61.11 spartan echo

SPARTAN ECHO| Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504|NEWSROOM: 757.823.8200 E-Mail: [email protected]

04.11.14Vol. 61, Issue 11

TopSTorieSi n S i d e

Increase in tuition to improve university

By Danielle Kirsh

Quashawn Bethea and Tory Barner are the newly-elected Student Government President and Vice-President, respective-ly, for 2014-2015. Even though the pair will not be able to take office until May 11, they are already working toward clos-ing the communication gap between students and Norfolk State University’s administra-tion.

“Tory and I want to build a more accessible administration than what we have had over the

Newly-elected Bethea aNd BarNer have

Big plaNs for sgaBy Worship Chaleka

past few years,” said Bethea. “We want everyone form our e-board to our class represen-tatives to be visible and acces-sible so any concern or issue can be heard and dealt with as swiftly as possible.”

This duo even has plans in the works to improve upon communication between stu-dents and the offices of fi-nancial aid, the registrar

Continued on page 2

Penny eyes future in the NBA

By Jason Gill

Senior Pendarvis “Penny” Williams has certainly finished his NSU basketball career with a legacy unlike most.

Williams has played a huge role in bringing many memo-rable moments to the basketball program.

“My greatest memory would for sure be going to the NCAA tournament and knocking off Missouri in 2012,” said Wil-liams. “It was great to be at the NCAA tournament, but to knock off a team that a lot of people though was going to the final four was great.”

The 2013 MEAC player of the year will surely go down as one of the greatest Spartans to ever wear the uniform.

Continued on page 5

The Board of Visitors has approved to raise tuition, leaving a bigger hole in the wallets of in-state students.Photo by Donte Hayden and Tykhari Coles

Men’s Basketball star Penny Wil-liams continues to aim for his chances in the NBA. Photo credit by Tykhari Coles

Students should pre-pare for the EWC test ahead of time.

See Don’t get held back by the EWC

Page 7

The new SAT format could affect incoming freshmen

See SAT drops maxi-mum score to focus on math and critical thinking

Page 2

To mitigate the drop in en-rollment and improve the uni-versity’s budget, Norfolk State University’s governing board voted and approved a tuition increase.

In total, in-state undergradu-ate students will see an in-crease of $576. Annual tuition and mandatory fees will in-crease by $326 and undergrads will have to pay $7,552. Room and board will also see an in-crease of $250, raising the cost of living on campus to $8,624 annually.

Out-of-state students will see an increase of $250, putting their total at $29,320 annually.

During the Board of Visitors meeting on Mar. 21, Interim President and CEO of Norfolk State Eddie N. Moore Jr. said Norfolk State is “not charg-ing in-state students enough,” while they are “over collect-ing for out-of-state” students. Moore said they are within the state law when it comes to set-

ting tuition rates.Currently, in-state under-

graduate students pay 32 per-cent of the cost of education while out-of-state students pay 144 percent, but NSU’s tuition remains the lowest of the Vir-ginia’s public four-year col-leges.

The majority of Norfolk State students are in state and the university is trying to ex-pand their market to bring in more out-of-state students to change the falling trend. Cur-rently, only 16 percent of Nor-folk State’s incoming freshman class is out-of-state.

The drop in out-of-state stu-dents isn’t the only number falling. As reported earlier in the semester, Norfolk State is projecting 500 less students to attend the university next se-mester. The drop in enrollment affects the budget and faculty employment.

Norfolk State’s budget will increase $6 million for next

year, bringing the budget to $175 million. The university hopes to use the additional funds to bring more employ-ees into student services such as financial aid and academic counseling.

However, if the enrollment doesn’t change, Norfolk State could risk building closures and faculty firings.

Professor of Chemistry and Norfolk State faculty senate president Dr. Suely Black said the faculty would like to work

closer with the administrative part of the university. Black said the faculty hasn’t had clear information throughout this process.

“Let’s work together,” Black said.

The university currently em-ploys 400 instructors, both full-time and part-time. For every 500 students, there are to be 25 faculty members. If the univer-sity projects 500 less students next semester, this could mean 25 less faculty members.

204.11.14Spartan News


The government’s federal deficit is set to drop to $514 billion this year. This decline is a tremendous drop from last year’s deficit and the lowest since President Barack Obama took office five years ago.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the reason for the drop is the higher tax revenues from the rebounding economy and sharp curbs on agency spending.

It is predicted that the economy will continue to rebound and grow at a 3.1 percent rate this year and by at least 3.4 percent next year.

