flash feb.7(13)

Ratings prove that BET’s new

programming ‘Gets Us’VARIETY - Page 5

Alexis AndersonStaff Writer

JSU Accounting Society offers community free tax assistance

Candace ChambersNews Editor

24th National African-American Read-In educates students

Read-In, Cont. on pg.6

“Fift y Years of Civil Rights: Th en and Beyond and featured the novel, ‘I Dreamt I was in Heaven- Th e Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang’ by Leonce Gaiter was the fo-cus of the Jackson State University 24th National African-American Read-In.

Th e event, held on Feb. 4, 2013, included student, staff and faculty participants who gathered for enlightenment and to analyze the American government system through a journey in history.

Th e read-in is sponsored by the Black Caucus of National Coun-cil of Teachers of English and the National Council of Teachers of English. Th e goal of the day accord-ing to the council is to, “make the celebration of African-American

literacy a traditional part of Black History Month activities.”

In 2002, the fi rst read-in was held on the campus of JSU and the components nationwide are to fea-ture a book written by an African-American writer and to host the event in Feb.

Dr. Doris Ginn, linguist and as-sociate professor of English at JSU, had a prominent role in establish-ing the African-American Read-In on the campus as a kick off for Black History month.

“Th ere are many aspects of the read-in that are benefi cial to stu-dents. First, it makes them aware of our Black culture. Second, it opens their eyes to the prominence of Af-rican-Americans long before them and here today. Th ird, it prompts students into the need to read,” said Ginn.

Th e day’s sessions included vast

Photo: Dr. Helen J. Crump

JSU students listen to Read-In presenter.

Certifi ed tax preparers and members of the JSU Accounting Society.

Jackson State University’s Accounting Society’s free income tax preparation ser-vice is back in business.

Members of the JSU Accounting So-ciety have completed over 24 hours of Internal Revenue Service training and certification in order to provide free tax preparation to the JSU community from Jan. 4 until March 23, 2013.

Located in the College of Business, Suite 201, the Volunteer Income Tax As-sistance (VITA) program, sponsored by the IRS, provides free income tax prepa-ration services to low-income families and other individuals. The service is for filers who household income is below $50,000 and individuals who may qualify for the EITC, Earned Income Tax Credit.

JSU clients would have to have their 2012 federal and state income tax returns prepared, receive copies for their records, have it electronically filed and have the option of having their refund direct de-posited or open a free debit card account. These services would cost about $75 to $150 at for-profit providers.

Donald McWilliams, instructor of Accounting at JSU and Volunteer In-come Tax Assistance (VITA) Coordina-tor, supervised the 24 hours training.

“The students did their own research to prepare them to file taxes. They don’t get any compensation for filing taxes, unless it’s reimbursement. The students should not expect any money because that’s not the reasoning behind this great deed, it’s a volunteer experience,” said McWilliams. “I thought this would be a great opportunity to gain commu-nity service and a practical skill that can be used later in their lives. They get rec-ognition and a party for their services.”

The students are required to have taken and passed ACC 423 in the fall se-mester before they are allowed to partic-ipate in the program. The class, taught in the Department of Accounting by is a service learning course in the JSU Col-lege of Business. Service learning cours-es provide students with practical, real world experience to apply the academic concepts and theories learned in the classroom.

amounts of information regarding the featured novel, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and tributes to musician, author, playwright and former JSU professor, the late Dr. Charles Chiplin.

Th e read-in was dedicated to Chiplin and in his honor, the audi-ence sang the Negro National An-them, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which he would play on the piano at the beginning of previous events.

To pay tribute, some of Chiplin’s former students read poems from his novels, including the book Rose from the Bottom and his African Youth Creed. His motto in life was “If I can helps somebody in passing alone, then my living will not be in vain.”

Gaiter’s novel, the featured se-lection for the read-in, is a fi ctional

Free Tax Help, Cont. on pg.6

February 7, 2013Vol. 73 / No. 16 www.thejsufl ash.com

Photo: Donald McWilliams

Vi sit T h e Blu e & Wh ite F l a sh O n l i n e @ w w w. t h e j su f l a sh . c om

INSIDE JSU Events & Weather .......................................................... 2Opinion .................................................................................... 3 News ......................................................................................... 4Variety ...................................................................................... 5

• OPINION- What is going on ‘In Da Club’ with safety?• SPORTS- Southern University snaps JSU Tigers win streak.

Sports ........................................................................................ 8

- February 7, 2013The Blue & White Flash

JSU’s 5-Day Weather ForecastTHURSDAY

Editorial StaffThe Blue & White Flash is open to contributions from all Jackson State University students. We encourage all students, regardless of major and/or classifi cation, to participate in the production of their newspaper. For information concerning your contribution to “The Offi cial Student Newspaper of Jackson State University,” call 601-979-2167 or visit room 211 in the Blackburn Language Arts Building.

