Quit Stressing!
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Back In Tlie Day
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Why Did You
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The News Argus
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www.thenewsargus.com
Winston-Salem State University’s Student Newspaper
Oct. 15, 2007
Student gets hands-on experience of Civil Rights Movement
Klerra Payne
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
My thought upon
arriving at Jena,
Louisiana, was
how deserted and rur^ the
town is. The landscape is
quite different from North
Carolina. The bus trip to the
"Jena 6" rally felt like it took
forever, and the anticipation
was driving me nuts. I just
wanted to get there.
The anticipation became
even greater the next mom-
ing,Sept. 20 when we head
ed to Jena from our hotel in
Alexandria. I did not know
what to expect from the
town or the people. I did
not know how many people
would be there. I just knew
that I could not wait to be a
part of history; something
that would be in books
years down the road and
that I could tell my children
and grandchildren about. I
had always wondered what
the Civil Rights Movement
was like, and I wanted
something reminiscent of
that experience.
The closer we got to the
town, the more my eyes
widened. The tovm was
loaded with charter buses
and motorcycles, and there
were African-Americans
everywhere. All wearing
some sort of "support Jena"
T-shirt.
Because of the number of
people rallying for the
cause, our bus had to park a
couple of miles away from
Field house
renovation
in final phase
Larry Williams
ARGUS STAFF
the town. When I stepped
off the bus, I was in awe. I
was so amazed, because I
had never seen anything
like that before. The kindred
spirit I felt from everyone
was indescribable.
While walking up to the
town, we saw Mychal Bell's
brother and cousins, and
: they expressed their grati
tude for our being there.
We rallied with Jesse
Jackson and the NAACP,
and there were so many
people marching. An
American Red Cross vehicle
was set up on the side of the
road with bins full of
Gatorade, chips, cookies,
granola bars and just about
everything else. That was a
nice gesture; it made me feel
like we were accepted there.
Everyone was expressing
their support in different
ways. There were African
dancers in front of the
courthouse. One negative
image I remember was a
man standing atop an RV,
telling everyone to df>-.the
“ Electric Slide afid "party for
a cause." I did not think a
party was appropriate at
that day and time.
At one point, there were
so many people just stand
ing around, I began to inter
view people on their experi
ences from that day. A man
from the "New" Black
Panther Party was there.
When asked if he felt like
anything was being accom
plished on that day, he
responded, "If everyone
came to be around a bunch
of black people, then yes;
but what will be different
when we've dissembled?"
It was amazing that some
one would say something
negative about a positive
event, but the truth is, I felt
that way, too. We came to
rally, but at the same time,
we could have done more. I
felt incomplete at one point
in the day, but by the time
our group left, I felt some
sort of minute satisfaction.
I also remember that no
native of Jena wanted to be
put on camera; it was as if
they were so afraid to speak
out, for fear of persecution.
They did not want trouble.
Even though it was not
given as much media cover
age as O.J. Simpson's raid
on someone's hotel room,
the experience was one that
will forever be remembered.
WSSU students traveled to Jena, Louisiana, to support the “Jena 6”
Photos by Matthew Hairston
I
ake one look around
the campus of Winston
Salem State University,
and it's obvious that the
school is undergoing a
facelift. The football program
is set to join the expansion
with the completion of the
new field house at Bowman
Gray Stadium.
The building carries a price
tag of $5.1 million and is on
schedule to open Thursday,
Nov. 1. The new fi#ld house
is a joint venture between the
city of Winston-Salem (which
owns Bowman Gray
Stadium) and WSSU. The
university is contributing
about $3 million toward the
cost of the new field house.
"All of the sports adminis
trative offices as well as the
athletic director and sports
medicine offices will be mov
ing to the new facility," said
Chris Zona, WSSU's sports
information director.
With such a hefty price
tag, the city and university
are banking on the field
house being a first-class facili
ty. The two-story building
will have 20,000 square feet
of space. It will have locker
rooms and training rooms for
the home and visiting teams,
a referees' locker room, and a
weight room. It will also have
a large banquet room, along
with a kitchen and conference
rooms. A new video score
board, measuring 18 by 23
feet, will be built into the
field house.
WSSU head football coach
Kermit Blount spoke about
the excitement surrounding
the opening of the field house
on Nov. 1.
"This is a big step forward
for the program," he said. "It
will provide a huge step up
in our recruiting efforts. We
need the facility as we move
forward into division 1 foot
ball."
Non student-athletes will
not be allowed inside the
field house unless they're
attending a conference, work
shop, forum or special event
such as a ball.
As for the football players
themselves, Blount says they
are excited as well.
"The kids are looking for
ward to the new field house."
Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves
to perform at WSSU Tuesday, Oct. 16
Stephanie Douthit
ARGUS STAFF
Photo by Lee Adams
The Rams new field house is expected for completion before Homecoming on Nov. 3.
Smooth sounds from Africa,
Brazil and the Caribbean —
with a hint of gospel and
R&B - characterize the world-
renowned jazz vocalist,
Dianne Reeves.
Known for being the only
artist to win Grammys for
Best Jazz Vocal Performance
for three consecutive record
ings, Reeves has been com
pared to the likes of Carmen
McRae and Billie Holiday.
Winston-Salem State
University's Lyceum Cultural
Events and the Division of
Student Affairs will present
Reeves on Tuesday, Oct. 16,
7:30 p.m. in the Kenneth R.
Williams Auditorium.
Reeves' musicianship offers
powerful storytelling, and
when her autobiographical
hit "Better Days" debuted,
many believed it conveyed
the message of hope that
sparked all of her work.
Reeves is currently the
Creative Chair of Jazz for the
Los Angeles Philharmonic,
and she maintains an active
touring schedule.
Tickets are available at the
Winston-Salem State University
Ticket Office or by calling (336)
750-3220. Ticket costs are $20 -
Day-of-show; $18 - general
advanced tickets; $7 - WSSU stu
dents with valid I.D.
Photo courtesy of Blue Note Records
Reeves’ performance is being sponsored by
WSSU’S Lyceum Cultural Events and the Division
of Student Affairs.