62.4 Spartan Echo

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

10.24.14Vol. 62, Issue 4

TopStoriesI n s i d e

Jermal McMillan, a junior business management ma-jor and native of Wilming-ton, North Carolina, has set his sights on an entrepre-neurial opportunity that is quite unique. McMillan is in the process of creating the National Marching Band League (NMBL), which would be the first of its kind.McMillan, the founder and

CEO of J.M. McMillan En-terprises, first plans to make the company an LLC. The LLC would then have three different sub-companies working beneath it. The NMBL, which would

be similar to a professional sports league with teams be-ing based all over the country, would be founded right here in Hampton Roads with the first team named the March-ing Sound of the Bay Band. The league would have teams compete in a regular season, have playoffs and ultimately crown a champion.“We want to create a sys-

tematic league similar to what the NCAA has created in governing athletics. We want to do that for musical ensembles domestically first, but ultimately worldwide,” McMillan said. “The teams would have band members that get paid just as profes-sional athletes do.”Entertainment Bands Pro-

gramming Network (EBPN) would be the second division of the LLC and serve as the coverage arm of the NMBL.“EBPN would work a lot

like ESPN does for sports, but it would be for bands,”

Fellow Spartan creating National Marching Band LeagueJason Gill

McMillan said. “General re-porting, field reporting, com-mentating, broadcasting and highlighting are what EBPN would do for not just bands, but all musical ensembles.”The Sound Achievement

Foundation would be the non-profit division of the LLC, which is a benefit cor-poration and would play a role similar to what the AAU does with amateur sports.“You’ll have a full profit

entity and a non-profit enti-ty combined together while interchanging money to help each other advance,” McMil-lan said. “You couldn’t do that before because of legal issues, but you can now be-cause it’s considered a bene-fit corporation.”McMillan hopes that with

a high level of interest, the company could generate rev-enue in a variety of ways.“We would do the same

thing [sports leagues] do as far as marketing, sales, the

use of venues, parking sales, revenue from apparel, CDs and DVDs,” McMillan said.McMillan, the second

youngest of eight siblings, was inspired to create such a unique entity by his pure love for music. At the age of six, he became a perform-ing bandsman for the Boys and Girls Club in Wilming-ton. Then, as a member of the U.S. Marines, where he served for four years, he was a part of the 2nd Marine Di-vision Band in Jacksonville, North Carolina and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band in San Diego, California. He is also a support staff mem-ber of the Spartan Legion where he is in charge of the lower brass section.“I went into the Marine

Corps band because it gave me a sense of professional-ism along with the acumen of a true musician,” McMil-lan said. “I also went to Iraq for six months and that is

not something most musi-cians would want to do…it is not something I would take back because I’ve served my country proudly.”McMillan’s focus now turns

toward creating a marketing scheme from the ground up. He is currently working with Launch Hampton Roads, which is a program at Old Dominion University that helps young entrepreneurs create business plans. “I’ve gotten a lot of guid-

ance during the seven years I’ve been trying to put this together,” McMillan said.With the support of all the

musical organizations on campus, McMillan urges stu-dents, particularly music lov-ers, to spread the word and get involved in the move-ment toward building some-thing special. For further information or

inquiries about becoming in-volved, email McMillan at [email protected].

Jermal McMillan is the founder of JMcMillian Enterprises, a business venture geared towards college marching bands. Photo by Tykhari Coles.

A preview of the upcoming basketball season.

Page 5

An interview with NSU Athletic Director Marty Miller.

