the famuan: 03-21-2011
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Read The FAMUAN's Print Edition for Monday, March 21, 2011.TRANSCRIPT
Sports
Sports | 6
Evander Wilson takes the challenge of being a dual-sport athlete and a full-time student.
Lifestyles | 4
Lifestyles
World-renowned opera vocalist Kathleen Battle performed at FAMU’s Lee Hall Auditorium as part of the Lyceum Series.
66
www.TheFamuanOnline.com VOL. 112 ISSUE 22Monday,March 21, 2011
THE STUDENT VOICE OF FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL UNIVERSITY
“The Number 1 HBCU Newspaper”According to the Black College
Communication Association
Citizens rally for immigrants
Signs reading “We are not Arizona,” and “stop deporting families” were held high as people from different cultures came out to rally on the steps of the Capitol to fi ght against a set of bills that would implement immigration laws.
Maria Rodriguez, executive director of Florida Immigrant Coalition, spoke against the immigration bills introduced by Rep. Anitere Flores last year. Like the picket signs read, immigration laws are already prevalent in Arizona.
“Out of nowhere, our champion, Anitere Flores, a house representative from Miami-Dade, introduced a committee bill that is everything Arizona,” said Francesca Menes, who is an organizer with the FLIC. “Disguised as a so- called good bill, It would force all police to enforce what is called a 287G, which is a program where counties would be able to opt out but now they wouldn’t be able to.
The 287(g) program, one of ICE’s top partnership initiatives, allows a state and local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under a joint memorandum of agreement (MOA), in order to receive delegated authority for immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions, according to the U.S. ICE’s website.
“That’s not good for any of us. It undermines our safety because victims of witnesses of crime won’t come forward,” Rodriguez said. “Years of community police investment will be destroyed because of the fear this will create.”
Rodriguez further explained that there have been about 12 of what many call racial
IMMIGRATION 3
MATTHEW RICHARDSON
SCHOOL NEWS EDITOR
Six of Florida A&M’s top employees either quit to work for other schools, retired or were demoted this semester.
The recent losses mean that 11 dean, director and vice president positions are vacant around campus.
Among the vacancies - Pharmacy, Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, VP student affairs, research and last week, university relations –VP Carla
Willis submitted her resignation on Friday.
The School of Nursing boasts the oldest of these vacancies. In spring 2008, Ruena Norman was appointed to interim dean of the school.
Three years without a permanent dean may seem alarming, especially in the mist of talks of budget cuts and a major restructuring that may lead to job cuts.
Every state agency has been asked to develop plans to cut its budget by 15 percent by July 1, said president James Ammons.
“This restructuring exercise
permits the university to focus on its strengths, review administrative and academic programs and reduce our expenditures,” Ammons said in “Linked,” campus newsletter.
To cope with the recent defections, interim deans and directors were appointed to fi ll the vacancies except for the two most recent – Willis and former Dean Makola Abdullah of CESTA.
“Vacant dean positions will not put us at a disadvantage,” said Cynthia Hughes Harris, the provost and vice president
VACANCY 3
KENTA JOSEPH
STAFF WRITER
Photo Graphic by Jeffery MorrisAlmost a dozen university administrators have either retired or resigned from their duties.
Room at the top
Sagging trousers bills advance in Legislature
Saggers in Florida beware; your days of sagging may come to an end soon.
“Pants on the ground, Pants on the ground, lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground, with the gold in your mouth, hat turned sideways, Pants hit the ground, Call yourself a cool cat, lookin’ like a fool, walkin’ downtown with your pants on the ground,” are the lyrics to the song “Pants On The Ground” by Larry Platt,
a civil rights activist. He sung this song at his audition on the 2010 American Idol in Atlanta, which became a breakout song in the U.S. and in Canada.
He was also given the opportunity to perform his hit song outside on the Red Carpet of the Grammys last year.
Platt’s song, meant to protest the practice on pants sagging, may have helped inspire Florida legislatures to create several bills that would enforce appropriate dressing in Florida.
Rep. Hazelle Rogers (D-Lauderhill), introduced a
House bill is aims to curtail inappropriate dress of students, namely “wearing clothing that exposes underwear or body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner,” The bill unanimously passed the Florida House of Representatives’ K-20 Education Innovation Subcommittee last Tuesday.
The act is related to the student conduct code and requires each district school board to adopt a dress code policy in order to maintain a orderly learning environment.
SAGGING 3
MARCUS JOSEPH
STAFF WRITER
File Photo The Famuan“Pants on the ground” makes its way to the Capitol.
Tuesday
85 54
WEATHER
WEST PALM BEACH(AP) — The devastating
earthquake that shook Japan caused a temporary jolt in groundwater levels throughout much of Florida, offi cials said.The South Florida Water Management District reports that a network of groundwater gauges registered a jump of up to three inches in the water table from Orlando to the Florida Keys about 34 minutes after the quake struck on March 11.
