61.8 Spartan Echo

SPARTAN ECHO| Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504|NEWSROOM: 757.823.8200 E-Mail: [email protected]

02.14.14Vol. 61, Issue 8

TopSTorieSi n S i d e

Black History Month was established to recognize the role

of African Americans in United States History, but it first started off as a week of celebration and remem-brance.

Carter G. Woodson, a Har-vard graduate and historian and Rev. Jesse E. Moorland

See Celebration of Black History, page 3

founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Its intentions were to promote the achievements of black Americans and other people of African descent.

In 1926, the duo sponsored a national Negro History Week, coordinating it with the birthdays of former pres-

ident Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Fredrick Doug-lass.

Woodson died in 1950, but Negro History Week con-tinued, mainly because it was adopted by many cities

During the Civil War 10 percent of the Union Army was made up of black men. Black women served as nurses, scouts and spies, like Harriet Tubman. Frederick Douglas famously advocated for blacks in the Union Army, saving “you would find no soldier more loyal.” (Public domain photos from the NAACP).

Protesters are shown during a rally for the opponents for gay marriage at the Utah State Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Salt Lake City. Same-sex marriages continued in Utah until early January, when the U.S. Supreme Court granted Utah's request for an emergency halt to the weddings. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer).

See Virginia Attorney General Herring won’t defend gay marriage ban, page 3.

Joseph G. Echols Hall and William “Dick” Price stadium named after pioneers NSU of athletics.

See Echols & Price instrumental in shaping NSU athletics, page 4.

February: the month dedicated to the celebration of black history

By Danielle Kirsh

202.14.14Spartan News


When many Norfolk State University students were still in elementary school, the “seven cities” region was commonly referred to as “Tidewater.” Many businesses and companies still exist with “Tidewater” in their name, even ones as large as Tidewa-ter Community College.

In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service changed the area’s postmark from “Tidewater” to “Hampton Roads.”

Now, local business own-ers and some Virginia Beach city council members feel the name no longer fits, and the Hampton Roads Tourism Alli-ance is one step ahead of the game, re-branding themselves as the Coastal Virginia Tour-ism Alliance.

“Coastal Virginia” is the new name popping up on what was formerly known as Hampton Roads Magazine.

Editor-in-Chief of Hamp-ton Roads Magazine Randy Thompson told WAVY-TV 10, “We’re a lifestyle maga-zine, and the name ‘Hampton

Local businesses and city council members consider name change in Hampton Roads

By Kallie Gould

Roads’ just doesn’t bring to mind really any connotations that are lifestyle related.”

Virginia Beach City Coun-cilwoman and NSU Music Department faculty and ser-vice-learning coordinator Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond said, “I believe [the name change] would be worth entertain-ing because it would give the region more visibility and positively impact our tour-ism businesses. Many people do not know where Hampton Roads is located, or under-stand its name origin.”

The name “Hampton” origi-nates from colonial times af-ter a founder of the Virginia Company of London. The word “Roads” refers to the safety of port in a body of wa-ter.

Junior Joseph Toombs said, “Change is good, but an origi-nal name carries so much his-tory.” Originally from Atlan-ta, Toombs said that the name “Coastal Virginia” makes it sound like “a fake, coastal Carolina.”

Academic affairs is one of the biggest consumers of Nor-folk State University’s budget, taking up about $46 million of it, so it is planning an overhaul with its own budget in the uni-versity’s colleges.

The university wants to grow enrollment to 8,000 by 2018 and increase the retention rate to 80 percent. In order to make this jump, academic affairs is going to search for new faculty members and deans to prepare themselves for when the cur-rent ones retire.

Also, the university wants to close some programs with lower student enrollments in

AcAdemic AffAirs plAns new budget to help increAse retention

By Danielle Kirsh

order to enhance others that are thriving.

The College of Liberal Arts is the biggest college at NSU. Out of the entire budget for the College of Liberal Arts, 98 per-cent is solely for personnel.

Unfortunately, the university is going to have to let some staff members go in order to enhance other programs. For example, right now the psy-chology and sociology depart-ments are understaffed while other departments are over-staffed.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. San-dra DeLoatch said that she

Celebration of Black History

Former Hampton Roads Magazine changed their name to Coastal Virginia Magazine after city council discusses potential benefits of rebranding the seven cities area. photo from www.coastalvir-giniamag.com/index.php/archive-index/.

and organizations across the country.

