2
The News Argus
Nov. 12. 2007
Campus News
Exhibit explores eugenics
Kesha Collins
ARGUS STAFF
N.C. Department of Health and
Human Services Interactive
Eugenics Exhibit was displayed
in the F.L. Atkins building on
Aug. 8. The exhibit, which
exposes the sterilization practices
used to control reproduction in
the state, continues through
January.
In 1929, the eugenics program
was introduced as a vision for
improving society by preventing
unfit individuals from reproduc
ing. The criteria for the "unfit"
was set by the state and included
people with criminal tendencies,
"feeble minds", epilepsy, and
other disabilities.
According to the exhibit, the
eugenics program had been
expanded to include other "social
symptoms" such as "poverty,
promiscuity, alcoholism, and ille
gitimacy."
Winston-Salem has a disturb
ing history with the eugenics
program. In a recent series of
articles in the Winston-Salem
Journal on the state's sterilization
program, Kevin Begos writes that
"prominent residents of Winston-
Salem used their influence to
revive the state's eugenics pro
gram," at a time when the num
ber of sterilizations was decreas
ing in North Carolina. These
elite formed a group called the
Human Betterment League.
The League began to garner
more support after some WSSU
students were given IQ tests.
"IQ tests revealed that an alarm
ing number of Winston-Salem
students were considered [to be]
'feebleminded'," Begos wrote.
These results gained more sup
porters, including local newspa
pers, which resulted in more
sterilization.
The exhibit reveals the history
of the eugenics program with 20
three-foot-wide panels, a display
of surgical instruments used in
sterilizations, and voice record
ings of individuals who were
subjected to this practice.
Nial Cox Ramirez, an 18-year-
old mother, gave a detailed
account of her sterilization expe
rience. Ramirez was given the
choice to be sterilized or have her
mother's assistance benefits
taken away. Not wanting her
brothers and sister to suffer, Nial
was sterilized. A large number
of black people were sterilized,
but many whites, such as Bertha
Dale Hymes, were forced to
undergo the procedure as well.
Taking a stroll on the Ram Express
StacI Harris
ARGUS REPORTER
Over the years, many students
have expressed their concerns with
the parking spaces available on
campus. In response, Winston-
Salem State University has intro
duced another alternative: the Ram
Express. The shuttle bus allows fac
ulty, staff, students and visitors to
ride from one end of campus to
another.
Recently, the two shuttles have
been running; last year, there was
only one shuttle in operation.
Driven by James Hogue and Ray
Famble, the shuttles circle the cam-
■ pus on a regular schedule. The Ram
Express is available to anyone who
comes on campus. Routes and maps
are available at the police station on
campus.
The shuttle's route runs through
the campus and Bowman Gray
Stadium. Riders can catch it every
15 minutes from the designated
stops between the hours of 7 a.m.
and 10 p.m., Monday through
Friday. The Ram Express does not
cater to off-campus students
because it is designated for on-cam-
pus use. It does not operate on
weekends.
According to Hogue, the shuttle
offers a comfortable ride to anyone
who uses the service. "It's just like a
limo: good music, air conditioning,
and in the winter, [there is] heat,"
he said.
A ride around campus on the
shuttle is free for students and fac
ulty.
"All you have to do is hop on,"
Hogue stated.
The Ram Express route was
designed for optimal convenience.
Many people are taking advantage
of the service by parking at the sta
dium and riding to class or offices.
"It helps a great deal because they
can catch it off campus [at the stadi
um] and ride it to any parts of the
campus," Hogue said.
Initially, the shuttle was an
unknown option. Once the shuttle
became more publicized, students
and faculty started to reap the bene
fits of the shuttle.
"Now that everybody knows
about it, it's easier to park without
getting tickets," said Eniola Funsho,
a senior.
Since many students have
expressed annoyance with on cam
pus parking problems, the shuttle
may begin ease the tension.
Students seem generally happy
with the presence of the shuttles on
campus.
"It saves gas from trying to drive
your car from one side of campus to
the other," said Nakia Peterson, a
sophomore. "We do have nice driv
ers; they play good music and keep
the air on."
in
the
Jamaal Richmond
ARGUS STAFF
COACH GAINES
40 years ago this week:
Coach Clarence E. (Bighouse) Gaines, in
his 22nd year at Winston-Salem State, is
named Coach of the Year for 1967 in the
NCAA College Division ... A new library
building is added to the campus, with the
library being named for a former presi
dent of the college. Its location faces east
... The president of the Student
Government Association, Melvin Mayo,
denounces WSSC's students for being ' too
complacent," "too timid," and "too silent'
to correct what he describes as a seriously
deficient student government organiza
tion.
