4The Rainbow RegisterThursday, July 16, 1992
PROFILES
l
UNC's Chuck Stone takes
By Kanika Jelks
Chuck Stone entered the field
of journalism with a trail of fire
behind him.
He didn't major in journalism,
because growing up he had no
idea what career he wanted to go
into. After graduation from col
lege, he almost took a job as assis
tant director of Asian Affairs.
But he didn't.
Instead Chuck Stone took a job
with the New York Age as a be
ginning reporter with a salary that
paid three times less than his other
offer.
He had a newly formed family,
times were hard, but he followed
his instincts, and in five months
he climbed the ranks from start
ing reporter to editor-in-chief of
the New York Age, then America's
oldest historically black newspa
per. His climb to the top sur
passed many employees who had
been there for years. Five people
quit.
"I was all over that newsroom,"
said Stone. "I wanted to try every
thing." That was only the beginning.
Now, 37 years later. Chuck Stone,
author of three published books,
Elliott juggles busy
schedule of kids,
teaching, writing
By Darlene Harper
Rainbow Institute associate di
rector Jan Elliott is associate pro
fessor and also assistant to the
dean in the School of Journalism
and Mass Communication at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
She also is a mother and a wife
who has to juggle her day around
home and work. Some people call
her Superwoman. "The bad thing
about being a superwoman is ev
eryone expects you to do every
thing and you don't want to say
no, " said Elliott, who admitted
she often takes on too much.
Elliott graduated from UNC
CH in 1970. She then returned to
her home state Florida where she
attended the University of Florida
and recieved her master's degree
in journalism.
She returned to North Carolina
and worked at The Raleigh Times.
She said she loved it and stayed
for six years. "It was great be
cause everyone was fresh out of
college."
During her stay there, she cov
ered general assignment news,
prison and health beats, then be
came assistant city editor.
Resident advisers are
substitute parents
By Ana Vasquez
They are just like big sisters.
More than just resident advisers
and chaperones, Lisa Underwood
and Natalie Godwin, who worked
with the Rainbow Institute for the
past three weeks, are friends.
Many students say they played an
important part in making the In
stitute a success.
"They are both good people and
when needed they can be great
assets to the program," said Isamu
Jordan, a Rainbow Institute stu
dent. "Lisa is really laid back and
helps relieve us from stress. She
reminds us to smile when we for
get. Natalie exhibits responsibil
ity and helps us keep in tune with
the seriousness of this program."
Many people worked long
hours to ensure the Rainbow In
stitute ran smoothly. Underwood
and Godwin gave up three weeks
this summer to live in Granville
Towers with the Rainbow stu
dents. Godwin, 22, is a graduate of the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (UNC) with a major in
Broadcast Journalism. Jan Elliott,
the associate director, offered her
a job working at the Rainbow Institute.
-:. :agowsi'v
i"
I III
Chuck Stone
is still taking the journalism world
by storm. As Walter Spearman
professor at the University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill, he
teaches two classes and directs the
Rainbow Institute. Stone is also a
syndicated columnist with articles
She was married in 1981 to Jim
Elliott, who was a journalist but in
1984 changed his career to become
a pilot.
Four years later, at the age of 35
she became pregnant with her first
child, Katherine. That's when her
mother told her that her life would
start to change. It changed again
in 1987 when she had her second
daughter, Margaret.
"I have to plan everything now.
1 have very little privacy," shesaid.
"Despite all the negativity, it's
worth it". . w .
Her home reflects the antique
collecting she did while single. She
has a old Singer sewing machine
stand that she made into a table by
putting a piece of marble across
the top. She also has furniture
handed down from her husband's
grandmother.
She said she feels every part of
her home should be lived in and
it's a waste to use certain parts of
the house for only special occa
sions. "That's just the practical
side of me", she added.
She also writes a weekly col
umn called "Life with Kids" for
the Herald-Sun newspaper in
Durham.
Godwin feels it has been inter
esting to see how all the students
came from across the country to
produce a paper.
"I'm honored to be working
with the first Rainbow Institute.
Anytime students come together
in a learning environment, they
can only enhance from each other's
skills and grow from the experi
ence," Godwin said.
Underwood, also 22, from West
Virginia, is a public relations ma
jor at UNC. Her public relations
teacher told her about the Rain
bow Institute and she was inter
ested in the program because it
dealt with journalism and was of
fered to students from across the
country.
"What I found interesting about
the program was not the differ
ences of races, but the difference
in areas that everybody came
from," Underwood said.
Both Underwood and Godwin
plan to pursue careers in journal
ism. Godwin said she hopes to go
into the area of broadcasting and
someday ha ve her own talk show.
Underwood said she is more in
terested in social work. She hopes
she can work in Disney World's
public relations department.
in more fhanlOO papers.
But this hardly is the climax of
his career. He still has aspirations
to write five more books, all be
fore he retires.
There is no title that can accu
rately describe Chuck Stone. He is
a journalist, a historian, a political
consultants novelist and much
more.
Charles Sumner Stone is a real
life Clark Kent.