Page 4

NSU Alum Darnell May-be23rry scores his dream job. Page 5

210.24.14Spartan newS


310.24.14 Spartan newS


Messages are sent daily via email throughout Norfolk State University’s campus; however, many feel that email alone is not an efficient way to spread information. In the wake of recent car break-ins, some students are concerned that they weren’t notified and were unprepared as a result.NSU’s Communications and

Marketing (C&M) staff are working diligently to find new ways to spread information ef-ficiently throughout the cam-pus.C&M supports the university

with a variety of communica-tion tools and marketing tactics that produce useful informa-tion for students. They work with various forms of media including writing newsletters, providing annual reports and working with local news sta-tions to inform students as well as the community.C&M consists of four staff

Communications and marketing working to better NSU’s information outputAntonio Garland

members: Stevalynn Adams, Regina Lightfoot, Stanley Donaldson and Christopher Setzer, each specializing in different fields of communi-cation. Their main obligations are to share how the C&M of-fice communicates to the uni-versity, explain what makes something news worthy, gath-er feedback and give resourc-es.C&M is also responsible for

several online publications including The President’s Re-port, Making Waves, Media Resource Guide and the more popular E-Daily, which serves as the primary method of spreading news around cam-pus with announcments via email.As the majority of students

and faculty have access to mo-bile devices, C&M is incorpo-rating the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to spread the word of import-

ant announcements. C&M also intends on using the mon-itors in the Student Center to display information.“It’s really important because

we need to be informed about the things on campus,” said Emanie Yearwood, a sopho-more psychology major.“People need to know what’s

going on so when something happens…they are prepared with the proper knowledge, rather than being clueless and thinking everything is ok,” said Keyiera Douglas, a fresh-man theater major.Despite not having various

ways to receive information, students should also be re-minded to check emails fre-quently.“I think it’s important [for

NSU to spread information], but it’s also important for the students to read their emails,” said Nyenda Anderson, a sophomore psychology major.

Students are highly encour-aged to sign up for campus alerts, which provide voice messages in case of emergen-cies.C&M is working to create

external communications to advertise on radio, billboards and at Norfolk Internation-al Airport. They’re currently brainstorming new ideas.

The main struggles with marketing campus events is releasing information in a timley fashion and positioning the information where more people can see them.Photo by Tykhari Coles.

On Thursday, Sept. 25, var-ious graduate school pro-grams and employers piled into the Student Center for Graduate and Profession-al School Day. 28 different colleges and universities were in attendance; many of which had great things to say about Norfolk State Uni-versity and its students.“The thing that is different

about these students is that they are open to different opportunities and are willing to take risks and learn. They are interested in many dif-ferent programs,” Dannette Beane, director of recruit-ing and diversity initiatives at Virginia Tech University

said.Eastern Virginia Medical

School had representatives from their public health, biomedical, art therapy and medical master’s programs. Amber Donlan, program ad-ministrator for the medical master’s program, wanted to recruit students from all majors. “This program will take any

major and it is specifically for students who were not able to quite get into medical school yet. They may have had a low grade point aver-age, but they still deserve a shot. It is a one year program and the students take five of the eight classes that medi-

cal students take during the fall semester, with the final three [coming] during the spring,” Donlan said. William & Mary’s Mason

School of Business is a tra-ditional two-year general management program that accepts students with a vast array of academic back-grounds. They believe it adds to the school’s dynam-ic. What they do differently is a leadership development experience that pairs stu-dents with retired/semi-re-tired Williamsburg business executives. Norfolk State offers 16

master’s and three PHD pro-grams, but many of the stu-

dents were inquiring about programs that have yet to be offered at NSU. The selections of universi-

ties at this event tried to of-fer something for all majors.Rodney Greene Jr., a se-

nior political science major, had a great experience. “The event was amazing! I got to engage in conversation with my top law school, William & Mary School of Law. The event showed me how fortu-nate I am to go a great uni-versity.” However, some students

were not pleased with the amount of information the representatives had. “The event was very infor-

mative, but I did not know if the schools offered any programs relevant to my in-terests,” senior psychology major Ericka Beard said.Senior psychology major

Andrea Sweatt asked a rep-resentative from Old Do-minion University about their master’s program, “They did not have anyone on site who could give me information, but they did give me the phone number of someone who could.” Despite the various re-

sponses, students registered and filled out surveys for the Office of Career Services to help improve events like this for students in the future.

