NUBIAN MESSAGETHE SENTINEL OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT NC STATE UNIVERSITY

RALEIGH, NC n VOL. X, ISSUE 2 n THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM n AUGUST 22nd, 2012

Yuko Taylor Receptionln 2

UNC Board of Governers Debate Proposed Financial Aid Cap

McNeil continued on pg. 3

Sparkle Review n 8

Jazsalyn McNeil Designs to be Sold at Belk

Beginning March 2013, the designs of N.C. State student Jazsalyn, McNeil will be sold in the top 41 Belk stores

and also on the department store’s website. For McNeil, a junior majoring in Fashion and Textile Management, the reality of the situation still hasn’t sunk in, “ It won’t hit me until I walk into Belk and see my name on the clothes hang tag.”

Across the nation, 170 design entrants com-peted in the Belk Southern Designer Show-case for the chance to have their design col-lections sold in Belk stores and on Belk.com. McNeil, 20, credits her “ability to use color and create fabric,” a skill she learned from the N.C. State textile department, for giving her the extra “edge” that she needed.

Persuaded to enter the competition by the adamant urging of her brand-marketing pro-fessor, McNeil entered the competition with a

“can’t stop, won’t stop” mentality.

As with any major achievement, McNeil’s success in the Belk Southern Designer Show-case required a great deal of sacrifice, hard-work and commitment. While she often ate only one meal a day and stayed awake until 2a.m. on a regular basis, McNeil managed to successfully balance school, a full time 40-hour internship with Ralph Lauren in Greens-boro, create six garments for the competition, and prepare for exams.

A native of Raleigh, N.C. McNeil’s designs also won first place at the 2012 N.C. State Fashion Week, an experience that she feels helped prepared her for the Southern Designer Showcase. Both Belk and Ralph Lauren were present at N.C. State’s 2012 Fashion Week, predisposing both to her designs prior to her entering the showcase. “N.C. State Fashion Week opens so many doors for students in the

Are You in the “haute” seat?n 5

Tom Ross, President of the University of North Carolina proposed an amended version of the University’s policy for

setting aside need-based financial aid at the Au-gust 9, University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ meeting.

Ross’ plan, if approved by the board, would re-quire UNC campuses to set aside no more than 25 percent of the funds they incur from increased tuition for disbursement of financial aid to needy students. Under stipulations of the current policy, UNC campuses are required to set aside a mini-mum of 25 percent of revenue generated from tuition increases for need-based financial aid.

Board members in favor of the proposed cap,

chiefly its republican members, argue that the current policy places a “hidden tax” on middle and higher-income students that are receiving little-to-no financial aid. They also argue that the current policy is not “transparent” enough. Ross defended his proposal saying, “ If this isn’t right, vote it down, and I’ll be fine.”

Franklin McCain, who has served on the UNC Board of Governors since 2009, opposes the ap-proval of the proposed cap. McCain, who was also a member of the Greensboro Four that staged the famous sit-in at the Woolworth coun-ter, spoke out against the proposed policy say-ing, “When we reduce the funds, you know who gets squeezed out of the educational equation. You already know that. I think rather than trying to be exclusive, we ought to be looking for ways to keep these folk in the system.”

Krista Domnick, Director of the N.C. State Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid, reported that as of July 2012, 68 percent of en-rolled undergraduate degree seeking N.C. State students had applied for financial aid for the 2011-2012 academic year. 52 percent of enrolled undergraduate degree seeking students had dem-onstrated financial need and of that 52 percent, approximately 12.5 percent were African Ameri-can.

Regarding the effects the approval of this poli-cy would have on N.C. State students, Domnick said, “Traditionally, N.C. State has been gener-ous in providing support to needy students by keeping tuition low and allocating a portion of tuition receipts to need-based financial aid pur-poses. On occasion, N.C. State has allocated more than 25 percent to this purpose. A 25 per-cent maximum cap would prohibit N.C. State

KierraLeggett|Editor-in-Chief

Governors continued on pg. 7

TorishaDoizer|StaffWriterKierraLeggett|Editor-in-Chief

Photograph courtesy of: Shako OTEKADesigner/ Model: Jazsalyn McNeil

2 |August 22nd, 2012 nubiAn messAge

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Julius Peppers’ Transcript Scandal

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Former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football player, Julius Peppers, is the latest Tar-Heel to become involved in the University’s academic scandal after a transcript with his name was found on the UNC Chapel Hill website. The star athlete later confirmed that it was his.

