Getting Ready
Annual conference helps Mass
Comm students prepare for life
pages
Job Well Done
Dr. Brian Blount resigns as
Chairperson of Mass Comm
page 4
Im News Argus
www.thenewsargus.com
Winston-Salem State University’s Student Newspaper
Spring/Summer 2006
Dr. Mary Frances Berry to be
keynote speaker at graduation
ARGUS STAFF AND WSSU MEDIA RELATIONS
Professor, author, lawyer and hxunan
rights activist Dr. Mary Frances Berry
once commented, "Civil Rights
opened the windows. When you open
the windows, it does not mean that
everybody will get through. We must
create our own opportunities." This is
the sort of sage wisdom that Dr. Berry
is expected to share when she gives
the keynote address at Winston-Salem
State University's spring commence
ment ceremony, Saturday, May 6, at
9:45 a.m. in the Lawrence Joel Veterans
Memorial Coliseum.
Berry has been the Geraldine R.
Segal professor of American Social
Thought and professor of History at
the University of Pennsylvania since
1987. She received her Ph.D. in history
from the University of Michigan and
juris doctorate from the University of
Michigan Law School. The 68-year-old
Nashville, Term., native has a number
of firsts to her credit: She was the first
black woman to head a major research
university, the first African-American
woman to serve as the chief education
al officer in the U.S. under President
Jimmy Carter in 1977, and became
commissioner and vice chairman of
the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
in 1980.
In 1984, Ronald Reagan dismissed
her, along with other critics of his
administration, from the civil rights
commission. She sued for her rein
statement, which was finally ordered
by the Federal District Court.
Berry is the second of three children
of George and Frances Berry. Because
of economic and other hardships, she
and her older brother were placed in
an orphanage.
And although poverty and racial
prejudice marked her early years.
Berry excelled as a student in the seg
regated schools of Nashville. She
recalled in a Ms. magazine article that
her mother would say, "You, Mary
Frances! You're smart... You can think,
you can do all the things I would have
done if it had been possible for me ...
You have a responsibility to use your
mind, and to go as far as it will take
you."
Berry didn't prove her mother
wrong. She earned a B.A. from
Howard University in 1961 and an
M.A. from Howard in 1962. Berry
taught at Howard and the University
of Michigan, where she received a
Ph.D. in American constitutional histo
ry in 1966 and a law degree in 1970.
See Berry, page 2
Photo courtesy of Media Relations
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Berry was the
first African-American woman to head a major university.
WSSU wants to build student union
By Argus Staff and WSSU
Modla Relations
Construction of a $36-million
student union building — com
plete with a bowling alley, small
theater, food court, expanded
workout area and a 200-car
garage — could be in the works
for Winston-Salem State
University, if university officials
get approval for the project from
the board of governors of the
University of North Carolina
system, according to a March 29
report in the Winston-Salem
Journal.
The Journal reported that the
construction project is one of .
two the vmiversity is requesting
as part of the UNC capital-
improvement projects. The sec
ond request is a $6-million reno
vation of Hill Hall, a now-empty
science building.
University officials intend to
ask the board of governors to
pay $14.8 nullion toward the
new 90,000-square-feet student
union building, which will be
located on a hill south of the
Thompson Center, the article
said.
Students will pay for the rest
through a new debt-service fee
of $185 when the project gets
under way. Jorge Quintal, the
associate vice chancellor for
facilities, was quoted as saying
the fee will expire when the debt
II iiil 11
ilniin
Photos by Garrett Garms
ABOVE AND BELOW: When they have
time, students like to hang out in the
common area of Thompson Hall.
Khoto Dy tiarreti uarms
According to an article that ran in the Winston-Salem Journal, the student union building that
WSSU is seelcing funds for would sit on the hill south of the Thompson Center
for the new building is paid, in
about 30 years. Enrollment has
increased at seven UNC system
institutions that were targeted to
improve low enrollment num
bers, according to a report pub
lished last year in the Carolina
Journal, a publication of the John
Locke Foundation.
Since 1999, enrollment
increased at the seven institu-
tior\s, denominated as "focused-
growth" institutions, by 11,777
students, or 36 percent. More
than $28 million in state funds
have been used to increase
enrollment through the pro
gram, the Carolina Journal report
ed.
The Carolina Journal further
reported that from 1999 to 2004,
Winston-Salem State University
had the highest percentage of
increased enrollment at 72.4
percent. UNC-Pembroke's
enrollment increased by 64.2 per
cent, followed by North Carolina
Central University, 38.1 percent;
North Carolina A&T, 36.6 per
cent; Western Carolina
University, 27.6 percent; and
Elizabeth City State University,
25.6 percent. Fayetteville State
University's enrollment also
rose, although the report did not
say by how much.
i
ARGUS INDEX
Spring/Summer Edition
Seniors look back at
their years at WSSU
Page 3
Learn tips that make
for a great resume
Seniors ponder future plans
Page 6
Help is available
for students suf
fering from
depression
BET’S ‘Cousin
Jeff’ visits N.C.;
speaks of impor
tance of black
history 8
By Lauren Boyce
and Dreama Williams
ARGUS REPORTERS
In less than 60 days,
Brian "BDaht"
McLaughlin will final
ly reach one of his
cherished goals —
earning his bachelor's
degree in mass com
munications. "The
anticipation of walk
ing across the stage is
the most exciting part
about preparing for
graduation,"
McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin is one of
scores of WSSU stu
dents who will walk
across the stage at the
Lawrence Joel
Coliseum on May 6.
The 26-year-old native
of St. Louis, Mo., said
what he'll miss most
about his university
days is "seeing hun
dreds of gorgeous
women, all in one set
ting, every single
day."
According to 1998
graduation rates pub
lished online by the
National Center for
Education Statistics,
21.8 percent of WSSU
students graduate in
four years, 38.7 per
cent within five years
and 43.7 percent with
in six years. Student
Monitor, which pub
lishes nationally syn
dicated market
research studies of the
college student mar
ket, surveyed 1,200
full-time undergradu
ates at four-year col
leges and universities
to find out how many
years it has taken to
complete an imder-
graduate degree. The
survey foimd that it
has taken four years
for 61 percent to com
plete their degrees.
five years for 26 per
cent, six or more years
for 8 percent, 4.5 years
for 3 percent and less
than four years for 2
percent.
Shana Blair, a 21-
year-old psychology
major from Plainfield,
New Jersey, said she
hopes that a degree
from a historically
black college does not
turn off certain
employers. "I feel that
many people will look
at my degree and try
to belittle it because it
See Grads, page 2
Eight WSSU students
share the same name
By Timothy Pulliam
ARGUS REPORTER
Shout the name LaToya Williams, and
you might find yourself surprised when
eight different people answer. That's
because there are eight — yes, eight —
Latoya Williams' enrolled at Winston-
Salem State University.
You might wonder if these eight indi
viduals have more in common than their
names. Do they know the same people?
Share the same major? Or reside in the
same hometown?
Well, two of the eight are from Bonlee,
North Carolina. Two are from cities with
the same name — Washington, DC and
Washington, NC. And, all eight like their
privacy. When asked to be interviewed,
all said no.