Students at Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College will be marching in protest today against political “attitudes” that they consider racist.
They’re upset about racist comments that they say were posted on an anonymous discussion board called fsuacb.com, and they’re upset about Gov. Rick Scott, who’s white, recently telling FAMU students, most of whom are black, that he could relate to them because he also grew up in public housing.
The protesting is set to start any minute at FAMU, where FAMU students will gather at the university’s Eternal Flame in the middle of campus. FSU students will join them after 11 a.m.
FAMU students are scheduled to hold a “peaceful demonstration” at the Eternal Flame at 10:30 a.m. against Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, who they say has been quoted as saying that Scott reminds her of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
At 11 a.m., FSU students marched from FSU’s Integration Statue to FAMU’s Eternal Flame.
Students from both schools along with students from Tallahassee Community College will then march together to the Capitol “in a showcase of unity to build close community ties for equality and peace,” according to a statement the students sent out this morning.
On Thursday, March 22, 2012, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania will present an Evening with Dr. Maya Angelou, a charitable event in support of the Keystone Honors Academy.
The event will take place on the historic Cheyney University campus and will entail a dinner reception at 5:00 PM in the Carnegie Great Room and a lecture at 7:00 PM. The lecture by Dr. Angelou will take place in the Marian Anderson Auditorium. Dr. Angelou is not scheduled to appear on the dinner program. Due to construction on our campus, there is limited accessibility to the dinner venue; if you need assistance, please call 610-399-2386 for alternative arrangements.
Sponsorship packages are available at many levels and capacities, and all proceeds from the event will benefit students in Cheyney University’s honors program. For information about sponsorships, please contact Mandy Santiago, Director of Development at 610-399-2154.
All ticket sales are final; in the unlikely event that the program is cancelled, all activities will be rescheduled.
Tickets may be purchased online, or onsite at the Cheyney University Office of the Bursar (First Floor, Wade Wilson Building). For more information call 610-399-2121.
The Southern University System Foundation has received more than $1 million in a gift from the James and Ruth Smith Trust.
James David Smith & Ruth Johnson Smith of Southern University
The endowment, the largest bequest in the University’s history, includes assets and property from the estate of the late James David Smith and the late Ruth Johnson Smith of Santa Barbara, California, both of whom were Southern University graduates.
“We appreciate this generous gift from the estate of James and Ruth Smith. With this memorial endowment, we inherit their legacy of commitment to education and service. Their significant contribution will assist our efforts to rebuild Southern University, Baton Rouge and ensure the future of the SU System,” said Ronald Mason Jr., president of the Southern University System.
James David Smith, a Monroe native who was reared in Bastrop, received a bachelor’s degree in art from Southern
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced today that the SIAC Baseball Championship will be held in Ozark, AL beginning in 2012. All games will be played at historic Eagle Stadium.
“We’re excited about the city of Ozark hosting the SIAC Baseball Championship. Steve Sherrill and Ozark Leisure Services have maintained a great facility in Eagle Stadium, which should make for a first-class championship experience for our student-athletes as well as our fans and alumni that attend the game,” said SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore.
The 2012 SIAC Baseball Championship will take place Thursday, April 26th through Sunday, April 29th. The top four teams from the SIAC East and West Divisions will advance to play in the double-elimination baseball tournament.
“We have some talented basketball, baseball and football players locally. This is a great benefit for our community to educate the institutions on who we are and where we are, and hopefully it will open up some doors and avenues for our kids,” said Ozark Leisure Services Director Steve Sherrill in reference to the SIAC Baseball Championship coming to Ozark.
The 2012 SIAC Baseball Championship will also feature a brand new championship logo, which was designed by Phoenix Design Works (www.phoenixdesignworks.com).
The Tennessee State Tigers will host five home games in 2012. Their slate of games includes matchups with several powerhouse HBCU football programs including Florida A&M, Jackson State and the University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
September 1: Florida A&M, John Merritt Classic
September 8: Jackson State, Southern Heritage Classic
September 15: Austin Peay State University
September 22: @ Bethune-Cookman University
September 29: University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
October 6: Eastern Kentucky University
October 13: @ Southeast Missouri State University
October 20: @ Jacksonville State University
October 27: Tennessee Tech University
November 3: @ Murray State University
November 17: @ UT Martin
Glenn Patterson sank two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Elizabeth City State University Vikings to a 58-55 win over Chowan University Saturday evening at the RL Vaughan Center.
