JANUARY 30, 2008
1801 Fayetteville Street
Durham, NC 27707
North Carolina Central University
CAMPUS
VOLUME 99, ISSUE 8
919 530 7116/CAMPUSECHO@NCCU.EDU
WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM
Campus.
1-3
PHOTO FEATURE
A&E
BEYOND
Beyond
5
An Echo photographer
CD review: Ml_
A twist in federal
Photo Feature..
6
takes an after hours
Platoon “invades”
law has driven up
A&E
7
stroll through
the yard Ottoman-
the cost of birth
Classifled
8
downtown Durham
style
control to college
Sports
9
students
Opinions
10
Page 6
Page 7
Page 5
Civil rights photogra
phy by NCCU’s
Aiex Rivera on
display at N.C.
Museum of History
Page 3
Campus Echo
Nursing turns it around
By Vanessa Jackson
ECHO STAFF WRITER
In an impressive turnaround,
N.C. Central University’s
School of Nursing recently
received the news that 91 per
cent of its graduates passed the
state’s required nursing exam
on the first try, topping both
Duke University and UNC-
Chapel Hill.
This is after a poor showing
on the national licensing exam
in previous years. In 2005,
NCCU students scored only 65
percent. The following year, the
North Carolina Board of
Nursing stipulated changes to
NCCU’s teaching program.
The state board exam evalu
ates every nurse on a basic
level of competency in order to
obtain licensure. However, the
nursing program provides stu
dents with knowledge that goes
far beyond minimum standards.
Lorna Harris, who came to
the University in fall 2005 as
chairperson, said she is ecstatic
about the board scores.
“It’s nice to not have the low
passing issue, and it helps the
morale of students and faculty,”
said Harris.
“Students here worked hard.
I See NURSING Page 2
Adrienne Stevenson and Stephanie Reed practice
on the nursing schooi's $100,000 mannequins.
Jaquelyn Hall/Echo Staff Photographer ,
STUDENTS PITCH IN |
itumeieng Shadreck, elementary education and psychology junior, helps prepare one of 87,400 meals Wednesday, Jan. 22, to feed people around the world.
BRIAN LATiMER/Echo Staff Photographer
NCCU and Duke combat hunger
By Sade 'Thompson
ECHO STAFF WIHTER
While many Americans eat
three meals a day, citizens of
other countries can barely afford
even one.
But last Wednesday, N.C.
Central University teamed with
Duke University to remedy this glob
al issue.
The universities collaborated
with the Durham Rotary Club and
the Durham community to pre
pare and package thousands of
meals, intending to put a dent in
hunger in poor countries, where
the food is delivered to schools
and relief areas.
Robert L. Chapman, assistant
dean of student and program
advancement at NCCU, helped
spearhead the initiative two years
ago, which sends 80,000 meals to
such countries as Haiti,
Guatemala, Ghana and Bolivia.
“Last year, we had 155,000
(meals); this year we’re aiming for
75,000, and next year we want to
get 1 million in one day,” said
Chapman.
He said the program did not
raise enough money this year to
purchase more packages.
On Wednesday, students
formed assembly lines, filling
bags of rice and soy mixture, vita
min mix and vegetables.
The bags of food must weigh
between 390 to 400 grams in order
to be sealed and boxed.
Recipients prepare the bagged
meals by boiling them. The soy
comes from Iowa, rice from
Alabama and vegetables from
Chicago. One meal costs twenty
cents.
In order to reach next year’s
one-million-meal goal. Chapman
said he will team up with NCCU
food vendor, Sodexho.
The plan is to tally the number
of meals not eaten by the students
each week. The money not used
■ See MILUON MEALS Page 2
Is pregnancy an illness?
NCCU’s student health plan won’t pick up the tab for abortions
By Akilah McMullan
ECHO STAFF WRITER
“Should the majority of stu
dents, who are responsible, have
to pay an increased premium for
the irresponsible student to get
an abortion?” asked Charles
Bowen, director of student
health and counseling services at
N.C. Central University.
Like many other universities,
NCCU’s school-issued insurance
does not cover abortion or any
other “elective procedures,” said
Bowen.
According to the North
Carolina Center of Health
Statistics, in 2006, 46 percent of
minority women between age 20-
24 ended their pregnancies in
abortion.
A nationwide study conducted
by the Alan Guttmacher Institute
found that 45 percent of women
who have abortions are college-
aged (18-24).
At least 80 percent of NCCU
undergraduates receive finan
cial aid, and 70 percent are
insured by the school, according
to NCCU’s financial aid and stu
dent health services depart
ments.
“I’d like to say that we have
what I believe to be the best in
student health insurance policy
within the UNC system — and
one of the best in the country,”
said Bowen.
NCCU’s student insurance
costs $500 per year. There is no
deductible and no co-pay.
The insurance covers up to
$700 in prescription drugs.
including birth control.
The policy also covers preg
nancy and delivery expenses.
“It’s not designed to be a cata
strophic policy,” said Bowen.
“If it were a catastrophic poli
cy, the students would not be able
to afford to pay for it.”
One student, who asked not to
be named, has had two abortions
since entering NCCU.
“I had the first when I was 17
and the second when I was 20,”
■ See INSURANCE Page 2
Tubas
MIA
Theft of 11 sousaphones
hits Sound Machine hard —
and with no forced entry —
campus puzzled
By Geoffrey Cooper
ECHO STAFF WRITER
After the theft of five sousa
phones over winter break, the
members of N.C. Central
University’s marching band, the
Sound Machine, thought they
might not make it to Atlanta’s
2008 Honda Battle of the Bands
Invitational Showcase.
This news came after six other
sousaphones and more than 100
other instrumeiits - were reported
stolen in November 2007.
A sousaphone is a lightweight
tuba used by marching bands. The
instrument, named after compos
er John Philip Sousa, is often
referred to as a marching tuba.
Thanks to a loan from Duke
University athletic bands, the
NCCU band made it to Atlanta’s
Georgia Dome to dazzle some
70,000 fans.
But NCCU police, students, fac
ulty, staff and administration still
wonder how 125 instruments have
gone missing since 2005 from the
band room in the Edwards Music
Building.
According to a Jan. 8 campus
police report, 11 sousaphones
were stolen; the News and
Observer reported 14 missing
sousaphones.
“We are currently following every
lead that we have, but an arrest at
■ See THEFT Page 2
Sound Machine at 2004
Aggie-Eagle Classic
Echo File Photo
Dems don
gloves
By Steven 'Thomma
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCI)
WASHINGTON — Democrats head
away from South Carolina Sunday
torn between two top candidates —
and deeply divided along racial
lines that could pull at their party
throughout a long and bruising
campaign.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama won
the state. But he did it by winning
an overwhelming majority of black
votes while losing the majority of
■ See DEMOCRATS Page 5