Romare Bearden at Bowie State

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Bowie State University presents “Bearden at Bowie,” an art exhibition of limited edition prints and other works by celebrated African-American artist Romare Bearden, running Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 – Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 at the new BSU Fine and Performing Arts Center’s Gallery of Art.

More than 30 artworks from local collectors are featured in the exhibit, including rare works from Bearden’s Odysseus series, inspired by the Greek mythological hero of Homer’s The Odyssey. Other works use watercolors, collage, and mixed media – one combines three printmaking processes.

“Romare Bearden is an iconic figure in the history of American art,” said BSU art professor Clayton Lang, who is the gallery’s director and curator. “The goal of this exhibit is to educate our students, the BSU community, and local metro area about this great artist and the value of collecting African-American art. The center cultivates and preserves African-American culture and art.”

Fall of Troy, Bearden

Bearden’s niece, Diedra Harris-Kelly, is the guest speaker for the exhibit’s opening reception Tuesday, Sept. 25 from 6-8 p.m. She is also co-director of the Bearden Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to preserve and perpetuate the artist’s legacy. Bearden’s sister-in-law, Dorothe Rohan Dow, will give opening remarks at a panel discussion on “Bearden and the Art of Collecting” Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 from 6-8 p.m., featuring local arts experts and collectors who lent works to the exhibit.

Bearden is best known for his richly textured collages, with two appearing on the covers of Fortune and Time magazines in 1968. A prolific artist with diverse interests, he designed costumes and sets for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His works are now displayed in important public collections, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Special events scheduled during the exhibit include: read more…

Gallery / Video – Nations Football Classic 2012 Howard vs Morehouse

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The Nation’s Football Classic is a black college football game held annually at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. https://hbcubuzz.com

Video by Nick Beauregard

Host Jae Murphy

Grambling State’s New West Campus

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Grambling State University officially unveiled its newly acquired West Campus Annex this morning.

University officials, alumni, community and elected officials celebrated the university’s expansion during a ribbon-cutting event at the new campus.

The 157-acre property, which will now be called Grambling State University — West Campus Annex, is 2 miles west of the main campus on Louisiana 150. It houses 47 buildings, 26 of which will be immediately usable for residential, administrative, academic and maintenance purposes.

“It isn’t everyday an institution, of any kind, can almost duplicate its size overnight at no cost whatsoever,” said GSU President Frank Pogue. “Our theme this year is enhancing the academic profile of Grambling State University and what we’re doing here today is going to make it possible for us to continue to do that.”

The property used to be Northeast Supports and Services Center, a state-run facility for the developmentally disabled, which closed at the end of 2010. The facility also was known as the Ruston State School and the Ruston Developmental Center. read more…

Bethune-Cookman Athletics Announces 2012 Hall of Fame Class

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Bethune-Cookman University announced today (September 1, 2012) its 12-member 2012 Hall of Fame Class that will be honored during festivities on campus, and in the community, on Hall of Fame Weekend, September 21-22.

The class will be honored in conjunction with the dedication ceremonies of the Larry Handfield Athletic Training Center and the Hall of Fame Football Game between Bethune-Cookman University and Tennessee State University.

“We are honored to recognize twelve outstanding Wildcats whose lives and accomplishments have made a tremendous impact on our University, community and our conference,” said Dr. Edison O. Jackson, B-CU Interim President.

B-CU Director of Athletics Lynn W. Thompson worked closely with the selection committee and was truly impressed with the class.

“This dynamic dozen are twelve of the greatest student-athletes, coaches, supporters and administrators to have ever been a part of the history of our University,” Thompson said. “Throughout the rich history of the University, many others whose contributions and achievements merit the same consideration, and future classes will reflect their names. They all truly deserve this moment of honor and recognition for the work they have done.”

 

A limited number of reservations are available for the induction dinner scheduled for 7 p.m. in the President’s Banquet Center of the Michael and Libby Smith Center for Civic Engagement on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University. Seats can be reserved by calling the B-CU Athletic Office at 386-481-2215.

 

The Hall of Fame includes former student-athletes, coaches, university administrators as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the institution through intercollegiate athletics.