Even with the budget deficit dropping this year, the CBO predicts that in the coming years it will increase by $100 billion a year because of the slow growth in the economy.

\The government has many options available to help reduce the deficit. One of the options they are looking at is reducing the amount of Pell grants being administered and giving it to only the “neediest students”, as reported by the CBO.

The Federal Pell Grant Program is one of the largest sources of grant money for low-income students in colleges and universities.

The CBO said that lowering grant amounts or raising the eligibility requirements could help reduce the deficit.

The CBO is considering

taking away the Pell grants from students who exceed $3,850 in the expected family contribution (EFC). In this situation, only 6 percent of recipients would lose their eligibility. The CBO estimates the government would save a total of $6 billion from 2014 through 2023 if they used this option.

The other option they are considering is allowing only those with an EFC of zero to get the Pell grant. If they administer this, the amount of students losing their eligibility would rise to 35 percent. With this option, the CBO predicts the total savings to be $97 billion through 2023.

A federal deficit consists of the amount of money being spent by the government that exceeds the total receipts for the fiscal year. This means the government is spending less money than what they owe.

The decline in the deficit came after the government shut down in October 2013. Politicians had to agree on a budget in order for the government to reopen in what was nearly the longest government shut down in United States’ history.

During President Obama’s term, the federal deficit exceeded $1 trillion in 2010 because of the Wall Street bailout in 2009. Since then, the federal deficit has been steadily declining.

Decline in feDeral Deficit coulD affect stuDent

pell grants

By Danielle Kirsh and Brittany Stanley

and student accounts over the summer and ul-timately the whole year.

“We often hear complaints about unanswered or delayed re-sponses of phone calls and emails between these offices and stu-dents, and we are already in the process of trying to figure what needs to be done to make things better in this area,” said Barner. “No Spartan should have to worry about their financial aid approvals or any other paperwork because it keeps them from learning and en-joying their college experience.”

Both Bethea and Barner are

part of two well-known Greek organizations on NSU’s campus. Bethea is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Barner is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. They plan to work with their respective organizations, as well as other student organiza-tions, in order to raise the male re-tention rate here at Norfolk State.

“With the current male-to-fe-male (ratio) at 4-1, it is important to even the playing field,” Bethea said. “We want others on board to help raise the male retention rate by being mentors and role models to motivate the males that attend NSU to graduate.”

Continued from Page 1, Big plans for SGA

Barner went on to explain, that by the next fall semester, some of the organizations and commit-tees currently under the Student Government umbrella will no longer be connected with SGA , making it more vital for their support on their new initiatives.

“NSU should expect our SGA administration to be more ac-cessible and we want students to see us as a bridge between them and the university’s ad-ministration,” Bethea said. “We even want to make the Spar-tan experience more interactive other than just Homecoming and Spartan Fest. SGA’s pres-ence should be felt year round.”

The SAT test that most col-lege students have come to know when applying for college has lowered their standards. By eliminating the essay portion, offering practice tests and more clear expectations for prospec-tive college students, the test is now substantially easier.

This is just the second time since the test was released 88 years ago that it has been rede-signed.

The current SAT test that most are familiar with contains math, critical thinking, and essay sec-tions, each with a maximum score of 800 totaling 2400 for a perfect score.

In the redesigned version of the test, the essay is taken out, leav-ing a math and verbal section.

In addition to eliminating the essay section of the test, the host of the test, the College Board, announced they would be offer-ing new incentives to high school students who will be taking the test during their college applica-tion process.

The College Board plans to of-fer new SAT-preparation tutorials online for free rather than having students take costly classes to prepare for the test.

The SAT vocabulary words that have plagued college-bound students will also be filtered through to include words that are used only in college and future careers.

The quarter-point deduction for each wrong answer on the multiple-choice sections of the test will also be eliminated.

SAT drops maximum score to focus on math and critical thinking

By Danielle Kirsh

Launched in 1929, the SAT test has undergone a few name changes and curriculum over-hauls during its time.

When the test was first ad-ministered, the SAT was known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test. In 1994 after the word aptitude was no longer favorable to use, the name changed to the Scho-lastic Assessment Test. A few years later, it became just the letters SAT.

In 2005, the College Board added the essay section to the test and made 2400 a perfect score.

With the elimination of the essay section comes more focus on the math and critical reading sections.

The math section will focus more on algebra, problem solv-ing and data analysis with cal-culator use being limited.

