The Southern University Counseling Center has added an extra service to their office for this semester to better help students cope with stress related issues.

The ‘Serenity Room,’ which was once the counseling center’s reading room, has been transformed into a relaxing, therapeutic setting for students to relax and unwind from a long day.

ValaRay Irvin, director of the counseling center, also the creator of this project, says she wanted to transform the room into something useful so that students will utilize their services fully.

“We created the ‘Serenity’ room to give students another option to address stress,” said Irvin.

The Serenity Room includes a fully reclined massaging chair that massages from neck to calves, soothing sounds of relaxing music, a soothing aroma of a lavender candle burning and a soothing waterfall.

Students will be able to enjoy a full back and leg massage of 15 preset minutes in the massaging chair while relaxing to calm waters trickling down over rocks.

Once students enter the room, the lights are dimmed, the candle is lit and the water begins to flow to help calm the mood of the room.

Only requirements students will have is to show their student IDs upon arriving to their appointments.

“We are going to be trying to be as flexible so as many students can be able to utilize it as possible,” said Irvin.

Irvin stated that the items

that were selected were to set the décor and the feeling of relief and environment.

Irvin says there are still some things she would like to add such as a rug and more calming colors, such as blues and etc.

“I would like to add a biofeedback machine,” said Irvin, “but that’s just a budgetary issue.”

Key figures discuss the advantages and disadvantages to Southern and how offices are going to move forward to the new Southern.

Chancellor Llorens discussed the progress of the reorganization and retrenchment plan.

“This is the first semester and (interim provost) Dr. (Janet) Rami and I are working with the deans to collapse and consolidate schools and they will be aligned with the new organizational structure,” Llorens said.

Llorens is striving to protect the core mission of the university and deal with budgetary shortfalls.

“We plan to protect out core academic mission. The reality of the fiscal situation is we cannot continue as we are facing the challenges of a severely reduced budget,” Llorens said.

Llorens understood some of the decisions he will face during exigency.

“I realize I’m in a position where this is not going to be positive for everyone. If there were other options I’m all for it. We realize it’s all about creating a better SU,” Llorens said.

Southern University System President Ronald Mason hopes that The Southern Strategy Plan will help build academic excellence and prominence.

“Students should focus on the positive and the policies and possibilities,” Mason said.

Mason said politics and lack of monetary resources leave Southern disadvantaged.

“We reflect the people we serve. We don’t have access to wealth,” Mason said.

Although monetarily we have less wealth Mason mentioned we tend to do more with less.

“Southern University at Shreveport has the second highest graduation rate in Louisiana, Southern University at New Orleans graduates more students than it takes in,” Mason said.

Southern University Board of Supervisors Chairman Darren Mire felt the university

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Grace leads SU past Jackson St., Gramblingsee Sports, Page 5

Students cheer on Dolls during SB partysee Culture, page 6

Volume 58, issue 4

Evan TaylorThe Southern Digest

ChrisTiE CarralThe Southern Digest

The University Counseling Center’s Serenity Room will serve as a student spa through out the semester.

photo by trevor james/digest

See PRe-law day page 3

See seRenity page 3

New chances for SU

UCC ‘Serenity Room’ creates relaxation

Students interested in law got a sample law session and some exposure to law curriculum at the 19th Annual Pre-Law Day at Southern University Law Center.

The law day featured a mock law class, an organizational expo, sessions on money mana-gement, ‘trailway trivia’ and a law school tour.

Following a session on the history of the Law Center participants were thrown into a simulated first day of law school class.

“Something beneficial to you when coming to law school is to have an idea of what’s happening around you. Read your local and national newspapers,” said Alfreda Sellers Diamond, Professor SULC.

The class was challenged by one hypothetical situation concerning the constitutional powers granted to the president and congress in declaring war.

Participants were charged with deciding whether the hypothetical was constitu-

tionally sound.“We are discussing the

dueling constitutional contexts, in Article I Section 8 Clause II and Article II Section 2 of the United States Constitution,” Diamond said.

Following class, participants engaged in “Trailway Trivia,” the Law Center’s version of Family Feud. The topic was most important things to consider when going to law school.

The top answer was financial value with employment post graduation and academic of-ferings coming close.

According to U.S. News

and World Report, SULC was ranked number one in financial value at graduation out of 190 law schools.

The law center offers multiple programs; full time day, part-time evening and part time day.

Roederick White, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs discussed character and fitness for future lawyers.

You can have a great personality but we can be concerned with their character. Getting a traffic ticket does not prevent you from getting into law school but, lying about it does,” White said.