NEWS BRIEFS
STATE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wednesday
82 59
Today
83 53
TODAY’S ONLINE CONTENT:
“Citizens rally for immigrants” by
Matthew Richardson
“Travel act outdated” by Jason Lawrence
“FAMU gives Harris his pink slip” by Royal
Shepherd
Flow Chart
Information provided by the University
Larry RobinsonRoland GainesJanet Johnson
Henry
Lewis
IIi
Ching-Jen Chen
Henry Neal WilliamsCarla Willis
Robert Seniors
Sandra IngeMakollah Abdullah
� e Famuan2 Calendar � eFamuanOnline.comMonday, March 21, [email protected]
Events and Announcements
The FAMU Foundation will be awarding students, preferably natives of Tallahassee or surrounding areas that have a fi nancial need. The selection criteria are based on the results of the students’ FAFSA. Student must have at least a 3.0 grade point average and be in his or her fi rst or second year in the ROTC program. For more information contact Odilon ‘Nick’ Dulcio at 850-412-5130.
On Wednesday the Rattler Baseball and Lady Rattler Softball teams will have Relay for Life Day. The Rattler Baseball team will host Alabama State University at 4 p.m. at Moore-Kittles Baseball fi eld, followed by the Lady Rattlers Softball team hosting Florida State University at 6 p.m. at the Rattler
Softball fi eld. This is an offi cial event of the “Paint the Campus Purple” Week in conjuction with FAMU’s Relay for Life. Participating clubs and organizations will be set up to collect donations for their Relay teams. For more information contact Stephen Bailey at 850 459-4993 or at [email protected].
The FAMU Association of Black Journalists presents “The Black Male Voice” a discussion on the role of black men in the newsroom tonight at 7 p.m. in the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication Lecture Hall. For more information contact Faran Foy at [email protected].
To place an announcement in the Calendar, e-mail your submission to [email protected] at least two days prior to the desired publishing issue. All
For corrections please email [email protected].
Corrections
Announcements submissions must include the student organization along with information in paragraph format to include “who, what, when and where.” A contact number will be published with the announcement, indicate so in your e-mailed submission and provide an alternate method for readers to obtain more information. If you do not follow the paragraph format then your submission will not be able to be published.
Bartenders Wanted!!!$250/day potential. No experience necessary.Training provided age 18+ okay.Call (800) 965-6520 ext. 189
Classifi eds
of Academic Affairs. “Interim deans are knowledgeable about the academic unit for which they have responsibility, and they have the necessary experience, skills and credentials to lead the unit until a permanent dean is identifi ed.”
Once a position becomes vacant and an interim is appointed, the university establishes a search committee, which seeks to fi ll the vacant dean positions with the “best-qualifi ed” candidates as quickly as possible, Hughes Harris said. Committees are meeting to fi nd candidates for the Chief Information Offi cer, Dean of Nursing, VP of Students Affairs and Director of Students Activities.
“It’s better to be sure than sorry,” Maurice Holder, president of the Faculty Senate, said. “You don’t want to speed up your search process because you’re restructuring.”
Holder said he is not overly concerned about the key departures. But one potential problem, he said, is if the faculty starts leaving due to fears of restructuring and transitioning to new ways of doing things. The faculty is critical because of its involvement in research, publishing and other efforts to bring additional revenue to the university, he said. He worries that losses in faculty will “erode” the university.
“The faculty and units and divisions are the only ones that are true residents of the campus. They remain whether or not you have a new or old dean,” said Holder. “But if the faculty remains strong and committed to this university, it’s going to be hard for even restructuring to make an adverse affect on us.”
Amid the talk of restructuring, Edward Willis, who chairs the search for the new director of Student Activities, is pushing forward with candidate interviews. He is confi dent that the university will safeguard key positions and programs despite vacancies.
“We wouldn’t be going through the process if we didn’t think it was critical,” Willis said. “Restructuring and reinvestment is really about strengthening those things that are key, critical and important – Student Activities is one of those. I think students can be assured that these kinds of programs will remain.”
While the Faculty Senate is engaged in the restructuring debate, the FAMU chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, the faculty union, is “vigorously policing” the budget proposal to protect the rights of faculty, students and staff, said union president Elizabeth Davenport.
“Currently, the union is represented on the president’s advisory team,” Davenport said. “The faculty of these colleges should [also] be actively involved in the process.”
Davenport said the FAMU community should support restructuring by participating in discussions and offering input. And students must embrace their responsibility as the ultimate consumer, she said. For Willis that also means that students need to be a part of interview sessions when candidates visit campus.
Holder, whose term as Faculty Senate President ends June 30, is not worried about what restructuing will bring.
“I am confi dent that we are going to be able to pull off restructuring, but it’s not going to be easy,” Holder said. “Nothing that Florida A&M has ever had to do was as easy as the other state university systems, because we are operating from a different perspective, from a different mission.”
profi ling bills introduced to the senate and the house.
“These bills seek to criminalize immigrant people, regardless of where they’re from; Latino, Caribbean, wherever they’re from. We feel like these bills are taking Florida backwards,” Rodriguez said.
To better explain the joint agreement between ICE and law enforcement, FLIC performed a wedding ceremony complete with a dress and rice being thrown. The groom represented ICE and the bride was the police. Vows exchanged represented
the harsh treatment of immigrants and the unfair laws that would ensue.But while many look at bill being introduced as a start of Florida’s crackdown on immigrants, Menes believes
that deportation has steadily been on the rise.
“The Obama administration is actually worse when it comes to immigration because they’ve been deporting people left and right, particularly
within the Haitian community,” Menes said. “They fi rst put a moratorium on deportations and out of no where, it started again.”
Many wore bright orange and green shirts that read, “We Are Florida,” on the front and “We don’t want Arizona racial profi ling bills in our beautiful state,” on the back. Some were in Spanish and some in English.