Recent investigations have revealed that many UNC-CH athletes elected to take Afro-American Studies courses as a means to make passing gradesa and in order to sustain their eligibility to participate in sports. Investigations commenced late in 2007, when it surfaced that fraudulence and intentional neglect was occurring in these Afro-American Studies classes.

Peppers’ transcript indicates that many of his decisive grades, which allowed him to continue athletics came from courses in Afro-American Studies. Based on UNC’s minimum requirement, a player is not allowed to make below a 1.9 GPA. Peppers ended his spring semester with a 1.82 GPA, raising questions about his eligibility to play football during the 2001 season.

In a statement released by Peppers’ on Saturday, to the Chicago Tribune, the defensive end stated, “I can assure everyone that there is no academic fraud as it relates to my college transcript. I took every course with qualified members of the UNC faculty and I earned every grade whether it was good or bad.”

With pepper’s confirmation of the authenticity of his transcript, there is now reason to believe the University’s history of academic fraud dates back even further, possibly to 2001.

UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp has appointed a team to investigate allegations of academic integrity taking place within the Department of Afro-American Studies prior to 2007.

Matthew Johnson | Staff Writer

A reception for Yuko Taylor, the artist who’s artwork is on display in the AACC Gallery will take place today at the annual AACC Haram-bee celebration from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 pm. Taylor’s exhibit, “Majesty Incognito: East Meets West,” has been on display in the AACC Gal-lery since August 1, and will remain on display until August 31.

Born in Japan, Taylor’s artwork is a harmonious marriage of Japa-nese painting techniques and Southern Antebellum topics. Taylor’s husband, Thomas Taylor and his jazz band, the Thomas Taylor Trio will also be featured at today’s event.

Reception to be Held in Honor of Yuko Taylor KierraLeggett|Editor-in-Chief

Yuko Taylor

nubiAn messAge August 22nd, 2012| 3News

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program,” said McNeil.

For the competition, McNeil created her own fabrics but Belgium de-signer, Diane Von Furstenberg, also donated some fabrics to her.

McNeil, who walked this past spring in Charleston Fashion Week, de-scribes herself as, “a model who creates art.” Unable to name one—mod-eling or design—her first love, McNeil views both as part of a collective whole. “They go hand in hand. It’s like the canvas, paint and paintbrush. It all creates a beautiful masterpiece together.”

From a young age, McNeil has always had an interest in art and fashion. While she garners much of her design inspiration from the South—she thinks southerners are “more relaxed about life,”— perhaps her biggest inspiration however, is her mother.

McNeil believes she inherited her sense of creativity from her mother.

Many of her childhood memories are of her mother making wind chimes from clay, crocheting and building birdhouses. It is also to her mother that McNeil turns to when she is in need of conformation.

McNeil admits that her mother was “ a little skeptical” when she first choose Fashion and Textile Management as her major, especially with the state of the economy, but has since come to realize that McNeil, made the right decision.

McNeil’s mother grew up making her own clothes, often turning curtains into pants. While she wanted to pursue a career in fashion, due to a lack of support she instead began a career in the science field.

Along with her creativity McNeil has also inherited from her mother a sense of humility. A piece of her mother’s advice that she lives by is, “ The blessings that you are given are for you to bless someone else. Just as easily as blessings can be given to you, they can be taken away.”

McNeil conintued from page 1

Photograph courtesy of: Shako OTEKA Designer/ Model: Jazsalyn McNeil

4 |August 22nd, 2012 nubiAn messAgePerspectives

I Am Not My Hair, when India Arie released this breakthrough song, many African American women saw it as affirmation that they were so much more than their outward appearances. It was a revelation for many African American women, providing closure to the hair stigma. For me, this song emanates pride, and I find it pertinent to the Gabby Douglas hair debate. It is my duty to ad-dress the comments, verbal and/or tweeted, made by many people in response to Gabby Douglas and her hair. I, like many never thought that this hair debacle would blow up the way it did. Nevertheless, Twitter, being the powerful social network that it is, instantly gave the subject life.

