5.2.12Vol. 59, Issue 11

sPARTAN eCHo • Norfolk State University • 700 Park Ave • Norfolk, VA 23504 • NeWsRooM: 757.823.8562 • e-MAIl: spartanecho@nsu.edu

In an attempt to get medical in-surance to an additional 30 mil-lion people at a reasonable cost to private insurers and state govern-ments, the Obama Administra-tion added an individual mandate section to the Patient Protec-tion and Affordable Care Act.

If a person does not want to purchase insurance, the fed-eral government does not have the right to force them to do so. The government can, how-ever, impose a mandate re-quiring that almost every indi-vidual carries health insurance.

A statement from a 2008 speech in which Obama op-posed health care mandates has been floating around since the

In this file photo, President Barack Obama speaks on healthcare to a joint session of Congress. Experts say employers and insurance companies, not the government, will drive health care changes for the next 10 years or more if the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama’s overhaul law. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, pool)

Continued on p. 3 Continued on p. 6 Continued on p. 3

INSURANCE MANDATERECEIVES MIXED REVIEW,

JULY COURT DECISION

BROWN IS GOING DOWN

DR. A. HAS BIG PLANS FOR NSU

By: Krysta ricKs

By: Marian BrooKs

mandate was first introduced. Obama said “If a mandate was

a solution, we could try that to solve homelessness by mandat-ing that everybody buy a house.”

Now it seems the president has a different view on the issue.

Buying an individual policy or getting health insurance through an employer or government pro-gram are ways in which con-sumers can be in agreement with Obama’s mandate. Consumers should consider each possibility as the individual insurance man-date requires citizens to have health insurance or pay a fine.

The mandate received criti-cism from opponents who be-

President Atwater’s talk of renovating the campus was the highlight of a recent student fo-rum. “The earth will shake as old buildings go down and new buildings come up,” Atwater said, and Brown hall tops the list.

“There will be definite reno-vations to the 1950’s Brown Hall and the shelf life has ex-pired, so it will be getting re-built,” said Atwater who re-ferred to Brown as being on his “hit list.”

The crowd cheered and clapped, but one alumni did not share the excitement. Tearing down Brown Hall offers mixed emotions, and one alumni told him angrily “You are going to find out pretty soon that many people are not going to be hap-py with your decision.”

President Atwater responded by asking for a show of hands as to “How many people feel Brown is a satisfactory place to learn?” No one raised their hands and Atwater continued to speak on his main concern of safety.

He has received the sour end of the conversation hearing

statements like “Please don’t do away with Brown Hall” and “We will call the state legisla-tor on you,” but after the as-sessments it will cost 24 mil-lion dollars to rehab Brown Hall. Atwater believes that 24 million dollars is not a price worth paying just to fix it up. “It has to go,” he said.

Next on the list is to build a new Nursing and Allied Health building. “That will be com-pleted by 2014 and you can bank on a 140,000 square foot building,” said Atwater.

He will then tackle Wilder, Fine Arts, Woods, and the old hospital. “We have funding from the state that has been earmarked to expand fine arts and upgrade the performing arts, where we have continuing needs in respects to the theater and arts,” Atwater said.

Many complaints were made about Fine Arts and its’ lack of equipment, concerns with lights and a leaky roof.

After hearing about Woods not having working windows, dead outlets and a lack of air

President Tony Atwater hit the ground running when he was named the fifth presi-dent of NSU. In addition to incorporating some student ideas tossed around at pe-riodic forums, Dr. A. has come up with a few ideas of his own to make some positive changes on campus.

The Spartan Crusade for Academic Success (SCAS) and the Academic Excel-lence, Partnerships, Institu-tional Advancement and En-rollment (APIE) programs have been implemented to help raise graduation rates so that NSU can play a vital role in making President Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” initiative an attainable goal.