The Blue & White Flash has received numerous awards and honors from the Mississippi Press Association, Black College Communications Association and the Southern Regional Press Institute. The Flash proudly hosted the 2003 and 2010 HBCU Newspaper Conference and Job Fair at Jackson State University.

The Blue & White Flash is a weekly newspaper written and edited by the students with the counsel of the adviser. Editorials and letters to the editor represent the views of the writer(s). Views expressed within do not necessarily represent the opinions of the faculty/staff, the administration, the student body, or the Board of Trustees. The editors determine the time of the publication and the ethical qualities of all articles. Articles and other materials in The Flash cannot be republished without the expressed written permissions of the editor, adviser and the Student Publications Board at Jackson State University. The Flash is published during the fall and spring semesters, but not during university-recognized holidays, mid-semester and fi nal examinations. The Flash is distributed at various locations around the Jackson State University campus, free of charge to students, staff and faculty. Additional copies may be obtained from the Offi ce of Student Publications.

Awards & Honors

Publication/Distribution Information

The Blue & White FlashJackson State University

P.O. Box 18449Jackson, Mississippi 39217

Phone: 601.979.2167 / Fax: 601.979.2876E-Mail: thefl [email protected]

Subscription InformationSubscription rates for The Blue & White Flash are 25 issues for $25 or the special alumni rate of 25 issues for $20. To subscribe to the Offi cial Student Newspaper of Jackson State University, submit your name, address, city, state, and zip code. Make a check or money order payable to The Blue & White Flash and mail to address above.

Letters To The EditorLetters to the editor are welcome. Editors reserve the right to print or reject for publication any letters received. Letters must include the author’s name(s), address, and phone number; phone number will not be published. All letters are subject to editing for space and libel consideration. Materials must be submitted by Monday at 5 p.m. for publication on Thursday.

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SYLVIA T. WATLEY Adviser

ERNEST F. CAMEL III Production Coordinator

SHANNON D. TATUMProduction Assistant

Alexis AndersonMark Braboy

Tamikia DunomesTaKeisha Hoyle

Crystal KillingsworthDominique McCraney

Megan MoffettJazmyn Owens

William OwensKachelle PratcherTrerica Roberson

Mattie RushCrystal ShelwoodNekeisha WalkerDerrick Walton

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The Blue & White Flash

Tiger Events

NATIONAL BLACK HIV/ AIDS

AWARENESS EVENTS

“Battle of The Classes” Testing Challenge. Challeng-ing all freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors to get tested on Feb. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Testing Locations: 1st Floor of the Liberal Arts Building (Project S.A.F.E.) and The JSU Student Health Center.

NBHAAD Health Fo-rum , “Get the facts, not the fi ction!” Feb. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the JSU Student Center Ballroom A. The forum will include expert panelists, food, prizes, HIV/AIDS informa-tion. The event will feature Outspoken.

MILITARY CAREER DAY

The Career Services Cen-ter at Jackson State University will present Military Career Day in the Student Center Ballroom on Feb. 7 at 10 a.m.

For information, call 601-979-2477.

Sunny Sunny Partly Cloudy Sunny Rainy

CANDACE CHAMBERSNews Editor

Compiled by TaKeisha Hoyle

TAYLOR BEMBERYVariety Editor

GRADUATE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

SCHOLARS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SERIESA presentation on

“Utilizing Instructional Technology to Enhance Graduate Enrollment Man-agement Strategies” will be held on Feb. 7 in the H.T. Sampson Library Audito-rium.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Nicole Evans, Assis-tant Provost, Institutional Research and Planning

73RD ANNUAL SONG FESTIVALThe College of Liberal

Arts and the Department of Music present the 73rd Annual Song Festival on Friday, Feb. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m in the F.D. Hall Music Center. Mel-vin White is the clinician and Willenham Cortez Castilla is the coordina-tor. Admission is free and open to the public.

S UDYNSEwith

HOW WOULD

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LIKE TO STUDY & TRAVEL FOR NO EXTRA COST?EXPERIENCE LIFE FROM A DIFFERENT

POINT OF VIEWPPARTICIPATE IN THE

NATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE FOR A SEMESTER OR YEAR

CONTACT Regina Clay/NSE Coordinator

Jacob L. Reddix Building/room 131 601-979-6939

[email protected] [email protected]

DIAMOND JENKINS Associate Editor

JSU Campus Briefs

People SpeakOpinion

The Flash wants to know what you have to say...


I am from a city that is well known and very popular for its nightlife, Atlanta, Ga. Now, my friends are all very active in the clubbing scene but I just don’t fi nd myself too interested in that. Can you guys please tell me what’s so good about going out to nightclubs?