Gabby Douglas is an inspiring young woman. At sixteen years old, she has conquered feats that we could never even imagine of conquer-ing. She has made history as the first African American female to win the all-around Olympic gold in Gymnastics. She proudly represented America with her humility and grace. There is no doubt, that Gabby Douglas is amazing. So, before you even decide to point fingers as to why her hair is this way or that way, look beyond that and acknowledge what she did.

Surely you must know that it is unreasonable to

expect a gymnast to have perfect hair when she is constantly flipping and sweating. It was clear that every gymnast participating in this year’s Olympic games had to wear their hair pulled back completely out of their face. In order to maintain professionalism, Gabby had to use gel, clips, and a hair tie. This is a customary practice for her, in preparation for events and competitions.

So, I have to ask, what is the real issue here? Gabby Douglas does not have to fit into any-one else’s standards and yet many people made her feel that way. I was astounded when I read the comments. The situation only worsened when I saw it as a hot topic in Yahoo News; my heart literally sank! Instead of her being in the number one news spot for her achieve-ments, people were more concerned with cri-tiquing her hair Douglas’ biggest critics were mostly African American female twitter users.

How could this frivolous topic go hand-in-hand when discussing her successes and accomplish-ments? She was conquering milestones, making huge leaps for America, and inspiring people around the world. I was ashamed that people would even have the audacity to comment on

something as juvenile as what her hair looks like or what she is doing with her hair. Hiding be-hind technology has truly desensitized people.

As disappointed as I was with the Twit-ter community, I realize that people are al-ways going to have something negative to say, as there is no pleasing everyone. How-ever, instead of constantly dwelling on igno-rance and nonsense, you should be uplifting the good and giving credit where credit is due.

At the end of the day, while Gabby is liv-ing the sweet life with her $90 million en-dorsement deal, it is only necessary for the critics to know that Golden Gabby Douglas, is, without a doubt, not her hair.

I Am Not My HairThe Gabby Douglas Hair Debate

Chelsea Gardner | Managing Editor

Going to college can be a very excit-ing time for freshmen students. Upon arriv-ing at their new school, they will meet new people, make new memories and learn new ways of life, which will force them to also

learn how to manage, maintain, and mature.

On the brink of all these new experiences, many freshmen will have to make a major de-cision, regarding whether or not to embrace all these new experiences single, or in a rela-tionship. For those who are in a relationship, this topic of conversation can’t be avoided.

Amir Lowery, a freshman majoring in man-agement begin his college career with a clean slate, knowing that he “would most likely fall into the situation of flirting,” he therefore de-cided to remain single. For some couples however, breaking-up is just not an option.

One source, who chose to remain anonymous said, “I am a freshman and my boyfriend and I decided to stay together even though he is a year older than me and went to ECU. We worked it through even though we were not close. Now that I am at State, we will be further away, but after talking about it we thought, why not try as long as we keep our communication open?”

Truthfully, there is no right or wrong way to go into college it just depends on your re-lationship. Some people want to grow and flourish on their own, while others may en-joy having someone there who is familiar

to go through these new experiences with.

A lot of things must be taken into consid-eration before actually deciding to stay to-gether or choosing to be apart. How long has the couple been together? Will distance be an issue? These are all things to consider.

Marie Foh, a sophomore majoring in Fash-ion Textiles offered this advice, “Try to stick it [the relationship] through, but if it’s not working, go your separate ways.”

Similarly to the sentiments expressed by Foh, Chisom Anen a junior majoring in Human Bi-ology had this to say, “Keep the relationship you’re in if you know that you’re colleges are go-ing to be close together to avoid complication.”

Ultimately, since there is no right or wrong way to go about being in a relationship, just remem-

ber that college is a chance to be whoever you want to be, learn whatever you want to learn, and in the end go where ever you want to go. Sometimes relationship can hurt the process, while in others it can help—again it all depends on the couple.