President Atwater initiated SCAS in order to promote educational success and col-lege preparedness at elemen-tary, middle and high school levels. Low-income and mi-nority students in the Hamp-

Is the bowling teamoverlooked? — See Page 4

Dr. Randal Pinkettto speak at NSU — See Page 7

Jersey Shorereturns — See Page 8

By: Krysta ricKs

25.2.12

e d i t o r s

Spartan Opinion

The subject of racial ten-sion in America would not be relevant aside from his-toric references as teaching tools if silly public figures, as well as nobodies, would stop giving us a reason to revisit the subject.

I remember a story about the University of Texas at Austin, a majority institution with an admissions policy that allows it to regard race as a deciding factor in uni-versity acceptance. UT was in hot water in 2008 when Abigail Fisher and Rachel

speech bubble reads, “And then the big, bad white man killed the handsome, sweet, innocent colored boy.”

Cartoonist Stephanie Eis-ner left the paper when her cartoon sparked protests on campus.

This leaves me asking, “Will we ever learn?” Has America grown so racially insensitive that a cartoon like this could float through a handful of editors without anyone saying a word? It is sad that situations must es-calate to this magnitude be-

Michalewicz were denied because they were white.

The policy alone is bull, but it gets worse. Recently UT’s student newspaper, the Daily Texan, was criti-cized for publishing a rac-ist cartoon depicting an art-ist’s thoughts of the Trayvon Martin murder.

The cartoon portrays a white woman reading a book entitled, “Treyvon Mar-tin and the Case of Yellow Journalism” to a little, white girl. Trayvon’s name is mis-spelled on the book and the

fore people recognize that it is racist.

If Trayvon Martin’s death and the other hate crimes that happened shortly after are any indication of the di-rection in which America’s racial insensitivity is going, African Americans, or any other minority for that mat-ter, will never have time to appreciate our forty acres and a mule, especially if we are too busy defending that we are worthy of it.

CONTROVERSIAL CARTOON DISPLAYS THE UGLY TRUTH IN RACISMBy: Krysta ricKs

The University of Texas at Austin’s Daily Texan received backlash for racial insensitivity depicted in this controversial cartoon. Credit: Stephanie Eisner | The Daily Texan

Krysta RicksNews Editor

Marian BrooksStudent Life Editor

Ricky LawrenceMultimedia Editor

Dexter BunnGraphic Design/Layout Editor

Keshara CoxEditor-in-Chief

Bethany CartwrightManaging Editor

Quamé A. HamlinEntertainment Editor

35.2.12 Spartan News

lieve Congress’ decision is un-constitutional in that it forces people to buy a product. Inde-pendent Robert Fawcett told The New York Times that he disagreed with the mandate.

“The whole way the law was brought about, the length of it, the scope of it, was a wrong step in the wrong direc-tion,” he said. “I believe forc-ing people to buy insurance is unconstitutional; it is taking away the choice people have.”

Supporters of the law are shocked that the majority of the public does not approve of it. MIT economist and adviser to the Obama Administration Jonathan Gruber told USA To-day “It is so crazy to think that a society that has Social Secu-rity and Medicare would not find this law constitutional.”

If citizens pay a penalty to the Internal Revenue Service, they can avoid the health in-surance mandate. However, Social Security and Medicare are fees that have always been taken out of citizens’ paychecks.

The Supreme Court will make a decision on the mandate in late June and it will be a major fac-tor in President Obama’s cam-paign during his reelection year.

ton Roads area are the target audience of this initiative.

Dr. A. feels that the en-hanced academic support programs provided for NSU students through SCAS will increase student retention sig-nificantly. NSU’s first SCAS-partner school is Booker T. Washington High School.

Atwater addressed the lack of African American males on college campuses. “The student body is only one-third male,” he said. “Out-reach programs, particularly the partnership between NSU and Booker T., should in-crease the number of black males enrolled in NSU.”

Atwater’s second initia-tive, APIE, is comprised of four sections of goals. “Academic excellence” fo-cuses on promoting scholar-ships and research. It also contains plans to strengthen NSU’s graduate program. “Partnerships” strive to in-crease collaborative efforts with various organizations in the Hampton Roads area.

“Institutional Advance-ment” includes promoting NSU as a brand on region-

students to share that influ-ence and make NSU a stron-ger university in all aspects.