The “evidence-based read-

ing and writing” section will become the new critical reading section. This section will focus on expanding the reading com-prehension of science, history and social studies passages.

Each test will also have ex-cerpts from documents that have been monumental to American history, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

With the maximum score of 2400, 57 percent of students who take the SAT test score a 1550 or lower. A score of 1550 or below is known as the “col-lege readiness benchmark.”

To eliminate the low test scores and take the stress off of some students, the perfect score will be lowered to 1600 with the essay section becoming op-tional. A 50- minute time frame to complete that portion of the test will be afforded.

The change in format for the SAT scores may have a positive or negative effect on the incoming freshmen of NSU. Photo credit by Tykhari Coles

SGA President elect Quashawn Bethea (right) and Vice-President elect Tory Barner (left) prepare for their future in spartan student govern-ment. Photo courtesy of Norfolk State University’s Student Government Association

304.11.14 Spartan News


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Interested in joining Army ROTC and becoming an Army officer? If you are a Freshman or Sophomore, it's not too late.Visit us in Echols Hall, Room 101 for more information. Or contact us at (757) 823-9296 or [email protected].

There’s strong. Then there’s Army Strong. Many influential government and business leadersstarted with the help of Army ROTC. When you enroll in Army ROTC at Norfolk State, you gethands-on leadership training to give you a strong start after college as an Army Officer. ArmyROTC also offers full-tuition scholarships to help pay for your education. There is no greaterplace to start toward a strong future than Army ROTC.

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April, for Norfolk State University, is transfer month. Its goal is to create a “Trans-fer Receptive Culture” by as-sisting both future and current transfer students to apply, en-roll and earn their baccalaure-ate degree successfully and in a timely manner. Though the events’ main focus is on trans-fer students, all students are welcome. April’s events are an opportunity to learn more about the university from faculty members, alumni and transfer students who are cur-rently enrolled. Many of the

April is transfer month at NSUBy Antonio Garland

programs will also include on-site admissions, financial aid assistance, both military and veterans affairs services, and provide an opportunity to talk about program curricu-lum requirements.

Some of the events include the following.

April 1st: There will be an official transfer month Kick-Off Celebration in the Trans-ferMation Center. In Harbor Park, there will be an NSU/Tides baseball game.

April 8th: Transfer Student Mixer at the student center

from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is for current and prospective stu-dents.

April 9th: Career Coffee Coaching will be co-hosted by NSU Career Services and located in the student center, room 138A, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

April 15th: Transfer Stu-dent Awareness Day, located in the student center, room 138A, allows transfer stu-dents to get help in complet-ing their FAFSA, assistance on the NSU Evaluation and receive EWC training. It’s

co-hosted by the Spartan Success Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

April 18-19th: The HBCU-Community College Initia-tive Meeting will be hosted by THE LINKS, Inc.

April 24th: TCC/NSU Links Scholars Career Eti-quette Dinner

April 28-May 2nd| Majors Week will highlight a dif-ferent school/college in the TransferMation Center each day.

May 3rd: Transfer Expo

is where faculty, alumni and current students will share important information about programs at Norfolk State University. It will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center. Lunch will be provid-ed. Please RSVP before April 30th to the TransferMation Center by phone (757 451-7745) or email at [email protected] to reserve your seat for this special premier event.

Please see a complete list of events on their website: www.nsu.edu/transfer.

404.11.14Spartan Sports


NSU’s baseball’s struggles to start the season can be at-tributed to a variety of issues. Choosing to play a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for MEAC play may be at the top of the list.

The Spartans suffered close losses early in the season to Quinnipiac University, Villa-nova University, and Xavier University.

“We’ve chosen to play an extremely tough schedule; a lot of those games were close, but a loss is a loss,” said Head Coach Claudell Clark. “We wanted to challenge our guys on the mound, especially our new guys…things did not go as we wanted early on, but we still have plenty of our conference schedule ahead of us. We’re looking forward not back-wards.”

Clark believes minor tweaks to the pitching rotations will be the key to turning things around. In five of the team’s early 16 losses, the team has given up 11 or more runs. The most came in a home loss to first place Dela-ware State University who beat the Spartans 18-8.

“We’ve been able to see by way of wins and losses who is ready to start and who is ready to relieve,” said Clark. We’ve also seen who is ready to be

Clark feels adjustments are key to turnaroundBy Jason Gill

our number one starter, who is ready to be our mid-week start-er and who is ready to come out of our bullpen.”

