr. Branch taught 20 years ago was
also on the panel.
Rehema Ellis speaks to students during conjerence
iS
iS
John Hope Franklir) outside the Franklin Center located on Central Campus ^Duke Universitj
hy: Brittnee Exum
The historian Dr. John Hope Franklin died
on March 25,2009 at Duke University Hospital
in Durham, North Carolina. He was 94. The
cause of death was congestive heart failure.
A renowned scholar and historian. Dr.
Franklin vriU be best remembered for his book
“From Slavery to Freedom” which vividly
described the struggles and experiences of
Afncan Americans’ quest to gain equahty.
Dr. Franklin graduated from Fisk University
in Nashville,Tennessee. He earned his Ph.D. in
history from Harvard University.
In 1978, the Oklahoma native was inducted
into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. In addition,
Franklin was the first individual to receive
the Cleanth Brooks Medal of the Fellowship
of Southern Writers. In 1995, Franklin
also received an award for his outstanding
achievements from the Organization of
American Historians.
Frankhn shared his knowledge and
enlightened the minds of many of the nation’s
youth in other ways, primarily through his
teaching assignments. Dr. Franklin taught at
North Carolina Central University, Howard
University, St. Augustine’s College, and Fisk
University. He was Professor Emeritus of
history at Duke University at the time of his
passing. “We must go beyond textbooks, go out
into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the
wilderness and travel and explore and tell the
world of great glories of our journey,” Franklin
once said.
L iu: II.