“We Are Florida” was launched by FLIC and is a campaign to change the debate around immigration in Florida.
In a press release Rogers who has introduced similar legislation in previous years, said the “pro-education, pro-jobs, pro-family legislation is designed to teach our children how important appropriate attire is to future success.”
A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 9.
President Barack Obama once called local laws against sagging pants a “waste of time,” but he made an adverse national appeal for “brothers” to “pull up their pants.”
The city of Opa Locka was fi rst in Florida to vote unanimously on a $250 fi ne or 10 hours of community service for individuals who do not pull their pants up. Opa Locka City Commissioner
Timothy Holmes was the one who sponsored the ordinance against pants sagging in December 2010.
Sagging pants is said to have emerged in the U.S. prison system, where oversized uniforms were issued without belts to prevent suicide and their use as weapons. The style spread through rappers and music videos, from the ghetto to the suburbs and around the world, according to “What Schools Ban, and Why,” by Robert Murray Thomas.
“I know some times I have to sag or at least let my pants hang down because I had my appendixes removed a long time ago,” said Jabri Duncan, a 24-year-old graduating business student at Florida A&M. “If my pants are to tight on my waist I can pass off. People might look at me like, and say ‘why my pants are hanging off me;’ ‘pull your pants up.’ I have had that happen before.”
“In a business environment it probably would affect their professionalism; people might under estimate your ability or might not want to work with you because of your appearance,” Duncan added.
The NAACP has reportedly denounced the new law, saying it is unnecessary, and a waste of time and that it will disproportionately affect black males.
“The way you look people will automatically assume and put you in a category. That is the problem with today’s culture and society,” Duncan said. “They assume you are not an educated black man and that you are a gangster or hoodlum, which might not be the case; you might can be a 4.0 student.”
2 Calender �e Famuan�[email protected] Monday, April 19, 2010
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News 3Monday, March 21, 2011
MATTHEW RICHARDSON
MARCUS JOSEPH
KENTA JOSEPH
IMMIGRATION
SAGGING
Five sessions ago, the Florida Legislature passed a bill banning state university professors and students from traveling to Communist Cuba, and other nations considered “terrorist states” using public or private funds.
But some scholars in Florida, including Joseph Jones, interim vice assistant vice president of the Offi ce of International Education and Devlopment at Florida A&M, thinks the law should be reexamined.
The 2006 law came about after the George W. Bush administration placed further restrictions on family, and educational exchange travel to Cuba in March 2003. In 2004, yet again, the administration implemented further checks on most forms of travel to Cuba.
Despite the restraints that prolonged the diplomatic cold shoulder Cuba has received from the United States for 50 years, a new regime-of-sorts in the White House is ordering “change” in U.S.-Cuba relations.
The Obama administration is evoking a climate change in America’s Cuban foreign policy, warming up to the idea of loosened travel and economic restrictions to the small island nation, just 93 miles from Florida’s southernmost point.
In the executive order “Reaching out to the Cuban People,” the president called for changes in regulation and policy on purposeful travel in “purporting the widely shared goal of Cuban independence.”
But the purposeful travel to Cuba by professors and students in Florida’s colleges and universities is still being stifl ed by the stiff measures taken by the legislature in 2006.
After the Bush administration continued the precedent of travel, and economic restrictions on Cuba, then-Florida International University professor Carlos Alvarez admitted he and his wife had been spies for Cuba for nearly 30 years. In 2007, Alvarez,and his wife Elsa were sentenced to fi ve years in prison, three years probation and three years, and one-year probation respectively.
The case would spawn the drafting, and passage of Senate Bill 2434, otherwise known as the Florida Travel Act.
Like the federal regulations before it, the act tacitly prohibited the use of public or private funds by a private college or university being used to “implement, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer activities related to, or involving, travel to the nations identifi ed as terrorist states by the U.S. Department of State.” Other states passed similar laws.
But now that the Obama administration has retailored America’s once-rigid foreign policy against Cuba, some
believe the Florida law may be outdated; especially as 49 states have benefi ted from changes to the restrictions.
Jones believes the Florida Travel Act no longer has a place.
“Recent actions by President Obama to loosen the restrictions for educational and religious travel to Cuba are encouraging steps in the right direction in supporting the Cuban people. These actions should help to improve relationships among both countries,” said Jones.
Jones, like many other Florida university administrators and faculty, believes the dissolution of the law would have a positive socio-economic impacts for both countries that far exceeds the politics of Florida-Cuba relations.
“There are many problems common to Cuba that have implications for the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, such as: invasive species pest control, green house gases, poverty and freedom of speech,” said Jones, who recalls
being able to see Cuba from Key West on a trip.
Scholars were one of few groups granted legal travel to Cuba under certain conditions with the tightened federal measures in 2005. In general, they were to demonstrate plans to stay in the country for 10 weeks or more to acquire a travel license from the U.S. government, a requirement which eliminated Cuba study abroad programs at a number of universities.
Obama’s Jan. 14 executive order would allow Florida institutions to implement credit-bearing study abroad programs under a general license, given the law is changed by state lawmakers, or struck down by a court.
A Nov. 2010 survey conducted by
NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1,000 Americans were asked their views on the importance of international education. Fifty-seven percent said international education is essential to the educational experience. Nearly 75 percent believe U.S. higher education institutions must do a better job of teaching students about the world if they are to be prepared for the global economy. Forty percent of respondents advocate the allowance of foreign scholars to come to the U.S. to work and live.
