Newspaper Page Text
www.themaroontiger.com
November 16 - 22 2011
FEATURES
WEEK: THE ENCORE
Kobi Ansong
Associate Features editor
kobi.ansong@gmail.com
C oronations and courts
are intrinsically a part of
the AUC experience. From
Greeks to Bonner Schol
ars, everyone seems to have
a court. The only court that
represents the entire AUC as
one unit is the Atlanta Uni
versity Center court.
The 2011-2012 court is Mr.
AUC, Keenan Carver, Ms.
AUC, Dionne Hopkins, Mr.
AUC first attendant, Edward
Davenport, and Ms. AUC first
attendant, Nia Allen. Carv
er is a junior drama major
at Morehouse College from
Palm Bay, Fla. Hopkins is a
junior political science ma
jor at Clark Atlanta Univer
sity from Baltimore. Allen
is a senior fashion major at
Clark Atlanta University from
Cleveland.
This week is AUC week:
The Encore. The court will
be hosting a series of events
at Clark Atlanta, Spelman,
and Morehouse campuses in
order to spread awareness of
the court and their different
platforms.
The Encore kicked things
off on Monday at Spelman.
Students had the opportunity
to meet the faces behind the
AUC s court.
On Tuesday, first attendant
to Mr. AUC, Edward Daven
port, hosted “Who Knows the
AUC?” at Clark Atlanta Uni
versity. The show utilized ori
entation guides in order to see
who knows the most informa
tion about each institution.
Last night, Mr. AUC,
Keenan Carver presented
“SHOUT!” a charitable spo
ken word competition in
Morehouse’s Sale Hall chapel.
Tonight, first attendant to
Ms. AUC, Nia Allen will lead
“The Conversation.” The pan
el discussion will explore rela
tionships and use Hill Harp
ers book, “The Conversation”
as a reference.
Tomorrow, Miss AUC, Di
onne Hopkins in collabora
tion with Morehouse’s ORHL,
Pray or Die, and Mogul Men
of God will present, “The
Kingdom Kickback,” The
event will include a friendly
spades tournament, in which
AUC students can discuss
their common struggles.
Each platform aligns with
the host’s platform as repre
sentatives of the AUC. They
want to break stereotypes per
petuated amongst the institu
tions promote unity. Take the
time out of your day and have
fun by attending the remain
der of the week’s events.
Hip-Hop’s Democratic:
According2HipHop.com
Phillip Wiggins
Staff Writer
wiggins.phillip@gmail.com
W ho’s the best emcee?
Biggie, Jay-Z, or Nas?
Hip-Hop website and blog,
According2HipHop.com, has
the people’s answer. Accord
ing to fans of the website,
Nas is hip-hop’s top emcee.
You don’t agree? Maybe you
should visit the According 2
Hip-Hop website and voice
your opinion. The site not
only welcomes the opinions of
its readers, but it also thrives
off of it.
It is not often that you dis
cover a hip-hop website as
democratic as According 2
Hip-Hop. Most sites are op
erated like oligarchies; small
groups of people handle and
provide each of the site’s con
tent. However, According 2
Hip-Hop constantly taps into
its readership for opinions
and content. If you have a
strong opinion about hip-hop,
According 2 Hip Hop wants
to know it.
“Everybody has an opin
ion and they love to express
it,” Michael Dothard, Co-
Founder of According2, Inc,
said. “Whether it’s at the bar
bershop, the salon, or even in
the classroom. We have given
the people one forum to con
structively express their point
of view.”
The site, which launched
on Nov. 11, is an artistic mon
tage of hip-hop photos, mu
sic, and videos spanning from
hip-hop’s golden age all the
way into the genres digital
age. Since the site’s launch, it
has attracted close to a 1,000
page views daily. The site is
operating on modest market
ing, however, According 2 Hip
Hop has a dedicated following.
According2, Inc started as a
tech company here in Atlanta,
and their flagship product is
their mobile game, “Accord
ing 2 Hip Hop.” The app is a
trivia game very similar to
“Who Wants To Be A Mil
lionaire.” Players are asked a
series of questions about hip-
hop, and they earn points for
every question they answer
correctly.
‘“According 2 Hip-Hop’ is
a mobile lyric-based hip-hop
trivia game,” Dothard said.
“So many of our fans are fans
of lyrics. With our fans being
fans of lyrics it gave us the
opportunity to discuss some
messages in the music. This
was the birth of our debates.”
After the launch of the
game, the According2 found
ers started a Facebook page.
The page soon developed
into a platform for daily vid
eos, discussions, and ratings.
After seeing the Facebook
page’s success, the According2
founders decided to launch a
website. The website’s launch
came at a convenient time as
According2 is currently work
ing on developing the second
version of their game.
Over the past week, the Ac
cording 2 Hip Hop website
has published various reader
generated articles on discus
sions ranging from hip-hop
album art to the top 20 mix-
tapes of the past decade.