Clark continued, “In some of those instances the game was close in the fifth or sixth inning then it got away form us. Some errors on the mound or in the field made the difference. Then there’s some instances where we just didn’t perform on the mound.”

Offensively, the Spartans could use a boost of produc-tion as well. Near the midway point of the season, the team has a combined batting aver-age of just .235 and has been outscored 162 to 80. They have also given up 224 hits com-pared to their 151.

“They’ve been challenged at the plate, but at the same time we do feel they have seen some pitching that they can hit,” said Clark. “The term I’ve used is we’re just ‘keeping the blind-ers on’ at this point and making sure they believe in their hitting ability to go out and get it done. We do have good players who have proven on the college lev-el in the past that they can hit at .300 or above.”

Junior second baseman Killian Strenn—who led all Spartans last year with a batting average of .400—is hitting just

.167 at the halfway point.“I feel the drop in batting av-

erage for me is not attacking my pitches early in the at bat and taking advantage of pitch-ers mistakes,” said Strenn. “As a team we’ve been hitting the

ball hard, but unfortunately it’s been right at people.”

Redshirt senior first baseman Ross Cardwell leads the team at the halfway point with a batting average of .344 to go along with 22 hits.

As the Spartans begin confer-ence play, let’s hope their chal-lenging schedule early on has given them the experience they need to make a run.

As a reward for his success in the face of adversity, Norfolk State has given men’s basketball coach Robert Jones a three year contract extension to stay at the helm.

Jones took over as an interim head coach last spring when the Spartans lost Anthony Evans. Evans went to Florida Inter-national University and Jones stepped up to take charge of the squad.

Results were positive for Jones during his first season as head coach. NSU finished with a 19-15 record overall and made it to the semifinals of the MEAC tournament before falling to North Carolina Central Univer-sity.

This was quite an impressive accomplishment when you con-sider that 11 different players saw key playing time in at least

NSU men’s basketball coach earns contract extension

11 different games due to injuries.With this being the case, Nor-

folk State announced on Feb. 19 that the school and Jones had come to an agreement on a con-tract extension through the 2016-2017 season, while also remov-ing the interim tag.

“I’ve been very pleased with Coach Jones’ performance as a head coach on the Division 1 level,” Norfolk State Athletic Di-rector Marty Miller said in a press release. “He’s done an excellent job of getting our team to be competitive both within the con-ference and in non-conference play, despite having to deal with a number of injuries to key play-ers.”

“Growing up in the situation that I did, I never thought that this would be possible” said Jones, “but when there is a will, there is a way. And God is great.”

By Jamel FuentesSpartan Sports Schedule

Baseball:

4/12/14 | 12 p.m. at Mary-land Eastern Shore (DH)

4/13/14 | 12 p.m. at Mary-land Eastern Shore

4/15/14 | 4 p.m. vs. Long-wood

4/16/14 | 6 p.m. at VCU

4/18/14 | 6 p.m. vs. Coppin St.

4/19/14 | 1 p.m. vs. Coppin St. (DH)

Track & Field (M&W):

4/11/14-4/12/14 Joe Hilton Invitational (Cha-pel Hill, NC)

4/18/14-4/19/14Morgan State Legacy Meet (Baltimore, MD)

4/24/14-4/26/14Penn Relays (Philadelphia, PA)

Softball:

4/11/14 | 6 p.m. vs. Howard

4/12/14 | 1 p.m. vs. Morgan St. (DH)

4/13/14 | 12 p.m. vs. Morgan St.

4/18/14 | 12 p.m. at Delaware St.

4/19/14 | 1 p.m. at Delaware St. (DH)

4/26/14 | 1 p.m. vs. North Carolina Central (DH)

Spartan baseball hopes bats will come alive during the second half of the season. Photo By Frank Selden

504.11.14 Spartan Sports


Williams—along with the schools all-time leading scorer Ralph Tally—are the only Spar-tans to record at least 1,600 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks for a ca-reer. Williams finished his career 15th all-time in scoring at NSU.

“It’s great as far as history goes, but I just want to be remembered as a winner more than anything,” said Williams.

His basketball career as a whole has not necessarily come to a complete halt. Williams is prepar-ing to join the Orlando Magic’s Kyle O’Quinn as the only NSU alumni currently in the NBA.

“I’m still working hard every-day. I’m working on finding an agent now and we’ll see how ev-erything goes,” said Williams. If not the NBA, I’m willing to go overseas as well.