Diamond continued on page 7

Destiny Diamond | Staff Writer

Destiny Diamond’s Relationship AdviceWhat”s Love got to do with it ?

nubiAn messAge August 22nd, 2012| 5Perspectives

Christopher Lynn | Campus Style Correspondent

The fashion world can be a very judgmental place, and unfortunately, so can I. There is a very fine line between stylish and tacky, bring-ing the need for this section. But before I delve into the subject at hand, I must introduce myself.

I, Christopher Lynn, am a junior at North Carolina State University majoring in Fashion Textile Management, with a concentration in

Brand Development. Growing up, I was al-ways one of the more fashionable kids on the playground, and that progressed as I got older. I used to bask in the labels and compliments, but as I grew up, I matured and learned to shy away from the attention. Now, as a 20-year-old col-lege student, I take a more leisurely and natural approach to fashion. There are very few things that collectively peeve me, but when it comes to fashion, those same peeves become numerous.

Fashion is a very tricky arena. What is in style now may not be tomorrow. Two basic prin-ciples can be fine separately, but when meshed together can be horrendous. If I see someone breaking the rules on campus, I take offense, shake my head, and then laugh at their “effort.”

There are three major faux pas I see among my peers. With the start of another school year, there is one thing I always see: students overdressed the first week of class. I mean, sure you want to make a good impression, but I should not see you wear-ing your club dress and heels at 8:30 a.m. We are a student body, not students at Bodi night club.

Secondly, leopard print is in, lace accents are in, but wearing leopard print bottoms and a lace top is not the business. Print on print is overkill. Out-fits tend to have “statement pieces,” which is the focal point. They tend to be the most prominent, dynamic, and striking element of your ensem-ble. However, wearing more than one statement piece leaves me with more than one question.

Last, but certainly not least, is the decision to wear Jordans too soon. The Fire Red IVs dropped August 4th, there is no way I should see them on your feet a week later. Along with wearing your shoes too soon, know the occa-sion before you get dressed. I should not have seen that many icy soles on a grassy field at the Back to School Jam. This goes into a big-ger problem with knowing the weather before getting dressed. Apparently, Jordan XIs seem to be the galoshes of N.C. State’s campus.

If any these are applicable to you, I am sorry to put you in the Haute Seat.

The Haute Seat

Golden Ancestry

The United States, once again, has dominated in the athletic world. Some people, including Michael Johnson a runner that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, believe black athletes have something to do with it.

In the aftermath of this year’s London Olympic Games, viewers spent hours lounging in their pajamas, watching anxiously as the World’s great-est athletes sprinted, flipped and alley-ooped their way to gold. With an impressive 104 medals counted, the United States, especially African-American Olympians, get to walk away with bragging rights. Despite this country’s tense history regarding race relations, in the opinions of some, the contributions of black athletes are essential to the United States’ ability to achieve a superior amount of medals each Olympics.

According to the United States Census Bureau, African Americans comprise less than 20% of U.S. population. However, in this year’s Olympic Games, black athletes were directly responsible for 38 of the 104 medals won. That’s approximately 40%. If black athletes were re-moved from this equation, the United States would only have walked away with 66 medals, placing the country behind rivals China and Russia.

Without the contribution of black athletes, the U.S. would have suf-fered in one of its most successful areas- track and field. Black-Americans were a force to be reckoned with. According to Johnson, this is due to his belief that “Descendants of West African slaves have a ‘superior athletic gene’ that gives black American and Caribbean athletes an advantage.”

In his documentary “Survival of the Fastest,” Johnson, delves into the scientific investigation that “selective breeding by slave owners and appalling conditions meant that only the strongest slaves endured, cre-ating a group predisposed to record-breaking athletic performance.”

As part of a documentary, Johnson took a DNA test to confirm his

West African descent. He then remarked, “Slavery has benefited de-scendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us.” Johnson’s documentary can be found on the BBC and CNN websites.