In the session “Destination

Law School” panelists described their SULC experience and what should be deciding factors for choosing law school.

The panel consisted of current students and SULC graduates including state Rep. Edward ‘Ted’ James.

“Relationships through the bonds of the SULC ... prepared to perform well in the legislature because of SULC. This is the place that will give you the preparation for law,” James said.

When asked about the

Southern University Law Center professor Alfreda Diamond (in red) and admissions coordinator Velma Wilkerson greets prospective law students during the SULC’s 19th Annual Pre-Law Day.

photo by arielle N. burks/digest

SULC prepares potential students

Evan TaylorThe Southern Digest

CoNstruCtioNConstruction is still underway

at SU. Check the Digest and www.southerndigest.com for more information. If you have any safety questions or concerns contact Chris Spurlock at 225.771.7286 or Robert Nissen at 225.771.3101.

Campus aCCessHarding Boulevard will be

the sole entrance/exit between the hours of 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. Vehicles entering the campus during those hours must stop at the Checkpoint prior to entering the campus. On weekends the Mills Avenue entrance will remain closed from 6 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. the following Monday morning. Please contact Lt. Floyd Williams at 771.2770 for more details.

live text Codes for first time freshmeN aNd first time

traNsfersLiveText Subscription Codes

for First-Time Freshmen and First-Time Transfer Students are available until March 1 from 10am-12noon and 2-4p.m. Monday-Thursday in Room 155 of W.W. Stewart Hall.

iNtramural basketball leagueLeague Play has begun for

Intramural Basketball. All games are played on Fridays in Seymour Gym. For more information contact Coach Robinson at 225.771.3212.

mlk CatholiC studeNt CeNterThe St. Joseph Chapel/ MLK

Catholic Student Center offers Sunday mass service at 11 am and daily mass at 12:10 Monday thru Friday. Confessions are by appointment.

southerN uNiversity Wesley fouNdatioN

The Southern University Wesley Foundation is accepting donations of non-perishable and canned foods for their food drive. They will be accepting donations until April. Worship

services are on Wednesdays at noon.

uNioN fuN fridaysLaCumba’s playpen, Union

Bowling Alley and Burger King will be open Fridays until 3 pm. LaCumba’s playpen and the bowling alley will offer half price Fridays.

graduate sChool CritiCal datesA list of critical dates is in the

graduate school office.

CeNter for studeNt suCCessThe SU CSS offers a free

paper service. You can have your paper reviewed for clarity, grammatical errors, sentence structure, etc. CSS will also be offering English workshops every Friday at 10 am. CSS will be offering seminars to assist students with topics such as discovering their learning styles, study skills, to stress management. Contact CSS for more information on any of these programs and for tutoring questions at 225.771.4312 or stop by 107 in Stewart Hall.

NatioNal blaCk hiv/aids aWareNess day

Students can get free condoms, door prizes, and hear great speakers and get tested. Take advantage of the opportunity to know your status today from 10 am – 2 pm in the Cotillion Ballroom of Smith-Brown Memorial Union. For more information contact Darnell Pledger in Center for Social Research at 225.771.3010.

beep WorkshopBlack Executive Exchange

Program (BEEP) is hosting an elevator speech workshop today from 11-12:20 in T.T. Allain Room 222. Do you have an elevator pitch or 30-second commercial? Can you present yourself with confidence across the range of networking environments including informal settings, job interviews, large groups and social on-line networking arenas? For more information

contact subrbeep@gmail.com.

Career day Come out and weigh your

employment options and career choices at the Career Exploration Day on Feb. 8 from 10-3pm in F.G. Clark Activity Center. For more information contact SU Career Services at 225.771.2200.

billiards tourNameNtLaCumba’s playpen will have

a Billiard tournament on Feb. 8 from 6-9pm. Awards and prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Come test your skills.

obama leCture“The First Term of the First

Black President: Is President Barack Obama Good for America and Black People” Speaker: The Son of Man, Leader and Teacher of the New Nation of Islam. Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6p.m. in the Nursing School Auditorium on the Campus of Southern University. For more information please call 225.229.8747.

movie NightMovie Night w/Pi Sigma

Epsilon (PSE) on Feb. 10 at 7:02 pm in T. T. Allain Hall Room 313. Featuring: Columbiana and Real Steel, this event is open to the first 100 students. Contact subrpse@gmail.com or 225.771.5883 for more information.

pi sigma epsiloN iNformatioNalPi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) Co-

Ed Fraternity Informational: The Best Decision You Haven¹t Made Yet at 5:30 pm in T. T. Allain Hall Room 313. Professional Attire is required and it is open to All Majors. Contact subrpse@gmail.com | or 225.771.5883.