Since Williams was just five years old, he dreamed of one day being in this position. At NSU he was able to pursue his dream as well as his back up plan.

“I always said growing up that I wanted to be an accountant or play in the NBA. I came here and was able to pursue both of those dreams,” said Williams. “It’s a surreal feeling knowing that I’m this close.”

Scouts from Oklahoma City, Orlando, Washington, Boston, Phoenix and New York have been courtside at some point this season to watch the 6-6 guard play.

From now until the NBA draft on June 26, Williams will con-tinue to work out and prepare for what could be his dream finally being realized. At the same time, he doesn’t want to lose focus on what he came to NSU for.

Continued from Page 1, Future NBA

The NSU softball team has struggled to meet high expec-tations early on, yet are eager to finish their season in an im-proved fashion.

Amid their rough start, los-ing nine of their first 11 games, they’ve remained optimistic about their team’s chances.

“We definitely, day by day, have been switching our line-ups around, trying to see who is going to produce for us and

By Jazmin Sherard

Moving forward with positive mindset is key for Lady Spartans

who’s going to step up,” said Head Coach Heidi Cavallo. “It’s tough when you are not winning games, but the second half of our season is so important, it’s obvi-ously conference.”

Cavallo continued, “We have to keep them working hard and staying positive; that’s what we’re really trying to work on. Conference is what matters the most, so we have to keep them moving forward.”

Of course this team has that burning feeling to get back to the MEAC championship game, particularly after last year’s loss to Hampton Uni-versity.

“They’re tough in a lot of dif-ferent aspects; they are tough on themselves. When they play well, they’re a tough team to beat. “We’re not all the way there yet and I think they’re going to keep fighting. They

want it more than anyone and they want the season to turn around,” said Cavallo.

When you have a group of athletes who are willing to learn from losing and come together when faced with ad-versity, it displays tremendous growth.

Sophomore Heather Dun-ning—who was named MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2013 along with teammate Whitney Williams—is determined to play even better than last year.

“I did have a good season last year with my hitting and I just wanted to come back bet-ter this season,” said Dunning. “I know they talk about the sophomore slump, but I was just trying to get pass that and not allow that to happen at all. I’ve just been really focusing on my mechanics and when I go into the game, just to put it all out there.”

This team’s chemistry, on and off the field, is one of the important factors that can steer this team in the right direction.

Sophomore Whitney Wil-liams expressed, “being close has definitely been something that has helped us a team. We joke and laugh on and off the field and we are able to mesh, which was a big factor toward the end of the season last year”.

The Spartans opened the outdoor track and field season competing at Coastal Carolina and Virginia in early March. Having solid performances early on is key to setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Although it is early in the season, Head Coach Kenneth Giles feels confident in the team heading forward. Giles attributed the team’s perfor-mance to its youth.

“They are progressing well,” said Giles. “I like what I see so far.”

Sophomore Kiara How-ell kicked off the season with two consecutive strong perfor-mances for the women. Howell finished with three top-ten fin-

Track and field, back in action for outdoor seasonBy Derald Frazier

ishes at Coastal Carolina and she improved on her times in the discus and javelin the fol-lowing week at Virginia.

Howell wasn’t the only one to start the season off on the right foot. The team as a whole has been training hard in prep-aration for the outdoor season.

“I wouldn’t single one or two individuals because we have a very young team and I think everybody is progressing well and they know the standard that we live up to,” said Giles.

The women’s track and field team placed fourth in the in-door MEAC Championships in February while the men saw their run of eight consecu-tive MEAC championships

snapped by rival Hampton. The men were unable to de-

fend their title due to being de-clared ineligible for postseason competition. Coach Giles has strong belief that the postsea-son ban will not deter the team from their goals.

Last year, the University of Connecticut faced a similar sit-uation with the basketball team receiving a postseason ban.

The Spartans will travel to Chapel Hill, NC on April 11 to compete in the Joe Hilton Invi-tational.

The men’s track team taking it to the track and making sure that they stay motivated throughout the season, in practice and competition.Photo by Tykhari Coles

Softball team is still searching to live up to everyone’s expectations. Photo By Frank Selden

604.11.14Spartan Lifestyle


SPARTAN ECHO | Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504 | NEWSROOM: 757.823.8200 E-Mail: [email protected]

When making the transition from high school to college, one can become nervous due to the drastic change. You want to fit in with your fellow class-mates and eventually make life long memories.