Glenn Patterson scored 14 points in the Vikings' 58-55 win over Chowan on Saturday. (ECSU Vikings)
Patterson finished the night with 14 points, hitting personal best four shots from beyond the three point arc.
Angelo Sharpless scored a game high 20 points. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
Fortunately for the Vikings all of Patterson’s scoring came in the second half of the three point victory. The Hawks and Vikings battled back and forth in the final 20 minutes with neither team holding more than a five point advantage and the lead changing seven times.
The Hawks (7-19, CIAA 1-13) dominated the post matchup against the Vikings 30-16 and held a 14-5 advantage in bench points. Chowan led by a score of 29-28 at halftime.
The Vikings went up 40-35 at the 13:24 mark but the Hawks responded with an 11-5 run and took their first lead of the second half on two free throws by Quinton McDuffie. Over the next two possessions, the teams traded three-pointers, one by Patterson, the other by Kyree Bethel which gave the Hawks their final lead of the game 49-48.
Patterson’s second consecutive three-ball put the Vikings in front for good even though the game was decided in the final minute of play.
After a Chris Williams layup trimmed ECSU’s lead to 56-55 with 25 seconds to go, the Hawks were forced to foul Patterson who sealed the win with his only free throws of the night.
In the low scoring game every point was precious especially in light of the absence of free throws on both sides. The two teams combined to shoot only 15 from the charity stripe on Saturday; the Hawks went 5-6 while ECSU shot 8-9.
ECSU (12-12, CIAA 6-8) will return to action on Monday when they travel to face Virginia State University. Game time is scheduled for 7:30pm. Follow ECSU on Twitter @ECSUVikings and visit www.ecsuvikings.com
Howard University President Sidney Ribeau sent a letter to the university community Monday seeking support for a proposed series of actions that he said would help the school regain strong economic footing, The Hilltop student newspaper and website reported.
Howard University President Sidney Ribeau (Courtesy Photo/Howard University)
“According to the letter, Howard University expenses exceeded available funds during the first half of the fiscal year which has led to the implementation of a number of ‘sacrifices’ set to help reduce the impact of this mishap on students,” The Hilltop reported.
The proposal includes deferring some campus building projects, shutting down campus almost completely, except for essential services, during spring break and a review of university contracts with an eye to reducing the size and number. Later in the semester, furlough days may be imposed on all faculty and staff.
“If it becomes necessary to implement the furlough, I will ask the University’s senior leadership to assume the greatest responsibility by taking additional furlough days,” Ribeau wrote.
The news came on the heels of an earlier announcement that tuition for the 2012-2013 school year would increase by 12 percent.
Last week, Ribeau and the Howard University Student Association hosted a “Fireside Chat” to listen to student concerns.
Students called for better and upgraded facilities before increasing tuition costs, but Ribeau said those improvements were factored into the higher costs.
“George Washington (University) has one of the highest tuitions in the country and, as a result, they have excellent capabilities in terms of providing their students with top-of-the-line tools,” Natanya Abraham, a sophomore computer science major, told The Hilltop.
“If students want to compare standars between Howard and GW, then they better be prepared tos pay what they pay in tuition.”
For the 2011-2012 academic year, it costs about $41,000 a year for an undergraduate to attend Howard, including room and board and fees and a base tuition of about $18,000, up from about $38,000 for the 2010-2011 term. The total cost for the 2011-2012 term at George Washington University for undergraduates is about $58,000.
The Norfolk State Spartans failed to exorcize the demon that has become Delaware State on Wednesday night.
Now they need help if they are to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s regular-season title.
And the Spartans will probably have a nightmare or two about the six-point lead they blew in the game’s last three minutes.
They will lament the 10-1 run they allowed the Hornets to make to start overtime.
Delaware State ended up winning 73-63. But from the looks on the Spartans’ faces, the Hornets won this game when Tahj Tate rebounded a missed 3-pointer by teammate Casey Walker and banked home the stickback with 1.4 seconds remaining to force the overtime with the game tied at 59.