He has traveled to 18 countries
and lunched with Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. He has conversed
with Malcolm X and has even been
featured as a character in a BatMan
comic book.
Stone's accomplishments con
tinue to grow, and he finds a new
lesson with each experience.
Enlightment is the lesson he's
encountered most recently as di
rector of the Rainbow Institute.
Working with aspiring young
journalists has nurtured his view
of humanity.
"The kids (of the Rainbow In
stitute) have given me a reaffir
mation of the wonders of human
ity," Stone said.
Stone said he tries to contribute
his years of experience in cumula
&Vr'4 til ' -V H
Photo by TrinaTerreJ
Jan Elliott and Merv Aubespln leave class after day's activities
Editor of Kentucky, paper A
champions racial diversity 1
By Sean Lopez
Young David Hawpe took over
the school safety patrol street cor
ner only because holding the sta
tion guaranteed a daily treat from
the owner of a nearby candy store.
Hawpe had no idea this success
would propel him into his jour
nalism career and ultimately to
editor of The Courier Journal in
Louisville.
Now Hawpe can have all the
candy he wants.
"For reasons I still can't figure
out to this day, the captain of the
safety patrol had to be editor of
the school newspaper," Hawpe
said. "So I edited my first newspa
per at age 12."
Hawpe went on to become edi
tor of his junior high, high school
and college newspapers. Elected
scribe of the Boy Scouts and histo
rian of his senior class, Hawpe
was always identified as a writer.
In contrast to the typical teen
age jock, Hawpe was unathletic,
skinny and interested in classical
music, poetry and art. While other
boys were out playing sports, he
would sit for long hours and read
from the Lincoln Library of Essen
tial Information. Today he deter
mines what is essential informa
tion. "I like being editor of The Cou
rier Journal. I enjoy the opportu
nity to have a significant influence
that's good," Hawpe said.
But in addition to enjoying the
power of his position, Hawpe
takes a responsible stance. He
Knows the tremendous responsi
bility inherent in his position, and
because he is human and fallible,
hesaysitcanbe very nerve-wracking.
"I sit in my office and juggle
two metal balls between my fin
gers," Hawpe joked.
But evidence of Hawpe's com
mitment to fairness and balance
in the newsroom is seen in the
projects he is involved in and the
positions he has held.
Hawpe is vice-chairman of the
minority affairs committee of
ASNE (American Society of News
journalism world
tive diversity to show the students
that they can be equally success
ful. He also tries to leam lessons
from the students.
"This program has been so en
riching. This has really been a
humbling experience," Stone said.
Stone can often be seen tran
scribing wordsof knowledge from
his years of experience through
his typewriter. Stone's presence is
often accompanied by a quote or
anecdote which sheds light on
thevast amount of wisdom he has.
His latest story is always equally
or more interesting than its prede
cessor. Stone tells a story of how Dr.
King's assasination directly af
fected him.
"I had just talked with Martin
two months earlier. We met at a
voting for the Phantom march.
Martin was in favor of the cause,
but the decision went against it. I
can remember him telling me I
could have made the difference,"
Stone said of the last time he talked
to King.
"I was in Washington when I
heard he was shot. I didn't know
he had been killed. Stokely
Carmichael told me to come in-
paper Editors),
a member of an
accrediting
commitee for
schools and col
leges, a member
of NABJ (Na
tional Associa
tion of Black
Journalists) and
a member of the
David Hawpe
minority committee of APME (As
sociated Press Managing Editors).
He conducted the first national
poll of minority working journal
ists, instigated the first minority
census among Kentucky newspa
pers, instigated a Poynter Insti
tute program for writing teachers
at historically black colleges
(HBCs), created flying start
courses at HBCs and created a
"How To" report to assist editors
in recruiting, developing and re
taining minority staff members.
"He also uses every opportu
nity he has to speak publically
about diverstiy," said Merv
Aubespin, Associate Editor of The
Courier Journal and Hawpe's long
time best friend.
Hawpe's mission to promote
diversity in newsrooms stems
partly from his experiences with
racism while growing up in the
60s.
"My mother would make me
give up my bus seat for a black
woman, and even though I didn't
understand these ramifications, I
remember being proud of her
value system," Hawpe said.
Hawpe, who observed police
brutality at the 1968 Democratic
convention and watched his friend
be denied a restaurant table in
Chatsworth, Ga.,became involved
in the pre-eminent moral and po
litical issues of the '60s.
"You can do the most good for
the most people by illuminating
these kinds of issues," Hawpesaid.
"Every generation has lances to
carry, and ours was the civil rights
movement."
Hawpe is a real champion of
See HAWFE, pageS
side , (of the Civil Rights Build
ing)." Stone refused. "No, I'll just
stand outside It was then that
Carmichael yelled to me, 'Chuck,
Martin's dead!'"
Stone reveals the Civil Rights
Movement was one of the most
triumphant but also most difficult
times of his life. Many of his friends
and colleagues such as King,
Malcolm X and Adam Clayton
Powell came to a rise and fall dur
ing this time period.