By the time the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s and 1960s, Negro History Week became espe-cially influential.

In the 1970s, the Black Power Movement empha-sized racial pride and cul-tural values. This movement led to the ASNLH becoming what it is known as today, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Around the same time as the name change, Negro History week became Black History Week.

The idea to expand Black

History Week into Black History Month was proposed by the Black United Stu-dents Organization at Kent State University in February 1969. It wasn’t until a year later that the first celebration of Black History Month was celebrated at KSU.

As part of the United States Bicentennial, Black History Week was informal-ly expanded into Black His-tory Month by proposition of President Gerald Ford in 1976.

Ford urged Americans to observe Black History Month and “seize the oppor-tunity to honor the too-often

hopes the budget changes will help bring more “quality in-struction” to classes at NSU.

Much of the funding that the university receives comes from research grants from the De-partment of Education.

In the past, funding was set-aside from the grants to pay adjunct professors, but it could only be used once. This year that funding runs out.

In total, Academic Affairs is asking for $7,648,000 in changes to their budget to en-hance the schools colleges at NSU and to help with the re-tention rates and the enroll-ment in the future.

neglected accomplish-ments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Since then, every Ameri-can president has recog-nized February as Black History Month and has specified a theme every year.

This year’s theme is “Civil Rights in America.” The ASALH chose this theme to mark the 15th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination against race, ethnicity, na-tionality, religious beliefs and women.

■Continued from front page

302.14.14 Spartan News


The Virginia attorney gen-eral has deemed that the ban on gay marriage is unconsti-tutional and he will no lon-ger support the amendment.

Usually, the state attorney general defends lawsuits against the state, but the newly elected Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring said he will support the gay couples who have filed lawsuits and are chal-lenging Virginia’s ban on marriage.

There are currently two lawsuits filed that are challenging whether the ban on gay marriage is constitutional or not; one

Virginia attorney general Herring won’t defend gay marriage ban

By Danielle Kirsh

of which is based in Nor-folk.

Herring said, “I have con-cluded that Virginia’s ban on marriage between same-sex couples violates the due process and equal pro-tection clauses of the 14th amendment to United States Constitution.”

Herring’s decision comes weeks after Governor Terry McAuliffe issued an execu-tive order that prohibited discrimination against state employees who are gay.

Prior to being elected at-torney general, Herring served eight years as a state senator representing parts

of Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Northern Vir-ginia.

In 2006, Herring helped make the gay marriage ban-ning amendment happen by supporting a declaration allowing Virginia voters to vote on the amendment. Voters approved of constitu-tional amendment, banning gay marriage in Virginia.

When Herring put in his bid to run for attorney gen-eral, he changed his stance on gay marriage stating in his “Equality Agenda” that he believes “all Virginians deserve equal protection under the law.”

I can’t imagine anyone mak-ing it out of high school without having typed a Word document, making multiple Power Point presentations or using the inter-net. Most of us do these things and then some just from our cell phones.

TCC offers a Computer Com-petency Test to meet graduation requirements-- free of charge-- which requires a grade of 70 percent or better to pass and may only be attempted twice. So I technically graduated with-out ever taking a computer class but being certified as competent as far as technology was con-cerned. Yet NSU doesn’t seem to think this means anything.

So here I am, a junior who transferred in with an Associ-ates of Science degree from Tidewater Community Col-lege, having met their computer competency requirements for graduation, taking CSC 150- Computer Literacy at NSU.

I’m learning about USB stor-age devices and blogs, mean-while my parents are calling me from four states away to help with their home wireless network I set up or any other computer problems that might arise. I am my parent’s own personal twenty-four-seven “geek squad.”

But NSU neglects to give me the chance to show them any of this, they’d rather charge me for the required three credit hours than simply take the courteous route that so many of our neigh-boring universities take- a sim-ple computer competency test.

Old Dominion University of-fers a Computer and Techno-logical Literacy Examination (CTLE) to meet their computer skills requirement in lieu of course work for those who are technologically competent.

Virginia Commonwealth Uni-versity gives students a similar option-- either a series of three one credit courses or a profi-ciency assessment.

