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Monday, January 27, 2014

HappyHoward’s “Happy” video goes viral.

p.2

CosbyBill Cosby is trying his hand at another family sitcom.

p.8

BarakaRemembering the legend-ary American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, and essays. p.11

INSIDE INDEX

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Vol. 98 No.3

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Howard’s “Happy”

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LIFE & STYLE................ p.8

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Photo by Imani DennisonScenes from the “Happy” music video and screening, Pictures include the director and cameramen, as well as students and faculty who assisted in production. The video has garnered national attention on YouTube and social media.

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THE HILLTOP | MONDAY, JANUARY, 27 2014

The Hilltop Newspaper

Glynn Hill Editor-in-Chief

Dominique Diggs Chief Managing Editor

Indigo SilvaMultimedia Editor

Emmy VictorCampus Editor

Keneisha DeasMetro EditorMaya Cade

Life & Style Editor Khari ArnoldSports Editor

Daniel WhiteOpinions Editor

Quantrel HedrickCopy Chief

Alexis GrantCopy Editor

Terranie SimsCopy Editor

Lindsey Ferguson Copy Editor

Tasia Hawkins Staff Writer

Jourdan HenryStaff Writer

Siniyah SmithStaff Writer

Erin Van Dunk Staff Writer

Shannen HillStaff Writer

Precious Osagie-EreseStaff Writer

Nile KendallStaff Writer

Allyson CarpenterStaff WriterSteven Hall

ColumnistMarc Rivers

Columnist

Rachel CumberbatchPhoto Editor

Disa RobbEditorial AssistantJasmine NealyEditorial Assistant

Katie DownsCartoonist

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Between the stress of school and other extracurricular activities it can be hard for the average col-lege student find time to be happy and stress free. To help aid this problem, senior Radio/TV and Film major Maia Miller (director/producer) and senior Radio/TV and Film major Todd Legette (edi-tor), came together to collaborate on and release a special “Happy” video. The video encourages How-ard students and the community to be happy despite the difficulties life may bring. Since its release on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 the video has received massive responses from the public in a short amount of time.

Two months ago, recording art-ist Pharrell Williams released a series of “Happy” videos in which the singer featured various indi-viduals dancing freely to the Oscar nominated song appropriately titled Happy. Originally intended for the Despicable Me 2 movie, the song gained increasing outside attention.

“When I went home for Thanks-giving break, I heard the song Happy by Pharrell and it made me feel better. In creating the video, I knew that we needed something to combat all the negative views in these last few months. A reminder that we are happy and positive,” said Miller.

In the Howard “Happy” video, there is an array of students and faculty seen in short clips dancing freely to the catchy tune.

“We wanted to recruit those that were in it anonymously because so often when you put names and organizations under stuff, people automatically think I will be in it, or out of it. I wanted people to solely see the person,” said Miller.

Between the design of the opening scene (the Howard logo), the con-

Howard Gets “Happy” With New Student Video

Erika WhiteheadContributing Writer

WASHINGTON—Howard Uni-versity has built a new $5 million virtual medical training facility to advance the education of future doctors and healthcare profession-als. The center provides students with risk-free, hands-on hospital experience using cutting-edge technology.

“This interdisciplinary Health Sciences Simulation Center will enhance our training of the next generation of America’s physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals,” said Wayne A.I. Frederick, Interim President of Howard University. “The Center is a part of our long-standing commitment to excellence and meeting the health needs of the nation.”

The simulation center, a 6,000-square-foot facility, is a simu-lated hospital environment that will promote improved communication skills between healthcare workers and their patients. It represents the latest major investment by Howard University in capital projects that extend its leadership in advanced scientific education. When the Sim-ulation Center opens its doors this month, it will serve as an integral part of training for more than 800 health science students on campus. Howard University Health Sciences is home to more than 20 academic programs, including medicine, nurs-ing, dentistry, pharmacy, and physi-cal and occupational therapy.

“The center was specifically de-signed to promote inter-professional simulation-based education for all levels of healthcare professionals using the latest technology and equipment,” said Dr. Debra Ford, Medical Director of the Simulation Center. “This high-tech educational space affords our students the op-portunity for deliberate practice in a team-based environment and aids in continuing Howard University’s legacy of producing compassionate and caring global healthcare profes-sionals.” The new facility houses five high-tech human patient simulators that generate pulses and other vital signs. The physical space consists

State-of-the-Art Medical Simulation Center to Open

at Howard UniversitySholnn Freeman

Communications Specialist

cise timing in between video clips, and getting the copyright for the music itself, the director and Atlanta native makes clear that it has taken a great deal of work to create this video.

“In handling copyrights, I looked up who owned the rights, and saw that Universal Studios held the copy-right. I was told to contact Sony as well. Sony said it was fine as long as it was on Youtube. Universal Studios likes it, and I am finishing up legalities on their end.”