Even though you may not, these new friends might party a lot, drink, or even smoke. They may look at you funny or tease you because you don’t do the same types of things. As many times as you’ll say no, you may one day find yourself giving in to the constant peer pressure from friends.

Or maybe not having as many rules or no one to watch over you to make sure you do the right thing may have an affect. You may now be more susceptible to persuasion into doing things you normally wouldn’t.

Tyla Reed, Sophomore Po-litical Science major feels that she has been affected by peer pressure since being at NSU.

“I participate in more ac-tivities now that I’m in college than I did at home. It’s because of the freedom and I’m older.”

Here are some tips to avoid peer pressure:

1. Stay in your room. This will help you stay on track with what’s really important: your grades. If you stay inside, there is less of a chance that anyone will easily invite you anywhere.

2. Choose your friends wisely. If you have friends that pressure you into doing things that you don’t want to do, they probably weren’t your friends in the first place.

3. Think about your future. Everyone’s goal in college is to graduate and work in a field of their choice. You’re not go-ing to get that far if you’re side tracked with partying and skip-ping class with your friends.

4. Just say NO! If you’re not interested then say no. It’s that simple and you’re the only one that can make decisions for yourself.

Learning to do things out-side your comfort zone helps you learn more about yourself, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose yourself. Don’t let peer pressure control who you’ll be-come.

Be stronger than peer pressure

By Ra’Chel CriderWith summer slowly ap-

proaching, the topic on many people’s mind is getting healthy. Everyone is starting a new diet, exercising more, or even taking the time to change their life-styles to include healthier eat-ing habits.

Many may not know that there is a group on campus that just may be able to help you achieve some of your healthy living goals.

The Nutrition Club has a mis-sion to “provide nutrition and wellness to Norfolk State stu-dents as well as the public,” as stated on their Facebook page. Founded in September of 2010, the club provides nutrition edu-cation and counseling to all.

Advisor, Ms. Jill Comess wants students to know anyone of any major can join.

“The Nutrition Club has been

Learn to get healthy with the Nutrition ClubBy Ciara Simmons

doing different types of events and activities to teach the cam-pus about making good food choices,” said Comess.

They have just completed Nutrition Week in conjunction with the dining facilities on campus. This was to help sup-port National Nutrition Month, which was in March.

The Nutrition Club meets ev-ery other week either on Thurs-days in the Student Center, room 307 or Fridays in Bowser, room 207, at Noon. For any addition-al information you can contact the Nutrition Club President, Rebecca McCandless, by email at [email protected] or the group advisor, Jill Comess, at [email protected].

You can also visit and like their Facebook page by search-ing NSU Nutrition Club.

Both students were study-ing abroad in a country unlike their own. Both were having the time of their lives. Both of them would leave Italy with their names plastered all over the media.

The Amanda Knox trials and re-trials have been in the news since that fateful day in 2007 where Knox’s roommate, Brit-ish exchange student Meredith Kercher, was found dead in their shared Italian apartment.

On Nov. 1, 2007, Kercher, 21, was found dead on the floor of her bedroom and Knox was the prime suspect after she re-ported there was an apparent burglary. When the police ar-rived, they concluded that the break-in was staged.

Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native raised in Italy, was ac-cused of committing the mur-der alongside of Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Solle-cito.

Guede was found guilty in 2008 of sexually assaulting and

Study abroad gone awry: The Amanda Knox story

murdering Kercher. Knox and Sollecito were tried together, convicted and sentenced to 26 and 25 years in an Italian pris-on.

The fight wasn’t over. In 2011, after spending four years in prison, Knox and Sollecito were acquitted and their con-victions were overturned. The evidence that was provided in their first trial was tampered with and there wasn’t adequate evidence to tie Knox and Sol-lecito to the murder.

Knox was released from pris-on in a joyous occasion and was finally able to go home. During that time, Knox was trying to get her life back to normal and wrote a book titled Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir. In it, she details her experiences from her arrival in Italy, through her imprisonment to her release from the Italian prison.

Knox’s story shook up a lot of mixed feelings in America. Some of the debate was related to whether the Italian court sys-

tem can charge her for the sec-ond time, a decision that came again on Jan. 30 of this year.

Once again, Knox was con-victed of slander and murder-ing Kercher and sentenced to 28 years in prison; however, she still has time to appeal this sentence.

From the time of conviction, the presiding judge has 90 days to write his arguments about the jury’s ruling. From there, Knox’s lawyer has 90 days to appeal her conviction.

