Howard’s Bench Comes Up Big In Win Over Florida A&M

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Calvin Thompson and Tre Leecame off the bench to combine for 27 points to help Howard University edge Florida A&M University, 71-69 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

Tre Lee leads the fastbreak. (Howard-Bison)

The Bison (7-18, 4-8 in the MEAC) rallied from a 10-point deficit on the scoring of Thompson, a
red-shirt junior guard and sophomore guard/forward Lee, who teamed for 8 of Howard’s last 10 points down the stretch.

Thompson a perfect 4 for 4 and Lee 5 of 6 on free throws in the second half and the Bison
needed all of them.

“We put Thompson and Lee in to calm us down at that point,” explained Howard head coach
Nickelberry. “Being an upperclassman, Calvin has the experience. He took some pressure off (freshman) Simuel Frazier.”

The Bison converted on 20 of 24 from the charity stripe for 83 percent. It was the second
straight win for Howard that came down to clutch free throw shooting.

“That’s the difference, the free throws,” said Nickelberry. “It’s the difference between wins and losses in these two past games. Our guys are putting themselves in position to make them. It was a good win.”

The Bison took control early, shooting 55 percent (16 of 29) from the field in the first 20
minutes. Freshman Prince Okoroh led all scorers with 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor as Howard led, 34-28 at the half.

The Rattlers (7-18, 5-6 in the MEAC) came out of the locker room smoking. Senior forward Amin Stevens tallied 10 points during a 14-0 run that gave the visitors their biggest lead at 44-34 at the 16:21 mark.

Following a Howard timeout, the Bison settled down as Thompson, Alphonso Leary, Lee and
Frazier combined to fuel a 17-7 run that knotted the score at 51-all at the 8:13 mark.

From there, it turned into a back-and-forth affair until Thompson, Frazier and Ellison teamed to give Howard a 62-54 advantage. But the Rattlers, or I should say Amin Stevens, refused to go away. Stevens, who led all scorers with 24 points, 22 in the second stanza, got Florida A&M within a point at 66-65 with 37 ticks on the clock.

But Thompson and Lee made sure that the Rattlers would get no closer as they hit free throws to preserve the win.

The Bison, who started five freshmen for the fifth straight game, won the statistical battle in the paint (40-34) and most importantly, the bench scoring, where they held a 36-21 advantage.

“We have gotten to what we feel is a good situation,” said Nickelberry, who has led the team to more wins than last season. “The freshmen play with so much energy and then we bring in out upperclassmen and they make a solid contribution. We are now seeming to really enjoy the game.”

Stevens led all scorers with 26, all but two in the second half. In addition to Thompson and Lee’s contribution, the Bison got 10 points from freshman guard Okoroh, 9 from sophomore Leary off the bench, 9 from freshman Oliver Ellison and 8 points and 6 assists from Frazier.

The Bison played without the services of senior guard and team-leading scorer, Glenn Andrews, who is nursing a sore knee and junior forward Mike Phillips, the team’s leading rebounder and third leading scorer, who suffered a concussion two games ago.

NEXT UP: Howard hosts Bethune-Cookman on Monday at 7:30 pm at Burr Gymnasium.

Courtesy of HU Bison

Arguments end in black colleges’ lawsuit

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In a six-week trial over whether Maryland shortchanges its historically black universities, the state argued that it has given these schools fair funding as well as special consideration in recent years.

“The HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] have been funded fairly,” Craig Thompson, attorney for the state, said last week, stressing the importance of every public college in Maryland.

But the plaintiffs, members of the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Higher Education, say that historically black colleges in Maryland are treated as inferiors to their traditionally white counterparts, and that policies in effect have caused colleges to remain segregated.

The coalition sued the Maryland Higher Education Commission in 2006, seeking to “make the historically black colleges and universities comparable and competitive with traditionally white institutions,” said plaintiff’s attorney, John Brittain. The suit went to trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore Jan. 3.

A victory by the coalition could mean additional enhancement and building funds, as well as an end to unnecessary program duplication between historically black and traditionally white schools.

Maryland’s four historically black colleges are Bowie State University, Morgan State University, Coppin State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The universities themselves are not directly involved in the lawsuit, but the plaintiffs include current students and alumni.

The Coalition says that Maryland’s historically black schools have been limited by duplication of their academic programs at white institutions, because it gives non-black students less incentive to choose a historically black college. Read Full Article theDailyRecord 

 

Lockdown at Benedict College Lifted

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Benedict College officials have lifted a lockdown which was put in place on the campus Saturday.

News19 has learned the lockdown was initiated, when a search for a man who threathened the school began.

According to Benedict College Officials the school received some sort of threat from 20 year old De’Amontez Anibarid Valdez.

