Phil Javies
Mr. Ram wins in two categories
in HBCU Pageant
page3
Linwood Ferguson
Leaving coaching position at
WSSU
pages
Tm News Argus
www.thenewsargus.com
Winston-Salem State University’s Student Newspaper
March 2006
Photo by Garrett Garms
Waiting for a bus can mean big savings for students who take advantage of the partnership
between Winston-Salem State University and the Transit Authority.
Agreement between Transit Authority
and school helps students save money
By Lisa R. Boone
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Students don't have to stretch
their budgets to cover high gas
prices or find rides because of a
partnership between the
Winston-Salem Transit Authority
and the university.
The partnership allows stu
dents to purchase a $70 bus pass
to cover 70 days of rides, accord
ing to a campus-wide e-mail
sent by Melody Pierce, the vice
chancellor for student affairs.
Routes include trips to Hanes
Mall, restaurants and appoint
ments, and the bus passes are on
sale in the campus bookstore.
Corey Hill, a 23-year-old
gerontology major, uses the bus
transit system to get to and from
Greensboro.
"It saves me a lot on gas," Hill
said. "I drive a big car, a
Cadillac, and it would take $10
to drive from Greensboro to
Winston-Salem. I can get on
the bus and ride all day for one
dollar."
"The bus system rides every
hour on the hour," he said. "The
drivers are pretty clean and I
have connected with students
who also take advantage of the
bus system."
By Dreama Williams
ARGUS REPORTER
Muslims are focus of attention
because of war in Iraq, some
students feel targeted for beliefs
places for Muslims to worship on
WSSU's campus, and so he wor
ships at The Community Mosque
on Waughtown Street, typically
from 1 to 2 p.m.
Although Hinton said he has on
occasion felt uneasy on campus,
he said he hasn't experienced any
incidents of hostile treatment or
harassment. "At times I do [feel
uncomfortable], but I'm not
ashamed of being a Muslim .
Shahin, on the other hand, said
she believes she has been targeted
because of her religious beliefs.
She said she follows the Muslim
code of dress for women, which
makes her more easily recognized
as a follower of the faith.
As a result, Shahin said she has
been sworn at and cursed, and
she believes that the driver of a
car that nearly hit her one day
intentionally targeted her because
she is Muslim. She added that she
was most shocked when a faculty
member asked her if it was hard
for her to get the clothes that she
wears.
Shahin said she converted from
Christianity more than two years
ago after the death of someone
close to her. The death led to her
questioning her beliefs. "I started ‘
comparing Christianity and Islam,
and Islam was stronger and
answered more questions," she
said.
Like Hinton, she said she
opposes the war in Iraq. "It's
wrong, what he (President Bush)
did," Shahin said.
As for Hinton, he said he has
been an active adherent of the
faith for 10 years. "I decided to
change my life and follow a new
way of life," he said.
In most ways, Esther Shahin, a
23-year-old junior from Charlotte,
is a typical college student.
However, in one important way
she stands out from her peers on
campus. Shahin is Muslim, and
although there are no statistics on
how many students at Winston-
Salem State University are follow
ers of the Muslim faith, they are
in the minority both on campus
and in the city.
Despite their relatively small
number locally, a spotlight contin
ues to shine on the world's 1.3 bil
lion Muslims because of the Iraq
war and the ongoing furor in
Europe over newspaper cartoons
that portray the prophet
Muhammad as a terrorist, includ
ing one that depicts him wearing
a turban shaped as a bomb.
Fellow student and Muslim
Charles Hinton said he is against
the war in Iraq, stating that this
country has no business there,
and he added that he is appalled
at the cartoons that make fun of
■M.viV\arr\mad. "1 tViirvK it Vs
immature^" f^infon saicf.
The senior added that he would
like to see a Muslim Students'
Association (MSU) established on
the WSSU's campus. The MSU
began in 1963 with 75 students on
10 U.S. campuses and has
branched out to tens of thousands
of students in more than 150 col
lege chapters. It is based in north
ern Virginia, and generally, the
association works for the better
ment of the Muslim and non-
Muslim community on campuses
through community service, edu
cation and social activities.
Hinton said that there are no
Students make plans for break
By Danielle Cheree Ragland
ARGUS REPORTER
For everything under the sun there is a season. And sunny weather,
bright-faced flowers and short, tight clothing signal a favorite season of
university students: Spring Break.
Yes, that time of year has rolled around again. Some Rams say they
will head home, others will head for friends' homes and still others will
seek out the sun and shore of Florida.
Some of the most popular spring-break destinations of students at
other campuses are the least popular among Rams. For example, a ran
dom stop-and-ask survey of students on campus showed Cancun,
Mexico is not on the A list of WSSU students —and primarily because
the airfare and accommodations are too costly.
Instead, many students here say they are renting cars and carpooling
down to South Beach Miami. There have been advertisements and
meetings on Facebook.com and senior Charles Noel is organizing a
round-trip bus trip for those without wheels or wings. Once there, stu
dents say they expect to party, tan, relax ... so forth and so on. After all,
it's the season for it.
ARGUS INDEX
March Edition
Slave Museum would tell
it like it was
Page 2
Supermodels do it, sports
heroes do it, it’s our turn
to ‘just do it’
Page 4
U.S. Supreme
Court decision
could affect col
lege newspapers
5
Learn amazing
facts about the
color green
Students shocked at arrest of Marcos Bryant for murder
By Lisa R. Boone
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Marcos Devon Bryant, a 23-
year-old business administration
major at WSSU, has been arrested
and charged with two counts of
first-degree murder.
Winston-Salem police arrested
Bryant on Tuesday, Feb. 7,
according to an Associated Press
story that quoted university
spokesman Aaron Singleton.
"It looks like he was in a class,
and they asked him to step out
side the classroom, and that's
when they made the arrest,"
Singleton said.
Bryant is a suspect in connec
tion with the deaths of William
"Slim" Miller, 23, and Marcus
"Beek" Anthony Wilson, Jr., 19.
Wilson and Miller were found
dead early on Jan. 18 in the 2100
block of East First Street, where
residents reported hearing gun
shots. One body was found in a
back yard, and another was in a
nearby empty lot.
The reported on Feb. 15 that
Bryant bought three boes of
Winchester and one box of
Remington cartridges from the
Wal-Mart on Kester Mill Road on
the night the two men were shot
to death. The Journal reportedly
obtained the information from a
search-warrant application
Winston-Salem police filed in the
case.
Police did not say what led
them to Bryant or whether they
are searching for any other sus
pects. He was arrested without
incident.
Students who know Bryant
expressed disbelief that he could
be connected to a double homi
cide.
A Facebook.com entry by J. Lee
Woodruff showed Bryant's image
as it appeared on local TV news
and encouraged students to post
messages about the situation and
even write to Bryant.
"I [am] doing this for my nig
to make sure people don't forget
about my SC folk," Woodruff
said in Facebook.com message
posted on his wall Feb. 11. "I love
Marcos and it hurts me every
time I think of this stupid sh-t.
Y'all keep my nig in mind..."
Cedric Ellington, a 2004 WSSU
graduate, posted a message that
said Bryant was in his prayers
and he encouraged Bryant to stay
up.
"It seems out of his charac
ter," Sabria Fields, a junior
enrolled in a business class with
Bryant, said in an article in the
Winston-Salem journal.
Fields described him as
"always active, answering ques
tions in class."
After Bryanf s arrest.
Chancellor Harold L. Martin
See Bryant, page 2