Christopher Newport Univer-

NSU questions your competency

An Editorial by Kallie Gould

sity does not offer a computer proficiency exam; however, they do honor a VCCS degree to meet “lower-level liberal learning core (general edu-cation) requirements,” stated Amber Holland, Transfer En-rollment Coordinator. Mean-ing you would only have to take the lower level pre-requisite computer courses if your major specifically required higher computer courses to be completed.

When contacted for com-ment, NSU stated, “Norfolk State University did offer a computer proficiency test as an option to test out of the required CSC 150. However, due to low passing rates, this practice was eliminated. Dr. Sandra DeLoatch, Provost and Vice President for Aca-demic Affairs and Dr. Larry Mattix, Dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, will be address-ing this issue with the Uni-versity’s Curriculum Com-mittee in the near future.”

How convenient? Because students prior to me were ill prepared to pass an exam, I am now denied the option and forced to fit (and pay for $795) three credit hours in my schedule. Did the univer-sity consider charging an ex-amination fee to deter slack-ers from wasting everyone’s time? Or perhaps instating a pre-test before being allowed to take the computer profi-ciency test? No, evidently they just got rid of it and are now opportunely going to “address the issue…in the near future” now that some-one has bothered to ask.

That’s great for students in the near future, but if you’ll excuse me, I have to type a resume in Microsoft Word and create a group power point presentation. Sadly, I’m pretty sure I learned this back in tenth grade.

In this Jan. 23, 2014 file photo, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring speaks at a news confer-ence at his office in Richmond, Va. A federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday, Feb. 4, on whether Virginia's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. Herring, the state's newly elected Democratic attorney general, said he has already decided to side with the plaintiffs and will not defend the ban. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown, File).

402.14.14Spartan Sports


Echols & PricE instrumEntal in shaping nsu athlEtics

By Jason Gill

For years, students of the present and past have piled in and out of Joseph G. Echols Hall and William “Dick” Price stadium to attend both sporting and school events. However, many NSU affiliates have little to no knowledge of who these men were or what they did for this institu-tion.

Coach Joseph Echols dedicated over 20 years of service to NSU ath-letics. He was not only the baseball coach, but was very influential in creating the baseball, track & field and tennis programs. Echols also ventured his career into professional football and baseball scouting, in ad-dition to international basketball officiating.

“Coach Echols was re-spected not only here, but nationally and in-ternationally,” said Ath-letics Director Marty Miller who was recruit-ed by Coach Echols to play baseball for NSU in 1964. “In fact, he and Coach [Vince] Lombardi were good friends, and he and his wife would come and visit Echols and his family.”

Coach William “Dick” Price was an extremely successful coach in not only football, but also track & field. He won both national and con-ference championship in track & field in 1973 and 1974.

Price was also respon-sible for coaching NSU to three straight Central

Intercollegiate Athlet-ic Association (CIAA) championships in foot-ball on his way to be-coming the winningest coach in the school’s history.

“Coach Price was known across the na-tion for his success in both track & field and football. He was also very instrumental in the development of the ath-letics program. If you check his exploits here as both a football and track coach, the numbers speak for themselves,” said Miller.

Echols Hall opened its doors in November of 1982, while Dick Price stadium opened in the fall of 1997. The deci-sions were made after President Harrison B. Wilson and the Board of Visitors felt it was nec-essary to reward both coaches for their suc-cessful careers and ev-erlasting impact on the school.

“They actually pro-vided the foundation for the growth of the athlet-ic programs here. They set the tempo, raised the bar and helped with the success that we en-joy today,” said Miller. “I think it says a great deal about your success to have a facility named after you on a college campus. They helped me establish my career at NSU. They were my role models. They set great examples for the students of that era and beyond.”

The building was named after the late Joseph G. Echols, who dedicated more than 20 years to the advancement of athletics, health and physical education at NSU. Photo by Tykhari Coles.

Norfolk State University plays its home football and track & field contests in the spacious Wil-liam “Dick” Price Stadium, named after former NSU athletics director and head football and track coach Dick Price. Photo from www.nsuspartans.com.

502.14.14 Spartan Sports


With the intentions of bouncing back from a 19-29 record last season, the Spar-tan baseball team realizes that their pitching depth will be the key to a success-ful 2014 campaign.