Valdez apparently had a fight with someone and then called in a threat to campus.  Officials locked down campus at 2:15PM on Saturday.

Campus police say they believe Valdez is no longer in the area.

They are still looking for him and his red F-150 pick up truck with Georgia Tags.   If you have any information on his whereabouts call 1-888-CRIMESC. Referenced from wltx

 

ASU chief operating officer Knight Testifies in Sexual & Racial Harassment Case

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John Knight testified in a sexual and racial harassment trial Friday, denying claims that an Alabama State University administrator regularly demeaned employees under his watch.

Knight, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ASU, sometimes bristled while denying other allegations, including that he had discouraged reporting of harassment and had asked female students and employees out on dates.

It was the third day of the trial of a lawsuit that three females brought against the university where they once worked.

The lawsuit alleges unlawful employment practices under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specific allegations include use of racial slurs and language demeaning to women, crude references to female body parts and inappropriate touching.

One of the plaintiffs, Cynthia Williams, testified earlier that she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Birmingham. She added that she was subsequently warned that making more complaints to the EEOC would get her fired.

Joseph L. Fitzpatrick Jr., attorney for the plaintiffs, asked Knight on Friday whether he disliked having his employees cooperate with the EEOC.

“I think that is an insult for you to ask me that, young man,” said Knight, a longtime Democratic state representative.

Jacqueline Weatherly and Lydia Burkhalter, the other two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, also gave testimony Friday. Read Full Article Montgomery

Alabama A&M encouraged by potential for fall enrollment spike

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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Alabama A&M University is taking aggressive steps to make sure a sharp drop in enrollment doesn’t repeat itself in the fall.

Venita King, assistant vice president of enrollment management, said in a detailed presentation to the school’s board of trustees student affairs committee Friday that Alabama A&M is receiving favorable responses from prospective students.

Alabama A&M is attempting to overcome a 12.3 percent drop in enrollment in the fall of 2011. The school reported a fall 2011 enrollment of 5,095 students.

Applications have doubled since February 2011, and more than 2,700 students have been accepted for enrollment in August, King said.

The spike in applications, King said, is a partial result of allowing students to apply via the Internet. So have a blitz of visits to high schools throughout the Southeast as well as email communication and repeated mailings. Contacts with prospective students also are planned as a purpose for a new call center that opened on campus earlier this month.

Electronic applications, in fact, have risen to 1,807 from 941 at this time last year, King said. Read Full Article AL.com

Bowie State football: Doing more with less

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The annual ritual of National Signing Day arrived last Wednesday, complete with a deluge of coverage on the Internet and ESPN, and school assemblies where the future stars of college football announced their choices.

Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Suitland High School quarterback Nyema Washington looks for his target during a game against Charles H. Flowers. Washington signed a letter of intent to attend Bowie State next fall.

Beyond the ESPN spotlight and under the radar, Bowie State University football coach Damon Wilson and his staff quietly went about their business last week, putting the finishing touches on the NCAA Division II school’s latest recruiting class. For small colleges like Bowie State, signing day is a low-profile event. Like a struggling business trying to navigate a difficult economy, Bowie State’s football program seeks to do more with less as it competes for players in a region that has increasingly become a recruiting hotbed.

Football fans are quick to rank high school players by a simplistic conventional wisdom: All-state players go the BCS schools, all-county players go the mid-majors and to I-AA programs, and the rest are left to Division II coaches such as Wilson. But the Bowie State coach doesn’t subscribe to that mentality.

“We do a decent job of recruiting I-AA caliber players,” Wilson said. “You hear people talk and say, ‘What is a Division II player?’ I’m not familiar with that term. We recruit football players. They have to be able to compete at any level.”

ndeed, Bowie State has had players move on to pro football, including running back Isaac Redman, who recently finished his second season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Outside linebacker Delano Johnson, a senior on the 2011 team, has drawn pre-draft attention from NFL scouts and could get a call this April.

Wilson acknowledged that some high school players simply want the experience that comes with playing college football at the highest level. But he doesn’t back down from making a sales pitch to the area’s many high-caliber players. All but four members of Bowie State’s 2011 team were from Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. Read Full Article Gezzette

Bethune-Cookman student killed in Daytona Beach crash

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One Bethune-Cookman University student was killed and four others were injured this morning in a single-car crash in the 300 block of S. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Daytona Beach police said.

The fatal car crash that took the life of Marcus A. Thomas (WESH.com)

Marcus A. Thomas, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., was killed in the crash which occurred about 8:30 a.m., police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said.

Thomas was riding in the front seat and was not wearing a seat belt, Flynt said. As the southbound vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a utility pole, his head hit the windshield.