The existence of a “superior athletic gene” remains to be seen, but a fact that is clear, especially in the wake of the London Games. Despite the checkered past of black people, undeniably we have a golden ancestry.

Deerricka Green| Staff Writer

Christopher Lynn’s Guide to Style

The role of black athletes at this years’ Olympics

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6 |August 22nd, 2012 nubiAn messAge

D’Andra Troy | Campus Style Correspondent

Alpha: being the most prominent, talented, or aggressive person in a group. What better word than alpha to describe the weekly most fashionable wolf in the N.C. State Wolf pack? Alpha Corner will be the space designated to recognize the person that displays the most sense of fashion on campus. Because fash-ion sense is highly subjective, let us first ad-dress what my definition of a fashion sense is.

Fashion is not an opportunity for one to perfect their ability to “monkey see, monkey do” or in our case “wolf see, wolf do.” Someone with a fashion sense does not mimic what he or she sees. They utilize the realm of fashion as a way in which they can describe and express themselves. They de-velop a sense of self that sets them apart and most importantly, they dress their behinds off. In other words, they are the alpha, hence Alpha Corner.

Now, with that out of the way, allow me to in-

troduce myself. I am D’Andra Troy, a fresh-man majoring in psychology. What makes me an expert in fashion? I may not literally be an expert but I have a passion for fashion and it definitely takes one to know one. I can spot someone with that passion from a mile away.

Personally, I live by the strong belief that even a broke college student can look fashionable; uti-lize what you have. As an avid “thrifty shopper” I know that a five-dollar shopping spree can look like a hundred-dollar one. I do not believe the label makes the fashion rather the wearer of the labels, or lack there of does. That being said, you do not have to have on Louis V’s to be in the Al-pha Corner; however, if you rock them in a fash-ionable way what can I say, Alpha? I won’t dis-criminate based on costs, just based on fashion.

After this week this section will be equipped with a picture of a fellow wolf headlining as alpha. If you feel that that will be you then get ready because I will find you. Just make sure your fashion says that you are ready to lead the pack!

Alpha Corner

For the 2012 Black Student Board Back to School Jam, BSB President, Zuqorah Williamson pulled out all the stops. Williamson or-ganized a School Supply Drive in which orginizations participating in the Back to School Jam competed against one another to see which or-ganization could collect the most school supplies to be donated to area children. Peace Church walked away the winner of the competi-tion and with $50 worth of free pizza. Along with free food from Moe’s Southwestern Grill and lots of socializing, during this years’ Back to School Jam, there were performances from Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir, the Mu Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Knockout Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Eta Omicron Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

2012 Black Student Board Back to School Jam

Natalie Clainch | Photogragher

Lifestyle

nubiAn messAge August 22nd, 2012| 7

Kierra Leggett | Editor-in-Chief

N.C. State’s own Carizma Thomas per-formed on the All-Star Edi-tion of BET’s 106 and Park Wild Out Wednesday competition. Thomas, a se-nior majoring in Communi-cation- Media walked away from the com-petition having racked up more than one thou-sand votes.

When she took to the 106 and Park stage on August15, Thomas did so in an N.C. State red blazer and a sparkly gold bustier, performing her single “Just Go.”

In support of Thomas, friends and fans organized a viewing party on the campus of N.C. State in the lounge of Bragaw Hall. There they ate pizza and voted for Thomas with the 106 and Park interactive app.

Thomas, a 21-year-old native of Queens, N.Y. has performed once before on the

106 and Park stage, previously winning the Wild Out Wednesday competition. While Thomas has always had a love for music, she did not begin pursuing music as her passion until the eighth grade, when she took a trip to the record-ing studio with her brother.

Ironically enough, when the Caro-lina based rapper takes to the stage

her ‘carizma’ and personality instantly shine through. In regards to her music career, Thomas said, “I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I want to be one of the greats. I want to be a legend. I don’t want to be forgotten.”

Keep up with the Thomas’ latest musical accomplishments on twitter by following her at @carizmamusic.

