Eagle football
team gets two wins
In a row; plays at
Fayetteville next
See story pg. 4
CAM
U
ECHO
EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE
Reviews of
Jason's Lyric, starring
Allen Payne and Jada
Pinkett
See pg 3
Issue 39
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
Durham, NC
Oct. 7,1994
artistic ability for University-related endeavors, and has a
B. A degree m 1990 and Insgraduate degree in Educational portrait of Martin Luther King on permanent display in the
dlre^o°r ^ ^CCVL He is the assistant Elder Student Union. This drawing will be presented to A1
rector of the Learning Resourees Center. He uses his Carpenter's family in memoiy of our fellow student.
NCCU honors true Eagle
By Terri Boykin
Co-Editor
NCCU gathered for the second
time in as many years to mourn the
loss of one of its own, Alphonza
Carpenter.
B.N. Duke Auditorium slowly
filled with students, faculty, staff,
family and friends of Al, who died
Tuesday, Sept. 27, from a blood
clot in the lungs, resulting from his
broken leg.
The rich burgundy curtains
around the stage and the softly
gleaming silver organ pipes made
the auditorium seem more of a
church than stage. People came in
quietly, alone or in groups, dressed
up or in jeans, but all hoping to
come to grips with this unforseen
tragedy.
The audience stood respectfully
as Al’s two families - blood rela
tives and teammates - filed in to
gether. Milton Lewis, assistant
dean of student Life, set the theme
of the service with his prayer; “May
we be inspired to live the kind of
life Al Carpenter did.”
Bom May 5, 1973, in Raleigh,
North Carolina, he joined the Pilot
Missionary Baptist Church at an
early age and served faithfully.
Al graduatedfrom Athens Drive
High School in Raleigh, competing
with the football, wrestling and
track & field teams, and earning
Academic All-Conference honors
in his senior year.
Roderick Allison, president of
the senior class, read from the Old
Testament scripture, Isaiah 40:27-
31. Then Victor Davis, resident
director of Eagleson Dormitory,
read Phillipians 4:4-16, a New
Testament scripture.
The N.C. Central University
Choir sang several songs, stirring
the souls of those gathered, mak
ing their emotional control give
way. “Soona will be done” began
to break the walls, and halfway
through the second selection, “Ring
dem Bells,” soloist Ayanna Smith’s
heart-rending voice had people
sniffing and eyes wet. Tears rolled
down tmen's cheeks as they lis
tened to the choir raise everyone’s
spirit through their sound. ‘That is
still the best choir in the world,”
said Chancellor Julius Chambers.
Al wa5 a senior criminal justice
major at NCCU. He played center
for the Eagle football team and
provided a valuable leadership role
as the team’s co-captain. He was a
member of the American Criminal
Justice [Honor] Association
Lambda Alpha Epsilon (Alpha Chi
Omega Chapter), the Raleigh/Apex
Chapter NAACP, andwas recently
inducted into the National Honor
Society.
He worked as a Team Leader
for two Summer Youth Programs
for the City of Raleigh, asasecurity
guard at York Properties, as a
volunteer with the Homeless
Shelter in Raleigh, and was a
member of Explorer Post No. 6, a
junior academy for the Raleigh
Police Department.
Tonia Hicks, president of SG A,
read a resolution from the SGA
and the administration of NCCU.
She also announced that the SGA
and the senior class would make a
contribution to the scholarship fund
in Al’s name. The chancellor then
gave a similar resolution from
NCCU Board of Trustees. These
resolutions are a formal
acknowledgement of Al’s contri
butions and of how much he will
be missed by the organizations. A
copy of each will be given to his
family.
Al planned to attend either law
school or graduate school after
graduation.
See "Eagle"
cont on pg 2
Congressman
to speak
Saturday at
NCCU
NC Congressman Mel Watt
headlines speakers at a conference
in the Research Triangle area on
global and domestic violence.
The conference, “FACING
OUR OWN GUNS: The True Cost
of Weapons Proliferation at Home
and Abroad,” will be held at
NCCU’s Student Union on Satur
day, October 8,9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Other speakers include Vincent
Cobb of the Institute of Policy
Studies and Dallas Jackson, Project
on Militarization and Democracy.
NCCU Chancellor Julius
Chambers will open the confer
ence.
The conference will focus on
educating participants and their
communities on the links between
violence in our streets and weap
ons sales abroad.
Particular stress will be placed
on the politics of power and in
equality, on developing new strat
egies and alliances to work for
domestic and international peace,
on creating ongoing plans to con
tinue education around these is
sues, and on pressing for legisla
tive initiatives.
Workshop topics cover arms
manufacturers and sales, linking
arms trade and guns at home, mov
ing to a peace economy, violence
in our communities, and ending
nuclear weapons proliferation.
They will be led by the listed
speakers as well as by Barbara
Earls from NC Fair Share, Timo
thy McKeown from UNC-Chapel
Hill, and Scott Nathanson from
Peace Action’s national office.
The final session will include a
panel of students from area univer
sities and is designed to develop
strategies for future action.
Addressing the problem of
weapons proliferation. Bill Towe,
conference organizer and state
president of NC Peace Action
states, "We flood the world with
weapons and suffer a flood of
weapons at home. We employ the
use of force to solve international
problems and live in an increas
ingly violent culture.
"We spend billions of our tax
dollars on all the security weapons
can buy and suffer an insecure
future.
"The questions that will be ad
dressed in this conference are not
just timely, but overdue as a major
problem of our day.
See "Guns"
con't on pg. 2