The Howard “Happy” video has received nearly 120,000 views on Youtube since being published. Many established websites, includ-ing News One and Black Enter-tainment Television (BET) have posted an article on their websites in lieu of the nifty Howard video. Celebrities, distinguished alum and even the university’s official twitter account have acknowledged and shared the video.

“The response to the video has been great. We didn’t expect it to take off so fast. We wanted Howard students to be reminded of why they chose to come here. Be happy, don’t stress,” said Legette.

The Howard “Happy” video is one that does indeed spread cheer and happiness to its viewers. With all this positive feedback and over-whelming response, it is good to know that both Miller and Legette will be working on yet another proj-ect in the coming months.

“The main thing is that we weren’t just trying to do Pharrell’s video over. We wanted to really help people. We wanted to not only uplift Howard and the DC com-munity, but also give others their outlet,” said Miller.

Thanks to these two seniors as well as the array of helpers and video participants, Howard has been uplifted.

of an operating room, an intensive care/emergency room and a task training/surgical skills suite. Stu-dents will be able to practice medi-cal procedures and experience the type of real-world decision-making challenges generally reserved for interns, residents and fully trained health professionals.

The Simulation Center will comple-ment the Clinical Skills Center, which provides an opportunity for medical, nursing, pharmacy and allied health students, residents training at Howard University Hos-pital and medical fellows to practice treating patients in a controlled en-vironment. The 5,000-square-foot facility includes 10 patient examina-tion rooms, an observation room, a master control room, a conference room and a break area. The exami-nation rooms are fully equipped to simulate a doctor’s office. They also have cameras and a microphone to record interactions for later review by students and professors. The observation room allows faculty to watch students and provide immedi-ate feedback. Tamara Owens is the administrative director of both the Clinical Skills and Simulation Centers.

Key Howard Facts

Howard University, a leader in doc-toral education, awarded 96 Ph.D. degrees in 2013, maintaining the University’s role since 1996 as the producer of the most on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients in the United States.

In 2009 and 2013, the National Science Foundation named Howard University the top producer of undergraduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees in the sciences and engineering.

The College of Medicine ranks among the top three schools meet-ing the nation’s medical needs and social mission.

The Pharmacy Class of 2012 achieved 100% first-time pass rate on the NAPLEX Board Exam.

The College of Dentistry produces more than 20% of the nation’s African-American and dentists of color annually.

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Campus . Emmy Victor, Campus Editor [email protected]

Next month, freshman and senior students will have the opportunity to participate in a survey being administered via email by the Offi ce of Institutional Assessment and Evaluation and the Offi ce of the President. This survey is the National Survey of Student Engagement, also known as NSSE. The OIAE and President hope to gather information from these surveys about student interaction with faculty and support staff to ensure students are getting the most of their academic experience. This can only be done by knowing what types of behavior for learners trans-late into successful outcomes; hence the purpose of the survey.

The student engagement survey contains questions about programs, depth of learning, presentation of information, and the various ways professors organize learning. The results of the assessment will help

Freshman and Senior Students Can Win Electronics By Participating in February Survey

Erin Van DunkStaff Writer

faculty and administrators discover ways to restructure the learning process that will encourage the success of their students. The OIAE recognizes that the informa-tion gathered is only as good as the response rate- so to encourage par-ticipation all students that receive the email and complete the survey will be eligible to win a 32GB iPad Mini or Google Nexus tablet.

Assistant Director of OIAE Dr. Michael B. Wallace, explains the reasoning behind choosing only freshman and seniors when con-ducting the survey.

“This particular research design is dealing with a pre and post type look at the student body...to get snapshots of students as they enter and look at what happens by the end. There is a signifi cant increase in levels of engagement from seniors than from freshman,” said Wallace.

The survey contains no open-ended questions, most of it consisting of number or scale selections dealing with class participation, preparing papers, dealing with assignments and more. It also involves a section about demand levels and ques-tions about the faculty-student relationship. The questionnaire also

hopes to discern if there are any subgroups, such as international students, among the student popula-tion who may need assistance in very specifi c areas.

Although the NSSE survey targets freshman and seniors, there will be other opportunities for sophomores

and juniors to voice their con-cerns. Dr. Wallace explained that there are several other assessment activities that look specifi cally at performance, the types of problems students may have, and information literacy. The OIAE hopes to gain a better understanding of student academic issues, particularly in mathematics, and in knowing how to use our libraries effi ciently and fully.

The survey results are to be used to make improvements to student engagement, although measures are already being taken to change the student experience. The new dormitories being built on campus will contain spaces that will support interaction beyond the classroom.

The results of the survey will be ac-cessible to the entire Howard Uni-versity community on the website when they become available.

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Metro Keneisha Deas, Metro Editor [email protected] .

The U.S. attorney’s office is the workplace of two former defense at-torneys who have played prominent roles in uncovering the corruption inside of the D.C. political struc-ture.

Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. attorney for D.C., and Vincent H. Cohen Jr., principal assistant U.S. attorney, have had their share of tri-umphs in uncovering a wide variety of corruption cases in D.C. How-ever, each case solved seems to have one common factor-every person that pleaded guilty was black. When asked about the crackdown on blacks in office, Machen and Cohen responded by stating, “We prosecute conduct, not color,” according to The Washington Post.

At first, the crackdowns by Ma-chen and Cohen were welcomed. Then, the attitude toward their efforts began to change after a trend of those prosecuted emerged. There were continuous investigations and all of them continued to add to the profile of those individuals who were prosecuted.

An investigation surrounding the 2010 campaign of Mayor Vincent C. Gray was initiated in March 2011. The investigation was trig-

Machen and Cohen Crackdown Impacts Blacks in Office

Tiffani DuPreeContributing Writer

gered by an article in The Washing-ton Post, which stated that former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown would receive a job if Gray won the election, on the terms that Brown would continue to attack incumbent Adrian M. Fenty. As a result of the investigation, three persons admit-ted to guilty felony pleas.

More recently, in June 2013, former council member Michael Brown, pleaded guilty to bribery. Brown was charged with tak-ing $55,000 from a fake business established to get city contracts and certification.

However, no white council members or political figures have fallen as a result of the many in-vestigations conducted by Machen and Cohen. One council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), had two investigations against him, but the Metro Board and the Board of Eth-ics and Accountability conducted them, respectively. As a result of these investigations, Graham was discovered to have offered support to a businessman on the condition that the man backed out of a devel-opment project. Graham’s council duties were taken away from him, but still no formal investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office was initi-ated.

Machen and Cohen may have

a tendency of cracking down on black figures in D.C., but their credentials have shown that they are no strangers to investigations and prosecutions. Both have extensive backgrounds in their field. They also have the recognition and awards as proof that they know what they are doing when it comes to protecting the public.

As U.S. attorney, Machen has led the investigation and prosecution of almost 20,000 cases ranging from misdemeanors to murders, accord-ing to the Department of Justice website www.justice.gov. Machen has even established certain tactics to increase his conviction record in unsolved homicides. He has won the Equal Justice Award from the National Bar Association and the “Visionary Award” from the Legal Times.

Cohen was recently named as one of the “Nation’s Best Advo-cates: 40 Lawyers by 40” by the National Bar Association. He was also previously in his current posi-tion as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1997 to 2003.

Their backgrounds show that Machen and Cohen have one job-to protect the people-even against the opposition of the very people that they’re charged to protect.

Snow Storm Causes Delays

Shannen Hill Staff Writer

WASHINGTON—Thousands enjoyed a four-day weekend, as the District’s biggest snowstorm in years caused schools, federal government and some local governments to close on Tuesday, January 2.

Along with the closing of schools and governments, thousands of flights were canceled, including flights to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, for the storm that was expected to drop more than 10 inches of snow.

Closure notices were sent out on Monday, before any snowflakes had a chance to reach the ground. For most, snowstorms in the winter are normal, but for people from warmer parts of the country, the snow was overwhelming.

“This snow is crazy, I can’t even go anywhere,” said Charise Pinkston, a junior Dance major from Los Ange-les. “It’s 80 degrees back home.”While some stayed in, others went outside to have snowball fights, sled and make snowmen. Throughout the week thousands made a point to go out and take a quick picture of the snow to post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. According to the Washington Post, crime rates have been lowered this past week. Snow is still accumulated from the storm on Tuesday. Overnight lows were in the single digits during the week, according to the National Weather Service. While District officials are putting plow trucks and snow-melting ice throughout the city, many sidewalks and walkways are still covered in ice, causing many to slip and fall while walking through the city.

Along with flight cancellations, mail processes were delayed and events, including the Polar Bear Plunge at the Special Olympics Maryland and the Nellie Gray 5k race were can-celed. More than 7,000 people had signed up to participate in the Polar

Bear Plunge, in which they would have dipped into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday to raise money for the Special Olympics. Other events, including the March for Life continued through the snow day. Hundreds of thousands of pro-life supporters marched from the national mall to the Supreme Court for the 41st annual march after the Roe v. Wade court case in 1973.

President Obama spoke on the March for Life, taking a different standpoint. He issued a statement Wednesday saying that the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision is a chance to, “recommit ourselves to the deci-sions guiding principle: that every woman should be able to make her own choices about her body and her health.”

The forecast called for winds and a high temperature of 22 degrees, which would feel like -2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Mayor Gray declared a “Cold Weather Emergency,” in which buses were provided through-out the city to protect homeless people from the storm.

This snowstorm was the biggest in DC since Snowmageddon in 2010. While most Howard stu-dents were not students yet during Snowmageddon, the people who were here remember it well. “During Snowmageddon, every-thing was closed down,” said Dave Johnson, a senior Political Science major. We didn’t have school for a whole week.”

