News & Features
(i 'I'hc News Ai'sus I’uesday, Scplenil)er 21, 2010 vnvw.thencwsargus.com
Mr. Senior selection decided with 56 votes
JaEric Brooks- Shoffner
Ebony S. Smith
Argus Staff Reporter
esmithl09@wssu.edu
After numerous rounds of appli
cants and interviews, and weeks
of deliberation, the Senior Class
Council and SGA announced that
JaEric Brooks- Shoffner is Mr. Senior
2010-2011.
This past April, e-mails were sent
to the students stating that SGA
elections were soon to be underway.
Immediately after the deadline
for applications, the campus saw a
profusion of signs, posters, buttons
and pins.
When the results came in, both
the student body president and vice
president were elected, a number of
secretarial offices were filled, and a
senior class president was chosen,
but the Mr. Senior position was
vacant.
SGA proceeded with business as
usual, as the new members adjusted
to their titles and offices.
"The only logical choice of action
was to abide by the constitution
and appoint individuals for the rest
of the council, so I accepted and
reviewed applications and letters
of intent, and promoted the vacan
cies on the council," said Lauren J.
Waters, a social work major, and this
year's Senior Class President.
"The students of the class of
2011 are incredibly resilient, and
intelligent; however, it was very
disheartening to leam that there
were not any men within the class
who desired to run for not only Mr.
JaEric Brooks- Shoffner
Senior, but any position on the coun
cil."
Waters chose the candidate she
said was most qualified.
However, with new Student
Affairs administration implemented
over the summer, it was discovered
that the candidate chosen did not
meet the requirements to hold a
senior position.
"The [SGA] constitution states
that the senior class president holds
the rank to make a decision in these
types of situations, but an eligible
candidate was required to have
90 hours by the end of the spring
semester," Vivian Spencer said.
Spencer is the Senior Class
Adviser.
After a second upset with another
candidate, the SGA executive board
voted to have special elections dur
ing the fall.
E-mails were sent to the Senior
Class notifying them that the oppor
tunity was available to run for Mr.
Senior.
Three candidates on the ballot
were JaEric Brooks-Shoffner, Joshua
Chavis, and James Walker. And with
a total of 56 votes, Brooks-Shoffner
won.
Out of 1,462 seniors eligible to
vote, about 9 percent participated in
the voting, with 125 ballots cast.
"We were excited to finally be
finished with the selection process,
and to have someone serve as Mr.
Senior, but the fact that the student
body didn't really take part was dis
appointing," said Amilca O'Connor,
a rehabilitation studies major, and
Miss Senior 2010-2011.
As Mr. Senior, Brooks-
Shoffner, a political science
major from Durham, says he
has plenty to offer. He played
on several different sports
teams last year and dropped
his athletic endeavors for a
heavier academic load.
"My goal as Mr. Senior is
to serve as an everyday role
model to other males around
campus, no matter what clas
sification," he said.
"Now that I am a more vis
ible member of the student
body, I want to work to change
the attitude and mind sets of
my classmates, especially the
males, about getting involved
on campus."
Brooks-Shoffner said he plans
to use his experience as the vice
president of the Pre-Law soci
ety, a legacy leader, a resident
assistant, and a member of the
Talented Tenth Brotherhood to
invoke initiative within the stu
dent body.
Education Department undergoes re-organization
Natalie D. Davis
Assistant Editor
ndavisl07@wssu.edu
The Education Department
at Winston-Salem State has
re-organized and added new
sequences.
"The changes are meant to
reposition the entire teacher
preparation programs at
WSSU," said Madu Ireh, assis
tant professor of education
and human performance.
"It is a welcomed reorgani
zation and meant to improve
instruction, learning, and ser
vices to students at both the
undergraduate and graduate
levels."
Cynthia Williams-Brown,
chair and associate professor
of secondary education said
the Education Department
offers math, English and
physical education sequences,
and is working on developing
a sequence in science.
The sequences will focus
on teacher education at the
high school and middle school
levels. Physical education is
taught in grade schools.
Williams-Brown said that
the re-organization took a lot
of planning.
Faculty were transferred
from different departments,
including math, science, and
physical education, into the
Education Department.
"We [Education
Department] are having a
majors meeting to explain the
makeup of the new depart
ment and how they will
have to do business now,"
Williams-Brown said.
Edwin Bell said that he is
optimistic about what the
department will be able to
accomplish, and that the stu
dents he has talked to seem
pleased that they are getting
more attention.
Bell is the professor and
interim chair of educational
leadership, counseling and
professional studies.
"I feel pretty good about the
new additions," Bell said.
"We could have done a
better job planning the reor
ganization, but the new orga
nizational structure provides
an excellent opportunity to
strengthen teacher education
and rehabilitation counseling
at WSSU."
Students are required to
apply to the department after
their sophomore year, and
after they complete their gen
eral education requirements.
They must have a cumulative
GPA of 2.5, pass the Praxis I
[teacher certification exam],
pass a written essay and per
sonal interview. They must
also submit a recommendation
from a professor.
Ireh said that the decision
was made by higher authori
ties, with some consultation
with faculty and staff in the
two existing departments.
Williams-Brown said that
each sequence has a coor
dinator who is responsible
for monitoring the curricu
lum and ensuring that the
sequences are updated.
The coordinators are Cedric
Bass for English, Pamela
Moses-Snipes for math, Donna
Spinks for physical education,
and Sandra Ingram for sci
ence.
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