According 2 Hip Hop has
grown consistently each day,
and the site’s founders look
forward to seeing more read
ers contributing to the site’s
success.
Various Morehouse and
Spelman students have con
tributed to the site. More
house senior, Spencer Greene,
recently published a review
of New Jersey emcee, Moruf.
Greene’s fellow Morehouse
senior, Taylor Williams, has
published an article review
ing the top 20 mixtapes of the
past decade.
The site’s aim is to pull hip-
hop fans back into the mar
ketplace of ideas. The corpo
rate world and the academic
world both have opinions on
hip-hop’s future. However, ac
cording to the people at Ac
cording 2 Hip-Hop, the fans’
view is the most important.
“The hip-hop culture start
ed from the people and some
where down the line a small
group of corporations have
begun to control our opinions
about our own culture.”
You can visit the website
According2HipHop.com or
follow the site on Twitter, @
A2HHTheGame.
The Revamp of
The Spelman
Spotlight
Sierra Stokes
Associate Copy Editor
sstokes6@scmail.spelman.edu
T he “Spelman Spotlight”
is back and more ready
than ever to make their pres
ence known around the AUC.
The editors are working dili
gently towards being an orga
nization to be reckoned with
and they are well on their way
to this goal.
Spelman College Dean of
Students Kimberly M. Fer
guson will serve as the new
mentor and advisor of the or
ganization. Not only is Dean
Ferguson ready to provide
support for the paper, but the
staff is also understanding of
the mission at hand. English
major and Marlton, NJ na
tive, Kirstin Evans, is ecstatic
about serving as this year’s
Editor-In-Chief.
“As the Editor-in-Chief of
the ‘Spelman Spotlight,’ I plan
to provide the Spelman com
munity and the surround
ing Atlanta University Cen
ter student with a consistent
newspaper that they can rely
on for news, fashion, music,
and more. We will provide
our audience with innovative
stories, captivating photogra
phy, and opinionated articles
that will keep our readers en
gaged,” Evans said.
“Consistent” is a major
word for the “Spelman Spot
light” this year. In past years,
the paper was not known for
printing hard copies consis
tently, which caused the Spel
man community to learn of
events and news via word of
mouth and Spelman email.
This is something that the
Spotlight staff is aware of and
they are currently making
strides to print issues at least
twice a month.
“This year, you can expect
a more consistent paper from
the Spotlight. We are also
open to new ideas as we con
tinue to grow into a notable
publication on campus,” Ev
ans said.
Spelman Spotlight is also
open to going “green” this
year. With all of the “Go
Green” initiatives happening
at Spelman, the newspaper is
adding a lending hand to this
cause.
“As several publications
make their newspapers avail
able online, the ‘Spelman
Spotlight’ is open to embrac
ing electronic copies of our
issues. We will remain dedi
cated to the traditional style
newspaper, but plan to create
a Spotlight website where our
audience can find electronic
copies of the paper,” Evans
said.
The newspaper staff is also
focused on building better re
lationships with each other.
The ladies meet once a week to
discuss any issues a member
may have and jointly attend
workshops. The workshops
they attend have speakers who
are influential in the journal
ism world, such as Joyce Da
vis. During these bonding ex
periences, the members grow
closer and create a better work
environment.
“Outside of our close family
environment and the amaz
ing bonds that I have formed
over the years, I enjoy the ex
ceptional opportunity to cre
atively express myself through
writing,” Kelly Harper, a Spel
man senior and Spotlight
member, said.
As the Executive Editor,
Harper knows firsthand the
hard work and dedication it
takes to produce a success
ful paper. Harper has been
a member of the “Spelman
Spotlight” staff since her
freshman year, which has al
lowed her to have the neces
sary skills to revamp the pa
per.
“When I arrived on Spel
lmans campus, I knew that I
was interested in pursuing
my side passion of writing
and journalism. I started as a
news staff writer, and then in
my sophomore year I earned
the position of Lead News
Editor. Last year, as a junior, I
received the position as Man
aging Editor of the paper, and
this year, I am serving as the
Executive Editor of the paper,”
Harper said.
“Spelman Spotlight” is
ready to serve their Spelman
sisters, faculty, staff and the
surrounding community. The
whole purpose of the organi
zation is to be beneficial for
others and inform them of
happenings around Spelman’s
campus. This is something
the staff is aware of, especially
Harper.
“I want each reader to get
a significant glimpse of the
issues and topics that moti
vate, inspire, and interest our
Spelman sisters as well as re
ceive additional opportunities
to expand their critical con
sciousness,” Harper said.
Join us for our next general
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body meeting!
1 vB
The Maroon Tiger will be holding a general body meeting
Thursday, November 17, 2011 in Merrill Hall Room 111 at 7pm. Be
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sure to attend for more information about joining the staff!
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