While this storm was no Snowmageddon, which dropped 20 to 35 inches of snow, Tuesday’s storm was still able to cause a stir. Weather for the week to come will continue to be around 40 degrees, however, forecasts call for snow later today.

Photo by Shannen Hill, Staff Writer

Former Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of federal corruption charges on Friday. The indictment followed an investigation that revealed that the Republican governor had been accepting bribes from the Chief Executive of a Dietary Supplements maker, Star Scientific Inc. since 2009.

Federal authorities said that in exchange for money, clothes, and expensive gifts, McDonnell would arrange for the Star Scientific Inc.

Former VA Gov. and Wife Plead Not Guilty to Federal Corruption Charges

Allyson CarpenterStaff Writer

executives to meet with government officials who could help further the company. Gifts to the couple in-cluded a $6,500 Rolex watch, wed-ding presents for the McDonnell daughters and a $15,000 shopping spree for the first lady. In total, the “gifts” from Star Executive Robbie Williams is believed to have been about $165,000 in monetary value.

Maureen McDonnell, a former NFL cheerleader is accused of play-ing a major, if not primary role, in accepting the bribes. While the fam-ily was experiencing severe financial troubles in 2011, the governor’s wife asked Williams for a $50,000 loan and allegedly promised that she

and her husband would help him and his company. McDonnell says in July he had repaid $120,000 in loans from Williams, who resigned last month as Star Scientific’s CEO and is also facing charges.

McDonnell left office earlier this month after the election of Governor McAuliffe was seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016.

While the McDonnells have main-tained their innocence, if they are convicted; the couple could face decades in prison and fines totaling well over $1 million.

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Did you see 2013’s nominees for best picture of the year? The Acad-emy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced them a little over a week ago. Were you satisfied? Disappointed? Maybe you felt indif-ferent. Understandable. Maybe you were wondering where “Fruitvale Station” was and what the heck a “Philomena” is. Luckily, the Hilltop is here to tell you not only what it is, but just how good it is, and for that matter how good all of the nomi-nees are. Underneath is a helpful ranking of all the nominees with a few accompanying words to let you know what you’re in for if you decide to hash out the cash at your local theater. The winner will be announced March 2 when the 86th Academy Awards airs live on ABC.

9. “Dallas Buyers Club,” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

Matthew McConaughey’s movie persona-- cocky, self-assure, and often shirtless-- always seemed to be put towards dubious efforts, like wooing Sarah Jessica Parker or Kate Hudson. Fortunately, director Jean-Marc Vallée has pointed that bankable persona to more noble purposes: fighting AIDS. And fight AIDS is exactly what the actor does in a career best (and Golden Globe winning) performance as a homophobic heterosexual who has a change of heart when he is forced to work around the system to treat himself after he contracts HIV. Those looking for any deep insights into the AIDS epidemic should look elsewhere. But this is a rousing and entertaining biopic, and Jared Leto takes on the tragic role of a trans-gender patient with notable relish.

8. “Philomena,” directed by Ste-phen Frears

A heartfelt story about a mother searching for her lost son, Judi Dench commands the screen with her usual grit and grace, while Steve Coogan (“Despicable Me 2”) provides solid supporting work. The intelligent, Oscar nominated script deals both with contested faith and wrenching cruelty in ways that will leave the thoughtful viewer with much to talk about afterwards.

7. American Hustle, directed by David O. Russell

An exuberant caper in which the caper means quite little; it is merely a ballroom for the gifted actors to strut their stuff, and to a killer soundtrack at that. Jennifer Lawrence fans will eat this one up. Perhaps not deserving of all (or any) of its ten nominations, but this is a glorious entertainment that puts

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees Marc Rivers

Columnist

performance and dialogue above all else, and that’s rarely a bad thing.

6. Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne

Do not be swayed by the black and white. Its stark beauty evokes the characters at the film’s cen-ter, as well as a particular slice of America, sapped of much color or life and just barely hanging on. Long time actor Bruce Dern gives a performance of uncanny depth. He plays an aging, alcoholic father who wants to travel to Nebraska to collect what he believes is a million dollars in prize money. Will Forte (formerly of SNL) as his estranged son coupled with a hilarious June Squibb as his exasperated wife round out a pitch perfect cast. The almost non-stop comedy is tinged with poignant doses of insight into the frayed yet firm ties that bind us to family and the past.

5. The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese

Yes, it’s three hours, but it’s three hours of the most electric, furi-ous filmmaking you’ll see all year. “The Wolf of Wall Street” is an epic comedy that puts you through a haze of unsettling, exhilarating debauchery and throws you back out on a high that will stay with you all day. If for no other reason, this controversial tale of greed and excess is worth seeing just for the pleasure of seeing an out of control Leonardo Dicaprio do a pop and lock dance to Bo Diddly.