“The playing field is big-ger than our HBCU peers,” said Dr. A. “On a na-tional scale, people will be talking about NSU.”

Dr. Atwater is confident that APIE and SCAS will increase NSU’s chances of

half and sometimes a quarter of what local shops charge.

Another concern is that these parties often allegedly involve minors and unli-censed tattoo artists, which is also illegal. Likewise, shops have to follow regulation pro-cedures, clients have to fill out health waivers and they are inspected by officials.

According to abc13 wvec.com, Agnes Flemming of the Norfolk Health Department said “Illegal operations don’t have that oversight and it’s really important that anyone interested in getting a tat-too go to a licensed tattooer.”

Experts on the subject

al, state and national lev-els through fundraising and alumni engagement. “Enroll-ment” seeks to increase stu-dent retention through pro-motion to adult learners and community college students.

“At one time, NSU had 9,000 students,” said Atwa-ter. “Our six-year plan calls for increasing enrollment to about 8,500 students through strong academic excellence and state-of-the-art facilities.”

In addition to his passion for increasing the numbers at NSU, Atwater strives to ensure NSU students are re-ceiving a quality education. By having the opportunity to work with people they may not otherwise get to meet, NSU graduates will be able to compete on a larger level.

“We live in a global so-ciety,” said Dr. A. “I look forward to developing our international studies with the provost and faculty so that our students can compete.”

President Atwater also ex-pressed that as president he may not have much power, but he does have influence. He is very reliant on faculty and

The Norfolk Health Depart-ment is partnering with police to enforce a strict policy on illegal tattoo parties. They feel that these parties are too common, occurring more of-ten and pose an easily pre-ventable health risk. They are encouraging people to go to a licensed professional opposed to dealing with illegal opera-tions and possible infections.

Tattoo parties are just that, a place where people gather around to get inked. The main reason for the popularity is the inexpensiveness of it all. These tattoo artists, some of which may or may not be li-censed, are charging nearly

playing on a national stage as well as make the university an overall better institution.

“The initiatives will help NSU advance in terms of aca-demic success,” said Dr. A. “They will also help our in-stitutional profile through re-newing the physical plan. NSU will be stronger, more attrac-tive and more competitive.”

agree that anyone thinking about getting a tattoo illegal-ly should think twice. “You have air and spores flying around. That’s not something you want in your open wound and that’s what a tattoo is,” said Schondra Blount of Blue Horseshoe Tattoo. They have locations in Portsmouth, Vir-ginia Beach and Hampton.

Part of being in college is experiencing new things and having a good time. Although infections can be treated and tattoos can be removed, it is all at a costly rate. Paying to get inked by a licensed professional might be one corner not worth cutting.

INSURANCE MANDATE

DR. A. HAS BIG PLANS FOR NSU

TAMING TATTOO PARTIES

- Continued from p. 1

By: Marian BrooKs

At a recent student forum, President Atwater addresses student concerns and discusses changes he has planned for Norfolk State.

Police are cracking down on local tattoo parties.

- Continued from p. 1

45.2.12Spartan Sports

By: Marian BrooKs

SPOTLIGHT: JAMEL FUENTESPRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

BOWLING’S TITLE OVERLOOKED

Standing 6’3” at 175 pounds, Brooklyn native Jamel Fuentes is no stranger to the world of being one of the elite in basketball. Before attending NSU, sophomore Fuentes was named one of the top players in New York City. Fuentes was also Hoop Group Elite Top Performer and named to the all-tournament team at the Providence Jam-fest as a junior in high school.

“I was pretty good in high school. The reason I had suc-cess was simple. I worked hard, so whenever it was time to perform, I performed well and began to get notoriety for it,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes is currently a mass communications major at NSU and plans on playing professional basketball.

“I chose mass communica-tions because it is a fun field and I think I can be success-

ful, specifically with broad-casting. Upon graduation, I plan to play basketball, then hopefully work as an analyst or behind the camera,” Fuen-tes said.

Last season, Fuentes scored 110 points and this season he played pretty well when giv-en the opportunity.