Source: The News Argus, Fall 1967
30 years ago this week:
The "Wilmington, NC, Ten" who are young civil rights workers
nine black males and one white female — are sentenced to a total of
282 years in North Carolina prisons on frame-up arson and conspiracy
charges ... Total collegiate enrollment in the South declines slightly this
fall ... WSSU Chancellor Kenneth R. Williams announces his retire
ment plans.
Source: The News Argus, Fall 1977
20 years ago this week:
Winston-Salem State University receives a grant of nearly $25,500
from the U.S. Department of Education to improve and expand the
university's cooperative education program ... Tim Brown, the black
flashy flanker and kick-returner man from Notre Dame, wins the
1987 Heisman Trophy ... WSSU beats Bowe 72-55 ... The Beta Iota
chapter fraternity of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Inc., recognizes a
week of Founder's Day activities.
Source: The News Argus, Fall 1987
10 years ago this week:
Students incur a $255 increase in tuition in the fall of 1997. Tuition
is $365, health service fee $68, student activity fee $119, athletic fee
$75 ... Ravonda Dalton-Rann becomes the nevy assistant to
Chancellor Alvin J. Schexnider ... Danielle Prohete, editor-in-chief of
the News Argus, is awarded a $500 scholarship.
Source: The News Argus, Fall 1997
Archival information for "Back in the Day” is courtesy of O'Kelly Library,
WSSU
Colleges with NASCAR, IndyCar locales team up
for 2008 class on business, technology of racing
Photo Courtesy of Media Relations
Winston-Salem State University and NASCAR continue to worl together.
lUledia Relations
When Professors
Travis Teague and
Pete Hylton met
earlier this year, they knew
that pairing the motorsports
programs of their respective
universities would be, to
borrow from race track
lingo, a "checkered flag" for
students on both campuses.
Teague is coordinator of
the motorsports manage
ment program at Winston-
Salem State University
(WSSU) in the heart of
NASCAR country.
Hylton is director of the
motorsports program in the
School of Engineering and
Technology at Indiana
University-Purdue
University Indianapolis
(lUPUI). His campus is just
minutes from the
Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, home of the
Indianapolis 500.
In May 2008, lUPUI and
WSSU will team up to offer
"From Indy to the
Carolinas," a two-week
summer session course built
around the strengths of the
motorsports curricula of the
two universities: the opera
tions and management of
motorsports at WSSU; and
the engineering and tech
nology of motorsports at
lUPUI.
Open to students from
both universities, the sum
mer course begins in
Winston-Salem, NC, with a
week of management-relat-
ed classes and activities,
along with racing events
such as the NASCAR All-
Star Race at Lowes Motor
Speedway.
The final week of the
course features motorsports
engineering and technology
classes at lUPUI, and trips
to Indianapolis Motor
Speedway for final car test
ing and other events associ
ated with the Indianapolis
500.
The curriculum dovetails
WSSU's goal of maximizing
resources in order to estab
lish a curriculum that will
prepare students to meet
the management needs of
employers and clients in the
fast-paced motorsports
industry, Teague said.
"WSSU students will get
an opportunity to study the
technical aspects of the
sport while at the same time
gaining exposure to open-
wheel venues," Teague said.
"It will prepare students by
giving them a better under
standing of non-stock car
venues, teach them the
importance of collaboration
by working with lUPUI stu
dents, and initiate new con
tacts for them within the
industry."
Earlier this year WSSU, a
historically black university,
became the first university
in the nation to establish a
bachelor of science degree
in motorsports manage
ment. The curriculum
includes concentrations in
two specific areas: motor-
sports operations and
motorsports marketing and
event planning.
Partnering with WSSU
will allow lUPUI students
to gain a basic overview of
the motorsports industry,
similar to what is taught in
lUPUI's MET 272 Intro to
Motorsports class, while
learning more about the
management and marketing
side of motorsports, Hylton
said.
Motorsports is considered
one of the fastest growing
industries in the country,
according to Hylton, a
mechanical engineering
technology professor at
lUPUI.
"The goal of the lUPUI
motorsports program is to
train graduates for careers
in the motorsports indus
try," Hylton said.
"Graduates who under
stand both the technical
side and the management
side of the business will
make better employees."
Accomplishments of the
lUPUI motorsports pro
gram include a student-
built race car, which is driv
en in competition by a stij-
dent who is a licensed race
car driver. The program
also has placed a number of
students in industry intern
ships.
Topics for the collabora
tive course include histori
cal perspectives of racing;
an examination of the dif
ferent racing venues; the
role of marketing and spon
sorship in motorsports;
driver, vehicle and track
safety technology; and per
formance technology,
including aerodynamics,
chassis dynamics and data
acquisition.
Students enrolled in the
course will pay the stan
dard tuition fees for their
home campus. Each student
will be responsible for the
costs of travel, on-campus
housing and meals associat
ed with the week away
from their home university.