“There are many brilliant Cuban students and scholars who could benefi t from the technological resources available in the U.S.,” said Jones.
“A recent Cuba scholar to the US engaging in entomology study and species documentation had a very
productive working relationship with faculty from FAMU and UF. These experiences advance scientifi c and cultural understanding among nations.”
Victor Johnson, senior adviser for public policy NAFSA, believes it is necessary to change the long-standing policy amid shifts in Cuban society.
JASON [email protected]
Travel act outdatedJASON LAWRENCE
METRO NEWS EDITOR
“There are many problems common to Cuba that have implications for the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, such as: invasive species pest control, green house gases, poverty and freedom of speech,” said Jones, who recalls
“A recent Cuba scholar to the US engaging in entomology study and species documentation had a very
Graphic by Jeffrey Morris
Special to the Famuan
VACANCY
Read the rest of this story and our other online content at
thefamuanonline.com/news.
On Jan. 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the country of Haiti. While the suffering of the Haitian people was evident, people on a different continent were also affected.
Students Save Haiti (SSH) is a community service organization that was established to help support the people of Haiti. The purpose of SSH is to educate the children in Haiti, provide for those in need and enhance Haitian culture.
“What inspired me to start this organization was the fact that the media solely focused on Port-Au-Prince as being the only area affected,” said Widline Ciceron, 21, a fourth-year cardiopulmonary science student from Pompano Beach, Fla., and president of SSH. “This caused all the donations that people were sending to go straight there.”
For some, reaching out to Haiti is just a kind gesture. For Ciceron, there lies more meaning.
“The earthquake itself killed a lot of my family on my father’s side which lived Léogâne,” Ciceron said. “In the midst of the earthquake aftermath, I lost an additional three people from my mother’s side.”
One way SSH raises money is by providing students with home-cooked Haitian meals. On Friday, SSH will be having a Haitian food sale. The menu includes fi sh, fried plantains, Haitian patties and Haitian cake.
SSH membership chair, Jessica Farmer, 21, a fourth-year english student from Deerfi eld Beach, Fla., said SSH is extremely important to her.
“I wasn’t directly affected by the earthquake,” Farmer said. “But I consider two of my friends like my extended family. So indirectly, yes.”
Members hope to raise $1,000 to provide three students in Haiti with a scholarship. While the goal hasn’t been reached, they are confi dent they will reach it next year.
“The organization has been very
successful,” Farmer said. “Students have donated unused clothing and toiletries to us and we have used the money we raised from food sales to send them off to Haiti. We actually have reliable sources in Haiti so we know that what we send off arrives to them. What we do is never in vain.”
After items are collected, Ciceron packs everything in her truck and drives back to Pompano Beach, where her mother helps her sort the items, box them and ship them to Haiti by boat.
While the organization was created to aid the people of Haiti after the earthquake, SSH has no plans of stopping.
“Even before the earthquake, Haiti could always stand for some help, whether it was something small like some donated clothes or big like new houses,” Farmer said. “I don’t want the group to become a memory of what a couple of kids did just because Haiti had a massive earthquake.”
Public speaker, Iraq war veteran, forensic criminologist and active humanitarian are the different labor hats Denise Manning, 31, wears from day to day. She managed to snatch success despite her “rough upbringing” in Oakland, Calif.
“I would look around and see people getting pregnant, on drugs or in gangs,” said Manning. “I came from nothing and I defi ne who I am. I’ve been doing so ever since.”
Manning recalled on one
hand the number of relatives she had in her life, and out of those select, few to none of them supported her.
“My father was a drug king from Watts and my grandmother was a pimp who owned whore houses throughout California,” she said. “The family I have said I would never make it.”
The lack of encouragement gave her the incentive to prove them wrong. She used education as a ticket out of her hometown; to her, it was a way to prove to herself and others that she was intelligent, independent and capable.
“In Iraq, I realized that I
have more certifi cates and certifi cations than I can count because I was told I wasn’t going to be nothing,” said Manning. “I let my work speak for me rather than what is behind my name.”
Mary McLeod Bethune and Dorothy I. Height, pioneer leaders during the civil rights movement, became her idols.
“They were visionaries,” Manning said. “They believed in us when we didn’t believe in ourselves.”
Manning has been busy in the eight months she’s lived in Tallahassee. She is a transition coordinator and mentor coach supervisor at the department of Juvenile Justice. There, she created a mentoring program for the youth placed in the system, who are then paired with someone who can coach them to success.
Manning also serves as the fundraising chair for the Leon County Juvenile Justice Council, a neighborhood accountability board member for Palmer Munroe teen center, and a
coordinator for the juvenile justice research Institute at FAMU. She is working to establish a Girls of Power mentoring program.
“Ms. Manning has a conviction to serving the community and I have the upmost respect for her,” said Dale Landry, NAACP president.
She is the current president of the National Council of Negro Women of the greater Tallahassee section, a Sigma Gamma Rho top leader for 2006 and 2010 and community coordinator for the Tallahassee NAACP.
“Ms. Manning is driven, a self-motivated woman and true entertainer,” said Tiffanie Ingraham, 22, criminal justice student from Polk City.
Opera legend Kathleen Battle entertained audience members in Lee Hall Auditorium Friday with a variety of spirituals, oldies and classical pieces.
