Parade float stirs
up controversy
throughout city
Page 2
ESPN sports
analyst and 1992
alum Steven Smith
visits campus
Page 5
Michael Jackson
is accused of
child molestation
— again
Page 8
The News Argus
www.thenewsargus.com
Winston-Salem State University
December 2003
FUBU entrepreneurs say love the work, not the money
By Nicole Ferguson
Argus Editor-In-Chief
The street-savvy New York team
that founded the black-owned cloth
ing label, FUBU, a multi-million dol
lar operation with sales worldwide,
offered WSSU students some simple
yet sage advice during a recent lec
ture on campus: "Make sure you're
doing something you love. Trust me
the money's not worth it."
This advice came from Carl Brown,
who spoke to students as part of the
third installment of the James A.
Gray Lecture series. He was the fea
tured speaker, along with his busi
ness associates John Fullard and
Alleycat, who is also his cousin.
FUBU is an acronym that means
For Us, By Us. The company is a
$470-million operation based in New
York City. Brown and his associates
started the business in 1991, selling
homemade tie-top hats on the streets
of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan,
New York and Staten Island. The hats
were a hit. "The one thing we had,"
said Brown, "we had a dream."
Among other things, the trio spoke
to students about black entrepreneur
ship and finance. Brown also stressed
the importance of a college degree.
None of the founders of FUBU had
degrees when the company started,
so Brown said they networked with
former friends who had been to col
lege and had valuable resources.
Fullard is a college graduate. He
graduated from Clark Atlanta
University in 1993 with a degree in
financing and radiation therapy. But
his first job had nothing to do with
his degree. For $6.50 an hour, he
worked in a law office as a clerk dur
ing the day, and shoved snow for $20
a driveway at night.
He became discouraged. "That was
the toughest period in my life. I
went home, looked at my degree and
cried," Fullard said. "1 was probably
suicidal. 1 just couldn't understand
how I didn't land a job when I'd
done everything 1 needed to do."
Eventually, Brown and Fullard
teamed up and Fullard began pro
motions and finance work for FUBU.
See FUBU, Page 8
Argus photo by Nicole Ferguson
WSSU admissions counselor and 2003 graduate, Shaun Andrews, talks to high school students during a campus
tour.
Alumni Employees
Recent graduates take positions at the University
By Nicole Ferguson
Argus Editor-In-Chief
With December graduation
approaching in a few weeks, hun
dreds of Winston-Salem State
University students are preparing
to receive their diplomas and
explore the "real" world. But for
some recent WSSU students the
real world isn't much different
from the campus community they
just left. That's because these
alums are now employed by
WSSU.
Shaun Andrews is a 23-year-old
Lake Waccamaw native. He gradu
ated from WSSU in May of 2002.
Now he serves as an admissions
counselor in the Office of Admissions.
Andrews, who earned his degree in
political science, found the job open
ing on the university's web site. He
applied, went through an interview
process and landed the job.
"1 recruit students for the uni
versity," said Andrews.
"Answering their questions and
concerns and traveling are the
biggest parts."
Andrews said his job also
includes a lot of telecounseling, or
telephone counseling, which is a
method of recruitment he helped
to implement this academic year.
k
See ALUMNI, Page 4
Argus photo by Nicole Ferguson
Carl Brown (front), one of the owners of the
multimilllon dollar company FUBU, stressed the
importance of a college degree.
University
gets $400k
HUD grant
Courtesy of The Winston-Salem State
University Web site
The Winston-Salem State University's Center
for Community Safety (CCS) has received a
three-year $400,000 U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development grant to
address health care,
crime prevention and
education issues in the
Belview and Happy Hill
neighborhoods south of
the campus.
The grant comes
through HUD's
Community Outreach
Partnership Center pro
gram and will draw fac
ulty and students from
the university into a vari
ety of active projects to
revitalize and strengthen
these neighborhoods.
Through the HUD grant,
CCS is spearheading a much larger role for
WSSU in community revitalization as a means
of sustaining neighborhood stability. "Though
our primary mission is in crime prevention,"
said Sylvia Oberle, executive director of the
CCS, "we recognize that education, housing,
neighborhood revitalization and health care
are inextricably linked to efforts to keep neigh
borhoods and residents safe and to strengthen
communities for the long term. This is an
excellent partnership for the entire university
and for the community."
Through the
HUD grant,
CCS is
spearheading
a much larger
role for WSSU
in community
revitalization
as a means of
sustaining
neighborhood
stability.
See GRANT, Page 4
WSSU winter graduation scheduled for Dec. 12
By Lisa Boone
Argus Reporter
The December graduation ceremony is scheduled
for 4 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the Kenneth R. Williams
Auditorium.
Kesha Cogdel, a December graduate, said, " 1 am
very excited to have accomplished this major goal
in my life. My next goal is to become a social worker
and attend graduate school in 2005."
Dawn Casterlow, another graduate, is glad that
WSSU holds the December ceremony. Not all univer
sities have ceremonies other than the traditional one
held in the spring.
"1 am glad that WSSU offers a December gradua
tion ceremony. I know of other schools that don't
give students the option of graduating in the fall;
students at other schools have to wait until spring
semester graduation if they do not meet graduation
requirements."
December graduates typically fall into one of three
categories: They have excelled in their studies and
are graduating early. They are transfer students
who've met their required hours before the spring
ceremony. Or, they are students who needed an extra
semester to complete their graduation requirements,
"1 am looking forward to life after graduation,"
said Riquita Quick, who is also scheduled to gradu
ate during this month's ceremony. But, she added, "1
know that 1 will definitely miss WSSU."