4
The News Argus
Dec.—Jan., 2005
Read on
Students need to take
advantage of learning
experiences
TV’s ‘Boondocks’ leaves
some people disgusted
WSSU and student obe
sity, what should we do?
OPINION
TV version of'Boondocks'stirs controversy over 'N'word
By E.R. Shipp
KRT WIRE SERVICE
I will never embrace the
N-word.
That's why I have difficul
ty with the TV version of
'The Boondocks" that just
premiered on the Cartoon
Network. As adapted from
the in-your-face comic strip
created by Aaron McGruder,
the show uses the N-word
quite vigorously.
Maybe this is a genera
tional thing. I'm old school.
But, heck, old school means
that I not only know how to
speak correct English but
that 1 also know a bit about
history. I have lived through
times when white slingers
of the N-word meant no
endearment.
I embrace another N-word
for endearment and dispar
agement. It's "Negro." That
was always a word that was
a step up from the one
that McGruder finds so
comfortably trickling off his
tongue.
When I use the word
Negro, you know where
you stand with me by
inflection and where my
hands are on my hips.
I have often defended
McGruder's comic strip,
even when newspapers that
carry it refuse to publish it
because of its incendiary
(they say) content —
whether about Black
Entertainment Television's
lack of blackness or
Whitney Houston's drug
problems or the Bush
administration post-9/II or
Condoleezza Rice's love life.
The strip offers three facets
of the angry black man,
with two preteen boys,
Huey and Riley, living with
their grandfather in a most
ly white suburb that is noth
ing like their former neigh
borhood in Chicago.
I'll keep
an open
mind about
the televi
sion ver
sion. David
Bianculli,
the TV critic
for the New
York Daily
News, is
among
those who
liked its
late-night
debut. The
show, as he
sees it,
"with all its
knowingly
controver
sial observations and lan
guage, is a sort of animated
equivalent of 'All in the
Back in the day 1
thought it rather cool to
hear the radical group,
The Last Poets, precur -
sors to today's rappers,
use music and the spo -
ken word — even the
N-word — to analyze,
even sear, American
society and values....
But I have evolved and
have flushed that word
from my historically
sensitive brain.
Family' It'll make you
think, and maybe even
wince — but at the same
time, it
makes you
smile."
Unless
you're winc
ing so much
about that N-
word.
"I think it
makes the
show sin
cere," said
McGruder in
a recent
online inter
view with
Lee Bailey.
"At a certain
point, we all
have to real
ize that
sometimes we use bad lan
guage. And the N-word is
used so commonly, by not
only myself, but by a lot of
people I know, that it feels
fake to write around it and
to avoid using it."
Back in the day, that is to
say, when I was a college
student in Georgia, I
thought it rather cool to hear
the radical group. The Last
Poets, precursors to today's
rappers, use music and the
spoken word — even the N-
word — to analyze, even
sear, American society and
values, and to pump up
blacks with a sense of we-
were-once-royalty-in-Africa.
But I have evolved and have
flushed that word from my
historically sensitive brain.
McGruder claims that he
has merely picked up the
conversation begun in the
days when the comedian
and social critic Flip Wilson,
in his own words, reserved
the right to be a n . 'This
is a country that celebrates
Richard Pryor as a genius,"
McGruder told The
Associated Press," and still
we wonder if we should be
using the word 'nigga' in
entertainment. It's a conver
sation that hasn't gone any
where in about 30 years."
Wilson is dead. Pryor is
incapacitated, but when he
was still vigorous and razor
sharp, he renounced the use
of the N-word after a life-
changing pilgrimage to
Africa.
Good luck with your TV
show, Aaron. But if you
remain true to your pledge
to bombard us with the N-
word, I don't think there is
enough Botox in the world
to keep me watching and
wincing and still keeping it
together. I'll tune out.
Call it my generational
privilege.
From the Editor: For many, Christmas is not about
the presents, tinsel and a jolly old elf
WSSU should join the
battle against obesity
By Dreama Williams
ARGUS REPORTER
By Lisa R. Boone
ARGUS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Fried chicken, baked
spaghetti and pizza are
foods often seen on the
daily posted WSSU dining
hall menu.
During breakfast, lunch
or dinner the majority of
the food served in the
WSSU dining hall-the cafe-
is what some call a nutri
tious meal.
But is it?
The American Obesity
Association reports that a
larger percentage of blacks
and Hispanics arc over
weight and, as a result, are
more prone to suffer from
diabetes, high blood pres
sure, heart attacks and
strokes.