After losing pitchers Chris Horne, Richie Slater and Raymond Morton, who led the team in ERA (earned run average), strikeouts and winning percentage, a new wave of pitchers is expected to step up and fill the void.

“We have some young new guys and some guys that have been here that need to step up,” said Head Coach Claudell Clark. “Redshirt junior Jeff Di

Being on the brink of a MEAC championship last season has inspired the Lady Spartans in prepara-tion for the upcoming sea-son.

After losing their opening MEAC tournament game to Savannah State, the Spar-tans went on a miraculous run before ultimately losing to Hampton University in the championship game.

“This team has that fire.

Lady Spartans aim for same position with different results

By Jason Gill

We were left with a bad taste in our mouths at the end of last season, and that is moti-vation enough to work hard,” said Head Coach Heidi Ca-vallo. “We finally had a taste of what it’s like to be there and want nothing more then to get back. The second last season ended, we set our goals for this season.”

Senior pitcher Jamie Schul-le, who led the team last sea-son in appearances, wins and

ERA [earned run average], is likely to carry the load on the mound again this season.

Offense should be of no is-sue as the Lady Spartans re-turn juniors Alina Moriarty and Haley Ward, as well as sophomores Heather Dun-ning and Whitney Williams who led the team in all major hitting categories last year.

Starting out the season strong is a team goal that is high on the priority list as the

team wants to avoid climbing out of a hole similar to last year’s 5-11 start.

“Last season, we started off slower than we wanted to or thought we would. As soon as the season ended last year, we knew one of our biggest goals was to play strong from the first weekend on the field. We want to improve our win-ning percentage in the early part of the season and feel more confident going into the

conference portion. Win-ning the MEAC champion-ship is our ultimate goal along with representing our conference in the NCAA regionals,” said Coach Ca-vallo.

The Lady Spartans begin the season on Feb. 14 when they travel to Wilmington, N.C., to take on Univer-sity of Maryland Baltimore County in the Seahawk In-vitational.

to be the name of the gameBy Jason Gill

Fulgo is one that comes to mind; a right-handed pitcher who has the ability to start or relieve. Matt Outman is a young man who sat out last year and has ability from the left hand side. Cooper Jones has a very good arm and is a guy who gave us a lot of good starts last year.”

Last season, the Spartans committed 98 errors com-pared to their opponent’s just 62. Coach Clark believes that becoming a more efficient fielding team will go a long way in helping the pitching staff.

“We feel like that’s an area we have worked hard to add some new players to the mix

and put some things into place to improve our field-ing percentage. Our goal of .970 [fielding percentage] is not taken lightly. When we make a pitch, the play has to be made. When we give sec-ond chances, it’s almost like a turnover and you open the door for the other team to take advantage,” said Clark.

Junior Killian Strenn re-turns after hitting a team high .417 [batting average] last season. The Virginia Beach native did not start the first half of last season’s games and Coach Clark needs him to improve his fielding at sec-ond base in order to become an everyday player.

“He’s correct in that I need to improve my fielding, and I made sure to take a lot of groundballs in the offsea-son,” said Strenn. “I feel con-fident in my abilities to help our team win this year with similar offensive production to last year. The team looks strong at all positions and our pitching staff looks strong and reliable. All in all, I am confident in myself and the men around me to become the first MEAC champs at NSU.”

The Spartans open up the season on Feb. 14 when they travel to Greenville, S.C., to take on Furman University.

Junior second-baseman Killian Strenn fields ground balls dur-ing preseason practice. Photo by Tykhari Coles.

Pitching &

602.14.14Spartan Lifestyle


Many of the organizations on campus receive a lot of attention and are well known by the student body, such as SGA and ROTC. Many of the organizations go relatively unnoticed by the student population. For instance, the Creative Writing Club.

Described as a community, this club offers an open forum for all those with a creative mind.

NSU’s Creative Writing Club has been around for many years. Its main focus is to allow students to share any writings they may have been working on and to communicate what’s going on within the community on and off campus.

Advised by English professor Daniel Pearlman, the group of about seven or eight consistent members meet and have open readings where critiques and encouragement are given.

“This is for anyone interested in being creative. No one is turned away.” says Pearlman.