Yes, I know that hitting the club usually provides an atmo-sphere of fun, entertainment and escape from the pressures of school and work. But oft en, the last thing on the minds of the club-goers is, “Does this spot have enough security? Or, are there enough exits in case of a fi ght or a fi re?

We all know that many times the unexpected happens: an earthquake, a fi re, a chemical spill, an act of terrorism or some other disaster. When these things occur, people are suddenly aware of how fragile their lives can be. Each disaster can have lasting af-fects - people may be seriously injured or killed, and devastating and costly property damage can occur. I am assuming that a big part of your college experience takes place outside the classroom and I caution my fellow class-mates to be more aware of their personal safety.

Only 10 days ago, a fi re swept through a popular nightclub in Brazil killing at least 233 peo-ple, enough to fi ll a large plane. Many apparently died from smoke inhalation. Others were trampled in the rush for the exits, according to one security guard in a CNN.com report. More than 90 people were hospital-ized. Th e Kiss nightclub is popu-lar with young people in Santa Maria, Brazil which is home to a number of universities and col-

leges, including the Federal Uni-versity of Santa Maria. At least 80 of those killed in the club were students at that school.

To my knowledge, there have been no instances of club fi res in any of the local nightclubs that Jackson State University students attend, but there have been many cases of shootings and fi ghts that have resulted in injury or death.

I will just name a few because there are too many to name them all. On Dec. 9, 2012, the Jackson Police Department (JPD) report-ed that they were investigating the death of a 24-year-old Haitian exchange student who was found with several gashes on his body down the street from Freelons, a popular downtown nightclub fre-quented by many JSU students.

On Feb. 5 2012, JPD reported that a man opened fi re inside the Tropicana Jackson night club near JSU on Terry Road, shoot-ing his ex-girlfriend aft er wit-nesses say she refused to dance with him.

On, Feb.12, 2012, JPD report-ed that a man was shot twice in the chest inside Couples Night-

club on Bird Drive. On March 28, 2012 JPD investigated two homicides that happened out-side of Club Hall of Fame in West Jackson on Highway 80.

Th ese shocking and tragic events should make the col-lege club-goers ask themselves “how safe are the clubs in Jack-son?”

Aft er posing this question to some of my fellow class-mates, most replied that the clubs as well as the area that the clubs are in are not safe at all. I was told of multiple accounts of people who were involved in fi ghts or witnessed fi ghts and club security did not inter-vene but the altercations were stopped by other club-goers. Some people have even said they saw club security move away from the fi ghts. It’s hard to say how many fi ghts have erupted in Jackson clubs be-cause many are not reported to the police unless they evolve into more serious incidents.

I believe that the Student Government Association should do more in providing on campus parties for students with JSU security to prevent the need for students to have to seek out this entertainment elsewhere.

But regardless of where you choose to party, be aware of your surroundings and the people who attend that particu-lar spot. Do not get me wrong, I want you to have a good time, but as college students we have to remember our main goal is to receive an education while being as safe as possible.

The views expressed in the commentary are those of the writer(s) and in no way represent the views of The Blue & White Flash.

What is going on ‘In Da Club’ with safety?Diamond JenkinsAssociate Editor

Cartoon: Alan Wells

Commentary

Cordney Ingram Freshman Civil Engineering Decatur, Ill.“Yes, because I party in my hometown and it’s about the same.”

Carrington Wilson Freshman Biology Pre-Med Granbling, La.“I feel that clubbing is a good experience. Just take a risk because it’s college. Going in groups is more safer.”

Shandolyn Lawson Freshman Elementary Education Chicago, Ill.“Yes, if I’m with the peo-ple that I know. If I’m with them, I’m more safe than anything.”

Aniqua HarrisFreshman Biology Pre-Pharmacy Byhalia, Miss.“Yes, I feel safe because it really doesn’t bother me. It’s the same as going to Walmart.”

LeNethra Laster Freshman Biology Pre-Pharmacy Morrison, Miss.“No, because there is hard-ly any security.”

Christina West Freshman Biology Buckatunna, Miss. “I feel safe when I’m in a group but in my personal opinion, if I’m by myself I wouldn’t feel as safe.”

Compiled by TaKeisha Hoyle

“Do you feel safe in the clubs in Jackson, Miss.? Why or why not?”

Larry CowanSophomoreComputer EngineeringJackson, Miss.“I do, but it depends on which club because of lo-cation and whether or not the security is strict.”

Chloe’ Thompson Freshman Computer Science Jackson, Miss.“Yes, I feel safe because I live in Jackson and I know that most of these people are not as crazy as people think they are. Talk to them like they talk to you and they will leave you alone.”

Monica Moore Freshman Psychology Jackson, Miss.“No, I don’t feel safe be-cause being the cautious person that I am, I would rather be safe than sorry. You don’t know what might happen. Going out is unpredictable and is a risk on your life.”