Kyle O'Quinn drives to the basket. (Steve Earley/The Virginian Pilot)
“I think we were really deflated by that tip-in,” Spartans coach Anthony Evans said. “It really got to us.”
After the Spartans’ Pendarvis Williams missed a 3-point attempt to start overtime, Walker canned a trey at the other end that took any remaining wind out of the Spartans’ lungs.
“That tip-in by Tate, it was as if the play happened in slow motion,” said Brandon Wheeless, who took the blame for not boxing Tate out. “I can see him going by me, see him going up, see him sticking it back. After that, we played in a daze.”
Norfolk State (18-9, 10-3) now trails 9-2 Savannah State.
The Spartans, who beat Savannah State this season, own the tiebreaker over the Tigers. But Delaware State (12-11, 9-3), by virtue of its two-game season sweep of Norfolk State, owns the tiebreaker over the Spartans.
A proposal now under consideration in the Ohio Senate calls for the designation of Central State University as a land-grant university. The designation of land-grant status would allow Central State to apply for federal agriculture research funds and for construction funds reserved for land-grant institutions. Central State is a historically Black university in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Up to now the only land-grant institution in the state is Ohio State University. In 1890 Central State sought designation as a land-grant institution but the proposal was scuttled by former U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes who sat on the board of trustees of Ohio State University.
It’s no secret that Benedict College junior center Marcus Goode is having another MVP-caliber season as evident by the 20.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks he’s currently averaging, all of which lead the SIAC.
He was even recently named Boxtorow’s National Player of the Week for averaging 23.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in the Tigers three wins last week. And his accolade-attracting skills can be traced all the way back to Mid-CarolinaHigh School and even to his short time at Division-I Marshall University.
Helping lead Benedict to the SIAC regular season title last season and keeping them in contention for another this season, Goode is obviously a force to be reckoned with, but what else do we really know about him?
Let’s begin with his transfer from Marshall.
“At Marshall University, everything got real bad,” he stated. He played in 13 games averaging 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. “[There was] no leadership, team discipline, and not a really good coaching staff.” His disappointing experience led him to Benedict, about 30 minutes away from his hometown, Chapin, S.C. “I got homesick, and I wanted my mom to watch me play,” he said.
Goode’s mother is the single parent to his being the only child. With his father absent as he grew up in an underprivilegedneighborhood, his mom continuously fueled him. She even taught him how to fish, one of his unknown hobbies, and regularly attends his home games at Benjamin E. Mays HRC Arena.
He recognized his “talent for sport” early on when he competed in swimming, football, track and field, and, of course, basketball in high school. He’s been playing basketball for 14 years, but never thought his skills would take him this far.
“I grew from 6’3’’ to 6’9’’ between the eight and tenth grade,” said Goode. Although he broke Mid-Carolina’s discus throw record and won a state championship twice for shot put, he stuck with basketball. “It got me a free education,” he said.
While his athletic skills seem innate, Goode’s academic ability didn’t come as easily.
“I’m not really a school person,” he solemnly admitted. At Marshall, he was provided individual tutoring every day, but at Benedict there is only a grand study hall for the players. “I need as much help as I can get. It’s a struggle for me and I’m trying to work on it,” he affirmed.
He said his other collegeprospects included the University of Kansas and Georgetown University coming out of high school, but he unfortunately didn’t have the grades to attend those universities.
Another hurdle he cleared was escaping this troubled community. “I come from a poor background,” he claimed, “and making it out of my neighborhood motivates me to keep going.”
He prefers not to revisit his childhood streets in Chapin, but has to because he’s family-oriented.
His younger cousins who watch his games never fail to provide the 6-foot-10 big man with feedback. “They come up to me after every game and tell me how good I did,” he said, also identifying himself as a role model to them. Additionally, his dominance influences his team.
“Once they see me get into it, they get into it as well,” he said. And although he’s a conference and national statistical leader he says, “I really don’t think about myself because it’s a team thing.” He said you win championships together.
As a junior with another year left to play in college, Goode hopes to go to the next level. He said NBA and international scouts have reached out to his coaches and that he was inspired by his dream teammate, Kobe Bryant, a couple of years ago.
