Newspaper Page Text
The Organ of Student Expression Since 1925
The MAROO
Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA
September 8 - 14, 2010
Volume LXXXV, issue 3
Music Department Glows about Ray Charles Performing Arts Center
Kevin Mallory
Campus News Editor
kevincmallory@gmail.com
T he Ray Charles Perform
ing Arts Center opened
earlier this semester and thus
far, has received praise from
students and faculty. The
facility has been open for
classes and Dr. Uzee Brown
prefers the new home of the
previous department over the
old space in Brawley Hall.
“This is the kind of environ
ment that is really conducive
to having a serious program
in music,” Brown, the chair
of the music department, said.
“Students are absolutely elat
ed for a number of reasons.
One of the reasons is that the
spaces that are provided for
them are so much more func
tional and comfortable.”
The building features Ray
Charles’ namesake due to the
number of generous gifts he
provided Morehouse College.
The performing arts cen
ter features a lab, a student
lounge, offices that double
as faculty offices and teach
ing studios, and a 650 seat
concert hall that lends itself
to smaller, more intimate pre
sentations.
Dr. Brown believes that
this new center will allow the
Morehouse College music
department to continue to re
cruit the best and brightest of
future music students.
“The embarrassment that I
used to have is that we would
have students come to au
dition, and you could see it
on their faces as ‘Is this it?’
So, this is a major change,”
Brown said.
Although the perform
ing arts center is the most
spectacular space the music
department has occupied,
Brown wanted to admonish
people of the fact that facili
ties do not create elite music
programs.
Se CHARLES, page 2 ►
The
Spelman
Emergency
Assistance
Scholarship
Fund
A Student Helps
her Sisters Finish
Their Education
Carl N. Ringgold
New Media Director
carlringgold @ gmai 1 .com
A Spelman student has
found a philanthropic
way to assist her fellow sis
ters who oftentimes encoun
ter troubles paying their tu
ition. Mea Boykins, a senior
Psychology major at Spel
man College is working to
make that worry a little easier
for some of her fellow col
leagues. Boykins, a New Or
leans native has created The
Spelman Emergency Schol
arship Fund (S.E.A.) to assist
her fellow students who may
encounter financial hardships
that could possibly hinder
their academic advancement.
“I realized that there were
too many people in need of
financial assistance during
my freshman year when sev
eral of my friends were on fi
nancial probation and almost
had to leave school,” Boykins
said. From then on the issue
became very personal for her.
“My father helped three of
my friends pay their balances
on their tuition, as well as a
stranger who was a senior in
her last semester with a bal
ance of only $3,000 who was
about to be put out of school,”
she said.
Boykins was inspired by
& SPELMAN, page 2 ►
SGA Executive Confirmations
Kevin Mallory
Campus News Editor
kevmcmallory@gmail.c01n
Gerren K. Gaynor
Managing Editor
gerren.gaynor@gmail.com
S even Student
Government As
sociation (SGA)
presidential ap
pointments have
been confirmed by the More
house Senate while other posi
tions remain vacant. The SGA
Senate held hearings to decide
whether or not to approve the
appointments made by SGA
President Travis Randle. Three
nominations were either re
jected or deferred.
Randle nominated Maxton
Allen, a sophomore, for the
position of Attorney General, a
student attorney who defends
another student against charg
es levied against him by the
school. However, after a con
firmation hearing on Tuesday
Aug. 31, the Senate rejected
Allen’s nomination.
“He was not the best can
didate for the job,” Dontavius
Taylor said. While Taylor, a
sophomore senator and chair
man of the Constitution and
Bylaws Committee, stated that
he held no bias against Allen,
he also asserted that Allen’s
presentation of himself led to
the senate’s rejection.
“Would I allow this person
to represent me based on the
presentation that I saw? I said
‘no.’”
The SGA President felt that
Allen, although only a sopho
more, would have fulfilled the
duties of Attorney General
well.
“I have full faith and con
fidence that he would be an
excellent attorney general,”
Randle said. “His knowledge
of the student conduct process
is amazing, and he has shown
a tenacity and willingness to
give his all to the student body
of Morehouse College when
they are faced with student
conduct issues.
“Although the Senate has
spoken and done its will, I
think we are losing out on a
good student leader.”
Randle’s appointments for
chief of staff and co-chief of
staff, Adam Starks and Tevin
Jones, respectively, were de
ferred because their duties
could not be fully explained.
The position of chief of staff
is not listed in the Morehouse
College Constitution.
“The positions of chief of
staff and co-chief of staff were
tabled to the next meeting be
cause the Senate wanted clari
fication from President Randle
on what their duties were,” Ty
ler Bell, SGA Vice President
and President of the Senate,
said.
Bell said that senators asked
what the difference was be
tween the positions of chief
of staff and executive director
of the executive board. Bell is
hoping that students will as
sist in amending the school’s
constitution to include duties
of particular government posi
tions.
“One big task we hope the
student body gets involved in
is working on the constitution
to include the tasks and duties
of executive director and chief
of staff.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 7 the sen
ate held a meeting where Ran
dle answered the senate’s in
quiries regarding the duties of
the chief and co-chief of staff.
Randle also drafted a letter, ad
dressed to the members of the
81 st session of the SGA senate,
where he stated his intention to
renominate Allen for attorney
general. In the letter Randle
wrote, “I know that this deci
sion may perplex many sena
tors. However, I have never
been more convinced of a
person’s fitness for an office.”
Randle contended that he is
not trying to “disrespect” the
senate or in any way cast as
persions on [their] power and
duty to provide advice and
consent on a president’s nomi
nee.” Re-confirmations will be
held next Tuesday, Sept. 14.
inside track
Graves
Hall
Mystique?
Does Graves
Hall hold its
own mystique
aside from that
of the college ?
Nicolas Aziz
Editor-in-Chief
y ahoo-. crwmi
U/* Graves wins the step
VJshow every year.”
“Martin Luther King Jr.
stayed in Graves.”
“Graves gets all the girls.”
“Graves is the best dorm to
stay in as a freshman.”
These are just a few of the
“facts” that one may hear prior
to or during their time in the
freshman residence hall known
as Samuel T. Graves Hall. As
someone that stayed in Graves
during their freshman year, I
was able to experience these
facts and myths firsthand.
While the accuracy of the
aforementioned facts may be in
question, it is undeniably true
that many of this institution’s
most prominent current and
past student leaders have lived
in the building that sits on the
“highest natural point in At
lanta.”
Some notable former Graves
Hall residents include (in no
particular order):
• 2009-2010 SGA President,
Adam McFarland 10
• 2009-2010 SGA Treasurer
Armaad Morman ‘ 10
• Founding member and for
mer two-year co-chair of the
Campus Alliance for Student
Activities (CASA) Warren
& GRAVES, page 7 ►
News 1 World & Local 3 Business & Tech 4 Features 6 Opi
nions.
The Social Effects of Marijuana p. 4
Open Letter to the Class of 2011 p. 9
MC Golf Team Wins Championship p. 11
on the web ff£|
w w w. th cm ar o o n t i ge r. co m
wvyw. t vvi tte r.co m th c m aro o n 11 vc r
Recycle The Maroon Tiger
7 A&E 10 Sports 12
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