Jalysa Edwards Freshman Biology Pre-Med Jackson, Miss.“No, because people are getting shot for the littlest of things. There is no se-curity and some people are at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Jessica Giles Freshman Biology Jackson, Miss.“No, because people get drunk and when they get drunk they show their be-hinds.”

Jasmine L. Wilson Freshman Biology Jackson, Miss.

“No, because these clubs are ghetto and because Jackson’s crime rate is so high.”

- February 7, 2013The Blue & White Flash NewsFederal agency representatives give employment tips

Panelists from various federal agencies share employment tips with JSU students.

Mark BrayboyStaff Writer

“If you can conceive it, you can achieve it!” This was the message conveyed by the members of the Federal Employment Pan-el Discussion hosted by the Jackson State University Career Services Center.

Representatives from government branches of the Drug Enforcement Ad-ministration (DEA), Internal Revenue Ser-vice (IRS), the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Land Management, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Vet-erans Affairs (VA), including its Student Intern Program provided insight about federal employment and job opportunities. The representatives were assisted by interns and government employees who attended both JSU and Tougaloo College.

The panel members discussed ways to find and keep jobs with the government, successful job interviews, what employers are looking for when hiring candidates, in-ternships, how to survive during a hiring freeze, the competitiveness in the govern-ment job market, and resumes.

“We have a number of positions that you can imagine,” said IRS representative Christina Coleman. “I often say anything you can conceive, you can achieve at IRS.”

Erica Parker, an FBI representative said, “We do handle all federal crimes, so we have to have people with degrees in all ar-eas. There are very few that we don’t have a position for. Almost every degree you can

think of, we have something for you in the FBI. Anything from entry level posi-tions to clerical positions to management positions, specialty positions, IT, account-ing [and] IT is big right now. There’s just about anything you can imagine.”

Statistics from the United States De-partment of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the average number of government employees have declined from an estimated 23,000 in 2009 to less than 22,000 in 2012.

Department of Labor representative Katie Course said, “One of the [positions]

JSU Student Life hosts 59th Annual NASAP Conference

Speaker Ty Howard during his ‘Untie the Knots’ presentation at the opening session of the NASAP conference.

Special to The Flash

The Jackson State University Division of Student Life hosted the 59th Annual Conference of the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NA-SAP), Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, at the Jackson Marriott Hotel.

NASAP is a professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the area of Student Affairs.

Workshop presenters and speakers addressed the conference theme, “Trans-forming the Trends and Challenges of Higher Education through Student En-gagement, Learning and Success.” Noted speakers included: Dr. Charlie Nelms, Higher Education Leader and Educa-tional Consultant; Bette Worley, Presi-dent of National Student Exchange; Ty Howard, nationally recognized motiva-tional speaker and author; and Dr. Sha-ron Fisher Green, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at Southern University. Workshops will cover topics such as stu-dent leadership, hazing, advancing HIV prevention programs, veteran students, mentorship and mental wellness, student counseling and disability services, team-work, and how to recruit innovative stu-dent affairs professionals, civic engage-ment and outreach, etc.

“During this conference, through collaboration with fellow colleagues, we hope to explore answers to the challenges we all face as student affairs profession-

als. Sharing our successes and failures will help us to become better at what we are charged with doing: helping our stu-dents become productive and successful citizens,” said Dr. Marcus Chanay, Vice President for Student Life at JSU and conference chair.

The annual conference provides a forum for professional growth and de-velopment for all who are involved in or work with students in the student affairs profession, and is open to professionals in higher education in general and to the nation’s business industry. Under-graduate and graduate students and stu-dent leaders from member schools are also welcome.

The conference also provided op-portunities to: (a) foster team building and sharing of knowledge, skills and abilities between those holding admin-istrative positions in Student Affairs; (b) create a network among student affairs administrators at diverse colleges with emphasis on the administrative chal-lenges faced in such settings; and (c) provide opportunities to hear various administrative challenges and a range of successful strategies currently being implemented.

NASAP was founded in 1954. With a varied membership spanning across academic, administrative, corporate, and student affairs boundaries, the or-ganization offers a variety of resources, and experiences.

that’s open is an administrative support specialist and you must be fluent in Ameri-can sign language. That is a requirement. You know why? That is a need! If you are bilingual there is a need for you in the fed-eral government.”

Becoming a potential candidate how-ever is a very difficult task. The panelists informed students that it would help them to create an account on usajobs.gov, which according to the website is the U.S. Govern-ment’s official system/program for federal jobs and employment information.” “Just to be perfectly clear,” said Shayne

Brooks of the Bureau of Land Manage-ment. “There is no other way to get a government job except through usajobs.gov. That is it.”

Brooks told students to do their homework when researching for gov-ernment jobs. “Nearly every office in the government has a website now, so they’ll have Facebook pages, twitter accounts, everyone is going into social media now. Learn what’s going on in that office,” said Brooks.