The driver was identified as Carl A. Beasley Jr., 18, of Fairburn, Ga. Beasley may have fallen asleep at the wheel, Flynt said.

Beasley and passengers Erick V, Godbee, 18, of Daytona Beach, Matthew J. Lezala, 22, of Daytona Beach, and Johnus S. Greenlee, 19, of Chicago, were treated at Halifax Health Medical Center for injuries that were not life-threatening, Flynt said.

Thomas was a freshman music education major and a member of the Marching Wildcats Band, B-CU spokeswoman Meredith Rodriguez said.

“The university will be providing grief counselors on campus to help those in need of support,” she said.

Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

100 HBCU Students to Meet With Obama Administration

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This February 24, HRC is partnering with the National Black Justice Coalitionand National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to host 100 HBCU students and leaders at the White House to celebrate Black History Month. 

The White House Briefing for Black LGBT Emerging Leaders will gather students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation to openly share their experiences with Obama’s administration and to hear what is being done to ensure and protect the rights of the LGBT community.

The fight for LGBT equality rests in the hands of our youth, especially HBCU students. HRC is proud to stand behind the next generation of HBCU leaders as they work to remove the proverbial “glass closet.” Students at HBCU across the nation are standing and taking action to advance the fight for LGBT equality— students at Morehouse College, South Carolina State University, Norfolk State University, and many others have lead the way by bridging the gaps in the black and LGBT communities.

As a part of Black History Month, we are proud to salute the work of students on HBCU campuses.

Courtesy of NBJC

Man Charged in Dorm-Room Rape at Lincoln University Missouri

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A 19-year-old man is charged with felony sexual assault, for an incident at Lincoln University.

According to court documents, the woman woke up during the attack early Saturday while Tavis Merriman was on top of her.

Travis Merriman

She said she was staying with another man in the dorm room at the Sherman D. Scruggs Residence Hall.

Investigators say Merriman later confessed to the rape. Read Court Documents

Article Referenced from ABC17 More Information Coming soon.

NIH Grant Funds a Study on How Racism Impacts the Health of African Americans

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Naa Oyo Kwate, an associate professor of human ecology and an associate professor of Africana studies at Rutgers University is leading a team of researchers in the Black LIFE (Linking Inequality, Feelings, and Environment) Study. The program is being funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The study seeks answers to two questions:

1. What effect does racism have on the body?

2. What can society do about the problem?

Researchers will conduct hundreds of interviews with African Americans in high poverty areas about their experiences with racism. The subjects will also undergo medical tests to determine their health status. The researchers are also conducting neighborhood surveys to document instances of institutional racism such as alcohol or tobacco advertising targeted at Black Americans, as well as the proliferation of liquor stores and fast food restaurants.

Dr. Kwate says, “We are not talking about race in terms of genes, but in terms of what resources and opportunities people have access to. Most people don’t think about how the broader processes of inequality affect a person’s ability to engage in healthy behaviors.”

Courtesy of JBHE

1968 Olympian to speak at Clark Atlanta

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One of two black athletes who called attention to the plight of African Americans at the 1968 Olympics will recount the iconic moment at Clark Atlanta University.

John Carlos will discuss and sign copies of his book, “The Sports Moment that Changed the World” at a free, public event Wednesday at 3 p.m.

The university is examining the theme of “Black Power” during Black History Month.

On Oct. 16, 1968, Carlos and teammate Tommie Smith came in third and first place in the 200-meter race, with Smith setting a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Smith and Carlos received their medals shoeless, but wore black socks to represent poverty.

When “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, the two men raised black-gloved fists and bowed their heads. The image became front-page news.

(Associated Press) Referenced from AUC

Coppin’s Tony Gallo Earns Second MEAC Player of the Week Honor

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Coppin State senior guard Tony Gallo earned his second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Week award this season as he shared the award with Ray Willis of North Carolina Central, the league announced on Monday.

Gallo was instrumental in leading the Eagles to victories at Norfolk State and at Morgan State last week.

Senior Tony Gallo earned MEAC Player of the Week for the second time this season after helping lead Coppin State pass Morgan State on Feb. 4, 2012. (Courtesy Photo/CSU Sports Information)

He averaged 22 points, four rebounds and three assists per game in the two Coppin State wins. Gallo also shot 52.4 percent from the floor, 50 percent from the three-point line and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

The Lynn, Mass. native scored 16 points and had three rebounds in Coppin State’s 87-82 win at Norfolk State on Jan. 30 and then scored a career-high 28 points in the Eagles 88-86 victory at Morgan State on Feb. 4.

It marked the third career MEAC Player of the Week honor for Gallo.