“Next season I’ll have a bigger role, so I’ll have the opportunity to produce more. I want to win another MEAC championship, perform well and make another run in the NCAA tournament. Hope-fully, we go further and keep bringing positive attention to the university,” he said.

According to statistics, guard Fuentes has made a big impact on the team. He be-lieves the big win was great and it sets the bar for what the Spartans want to do next year to keep the success going.

NSU athletics has won five MEAC titles in five different sports and has accumulated five different rings this sea-son. Differences in fan inter-est levels are inevitable, but the amount of celebration with each win should have never wavered. Unfortunately, that was not the case for the bowl-ing team, who has won the MEAC southern division 3 out of 4 seasons and clinched their first MEAC title this season.

NSU athletics had five dif-ferent opportunities for media coverage, each unique in their own respects, but the celebra-tions were not equally shared among the winning teams. Be-ing overlooked because their sport may not be as physical, popular or crowd-pleasing are possible reasons to put the bowling team on the backburn-er. Many of the players, how-ever, were more than willing to offer their opinions on the subject.

Freshman biology major Delilah Bethel said “It feels like we are not even a part of the school, like we are less im-portant, even though we wear the same green and gold as ev-

NSU Bowling won their first MEAC title this season, but was overshadowed by the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament the same weekend.

eryone else.” They have also shown some

of the best consistency among the sports at NSU. Fresh-man special education major Courtney Brown feels they are under-valued, but she’s still proud to be a Spartan athlete. Having that pride is what keeps the team going.

Senior sociology major Chel-sea Krall said “I feel slighted because we worked just as hard, so why not give us cover-age, too?”

All of the MEAC titles bring good attention to the Universi-ty and the athletic department.

Freshman psychology ma-jor Courtney Williford also credits the lack of attention to people disregarding bowling as a “real” sport. “People should start to realize that bowling is equal to any other sport,” she said. “We put in the time and effort to practice.”

“People don’t know a lot about us,” said Williford, “but just being able to represent NSU is a great accomplish-ment itself.” She also believes that exposure is another factor.

Senior elementary educa-tion major Jessica Overton de-

scribes their accomplishment as an “after thought.” “We hardly get any recognition as it is, but it is unfair how we have done incredibly well and are still pushed to the side,” Over-ton said.

Freshman social work major Ashley Buck said “I still get people asking me if we even have a bowling team, but no one ever asks if we have a bas-ketball team.”

Freshman early childhood education major agrees that the bowling team should have re-ceived more coverage, but rec-ognizes that men’s basketball was doing so well at the time.

“When football won, they got a banner and their doors painted in Gills Gym. And, when basketball won, they got a banner hung outside the stu-dent center compared to the couple of online articles we received when we won,” said Junior business management major Lauren Graupmann.

It is evident the amount of frustration some of these play-ers feel, but they all agree that the special opportunity to rep-resent NSU as a student-athlete is a priceless moment of pride.

By: KorBin thoMpson

#3 Jamel Fuentes. Position: G Height: 6-3 Weight: 175 Class: Sophomore Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

55.2.12 Spartan Sports

By: Marian BrooKs

By: Marian BrooKs

ODU BASEBALL TALKS ABOUT NSU

SPARTANS SUCCESSFULLY SERVING

“INSIDE SPARTAN SPORTS” ON THE RADIO AND ON THE WEB

Facing NSU three times in the coming season provides a posi-tive outlook for the Monarchs. “I think it this is good for both programs and it is almost like playing a conference series, just spread out,” said Brandon Shel-ton. Shelton is a senior finance, accounting major, and also the Monarchs’ starting second base-man.

They are also looking forward to the atmosphere at Harbor Park throughout the next games. “The atmosphere at Harbor Park will be great because that is where

of that, but you have two schools in the same city and playing each other just adds to the excitement and the rivalry,” Shelton said.

Shelton is familiar with some of the NSU players due to the friendship he has established with some of them. “I am very good friends with a few of the NSU players, but I don’t look at it as [a] bragging rights game though.” Shelton views it is a chance to compete against guys he knows and respects as fel-low student athletes in the same sport.

the character of the winning team. Winning the Spartan Cup may not be equivalent to a MEAC title, but the lives that have been impacted and influenced through service provide a unique winning ele-ment.