“I thought the event was very in-formative. Everyone on the panel was professional and they relayed to us ev-erything we needed to know. If we had any questions, they answered them,” said Andrew Rainey, a senior sociology major from Richmond, Va. “They chan-neled us through the proper behaviors, the skills, and attitudes. Not only does the degree matter, but our direction in life and the things we want to do.”

Chelsea Turner, a sophomore mar-keting major from Jackson, Miss., said, “I felt that this informational session was very beneficial, especially for young students such as myself trying to break into the federal government industry through internships, and offered me great tips on interview skills and how to be more marketable.”

For more information on govern-ment jobs or to be notified of any hir-ings, contact Career Services 601-979-2477.

- February 7, 2013The Blue & White FlashVariety

Taylor BemberyVariety Editor

When people think of the show “Love & Hip Hop,” the first thing that often comes to mind is the drama, the cat fights, and backstabbing. But don’t get it twisted; cast members Rashidah Ali, Winter Ramos, and Lore’l have a similar mind-set – building their brand on and off the camera.

Rashidah, Winter, and Lore’l all were intro-duced to the third season of “Love & Hip Hop” through executive producer Mona Scott-Young. Lore’l, a Brooklyn born, upcoming rap artist, said she was apprehensive at first to join the show.

“The show doesn’t have the best represen-tation for artists but after I thought about it, I thought it would be a real good platform for my

hip-hop just as much as any of the other girls,” said Winter.

Despite the drama that we may see on the show, the three cast members seem to be focused on business. Lore’l recently dropped a visual for her song ‘Black and Gold’ via World Star Hip Hop and is promoting her mixtape, “Leading Lady” and her label: OTL.

“I was absolutely focused on building my brand. The drama definitely came and it was something I could see being a factor but I was too focused on getting myself out there. My music: “Leading Lady,” my Label: OTL; all that drama and other stuff was just going to pass. I was more focused with making money than drama,” said Lore’l.

Rashidah has several business ventures. She has worked with big names like Shaunie O’Neal, Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Wendy Williams, Diddy and Cassie. From her company 5 Ap-proved, to her online ‘get the look for less’ themed shoe store: encoreshoetique.com, and her t-shirt line Loyalty Over Everything, which will be launched on future episodes.

“You have to stay grounded and know what your ultimate goal is. But I was definitely pre-pared for the drama because that’s the way that I operate in life: hope for the best and expect the worse, nothing they have done has ever shocked me,” said Rashidah.

Winter has a book coming out April 2 en-titled “Game Over” and has a clothing store that’s opening up in Pittsburgh, Pa. in the middle of March. She has made it clear that she doesn’t have

“Love & Hip Hop” cast members put business before “BS”

music and I decided to go ahead and go forward with it,” said Lore’l.

Rashidah, a celebrity shoe connoisseur bet-ter known as the “Blinged out Bombshell,” and Winter, a veteran in the hip-hop industry, are no strangers to being affiliated with the show “Love & Hip Hop.”

Winter has a close relationship with Emily Bustamante and made an appearance on the first season of “Love & Hip Hop.” She thought that joining the show would give her the opportunity to give her testimony about the hard work, the headaches, and heartaches that come along with being in the industry.

“I felt like why not? I had something to talk about, I wasn’t in a relationship with anybody at the time or with anyone in the industry but I love

any drama but said she would like for women to unite in the hip-hop industry.

If you are a viewer of the show, “Love & Hip Hop” might not seem too much of a girls club but some of the cast members are actually close off the camera.

Lore’l, who is new to the show, has a close relationship with Yandy Smith.

“I’m cool with Yandy the most, out of ev-eryone. She’s good because she’s a good mentor because she’s already been on the show and has managed artists so I can always get two different sides of advice from her,” said Lore’l.

Rashidah said that she hasn’t really gotten close with too many people on the show but she has gained a new friendship with Olivia.

“Off film, I would say that I’m not close with anyone that I’m not showing a relationship with on the show. For instance, I like Olivia a lot, I just met her last week and we had a great con-nection. She was really down to earth and super cool. We text each other and things like that but we haven’t had a slumber party or anything,” said Rashidah

Winter is close with most of the cast mem-bers. She has been friends with some for quite a few years.

“Tahiry and I are cool. I’m friends with Raqi. Consequence and I have been friends for over 15 years and that’s how I met Jen,” said Winter. “Yandy and I use to hang out in college but I would say that I’m closest with Tahiry.”

To watch the cast of “Love & Hip Hop”, tune into VH1 on Mondays at 7 p.m.

Crystal KillingsworthStaff Writer

It seems that Black Entertain-ment Television’s claim that ‘nobody’s got you like BET’ may be true” with the debut of their two new sitcoms, “The Real Husbands of Hollywood (RHOH)” and “Second Generation Wayans (SGW).”