4. Captain Phillips, directed by Paul Greengrass

On the surface it may look like a story of the heroic white man against the evil black pirates. But observe the searching and patient camerawork of Greengrass, the evenhanded tone, and a powerful performance by newcomer Barkhad Abdi, and one sees instead a sober-ing tale of socioeconomic and physical trauma. The final moments are some of the finest of Tom Hanks’ career, while everything that leads up to them paints a troubling portrait of globalization and its

Life&Style Maya Cade, L&S Editor [email protected] .

Maya CadeLife & Style Editor

In 1984, comedian Bill Cosby made TV history with the launch of the six-time Emmy award winning “Cosby Show”. “The Cosby Show”, the first TV sitcom to show a suc-cessful middle class African-Amer-ican family, has been commended time and time again on breaking racial stereotypes and stigmas. Through this smart, historic, and definitive portrayal of the modern Black family, Cosby was able to get a multitude of chuckles in without having the family ‘shuckin’ ‘n jivin’ while also bringing light to serious issues of that day and time.

Now 30 years later, Cosby is hoping to take the same premise and bring it into the modern world. Last week, news broke that NBC and the Cos have struck a deal along with Tom Werner to produce a multi-gener-ational sitcom with the 76-year-old funnyman as the patriarch.

To celebrate Cosby’s return to primetime television, The Hilltop brings you five historic “Cosby Show” moments:

5) Rudy sings During the “Happy Anniversary” episode from season two, the family celebrates Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable’s (Clarice Taylor and Earl Hyman) 49th Anniversary with the Huxtable kids cooking dinner for their grandparents and also gift them with a rousing rendition of Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time”. This episode is most noticeable for Rudy (Keshia Knight-Pulliam) singing the ‘baby’ lines at the end of this popular song.

4) The Huxtable family gathers to celebrate another anniversary On the “Home Remedies” episode in season seven, Olivia (Raven-Sy-mone’) comes down with a cold and is saddened by the fact that she may not be able to sing when the family gathers to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Huxtable’s 55th Anniver-sary. In the end old Heathcliff (Bill Cosby) does the trick, Olivia starts to feel better, and she was able to sing Koko Taylor’s “I’m a Woman” in this heartwarming performance that somewhat mirrors Rudy’s per-formance in “Happy Anniversary”.

3) Stevie Wonder comes to visitWho could forget the time one of the biggest names in music just pops for a visit? In the “A Touch of Won-der” episode, Denise (Lisa Bonet) and Theo (Malcolm Jamal Warner) are ecstatic when they get in minor a car accident with music legend Stevie Wonder. Wonder feels so

The Best of “The Cosby Show”

bad about the wreck, he invites the whole family to his recording studio. When the Huxtable clan gets to the studio, Wonder starts off with tak-ing their voices and making them to a funky song specialized just for them. To end this classic episode, Wonder and Clair (Phylicia Rashad) sing a stirring rendition of Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You”.

2) Theo learns about the real worldIn this classic episode, “Theo’s Holiday”, Theodore finds himself in a predicament after taking his parents’ money and hard work for granted as he talks about his dreams of ‘having it all’ without under-standing the hard work that entails. Knowing this, the Huxtable parents decide to teach Theo a lesson in a craftful and elaborate way. Theo’s lesson in the real world starts after he returns home from a night at Cockroach’s (Carl Anthony Payne II), only to find that his home has been transformed to ‘The Real World apartments’ with his family playing everything from bank tell-ers to landlords. Theo learns some tough lessons in a truly whitful and insightful way that no “Cosby Show” fan will ever forget.

1) Mrs. Huxtable telling Elvin about a ‘woman’s purpose’When Sondra’s (Sabrina LeBeauf) boyfriend Elvin Tibideaux (Geof-frey Owens) comes for his first visit to the Huxtable household in the season two episode, “Cliff In Love”, Mrs. Huxtable offers Elvin and Doctor Huxtable tea. Elvin’s swift reply to ask Mrs. Huxtable why she is ‘serving’ them stirs a conversation that could go down in the history books. She explains to Elvin that she has never nor will she ever ‘serve’ Doctor Huxtable, but gives and takes because, as she explains, the act of giving-and-taking is what marriages are made of. Clair then quickly helps Elvin understand that if he doesn’t drop his male-chauvin-istic attitudes, no one will ever feel the need to do anything for him.

many victims. Ignoring all that, this is one tense thriller.

3. Her, directed by Spike Jonze

A story about a man in love with his computer could be played for easy, satirical laughs or just outright creepiness. But viewers may be thrown by the sincerity and warmth of this most singular romance. Scarlett Johansson gives one of the great voiceover performances in recent years as an operating system that will teach a sad, lonely introvert (a brilliant Joaquin Phoenix) to con-nect to others and himself. Percep-tive and poignant, this film looks at the evolution of our relation-ship with technology with wit and wisdom, while its insights into love and loss will hit you when you least expect it.

