The Register, 2007-01-17

              i/lostk hiqr friday the a&t register new look wednesday january 17,2007 attempted ban on'n word by councilman library adopts quiet floor for the latest on and around aggieland on the yard and off the yard the return of the campus police blott more in-depth sports coverage with scores stats and graphics campus i really feel that this will be a success because it's something that the students have wanted for a long time he said spruill is confident that there will not be any issues with the new policy and that things will run smoothly he thinks that stu dents will respond positively there will be signs posters and fliers posted on the third floor so that when students step off the elevator they will know it's a special floor the quiet floor could be in effect by the time you read this story to the changes i am not in the library that often but i think it's cool that they are doing something to cut down on the noise said mar quis hines a junior accounting major apparently the students themselves are looking forward spruill mentioned that peo ple use the nickname club bluford to describe the library supposed to be the academic center of the campus i think that this is what the students really want we had a complaint the other day when a student in a corner was listening to music on his laptop and didn't realize that another student was sitting right around the corner trying to study and could not due to the distraction spruill said this approach is nothing new in fact universities with much larger libraries have des ignated quiet spaces in the past lenced electronic devices must be used with headphones and no group study will be allowed currently as the rules stand no talking will be allowed cell phones and beepers must be si for those students wonder ing what will make the quiet floor there are a few rules it shocked us when some students complained about how there is no quiet place to study at in the library so they go over to uncg instead spruill said we acted when we heard those types of complaints however complaints about a quieter environment arose according to octavious spruill reference librarian and spearhead of the initiative stu dents staff and faculty were pleased with the services stay in the library quite often said marissa dixon a freshman food and nutritional science ma jor i'm glad that there is going to be a place that should be free from unnecessary noise since i this decision comes after the results of surveys that were conducted last fall by the staff of bluford during national li brary week this could change very soon well at least on the third floor starting this semester library staff will transform the third floor into a special quiet floor area fancy cell phone tunes loud music on laptops and excessive chatter among students are three of the biggest distractions that a student may face when trying to study in bluford library but you can certainly make it unacceptable i don't know if you can abolish it said the rev al sharpton but can the n-word be abolished the word has gone from one of a violent tradition to one that is acceptable said pastor curtis norton of merrick park baptist church in southeast queens it's insidious minucci claimed he used the slur as a friendly greeting be fore beating a black man with a baseball bat in howard beach in 2005 he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison the widespread use of the n-word gained considerable attention last year during the hate-crime trial of nicholas fat nick minucci the timing is right he said monday is martin luther king's birthday february is black history month comrie said the resolution will be formally introduced to the council feb 1 the first day of black history month stop using the n-word comrie demanded thursday it's racist it's negative it's demeaning it boils my blood the usage even in a personal tone between people new york — a queens city councilman is on a mission to abolish the n-word democrat leroy comrie is so disgusted by the rampant use of the racial epithet that he has submitted a resolution to the council calling for the sym bolic moratorium on the use of the n-word in new york city greeks say film stepped out of bounds volume ixxx issue cloudy high 49 johnathon e briggs chicago tribune saturday sunnv mostlv hiqh 46°f sunday partly cloucr high51°f the film's plot centers on a rebellious college student who introduces street dancing into his fraternity's step show — highly greeks but many support the film due to its positive portrayal of black collegians and in part because its producers are black a few black greeks have called for a boycott of the film arguing that it mocks the rich histories of the organizations by portraying them as glorified dance groups most were founded during the early 20th century at a time when lynching and jim crow segregation stalled the social and political advancement of african-americans and over the years the organizations have nurtured a who's who of black america — from the rev martin luther king jr and jes se jackson to rosa parks and mary mcleod bethune stirred debate among the 1.5 million members of the coun try's nine black greek organiza tions even before its nationwide release last week stomp the yard the first hollywood de piction of black greeks since spike lee's school daze has for me being an alpha means being a role model my main fear is that people who don't know anything about black fraternities and sororities will think that all that we're about is putting on step shows said fleming of des moines iowa fleming a member of the african-american fraternity worries that a new movie down plays the civic deeds of black greek life while playing up its most visible aspect the synco pated stomps and claps known as stepping chicago — when stan fleming thinks about alpha phi alpha community service not stepping comes to mind in 1906 a decade after the u.s supreme court upheld sep most of mainstream ameri ca has no idea about black greek organizations neal said this is a wonderful opportunity to talk about this particular legacy but because this is a hollywood film it's never really going to get at the real history mark anthony neal profes sor of black popular culture at duke university said that with so few mainstream images of black greek life it is under standable some members are sensitive about their portrayal step shows a popular feature of black greek life are some times used as fundraisers or part of member initiations during the routines dancers simultane ously stomp clap and slap their hands against their bodies to create a beat at the same time they boast about their fraternity or sorority choreographed performances in which the fraternities and so rorities do intricate rhythmic dance steps in unison some scholars note that step ping — not to be confused with the dance that originated in chicago _ wasn't associated with black greeks until about 1970 well after members made alpha phi alpha became the first black greek fraternity and eight similar groups followed alpha kappa alpha soror ity kappa alpha psi fraternity omega psi phi fraternity delta sigma theta sorority phi beta sigma fraternity zeta phi beta sorority sigma gamma rho sorority and iota phi theta fra ternity secret societies such as fra ternities and sororities provided students with housing study groups and a social environment in which students could grow with others author lawrence ross jr explains in the divine nine a history of black greek organizations arate but equal education a tiny group of black men at cornell university created alpha phi alpha fraternity inc to uplift one another controversy over the film began in november when al pha phi alpha denounced it and threatened legal action against sony pictures for the unauthor ized use of the fraternity's trade marked symbols headlines for their leadership and service during the great depression world wars i and ii and the civil rights movement the dispute was settled after symbols belonging to alpha and other black greek organizations were deleted from the film and sony donated money toward the king memorial under construc tion on the national mall in washington our goal for this film is simply to make college life seem accessible to all execu tive producer and alpha rob hardy said in a society where the value and relevance of black colleges and black greek let ter organizations are under in creased attack the mainstream circulation of the types of imag es in our film can renew interest among our youth issu north carolina a&t state unhwrrity tjqptofe discover become campus news state news arts & life editor business sports mb ' mm the a&t register box e-25,1601 e market street greensboro nc 27411 newsroom 336 334-7700 e-mail register@ncat.edu 2007 case da nifong asks to be recused from duke lacrosse to the forefront aggie suggests film brings racial tension aggie legend mr b'shares his story news editorial arts & life sports home winning streak gives a&t fans a reason to cheer the a&t register serving north carolina a&t state university since 1893 in 2007 things to look for jeuron dove news editor melissa grace new york daily news wednesday partly cloudy high43°f thursday