 

The honorees were selected by an 11-person committee made up from a cross-section of campus constituencies, alumni and boosters.

 

The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2000. Since its establishment, the Hall of Fame has enshrined 49 people, including the Class of 2012.

 

The 2012 B-CU Hall of Fame Inductees are as follows:

Inducted as a Student-Athletes:

 

Carl Fuller – Men’s Basketball: Along with Johnnie Allen, Fuller anchored perhaps the best basketball line-up in Bethune-Cookman history. He holds the school records for most points in a game (60), rebounds (40) and remains the all-time leading rebounder (1,685). He led the Wildcats to a 1968 SIAC tournament championship and then enjoyed a career in the American Basketball Association with the Miami Floridians.

 

Amber Jackson – Softball: Jackson guided the Lady Wildcats to three straight NCAA Regional appearances, including the 2005 Regional Championship squad that faced Texas in the Super-Regionals. She was named MEAC Player of the Year in all three of her seasons at Bethune-Cookman and also earned All-American honors. She left B-CU as the career leader in virtually every offensive category, and upon her graduation she transferred to the University of Maryland for graduate school with one year of eligibility left, and earned All-ACC honors there. She went on to a successful professional softball career and now is an assistant softball coach at the University of Maryland.

 

Willie Jackson – Football: Jackson was a three-year starter at free safety and was the captain of one of the most successful football teams in Wildcat history. Known as a ferocious hitter, this free safety earned All-SIAC honors in 1973, when he led the team with four interceptions. In 1974, he followed it up with another superb season and was named to the Pittsburgh Courier All-American Team. Jackson was a consensus choice of the coaches of his era as one of the greatest leaders to have ever captained a Bethune-Cookman football team.

 

Erma Jones – Women’s Basketball: The greatest scorer in Bethune-Cookman women’s history, Jones is the only player, male or female, to score over 2,000 points (2,095) in the past 30 years. She averaged over 20.0 points a game in all four of her years as a Lady Wildcat and played a key role in both the program’s transition to an NCAA membership and a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship.

 

Jeff Parker – Football – In just two seasons, the Seabreeze High School product registered 125 receptions for 1,765 yards while leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Parker led the conference in receptions in 1990 with 58 and broke the Wildcats’ single season record with 67 catches in 1991. He received first-team All-MEAC honors in each of those seasons. He capped his career by receiving first team All-America honors in 1991. He played a year in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became a staple in the Orlando Predators’ line-up for four seasons before moving on to coaching, where he served as an assistant at Bethune-Cookman, Norfolk State and is presently assistant head coach and passing game coordinator at Tennessee State.

 

Wallace Raspberry – Football: Alongside such legends as Andy Hinson, Mike Ardis, Raymon Thornton and Jack “Cy” McClairen, Raspberry led Bethune-Cookman to its great 1952 season that included the first modern victory over Florida A&M. His tackle for a safety in the game assured the Wildcats of the historic win over the Rattlers. A standout running back and defensive back, Raspberry’s career concluded with two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 54-0 rout of Albany State in the 1952 Tropical Bowl.

 

Inducted as Coaches:

 

Charles Wesley Moore – Football: The son of former Bethune Cookman president Dr. Richard V. Moore, Charles went 27-6-1 in his three seasons at the helm of the Wildcats, with a career winning percentage of 80%, and was the first coach to beat Florida A&M in consecutive seasons (1973 and 1974). His 1973 and 1975 teams won SIAC championships and his 1974 team won Bethune-Cookman’s last post-season victory by downing Langston in the Azalea Bowl. His 1975 team was ranked number one in the Jet Magazine National Football Poll and finished with a 10-1 record.

 

Laura Watten – Softball: Watten established Bethune-Cookman as a softball power, registering 322 wins and five consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships while beating the likes of Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida in a spectacular 2005 season in which Bethune-Cookman received an at-large bid to the NCAA regional and beat Florida and USF to win the Gainesville Regional championship. That same year Watten led the Wildcats to the first-ever NCAA Super Regional Tournament appearance for any HBCU and was named the 2005 NFCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year winner.