Wearing a black gown adorned with a magenta fl oor-length garment around her shoulders, Battle stood and opened by singing the traditional “Roll, Jordon, Roll” and merged into “Plenty Good Room,” followed by “Give Me Jesus.”
“Her voice is magical,” said 25-year-old Benjamin Evans, a professional MBA graduate student from Philadelphia, Penn. “I literally closed my eyes as the harmonic melodies fl owed from her
mouth. It is truly an honor to be graced by this international icon.”
Battle, the fi ve-time Grammy award winner, concluded part one of the concert by singing the well-known spiritual “Wade in the Water,” followed by an instrumental solo for part two by Battle’s pianist, Cyrus Chestnut, who received a standing ovation.
“This concert for me is a landmark concert because it’s the fi rst one that Cyrus and I performed together alone,” said Battle during the concert.
One of the highlights of the performance was when she performed “Were You There?” arranged by Jacqueline Hairston.
Battle’s high notes resonated across the auditorium, with audience members
echoing “amen” at the emotion on her face and in her voice.
“They are very talented,” said Dante Bland, 20, a junior industrial engineering student from Virginia. “This is a good experience because I’ve never been to an opera before. I would like to see more students come out to these types of events; it’s a great experience.”
By the end of the night, Battle covered traditional hits as well as songs by Thomas Dorsey, Charles A. Tinley, George Gershwin, Scott Joplin and Duke Ellington. Battle sung “Come Sunday” by Ellington and her pianist played his solo rendition of the “Negro National Anthem” to end the night.
Desi Person, from Atlanta, said she is a
fan of Battle’s and was expecting a great concert.
“I traveled all the way from Atlanta to see her perform,” said Person.
After the close, the crowd gave Battle a standing ovation and demanded an encore, Battle and Chestnut came back to the stage to do a few more songs.
“This is defi nitely a signature moment in the life of Florida A&M University to have a legend on our campus,” said President Ammons. “I think when you look at this overall Lyceum Series this year, this one has to be among the best in the history of lyceum at Florida A&M.”
� e FamuanLifestyles 4 � eFamuanOnline.comMonday, March 21, [email protected]
RANATA HUGHES
ANTONIO VELEZ
TANYA GLOVER
[email protected] CULVER
There are a few major things happening in the tech world that no one seems to know or care about. Everyone seems to think that conspiracy theories
are what drive our world forward. Theories – although they are
frightening – don’t bother me that much these days. To be honest, Apple’s systematic takeover of everything we use doesn’t faze me as much as what AT&T is doing to make our lives more expensive.
Effective June 7, AT&T is going to cut its unlimited data plans. This means you’re going to have to watch how much data you use up during a month.
Here are your basic options, as laid out by AT&T: DataPlus customers get just 200 megabytes of data for $15 per month. Additional 200-MB blocks cost $15 each. DataPro users get two gigabytes of data for $25 per month. Overages are billed in 1GB increments for $10 each.
Now according to AT&T this change will not affect 98 percent of its customers. The remaining percent, primarily gamers and people who download videos, get hosed.
Gamers and people who download videos … sounds like college students to me.
It stinks and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. And now AT&T is buying T-Mobile for a cool $39 billion.
Our lifestyle is changing. Gamers aren’t people who live in
their mother’s basements anymore. People watch television on computers, phones or basically anything with a screen that is not a television.
When I said systematic takeover earlier in the column I meant it. At this point we’re kind of just accepting it as inevitable change. These “inevitable changes” are negatively impacting how we receive, perceive and enjoy media.
AT&T is only the latest culprit. Keep an eye on how things are working in the tech world. The tech world is a scary parallel for how things work everywhere else.
Ranata Hughes The FamuanFor two nights only, Kathleen Battle appeared in Lee Hall Auditorium to perform for audiences, wowing them with her voice.
File Photo The FamuanA native of Oakland, Calif., Denise Manning has made something out of nothing with her success.
Battle enraptures audience
Success is ‘best revenge’ for vet
Home-cooked eats fund Haitian outreach
AT&T follows takeover trend, harms industry
RANATA HUGHES
STAFF WRITER
JORDAN CULVER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ANTONIO VELEZ
CORRESPONDENT
TANYA GLOVER
DEPUTY LIFESTYLES EDITOR
To read the rest of Antonio Velez’s profi le on Denise
Manning, visit www.thefamuanonline.com.
Many fans of the Florida A&M University basketball team are overjoyed
with the news of coach Eugene Harris being fi red on Thursday.
His mediocre 46-80 record during his four year tenure at the university proved to be quality enough evidence for president Ammons and Athletic Director Derek Horne to pull the trigger on his termination.
To be honest, the general Tallahassee community seems to be excited about the opportunity to see the team head in a different direction. After three consecutive 20-plus loss seasons, I haven’t found an adequate argument for him to stay.
The standard was set pretty high by his predecessor, Mike Gillespie a.k.a. “The White Shadow”, because of his two NCAA postseason appearance in six years. Harris had yet to make one, being bounced in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference the past two seasons.
Hopefully, the school fi nds a more suitable replacement to take the reins of our team. The newly-designed Al Lawson Center deserves more of a leader for the team, instead of a guy walking up and down the sidelines, scuffi ng up its fl oor making random substitutions that go against the fl ow of the game.