The two highly anticipated shows premiered last week and did not dis-appoint. The heavily scripted shows skyrocketed up cable network in view-ership polls. Though there was much skepticism regarding the new shows due to the networks unpredictable past of scripted shows, the two new sitcoms completely threw out that no-tion when they beat out their competi-tion in network ratings.

“The Real Husbands of Holly-wood” premiere show starring Kevin Hart, Nick Cannon, Boris Kodjoe, Robin Thicke, Dwayne Martin, and J.B. Smoove, snagged the top spot on the cable’s viewership in the 10 p.m. hour on Tuesday. The ‘realest fakest’ reality show is based on the lives of superstar men living in Hollywood. The show adds a humorous twist as it mocks reality shows such as “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Funnyman Kevin Hart, who spearheads the show, gives the show extra humor with gos-sip, wild parties, heated arguments, and classic reality show backstabbing.

According to The Hollywood Re-porter, the sitcom pulled 4.1 million viewers and butchered their competi-

trademark last name. The Wayans en-list the help of friend/business partner George, and office assistant, Tatyanna to help them along the road to star-dom in Hollywood in their efforts to live up to the legacies of their famous family members.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the SGW’s 10:30 p.m. episode pulled 3.5 million viewers and a 1.7 rating 18-49 that brought in T Its 11:30 p.m. encore raked in an additional 1.4 million and a 0.6 adults rating.

Jackson State University students expressed different opinions about the two shows.

Thelma Kimble, a junior psychol-ogy major said that the show was very entertaining.

“It had corny moments, but I still thought it was funny,” said Kimble.

Dominique Triplett, a junior Eng-lish major from Jackson, Miss. said the show was not very good.

“The Real Husbands was really corny, I didn’t even bother to watch the Second Generation Wayans,” said Triplett.

Shelby Alfred, a senior physics major from Houston, Texas said that she saw the previews of the shows and decided to not watch either show.

“I’m not really into that kind of thing, so I didn’t watch it,” said Alfred.

Although it is too early to deter-mine if both shows will continue to attract the attention of viewers and remain at the top, the ratings so far show that for now, “nobody’s got you like BET.”

Ratings prove that BET’s new programming ‘Gets Us’

tion in the 18-49 demographics per-centile with 2.1 million viewers. The show’s encore that aired at 11 p.m. also did well, bringing in 2.3 million view-ers. The RHOH has been named the No. 1 new cable sitcom of the season in viewers and demographics and the third best launch after “The Game” and the premiere of “Let’s Stay To-gether.”

Coming in at number two on the cable network was “Second Genera-tion Wayans,” starring Damien Dante Wayans, Craig Wayans, Tatyanna Ali, and George O. Gore II. The comedy details the lives of Damien and Craig Wayans, who try to make a life for themselves without the help of their

Federal agency representatives give employment tips


JSU column published in The Clarion-Ledger regarding Madison branchEric StringfellowJSU Media Relations

If your mama tells you it’s go-ing to rain, call the weather ser-vice.

That’s one of the first concepts we discuss in my Basic News-writing class, the idea being that anything and everything a news source says must be verified.

Verification and fairness must be a part of any journalist’s and journalistic organization’s DNA.

This is why the media coverage about Jackson State University’s pending move into Madison and Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler’s re-action have been so disappointing and, frankly, alarming.

I’ve known the mayor for near-ly 30 years and I am a fan of how she’s developed her city. The list of people and organizations she’s battled along the way is lengthy and diverse.

In this case, some of the may-or’s comments have been mislead-ing while others are simply not true. Sadly, The Clarion-Ledger and other media outlets have be-come complicit in the distortions.

A Jan. 22 Clarion-Ledger story about JSU’s planned satellite cam-pus cites the university’s 10 per-

cent non-black enrollment goal as mandated by the Ayers settlement, saying the move was based in part on this fact.

What the story failed to point out was that the university’s non-black enrollment is currently 9.6 percent. It also failed to tell read-ers that Madison County is 38 percent African American. The university plans to target students, regardless of race or anything else.

In a Jan. 24 post about But-ler’s State of the City Address, the mayor is quoted as saying she was

surprised by JSU’s plan to open a Madison campus, that she had not been told an application had been filed with IHL or a lease had been signed.

That’s inaccurate. She was told of the university’s plan in a Jan. 10 meeting with JSU President Carolyn Meyers, Vice President of Institutional Advancement David Hoard and myself.

The mayor and the president appeared to bond, so much so that Hoard joked that he and I should leave. Butler was invited to chair or at least serve on an advisory board for JSU’s proposed insti-tute of government, which will be housed inside our downtown Jackson campus.

The president sent the mayor flowers the day following the meeting.

Did we tell her that this was on the College Board agenda for ap-proval next week? No, but we were clear about our plans and our pro-posed Madison address.