 

She is currently Head Coach at the University of Maryland and has led the Terps to three straight NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.

 

Inducted as Humanitarians – Supporters of Athletics

 

Samuel Berry: In 1969, President Richard V. Moore hired this young upstart director of bands to develop an exciting music program and marching band, and during the next ten years Samuel Berry created and perfected a sound and style of performance that laid the groundwork for what is today the Marching Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University. His dynamic leadership and professional creativity allowed the Marching Men of B-CC to become a household name in college band circles. He passed away in 1980 and will be inducted posthumously.

 

Dr. Everett Abney: A 1959 Bethune-Cookman graduate, Abney was an outstanding basketball player for the Wildcats, and after graduation he began a career in secondary education in Clermont, Florida. Dr. Abney later served as a principal for the Dade County Public School System and was honored for his leadership as principal at Northwestern High School. Eventually,  he went on to serve as the North Central Area Superintendent. He later moved to the Broward County School System where he wound up his career as an Area Superintendent. During the course of his time in south Florida, Dr. Abney worked behind the scenes recruiting students for Bethune-Cookman and also serving in various leadership capacities in countless alumni and educational events benefitting B-CU, such as the South Florida Classic and promotional games in Miami’s Orange Bowl.

 

Inducted for Special Lifetime Achievement

 

Dr. James E. Huger: Recognized as one of Daytona Beach’s most prominent Civil Rights leaders, Dr. Huger worked alongside Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his extensive career that saw him serve as Daytona Beach’s Director of Development and eventually the city’s first African-American City Commissioner and Volusia County’s first African-American County Councilman. As college business manager under Dr. Richard V. Moore, Huger helped develop the fiscal road map which led to the expansion and future success of the Bethune-Cookman Department of Athletics.

 

Walt Frazier: Frazier was  leader of the Wildcat offense as center on “Cy” McClairen’s football team in the mid 1960’s and upon graduation he began his coaching career. He served as offensive line coach at Bethune-Cookman in the 1980’s and later made his mark at Carol City High School, where his teams won three Class 6A State Championships in 1996, 1997 and 2003, and were State Runners-Up in 1989. The 1997 team went 15-0, his only undefeated season, and was ranked fifth in the nation by USA Today. With a career record of 212-111, Frazier was named one of the 12 greatest coaches in state history by the Florida High School Activities Association.

Bulldogs Edge Assumption 24-20 in Football Season Opener

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After Assumption edged ahead by a 20-17 margin with 33.8 seconds remaining, Bowie State scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore Jared Johnston to senior Douglas McNeil, III with 5.7 seconds left to rally for a 24-20 win over the Hounds on Saturday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.

“The guys persevered and battled back from 14 points down with a new quarterback and I feel pretty good about this win”, said Bowie State head coach Damon Wilson.

On the first Bowie State possession of the game, senior Sonny Dillinger (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) recovered a fumble at the 17-yard line and set the Hounds up in great field position. Assumption made the Bulldogs play on the next play as junior Bobby Jordan (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) found senior tight end Sean Daigle (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) for the 17-yard touchdown and the early 7-0 lead with 11:57 left in the first.

The Hounds added to that lead almost eight minutes later as senior Nick Bolio (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) capped off an 11-play, 64-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown and the 14-0 advantage. The Bulldogs cut that advantage in half with 1:59 left in the second quarter as Johnston found senior Reginald McIntyre in the left corner of the end zone from 22 yards out. On the ensuing kickoff, Assumption’s Darius Daniels (Clearwater, Fla./Tarpon) returned the kick from inside the end zone for what appeared to be a 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown. That play negated by a holding penalty however and the game went into the half at 14-7. The Hounds had six penalties for 112 in the opening half.

The Bulldogs tied the game on the opening drive of the second half, tying the score on a one-yard touchdown lob to McNeil with 10:39 left in the third. The drive was kept alive by yet another Assumption penalty after the Hounds stopped the Bulldogs on a third down and goal play. Read Full

HBCU Presidents and Social Media

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America’s black colleges are short on financial resources; they have been since their creation in the late 1800s. However, they are not short on human resources. It is their human resources that have helped them survive over time. Today’s proliferation of social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) requires little financial resources with which to be a full participant. Participation does, however, require human resources.

