THE WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY
TUESDAY
DECEHBER7
2010
VOL.49,IS$UE6
WWW.THENEWSARGUS.COM
It’s official: Final fall graduation Dec.17
Jordan Howse
Editor in Chief
jhowsel06@wssu.edu
Winston-Salem State will end its six-
year fall commencement tradition after
500 seniors toss their caps in Lawrence
Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 4
p.m. Dec. 17
Administration has decided to have
one graduation each academic year.
"We met with students and worked
with SGA to make this decision and
there is not a strong sentiment on
continuing fall commencements,"
Chancellor Donald Reaves said.
Christa Martin, a senior marketing
major from Raleigh is graduating this
month.
"December graduation is just as
important as spring," Martin said.
"It's [December graduation] impor
tant to students, but the people that will
be most upset of the cancellation will be
the families of the students."
It costs $8,500 to rent Lawrence Joel
for the graduation ceremony, and
although commencement was canceled
fall 2009 because of a snowstorm, the
University still had to pay $7,983 in
preparation costs.
The University spent $36,756 for
spring 2010 commencement.
"It's not about the money. It's about
the logistics and constraints of time,"
Commencement
continued on Page 2
Video camera stolen from
Mass Comm Department
Natalie Davis
Assistant Editor
ndavisl07@wssu.edu
A Canon XH-AI video cam
era was reported stolen from
the Mass Communications
Department's equipment room
in Hall-Patterson in November.
The exact date of the theft has
not been determined.
The camera was purchased
five years ago for about $5,000,
and was primarily used for
teaching students in the
Department's electronic media
sequence.
The camera accessories were
not taken.
The incident was reported
in the Campus Police Blotter
Nov. 23.
According to the blotter,
it may be difficult to recover
the equipment because "leads
were minimal due to uncer
tainty of serial numbers and
multiple persons having access
to the combination of the
[equipment] room."
The equipment room has a
pass code and is under surveil
lance at all times, said Kevin
Fuller, broadcast and electronic
media engineering technician.
Students must complete a
form before they checkout a
camera.
Leah Hightower said that
at least four people had that
access code to the equipment
room and at least two of them
are students.
Hightower is a senior mass
communications major from
Greensboro.
Fuller said that since the inci
dent, he changed the code and
gave the new code to Doug
Osman, an assistant profes
sor; Phillip Jeter, chair of Mass
Comm; and one student.
"We [department] will have
to review internal procedures,"
Jeter said.
"If that's the case [too many
people having the code result
ing in the thefts], it wasn't a
good idea."
In the meantime, a surveil
lance videotape of the equip
ment room is being reviewed
by Fuller and Osman.
Osman said that no one has
been accused.
"The videotape was being
reviewed," Osman said.
"People were seen on the
videotape carrying cameras.
Research was being done on
whether they [the cameras|
were checked out."
Camera
Continued on Page 2
‘Tis the
season
The holiday spirit
is noticeable all
around campus.
The Student
Activities Office
hosted the
Annual Tree Light
ing Ceremony Dec.
1 in the Thompson
Center lobby and
Kappa Kappa Psi,
National Honorary
Band Fraternity, Inc.
has assembled an
Angel Tree in the
Fines Arts build
ing. The Honors
Program is also fes
tive with a ‘Happy
Holidays’ sign on
the door. Garland
snakes around light
posts throughout
campus.
Photo by Jaye Cole,
Assistant Editor
Home for the holidays
WSSU students who live on campus
have until Dec. 18 to vacate their dorm
rooms and enjoy the holidays with
family and friends. Before leaving, stu
dents are required to thoroughly clean
their suites and common areas within
the residence halls. In addition, stu
dents are required to unplug all elec
trical gear. This includes televisions,
computers and personal refrigerators.
The dorms will be available for stu
dents to return Jan. 6, 2011.
Source: Housing & Residence Life
Laptops put sperm at risk
A recent study in the “Journal of
Fertility and Sterility” revealed a lap
top, when it is placed in a man’s lap
for long periods of time, will overheat
and possibly damage his testicles.
Heat can affect the quality of sperm,
decrease sperm mobility and in
severe cases, make men infertile.
Increased temperature of the sperm
can decrease healthy sperm by 40
percent. Place laptops on a hard sur
face like a desk to preserve fertility.
Source: www.collegenews.com
3D Prevention Awareness Month
According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, about
three in every 10 Americans will be
involved in an alcohol-related crash
at some point in their lives. Alcohol-
related crashes in the United States
cost about $51 billion a year. Take
these steps during the holidays and
year-round: Designate a non-drinking
driver; don’t let friends drive impaired,
and; as a host, offer non-alcoholic
beverages.
Source: www.cdc.com
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