A \ V NOVEMBER 4, 2009 North Carolina Central U N I V E R S 1801 FAYETTEVaLE STREET Durham, NC 27707 Campus Opinion VOICE GAME Campus 13 1 Beyond 4-5 1 E-mail, Facebook, Here’s Willie again. More stories written Eagles soar over NECD Voice 6-7 1 Twitter — why you And now he’s going for the Northeast Marauders 53 - 22 Feature 8 1 should use them wisely. after the media... Central Durham in Homecoming A&E. 9 1 VOICE by NCCU stu- game. Classifieds. 10 1 dents. Sports. Opinion 11 1 12 1 Page 3 1 Page 12 Page 6-7 Page 11 VOLUME lOU ISSUE 5 919 530 7116/campusecho@nccu.edu WWW.CAMPUSECHO.COM Campus Echo 1959 alum brings past and present into focus Centennial News Mattie Giles, 1959 alumna, at Friday’s convocation. Brandi Myers/ Echo staff photographer By Amarachi Anakaraonye ECHO STAFF REPORTER June 2, 1959 was the 45th annual commencement of the N.C. College at Durham, now N.C. Central University. That year’s class complet ed its second ary education in an era of legalized dis crimination, and without the efficiencies of modern technology. Most students cannot imagine life without cell phones, computers, iPods and Facebook — but past alumni paved the way with out these “necessities.” Among the graduates that year was Mattie Giles, convo cation speaker of NCCU’s 62nd annual Founder’s Day. A major in sociology with a double minor in education and library science, Giles is a retired professor of social work at the University of the District of Columbia. “I am grateful for all the University has done for me and countless others,” said Giles on Friday. She said NCCU graduates were stronger and wiser and more educated because of our founder. “Dr. Shepard made it possible, no matter the school’s name.” Giles’ convocation speech connected the rich past of NCCU with the present state of the institution. She recounted her fresh man year at the N.C. College at Durham with pride. She recalled the humiliation of wearing “beanies,” or skull caps, to signify freshman clas- sificatioH^ and witnessing the vocal gift of her classmate, Shirley Caesar, at the fresh man talent show. “What a difference time, need and resources make,” said Giles. Under the guidance of Marjorie Shepard, daughter of founder James E. Shepard, Giles earned 55 cents an hour for work-study in the James E. Shepard Memorial Library. She told the audience about a Mr. Alston and his dog, who constituted “the one-man, one-dog, one- night stick” campus security force from 1954 to 1959. ■ See SPEAKER Page 2 . Crime rattling U.S. campuses Recent violent crimes upset sense of refuge on college campuses By Mara Rose Williams MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS (MCT) KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tuition may not be the most trou bling concern for parents sending sons and daughters off to college. A disturbing pattern of violent crime has erupted across the nation’s campus es — from Yale University, where a female graduate student was strangled, to the University of California at Los Angeles, where a chemistry student was stabbed repeatedly in a lab. While saying that campuses almost always are safer than their surrounding com munities, Jonathan Kassa of Security On Campus Inc. acknowledged that the headlines can create the opposite impression. “This has been a very uniquely deadly and brutal first semester, so there is ■ See CRIME Page .4 HOMECOMING 2009 I Two Washington, D.C.-based alumni, Anna Joyce Newkirk Pratt, Miss NCCU Alumna 20084)9, with Gerald AngeloPeeble^Mr. NCCU Alumnus, at thep^d" Kanisha Madison/Ec?io Staff photographer By Carlton Koonce/echo editor-in-chief reunions of the week brought featuring comedians Kevin The newsest Ms. NCCU, in alumni who have not seen Hart and Benji Brown fol- Chavery McClanahan, and Mr the campus in years. lowed by entertainment at the NCCU, Tremaine Holloway, The 2009 homecoming Eagle Jam and the traditional were crowned during the coro- kicked-off with a comedy show Pre-Dawn dance. m 500 HOMECOMING Page 8 C entennial homecoming events for the N. C. Central University fam ily have come to an end. The fun, festivities and Historic leaders on display Former chancellors, political leaders subjects of centennial art project Biology freshman Marion Grant admires a portrait of Annie Day, James E. Shepard’s wife. Jerry RoGERS/Ec^^o staff photographer By Ashley Roque ECHO STAFF REPORTER LeRoy Walker. Mickey Michaux. Annie Day Shepard. WG. Pearson. Julius Chambers. C.C. Spaulding. Alphonso Elder. Jeanne Lucas. Charlie Nelms. These are the nine new portraits of leaders in the black community now dis played in the lobby of the Farrison-Newton Building. Each leader has con tributed to the growth and development of N. C. Central University over its 100 years. Fine arts students con- Centennial News tributed to the celebra tion of the Centennial while learn ing about the past and present African-American leaders. Each portrait was creat ed by art students from the art club, under the leader- .ship of adjunct professor Chad Hughes. “The appearances of these faces demands ques tions,” said art professor Achamyleh Dabela. “We want to share the stories of these leaders with the whole student body because we don’t want students to spend four years here and not know who are our main leaders.” ’ Though some of the por traits are of former chan cellors and presidents, others depict civil rights leaders and government representatives, such as Jeanne Lucas. Lucas, an alumna of Hillside High, became, in 1993, the first African- American female to serve in the state senate. “I think it’s amazing ■ See PORTRAITS Page 2 Students rally behind public option By Ashley Griffin ECHO STAFF REPORTER Theodore Roosevelt tried it in the early 1900s. Franklin D. Roosevelt tried it three decades later. And Harry Truman made a run at it in the 1940s. Today President Obama is challenged by the same task. The United States has been plagued throughout its history with trying to find a successful healthcare sys tem for all its citizens. On Oct. 23 a petition was presented to N. C. demo cratic junior senator Kay Hagan signed by 365 N.C. Central University students. “We began to collect sig natures at the cafeteria and the student union and pre sented in classes to explain to students what the peti tion supported,” said Emily Littlejohn, public health and business administra tion senior. Today, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 47 million Americans under the age of 65 do not have health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Web site, a non-profit, private organization concentrating on national health care issues and U. S. global health policy, “health insur ance premiums have consis tently grown faster than inflation.” The Foundation projects that by 2018, healthcare spending in the nation will soar to more than $4.3 tril lion, or $13,100 per resi dent. ■ See PETITION Page 2 Emily Littlejohn helped petition for a public health care option. Ashley GRiFFiN/Echo staff photographer Pj2^