VOL 5 WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA FEBRUARY 1989
Photo by Tuttle
Bryon Tinnin
Bryon Tinnin named new editor
Book buying: What
everyone is doing
By EuGenia Williamson
STAFF REPORTER
After students returned from the holi
day season, they had to deal with purchas
ing books once again.
Book purchasing started at WSSU in
the fall of 1987 for financial reasons.
Students must buy books for their
courses whether they like it or not. Some
students buy from $100 to $150 worth of
books. When buying the books, they try to
get the used books instead of the new books.
According to Kelvin Badie, bookstore
manager, "Even though the books appear to
be high, we try to buy as many used books
as possible."
While interviewing students on the
subject, they had some very interesting
things to say.
Luther Johnson, a freshman, said: "I
feel that education is priceless and in order
to receive a good education, it is necessary
for one to purchase books. Therefore, if a
person uses the books to his advantage, he
or she will definitely get more than their
money's worth."
Hershela Washington, a senior, said:
"The book purchasing system is necessary
for the upperclassmen because these stu
dents are taking major courses in which
their careers are based on. However, the
underclassmen really have no need to keep
the books for general studies courses, so it's
great that smdents are able to sell the books
back at the end of the semester."
Badie said that if the books are to be
used for the next semester, they will buy the
books back for 50 jxrcent of what the listed
price is. If they aren't being used, then the
bookstore offers the student a wholesale
price which means that the wholesaler will
resell the books to another university that is
using the books.
In a recent survey conducted at North
Carolina universities, it was found that most
of them use the book purchasing system.
At WSSU, the system is still fairly
new, so there will still be some controversy.
However, in a few years the controversy
may subside and the system will then
become just another part of college life.
By Joanie T\ittle
MANAGING EDITOR
Bryon Tinnin, a senior majoring in
Mass Communications and minoring in
speech, has been named the Editor-in-Chief
of The News Argus.
Tinnin, a native of Charlotte, has been
on the staff of the newspaper for three years,
serving as the Sports Editor last semester.
When Tinnin was asked why he chose to
attend Winston-Salem State University, he
said, "I felt that I would benefit more
By Georgellen Brown
With Wray Bobbitt, Consultant
Why is there a need for Black History
Month? And how did we lose our history?
We want to examine these questions,
the effects of black history and how it
relates to us, as black people specifically,
but to all people in general.
A great black scholar once wrote,
"As a tree without roots is dead, so is a
people without the knowledge of their his
tory likewise dead."
The Need
Today is built on yesterday, just as
tomorrow is built upon today. Thus, with
out the knowledge of yesterday, one can
not properly understand today and subse
quently cannot intelligently plan for
tomorrow. We all stand on the shoulders
of our ancestors, and though we may be
able to see better than ihey were able to,
we should never forget that it's because
we are standing on their shoulders.
Imagine an ancestor of yours who
because here students are treated as individ
uals rather than numbers. And my Mom got
her degree here, so there were no questions
about the school's credibility."
When asked if he had any future plan
for the paper, Tinnin, said, "I would like to
continue with the new format while increas
ing the overall size of the paper, as well as
increase reader response."
After graduation, Tinnin would like to
become a broadcast journalist, specializing
in sports.
lived some 500 years ago. He or she may
have even looked similar to you. Of
course that ancestor is now physically
dead. All of us must submit to the law of
physical death, but if we have vision, then
we instill that vision in the minds of our
children so that the essence of our exis
tence (the mind) may live on in and
through them, yet if we fail to pass on to
our children our knowledge, concepts and
visions, then not only do we die physical
ly, but the total essence of our existence
dies as well. Though the physical charac
teristics of our ancestors live on in us, we
cannot begin to understand who that
ancestor really was, because the principles
of knowledge that that ancestor was func
tioning on are now absent from our
minds.
How did we lose this knowledge?
History tells us that our fathers had mas
tered the sciences of law, government,
astrology, medicine, justice, architecture
and many were even considered as being
wise. In fact, as recently as 500 years ago,
the premiere universities in the world.
Black History
Month Schedule
PRESS RELEASE
The Office of Student Activities at Win
ston-Salem State University has scheduled a
series of programs in observance of Black His
tory Month. The schedule is highlighted by the
appearances of jazz vocalist Eve Comelious;
Nikki Giovanni, poet, recording artist and lec
turer; actress/producer-director/lecturer Yolan
da King and the Barefoot Storyteller, Shirley
Holloway, the "Official Storyteller of the City
of Winston-Salem."
All events are free, and the public is invit
ed. Other events include;
• Feb. 10 to 11. 8 p.m.. Drama Guild Production,
"Kulcha Shock," auditorium.
• Feb. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lyceum Visual Arts
Series, University Fine Arts Gallery.
• Feb. 12, 7 p.m., movie, "Ragtime." auditorium.
• Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., lecture, Nikki Giovarmi, audi
torium.
• Feb. 17, 9 p.m., Red, Black and Green Dance,
student union.
• Feb. 19, 7 p.m.. movie, "Lady Sings the Blues,"
auditorium.
• Feb. 20, 10 a.m., English Majors' Seminar, 228
Communications Building.
• Feb. 20, 7;30 p.m., lecture, Yolanda King, audito
rium.
• I'cb. 22. 10 a.m., I'aiierson Assembly Series, Dr.
Mark Corts, speaker, 228 Communicadont Building.
• Feb. 23, 7 p.m., »*lk show, "The Role of African
American Churches,'* 228 Communications Building.
• Feb. 23 to 24, 8 p.m.. Drama Guild Production,
"Colored Boys and Girls," auditorium.
• Feb. 26, 7 p.m., movie, "Soldier's Story," audito
rium.
• Feb. 27. 7:30 p.m.. storytelling, Shirley Hol
loway, 228 Communications Building.
such as Alazar University and Timbuktu
University, were located in Africa. The
great civilizations of Africa, such as Mali,
Cush, Songhai and Kemet (ancient Egypt)
were vast empires that encompassed thou
sands of miles. In fact, the Kemet Empire
was larger in its totality than the United
States.
If our ancestor who lived 500 years
ago was a general heading an army of
10,000 men, all riding Arabian stallions
(one such stallion costs more than a mil
lion dollars today), looking for new fron
tiers to conquer; and then he was kid
napped, brought into slavery and made to
walk behind a mule or pick cotton all day,
has he become a slave? No, because a
man of great substance such as that cannot
be made a slave. So he had to be kept in
chains, but what about his children? The
children were sold away from the parents
as soon as they were bom. Therefore, the
parents never had an opportunity to trans
fer their knowledge to the children. So the
parents ceased to live on mentally in their
SEE MEANING Page 8
The meaning of Black History