The News Argus March 1997 - Page 4
— CAMPUS HAPPENINGS -
WSSU Has An MTV Intern
BY SHARONDA WILCOX
Enienainmcni Hdiior
To be Ihc eyes and cars and lo repori
on ihe local club sccncs in the Winston-
Salem, Greensboro and Charlotte areas is
what a junior mass communications
major is doing this semester.
This major is serving as a local
online stringer who reports on music
happenings and other grass rooLs items of
interest to MTV (Music Television)
viewers in these cities. These are just a
small part of the duties being performed
by Charlottean Danielle Prophete.
Propheie is interning with MTV and
corresponds through e-mail with her
supervisor and other MTV interns across
the country. Prophete and a student from
Wake Forest University are the only two
interns in the Winston-Salem area.
Like most interns, Prophete says
there are some things that she likes and
dislikes about her internship. “I like the
different entertainment venues that 1 will
be able to explore and I like it even more
that I will be exploring them for free,”
explained Prophete. However, she
doesn’t like not reporting to a job site
everyday. “I repori electronically through
e-mail. I don’t exactly feel like I am a
part of the MTV staff because I don’t
correspond with them or see them daily,”
she said.
Even though Prophete does not
correspond with her internship
supervisor, her assignments have been
consistent. Her first assignment was to
contact clubs in Winston-Salem and
Greensboro to find out information about
the people who frequent their clubs, the
type of music played in the club and
what is served at the clubs.
Prophete feels that being a stringer
for MTV will provide experience, skills
and techniques she will need in her
proposed career.
“I think that it’s definitely going lo
help in the long run because MTV is a
nationally known entity. My long term
goal is to own my own magazine which
will be patterned after Vibe magazine.
Being a stringer for MTV and reporting
on music happenings will be an extra
incentive for my magazine.”
Prophete, who is a very ambitious
and driven young lady, says she sets very
high standards for herself. She has the
following words of encouragement for
her fellow mass communications majors
who are considering pursuing competitive
internships.
“Don’t settle for less, always strive
for the best and don’t let the stereotypes
Danielle Prophete
of going to a HBCU (Historically Black
CollegeXUniversity) discourage you from
applying for competitive jobs and
internships. I think that more of us
should apply and put Winston-Salem
State University on the map.
A Trip To Africa Through Artifacts
BYCHF'RYLCASH
Staff Wnlcr
Beautiful African artifacts from
hand-carved statues done in ebony to
statues carved from wood were featured
at an African artifacts display last month
during Winston-Salem State University’s
Black History Month Celebration.
Numerous artifacts including a hand-
carved statue, done in ebony wood of
African elders sitting around a fire
wearing robes of burlap, and holding
whisk brooms used to fan the fire in their
hands were on display. The artifacts arc
owned by Annette Pierson.
Pierson’s artifacts represented
several aspects of African culture. The
Akuaba Dolls represented fertility. The
beautiful hand-carved statues were done
in sese wood.
One, featured a baby suckling the
mother’s breast and the other was of a
baby on the mother’s back. An antique
maternity piece was the most beautiful of
all the maternity statues. The neck of the
statue was long and sleek, which is a sign
of beauty in African culture, and the
abdomen has a slight protrusion
indicating that she has conceived.
“When women wanted to get
pregnant, or after shg conceived a child.
the Akuaba Doll was kept in the home.
The significance was that children are
first in African life,” Pierson explained.
The versatility of the artisans and the
importance of family was evident in each
piece of displayed art. The skill of the
Afrrcan artisans were especially
recognizable in the wood work “Unity”
and the “Strength” statue, made from
one single piece of ebony wood. The
statue was of five African men entwined,
each with a different face.
The piece, “The Unity Globe,” made
of sese wood, had several hands holding
up a globe, which symbolizes that “it
takes all people to keep the world going,”
stated Pierson. Unity was also the
apparent theme in “Unity in Marriage,” a
statue of a man and woman embraced.
However, the most intriguing
display were the bold masks that
represented several countries in Africa.
These masks included a Chimbano
Mask, from Malawi; the Masai Mask
and the Bird Mask from Kenya (called a
bird mask because the lips looked like
the beak of a bird) had colorful beads on
the bridge of the nose.
According to Pierson, a papyrus
shield and a two-headed spear revealed
the efficiency of the African hunters.
The spear was made to serve a dual
purpose; the hunter could shoot arrows
at their prey or throw the spear at their
prey. While a hand-carved cane from
Malawi represented honor and respect for
the elders.
Pierson explained that the
photography of the people in their village
was very special becausc most people
think Africans now live only in cities; but
some of them still live in villages.
The photography, done by Cynthia
Shields, captured the essence of Africa
through breathtaking landscape pictures,
the beautiful animals and the beautiful
people in the village. She took the
photos while she was visiting Kenya.
She explained that when missionary
groups travel to Africa, they purchase art
very cheap. They sell the art for a very
large profit when they return to the U.S.
Pierson hopes to change this by making
her art affordable to everyone.
Pierson is the owner of African
Expressions in High Point.
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