2. 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen

Rightly viewed as the best picture frontrunner by many Oscar pundits, Steve McQueen’s staggering and unwavering gaze of a film melts away decades of sugar coated and white washed dealings of race in the cinema, from “Birth of a Na-tion” on down. Images and scenes of beauty and power will stay with you long after the credits roll. The amazing performances do more than shake you to your core, they grant voice to a generation too long silenced or distorted. Do not let anyone tell you different. This deserves to be seen.

1. Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón

This was the movie event of the year, an astonishing technical landmark that takes you as close as you’re likely ever to get to being up in space. It was the type of film the world needed, a visceral thrill ride that reinforces the transport-ing potential of seeing a movie of such scope on the big screen. Sandra Bullock gives a brilliant, physically demanding performance that perfectly internalizes the film’s profound grappling with fear, grief, and rebirth. One viewing of this one won’t be enough.

via flickr.com, Movies Unlimited

via flickr.com, Ma_co2013Captain Phillips

The Cosby family, from the ground-breaking sitcom.

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Sports Khari Arnold, Sports Editor [email protected] .

Perhaps the most electrifying college football in NCAA history, Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, has declared himself eligible for the 2014 NFL Draft. After back-to-back record-breaking seasons at A&M, many experts project Manziel to be a top five pick in the upcoming draft.

Manziel has been nothing short of spectacular in his collegiate career, breaking several NCAA and SEC records, including becoming the first freshman to win college foot-ball’s most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy.

As a dual threat quarterback, Man-ziel accounted for over 90 touch-downs and almost 10,000 yards of total offense in his career.

Despite his dominance over the last two years, success is not guaranteed for Texas native Johnny Football. He has drawn comparisons to players like Tim Tebow, another quarterback who starred while in college but couldn’t quite hack it in the NFL. Although he isn’t expected to last long on draft day, he is still considered a high-risk player.

Yes, an athlete that won the Heis-man as a freshman, upset top-ranked Alabama on the road, and

engineered an incredible come-from-behind 52-48 win over Duke in this year’s Chick-Fil-A bowl is a high risk player.

Listed at 6’0 and weighing about 210 pounds, Manziel is smaller than the prototypical NFL quarterback. It also doesn’t help that Manziel loves to scramble outside of the pocket and make plays with his legs—a tendency known to plague players like Michael Vick and Rob-ert Griffin III.

In addition to his size, Manziel’s attitude and off-the-field behavior have been causes of concern for NFL general managers. Since he’s come into the spotlight, he has been in the news on multiple occasions and his antics could be seen as a dis-traction in some locker rooms.

But as with any high risk situation comes high reward, and that’s what one team in particular will be bank-ing on come draft day on May 8. The Houston Texans will have the first opportunity do take a shot on the former Heisman winner with the first overall pick followed by the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, and the Oakland Raiders.

Could Johnny Manziel be staying in Texas?

Manziel Declares For NFL Draft

Former University of Memphis athlete Zaneta Ivy is a thriving pro-fessional, contributing her best for the sake of Howard student-athletes as the Assistant Athletic Director of Bison athletics.

As the quintessential candidate to aid Howard athletes in achieving academic success and acquiring their degrees, Ivy was welcomed aboard in August 2012 and has helped sustain progress in the How-ard athletic department ever since.The Memphis, Tenn. native oversees the academic and support services of all athletic teams, as well as the community service projects the athletes do. Along with her staff, she is also responsible for making sure all students-athletes are in compliance with the NCAA rules for eligibility.

Ivy contains the skills to accommo-date student-athletes academically as she also incorporated a sport into her studies in college, serving as a hurdler and runner for Memphis’ track and field team.

“Being a former student athlete I really do understand what the ath-letes who are matriculating through Howard are going through,” said Ivy. “I can relate to the two-a-day practices, trying to balance a full academic load and having a social life in college at the same time.”What keeps Ivy flourishing even after she has retired the spikes is her ability to translate her competitive and athletic success into her profes-sional career.

Being team oriented, displaying leadership and a strong work ethic

Behind the Scenes: Zaneta Ivy Rikki Frohmader

Contributing Writer

are character attributes Ivy has always obtained but were molded through sports and the strong example of her inspiration, her mother.

“Growing up in a single parent home my mom did have to do a lot,” said Ivy. “She taught me how to be a strong person and laid the foundation for me and my siblings.”

That strength that she witnessed everyday was the same strength she used when she earned her scholar-ship to attend Memphis as a hurdler after previously being an 800-meter runner. This translates now into a woman who does her job as if it isn’t simply a job.

“This is a career, and a career is dif-

ferent from a job. A job is what you do to make money and that is it,” said Ivy, enthusiastically. “A career is what you have a passion for and what you would do if you weren’t offered anything at all.”

As a diligent leader over academic support services, Ivy’s ultimate goal for Howard student-athletes is to have a 100 percent graduation rate.“I want to make sure Howard student-athletes succeed just like I did,” said Ivy. “I would love for student-athletes who have gradu-ated to be successful and come back and give back to the university.”Great things definitely have and continue to reward Ivy, thankfully now to the benefit of Howard Uni-versity student-athletes.