Sociology major, Reginald

nsu club encourAges creative minds

By Ciara Simmons

Freshman Cameron Smith takes advantage of the creative writing tips. Photo by Jules Dean.

Thomas, III, feels the group challenges his writing.

“The group makes me feel like I want to put in more. I like the regularity that we meet, the people that are in the club and the new people that stop in. You make new friends with similar interests,” said Thomas.

However, the regular meetings are not all the club offers.

In conjunction with the English department, readings and festivals are put together on campus. This semester will mark the second annual William Carroll Writers Festival. This festival brings established poets together with the students here at NSU. There will also be an open mic night in which students are encouraged to participate.

For more information on the club or upcoming events, contact the Pearlman at [email protected]. The Creative Writing Club meets every Wednesday 12-1 in Madison, RM 202.

People all over the country celebrate African American history. As an HBCU, we are here to study and learn about the history of African Americans. Over the years, many African American’s have invented products and tools that have made life a little more easy-going for everyone. We’ve all learned about George Washing-ton Carver, Madame C. J. Walker and Frederick Dou-glass and their contribu-tions to society, but there are many other notable Af-rican American innovators who have changed society as well.

Alexander MilesAlexander Miles enhanced

the elevator. He provided the original design of the elevator with more futuris-tic operations, such as auto-matic opening and closing doors. He also improved the elevator shaft which pre-vented a lot of accidents. Before this, people would sometimes fall down the elevator shafts. We should all be thankful for safer and easier elevator rides and one less stress for a college student to worry about, es-pecially on moving day.

George “Speck” CrumFor many of us, potato

chips have become a stand by snack while burning the midnight oil. We have George Crum to thank for this tasty innovation. Working as a chef in Sara-toga Springs, George Crum

African American inventors:They made it possible

By Destiny Williams

invented the potato chip. When a costumer com-plained about his French fries being too thick, Crum sarcastically cut a potato as thin as possible then fried them. Who would have known that sarcasm could change the snack industry completely?

Jan E. MatzeligerAs young adults, we tend

to follow the latest shoe trends. Are you aware of who made the shoe making process an easier and more efficient way to produce these brand name shoes we love to show off? Well, his name is Jan E. Matzeliger. He invented the first shoe making machine which could make up to 700 shoes in a 10 hour work day. At first, many people thought his idea was ridiculous, but when they saw the potential benefits, everyone wanted to have it. He refused to sell his invention until 1883 when he decided to get it patented and changed the shoe making process for-ever.

Garrett A. MorganThe son of former slave

owners, Garrett A. Mor-gan invented many items including the traffic signal and the gas mask. What you may not have known is his contribution to hair care. Garrett Morgan used his tal-ents to create the straight-ening comb. This curved, iron-tooth comb was said to straighten coarse hair in

15 minutes. This invention paved the way for many modern style hair straight-eners that are used on a dai-ly basis.

Christina JenkinsIn 1951, Christina Jenkins,

an African American wom-an, invented the hair weav-ing process which many still use today. Hair weav-ing is the process of attach-ing hair extensions to your natural hair to add thickness and length. Her invention made a big impression on the world. Jenkins opened up a hair weaving academy to teach her techniques to train cosmetologists.

Elijah McCoyBefore cars and planes

were the main modes of transportation, trains were all the rage. Elijah McCoy invented a dripping oil can used to lubricate trains. The phrase “the real McCoy” became popular after com-petitors attempted to make their own product to con-tend with McCoy’s. Their versions of the invention were not as effective as Mc-Coy’s; consequently, people started asking for “the real McCoy.”

So the next time you catch the elevator to the third floor, buy a bag of chips, straighten your hair or hop on a train, think about the great African Americans that made it all possible.

e d i t o r s

JasonGillSports Editor

BrittanyElmoreEditor-in-Chief

DeVanique RileyOnline/Managing Editor

RobertHaydenMultimedia Editor

TrentonFouche’Entertain-ment Editor

CiaraSimmonsLifestyle Editor

702.14.14 Spartan Lifestyle


DanielleKirshNews Editor

Tough LoveAn advice column

from a fellow Spartan

By DeVanique Riley

It’s not too late to get involved with the Echo!