Word of mouth has suggested that against the previous search committee’s wishes, president Ammons hand-picked Harris after the scandal that sent Gillespie away. Maybe one of the options for this not to become a reoccurring trend should be to keep this type of business in the hands of the athletics department.
I’m not a good candidate to represent the portion of the Rattler community that feels the move was unjustifi ed seeing as I was never a Harris fan. I am, however, a fan of basketball - good basketball - and nothing would make me happier as a fan, student, and sports editor than to see our team be competitive.
One of the things that I will say though, a four-paragraph letter stating the reasoning behind your being let go is not the optimum way to go out. They could have taken the FCAT approach and used an intro, three reasons why and a conclusion to let me know that he was inadequate.
He can walk away holding his head up high though. The school terminated him in the fourth year of his fi ve-year contract, so they still owe him $150,000.
Now if I am to be fi red in my future, that’s the way I want to go out.
That whole myth about “freshman 15,” when a fi rst-year student gains 15
pounds, did not apply to me when I fi rst came to Florida A&M.
Some blame it on my fast metabolism; I blame it on my drive to get the news and the exercise that comes with it.
Having more than 200 stories printed in our college newspaper and our website , I know a thing or two about getting the run-around when it comes to gathering information.
Getting information about a serious issue at FAMU or even trying to schedule an interview with a top university offi cial is tough. Getting Barack Obama on the phone just may be an easier task—ok, that’s exaggerated, but you get the idea.
I’ve been taught in several of my journalism courses that the trick to collecting facts on a hard news story is
to have a good rapport with everyone associated with said story. While starting off seemed impossible for me to collect information because I didn’t know any of the key players at FAMU, I had to slowly build my reputation as a solid journalist that my sources could trust.
I’ve learned that at FAMU, deans, directors, presidents and vice-presidents have received a “burn notice” and beginning student journalists on campus are all playing the role of Michael Westen. When I started off, I tried speaking with a few university offi cials and I was either denied an interview or told to send an email with a list of questions.
Sending questions via email is fi ne, if only the source would actually answer the questions in a timely manner. And when fi nally receiving the email back, hoping that it is rife with detailed info, the source only took the time to answer one question—with a single sentence—and reference the other questions to the same, single answer. What about follow-up questions, what about detailed answers, what
about being helpful? University offi cials have
told me before that the reason it takes so long to send an email back with answers is because once receiving the email, it must be forwarded to their respective boss who can screen the questions—whatever that means—send the email back and fi nally, the source for the story can give the desired information. Wow.
When did FAMU become so tight when it comes to interviews?
By law, we are granted the right to certain information and according to my teachings; a letter of information request can be issued to gather such in a timely manner. Besides, a source being mum on a situation can make them look bad and one uncooperative source won’t ruin a story.
The writer will simply place within the article that “this source refused or was unavailable for comment,” and move on to the next bit of information.
This type of situation does not just apply to FAMU, of course. Last week was
Sunshine Week, a week dedicated to media outlets focusing on access to government records and meeting issues.
St. Petersburg Times reported on Sunshine Week last week and on Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s take on Florida’s Sunshine Laws.
According to the St. Pete Times article, every year there are attempts in he Legislature to exempt more government records from public view.
Without the governor standing as a sentry to discourage new incursions, it could be a diffi cult legislative session for government-in-the-sunshine.
It seems as though offi cials are available left and right when something positive occurs at the university.
But if it has something to do with layoffs, missing funds, delayed projects or on-campus housing complaints, students and student journalists would have an easier time fi nding the Easter Bunny than an offi cial.
EDITORIAL BOARDEDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Jordan Culver
COPY DESK:
Julian Kemper
OPINIONS EDITOR:
Khristanda Cooper
LIFESTYLES EDITOR:
Clarece Polke
SPORTS EDITOR:
Royal Shepherd
2 Calender �e Famuan�[email protected] Monday, April 19, 2010
� eFamuan Opinions 5� eFamuanOnline.comMonday, March 21, 2011 [email protected]
ROYAL SHEPHERD
Good-bye and good riddanceROYAL SHEPHERD
SPORTS EDITOR
EDITOR IN CHIEF:
Jordan Culver
COPY DESK:
Julian Kemper
SCHOOL NEWS EDITOR:
Matthew Richardson
DEPUTY SCHOOL NEWS EDITOR:
Simone Wright
METRO NEWS EDITOR:
Jason Lawrence
OPINIONS EDITOR:
Khristanda Cooper
DEPUTY OPINIONS EDITOR:
Aaron Johnson
LIFESTYLES EDITOR:
Clarece Polke
DEPUTY LIFESTYLES EDITOR:
Tanya Glover
SPORTS EDITOR:
Royal Shepherd
DEPUTY SPORTS EDITORS:
Cameron Daniels
PHOTOS EDITOR:
Keenan Doanes
DEPUTY PHOTOS EDITOR:
Jasmine Mitchell
VISUAL EDITOR:
Jeffrey Morris
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The Famuan, an Associated Collegiate Press 2003 Pacemaker Finalist, is published Monday, Wednesday and online only on Friday during the fall and spring semesters. The opinions do not refl ect the administration, faculty, or staff of the University. The editorials are the expressed opinions of the staff and columnists. The Famuan is funded
partially by activities and services fees.
THE F UThe government crisis in Libya has hit an all time high.The United States joined the United Nations leaders on assertive measures to dethrone ruler Moammar Gadhafi from his 42 years of supremacy.