Students pursue options at Graduate and Professional School DayMelissa Dale

410.24.14Spartan SportS


Norfolk State Univer-sity’s athletic direc-tor, Marty Miller, made a statement regarding NSU’s need for more sup-port and assistance from its students and fans.This is not to alarm stu-

dents. The athletics pro-gram is not facing finan-cial troubles.The attendance at foot-

ball games, however, has decreased, which means that ticket sales are low-er. The rules for tailgat-ing have changed to help combat that problem. At most schools, the

football teams bring in the bulk of the revenue for the school. If NSU’s football team is support-ed, it in turn supports the athletics program as a whole.The goal is to create ad-

ditional revenue and oth-er revenue streams for the athletics program.“We’ve found that more

of our fans wanted to tailgate versus coming into the game…we did a study of what other insti-tutions are doing in rela-tion to tailgating and the way that it works is that you have an opportunity to tailgate up until thir-ty minutes before kick-off here. At that time, we decide to shutdown tailgating hoping that it would encourage our fans to purchase a ticket and come into the game. That is so that we would have additional revenue from ticket sales. Secondly, it would also provide that home field advantage

Marty Miller seeks support for NSU athleticsPaige Jefferson

hopefully for our stu-dent athletes by having a larger crowd in the stadi-um. And if you research

Less than ide-al attendance at college football

games is not only an issue at NSU,

it’s a national issue.

tailgating, at most insti-tutions this is what they do,” said Miller.Less than ideal atten-

dance at college football games is not only an is-sue at NSU, it’s a nation-al issue. Schools like West Vir-

ginia University, Boise State University, and the University of Michigan have been affected by ticket sales being on the decline as well.“Ticket sales have been

going down for the last couple years and if you looked at the USA report, attendance at football games are down 7 percent this year. So, this is a na-tional trend that’s going on over the country. So what we’ve been trying to do as athletic directors and athletic administra-tors is to come up with other avenues to keep that decline from getting worse, but there is a na-tional trend taking place

right now,” said Miller.Scheduling is something

that has played a signif-icant role in this situa-tion. Due to NCAA rules, not being able to play against schools like Vir-ginia State, a game that traditionally attracts big crowds, has resulted in a decline in attendance. “Once we can get those

teams back on our sched-ule, then I think we’re going to see an improve-ment because that’s real-ly when it started going down,” said Miller.Beginning in August of

2016, The NCAA’s new eligibility standards will come into play. Increas-ing revenue would help NSU’s student-athletes to meet the mandates.The revenue would be

used for student athletes to enroll in the summer bridge program, sum-mer school, increase scholarship awards, im-prove graduation rates by awarding additional fifth-year scholarships (student-athletes that have completed their el-igibility to compete but need one or two semes-ters to graduate), upgrade facilities and meet other permissible NCAA man-dates.Increased revenue and

good attendance at foot-ball games could lead to better recruiting and bet-ter facilities, as they do play an integral part in that process.“When prospective stu-

dent athletes are trying to determine where they

are going to play, they want to go to an insti-tution where they have great attendance. They want to play before large crowds…so that’s an-other reason why we are trying to encourage more individuals and more of our fans to come to the games. [We also need] more of our students be-cause it would help us to get some of those higher level prospects and help us with what we are try-ing to accomplish. That’s one thing I think a lot of people missed with that statement. It serves sev-eral purposes,” said Mill-er.Miller believes that stu-

dents have the power to help “change the land-scape of the athletics program at Norfolk State University” by attending the games and setting the tone.“What we are trying to

create here is what they call a twelfth man effect. That’s where your fans have provided so much enthusiasm and support for the home team, that it becomes an advantage. So we’ve been trying to do things like have lit-tle contests and give out prizes, but try and en-courage our students to come to the games to sup-port our own student ath-letes,” said Miller.

NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller issues a statement in an effort gain further support for Spartan athletics. Photo from nsus-partans.com

510.24.14 Spartan SportS


It’s that time of the year again! Norfolk State Univer-sity (NSU) men and wom-en’s basketball will kick off the 2014-15 season, home at Joseph Echols Hall against Morehead State Universi-ty (women), and Pfeiffer University (men). Both teams have made major ad-justments to their roster in preparation for the upcom-ing season.Aside from MEAC compe-

tition, NSU men’s basketball will face tough non-confer-ence opponents in Baylor University and the Uni-versity of Virginia. Other non-conference competition consists of Boston Univer-sity, University of Georgia, Texas Southern University, Vanderbilt University and James Madison University among others. This season we will be in-

troduced to a fairly new group of players. After los-ing key players last season, including All-MEAC per-former Pendarvis “Penny” Williams, Coach Jones has recruited seven talented players to play alongside seven returning players; in-cluding redshirt junior Jeff Short, who will also be a new face to Spartan fans af-ter sitting out last season as a division-one transfer. Our Lady Spartans have

made positive changes to their roster as well. Brehan-na Daniels, Kayla Roberts, Nia Roberts, lo Chaney and Shayla Tanner make up the Lady Spartans 2014-15 re-cruiting class. The five re-cruits will join the nine returners that finished last season 12-16 overall and

A young Washington Wiz-ards fan from Northern Virginia by the name of Darnell Mayberry gained aspirations of one day cov-ering teams in the Nation-al Basketball Association (NBA). Constantly reading the work of beat writers from The Washington Post, Mayberry made it his mis-sion to have his own col-lection of articles covering NBA news published, and he did just that. The 2004 Norfolk State

University (NSU) grad-uate began covering the New Orleans Hornets, now known as the New Orle-ans Pelicans, after Hurri-cane Katrina hit the team was temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City. Prior to covering the Hornets, May-berry was a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio and then began cov-ering Oklahoma State Uni-versity Football for The Oklahoman. Sports editor Mike Sher-

man saw potential in May-berry and gave him a shot at his dream job by assign-ing him to cover the Hor-nets for The Oklahoman. Once the New Orleans area began to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Hornets left Oklahoma City and went back to its home of New Orleans.In Mayberry’s favor, some

changes took place in the NBA as well. The Seattle Supersonics were sold and the new owners moved the team to Oklahoma City and

named the team the Thun-der.Mayberry’s experience

and desire gave Sherman no doubt that he was the per-fect guy to cover the OKC Thunder for the The Okla-homan. Throughout his years covering the Thun-der, Mayberry has watched some players come and go, and gained personal friend-ships with others. He has had the opportu-

nity to speak with legends such as Charles Barkley, and discuss the Oklahoma City Thunder on national programs including ESPN, ESPN Radio and NBATV. Dealing with high profile

athletes like the 2014 MVP Kevin Durant and star point guard Russell Westbrook may often lead to challeng-

8-8 in the MEAC. They will also welcome back forward Aivah Parhem, who missed last season due to injury. NSU women’s basketball

have a somewhat challeng-ing non-conference sched-ule this season as well. The Lady Spartans will face Virginia Tech University, Radford University, East Carolina University, Hofst-ra University and Morehead State University, whom they will play Nov. 14 in their season opener at home. They are also scheduled to play in Tennessee State’s Thanks-giving Tournament and Stony Brook’s Seawolve’s Holiday Classic.In addition to the improved

rosters, Joseph Echols Hall underwent changes of its own this past summer. NSU athletics installed a new “floating” floor. Now the floor doesn’t literally float, but the construction of the floor allows more give than the original floor that has served as NSU’s basket-ball playing ground since 1982, when Echols Hall first opened.“The new court has more

of a Spartan feel, fresh green and gold with the updated design makes me feel excit-ed to get back on the court and represent NSU,” said senior guard Jamel Fuentes. The new floor was installed

with intentions of decreas-ing the chance of injury throughout the season. The entrance ways leading to the court have also been reno-vated and new logos have been painted near all five en-trances.