The race recently came to an end and the top three teams, in no particular order, were volleyball, football and women’s basketball. Other teams have made impressive strides as well logging over 1,000 community service hours. Those teams include baseball, women’s track, bowling, men’s basketball and softball.

So...what team was the greatest server of them all? The results were revealed at NSU’s student-athlete ban-quet on April 23 and the Women’s basketball team took home the Spartan Cup.

updates on all 15 sports that comprise the NSU Athletics program. The program also promotes the mission and fundraising goals of the NSU Athletics Foundation.

Ross Gordon, who serves as play-by-play announcer for NSU football and basketball games on WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, is the show’s co-host. The show can also be heard online on www.1021thegame.

com. Listen to archived broadcasts through the pod-casting link on the main ath-letics page.

“Inside Spartan Sports” is sponsored by the Team Spar-tan Corporate Partners (Co-ca-Cola, Smithfield Foods, Southern Hospitality Auto-motive Group – Greenbrier, State Farm Insurance and the Virginia Lottery), Select Im-ports and the NSUAF.

The NSU Spartan ath-letes have been participat-ing in events all season long. Whether they were in or out of season, the Spartans made appearances for on-campus and off-campus events. Some of the events where they ap-peared were at the Heart Walk Celebration, Girl’s Scout Sci-ence Alive Day, the St. Mary’s Heart Wall and the BET Col-lege Tour.

They have also connected with younger children in the Spartan Youth Club, at the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughter, readings at P.B. Young Elementary School, Read with the MEAC and the Ronald McDonald House.

Finding time in their busy schedule is one key aspect to competing for a chance to win the Spartan Cup, an award that offers much value to

“Inside Spartan Sports,” a weekly one-hour radio show, airs live every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. on WXTG 102.1 FM The Game (1490 AM on the Peninsula).

The program, which is host-ed by Craig Cotton, Associate Athletics Director/NSUAF Executive Director, takes an in-depth look at NSU Athlet-ics, its relationship with the mission of the University and

you see a lot of future major league stars play,” said Shelton. “Both schools will have plenty of fan and community support at the venue itself.”

The Monarchs have seen home crowds of over 900 a few times this year, so they hope for great weather because they al-ready have the support. On the other side, ODU does not plan to take the place of Hampton as NSU’s new rival.

“Well, Hampton is NSU’s conference rival just like VCU is ours and you can’t take the place

Chris Baker is another senior and first basemen majoring in sports management. “I think it is great for the two local teams to play at each other’s park once each and at Harbor Park. It gives the series a conference or a play-off type of feel.”

He is also looking for a big game with a lot of excitement. “You always want to play at your best, especially in front of your friends and family and I think this will do that for both teams,” Baker said. He is sure that fans from both schools will really get

into it as the years go by.Baker described playing at

Harbor Park as a special night. “It will always be special play-ing in a stadium where some of us used to watch games as a kid, “ said Baker. “And I want to get that same special feeling when we play NSU.”

Shelton and Baker both agree that the Monarchs “Try hard ev-ery day to be a blue collar team.” They say they will approach every game with a hard work-ing mentality while enjoying the great game of baseball.

65.2.12Spartan Student Life

COLEMAN LEADS THE WAY

NSU ALUM BEATS THE ODDS

By: Marian BrooKs

By: Krysta ricKs

Two-time NSU graduate and academic skills coun-selor, Nosaze Knight, has added author to his list of ac-complishments. He published his first book, My Life: The Movie in March 2012.

Knight felt his story needed to be told because, “Things like this only happen in a movie.”

Having been incarcerated in over sixteen county jails, No-saze Knight had ample time to

give his life some thought and decide the direction in which he wanted to go. His initial charge was for robbing a jew-elry store at 17 in the eleventh grade. He spent the next six years in and out of prison.

The turning point in Knight’s life was a conversa-tion he had with an older man in jail. The man asked Nosaze what he was doing there and told him that some men de-served to be locked up, but Nosaze was one of those that should be on the outside mak-ing sure no more young, black men ended up where he was.