On Sunday morning, Libyan time (Saturday afternoon U.S. Eastern time), 19 U.S. warplanes that included stealth bombers and fi ghter jets managed strike operations in Libya.
The U.S. fi red 124 unmanned Tomahawk missiles at Libya’s air defense sites. They fl ew close to the ground and stirred close to manmade and natural barriers after the U.S. constricted a No Fly Zone over the country.
According to a senior U.S.
military offi cial, the cruise missiles landed near the cities Misrata and Tripoli. The Libyan military stated that the strikes killed 48 people mostly women, children and religious clerics.
However the United States has not confi rmed these claims and are going to conduct damage assessments of these sites.
The British and French have also attacked. French planes fi red and hit four tanks on Saturday.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air force deployed Tornado GR4 jets.
But with the increased involvement of the U.S. in oil packed Libya, one has to ask what impacts will this have on the U.S., and whether or
not it was a good decision in the fi rst place.
America previously fought wars with Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Kuwait under the Bush administration, prompting more tension between Muslim and Islamic groups within the U.S. The situation in Libya, a country where 97 percent of the population is of Islamic faith, may hurt the trust between the U.S. and other Islamic countries in the Middle East in which the U.S. depends on for oil.
The U.S. involvement in Libya’s fi ght for democracy could negatively affect our gas prices.
According to AAA, the national average cost of gas is $3.54 for regular. First it was
suspected that oil companies raised prices in uncertainty of the events in Libya.
But now with the U.S. military attacking Libyan military, Gadhafi , who controlled oil wealth, will be reluctant to allow members of the United Nations any share.
This condemns further possible oil business between Libya, the U.S. and the rest of the U.N. Unfortunately gas prices are expected to increase over the summer in the midst of foreign disputes.
With many events unfolding in Libya, it is important for the government to act in ways that protects the American people.
Aaron Johnson for the Editorial Board.
O� cials fed-up with Libya, send in missiles
Must information be so difficult to obtain?MATTHEW RICHARDSON
SCHOOL NEWS EDITOR
File Photo The FamuanNotice how coach Harris is not here either... A sight we can all get used to.
MATTHEW RICHARDSON
How do you feel about the coach Harris being fi red?
A) I don’t really care. B) Woo whoo! C) Not the best idea.
Opinions writer needed. For more information visit The Famuan office or
� eFamuan� eFamuanOnline.comMonday, March 21, [email protected]
Sports 6
Wilson masters two sportsBeing a student athlete is a year round
task for Evander Wilson, a starting fullback and shot-putter.
Within two years of being an athlete at Florida A&M, Wilson has received the athlete of the year award, become a starting player on the football team and qualifi ed for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in two track events.
Wilson, a sophomore from Coatesville, Pa. believes that practice should be year-round as well.
“Even though the season has ended, I still practice every weekend. On Saturdays and Sundays, I’m out at Godby High School’s fi eld practicing,” Wilson said.
As Wilson puts it, “things got real last season.” He said juggling two sports and classes got hectic.
“You just have to stay up all night doing your homework, wake up in the morning and do it all over again,” Wilson said. “This is something that a lot of people don’t get to do, so I feel very blessed.”
Wilson wasn’t eligible for the track team off bat. He was offered a full scholarship for football and during his sophomore year, joined the track team as a shot-putter.
“I was introduced to shot-putting in high school when my oldest brother Charles played it,” Wilson said.
His senior year, he participated in both the indoor and outdoor season as a shot-putter.
Wilson is far from being modest on the fi eld. His teammate Joshua Newkirk, a 20-year-old defensive-end from describes him as explosive.
“He’s very competitive, and he has a lot
of leverage on the fi eld,” Newkirk said.Wilson sites technique as being the key
to being successful in both sports.“It’s a lot of technique involved in both
sports, in high school it was easy, I could run over someone every play,” Wilson said. “It’s a lot different once you get to college.”
His mother was a single parent raising three boys, and encouraged them to use sports to get an education.
“She told us to play sports to get you through college because she wasn’t going to be able to pay for it,” Wilson said.
His older brother Steve Brazzle, a center for the Pittsburg Power in the American Football League, said their
mom also kept them focused on school and church.
“Church played a huge part, in getting each of us where we are today,” Brazzle said. “My oldest brother and I kind of took Evander under our wings after his father passed when he was younger.”
Wilson said playing sports keeps him motivated to stay in school and whenever he wasn’t playing he was most likely getting into trouble.
“After football season, I would always get kicked out of school. It’s a blessing that I even made it to college,” Wilson said.
When asked how he was as a person, Brazzle said his brother was as
upstanding as they come.“I’ve never known him to be a shy
person. He is also very honest and someone you can trust,” Brazzle said.
Wilson is trying to recuperate from a shoulder injury he sustained last season, where he separated his AC-joint.
He said 10 years from now he wants to be remembered as the guy who “balled out” in everything he did.
“When it’s all said and done people will only remember the athletes who were the greatest. They don’t remember who had the highest GPA,” Wilson said.
BRITTANY BARRINERCORRESPONDENT
BRITTANY BARRINER
Keenan Doanes The FamuanEvander Wilson is a rare commodity for FAMU. He starts for the football team and does shot put for the track team.