Mayberry’s NSU experienceleads to dream job

Kazahna Joyce

ing situations. Mayberry credits his experience with the Spartan Echo and the advice from his mentors for his success in the “de-manding” job he had once dreamed of having. “My journey to my dream

job was a unique one. I was blessed to be in the right place at the right time. But without years of preparation and an unwav-ering commitment to my craft, I doubt being in the right place at the right time would have mattered. I be-lieve it’s all the work that I did before ever receiving an opportunity that allowed me to not only receive this position, but also to remain in this position,” Mayberry said.

Spartan hoops: 2014-15 season preview

Kazahna Joyce

NSU Alum Darnell Mayberry currently doubles as a writer for The Oklahoman newspaper and as a beat writer for the OKC Thunder basketball team. Graphic by Tykhari Coles

610.24.14Spartan LifeStyLe


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

College is a place where students are supposed to build their careers, meet their soul mates and make ever-lasting friendships and relationships. Adjust-ing to this new environ-ment with new people is surely a challenge at first, but eventually many grow to love their surroundings. In helping the students

make this transition, Nor-folk State University held a Relationships Workshop, where guest speaker Va-nessa Caldwell Jenkins gave students valuable ad-vice.Jenkins stressed that the

most important relation-ship to maintain is with the professors. She noted that professors expect their stu-dents to come prepared, so as soon as the course sylla-bus is received, read over it and come to class ready to learn. Taking initiative is a big part of becoming responsible.If problems arise, such

as the miscalculation of grades or if someone is having a hard time under-standing the material, she urged students to approach the professor in a respect-able manner. Go to them during their office hours and have a healthy con-versation. If the problem is not resolved, the student still has to follow the chain of command, which starts with the professor.“You both have a role to

play. You have the respon-sibility to go in and negoti-ate,” said Jenkins. Living with a roommate

or roommates is some-thing that some students

Relationship workshop gives students perspectiveRichelle Hammiel

Ms. Vanessa Caldwell Jenkins, director of the NSU counseling center, held an on-campus work-shop discussing relationships between significant others, spouses, roommates, teachers, etc. Graphic by Tykhari Coles

look forward to and others dread. Perhaps the scariest part is not knowing who that person is and adjust-ing to their ways of living.

Some may be extremely comfortable with making that new friend, while oth-ers may isolate themselves, making the living arrange-ment uncomfortable for both parties.“There are some learning

curves because everyone wasn’t raised the same way. There are some introverts and some extroverts,” said JenkinsAccording to Jenkins,

drugs, intimacy, lights, television and cleanliness are among the biggest is-sues among roommates. It’s all about having respect and knowing that certain things are not acceptable. For example, if a room-

mate has drugs in the room, while the other chooses not to partake in any illegal ac-tivity, the one in the wrong has to be notified so that

both parties won’t be pun-ished.“I will tell on you,” Jen-

kins repeated several times telling students what they

should tell their room-mate(s).Intimacy, on the other

hand, is a sensitive subject, but can still be handled with a warning. No intimate ac-tivity should ever take place while any individual

other than his or her part-ner is in the room. If not the case, it may be necessary to talk with a residential advi-sor (RA) and follow their instructions.As Jenkins noted, in order

for a person to be in a re-lationship in college, he or she has to be wise in every aspect, as well as make sure that there is a healthy bal-ance between relationship and schoolwork. One must truly be certain that both individuals have a clear un-derstanding of the term “re-lationship.” It is important not to lead someone on if a relationship is not desired from the beginning.“Listen to what he tells

Making and maintaining

healthy relation-ships is a huge part of the col-

lege experience.