“He saw something in me I did not see in myself,” Knight said. “I was too smart to be making those choices. I got tired of it.”

Nosaze also knew that he was tearing his mother apart with his life of crime so he rose above his situation and

got an education. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in com-munications at NSU and now advises NSU students in aca-demics in the Access office.

Knight values his network-ing system considering that My Life: The Movie was a collaborative effort with NSU graduates Bryon Summers and Thomas Wilson.

He is also passionate about his ability to assist. He de-scribes his book as part auto-biographical and part catalyst for motivational speakers.

“The book spells out issues young men go through,” said Knight. “We are always a work in progress.”

Nosaze said if he changed his past, he would not be who he is today. If he could go back and give his 17-year-old self advice, he would say, “Hang on tight and enjoy the ride.”

Junior, mass communica-tions major Arielle Coleman is putting her talent and cre-ativity to use while bringing her fellow NSU students along the way. Her effort to include others is not only a thoughtful gesture, but also an opportu-nity for mass communication majors to obtain experience on camera and behind the scenes.

“Most of the people help-ing me are mass communica-tion majors, but occasionally people that are not will come

around,” said Coleman. The thought of helping others is ef-fortless for Coleman.

“I love helping people; it’s one of my passions,” said Coleman. She was inspired to start this show after attending a National Broadcasting Soci-ety conference in March 2011. There, she realized that most of the other schools with mass communication departments had some type of daily news show that was not evergreen.

With her planning skills and a good internship last sum-mer, Coleman was able to get something started that directly related to her future goals. “I want to be a producer,” said Coleman.

The Spartan Echo is a good source for news, but not every student may read it thoroughly. By supplying another infor-mational outlet via television, students can see and possibly recognize some familiar faces

and it offers more exposure for campus updates, news and events.

Coleman began putting in the work for a campus news show and expressing her ideas to professors and classmates not too long ago; now her vision is about to be up and running.

“The show is supposed to air any day now and play daily,” said Coleman. “A new show will be swapped out every week.”

The title of the show is “Golden Message.” “I wanted the title to relate to NSU and convey that it was a message that students could identify with, which is why I chose the word Golden,” said Coleman.

“I can’t wait to see where we will all be ten years from now,” said Coleman in reference to the team of people she has helping her. The chance to gain experience and help solidify a future career is truly golden.

BROWN IS GOINGDOWN- Continued from p. 1supply, he responded “To put it frankly, I am aware that Woods needs replacement.” It is also high on the list to get to in the next 4 to 5 years.

Atwater also feels the sen-timental attachment to the old hospital must be let go as well. “We plan on constructing around the old hospital build-ing and people have their feel-ings, but it is all boarded up and needs to be demolished,” said Atwater.

“In place of the hospital will be [a] new residential life and housing building with park-ing,” said Atwater. He said that a memorial stone or plaque would be erected for the build-ings that are torn down “...for those with sentimental attach-ments.”

Atwater described this pro-cess as new editions with ma-jor demolitions. That was the second forum and he is listen-ing to students’ input. He re-minded students that he could be reached through Twitter.

“I have a Twitter page and I don’t mind tweeting as long as you tweet me right,” he said.

Arielle Coleman’s “Golden Message” airs on NSU-TV.

NSU Alum Nosaze Knight wrote “My Life: The Movie” to motivate young men to realize their full potential.

75.2.12 Spartan Student LifeTHE YEAR THAT DEFINED NSU

THE CHEMISTRY OF BREAKUPS:THE BREAKDOWNOF CHEMICALS

DR. RANDAL PINKETTTO DELIVER SPRING 2012COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

By: Briaun rooKs

By: Brittany ElMorE

By: Krysta ricKs

From the moment the first freshman stepped on NSU soil during Freshman Week, the campus has been buzzing with triumphs and celebration.

Norfolk State University inau-gurated their fifth president, Dr. Tony Atwater. After a week of festivities and celebrations that led up to Dr. A’s inauguration, the investiture was held in Jo-seph G. Echols Memorial Hall.