We meet every Tuesday and Thursday in room 344 of the

Student Center at 12:30 pm. ALL majors welcome.

When most students enter a college campus, their main focus is figuring out where to eat, finding their classes and finding friends. But to do more than just survive your college career, there are a number of services offered by the university that you should take full advantage of.

During each department’s Introduction to University Life course, students should be made aware of all these services offered, but in case you missed it, here are some of the recommended services offered to students for free.

On campus, we have a fully functional police station where you can report any suspicious activity or even get help unlocking a car door. To contact NSU police in the event of an emergency, call (757) 823-9000. In a non-emergency situation they can be reached at (757) 823-8102.

I am tired of hearing about the same people during Black History Month-- Mar-tin Luther King, Jr., Mal-colm X or Rosa Parks. It’s the same routine each year. I’m not saying these people weren’t major contributors, but where is the diversity? Why do I never hear about other African Americans who have shaped the na-tion’s history?

Why is it that I always here ‘we’ were given the shortest month of the year? First, ‘we’ owe the celebration of Black History Month to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Many people are ignorant to the fact that he chose the month of Feb-ruary because it marks the birthdays of Frederick Dou-glass and Abraham Lincoln. Before it was black history month, the celebration was only during the second week because it is the week those two men shared birthdays.

The month of February is much more than these two men. It holds many signifi-cant moments.

W.E.B. DuBois, the co-founder of the National As-sociation for the Advance-ment of Colored People (NAACP) was born. The NAACP was founded by a group of black and white citizens of New York City. The 15th Amendment grant-ing blacks the right to vote was passed. The first black U.S. senator Hiram R. Rev-els took his oath of office. A group of black college stu-dents in Greensboro, N.C. began a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter.

Conduct research before you throw out the race card. I don’t want to hear about this excuse anymore. It’s quite tiring and played out of the fact that few know what they are talking about in regards to black history.

Freshman Tip: Know your resourcesBy Ciara Simmons

Something else you should know is that they are trained to be able to assist if you feel that you may have been a victim of any kind of assault. If you have any questions regarding assault, you can also contact Brittany Harris, an assault support trainer, at (757) 625-4248.

NSU also offers counseling services to NSU students free of charge. Some of the issues covered in the counseling center are adjusting to college, stress management, relationship issues and depression. They are located in Room 312 of the Student Services Building; you can also reach them at (757) 823-8173.

Health services are available in the Spartan Health Center. They can provide you with basic health services that are not life threatening as well as health education counseling. They can be contacted at (757) 623-3090.

If at any time you need help

in any particular class, there is tutoring provided within each field of study. Always see your professor or advisor to get information on when and where these services are provided.

Junior Keith Carter wasn’t aware of all that was offered.

“Aside from health services and the police station, I didn’t learn about much else,” said Carter. “Knowing about things, especially the counseling services would have been a big help leading up to now.”

Just because you may not have been aware, doesn’t mean it’s too late to utilize these services. Take the time to use the resources NSU has put into place for you.

You can find all the services available at NSU on the school’s website under campus life/student services. Most resources are available 24 hours.

The Norfolk State Choir will showcase its talent on Friday, March 28, at the L. Douglas Wilder Center along-side the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Voices Six: Let a New Earth Arise concert. The event is to help raise money for needy and deserving stu-dents.

Dr. Haywood, director of choirs at Norfolk State stated the importance of students supporting the event, “It’s im-

NSU Choir performs with Virginia SymphonyBy Trenton Fouche’

NSU Choir performs with Virg in ia Symphony. Pho -to f rom www.nsuchoirs .c o m / g a l l e r y / r e s p o - g a l -lery/ index.html .

portant that our students have a broad background in the arts and in music. We hear a lot about STEM, but a lot of times employers of major cor-porations understand the in-trinsic value of students who are universally well rounded.”

The concert has become a tradition for the choir, oc-curring since 2007. It gives the student performers an op-portunity to interact with the Virginia Symphony Orches-

tra, which is the only profes-sional orchestra in the state of Virginia.

“The Voices Six concert is the place to be and an experi-ence like no other,” said Sha-rod Smithen, assistant student conductor. “I look forward to it.”

NSU recently performed at the HBCU Choral Festival alongside Hampton Univer-sity, Oakwood University and Virginia State University.

