The Campus Echo
No. 1
Monday, September 17, 1984
Student boycott brings
unity, strength, results
Back to the books
It’s back to the old grind as classes get underway for the fall
semester. Just think, there’s not another vacation until October.
Good Luck!
By Helen Eagleson
On Monday, August, 27 about 200
students gathered outside the Ad
ministration Building with signs and
banners demanding an education.
“We want to go to school,” read on
sign held by a student in the crowd.
The boycott was prompted when
registration faculty and staff closed all
registration lines a three o’clock turn
ing away students who hundreds of
students who had not begun registra
tion and others who had not finished.
But that wasn’t the only complaint
that prompted the protest.
(1) Insensitive and unprofessional at
titudes directed towards parents and
students during registration.
(2) Student packets secured by students
only a week prior to registration and in
many instances not secured by
students until arrival on campus.
(3) Limited positive efforts made to
correct confusion generated by late
processing of award letters.
(4) Information concerning new pay
ment plans extremely vauge and not
properly communicated to the student
body.
(5) Significant number of students
forced to discontinue their educational
pursuits because of badly orchestrated
registration procedures.
Of all the reasons stated, the finan
cial aid situation created the most pro
blems for the most students.
With the majority of students on
this campus receiving some type of aid
to continue their education, the new
See BOYCOTT, p.4
Financial Aid Office snafus affect many
By C.S. Keys
If education is a dance, the
Financial Aid Office is the
place many Central students
go to find the pittance to pay
the piper. This year, the pit
tance was especially hard to
find, and quite a few have
found themselves coming late
to the dance.
Crystal Frazier, a junior,
was one of many students
who found herself waiting out
side the dancehall without the
wherewithal to call the tune.
Coming to campus, she was
unsure if she had been award
ed any financial assistance,
because she had not received a
letter confirming the award.
She hoped that the aid had
been granted and that the
Financial Aid Office was only
late in mailing out the letters.
Her assumption was cor
rect.
Dianna Blackley, Financial
Aid Counselor at NCCU, said
that one reason many students
didn’t receive letters of award
Foushee contract
not to be renewed
By Lisa O. Smallwood
As of Sept. 29, Kenneth Foushee will no longer be director of
Student Life for Men.
No reason has been cited for the decision not ta renew his con
tract, and Foushee has declined to comment on the situation.
Foushee’s position at the University probably would have
been more stable “had he gotten his doctorate, as I encourage all
my people to do,” said Dr. Roland Buchannan, vice chancellor
of Student Affairs.
Buchannan said, however, that he was not at liberty to discuss
the situation further, since it dealt with a personnel matter.
Foushee’s office enforces the attendance policy and handles
student withdrawals.
Foushee is also responsible for providing counseling and direc
tion to the young men (and women) of NCCU and assisting with
their adjustment to campus life.
According to one campus official who asked to remain
anonymous, Foushee has handled his student cases “quite
well,” and the official was surprised to learn of Foushee’s
nonrenewal.
Several students were surprised as well. Lucius Smith, a
Kinston native, said “He is one of the few people here who will
take time to really help students.
was because of a “very hectic”
schedule in the Financial Aid
Office.
Babies were part of the pro
blem. Just before the semester
began, two Aid Office
employees went on pregnancy
leave, and their replacements
were faced with learning a new
job as the fall rush began.
So the letters didn’t go out,
and the beleaguered Aid Of
fice decided to wait until the
students returned to campus to
pass them out.
For Frazier, the delay was
more than a little inconve
nient. Because there was no
record showing that she had
received any aid, she was
unable to get a postponement
on her bill. The academic
piper was demanding im
mediate payment for the tune
he was about to play and she
didn’t have the loot.
For five days her academic
career went on hold. Even
tually, her award letter was
found, jmd the news was
good. With promise of pay
ment in right hand, the
University’s left hand told her
her education could continue.
Blackley said that mistakes
are made, that everyone is
human, and that when the Aid
Office does make mistakes it
tries to correct them.
Pamela L. Wilson of
Philadelphia ran afoul of one
such mistake. The Financial
Aid Office accidentally con
fused the name Pamela L.
Wilson for Pamela K. Wilson.
The change of initial meant
that Pamela L. was labeled an
in-state student and was thus
unable to receive an out-of-
state loan. Once again the
piper was insistent that the
educational tune should not
start until he had money in the
hat.
Once again, getting the
money in the hat took awhile.
It took a week for Pamela
L. to get her initial back and
get her loan, and it took ef
fort. “If I had not been persis
tent at the beginning ot
registration, it probably would
have taken forever,” she said.
However, Lola McKnight,
director of financial aid,
points out that mistakes in the
Aid Office are not the only
reason students have trouble.
Students are human too. In
fact, they probably make as
many mistakes as the Aid Of
fice.
Students, for instance, seem
to have difficulty signing their
names. They are mysteriously
omitted from vouchers where
they should appear.
Sometimes they are not
notorized when they should
be.
If they have trouble with
their names, students have
even more difficulty with the
other information Aid Office
requires, especially if it means
they have to read. Even
though Aid Office personnel
See AID, p. 4
It’s not uncommon to find long lines on this campus in the cafe or at a home
football game, but in this case it’s the registration line. I’m sure you
remember that one.