The mayor has consistently said the lease was signed prior to our meeting. The truth is the lease was not signed until Jan. 29. The newspaper failed to get a reaction from JSU or verify the mayor’s comments about the lease. That’s

irresponsible journalism and it’s unfair.

Also unfair is the suggestion JSU waited until the 11th hour to pay Butler a courtesy visit. I volun-teered to arrange the meeting, and I started working on this task the second week of December. I even made two visits to Madison City Hall to get on Butler’s schedule in addition to several telephone calls. Jan. 10 was the earliest the mayor was available to meet with us.

Then there was the Jan. 30 edi-torial, which accuses the JSU ad-ministration of not doing exactly what it did.

The newspaper said JSU should have approached city lead-ers before petitioning the College Board and it implied that we were unprofessional in not doing so.

We met with Mayor Butler be-fore the College Board approved our request for the Madison campus and before the university signed the lease. Had the mayor expressed concerns, our president was prepared to postpone our College Board presentation and address Butler’s issues.

Butler did not raise any objec-tions in the Jan. 10 meeting. And rather than communicating her concerns privately, she chose to

speak publicly to the newspaper and two local TV stations without a word to the university.

Before signing the lease, we also had discussions with the Board of Supervisors President Gerald Steen, District 4 Super-visor Karl Banks and John Bell Crosby, whose district includes the JSU Madison campus. We had conversations with state Rep. Rita Martinson and state Sen. Will Longwitz, who reached out to President Meyers and told me he posted welcoming comments on Facebook.

The Madison County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a resolution on Monday welcom-ing JSU to Madison. The Madi-son County Business League and the Madison County Economic Development Authority have reached out, telling us how ex-cited they are about having us in the county. We have been offered two dates for President Meyers to share our plans with the Madison-Ridgeland Rotary Club.

No one can honestly suggest that we haven’t shared our plans with public officials in Madison County. Butler is the only city

Madison Branch, Cont. on pg.6

Eric Stringfellow


account of the Rufus Buck gang, who in the summer of 1985 went on a spree of killings, robberies, and rapes. Th e gang of fi ve, led by 18 year old Rufus Buck, was mixed with Na-tive-Americans, African-Americans, and oth-ers. Buck hoped the uprisings would create a disturbance in Oklahoma, eventually depow-ering the White majority. Th e movie “Django Unchained” is loosely based on the novel.

C. Leigh McInnis, professor in the English and Modern Language Department at JSU posed questions to the audience about the big-ger message.

“He’s [Django] not just about shoot’em up bang-bang, but instead a true historical under-standing of what Django is about,” said McIn-nins.

Carl Mitchell, a JSU graduate student ma-joring in urban higher education administra-tion from Yazoo, Miss. believes it is essential for the younger generation to become edu-cated about their history.

“History is like a cause and eff ect. Th ose that understand the past can understand the future. We must have a basic knowledge of ourselves,” said Mitchell. “If someone guides you, research it. Add it to your philosophy to help you survive. Everyone has a role.”

Tyra Gowdy, a junior English major from Ponca City, Okla. enjoyed the discussion of the novel.

“I liked how they talked about the mind-set of individuals. Th ey allowed the students to become involved in the discussion,” said Gowdy.

Th e Civil Rights Movement was also a topic of review. Hilliard Lackey, associate pro-fessor in the Jake Ayers Institute asked the au-dience, “What is Civil Rights?” He took a look down the road of American history to discover who was included in the “all” as stated in the last line of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Former JSU professor and community leader, Ivory Phillips provided facts about Civil Rights occurrences on and around the campus of Jackson State University in the years of his tenure as a student from 1960-1963. From his experiences, he urged students to strive for a free college, a free student body, and a bond between the campus and the community.

Treyvon Wilson, a junior entrepreneur-ship major from Vicksburg, Miss. appreciated and respected the accounts of historical mo-ments.

“Th ey didn’t have many opportunities and had to go to other places in the community to talk about issues. We need to learn more about their experiences because we have more op-tions to discuss issues,” said Wilson.

Read-InContinued from pg.1

Some of the students involved enjoy the opportunity to give back to the community by fi ling taxes for the JSU student body and sur-rounding areas in the metro area.

Accounting Society members believe par-ticipation in the VITA program is benefi cial to both students and the community.

“As a tax preparer through VITA, I feel this is an important way to service the community and surrounding areas in an area that is vital to all,” said Terica Banks, a senior accounting ma-jor from Atlanta, Ga. and the Accounting Soci-ety President.

Kontessa Gillian-Rice, a senior accounting major from Jackson, Miss., said: “Being a part of the Accounting Society has been a great ex-perience because it has given me a chance to be a VITA volunteer. It is an awesome way to give back to the community and all surrounding ar-eas and it’s free.”