Tyshawn Bell of Delaware State was named the Rookie of the Week, while Dominique Sutton of North Carolina Central was named the Defensive Player of the Week.

Coppin State (12-11 overall) will face Delaware State in a MEAC contest on Feb. 11. Referenced from AFRO

‘No more tuition, fee hikes’: ECSU students protest increases

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Montravias King, president of the ECSU student chapter of the NAACP, speaks to about 50 students during a campus protest of tuition increases at Elizabeth City State University, Tuesday afternoon. ECSU trustees have proposed a tuition increase of $321 per semester for the 2012-13 school year. About 50 Elizabeth City State University students gathered under the wooden shelter of an outdoor classroom Tuesday afternoon to protest tuition increases and call on the General Assembly to restore funding for education. Read Full Article at the daily Advance

Maryland HBCU Desegregation Trial Nearing an End

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After six weeks of testimony, a major trial to determine whether Maryland’s four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been routinely denied funding and other needed resources that would have made them “comparable and competitive” with White universities in the state is expected to end this week, with a ruling expected by this summer.

The overwhelming majority of HBCUs, originally established shortly after the Civil War to prevent African-Americans from attending all-White state universities, are located in the South. The Maryland case (Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, Inc., v. Maryland Higher Education Commission, et al.) has attracted national attention, in part, because it involves a border state that, like the South, operated a rigidly segregated school system, but unlike the South, has largely escaped intense public scrutiny.

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake presided over the non-jury trial in Baltimore. The lead attorney for the plaintiffs was Jon Greenbaum of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Pro bono work was provided by lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis law firm and the Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic.

The suit was originally filed in 2006 by the Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education, Inc., a community-based group comprised of alumni of public HBCUs in Maryland and other interested parties. It is seeking approximately $2.1 billion to upgrade the four state HBCUs: Morgan State University, Bowie State University, Coppin State University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. Referenced from Washington Informer

Man wanted for Columbus home invasion arrested on Fort Valley State University campus

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A college student wanted for a Christmas Day home invasion in Columbus was arrested Wednesday on the campus of Fort Valley State University.

Terell McFarland, 20, is charged with two counts of armed robbery in connection with the 12th Street home invasion. Peach County authorities arrested him on outstanding warrants about 1:30 p.m. while he was on campus, which is about 30 miles southwest of Macon, reports state.

“We received some information he was a student at Valley State,” said Columbus Police Lt. John McMichael. “We had the authorities check. He was picked up.”

McFarland, along with three other suspects, forced their way inside a 12th Street apartment about 10 p.m. Christmas Day. The 21-year-old resident opened his door after he heard a knock, looked outside and recognized McFarland, McMichael said.

“Three other individuals came inside the apartment at that time,” the lieutenant added. “They were armed with handguns.”

The suspects robbed the resident and a 39-year-old woman who was at the apartment at the time. The man was struck over his eye during the robbery. The woman was uninjured, McMichael said. Referenced from Ledger-Enquirer.com

UNC system committee: Raise tuition by average of 8.8 percent

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Chapel Hill, N.C. — A University of North Carolina Board of Governors committee on Thursday recommended raising tuition and fees at all campuses by an average of 8.8 percent. The full board will vote Friday, and then it will go before lawmakers.

The Budget and Finance Committee agreed with UNC President Tom Ross’ recommendation to raise tuition and fees by more than $400 on average for the 2012-13 school year.

“Our board is struggling. We are all struggling with this decision,” Ross said.

Student groups from across the state are planning to march Friday, just before the Board of Governors votes on the proposed increases.

“This has not been an easy process at all,” said board chairwoman Hannah Gage. “As I said, we’ve got members of our board that wanted zero percent. We’ve got members of our board that thought the market should drive and it should go as high as possible.”

The cost increases Ross recommended are well below what some campus leaders said they needed and will make up just 17 percent of the $414 million cut by state legislators last year.

The budget cut forced the 16 university campuses and the School of Science and Math in Durham to drop more than 3,000 employees, cut library hours at Appalachian State University and UNC-Wilmington and prevent hundreds of North Carolina Central University students from enrolling in general education math courses, according to a UNC system report.

Undergraduate North Carolina resident students pay an average tuition and fees of $5,294 a year, not including books and living expenses. It is higher at the system’s two flagship schools, with UNC-Chapel Hill students paying $6,823 and North Carolina State University charging $6,964.

The bills would increase by 4.3 percent, or $199, next year at UNC-Pembroke. At the high end, costs would rise by 9.9 percent at UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Asheville, Winston-Salem State University, Western Carolina University and the UNC School of the Arts. That means tuition increases ranging from $447 at WSSU to $676 at UNC-Chapel Hill. Referenced from WRAL.COM