802.14.14Spartan Entertainment


The Federal Trade Com-mission, the government agency which is responsible for protecting consumers, is accusing Apple of not doing enough to protect its custom-ers from purchases made by minors.

At a news conference, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said, “A basic principle of consumer protection is that a company must obtain a con-sumer’s informed consent before charging them for any goods and services; Apple fell short on that principle.”

Apple reached a settlement of $32.5 million that must be paid out to families affected. This is due to the high vol-ume of families with young children who have racked up large tabs in the App Store without their parents realiz-ing until it’s time to pay the bill.

In response to the criticism, Apple released a statement, “Protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store from the very begin-ning. Apple is proud to have set the gold standard for on-line stores by making the App Store a safe place for custom-ers of all ages.” The company added, “Today’s agreement with the FTC extends our existing refund program for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent’s permission.”

Despite the massive settle-ment, most economic insiders don’t see this being an issue for the billion dollar compa-ny.

For more than three years rapper, Rick Ross, born Wil-liam Roberts, has been bat-tling in court to keep his mon-iker after former drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross has expressed disapproval of the rapper using the name. Now a Los Angeles judge has ruled in favor of the rapper, stating that he is protected under the First Amendment.

Rick “Freeway” Ross had initially filed a copyright in-fringement lawsuit in 2010 after being released from pris-on. The newly freed kingpin had been seeking $10 million in compensation for the rap-per using his name and image, even threatening to block the release of the rapper’s album Teflon Don.

Despite filing several pub-licity rights claims, courts have continuously ruled in the rapper’s favor. After ru-mors began spreading that he was considering a name change to Ricky Rozay, the

T.I. has announced plans to sign with Columbia Records, and the label will distribute his ninth studio album.

The rapper had been a free agent after releasing his most recent project, Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head in 2012. The album was well-received by critics and debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 179,000 copies in the United States be-fore eventually going gold last year.

Now, T.I. feels he has more room to express himself cre-atively. “I’m honored to be partners with such a success-ful, passionate and creative conglomerate like Columbia Records who respects and sup-ports the vision of their artist and partners. Nothing but love, respect and appreciation for Doug Morris, Rob Stringer and the entire staff,” said T.I. in a press release.

Although he is planning to release his new album with Columbia, he plans to keep his record label, Grand Hustle, in-dependent.

“Hustle Gang, man, we [are] still independent,” said T.I. during a radio interview. “They did a deal for the next

FTC says Apple fell short on principle to protect minor consumers

By Trenton Fouche’Judge rules Rick Ross may keep his stage name

By Trenton Fouche’

rapper responded, “It’s like owning a restaurant; you’re gonna have a few slips and falls. You get lawsuits, you deal with them, and get them out the way … sometimes you lose.”

Although the rapper Rick Ross has remained respectful of the reformed drug king-pin, the original Rick Ross has not returned the favor.

“I believe that he’s being financed by the police union and keeps spreading bullshit to the youngsters, so they can keep filling up the penitentia-ries cause he ain’t sellin no music,” said Freeway. “They keep playing him on the ra-dio and keep putting out all these big, expensive videos, but he ain’t sellin no music. So, somebody is shootin’ off money, and I believe that the police union is behind it.”

The rapper has not re-sponded to the allegations, but stills plans on releasing a new album this year.

Graphic photos from www.facebook.com/endlesslove, www.facebook.com/AboutLastNight and www.facebook.com/Robo-Cop.

T.I. signs with Columbia

By Trenton Fouche’

T.I. project. Not to say that Hustle Gang is off the table because we felt like we had some partners at one time, but I think that since we made the move that we made for T.I.’s project, I don’t know if those partners of ours are still at the table. That’s still up for dis-cussion, but as of right now, Hustle Gang is still moving independent.”

Although T.I. has spent some time away from music with a few acting roles and his VH1 reality show, “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle,” he is hoping to re-gain his title as ‘King of the South.’

T.I.’s next album will be executive produced by Phar-rell and will likely feature frequent collaborators Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne. His next project is expected to be released early this year.

T.I. inks deal with Columbia Records. Photo from: www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151933851157849&set=pb.24786692848.-2207520000.1390771109.&type=3&theater.

61.8 Spartan Echo

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