The United States has a law that says no one will be subject to being charged twice for the same charge. It’s better known as the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution—often referred to as Double Jeopardy.

Since the US law says that a person cannot be tried twice for the same charge, it is unlikely that Knox will be returning to Italy to serve her term.

When studying abroad, stu-dents are expected to follow the country’s laws, as well as

uphold the rules from the uni-versity.

Norfolk State University’s policy states that “if the student participates in illegal activity while abroad he or she will be solely responsible for any legal action that may be taken by lo-cal governments and authori-ties, for which neither Norfolk State University nor the US government or agencies is ob-ligated to provide assistance.”

If students find themselves in legal trouble while study-ing abroad, they should call the US Embassy who will in turn provide contact information for local lawyers and interpreters, if needed, as well as other ser-vices that might be crucial.

While studying abroad, stu-dents should also avoid being a victim by making sure they know the laws and customs of the country they are studying in because what may be proper in the US could land you in jail in a foreign country.

By Danielle Kirsh

Although it is a small organization on campus, NSU’s Nutrition Club plans for a larger future. Photo from facebook.com/ groups/127449333973263/

e d i t o r s

JasonGillSports Editor

BrittanyElmoreEditor-in-Chief

DeVanique RileyOnline/Managing Editor

RobertHaydenMultimedia Editor

TrentonFouche’Entertain-ment Editor

CiaraSimmonsLifestyle Editor

704.11.14 Spartan Lifestyle


DanielleKirshNews Editor

It’s not too late to get involved with the Echo!

We meet every Tuesday and Thursday in room 344 at 12:30

pm. ALL majors welcome.

You’ve just signed up for the last of your undergraduate classes. You can see the light at the end of the graduation tun-nel and then suddenly some-thing stands right in your way.

You haven’t taken the EWC!Hopefully that will not be

you, but sometimes life just gets in the way. You may feel you don’t have the time or the exam just may be the last thing on your mind.

Joie Johnson, a junior In-terdisciplinary Studies major, says she hasn’t taken her EWC yet just out of procrastination.

The EWC is the Examination of Writing Competency. “It is a three-hour proc tored exam in which students write an es-say that responds to a question from a general category,” as explained on the EWC web-site. Unable to do any research on the topic, the exam is a measure of how well you can use your current knowledge to explain your view on a given topic.

Don’t get held back by the EWCBy Ciara Simmons

This is a graduation require-ment for all undergraduate stu-dents.

Though this exam may hold the fate of you crossing the stage, don’t be too alarmed. NSU provides students with all the necessary tools they will need to be successful.

Along with tutoring sessions used to brush up on your writ-ing skills, there is also an EWC prep packet where you can find sample essays and scoring.

There is still an EWC tutor-ing session available that will be held on April 22 and April 24, 2014 (Two dates equal on session). The session is held in Madison, room 111 from 2pm to 4pm.

For more information, con-tact Mr. Michael Cotter, Di-rector of the ENFL Writing Center, at 823-2828/2836 ([email protected]) or Mrs. Dottie Perry, Asst. Director, at 823-2998 ([email protected]).

I was absent one day in early February. Trying to be a good student, and not fall behind, I emailed my professor to find out what I missed in class and what homework was assigned. That was early February; I’m still waiting to find out what that homework assignment was.

On every syllabus handed out at the beginning of the year, the professor includes his or her email, office telephone number, and office hours. Yet, evidently, while they are in their office for those hours what they are not

Some of the faculty and staff neglect to check their emails, often times at the expense of the students. Photo credit by Tykhari Coles

You’ve got mailBy Kallie Gould

doing is checking their emails.On top of that, this semester

alone I’ve had different teachers on different occasions neglect to send an email when class was cancelled, having driven from Virginia Beach just to show up, sign an attendance sheet brought in by a department secretary, and return home. But that’s just the added bonus of being a com-muter student right?

Zahory Jones, senior, is a com-muter student from Grassfield, out in Chesapeake. “I have to leave thirty to thirty-five minutes

prior to a class starting just to be on time.” She went on to say, “Just like some professors want a legit reason for you missing a class, or an email to let them know why you are not present, I think they should be required to email at least an hour in advance when class is cancelled.”

Who decided that the profes-sor’s time is more important than the students who this past spring have driven from separate cities on icy road conditions.

Not all professors are so ne-glectful of their inbox. I’ve had plenty of positive experiences with professors, sometimes quickly responding to questions or even responding after regular business hours. I appreciate that these professor’s acknowledge that my time is just as valuable as theirs, and that sometimes you just have a quick question you forgot to ask in class or need clarification on an assignment.