Photo via hubison.com

The men’s basketball team defeated Florida A&M on the road, 69-62, last Saturday. Freshman James Daniel led the Bison in points, scoring 28 of his 31 points in the second half. Forward Prince Okoroh added 21 points to help Howard (5-15, 3-2 MEAC) earn their second consecutive win. The Bison will face MEAC opponent Bethune-Cook-man tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The women’s basketball team fell to Florida A&M, 87-42, in Tallahassee, Fl. Center Victoria Gonzalez scored a game-high 14 points and six rebounds in the game. She shot 6 of 10 from the floor and added three blocks and one steal in the losing effort. The Lady Bison

Jerel SangsterContributing Writer

In Brief:

Zaneta Ivy, Assistant Athletics Director for Student Services

(7-11, 3-2 MEAC) will try to bounce back against Bethune-Cookman at 5:30 p.m.

The Bison men and women’s swim team celebrated senior day last Saturday in Burr Gymnasium, taking first place in 13 of the 22 total races. Seniors Janai Ederaine, Ashley Douglas, Nandi Ross, and Keely Monge were recognized for their contributions to the program and also combined for four of the teams’ first place tallies. The Bison will now travel to Davidson, North Carolina for their final dual meet competition on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Photo via Flickr.com, Chick-fil-A-Bowl

Interested in becoming a Photographer for The Hilltop???

Email Photo Editor, Rachel Cumberbatch, at

[email protected]

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HOWARD UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF STUDENT LIFE AND ACTIVITIES NOTICE

STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE COMMITTEE (SAFC) MEETINGS:

JANUARY 17, 2014 JANUARY 24, 2014 FEBRUARY 7, 2014 FEBRUARY 21, 2014 MARCH 6, 2014* MARCH 21, 2014 APRIL 4, 2014 APRIL 11, 2014

*Please note this meeting is scheduled for a Thursday in observation of Charter Day at the University on Friday. SAFC meetings begin at 2pm.

WHAT IS THE STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE COMMITTEE?

According to the HUSA Constitution, the Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) is responsible for allocation of the thirty-five percent (35%) of the Student Activity Fee that is allocated to the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, for support of the University Center, University-wide activities, Residence Halls, Special Programs, Student Newspaper (Hilltop), Intramurals and Recreational Activities. All meetings of the SAFC shall be open to the public. The SAFC is mandated to meet at least twice a month. The Student Activity Fee Committee (SAFC) shall be comprised of the following membership:

The Vice President of Student Affairs, Chair Two (2) university administrators appointed by the Vice President of Student Affairs Four (4) Non Elected Undergraduate Students Two (2) Non Elected Graduate Students The Chairman/Chairwoman of the General Assembly Finance Committee Two (2) Academic Professors Two (2) Elected Student Government Leaders One (1) Elected Graduate Student One (1) Non Traditional Student (as defined by legislation)

HOW DO I SUBMIT A FUNDING PROPOSAL FOR AN EVENT OR PROGRAM? PROPOSALS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 5PM THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE SCHEDULED SAFC MEETING IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED ON THE AGENDA FOR CONSIDERATION. PROGRAM PROPOSALS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

a. Event details (proposed date, time, venue, sponsoring organization(s)/individual name, point of contact information)

b. Brief Description of event purpose and how the event satisfies the SAFC funding criteria of being a university-wide program.

c. A copy of the event/program budget (including anticipated expenses and revenues) and any program co-sponsors.

d. Indicate the total amount of funds being requested from the SAFC for the event/program.

Program Proposal must be submitted to the SAFC Executive Secretary via Student Life and Activities in SUITE 122 OF BLACKBURN or VIA E-MAIL to [email protected] with SAFC Proposal in the subject line by the deadline to be included on SAFC agenda.

Questions can be directed to Student Life and Activities at 202-806-5990.

THE HILLTOP 11


Opinions Daniel White , Opinions Editor [email protected] .

The life of Amiri Baraka embodies the refusal to let others shape the memories, desires and destinies of African people, or to decide for us how to narrate or utilize our experi-ences in the long struggle for libera-tion and a fuller humanity beyond. In his physical absence, we are left to consider the creeping disappear-ance of fi rst-rate Pan-African inter-nationalist artists/organizers/think-ers as representative fi gures in Black (and non-Black) public spheres. Baraka did not let oppression—including racial oppression—hide behind niceties and subterfuges, re-alizing that such cowardice allows it to harden into ideologies of power

Amiri Baraka (1934-2014)and cultural identity. Oppression has to be confronted, directly. This earned him the enmity of those who fear such exposure and the timid proximate solidarity of those who can tepidly acknowledge him now that he is safely dead.