Obesity in African-
American college students,
especially those who attend
historically black colleges
and universities, is climbing
at an alarming rate.
Recently, some HBCU offi
cials have decided to create
weight-loss initiatives to
combat obesity in students
and faculty.
Among such universities
is Norfolk State University.
NSU offers vegetable-
packed menus, walking
trails and weight-loss con
tests to encourage healthy
eating and exercising.
Alcorn State University,
Lincoln University, South
Carolina State University,
Talladega College and
Boone
Wiley College also started
similar programs to encour
age healthy and active
lifestyles for students and
faculty.
The
National
Asso
ciation for
Equal
Oppor
tunity in
Higher
Education
(NAFEO)
distributes
grants to support these pro
grams and plans to send
data collected on student
weight to the minority
health office of U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services.
The long lines in the cafe
lead to steaming platters of
different kinds of food. And
yes, it is up to the student
to decide which foods to
eat. But what should a stu
dent who wants to eat a
healthy and delicious meal
do when the selection is so
limited?
Suggestion cards are post
ed at the exit of the cafe. Let
WSSU officials know what's
on your mind. What's more,
ask officials if WSSU can
start similar programs such
as the ones other HBCUs
have begun. Our health is
important.
The Associated Press
contributed to this column.
What is the first thing to pop
into your mind when you
hear the word Christmas?
Do you think of Santa Claus, Frosty
the Snowman, reindeer, gifts, snow,
stockings or a Christmas tree? If you're
like most people, all of the above items
will remind you that Christmas is near.
But what is Christmas all about? In my
opinion, Christmas is about the birth
of Jesus Christ. But for many people it
is about buying gifts for a long list of
friends and family members.
Holiday decorations often depict
Santa rather than the baby Jesus.
Something is really wrong with this
picture. It seems as though Christmas
has become a commercial holiday cen
tered on a jolly old man bringing gifts
to children. In fact, in the eyes of many
children, there is no Christmas without
Santa and gifts.
In my view, however, Christmas
is about family and love, thank
fulness, and most of all, at least for
those of us who are Christians,
the birth of our savior, Jesus
Christ. There's nothing wrong with
shopping and the exchange of gifts,
but let us not forget the true reason
for the season: There would be
no Christmas without the birth of
Christ.
What's on
your mind?
The News Argus
welcomes letters to the
editor.
Please send letters to
newzargus@yahoo.com,
with the subject line
"Letter to the Editor."
Include your full name,
including middle initial,
classification at the uni
versity (i.e., freshman,
sophomore, junior or
senior), and the name of
your home city and state.
All letters are subject to
cutting and editing and
should be limited to 200
words.
OP
WSSU students take advantage of learning experiences
As WSSU continues to provide
a broad-range of experiences for
our students, you must continue
your commitment to take advan
tage of those opportunities.
Equally so, you must seek out
opportunities based on your aca
demic, career, and communities
interests; opportunities that pro
vide venues for further develop
ment and networking with your
peers and future colleagues in
your fields of human endeavor.
One such example of exploring
opportunities is the recent
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship
Fund Leadership Institute
chancellor's
comer
with Dr. Harold L Martin
Conference in New York City. Ten
students, including several gradu
ate students, attended the confer
ence on behalf of WSSU. As a
requirement, the students were all
business majors and they spent
the fall semester training in lead
ership enhancement courses
before attending the Institute. The
courses were a part of the
Strengths Quest training program
developed by a division of the
Gallop Organization. This divi
sion focuses on innovative
approaches to leadership based
on positive psychology. Our stu
dents were among 500 student
leaders from around the country
who continued their training dur
ing the weekend as well as
attending a career fair and the
annual awards dinner. These stu
dents truly made the most of the
Institute.
WSSU students attended anoth
er conference recently. This was
the National Black MBA
Association held in San Diego,
CA. Twelve student members of
the WSSU MBA Club were select
ed to attend as a result of their
involvement last year. As well,
two students from the Mass
Communications Department
attended the conference and doc
umented the conference as mem
bers of the press along with other
reporters. There were over 8,000
attendees at the conference, most
of whom were corporate profes
sionals and graduate students.
The conference featured special
lectures and seminars along with
a career fair with over 300
Fortune 500 companies. This was
a tremendous opportunity for our
students.
In realizing the many excep
tional opportunities for develop
ment and career enhancement,
you must embrace an unfettered
commitment to explore these
experiences. As well, your sense
of commitment to explore these
opportunities should be coupled
with a desire to share your
insight; insight that can benefit
your fellow WSSU students.
Thank you for embracing excel
lence.