In August of 2011, the Pew Internet and American Life Project published the results of a survey titled The Digital Revolution and Higher Education. Pew interviewed 1,055 college and university presidents throughout the country and found that not only were these higher education leaders quicker than the general public in terms of their willingness to adopt new technologies (e.g., tablets and smart phones), but over 50 percent of them were active on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, 18 percent of the presidents used Facebook daily. Of note, college presidents in the South were significantly more likely to use Facebook than those on the East Coast (55 percent vs. 38 percent). HBCUs are mainly located in the South.

In the past two years, there have been many books published related to leadership and organizational transformation through social media. Three of the most prominent are The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media (Aaker et al, 2010), Open Leadership: How Social Technology can Transform the Way You Lead (Li, 2010), and The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media (Bingham & Conner, 2010). Many people are talking about the ways that leaders, including college presidents, can use social media to seem more approachable, understand their constituent base more fully, communicate to larger audiences, and help people to understand how their institutions contribute to society and beyond. HBCU president Walter Kimbrough even penned an essay titled, “How One President Uses Social Media.”

With all of the attention on social media and the Pew report on college presidents’ use of it, I wondered if HBCU presidents, other than Walter Kimbrough (the Hip Hop president of Dillard University) were using social media venues for expression. I found that 14 out of the 105 HBCU presidents use Facebook, and 13 out of the 105 use Twitter. HBCU presidents’ use of social media is below the average use for college presidents overall.

There are valid reasons why college presidents do not use social media. Some presidents feel like they will not have the time, other are worried that they will not be able to control the conversation once it starts, still others are concerned about the legal ramifications of a cyber misstep, and finally, there are those that do not believe being active on social media has an impact (for a great overview of the risks and advantages of college presidents using social media, please see Michael Stoner’s work).

From my perspective, HBCUs, having limited financial resources but robust human resources, should fully capitalize on social media in all ways possible. Unlike historically white institutions (HWIs), HBCUs are constantly under attack — their very existence is often called into question. Social media offers the presidents of HBCUs a great opportunity to take control of their destiny and their story. With little time and energy, a president can tell the story of his or her institution on a daily basis, push an agenda, and cultivate the engagement of students and alumni as well as prospective funders. The investment is small but the potential pay off is big. Considering how often posts and tweets are reposted and retweeted, HBCU presidents have the potential to reach far beyond their traditional audience. read more…

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oklahoma 56, Florida A&M 3

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On the heels of a slow albeit successful start to the 2012 season, the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners are expected to have an easier time of it in week two as they entertain FCS foe Florida A&M this Saturday.

Florida A&M, which calls the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision home, is coming off a 17-14 loss at Tennessee State in its season opener.

The competition level spikes considerably for the Rattlers this week, who haven’t appeared in the FCS playoffs since 2001 and went 7-4 overall and 5-3 in conference last season.

Oklahoma started slow in last week’s season opener at UTEP, but still managed to prevail in a 24-7 final. It was the 12th win in 13 season openers for the Sooners under current head coach Bob Stoops, and this week the team will try to add to its impressive 63-3 record against unranked foes at home, which includes a 31-1 mark against such opponents outside of the Big 12 Conference.

OU is 7-3 all-time against teams from the FCS, 3-0 under Stoops with all the three games being incredibly lopsided as the Sooners own a 170-2 scoring differential in those contests.

Despite the lackluster showing in the season opener, Stoops was pleased with the outcome, “Obviously, we had some inconsistencies, but still I feel positive with my team when we get a win, any time.”

This game marks the first meeting between Florida A&M and Oklahoma on the football field.

The Rattlers generated just 272 yards of total offense last week against Tennessee State, committed two turnovers and were penalized nine times for a loss of 70 yards. Conversely, the Tigers produced 401 yards, 263 of which came through the air, but were flagged an unbelievable 20 times for a loss of 178 yards.

FAMU’s top performers last week include RB Eddie Rocker (13 carries for 90 yards) and WR Travis Harvey (six receptions for 52 yards and one TD). QB Damien Fleming went just 15-of-30 for 119 yards with a TD and an INT, and all of the team’s pass attempts averaged just 4.3 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Rattlers posted four sacks and came up with a pair of turnovers. Linebacker Brandon Hepburn led the way with 10 tackles, which included 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

Like all defenses, FAMU’s hopes to get off the field quickly against most foes, although ideally it would be due to forcing a three-and-out scenario. Unfortunately, that still may be the case against Oklahoma, but more because the Sooners expect to score almost at will.

Oklahoma’s Heisman-hopeful, QB Landry Jones went 21-of-36 for 222 yards and two TDs in last week’s win at UTEP, hitting WR Kenny Stills six times for 121 yards and a score. The Sooners’ rushing attack had trouble finding its footing early, but wound up posting 205 yards with RB Damien Williams accounting for more than half of those with 104 yards and a TD on only nine carries.

Still, the Sooners averaged just shy of six yards per offensive play. They did have to punt eight times however as they went just 5-of-16 on third-down conversion attempts. read more…

Obama moving on campaign trail

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Democratic officials are moving President Barack Obama’s convention speech Thursday indoors because of the possibility of severe weather.

Obama had planned to accept his party’s nomination in an outdoor football stadium before a crowd of up to 74,000 people. But Obama officials said forecasters have predicted severe thunderstorms Thursday in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour, raising concerns about the safety of supporters, volunteers, staff members and law enforcement.

Officials said Thursday’s entire program would be moved indoors, including Vice President Joe Biden’s speech. The events will be held at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the site of the first two days of the convention proceedings.

The move will significantly reduce the number of people Obama will speak to in person.

Republicans, who canceled the first day of their own convention due to weather in Tampa, Fla., accused Democrats of downgrading their events because of low enthusiasm.

“Problems filling the seats?” mused Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski.

Steve Kerrigan, who heads the Democratic convention, said more than 65,000 people had signed up for credentials to attend the outdoor speech but now could not be accommodated because of the smaller venue. He said organizers were encouraging those credential holders and “Americans across the country to continue to come together with their friends and neighbors to watch and participate in history.”

Kerrigan said Obama would speak to those credential holders on a national conference call Thursday afternoon. “We will work with the campaign to ensure that those unable to attend tomorrow’s event will be invited to see the president between now and Election Day,” he said.

Forecasts for Thursday night had been improving all through the week. The National Weather Service said Wednesday morning that there is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, but it would drop to 20 percent by the time the president was scheduled to speak.

But there was still no guarantee there wasn’t going to be bad weather for Obama’s speech. “We’re dealing with a warm, unstable air mass, so you can never, absolutely say it’s not going to rain or storm,” meteorologist Bryan McAvoy said. read more…

Former NCCU Chancellor speaks at DNC

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Charlie Nelms, former chancellor of North Carolina Central University, wants to send higher education faculty members back to school. Speaking at a panel during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, Nelms stressed the need for college and university professors to “teach people, not content.”

Nelms believes that faculty members who went through postsecondary education years or even decades ago are not equipped to teach today’s students. He and his fellow panelists also mentioned the need to retool work study programs so they become more relevant to students. Other suggestions included improving the use of technology in higher education and pushing remediation into high school – all to help more Americans get a degree.

The ideas were vetted during The College Advantage, a panel focusing on ways to improve higher education attainment for students, which happens to be President Barack Obama’s signature American Graduation Initiative.

Obama has called for 60 percent of Americans aged 25-34 to have a postsecondary degree of some kind by 2025. The Lumina Foundation, which hosted the panel, shares those goals, which so far appear to be falling short. (Disclosure: The Lumina Foundation is among The Hechinger Report’s many funders.)

For decades, those with only a high school diploma had ample opportunity to be a part of the middle class, explained Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. That opportunity started decreasing in the 80s, he said, and accelerated during the recent recession.

By far the most jobs lost in recent years were those requiring only a high school degree and no education requirements, according to recent research by Carnevale’s group. And unlike jobs requiring some college or a bachelor’s degree – which Carnevale said are growing again – jobs for those with only a high school degree continue to fall.

