Newspaper Page Text
IN G 20*'
October 31,2006
www.spelmanspotlight.com
Volume XLIV No. 6
PEL MAN
POT
Spelman breaks ground
Tamika Yador
Campus Involvement
On Friday, October 20th,
Spelman College leaped into
greener pastures as Dr. Tatum
broke ground for a new
“green” residence hall.
Outfitted in hard hats with
shovels in tow, members of
the Spelman community,
including students, faculty,
and trustee board members,
united to take a step in an
environmentally responsible
direction.
“Basically, a green’ building
is one that is environmentally
efficient, which means not as
much energy is wasted,” jun
ior and Environmental Task
Force president Bianca Coley
Tamika Yador
Campus Involvement
By mid-swing, the kick off
to Spelman and Morehouse
2006 homecoming held
October 22, had taken flight.
The anticipation of the annu
al celebration erupted between
gyrating hips and dancing
feet, entranced by the synco
pated rhythms laid to wax by
the dee-jay. The excitement
mounted as students excitedly
squealed, “That’s my song”
with eacji passing tune.
Apparently, the crowd was
pleased by homecoming’s
beginnings.
“I am expecting homecom
ing to be a great event this
year. It looks like its been very
well planned out,” senior
Alexa Fiarris said. “Everything
looks like it will be pulled
together.”
As students wrapped
around Morehouse’s Fredrick
Douglas Hall, they combated
the cold by migrating to the
crowd’s center. Others waved
their hands above the red rail
ings, feeding off the crowd’s
energy to maintain body heat.
The crowd acted out a long
held tradition and sporadically
slipped into the Electric Slide.
“The weather is definitely
colder than I had hoped it
would be, but the weather
said. “In an environmental
crisis, these types of buildings
play an important role.”
During the groundbreak
ing ceremony, President
Beverley Tatum also spoke of
the critical condition of our
environment.
“The very future of our
planet is at stake. I believe we
have an obligation to increase
our own environmental
responsibility at Spelman and
to educate students about it,”
Dr. Tatum said. “With the
ground breaking for this new
‘green’ residence hall, we are,
like the founders of Spelman,
building for the next 100
years and doing our part to
protect the environment for
the generations to come.”
won’t get in my way. I am
expecting it [homecoming] to
be fun and more elaborate
than it was in high school,”
freshman Karla Washington
said. “This [homecoming] will
be bigger, but I don’t know if
it will be better.”
High expectations seemed
to be the theme of the
evening. From the inexperi
enced freshman to students
who were disappointed by last
year’s less than extraordinary
homecoming ball, students
appeared to be holding their
breath, waiting for the climax.
“Hopefully, it’s better than
last year. As a freshman, I
came in with my eyes wide
open with high expectations
that weren’t really met,” soph
omore David Perdue said. “It
was fun for the most part. I
wouldn’t trade it in. But, I
want more this year.”
The land, which has been
acquired from the AFJC, is |
located at the intersection of
West View Drive and Lee
Street, tucked behind the j
Milligan Building (better
known as the Career Planning j
Office). The proposed resi
dence hall will cover 201, 455
square feet and house suite
style 2, 3 and 4 bedroom
dorms with amenities. Slated
for fall 2008 occupancy, the
residency will increase the
campus’s housing capacity
from 1176 to 1479. Added
perks include: a 175-seat din
ing hall and a 100-car parking
deck. The dorm will prioritize
health, reduce environmental
impact and increase resource
conservation.
see Groundbreaking on Pg 10 »>
closed, the sizable crowd
began to dwindle; however,
the spirit of togetherness
remained.
“I came tonight to gain
some unity with students out
side my school and hopefully
to meet a couple of dudes
from Morehouse and girls
from Spelman,” Clark Atlanta
University freshman Carlito
Great said.
With gift bags in hand,
stuffed with promotional
materials, including a CD
sampler from Janet Jackson’s
latest album, the students
emptied from the space,
returning to their respective
dorms. Hopefully, this home
coming will rise to the occa
sion or perhaps exceed expec
tations.
Homecoming
costs increase
Nicole Barden
News Editor
The typical Homecoming
fervor surrounded the campus
and heightened as the week
progressed. Despite the
excitement many students
were upset by the pricing of
events, and had to make care
ful decisions about what they
would attend.
“The activities that stu
dents did not normally have
to pay for are held on
Morehouse’s campus, and we
don’t have any jurisdiction
over whether students pay for
those or not,” said Maria
Arvelo Lumpkin, student
affairs liaison, who added that
the pricing decisions were not
made jointly.
Lumpkin’s position was cre
ated roughly a month ago to
oversee the Homecoming
operations. “My role is one of
basically professional support
to make sure the operation
functioned with a level of effi
ciency and to be a first respon
der to issues that student lead
ers had about Homecoming
and the relationship with
Morehouse,” said Lumpkin.
After the march to spread
awareness about rape and
other forms of sexual violence,
which occurred a little over a
month ago, rumors surfaced
that the tensions between the
two schools may impact
Homecoming. Despite the
timing of the events and the
creation of her position
Lumpkin made no connec
tion between the two.
“I wouldn’t necessarily draw
a correlation between this
position and the issues of sex
ual assault but more so to add
to the professional staff that
are responsible for providing
coherence to execute
Homecoming,” she said.
This year featured both a
hip hop and neo soul concert.
The increased ticket prices for
events were a result of bring
ing in more artists and the
increased cost of certain indi
vidual artists said Kenyatta
Shamburger, Director of
Student Life and Planning at
Morehouse and one of the
staff advisors on the
see Pay on Pg 2 »>
Homecoming 2006 kicks off
Slightly before the four-
hour window of the event