Stone once worked for Powell
as a political adviser. When
Powell's term in office came to a
close, Stone was out of a job also.
He turned a possibly devastating
situation into a positive one,by
never giving up. He uses this pe
riod in his life to illustrate the
power of perserverance.
"You always have to keep try
ing and never give up," Stone said.
"Excellence is its own reward."
Throughout his life, Stone has
opted for change. He came to teach
at UNC-CH because he felt he
needed a change.He had been the
senior editor of the Philadelphia
Daily News for 13 years.
"I felt I wanted a change, a new
Uncle Merv adopts
counsels, mentors
Rainbow students
By Taylor Margis-Noguera
Everybody has a favorite uncle,
the one whose ingenuity, charisma
and dedication to family brings
out the best in people. Through
out his career as a journalist, edu
cator and equal-opportunity ac
tivist, Mervin Aubespin,
affectionaly known as "Uncle
Merv," has built up an enormous
extended family.
Aubespin, 55, said it is neces
sary to encourage people of all
ethnicities to enter journalism.
"In our multicultural society,
in order to reach all the different
groups, we must get people of all
different races and backgrounds
working in the newsroom."
' A former president, vice presi
dent and regional director of the
National Association of Black Jour
nalists, Aubespin lectures at
schools and gatherings across the
country as an advocate of parity in
the newspapers.
A native of Louisville,
Aubespin finished high school at
agel4, graduated from Tuskegee
University at 18 and was teaching
Editors' critiques aid
students in writing
By Binh Ly
Isamu Jordan
Jason Butler
Local journalism veterans Glen
Bleske, Carol Dykers and Paul
Brown edited stories for Rainbow
students and shared their
knoweldge of the field through
out the three-week program.
Glen Bleske, 42, a second-year
doctoral student and teacher at
UNC-CH, volunteered because he
is a strong believer in a diverse
news room.
"We have a diverse society, and
in order to function the media has
to reflect the beliefs of the people.
Without diversity in the news '
there is abomination, journalism
is based on truth, and truth de
mands news to be diverse," said
Bleske.
Bleske became interested in
journalism after watching "All the
President's Men." He said al
though most people liked the
movie because of the intensity of
investigative reporting, he gained
motivation from a different per
spective. "When I saw the movie, one
scene steered my head to journal
ism, it gave me this amazing rev
elation a person can actually get
paid to talk to people and write
about their experiences," said
Bleske
by storm
experience," Stone said. He said
the only way to grow is to" accept J
new challenges.
While Stone enjoys a change in '
the pace of his lifestyle often, there '
are certain constants that forever '
remain the same. His commitment ' '
to his family is one of them
Stone has been married for 34
years. He has three children, each -'
who have found success in his or '
her own unique ways. One is a '
nurse, one an actress, and another
a music video director. He said he '
is quite proud of their successes. -And
it shows when he is asked '
about them... before he says a
word.
Chuck Stone seems to be fol-,!
lowed by success. The Rainbow '
Institute is one example. He has a
way of working with others to
make things happen. '
He has helped to make dreams b
reality for 15 young journalists. ,
He offered them simple advice. , j
"Be the best, there is no substi- 1
tute for excellence. The only thing
worse than being number two is '
being number three." '
That's good advice, coming ''
from No. 1.
full time at Central High by his
20th birthday. His first news-related
job, five years later, was in
the art department of Louisville's
Courier-Journal, where he worked
as a graphic designer.
During the 1968 Louisville ri
ots, white reporters shunned the
riot scenes for fear of being at
tacked. Knowing it was essential
to have a correspondent in the
thick of things, editors asked
' Aubesprnvtoe mifVlikkWCStt
member, to cdvgf the story; He is
the Courier-Journal's associate
editor in charge of recruitment.
Aubespin said journalism ahs
given him a "a passport to ask
questions" a document that
gives thebearer permission to "ask
about things people don't want
you to know about and look for
things people don't want you to
see."
While journalism is not the
highest-paying profession, Uncle
Merv said: "You may not make a
million dollars being a journalist,
but sometimes you'll sure feel like
one."
Bleske graduated from the Uni
versity of Florida in 1981 . During
his 10 years experience in envi
ronmental reporting and editing,
he has won state and national
awards for feature writing, edito
rials, in-depth writing and layout.
He said he feels his role in the
Rainbow Institute is to help get
students' minds directed into the
field of journalism, as well as paint
the picture of how he perceives it.
Bleske leaves prospective jour
nalists with six words of advice:
"Read, read, read, write, write,
write."
Carol Dykers revels in curiosity-
one of the most important char
acteristics of a good journalist. She
also has ideas about what journal
ism should be like in the future.
These two attributes, combined
with 20 years of journalism expe
rience, are pushing her toward a
Ph.D. and a career in journalism
education.
Born on the North Carolina
coast and raised all over America
Dykers's father was a Marine
Corps officer, she has seen all
parts of the country. She discov
ered which place was her favorite
when she was living in Texas in
1977. "I missed the Carolinas so
much," she said. So she came back.
See EDITORS, page 5