“They’re gone and not coming back,” Carnevale said. “To the extent that we keep looking for those jobs, we’re looking in the rearview mirror.”

And while college enrollment is up, it’s not going to stay that way, Carnevale said. “During the recession a lot of people ran into college,” he said. “It was a good place to hide.”

Enrollments are now dropping, with more schools having space available than at any time in at least a decade.

Panelists were clear that the main problem is not access to higher education but degree attainment, particularly for minority males.

Nelms thinks the issue should be tackled by black and Latino groups and leaders.

“If we wait for the white power structure… to initiate that conversation, it’s not going to happen,” he said. read more…

HBCUs and Stability

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Morris Brown College, one of the nation’s oldest black colleges is fighting foreclosure. The college canceled the auction on September 4th and is filing for reorganization of debt. When I spoke with the President, Dr. Stanley J. Pritchett, Sr., he talked about people being supportive of all Historical Black Colleges and Universities, not just Morris Brown College. He talked about America valuing HBCU’s and when you support these schools, you support the prominent history of the school. Of course, the school is in dire need of contributions that can be made at the schools website. He said the school sent out e-mails to alumni and they are supporting, however, he encourages even more support. HBCU’s are trying to make a difference, but they need others to make a difference through financial support.

When you walk the campuses of HBCU’s, with the exception of a few, you see abandoned buildings, old buildings and scraps of vitality from the past. The campuses of HBCU’s look unorganized not because of a lack of effort from school officials but because of the lack of financial support and school enrollment. The churches that HBCU’s were started out of have vaporized into a metaphysical world that places profound statements over rigorous actions.

Moreover, prominent alumni from HBCU’s, who fetch absurd surplus of financial revenue, withdraw from making contributions that would drive HBCU’s to the top of the educational ladder. Hence, it is not that HBCU’s are not better than regular institutions but Americans have been hoodwinked students into thinking that white education is superior to HBCU education. Rev. Otis Moss III talks about in his book Preach, the misconception between rich and poor schools. He talks about how poor schools can still give great educations and rich schools can give a horrible education. The truth is that HBCU’s teach students how to impact the inhumane and unjust world we live in. White schools teach financial supremacy in a world of poverty and high unemployment rates. read more…

Terrence Jenkins, No more Terrence J as becomes a E! News Anchor

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For those wondering what’s next for Terrence J as his 7-year run on BET’s “106 and Park” comes to an end, wonder no more. The soon-to-be former countdown host was just named the permanent replacement for Ryan Seacrest over at E! News.

 

Terrence J, now using his full name Terrence Jenkins, will be starring alongside Giuliana Rancic as co-anchor of E! News beginning November 12. This decision comes as a result of previous anchor Ryan Seacrest’ career pulling him in several directions, leaving very little time for him uphold his hosting duties for the network.

 

“Having Giuliana and Terrence for the weeknight program, and Jason and Catt for weekends, gives us a quartet of skilled, popular broadcast journalists and will give viewers a fun, fresh look at pop culture news,” said E! President of Network Strategy and E! News Cyndi McClellan.

 

Back in May, both current “106 and Park” hosts Terrence J and Rocsi confirmed that they would be leaving the show this approaching fall. In an emotional farewell announcement Jenkins expressed, “The first day I cracked the mic on 106, I was staying on a cot in a basement.” The duo then promised fans a huge farewell show stating, “We’re going to be leaving with a bang.” From MTV

 

New FAMU hazing allegations

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Florida A&M University (FAMU) Interim President Larry Robinson moved swiftly today ordering the immediate suspension of the Torque Dance Team following an alleged off-campus hazing incident. FAMU received an anonymous report today that the alleged incident occurred during the Labor Day weekend.

According to the Office of Student Activities, the organization was inactive since December 2011 due to the absence of an advisor.

The University has officially launched an investigation based on the anonymous report made by a parent to the university at 1:45 pm today. Robinson said the group is suspended until further notice, pending an investigation. Robinson said the campus police chief, dean of students and director of student activities have all been notified of the alleged incident.