The first major accomplish-ment was the grand opening of the Hampton Roads Transit’s Light Rail, known as the Tide. The Tide is the first light rail operating in this area with stops located between at front and back of NSU’s campus, the Tide has been essential in increasing

Breaking up is hard to do, es-pecially when you have been together for a long time. College breakups are particularly stress-ful, mainly because college is stressful.

There are side effects to a breakup: head and body aches, loss of appetite, mood swings and sadness, etc. Anyone who has gone through a breakup can tell you all about these symp-toms, but what they may not know are the biochemical rea-sons for these symptoms.

Dopamine and oxytocin are two chemicals in the brain that make you feel happy, trusting and in love according to Lo-retta Graziano Bruening, Ph.D., in “Your Neurochemical Self,”

Most noted for his title as the season four winner of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, Dr. Randal Pinkett will be NSU’s spring 2012 commencement speaker.

Pinkett has five academic degrees and is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, a technology and pol-icy consulting firm in Newark, NJ.

Before his success, Pinkett sold CDs and tapes from his dorm room and funded high school outreach activities with the proceeds. His passion for helping others is driven by his faith in God.

“Faith is what gives me strength and a sense of humil-ity. If you have been blessed, you have an obligation to be a blessing to other people,” he said.

During his senior year of high school, Dr. Pinkett’s fa-ther passed, leaving his mother to work two jobs to put him and his brother through college. He feels blessed to be as success-ful as he is today and firmly believes that “to whom much is

transportation to and from the university.

Also, after years of an unof-ficial partnership with Booker T. Washington High School, NSU made it official. This year a part-nership agreement between the two institutions was signed that afforded a full scholarship to the valedictorian of Booker T. Washington High School if he or she decides to attend NSU.

“These accomplishments are great for the university. All of our achievements were good for our school spirit and our re-lationship with the community,” said Student Government Asso-ciation President Juan Lascano.

NSU’s concert choir received national acclaim for performing

an article on PsychologyToday.com. When you go through a breakup, your brain stops pro-ducing these chemicals and goes through symptoms of withdraw-al.

To combat the loss of dopa-mine and oxytocin, your brain produces other chemicals, such as cortisol and epinephrine. Ac-cording to Wellness.com, these chemicals trigger the symptoms associated with heartache which can actually be dangerous to your health and weaken your immune system.

A good way to lift your spir-its is to have a friend keep you company. Oxytocin is released by bonding activities, such as hugging, according to Psycolo-

given, much is expected.”Pinkett’s integral role as

leader of many organizations and his affiliation with dozens more keep him extremely busy. He stays grounded by keeping himself physically healthy and keeping his spiritual self in shape as well.

The transition from high school to college was one of the most difficult times in Dr. Pinkett’s life. His first year, he juggled taking 21 credits, run-ning track, traveling on the weekends, a social life and membership in numerous stu-dent organizations.

His time was spread thin then, but Dr. Pinkett does not regret it. “I realized my calling then and it gave me the focus I lacked. I love being in busi-ness. It is my passion,” he said.

Dr. Pinkett’s advice to stu-dents looking to lead equally successful lives is to figure out to what they are most dedi-cated. He said, “Follow your passion. Keep looking, explor-ing and experimenting. If you do not find it, eventually it will find you.”

gyToday.com. When you lose your significant other, you lose the bond you had with them, hence drops in oxytocin levels

However, there are some natu-ral ways to replenish the good chemicals in your brain. Endor-phins, for example, are chemi-cals that reduce stress, boost mood and improve self-esteem according to WebMD.com. One of the easiest ways to increase production of endorphins is through exercise. Exercise re-leases endorphins in your brain and help fight off the side effects of the breakup. Not to mention that it is going to make you healthier, and, yes, even hotter. After all, you are back on the market now.

at the White House and was in-vited back shortly after to sing for the President and First Lady a second time.

Perhaps one of the most his-toric events to occur at NSU was the men’s basketball team’s suc-cess in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference receiving their first-ever NCAA tournament bid, and defeating Missouri in the “Big Dance, ” before Florida ended NSU’s “Sweet 16” dreams. Other MEAC champions in-clude the track, bowling, football and cross country teams.