you. If you don’t get per-mission to be a girlfriend, don’t act like one. Men and women have different mo-tives,” said Jenkins.Both parties have to know

their worth before allow-ing another person to come into his or her life. Again, respect and self-respect are key factors in relationships.Jeff Johnson, a junior and

special education major, stated that this portion of the workshop regarding men and women’s perspec-tive was his favorite part. To him, it was definitely in-formative.A few members of the

faculty even stopped by to take a few notes.“It’s a discussion that’s

needed. More students should hear this. Then, they would know how to respond to more situa-tions. It touched on facul-ty-student relationships, student-roommate rela-tionships and dating and personal relationships. All of them have a common thread, but there are defi-nitely differences,” said Mrs. Duanne Hoffler-Fos-ter, the mass communica-tions and journalism ad-junct professor.Making and maintain-

ing healthy relationships is a huge part of the col-lege experience. Those relationships will help you learn who you are and ul-timately determine who you become. Connections are a huge part of getting a desired career and that one student who was never paid attention to, could make a difference in someone’s fu-ture.

e d i t o r S

PaigeJeffersonSports Editor

Jason GillEditor-in-Chief

DanielleKirshOnline/Managing Editor

Tykhari ColesMulti-mediaEditor

TrentonFouche’Entertain-ment Editor

MalaunHouseLifestyle Editor

710.24.14 Spartan LifeStyLe


Antonio GarlandNews Editor

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

We meet every Tuesday and Thursday in room 344 at 12:30

pm. ALL majors welcome.

Kallie GouldGraphic De-sign/Layout Editor

Calling all writers, graphic designers,photographers and videographers...

The Spartan Echo is accepting applications now for all editorpositions. Editors will serve during the spring 2015

semester and may receive a performance grant for their service. Amounts vary by position. Some work-done from home-will

be necessabe necessary during the winter break to prepare for thespring semester. Please see the Spartan Echo staff

page at http://www.spartanecho.org/staff for more information.

Applications are available online from Student Activities.https://www.nsu.edu/Assets/websites/student-activities/Student-Publication-Forms/Spartan-Echo-Publication-Application.doc

Applications will be accepted via e-mail at [email protected] through Nov. 14th.

Not recognized? Be sure to register your stu-dent organization with Student Activities

In the Oct. 3 Homecoming Issue of the Spartan Echo, we said on page 3 “...there are over 100 activities and organizations on campus and many of them receive little or no recognition at all.”We would like to clarify that this is because many stu-

dent organizations do not register with the Office of Stu-dent Activities and take advantage of the systems in place at the university to help them. The Spartan Echo registers each semester and is grateful for the support of Student Activities and the resources they make available to us. We couldn’t do what we do without them.

For more information, phone (757) 823-8200.

To be or not to be: relaxed or naturalMalaun House

There is a saying that, “When a woman chang-es her hair, she is about to change her life.” The new trend that has many females reevaluating their hair is the “all natural” look.

Some decide to transition into being natural by letting their permed hair grow out, while others demonstrate their bravery by getting a big chop.

“I cut all of my hair off when I decided to start being natural. It was a huge transi-tion going from having hair, to being bald, but I loved it; having no hair became my style,” senior English major Janae Thomas said.

Becoming natural can be a major transition and often takes time to adjust. There are many products that will help with the process, but every product works dif-ferently depending on the individual’s texture of hair. Some of the most vital prod-ucts used on natural hair come from things found around the house like natural Olive Oil.

“Some say that oil clogs

your pores, but I think a light oil is necessary for any type of hair. My scalp is ex-tremely dry, so I use a lot of natural products like Jojoba and Shea Butter,” freshman Kinesiotherapy major Asia Carolten said.

One of the most essential methods for keeping hair healthy, natural or relaxed, is to keep the hair clean and moisturized. Hair that is re-laxed is often stripped of its natural nutrients, so drinking water can help to keep the scalp moisturized.

“After I wash my hair, I always use a leave-in condi-tioner and then I blow dry it using a heat protectant spray. I learned the hard way that putting too much heat on your hair can damage it,” ju-nior fashion merchandising major Alana Preston said.

There are also a lot of dif-ferent YouTube channels that specialize in natural and protective style tutorials. Some women say that re-laxed hair is easier to tame, while others believe that nat-ural hair is better because it is not processed.

“Honestly, I feel like hair is hair whether natural or processed. Sometimes nat-ural hair does work better with certain styles, but then there are times when permed hair is better...depending on the style,” sophomore music major Tierra Smith said.

