M
U
ECHO
EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE
Issue 40
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
Durham, NC
Oct. 21,1994
Students protest
tov^g after speech
Scholarship Ball hosted at
NCCUby Chancellor
By Geraldine Ndiforchu
Co-editor
“It was a great and wonderful
affair. I think it should be re
peated,” said Don K. Harrison,
regional vice president of the De
troit, Mich., Alumni Association.
The Chancellor’s Scholarship
ball was the first of its kind. It was
an attempt to raise money to assist
students entering NCCU and to
build a stronger bond with the
alumni.
The Oct. 15 gala started with
the guests socializing and meeting
Chancellor Julius Chambers. Then
there was a welcome speech by
Junelle Gist, Miss NCCU, followed
by dancing and a series of raffles.
In his speech. Chambers said,
“We compete with top schools like
Duke, Harvard, UNC—Chapel Hill
and many more, therefore, we have
to have scholarship money to at
tract more students to our univer
sity.
“I am grateful to the Alumni
Association and the recent gradu
ates who have helped make this
occasion happen. An event like
this helps build ties with the alumni,
since they are here to support the
ball.”
See ’’Ball"
con't onpg. 2
Cars towed
during Lyceum
speech
By Kenya Fairley
Staff Reporter
During a lecture on Thursday,
October 13, the cars of most of the
audience were towed. This led to a
multitude of students protesting in
front of the security office.
The lecture was given by Dr.
Na’im Akbar, Ph.D., expert in the
field of African American psychol
ogy, and was a Lyceum offering of
the NCCU Faculty Senate.
Among those present at the pro
test were SGA President Tonia
Hicks, NAACP President Omar
Pettis, Miss NCCU Junelle Gist,
and a number of freshmen.
This one problem of towing led
to the discussion of several other
concerns of the students attending.
Residents of the second and third
floor annex in Chidley complained
about doromitory conditions, de
cals and ticketing in parking lots,
and poor campus security.
Mounting tension was felt in
the room as more concerns were
voiced: financial aid for out-of-
state students, ineffective campus
security, harassment by security
officers, towing and the new atten
dance policy.
Senior and finance major Mike
Reese said, “The reason 1 ’ m here is
because I believe in affirmative
action. I feel an injustice was done.
It’s about time students take a stand
to let administration know what
they want so these incidents won’t
occur again.”
As the crowd grew in size and
frustration, Hicks told the group,
“The problem is they don’t take us
seriously. We need to organize and
make it more than hype.” This
brought supportive cheers and clap
ping from the crowd.
Chancellor Julius Chambers
offered to hear their concerns on
Friday, Oct. 14, the beginning of
fall break, when most of the stu
dents would be off campus. The
crowd would not accept this date.
The rally then continued to B.N.
Duke at 12:29 a.m.
As students herded into the au
ditorium, Hicks suggested that they
“close in the ranks and sit together
as a united front.” Students hurried
to fill in the gaps between seats and
mesh together.
Chancellor Chambers stated, “I
had been protesting for years.
What’s crucial is that we protest
See "Protest"
con't on pg. 2
Money raised for renovations of Shepard's home
Goal of $500,000
By Geraldine Ndiforchu
Co-editor
Broken windows, doors and fix
tures, broken pipes, paint peeling
off walls and walls falling down
are just some of the features one
would see at the home of late James
E. Shepard, founder and first presi
dent of N.C. Central University.
A film slide presentation by Dan
Kurtz, general contractor with
Kurtz Construction Company, at
Chancellor Julius Chambers’ house
showed the house in its current
conditions.
A committee met at Chancellor
Julius Chamber’s house, Monday,
Oct. 17, to make plans on how to
raise at least half a million dollars
to restore and renovate this house.
Kurtz said in their plans, codes
concerning fire safety and handi
cap accessibility must be consid
ered which were not an issue when
the house was constructed in 1925.
“There is a lot to do, but it is not
out of reach,” said Kurtz.
Gloria Haines, of the develop
ment office, said Larry Shaw, chair
man of the committee, made ar
rangements for them to meet with
departments of Energy, Interior and
Transportation to seek assistance.
“There is money available in
the department of energy to help
but we have to address the project
to their interest,” said Haines.
Kernegan, an old friend of
Shepard, said he was very excited
when he was invited to join the
planning committee.
He donated $5,000 towards the
achievement of this project.
During the meeting, it was sug
gested that the committee plan con
certs and balls as way of raising
money to meet the requirements of
this project.
The dinner offered by Mrs.
Chambers during the meeting was
exceptional.
It was a three-course meal with
food ranging from salad to shrimp.
Guests made acquaintances, chat
ted and cracked jokes at the dinner
table.
Photo credit: Hiram Abdullah
Representatives of the Regional Alumni Councils and committee members: Front row, left-
to-right: Mary Harrison, Philadelphia; Charlene Wicks, Baltimore; Mable Stephenson,
Winston-Salem. Back row, left to right: Richard Smith, Washington, D.C.; wade Johnson,
Greenville, NC; Calvin Kearney, Washington, D.C.; Roger Gregory, Durham and president of
NCCU Alumni Association.