“The University takes very seriously any allegation of hazing and has moved quickly to shut the organization down pending the outcome of an investigation,” said Robinson. “We have zero tolerance for hazing. It‘s deplorable and will not be tolerated. It is unconscionable that a student organization would participate in any hazing activity considering what has transpired in the past year.”

Earlier this year, FAMU suspended new membership intake for all clubs and organizations and implemented more strict procedures as a result of the death of Robert Champion. read more…

 

Is Nicki Minaj a Romney supporter?

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It’s still unclear where the rapper stands on the 2012 presidential race, but a new mixtape may offer some potential clues. Or not, considering she has various rap personas.

Either way, Minaj piqued fans’ interest this week with the release of Lil Wayne’s mixtape “Dedication 4,” which features a guest appearance by Minaj and beats by Kanye West.

Read more: Convention star power – Blurring the line between celebrity and politics

In the fifth track, “Mercy,” posted online, Minaj raps, “I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney, you lazy b—-es is f—ing up the economy.”

It’s unclear whether Minaj is speaking any bit of truth in the rap, as she often blurs the lines of reality in her music. And the following lyric in the song is non-political: “Out in Miami, I be chillin’ with a zombie.”

Minaj’s rep did not respond to a CBSNews.com request for comment.

Fellow rapper Talib Kweli, for one, doesn’t think Minaj is a Romney supporter: “I doubt Nicki seriously supports Romney. Her lyrics ain’t political. She just wants y’all to talk about her & she winning cuz it’s working!”

till, this isn’t the first politically-oriented comment from Minaj.

Vulture noted that in June, Minaj tweeted, “Just give FREE health care to all. @BarackObama what can we do?”

She added, “@BarackObama I wouldn’t mind the millions they took if it was going to healthcare. Why should a poor person struggle to pay for MEDS sir?” read more…

 

FAMU suspends four players for Oklahoma game

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Just days before the Florida A&M football team travels to take on top-10 foe Oklahoma, the Rattlers announced Tuesday they have suspended four players for the game.

FAMU coach Joe Taylor issued a statement saying he has suspended Lenworth Lennon, Devonte “Terry” Johnson, Dewayne Harvey and Daniel Lennon for the Oklahoma game.

The players were disciplined for a “violation of team rules” and will rejoin the team on Sunday. more info…

The Mysterious Martharaptor

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What is Martharaptor? That’s the question raised by paleontologists Phil Senter of Fayetteville State University, Jim Kirkland and Don DeBlieux of the Utah Geological Survey in their description of the previously-unknown dinosaur, published last week in PLoS One. Too little of the creature was preserved to be sure, but the enigmatic theropod may belong to one of the strangest dinosaur lineages of all time.

Martharaptor greenriverensis is another Utah dinosaur, named after its co-discoverer Martha Hayden–a frequent field volunteer and an assistant to the Utah state paleontologists for over two decades. The theropod’s remains were found in the roughly 121-million-year-old rock of the Cedar Mountain Formation near the town of Green River. Unfortunately, the dinosaur’s body didn’t remain in articulation, but the size and distribution of the bones led Kirkland, DeBlieux and Senter to believe that the Martharaptor bones come from a single animal.  The partial skeleton includes parts of the forelimbs and hindlimbs, aspects of the hip, a scapula, several hand claws and other fragments.

Other theropod dinosaurs have been found in the same level of the Cedar Mountain Formation before. Previously, Kirkland and other paleontologists found at other sites a small coelurosaur named Nedcolbertia, an unnamed dromaeosaur and the famous Utahraptor. But Martharaptor isn’t quite like these dinosaurs. While the authors of the new study state that their conclusion is provisional, and awaits discovery of a better specimen, Martharaptor seems to resemble the tubby, fuzzy therizinosauroids. These omnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs descended from a carnivorous ancestor and stand out in having long necks, large hand claws and a heavier frame than other coelurosaurs. The scapula and claws of Martharaptor, in particular, resemble those of the therizinosauroid Falcarius–a form found lower down in Utah’s Cedar Mountain Formation. read more…