For more tips on healthy hair, natural or relaxed, check out Pinterest and You-Tube to read articles, watch videos and read blogs about tricks that work for others.

Ladies can maintain a variety of classy hairstyles, meanwhile keeping their hair as healthy as possible. Photos by Tykhari Coles

810.24.14Spartan entertainment


Peace CorpsLive, learn and work with a community overseas

Apply by January 15 to be overseas after graduation. Explore jobs in Fiji, Rwanda, Paraguay, Cameroon, Albania and more!

Seach all jobs at PeaceCorps.gov/openings#ApplyPC

Contact Marques for more info: [email protected]

Jennifer JiggettsNSU ‘07

ABC has announced its fall lineup and the latest offer-ing “Black-ish,” has already gained rave reviews. Premier-ing on Sept. 24, the show de-buted at its 9:30 pm timeslot with strong ratings. According to Nielsen, over 11 million viewers, which beat out ABC favorites “Modern Family” and “The Goldbergs,” watched the show.

One of the show’s stars, Tracee Ellis Ross, posted on her personal Instagram ac-count how she felt about the show’s recent success. “So excited about how many peo-ple watched, DVR’d, told their friends, tweeted and sup-ported,” the actress posted. “#blackishABC Wednesday night! Cannot wait for you all

“Black-ish” a hit for ABCSherese Stringfield

to tune in next #Wednesday!”The show focuses on a sub-

urban African-American fami-ly trying to embrace their her-itage. The father, Dre Johnson, who is played by Anthony An-derson, tries to get the family to see the value and importance of African-American culture. After getting promoted to CEO of the “Urban” division of the company he works for, he fights for support from his wife, Rainbow Johnson, after she finds his sudden obsession silly.

The show offers a comedic approach to an ABC lineup filled with more serious dramas like “Scandal” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” With the success surrounding the show’s pilot, “Black-ish” may be on track

to be one of ABC’s top rating juggernauts.

One local viewer, Cameron Pearson said, “I love it. Con-tent is great. [It] reminds me of a modern Cosby show. I just hate the fact that they named the show that. We know it’s a black cast. The name does not have to remind us more of that.”

Junior pre-nursing major Sharell Steverson said, “The show seems okay so far. There is nothing about it that makes me run to the TV. I mainly just wanted the show because I was excited to see Tracee Ellis Ross back on TV.”

The show airs every Wednes-day at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

“Black-ish” a hit for ABC opn Wednesday nights. Photo from facebook.com/blackishABC

Entertainment Alliance is a student run record label on Norfolk State’s campus. The organization gives students the opportunity to show-case their talents musically by holding different musical events. Entertainment Alli-ance also recruits students from other universities in the Hampton Roads area to join their record label. “The purpose of the orga-

nization is to build on the craft of each artist and create personal growth,” said soph-omore Audrey Thames, a student at Virginia Wesleyan College where she majors in communications and minors in business. “Also, we want to create a network system among students interested in the industry, internships and raise scholarships. At the same time, we serve the com-munity around us right here in Norfolk through various pro-grams and events. A majority of the events we hold are beat battles for student exposure, concerts, unplugged showcas-es, listening parties and cam-

Student record label hits campus

Chantelle Polite

pus cleanups. It’s the first of its kind at an HBCU.” Entertainment Alliance host-

ed its first showcase event on Sept. 8 in the Student Center. The showcase featured talent from various student artists on campus, which included a jam session and regular per-formances. “For the jam sessions, pro-

ducers and instrumental-ists came together to create beats. Then, we the artists transitioned through songs of today that everyone would know like “Partition” and the “Schmoney Dance,” Thames said. “Then, a few artists per-formed and we sang back-ground for each other when necessary. We just tried to get the audience hype and vibe with us. It was a great way to kick off the semester.” With many performance

showcases to be held in the future, Entertainment Alli-ance will continue to per-suade young artists at local universities to express them-selves musically, in hopes of creating something greater.

62.4 Spartan Echo

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