Rattlers let game slip away
The Florida A&M men’s tennis team came out empty handed against Troy University, losing 4-3 in a non-conference match at the Lunsford Tennis Complex.
The Rattlers and coach Carl Goodman left the match disappointed, knowing that this could’ve been another victory under the team’s belt.
“That’s how the ball bounces every once in a while. Just one game cost us the whole match,” coach Carl Goodman said. “The team fought hard.”
The Rattlers lost the doubles point early on in the match, losing two out of three matches. Temuera Asafu-Adjaye and Maurice Wamokowa were defeated by Mario Rolemberg and Branko Weber 8-3 in the fi rst set. Takura Happy and Chidi Gabriel won the No. 2 spot 8-3 over Niklas Jonsson and Sami Ghorbel in the second set. Levan Clark and Michael Moore lost to Anas Rouchdi and Jamie Eccleton 8-6 in the last set.
“Takura and Chidi played extremely well in doubles. I think they took out one of the Eagles top doubles teams,” Goodman said.
The team moved into the singles split 3-3. Gabriel won at the No. 4 spot
14-3. Happy won the No. 2 spot 4-6, 6-5 and Asafu-Adjaye won at the No. 6 spot 6-3, 6-4. Clark lost at number one to Rouchdi. Wamokowa lost at number three to Weber and Moore lost at number fi ve to Rolemberg.
The match took an unfortunate turn when Clark hurt his knee in the number three doubles. With him being a signifi cant player, the team took a hard blow with his injury. The team has been practicing to the best of their ability and went against Troy with the mindset to win.
“He was playing today and he heard something pop in his knee pop and then we went down on two service breaks,” Goodman said. “He got startled basically in the doubles and never could get back on track for the singles.”
Although the tennis team did not take home the win, with the season record at 14-5, they still remain No. 1 in the souther region of the MEAC. This was a tough one for the Rattlers but they came together and learned some valuable lessons from the match.
“No need crying over spilled milk,” Goodman said. “They’re going to go through some ups and downs and additionally to see how they respond during certain situations.”
The Florida A&M baseball team had defensive hiccups, offensive troubles and was pounded at Moore-Kittles Field over the weekend.
The Rattlers completed a three-game series with Jackson State Tigers and the Rattlers came out on the losing end 1-2.
The Rattlers were plagued by errors since game one, and errors proved to be the main reason for the lopsided losses.
The fi rst two games were played on Friday, which had the Rattlers splitting the series by scores of 7-3, in a losing effort, and winning in the second game 6-1.
The third game of the series was called in the 7th inning after the Rattlers fell behind early and couldn’t manage a comeback. The ending score was 13-2.
“It was just one of those days,”
pitcher Thomas Barwick said. “We just got to get this out of our heads and focus on our game Monday. We made errors. It’s not the defenses fault, it’s my fault too. I wasn’t hitting my spots.”
The Rattlers scored 11 runs in a combined three games and managed to only get 27 hits while leaving 21 left on base.
“We tried to string together some hits, but we couldn’t get them together in one inning,” fi rst baseman Dylan West said. “We had six hits for each of the seven innings and we probably had one inning were we had multiple hits. It’s the way it works sometimes, its baseball you can’t always play your greatest game every day, but it’s something you would have to work on.”
In the Rattlers losses, errors were costly. The Rattlers had 15 errors on the weekend series against the Tigers.
“We talk about it all the time making routine plays and once again
it came and bit us in the behinds,” head coach Brett Richardson said. “It’s not anything diffi cult it just the routine plays guys dropping balls and infi elders taking their eyes off the ball. We always talk about step one before going to step two.”
Defense was a problem for the team last year and Richardson wants to correct that.
“Our problems on the defensive end,” Richardson said. “That was our problem from last year that is slowly, but surely creeping in on us this year. That’s my responsibility, that’s my fault and we will get it turned around.”
The Rattlers look to change their ways as they go on the road and prepare to take on Mercer Bears, who beat the Rattlers in both of their previous meetings earlier in the month.
LAMOUNT WILSON
ANTONIO VALEZ
ANTONI VALEZ
CORRESPONDENT
Errors create problems for baseball team
File Photo The FamuanTemuera Asafu-Adjaye plays a serve and volley style during matches.
Florida A&M placed third in the FAMU Spring Invitational with a total score of 598.
The Rattlers shot 296 as a team on the fi rst day of the tournament and 302 on the second day. The team fi nished behind Tennessee State and Bethune-Cookman.
Shephard Archie III was the top performer for FAMU over the weekend. Archie fi nished with a total score of 142. Archie fi nished second individually.
FAMU will continue their season in the MEAC Challenge in April.
The Rattler’s Athletics Department decided to part ways with for basketball coach Eugene Harris on Thursday.
Harris finished the fourth year of a five-year contract and is still owed $150,000 from the university.
He accumilated a 46-80 record as head coach of the team, and has had three consecutive 20+ loss seasons.
For complete coverage of Harris’ dismissal, check out www.thefamuanonline.com/sports
The men’s tennis team was defeated in the last match 4-3, but they continue on in the MEAC Round-up against Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. this Sunday.
The Rattlers are still ranked in the top 80 percent with a season record 14-5. The team is staying focused and will try to come out on top against Southern Mississippi. The matches lost were to ranked schools.
Full coverage on thefamuanonline.comLAMOUNT WILSON
CORRESPONDENT Coach Harris
Golf
Tennis