Amanda Smith, a senior accounting major from Jackson, Miss., said: “Giving back to the community through VITA is a heart-warming, satisfying experience. Kudos to all who partici-pate.”

Usually, aft er a client fi les their taxes they receive their refund in 7-10 days if they have di-rect deposit. Otherwise, refunds are mailed in 4-6 weeks aft er fi ling. Last year, the JSU VITA program estimates to have fi led 169 tax returns.

Th is may be the last time the Accounting Society will be able to fi le taxes for JSU students due to the uncertain grants next year.

“Right now, we’re not sure if the tax prepara-tions will be available next year. We get grants to fund the program that we use to train the students. If the grant is off ered next year, then yes we will off er tax preparations,” said McWil-liams.

Th e times for the VITA Site Operations are on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the College of Business in room 210. Th e tax preparations will end on March 23, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the JSU Student Center on the 1st fl oor. Th e Accounting Society will also travel to Vicks-burg, Miss. to fi le taxes at King Solomon Baptist Church.

For more information on tax fi ling, call McWilliams at (601) 979-2699 or email him at [email protected]

Free Tax HelpContinued from pg.1

leader who has voiced opposition to the move.

Probably the most curious element of the editorial deals with competition, that Butler is right to protect an existing institu-tion the city recruited to the area.

Th at notion is un-American. Isn’t one of the arguments for charter schools that competition will raise the bar? Shouldn’t it be the same in higher education?

Butler would never give McDonald’s ex-clusivity in Madison’s fast-food market, as one blogger pointed out in another publica-tion. She shouldn’t attempt to manipulate as it relates to Tulane and JSU.

Not all of Th e Clarion-Ledger’s cover-age has been unbalanced. In an article pub-lished Feb. 1, reporter Dustin Barnes wrote about Canton Mayor William Truly’s desire to have the JSU campus in his city. Barnes reached out to me for comment, and my re-sponse was printed in context.

One of the things that President Mey-

ers preaches is accountability. We embrace that. We understand that we are account-able to the taxpayers for how we spend tax dollars.

Th is controversy could have been avoided:

1) Had Mayor Butler expressed her con-cerns to President Meyers before her State of the City speech.

2) Had the newspaper verifi ed Butler’s comments or given JSU a chance to re-spond before posting a story.

3) Had the TV stations, including one whose mantra is “Finding out Who’s Ac-countable,” attempted to verify the facts and be fair and balanced before broadcast-ing their initial reports.

Newspapers, as well as the news media in general, have an awesome responsibility in how they present information. At JSU, all we ask for is fairness, balance and consis-tent calls to the weather service or whom-ever to determine whether assertions are indeed facts.

� is column was submitted to � e Clarion-Ledger in response to media cov-erage about JSU’s Madison campus.

Madison BranchContinued from pg.6

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- February 7, 2013The Blue & White Flash Sports

JSU Athletic Media Relations

The Jackson State men’s basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped Monday night. The Tigers fell 78-58 in Southwestern Athletic Confer-ence action.

With the loss, JSU fell to a 5-15, 4-7 record. Southern improved to a 16-7, 10-1 record. The Jaguars opened the game with hot shooting. Derick Beltran scored the first 11 points of the game, en route to a game-high 35 point, 7 re-bound effort. Southern never trailed in the game and eventually built a 38-26 halftime lead. The Tigers were out-scored 40-32 in the second half.

Malcolm Miller was SU’s other dou-ble-digit scorer, as he finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Stubbs and Dundrecous Nelson came off the bench to lead the Tigers in scoring. Stubbs fin-ished with 11 points and Nelson had 10.

Jackson State returns to action Sat-urday, Feb. 9 when the Tigers host Texas Southern at 3:00 p.m. at the Lee E. Wil-

Southern University snaps JSU Tigers win streakliams Athletics and Assembly Center.

The Jackson State women’s basket-ball team had its four game winning streak snapped by the Southern Uni-versity Lady Jaguars Monday night in Southwestern Athletic Conference ac-tion.

With the loss JSU falls to an 8-12, 5-6 record, while SU improves to an 11-11, 10-1 record.

Ekwara Ndongo led all scorers with 18 points on 8-13 shooting from the floor. Ayanna Hardy-Fuller and Domi-nique Brothern each scored 10 points.

Kendra Coleman led Southern with 15 points. Adrian Sanders followed with 12 points and four rebounds and Lechell Rush recorded a double-dou-ble, as she finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The game was tied 26-26 at half-time.

Jackson State returns to action Sat-urday, Feb. 9 when the Lady Tigers host Texas Southern at 3:00 pm at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assem-bly Center.JSU basketball player waiting for pass from teammate.

Photo: JSU Athletic Media Relations

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Documents

volunteer income tax

free tax preparation

th e event

state income tax returns

th e goal

th ird

jsu community

africanamerican writer