Apinioim
*& EDITORIALS
If you didn't vote.
By Maria Singleton
ARGUS FEATURES EDITOR
I have yet to see an elec
tion pass without some
one vowing never to vote
again because they didn't
like the way that the elec
tion turned out.
Take for instance the
presidential election of
2000. After George W.
liush "secured" the presi
dency, there was an over
whelming number of peo
ple claiming that their
vote didn't count, so they
wouldn't vote again.
TTie fact of the matter is
that the people never elect
the president, the
Electoral College does,
but with the Supreme
Court's decision to disre
gard the Florida ballots.
Bush was declared the
winner.
My point is that for
every person who refused
to vote in last month's elec
tion because of hurt feel
ings lingering from the
past presidential election,
or any other for that mat
ter, give yourselves a hand.
Before Nov. 5, Bush was
not in the position to pass
legislation through
Congress (its powers were
formerly balanced
between the Democrats
and Republicans) at his
discretion because he did
n't have full party backing
from Congress. Now,
however. Bush is virtually
able to do whatever he
wants since his party basi
cally controls the House
and Senate.
The Democrats can still
veto any bill before it is
passed into legislation,
but it would require that
they initiate a filibuster (at
you have
least 41 Democrats to
strike down the bill),
which would mean
almost complete unity on
their part.
Although, with cold
weather quickly
approaching, I wouldn't
bet my winter coat on it.
Especially when the
Republicans were able to
win the state of North
Carolina where over half
of the registered voters
are Democrats.
It is true that the
Democrats did not do an
impressive job of cam
paigning for the election,
but regardless, being a
Democrat in name does
not make one a Democrat
if ballots are cast for
straight Republican tick
ets. I'll grant that not
every registered Democrat
will vote a Democratic
yourself
ticket, but for any party to
take a state in which they
are a minority to the
degree as the Republicans
were/are in North
Carolina is questionable,
bordering on miraculous.
The people who purport
to be supporters of a
party need to get their
acts together as well. Yes,
it is up to the party mem
bers to promote them
selves and their cam
paigns, but research never
hurt anyone.
Regardless of what any
one says, a person should
always be willing to go
back and check out the
facts for themselves.
I suggest that from now
on, we all take a closer
look at what's going on in
the economy, who's run
ning it and the potential
consequences of their
to blame
actions. Especially when it
comes to our civil rights
and liberties as Americans
(check out the positions of
certain elected officials in
regards to terrorism, abor
tion, affirmative action,
etc.).
Finally, I hope that stu
dents and citizens will
take initiative when it
comes to voting. The com
mander-in-chief can only
go as far as Congress will
let him. It doesn't matter
that we do not have the
power to choose the presi
dent (if more people
thought that it did the
Electoral College would
have been inactivated a
long time ago), because
we can choose the sena
tors and representatives
who he has to answer to.
What could be more
important than that?
WORDS
from page 3
to the person spoken about, will it be twisted or will
it be the truth. In a worst case scenario the person
might confront me, or have someone else which
might even lead to a physical altercation. All of this
because of what was twisted and turned into some
thing juicy.
The power to cause you emotional damage can be
caused by words. The key is whether or not you
allow the words to harm you is your choice.
You will not be loved or liked by everyone this is
just a simple fact. You have the power to control
what can or cannot hurt you when it comes to words.
You have choices that you must make; you can
either confront the person or move on.
Relationships and friendships are often destroyed
due to twisted words spoken. If you confront some
one, are you mature enough to rationally talk it our
like two mature adults?
The other option is to smile and look that person in
the face and move on. It matters not if you are trying
to keep it real.
The better person will always win in the end
because words don't necessarily have to hurt.
Music industry is still mourning
loss of influential Jam Master Jay
By Safari Jefferies
ARGUS SPORTS EDITOR
More than a month later,
the hip-hop world is still
mourning the lost of Run
DMC's DJ Jam Master Jay.
Authorities confirmed that
the suspects fatally shot
Jay inside a recording stu
dio. Another victim,
Urieco Rincon, was shot in
the leg.
To say the least, a lot of
people are wondering,
why Jam Master Jay?
I would have expected
controversial individuals
such as 50 Cent or Shyne
to be the act of such a
heinous crime.
Well what's next?
A source at AILhiphop.
com said that the authori
ties have a lead in the case.
Jason Mizell was a New
York kid who brought the
style and the beat to Run-
DMC, the group that took
hip-hop music to the
world.
Mizell was bom in
Brooklyn in 1965 to Connie
and Jesse Mizell. The fami
ly moved to Hollis when
he was 10. At around this
age he started playing the
drums and bass, but was
soon captivated by the art
of deejaying. As a teenager
he formed a couple of
groups and would often
set up in Hollis' Two-Fifth
Park, where his future
partners Run (Joseph
Simmons) and DMC
(Darryl McDaniels) would
come to rap over his
music. He was never the
so-called "problem kid,"
that most rappers have
claimed to been. His
biggest brush with the law
came when he spent four
days in the Spofford
Juvenile Center in the
Bronx after a friend broke
into a house and he was
busted as an accomplice.
Mizell earned his high-
school equivalency diplo
ma and focused on music
until Run-DMC hit it big.
See JAY, Page 11
ICampus Voices
Do we too often take
things for granted?
feel that
we take fam
ily for grant
ed, because
when I was
in high
school, I
was in a
near-death
accident with my older and little
sisters. Knowing that I almost lost
them opened my eyes."
Chester Beamon
Freshman, undecided
“Yes, we
take life for
granted
because we
think that
we will live
1 to see
another day
I when it is
not granted to us.”
Stacy Jones |
Sophomore, elem. education
“Many times
we take the
little things
for granted
that means
the most like
such things
as food,
clothing,
friends, family even smiling at a
stranger. Those are things that
I we should be most thankful for.”
LeKeisha Braxton
Junior, special education
“I think we
I take things
for granted
because so
many things
are basical
ly give to
: us. A long
time ago,
black people, especially, had to
fight for the right to vote. Now we
have the right to vote and most
of us still won’t.”
Marcus Smalls I
Sophomore, mass comm |