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The News Argus, March 2004 inions & EDITORIALS •^.GMILLION ^XMILLION #r, I MeAN/, LOTS OF Are comioe-. LpT5 oR„ -fhar Sonr>& JbQS, Oh FERGUSON From the Editor Diggs sisters set excellent examp I e For anyone who missed the opportunity to hear the Diggs sisters recount their experiences at Winston-Salem State University, then Teacher’s College, pity on you. You missed out on perhaps the best forum the university has hosted this year. The event was held in Diggs Gallery, named for their late brother James Thackeray Diggs, Jr.. and featured a candid, informal discussion moderated by Chancellor Harold Martin. The sisters, including Gloria Diggs Banks, Rachel Diggs Wilkinson and Jessie Diggs Kearney, talked about their lives as prominent blacks in the community in the early 1900s. They detailed their travels through most of Europe. Africa and Central America. They talked about the excitement they experienced in preparing to attend university dance. They discussed the Importance of educatation in their lives and the ways it was positively reinforced in their family. Most importantly, the Diggs sisters told the audience how their family broke barriers during a segregated era. They were the first of many things; Rachel, the first black woman to receive a Ph.d which she earned from Columbia University, and the first black to write a full page of Negro news for the city’s daily newspa per Edward was the first black to complete medical school at the University of North Carolina, and the late Hannah Diggs received three honorary doctorate degrees and was appointed by former president Carter to the United Nations. By the end of the discussion. I felt as if I’d been taken through a time capsule and relived the history of my people. I realized, as 1 have many times before, how truly wonderful WSSU has always been, and the legacy that I’ve become a part of as a Ram and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorortiy, Inc in which the Diggs sisters have been members for over fifty years. The Diggs sisters not only make me think of out standing African-Americans, but phenomenal women as well. This year is truly a year of phenomenal women. When I think of myself as a woman, an African-American woman in particular, I envision strength, perseverance, intelligence, drive and a will ingness to explore. But I’d never have been able to categorize myself as such unless I had role models. In my lifetime I’ve witnessed plenty of women, especially my mother and others in my family, that perpetuate greatness. That’s why I thought that it would be fitting for the March issue to revolve around exceptional women. In this issue you’ll find stories of extraordinary women who hold the history of this great university, operate the city of Winston-Salem’s police force and own boutiques in the city. They all represent what I think of as a woman of the new millenium. They jug gle domestic, professional and social lives with a grace that is like no other They give hope to the women on this campus who aspire to do exactly what they’ve done. We hope you enjoy and are inspired by these stories, no matter your sex. I’d also like to mention how The News Argus is reaching new heights. Just over the weekend, a friend of mine who edits The Bennett Banner called me to congratulate the paper on its many awards received at the HBCU Newspaper Contest. The convention in which the awards banquet was held took place in Alabama last month. The Argus staff was unable to attend, but I’ve been notified that our work has not gone unnoticed. We’d like to thank the entire campus community for its renewed interest in this student newspaper, and we vow to continue to strengthen the content and visibility of this publication. I hope everyone had a safe, enjoyable Spring Break. As some approach graduation just weeks away, don’t lose sight of your goals. For those who are achieving the accomplishment of becoming an upperclassman, keep reaching for the stars. To stu dents, faculty and staff, please remember to contact the Argus staff of any story or advertisement ideas. Our door is always open. Joe I'm KoPinG TbHflHC ON To Mr OutKast has CBS apologizing again By Lisa Boone Argus News Editor A performance at the Grammy’s by the popular recording artists OutKast led to yet another public apology from the CBS network. OutKast’s performance was not sexually offen sive, as the one that led to the first public aptil- ogy was, but it was racially offensive to Native Americans. OutKast’s Andre 3000 came out to perform the song “Hey Ya!” in what looked like a mockery of Native American clothing. Andre’s attire was just one of Native Americans concerns; the University of Southern California’s marching band wore headdresses, braided wigs and war paint. There was a teepee in the background and some simi larly dressed female dancers that they found insulting. According to www.eonline.com, the Native American Cultural Center of San Francisco, California, “... called for a boycott of the net work for airing OutKast’s ‘racist’ 'Hey Ya! production number during the Grammys.” The website also stated that the group’s chairman, Andrew Brother Elk, said, "We’re not attack ing OutKast as artists...they can go out and make fools of themselves if they want to, but we are going to question the commercialization of our symbols.” Native American groups everywhere stood up and voiced their opinions about the attire worn in the performance. The Oneida Indian Nation, based out of Oneida, New York, was one of the very expressive groups that took great offense to the performance. A press release found on msnbc.msn.com quoted Chuck Fougnier. chairman of the Oneida Indian Nation’s charitable foundation. He said, “Performances like OutKast’s during Sunday’s Grammy broadcast undermine the entertainment industry's dedication to diversity and use racial stereotypes in a hurtful way ... one would hope that OutKast would be sensi tive to the racial concerns of others, but we absolutely expect CBS to be aware and to act to ensure such hurtful images are not broad cast.” Should the Native Americans been as slighted as they were? Some students felt that Native Americans are right to have feelings of insult and even went as far to say that OutKast should be sensitive to cultures, including their own. Junior MIS major Montrisha Bethea said, “I feel as though they should stop picking on cultures and their histories. The first issue they had with Rosa Parks should have been a warn ing. They should direct their clothing style and music in another direction.” Others felt that OutKast was just trying to 1 Photo courtesy of KRT Big Boi and Andre 3000 werfe big winners at the Recent Grammy awards.