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The Organ of Student Expression Since 1925
™ e MAROO
Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA
April 4 -10, 2012
Volume LXXXVI, issue 19
Speakers for 2012
Baccalaureate and
Commencement
Announced
Journalism Program to Host ESPN
sponsored HOUSEsports Weekend
WANT TO TALK SPORTS'?
TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE!
Lance Dixon
Managing Editor
ldixon2012@gmail.com
I t’s been a while since you’ve
probably heard about a big
event from the Journalism
and Sports Program. Well, the
wait will be over soon. ESPN
sports columnists JA Adande
and Jemele Hill, Morehouse’s
most celebrated athletic alum
nus Edwin Moses, and former
Atlanta Falcons head coach
Dan Reeves will all be making
their way to our campus this
month - why?
They’re coming to par
ticipate in “ESPN Presents
HOUSEsports Weekend,” a
three-day sports conference
from April 12-14 at Sale Hall.
It was conceived and orga
nized by journalism program
director Ron Thomas, along
with Morehouse students
Devin Emory and John Smith,
the co-founders of the student
organization HOUSEsports.
The conference is totally
funded by ESPN, and all
workshops are free and open
to the public.
Founded in 2007 through
the efforts of alumnus Spike
Lee ’79 and the late ESPN col
umnist Ralph Wiley, the jour
nalism and sports program
has been able to make great
strides in a short amount of
time. The program officially
became a minor in 2010, three
years after its inception, and
has become a part of the aca
demic culture.
It has brought numerous
guests to the school such
as ESPN’s Michael Wilbon,
CNN and ESPN’s LZ Grand-
erson, Olympics track legend
Tommie Smith, along with
other notable figures in the
sports and journalism worlds.
Those have included Pulitzer
Prize-winning investigative
reporter Les Payne and Wash
ington Post national editor
Kevin Merida.
But, HOUSEsports Week
end is the journalism pro
gram’s largest and most con
centrated effort.
“I’ve never done anything
this big. We’ve never put six
workshops and a dinner into
essentially two days,” Thomas
said.
The weekend of events be
gins on Thursday and features
a watch party of a Miami
Heat-Chicago Bulls game at
the Microsoft Store in Lenox
Square Mall. At the party, stu
dents can participate in an
Xbox 360 contest, snack on
good food and write columns
on the game to be judged by
Hill and Adande. Hill noted
that her participation in this
event stems from her expe
rience with mentors who
helped her achieve success.
“I had phenomenal men
tors and I’ll never forget the
things they taught me...I’ve
always felt a responsibility to
give back,” Hill said. “I believe
in the idea that it’s really im
portant for people that have
‘made it’ to maintain a rela-
tionship with those that aspire
to be in this industry.”
A major goal for the week
end is not only to focus on ca
reers in journalism but to also
provide insight into many op
portunities afforded to people
who have an interest in sports.
Sessions include discussions
about entering the world of
being a sports agent, athletic
director or general manager,
and international sports ca
reers including sports tourism
and sports economy.
“I think the most important
thing is students getting a lot
of knowledge about sports,”
Thomas said. “The variety of
panelists is international ...
you can’t find that elsewhere.
I hope [the weekend] opens
some students’ minds to the
wealth of opportunities in the
sports world.”
This is a sentiment that Hill
also shares, and hopes to ex
press to students.
“Working at ESPN can be a
goal, but it shouldn’t be a ca
reer goal,” Hill said. “I’d like
to see more young journalists
focus on honing their craft,
instead of worrying about be
ing on TV’
Beyond the workshops and
talks on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday, there are other fun
events in the works. A pow
der-puff football game and
pool party for students will
precede the most formal event
in the conference: a closing
dinner and tribute to multiple
prolific figures.
This dinner will be hosted
by NBA TV’s Rashan Ali and
will honor New York Times
columnist Bill Rhoden, the
author of “Forty Million Dol
lar Slaves,” as journalist of
the year. This event is invi
tation only, and will culmi
nate a weekend of events that
aims to raise money for both
HOUSEsports and the jour
nalism program; a program
that both Thomas and Hill
consider vital to the future of
sports journalism.
“The conference fits with
the program’s initial mission,”
Thomas said. “The percent
of black sports reporters on
newspaper staffs is 6 percent
and black people only make
up 7 percent of front office
staffs in pro sports.”
This figure is a troubling
one, but has shown slight im
provement; improvement that
this conference hopes to pro
vide a springboard towards.
“When I was at the Orlando
Sentinel [in 2005] I was the
only black female sports col
umnist in America,” Hill said.
“While I see more women of
color in sports, it’s been slow,
incremental progress.”
Tre’vell Anderson
Campus News Editor
anderson.trevell@yahoo.com
I t is often said that when a
Morehouse Man is empow
ered, so is the world. This will
be the case on May 20 when
the class of 2012 becomes
Morehouse Men and receive
their final words and em
powerment as a class from S.
Truett Cathy, Dr. Elaine Tuttle
Hansen, and Tom Joyner.
Each speaker will give a
separate charge to the new
Morehouse Men based upon
their years of experience in
their various fields at the
Commencement ceremo
nies on Century Campus at
8 a.m. Cathy is the founder
and chairman of Chick-fil-A,
Inc. and a close friend of the
College. Hansen serves as ex
ecutive director of the Johns
Hopkins University Center
for Talented Youth and presi
dent emerita of Bates College
in Lewiston, Maine.
Joyner is the host of the
nationally acclaimed “Tom
Joyner Morning Show” and
founder of both REACH Me
dia, Inc. and the Tom Joyner
Foundation. After their words
of encouragement, each pre
senter will be presented with
honorary degrees of the Col
lege.
The tenth president of
Morehouse College, Dr. Rob
ert M. Franklin ‘75, will be the
main commencement speaker
as he graduates his final class
of Morehouse Men. At the end
of the academic year, Franklin
is slated to step down as presi
dent, provided the board of
trustees has found a replace
ment.
The class of 2012 will also
receive a stirring message
from Rev. A1 Sharpton at 3
p.m. on May 19 at their bac
calaureate service, which will
be held in the Martin Luther
King Jr. International Cha
pel on Morehouse’s campus.
Though Sharpton has spoken
at Morehouse before, this will
be his first time operating in
such a capacity.
Guests are encouraged to
arrive at both events early due
to limited seating and antici
pated crowds.
r ^
WHAT’S HAPPENING
ON CAMPUS?
Q H ff 4
^ —
6 j| §*|| n
April 2-6
Academic Advisement Week
April 6
Good Friday, School Dosed
April 9-12
27th Annual Martin 1 uther King Jr.
College of Ministers & Laity,
King Chapel
April 9
Web Registration Opens for Fall 2012
April 20
Miss Maroon and White Pageant- King
Chapel, 8 p.m.
April 21
Spelman & Morehouse Freshman Step
Show, Forbes Arena, 7 p.m.
April 26
Senior Crown Forum
May 2
!. ast Day of Classes
May 7-1 1
Final Exams, See Exam Schedule
May 14-20
Senior Week
May i9
201/ Baccalaureate
King Chapel, 3 p.m
May 20
2012 C ornmencement, Century
Campus. 8 a.m.
To have /our event placed here, email all information to anderson.trevel!@
yahoo.com by Saturday to have it printed in the following week's issue.
L ^
inside track
News 1 World & Local 3 Business & Tech 4 Features 6 Opinions 8 A&E 10 Sports 12
HOUSESports Weekend Schedule
AUC Underdog
Best Hip-Hop Labels Part 2
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p. 2
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p. 11
on the web %
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