“I met him and it made me want to get better,” he said. “He told me to stay in school and work on my game,” which is exactly what he intends to do with basketball glued to his life long after he leaves Benedict.
“I wanna be successful, wealthy, hopefully living a great life with kids and a wife. Basketball is still going to be there,” he said. After his anticipative professional basketball career, he wants to coach. But he hopes that’s years down the line.
For now, he’s working day to day with his team to build a better chemistry. “We motivate each other to stay together…even through good and bad times,” Goode said about his teammates. He said in addition to harmony, they continue to seek out ways to win.
The Howard University women’s and men’s teams competed in the Milrose Games Collegiate Invitational in the NYC Armory. The results were rewarding as two additional Bison on the men’s team were added to the list in what was a last chance meet.
Freshman James Carey ran 4:24 in the mile and sophomore James Jarrett high jumped a foot over his head of 6’7″ to give the men five automatic qualifiers. Sophomore MEAC qualifier Aaron Harrrison added the 3000 meters to his 5000 meters qualifying event, clocking in at 8:57 in the 3K race.
Although the Lady Bison improved their times in the 400 meters, they failed to qualify. They will represent Howard by running in the 4 x 400-meter relay (Zahra Thomas, Jasmin Selby, Daniel Douglas and Symone Glover) and the distance Medley Relay (Douglas, Selby, Doriean Broady and Hardy).
The men’s 4x 400-meter relay team of Michael Houston, Paul Edwards, Tory McAlister and Wallace Spencer joins the distance medley relay team of Giovani Mowatt, Michael Houston, Jerod Franklin and James Carey.
Here is the list of the qualifiers who will be representing Howard in the MEAC Indoor Track and Field championships, February 16-18 at the PG Sports and Learning Activity Center:
SR Jami Hardy/ 800m
SO Briana Jones/ Long Jump
SR Jerod Franklin, 800m
FR Giovani Mowatt/ mile, 800m
FR James Carey/mile
SO Aaron Harrison/ 3k, 5k
SO James Jarrett/ High Jump
GRAMBLING, LA – It seems as though it was only yesterday when Whitney Houston graced Grambling State University’s commencement stage in the summer of 1988 to receive one of the university’s highest honors, the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The Grambling State University Family, like others across the world, was saddened to hear the news of a fallen alumnus. Our sincerest sympathy is extended to the Houston family.
Ms. Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to the Guinness World Records. She received 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most American Music Awards of any single artist and shared the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with 8 wins in 1994. In November 2010, Billboard released its “Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years” list and ranked Houston at number three who not only went on to earn eight No. 1 singles on the R&B Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five No. 1s on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Although she released relatively few albums, she was ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone. Ms. Houston was the first artist to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Grambling State University President, Dr. Frank Pogue states, “Whitney Houston was the most naturally gifted singer I have ever heard. The fact that she was selected to receive an Honorary Doctorate, the most prestigious degree a university can confer, is a clear indication that Grambling has always recognized excellence. The fact that she willingly accepted the award confirms her respect for the academic quality for which Grambling is widely known. Her contributions in music will live forever.”
“The life of an entertainer is difficult and very demanding”, says Dr. Larry J. Pannell, GSU Acting Head of the Department of Music and Director of the GSU Tiger Marching Band. “The rigorous pressure of trying to stay on top makes it tougher. As a whole, when you look at her life, Whitney serves as an inspiration to all musicians who are striving to be the best that they can be by emulating her. It’s a sad day for the world and for the world of music. The music will live on and her spirit will live on through her music,” Pannell said.
“I was really saddened to hear of the loss of Whitney Houston,” states University Photographer Glenn Lewis. “She was a great singer and entertainer. Her 1987 Bayou Classic concert was simply superb. Seems like it was not that long ago (summer of 1988) when she walked across the T.H. Harris Auditorium stage and President Joseph Johnson awarded her the honorary doctorate,” Lewis commented.
Ms. Whitney Houston’s passing is a great loss to the world of music, her fans, family and the Grambling State University family. Her voice is forever etched in our memories.