Baraka’s gifts included the ability to produce a steady stream of texts (poetry, plays, essays, books, paint-ings, lyrics, et. al.), shaped by his considerable intellect and wedded to the diffi cult but necessary work of organizing communities. He could say more in a word or phrase than others can say in volume(s). He led, wed, divorced, shaped and/or joined a bevy of organizations and social movements, his intellec-tual DNA fl owing through the Black Body Politic for over fi fty years. Baraka’s voice anchored us, from the Black Arts Movement’s catalyz-ing of a “Black Value System” to the post-Gary 1972 acceleration of Black American electoral politics (that made possible, incidentally, the election of Barack Obama), to the revolutionary solidarity and inter-nationalism of third world struggle to the local politics of his beloved New Ark and the current people’s campaign of his son, Ras, for its mayoralty.

Baraka’s passing has all of us revisit-ing the times we spent with him and his contemporaries. We are obliged to revisit and refl ect on these times, share our memories with current and future generations, and use them to shape new vistas of creative purpose in our collective work. I encountered him, listened to him, talked, laughed, plotted with and observed him primarily in meet-ing places of struggle as much or

more as in more select and intimate spaces. I always left him wondering how we could allow him (and those artist/warriors of his generation) to be so undervalued by our communi-ties and the society that continues to hold us hostage to the fi gures they declare should be our icons. There is no one in a white world to compare him to. To call him a Renaissance Man would be to insult the struggle he waged to defi ne ourselves on our terms, though it would evoke memories of two of his inspirations, Paul Robeson and Malcolm X.

Nearly three thousand people at-tended Amiri Baraka’s funeral last Saturday at Newark Symphony Hall. No one there had to be told of his signifi cance, to us and to the world he inhabited for 79 years. Danny Glover and Woodie King, Jr. presided over a fl ood of tributes from every ideological corner of the African world. A large contingent of Howard faculty, staff, students and alumni were present, bearing an offi cial resolution from the Board of Trustees. This for a man who saw no contradiction in critiquing 1950s Howard as a place where “they teach you how to pretend to be white” as he drank from the ge-nius of its resident Master Teacher in the ways of Black folk, Sterling Allen Brown. In a fi tting closure of the Howard loop, one of Baraka’s mentees, the indomitable Tony Medina, opened the program with a magnifi cently Barakian poetic tribute/charge.

Many—including many in at-tendance in Newark on Saturday and many more now fi tting essays, tributes and commentaries to

the contortionists’ task of praise without damning proximity—are temporarily basking in Baraka’s glow of radicalism while seeking to avoid any possible punishment from an American society that will never see him for who he was (or us for who we are, for that matter). Funerals are indeed for the living, and people who speak at them con-sistently reveal more about them-selves than they do the departed. Saturday’s ritual was no exception: The substratum of struggle was amply and beautifully represented. So too was the repurposing impulse, trending to downright comedy. I only wish that Baraka could have added one more piece to his 2002 collection of eulogies for his friends and comrades: A loving, acerbic and insightful essay analyzing his own death ritual.

Even former Governor Jim McGreevy—whose 2002 attempt to “fi re” Baraka from being New Jersey’s Poet Laureate led to the elimination of the position—was there, quietly in the crowd, a pre-Christie victim of gubernatorial hubris and American hypocrisy, present perhaps for a shot at re-demption. Corey Booker was safely absent, as was CNN, which had live broadcast the funeral of Baraka’s fellow New Jerseyian Whitney Houston two years earlier. No need to let a speaking subaltern disturb the slumbering façade of the rest of America, after all.

There are those, however, who do speak usefully in the wake of Baraka’s passing. Amid the babbling river of refl ections, there are those that merit particular attention, in my estimation. These include one

by one of his closest friends and collaborators, our own Eleanor Traylor, and one by one of the most studied and natural extenders of his Afro-bricolage approach to cultural criticism, Howard alum Greg Tate. I will not close this column by re-hearsing the arc of Amiri Baraka’s experiences, education and achieve-ment. That is for this young reader-ship to respect themselves and him enough to do for themselves. Instead, I will close with a memory that contains a charge of its own.

Shortly after the election of Barack Obama, Amiri and Amina Baraka and many of their contemporaries attended a conference at Temple University on Black Power and the importance of intergenerational linkages. Delivering the conference’s closing keynote address, I talked about the fact that these women and men, now being leveraged as cultural fodder for contorted aca-demic monographs and pop culture posturing, had once been branded enemies of the American social order for their unapologetic, revo-lutionary efforts. Having survived and paved the way for us, so many of them, now elders, were owed the debt of being engaged, their unfi n-ished work extended, the renewed battles joined. Afterward, Baraka pulled me close and needled me, as always, with what I always took as encouragement and gracious over-statement: The assurance that talk like that is what gets you fi red.

Baba Amiri, as you well knew (and know as an Ancestor) and showed us every day, talk like that—and the actions that accompany it—is what gets you free.

by Katie Downs, cartoonist

Carr’s Corner

Dr. Gregory CarrHoward University Professor

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