A feeling of pride is evident throughout the campus as the school year that has defined Nor-folk State University as a grow-ing institution comes to an end.

Randal Pinkett, season four winner of The Apprentice, will deliver the spring 2012 commencement speech on May 5 2012. Credit: www.randalpinkett.com

85.2.12Spartan Entertainment

MTV OPEN TO THIRD MEATBALL JOINING JERSEY SHORE CAST By: Brittany ElMorE

#thissummer

Get your bikes and bus passes now! Don’t be shocked when gas prices are above $4 this #thissummmer

#thissummer would be better with Afr’Am Fest like back in the day

#thissummer >@LILBTHEBASEDGOD

There is no need to travel #thissummer. According to@TripAdvisor we have one of the top four best beach destinations in the U.S. right in our backyard.

#thissummer would be better without the bugs that the heat brings.

Action movies that premiere #thissummer “The Avengers,” “The Amazing Spiderman,” and “The Dark Knight Rises”

Let’s hope #thissummer’s memories are the best memories.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Kenan Thompson — May 10, 34 yrs.

Mike ‘The Situa-tion’ Sorrentino— July 4, 30 yrs.

Missy ‘Misde-meanor’ Elliot

— July 1, 41 yrs.

Allen Iverson— June 7, 37 yrs.

Tia & Tamera Mowry— June 6, 34 yrs.

Kanye West— June 8, 35 yrs.

Lindsay Lohan— July 2, 26 yrs.

Shia LaBeouf— June 11, 26 yrs.

While college students from all over count down the days to summer break, the cast of Jersey Shore is preparing to re-turn to the shore house for their sixth season. Sure, the world has seen it all before: drinking, fist-pumping, big hair and fake tans, but this season has the po-tential to bring something and someone new to the house.

Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi found out in January that she and, now fiancé, Jionni Lavelle will be having a baby. Even more shocking than the news of her pregnancy, are reports that she may be returning to the shore house this summer.

MTV released a statement about the upcoming season

which reads in part, “MTV gets ready for fist pumps and baby bumps.”

“If anything, I’ll visit the shore,” said Polizzi in an inter-view with Us Magazine. “I’m not living in that house preg-nant. I don’t want to be one of those moms who are pregnant in a club. It’s disgusting.”

Though it is still unclear if she will in-fact be returning to the shore house, Polizzi has been working on her own spin-off show with Jersey Shore co-star ‘JWOWW’. So, even if the show is one or possibly two cast members short of last season (It is unknown if ‘The Situation’ will return after his recent stint in rehab), every-one will still be able to keep up with the world’s favorite meat-ball and her mini-meatball.

FIVE FEMALE FRAGRANCES FOR SUMMER ’12By: QuaMé a. haMlin

With spring upon us, cleaning, buying new clothes and prepping for summer is something that is done without much thought. However, something that is often forgotten is how we smell.

In warmer months, in efforts to combat sweat and body odor, we should switch to a lighter, more appropriate scent to work cohesively with the beach’s breezes and the arrival of new flowers. We have five fragrances that will compliment females perfectly this summer. What is even better is that they are rea-sonably priced and available at your local Sephora.

Flowerbomb by Viktor & RolfPrice for 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray: $75

Guilty by GucciPrice for 1 oz Eau de Toilette Spray: $55

Jimmy Choo by Jimmy ChooPrice for 1.3 oz Eau de Parfum Spray: $55

Light Blue by Dolce & GabbanaPrice for 1.6 oz Eau de Toilette Spray: $68

Angel by Thierry MuglerPrice for 1.7 oz Refillable Shooting Star

Eau de Parfum Spray: $118

In this Feb. 1, 2012 photo, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi poses for a portrait in New York. MTV says it’s bringing “Jersey Shore” back for a sixth season, with expectant mother Snooki part of the action. Production will begin this summer in Seaside Heights, N.J., and all of “America’s favorite housemates” will return, MTV said Monday, March 19. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)