Carizma Thomas: Wild Out Wednesday All-StarStaying in a relationship

because you are comfort-able isn’t always the best move and on the same to-ken leaving the relation-ship because of something that may look better on the surface isn’t always the best option either. So no matter what couples choose to do, focus on the love between the two and if it is worth it

and both people are strong enough to continue stay to-gether, if not, move on.

Most importantly, remem-ber, a relationship is work and it takes two. If there aren’t two people who are committed to making the relationship work and have open communication, it probably won’t.

Diamond conintued from page 4

Lifestyle

from providing additional resources to need based financial aid, even if N.C. State students and administrators identi-fied that as a priority for the campus. As support for need-based financial aid is reduced, students and parents often attempt to fill the gap with increased borrowing.”

Voting for the proposed policy will likely take place on September 14.

Governors conintued from page 1

Group Spotlight: Caribbean Students Association

Ashley Gaie President

What is the CSA? The Caribbean Students Association (CSA) is a social organization which strives to increase knowledge and enhance awareness of Caribbean societies and cultures at NCSU. CSA seeks to promote unity amongst all Caribbean students and all who share an interest in learning about Caribbean societies and culture, while

providing a supportive network for students of Caribbean heritage.

How Can I Get Involved? Students can get involved by coming out to any general body meeting Tuesday or CSA event. Membership is open to ALL NCSU students despite

your heritage! Sign up for our mailing list by emailing caribbean.ncsu@gmail.com.

Members of CSA

8 |August 22nd, 2012 nubiAn messAgeARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TheNubianMessage’sGuidetoWhat’sGoin’

OninArts&Entertainment

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5. Meek Mill ft. Drake- Amen

6. J.Cole ft. Missy Elliot- No-body’s Perfect

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week!

Many people were interest-ed to see the movie Spar-kle, because it is Whit-

ney Houston’s final performance on film, as well as rising young star Jordin Sparks’ first time on the silver screen. Needless to say, Sparkle hit theaters on August 17 with a bang.

A film about three sisters, the youngest sister, Sparkle, wants to become a music star in the Detroit area during the 1960’s. As one can imagine from the many other movies about this time, including the Temp-tations, Five Heartbeats and Cadillac

Records, Sparkle endures some serious trials as a young and in-nocent girl in the music business. Moviegoers can only hope for the best for this young artist who au-diences can’t help but fall in love with from the opening scene.

A positive aspect of this movie is that it produces awesome music. This was to be expected as it starred Whit-ney Houston, Jordin Sparks, and was about Motown music in the 1960s.

A negative aspect is the triteness of the movie. Quite frankly, it’s been done before and can be per-ceived as cheesy. When the trailer for the move was originally re-

leased, one immediately thought is this Dream Girls part 2? Another remake of the Jackson 5, or is this the beginning of What’s Love Got to Do With It (minus the relation-ship issue’s associated with that one.)? Yet, audiences were drawn to see it because of a deep love for the late and great Whitney Houston.

Also, audiences were drawn to see Sparkle based on the fact that that type of plot is an “oldie, but a goodie.” It can’t go wrong.

All in all, audiences will leave the theater having had a good laugh, a couple of cries and a song in their hearts. They may even pos-sibly wind up tweeting how much they miss Whitney and how they were hoping for a Bodyguard 2.

In the movie, Houston, plays a mother who refuses to let her daugh-

ters be chewed up and spit out by the music industry the way that she once was. Secretly, despite their moth-er’s wishes, the daughters sneak out and pursue their dreams of a music

career behind her back.

Stix, played by Derek Luke, dis-covers the sisters after hearing a song written by the talented Sparkle, who lacks the confidence to shine.

Without a doubt, Houston’s last performance on film is, as one would expect, exceptional from her acting to her solo of, “His eye is on the Sparrow.” Season six Ameri-can Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, also wows audiences, blossoming as a singer as well as an actress.

Overall, Sparkle is a movie that audiences don’t want to miss! So far, the movie has had moderate suc-cess landing the number five spot at the box offices its opening weekend.

Alexis Teasdell | Staff Writer

“All in all, audiences will leave the theater having had a good laugh, a couple of cries and a song in their hearts.”

Sparkle: Living up to its Luster ?

Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures