PAGE 2 The News Argus February 1989
Ommon
Off-campus living can be fun
By Mabel Graham
When I asked a freshman student
what she hopes to accomplish during her
college years, she replied, "I cannot wait
to move off this yard!" In response to her
reply, I asked her whether she knew what
responsibilities go along with having an
apartment. Most students find apartment
hunting to be exciting because they can
finally be free to do as they want and
party all night.
Living off campus has its advantages
as well as disadvantages. Some advan
tages are privacy and quietness. One of
my accomplishments since living off cam
pus, is an increase in my grade point aver
age. A quiet atmosphere helped me to
study and think about my work rather than
going out to socialize on the yard.
Looking at off-campus housing as
being beneficial for out-of-state students,
Stacey Stone, of Virginia, said, "Tuition is
cheaper living off campus because having
an apartment is less than room and board
provided by the school."
"If you do not prefer living with
someone you can use off-campus as an
advantage for you," junior Jeanette Bogier
said.
It is unfortunate that the disadvan
tages of living off-campus outnumber the
advantages because they require responsi
bility and maturity. Some of the responsi
bilities are paying bills, furnishing an
apartment, as well as other household
expenditures. In taking care of their
responsibilities the majority of off-campus
students hold part-time or full-time jobs in
the Winston-Salem area.
In surveying some off-campus stu
dents, the estimate for monthly bills
ranged from $160 to $200, which includes
rent, utilities and telephone bills.
Location has not proven to be a major
problem with students commuting to and
from campus, but it can be a disadvan
tage. Students living in Country Club
Apartment complex, which is north of
Winston-Salem and the campus, would
have a greater distant to travel than a stu
dent living in Summit Apartments, locat
ed east of Winston and five minutes from
campus.
When I asked student Jerry Simmons
why he chose to live in Deerwood Cross
ing, south of campus, he said, "When I
moved into the complex there were not a
lot of State students, and it is a quiet
atmosphere, only ten or fifteen minutes
from campus."
Having an apartment and living
around some of your colleagues can
sometimes be fun. One group of guys liv
ing in an apartment complex. The Ledges,
have started a "non-Greek" organization
known as "Ledges Phi Ledges."
Fashion conscious or social conscious?
By E. Reneea Leathers
Take a look around campus and
notice the number of students who wear
accessories that reflect Black awareness
and heritage. Can these fashions repre
sent the birth of a new student, the student
as activist, the supposed new-age student
who is actively concerned about the social
issues facing the world today? These are
some of the questions that I asked as I
conducted informal interviews around
campus. What I found out was plain and
simple, "that for the most part, there is no
connection between students who make
these items part of their dress, and their
level of social awareness about their
accessories."
Further, the wearing of the green,
black, gold and red in 1989 is simply done
for different reasons than in the 60s.
Today there is little if any social connec
tion, (if there is, it is secondary with fash
ion being first). To the point, most stu
dents view the accessories as being part of
a fad that has carried over in part from the
popular personalities of rap music. In the
60s, during the heights of the Black Revo-
Lest we forget...
olution the colors and African dress had
significance! Wearers were more con
cerned about social statements rather than
an all out fashion statement. Then the
wearing of the colors showed the pride,
strength and unity of Black Americans.
The two more popular items among
students here on campus are the brightly
colored hats that come in varying African
prints, and the leather silhouettes or
emblems of Africa that are worn as neck
laces. While the hats are popular with the
young women, the necklaces are worn
mostly by young men. There are a few
other items like beaded bracelets, over
sized pin on buttons and brass earrings
that are also popular among students.
I was dismayed to learn that not many
students understood the social implica
tions that connected with these fashion
accessories, of course the 60s are over
with and now we are approaching the
90's, but how far is that if we don't under
stand the importance of these fashions in
particular?
Yes, I realize that the colors may look
SEE FASHION CONSCIOUS Page 8
By Craig L. Thomas
As the month of February comes into
being for the 1989 year, it brings with it a
very special time especially designated
for us, America's proud black race, to
look back into the history of our existence
and marvel at all our past accomplish
ments. As we re-live the past in our
thoughts and memories, our visions can
help us view the future, for we learn from
the deeds of yesterday to plan for the
endeavors of tomorrow.
Being black in America has undoubt
edly changed over the past few years, and
it has indeed been a change for the better.
African-Americans have reached new alti
tudes and set milestones in business, poli
tics, religion, sports, entertainment and
family life. Our race has created a new
prosperous middle-class society that is
growing by leaps and bounds at an alarm
ing rate. Thanks to our hard work, deter
mination and constant faith in God, the
Negro is now a full-pledged member of
mainsu-eam America, and we will contin
ue to grow at an astonishing pace in
becoming larger and more important con
tributors to the American economy.
But all is not well. There are thorns
in the rosebush, and they inflict on us
pain, self-denial and failure of the worst
kind. And we, the youth, the inheritors of
this present-day legacy, must face these
setbacks head on. We must be ready to go
onto the battlefield with full force, attack
the enemy called discrimination and thus
win the war against injustice.
The only problem is that seemingly
we are slowly and painfully losing a large
portion of black youth to all kinds of
moral decay. This is a most serious prob
lem that poses the threat of making us an
endangered species. A national crisis is
looming, and emergency help is desper
ately needed. But the help we are so
badly in need of does not come within the
answers by our elders alone, but more
importantly the aid we want must come
from within ourselves, America's black
youth.
We are, in many ways, lucky to be
where we are today. We are the first gen
eration born out of the turbulent Civil
Rights Movement and into new-found
freedom and prosperity never before
experienced by our elders. We know it
was a painful, undiminishing struggle for
our parents and grandparents to tolerate in
the 1950s and 60s, and indeed we are
most grateful for all they have done for
us. They have paved our way, and now it
is up to us to follow the right path.
We are not blind, nor stupid. We
know we live in a "white man's world"
where, despite our gains in personal
income, the average black family earns
about half as much as the average white
family. So many of our jobs are being
eliminated by the new, ever-flourishing,
high-tech industry and by the white man
who is just as equally intelligent and hard
SEE LEST WE FORGET Page 8
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