^ They received three awards for the album “spearkerboxx/the love below. be different as they usually are. Denise Barnes, a sophomore Nursing major said, “ I don’t think they (Native Americans) should have taken OutKast’s actions seriously. They were not up there singing about the Native American culture, they were just trying to be different with their clothing.” What do you think? Log onto www.theNewsArgus.com and speak your mind. Move over and make room for the Hip-Hop generation By Janell J. Lewis Argus Managing Editor The Hip-Hop Revolution. Some who are read ing this do not know the significance of those four words, but whether you understand it or not, everyone is living in it as we.speak. In fact, we have been living in it for several years now. According to an article by Jung Kyu Rhee, the birth of this era began as early as the I970’s with such artists as Afrika Bambaataa, Kool G Rap, Raekwon, AZ, NWA, Run-D.M.C., Wu-Tang Clan and many others. It began with East Coast “thug” rap and West Coast “gangsta” and “underground” rap. One may choose to criticize or give acclaim, but one cannot help but give credit to the fact that Hip Hop is racing on the forefront of not only the music industry but the entire lifestyles of human society as we know it. Hip Hop is used to sell everything from clothes and shoes to video games and food. For the first time in his tory, Hip Hop even dominated the Grammy awards. The 46th annual awards show, which aired in February, featured 13 Grammy-nomi- nated acts this year and only three —Ricky Skaggs, Evanescence, and the late Warren Zevon--were not rooted in hip-hop and R&B (azcentral.com). When Lil’ Kim’s flows and dances are marketing Old Navy, Eve is acting in her own television show, and the most popular video games such as Madden NFL and NBA Live are garnish with music from various Hip-Hop artists as Joe Budden, OutKast, and The Roots, one has no choice but to notice that this music genre is much more than obscurely taking oven KFC’s old, southern, Colonel Sanders, would probably roll over twice in his grave if he could see himself rapping and dancing the “cabbage patch” as the character was seen performing in past commer cials. Many ask the question, “does hip-hop imitate life or life imitate hip-hop.” Another question to ask is, “do Hollywood films imitate life or does life imitate Hollywood films?” The question arises because vari ous forms of movies are prevalent in numerous hip- hop pieces. The Godfather, Casino, Scarface, Goodfellas, A Better Tomorrow, and The Killer are “gangster” films that many hip-hop artists draw from when creating their music. This was especially exer cised throughout the launching of the Hip Hop movement (Jung Kyu Rhee). TTie Hip Hop genre has evolved and become transformed, distorted, and recreated in such a way that those who appear total opposites, such as Jamaican-slyle artist Sean Paul and Detroit-bred, Caucasian rebel Eminem, can share the exact same platform and be placed in Ihe exact same hip-hop genre. Most black actors and actresses in movies tcxlay are not performers who majored in drama in sch(X)l or have been taking acting lessons since they could even speak. Those roles have now been given to and even created for such entertainers as LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Ice Cube, among others. Whether that’s gotxl or bad, or wrong or right has no value. It has been proven that hip-hop sells. Regardless of if it’s movies or merchandise, if someone wants to market something effectively, this ingenious musical movement is an almost a guaranteed source of currency. If something is in vogue in the community which encompasses Jay-Z or Beyonc6 then it’s a sure gold mine in any busi ness from shoes to jewelry. Whether one deems this epcKh as a Hip-Hop Renaissance or Revolution, you can not deny the fact that Hip Hop has drastically taken over in all medias of not only this country, but the world. Campus security is a priority at Winston-Salem State It is once again a pleasure to share thoughts with you in the Chancellor’s Comer. Many of you are aware that the Chancellor’s Comer serves as a vehicle for infor mation exchange on issues affecting you, the students. We often explore issues that are of mutual concern to you and the entire campus commu nity. One such example is student safety. Student safety continues to repre sent a priority for WSSU. While we comer ; with Dr. Harold L Martin Q are pleased with our comparatively low number of incidents that violate safety, one incident is more than what is desired: to foster a com pletely safe campus community. In this effort, we must also acknowledge the range of responsibility that accompanies our endeavor. One aspect of that responsibility is adher ing to crime reporting policies. Crime reporting policies are designed to make the campus community aware of activities that violate the safety and general well-being of the campus populous. One such act is the Jeanne Cleary Act, formerly known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act. This act is named for a student who attended a university without prior knowledge of the high level of criminal activity at the university. She was a fatal victim of a violent crime which sparked the national focus on the rights of students to make informed decisions as it relates to attending universities. As a result, every accredited university is required by federal mandate to report annual crime statistics which are in tum made public. Winston-Salem State University is committed to reporting information on our community such that you are aware of our environ ment. Understanding our environment should not only be an area of focus for students but al.so for WSSU pub lic safety leaders. Our public safety department must understand the safety and security needs of the See MARTIN, Page 4
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