Forsyth Tech's new technology building set for 2005 completion SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Forsyth Technical Com munity College is construct ing a five-story, 85,000 square-foot technology build ing on its Main Campus at 2100 Silas Creek Parkway. The building is scheduled to be completed by spring 2005 and ready for occupancy in the fall of that same year. The new building will house the college's Thomas H. Davis iTEC Center. The cost of the building is about $8.7 million (construc tion only - not including fur nishings or equipment). In addition to the iTEC Center, which encompasses Forsyth Tech's computer related pro grams, the building will have 29 classrooms/labs, four wet labs, three lecture rooms, one training room, a bookstore, the student government asso ciation office and a student vending area. About 60 facul ty/staff offices will be housed there. The new technology build ing was made possible though a state bond referendum passed in 1999 and a Forsyth County bond referendum in 2000. This is the first new building construction on the Main Campus since 1996. To watch the construction progress, go to www.forsythtech.edu and look for the "Main Campus Expansion" link at the lower left portion of the screen. Weight fmm page A2 Another review thai com bined data from several large population follow-ups sug gests a little extra weight might actually be a good thing for American blacks. Both men and women appeared to live a bit longer than usual if their BMIs were in the over weight but not obese category. Some question the signifi cance of the racial compari son. They say that since blacks die younger than whites, the studies might underestimate the health effects of weight or fail to account for weight loss that results from underlying dis eases. "1 don't think a direct comparison of the relative mortality risk in blacks and whites is helpful," said Shiri ki Kumanyika. an epidemiolo gist at the University of Penn sylvania. "You would have to know the circumstances that influence death across the BMI distribution in the bla^k population." Still, if blacks truly suffer fewer consequences of modest weight gain, she and others speculate that differences in body fat distribution might partly explain why. Fat is thought to be most dangerous if it is packed around the internal organs. This kind of fat is most bio logically active, throwing off cholesterol levels and forcing up insulin levels. Overweight blacks tend to have lower levels of harmful triglycerides and higher amounts of protective HDL than do similar-size whites, and this might be due to where their fat is deposited. Blacks tend to carry a larger proportion of their fat in a layer under the skin rather than deep in the belly. Parsons from page A8 cation available." According to Sandra E. Timmons. president of A Better Chance, "Richard Parsons serves as a role model for aspir ing executives of all races, but his success has earned him a leadership role among African Americans. The qualities that make him successful - his focus, vision, concern for the community and ability to moti vate others - are the attributes we look for in A Better Chance Scholars. These things make him especially worthy of our corporate award." A Better Chance was founded in 1963 by 23 private schools wishing to diversify their student populations. It has expanded its network to more than 225 affiliated college preparatory schools. Past recip ients of the A Better Chance Corporate Award include: John T. Dillon, chairman and COO, International Paper Co.; Har vey Golub, chairman and CEO, American Express Co.; Dou glas Daft, chairman and CEO, Coca Cola; and Earl G. Graves, chairman and CEO, Earl G. Graves, Ltd. Grant from page A8 nalists, Stewart said. "Students at HBCUs are understanding more about jour nalism and news because of Black College Wire," Stewart said. "With the addition of the internship program and other projects, we can do even more to help African-American jour nalism students get started in the business." Black College Wire contains news, opinion, feature and sports stories from HBCU stu dent newspapers. Other publica tions may use the stories if the news service is credited, Stewart said. Portions of the grant will go to Hampton University for First Amendment Watch, Howard University for audio streaming and The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education for Web management. Black College Wire also receives in-kind sup port from Washington Post Newsweek Interactive. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism world wide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities. Photo by Courtney Uaillard Middle school stu dent Imana Bilal prepares a hand - made rocket for launch with the help of a teacher, Sarah Fletcher. Summer science and math program encourages kids to reach for the stars B\ COURTNEY GA1LLARD THE CHRCffllCLE Middle school students couldn't travel to the Kennedy Space Center for a day so they turned the back field of Atkins Middle School into a temporary launch site last week where they fired off handmade rockets for the SciMax program. SciMax. short for Science and Math Excellence, is a two-week enrichment program for middle school students funded by the National Science Foundation. The students, who posed as members of space crews, spent three days constructing the rock ets. After counting down the liftoff, a student and a teacher would send the spacecraft off. Onlookers cheered the rocket on as it made its ascent. All heads looked upward to see it shoot to the clouds with great speed. For these kids it was a fun lesson in rocket science. The students will also spend a few days building comets out of dry ice and ammo nia as part of a lesson on the solar system. Winston- Salem/Forsyth County Schools partners with Wake Forest University and Win ston-Salem State University to offer the program. WSSU School of Education Dean Donna Ben son said, academic camps like SciMax are becoming popular with kids because the kids enjoy learning when it's made fun. "Everything is hands-on and performance-based," said Ben son. "We're really pleased." Nearly 80 high school stu dents also took part in the Math Science Education Network (MSEN) at Atkins. This program was introduced to N.C. schools 1 5 years ago. Sue Davidson signed up her granddaughter, Dysteni Shepper son. for the SciMax program because she's spending the sum mer with her grandmother. Davidson said her granddaugh ter's participation in organized educational activities on her sum WINSTtN -SALEM ONE or 30 MOST LIVABLE CITIES IN AMERICA winstonsalem www.vlMttaiiitlam.cam mer break can only help her dur ing the next sstjool year. "Math .and science for females is just tremendously important." .said Davidson. "My focus is to have her involved in something that is intellectually stimulating. She's been coming home so excited and motivated." While Shepperson may not be considering a career as a rock et scientist, she's learned a lot about what makes rockets soar. The rising fifth-grader is one of 50 middle school students who took part in SciMax. She says she would even be interested to return to SciMax next summer. "It's fun and I've made a lot of friends here. You have to pay attention in class, but it's kind of easy when you have nice teach ers." said Shepperson. "It's good for kids because some will just watch TV and play video games (over the summer), but this is fun and educational." Kids aren't the gnly ones in the classroom during the suni mer. Teacher* are participating ih a SciMax of their own where they are instructed on how to teach science and math. Curt Rathburn. a WS/FCS teacher, said SciMax is designed to engage students in science and math in such a way that tfiey won't get bored or find them selves daydreaming about sitting poolside. "They get excited and that's what the school system is trying to do by partnering with Win ston-Salem State and Wake For est. to bring that about." said Rathburn. Walter Johnson, a SciMax teacher, said you won't find the kids buried in books or taking notes in class during SciMax because the approach of this camp is hands-on work. "We're preparing the students for things they're going to learn throughout the school year so they'll have a little more of an advantage on the other children. We try to keep it away from paper and pencils. A lot of our activities are hands-on," said Johnson. SciMax will also conduct a camp at Konnoak Elementary and a camp at Wake Forest for high school students. The Chronicle The Choice for African American News and Information Lift Your Voice In The Chronicle Phone: 722-8624 1 120- A Vista Court - 2 Bedroom, 1.5 Bathrooms. First floor unit. $5 1 ,000.00. 2 Vacant lots for sale - Maryland & Adelaide Streets. Could possibly be rezoned. 600 West 26^ Street - 2 Bedroom, Den, Fireplace, Brick front. Ranch, C entral Air. $77,995.00 . ; 1 Investor? Special - 130 Cameron Ave. - 3 Bedrooms. 1 Bathroom. Basement with large backyard. Investor Special - 1702 Gray Ave. - 3 Bedrooms, Central air. Basement. $40, 000.00. Investor Special - 2037 Lincoln Ave. - 2 Bed rooms, 1 Bathroom. $41,000.00. 504 Sprague Street - 5 Bedrooms 2 Kitchens. 4 Bathrooms, full finished basement, central air condition, extra rental unit. $155,000.00. 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