NOTE: Photos of Ms. Whitney Houston receiving honorary degree and Bayou Classic performance. Referenced from CNN
Patricia Due died at age 72 two weeks shy of the 52nd anniversary of her leading role in the student sit-ins in Tallahassee in February 1960. As a 20-year old student at Florida A&M University and founding member of the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Due and her sister Priscilla and three other FAMU students spent 49 days in jail rather than pay fines after being arrested for sitting at a Woolworth lunch counter, launching the nation’s first “jail-in” during the civil rights movement.
FAMU will honor Due’s legacy by hosting a memorial service starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at the university’s Lee Hall Auditorium, 1601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tallahassee. A public viewing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. It will be the day before the 52nd anniversary of the Tallahassee sit-ins.
Interment will take place at St. Hebron AME Church, 1730 St. Hebron Road, Quincy, immediately following the service, with a repast at the National Guard Armory in Quincy, where the couple lived before moving to the Miami area.
This is Ringgold’s first solo exhibition in Atlanta since the High Museum presented the nationally-touring exhibition, “Faith Ringgold: A Twenty-Five Year Survey” in 1990.
The Ringgold exhibition is in keeping with the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art’s mission to emphasize art by and about women of the African Diaspora. “This year, the season of the Museum’s 15th anniversary, we have deliberately highlighted works from our permanent collection including Ringgold’s quilt ‘Groovin’ High,’ which is one of the College’s signature works,” said Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Museum director. “It is a privilege to present a solo exhibition featuring the work of an artist who has salient links to the permanent collection and whose influential efforts and advocacy for women artists made it possible for such a museum to even exist.”
With only a few notable exceptions, Ringgold’s once influential paintings disappeared from view and were omitted from critical, art historical discourse for more than 40 years. Coordinated to coincide with Ringgold’s 80th birthday, the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art exhibition includes approximately 60 works from the landmark series “American People” (1963-1967) and “Black Light” (1967-1971), along with a related mural and political posters. “American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold’s Paintings of the 1960s” was co-curated by Thom Collins, director of the Miami Art Museum, and Tracy Fitzpatrick, curator at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, where the exhibition opened to critical acclaim.
Stillman College sophomore Aleksandar Zobec has been named SIAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Week while Stillman College freshman Elizabeth Perez has been named SIAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week.
Zobec, a native of Novi Beograd, Serbia, won his first singles match of the season, 6-1, 6-1, over Tuskegee’s Elijah Pugh in a match-up of number one seeds. Playing in the number two spot in doubles action, Zobec and teammate Jelffrey Farias defeated Pugh and Bobby Smith, 8-1, to help lead the Tigers to an 8-1 win over Tuskegee.
Perez, a native of San Juan Del Rio, Mexico, defeated Sunny Willoughby, 6-2, 6-1, in singles action in a battle of number one seeds. Perez and teammate Rosana Medeiros also defeated Willoughby and Cheryl Dixon, 8-2, as the one seed in doubles play. The Lady Tigers defeated Tuskegee, 8-1, for their first win of the season.
SIAC tennis weekly honors will be announced each week throughout the 2012 season. For more information, visit www.thesiac.com.
Students at Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College will be marching in protest today against political “attitudes” that they consider racist.
The event will take place on the historic Cheyney University campus and will entail a dinner reception at 5:00 PM in the Carnegie Great Room and a lecture at 7:00 PM. The lecture by Dr. Angelou will take place in the Marian Anderson Auditorium. Dr. Angelou is not scheduled to appear on the dinner program. Due to construction on our campus, there is limited accessibility to the dinner venue; if you need assistance, please call 610-399-2386 for alternative arrangements.
“We’re excited about the city of Ozark hosting the SIAC Baseball Championship. Steve Sherrill and Ozark Leisure Services have maintained a great facility in Eagle Stadium, which should make for a first-class championship experience for our student-athletes as well as our fans and alumni that attend the game,” said SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore.
He was even recently named Boxtorow’s National Player of the Week for averaging 23.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in the Tigers three wins last week. And his accolade-attracting skills can be traced all the way back to Mid-Carolina High School and even to his short time at Division-I Marshall University.
GRAMBLING, LA – It seems as though it was only yesterday when Whitney Houston graced Grambling State University’s commencement stage in the summer of 1988 to receive one of the university’s highest honors, the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The Grambling State University Family, like others across the world, was saddened to hear the news of a fallen alumnus. Our sincerest sympathy is extended to the Houston family.