Darmani Paramore, senior, Health Service Management major, said “I have actually had a really good experience with

my teachers and emails or any other online communication but if my teacher’s weren’t that tech savvy they always inform me of their preferred ways of contact.”

Also guilty of ignoring emails are faculty and administrators. Yes, some advisors are respon-sible for over three hundred stu-dents, but doesn’t answering a few emails with quick questions make more sense than having over half a dozen students wait-ing in your office for two hours to get a quick response to an easy question?

I have literally heard faculty say, “I don’t do emails.” Well, that’s pretty ironic being as NSU requires not one but two com-puter science classes to make sure we are proficient in tech-nology. As for NSU, they did not return repeated requests (via e-mail) for comment concerning any existing policies on faculty and emails. I guess maybe I’ll hear back from NSU about that about the same time I hear about that homework assignment from February.

The EWC is a writing test that the students must to take in order to graduate, and the earlier taken, the better. Photo By Donte Hayden

804.11.14Spartan Entertainment


The Boondocks returns to Adult Swim on April 21 for its fourth and final season. The controversial cartoon, created by Aaron McGruder, focuses on is-sues in the black commu-nity.

After starting as a com-ic strip, The Boondocks would go on to become one of Adult Swim’s high-est rated shows.

Similar to other Adult Swim cartoons like Family Guy and Robot Chicken,

the show was hounded by some critics for its vulgar and offensive language, but praised by others due to its honest reflection on issues.

Although many have ex-pressed excitement about the return of the critically acclaimed series, some are questioning the fact that the show’s creator, Aron McGruder, had no involve-ment in its final season; especially since the show has always been a spoof of how McGruder views the world.

Although McGruder could not be reached for comment, Sony Pictures Television, which pro-duces the show, released a statement stating the show “was produced without the involvement of Aaron McGruder, when a mutu-ally agreeable production schedule could not be de-termined."

Although the series will be without the involve-ment of its creator, expect the show to continue to tackle controversial issues.

The Boondocks returns for Season 4

by Trenton Fouche’

The Boondocks returns to Cartoon Network for it’s final season on April 21Photo from www.facebook.com/TheBoondocksTV

NSU senior Bucky Malone made a name for himself last semester when he performed at Norfolk State’s 2013 homecom-ing concert. Opening for Juicy J, August Alsina and Kstylis, the Manassas, VA MC gained noto-riety.

“It definitely was a cool expe-rience, but it’s a learning experi-ence too. That was my biggest crowd. It was a few thousand people there so it definitely kind of opened me up as an artist.”

After the experience, Bucky would later release his album L.I.F.E. 2: THE RISE OF LIT-TLE TOKYO.

“All of my songs have sub-liminal meaning, even with titles and how I name them.” He con-tinued, “I don’t have a favorite song or any of that because they all have meaning.”

With an abundance of artists on campus looking for their big break into the music industry, Bucky Malone shared why he feels NSU students should give his music a chance.

Spartan Spotlight: Bucky Malone

by Trenton Fouche’

Bucky Malone’s second albumPhoto from www.facebook.com/derren.clements

50 Cent plots comeback

By Trenton Fouche’

After spending some time away from music, 50 Cent is looking to make an impact this summer. The rapper is planning to release his latest project, Animal Ambition.

In preparation for the al-bum’s release, 50 dropped two videos online, “Hold On" and "Don't Worry Bout It.” During a backstage in-terview after a concert the rapper expressed optimism about the new album.

"This album is prosperity. It's the positive and negative effects of prosperity. If I'm doing too good, it's actually not good in front of people. Prosperity makes them think you're doing better than them; that brings envy and jealousy which then brings negative energy," said 50.

This will be the rapper’s first release after his depar-ture from Interscope Re-cords. The label had released all of his albums since his debut Get Rich or Die Try-ing in 2003. In a statement released by Interscope, Vice-Chairmam Steve Berman wished 50 luck with his fu-ture endeavors.

“50 Cent is, and always will be, a marquee artist for us,” said Berman “We re-spect his decision to pursue this new venture and the next chapter in his career, and wish him nothing but the best. He will always be a part of our family.”

Animal Ambition is ex-pected to release on June 6, followed by his next project Street King Immortal.

50 Cent’s new album, Animal Ambition, gets released this sum-mer.Photo from www.facebook.com/50cent/photos/

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