Page 2 - tuesday, FebRuaRy 7, 2012

CamPus liFethe sentinel oF an enlightened student body sinCe 1926

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MISSION STATEMENTThe mission of Southern University and A&M College, an Historically Black, 1890 land-grant institution, is to provide opportunities for a diverse student population to achieve a high-quality, global educational experience, to engage in scholarly, research, and creative activities, and to give meaningful public service to the community, the state, the nation, and the world so that Southern University graduates are competent, informed, and productive citizens. Website: www.subr.edu.

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who’s speaking out?

“Growing up in my hometown, we didn’t have bullies. Everybody stood there own ground.”

“It wasn’t a big problem. It actually helped me develop tough skin.”

“It never was a problem for me, I was the bully.”

“Bullying was not a problem for me being i was bigger than everybody. I was also cool with mostly everyone.”

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How big of a problem was bullying for you growing up?

campus briefsTODAy

FEBRUARy 9

FEBRUARy 8

FEBRUARy 10

Resolutions from page 1

serenity from page 1

newstuesday, FebRuaRy 7, 2012 - Page 3

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the sentinel oF an enlightened student body sinCe 1926

PRe-law day from page 1

The Monument to Joe Louis statue is displayed in downtown Detroit Monday. What exactly is Chrysler selling with “It’s Halftime in America,” Super Bowl ad which aired during Super Bowl XVLI, on Feb. 5? Chrysler’s recovery or Detroit’s or the country’s? The city is fighting to stay out of financial receivership, for one, and its image as a symbol of recovery is incomplete.

photo by Carlos osorio/ap photo

1883 — Pianist and arranger Eubie Blake was born in Baltimore.

1871 — Mississippi legislature purchases the land of the former Oakland College and renames the school Alcorn University in honor of sitting Gov. James L. Alcorn. Now named Alcorn State University, it became the nation’s first state-supported institution for the higher education of African-Americans.

1872 — Newspaper editor William Monroe Trotter is born in Boston. Trotter, the first black man to earn a Phi Beta kappa key, went on to become a charter member of the Niagara Movement and help found the NAACP.

1926 — Negro History Week originated by Carter G. Woodson is observed for the first time. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

1945 — Irwin C. Mollison is appointed judge of the U.S. Customs Court by President Harry S. Truman

1946 — U.S. Senate filibuster kills Fair Employment Practices Commission bill. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 8802, creating a Committee on Fair Employment Practices (FEPC). A subsequent executive order strengthened the FEPC. Two more attempts (1948 and 1950) to create a permanent FEPC on the federal level failed after filibusters from senators from the South

1965 — Comedian, actor and director Chris Rock is born in Andrews, S.C.

Today in History

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

was disadvantaged because of legislative decisions made by the state.

“We don’t get to draw from the same pool. The Governor has put a priority on 2 year colleges. Our mission was to allow every individual gain a 4 year degree. Our mission is not the same as LSU,” Mire said.

Mire saw having the only Historically Black College and University system as a advantage by itself.

“With the only HBCU system we have something to sell. Our alumni are everywhere. Because we are in the capitol we stay abreast of what’s going on politically.”

Mire discussed the progress we have made with financial exigency.

“We have taken a negative and turned it into a positive. Financial exigency has turned to restructuring, rehiring, and combining schools. It’s easy to fight when you believe in something,” Mire said.

Residential Life Director Shandon Neal proposed exposure and telling the Southern University story could push the positive.

“While everyone has downfalls if enough people tell the positive we can increase recruitment and retention,” Neal said.

As the reorganization and retrenchment plan is being implemented key figures are tracking and monitoring its progress and addressing its problems.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the biofeedback treatment is a technique in which people are trained to improve their health by using signals from their own bodies.

Psychologists use biofeedback machines to help tense and anxious clients to learn to relax. Other specialists in many different fields use biofeedback to help their patients cope with pain.

According to Irvin once students have finished their sessions, they will be asked sanitize the chair for personal hygiene purposes.

Irvin stated that students would be able to call the counseling center, or walk-in, to schedule an appointment to use the room as a service.

Due to late arrival of all furnishings, the Serenity room will not be available for students until this Friday, February 10.

Hours of operation are from 8 A.M- 5 P.M., so students will have a full nine hours of relaxion.

To make appointments for services of the counseling center, students are urged to call and make appointments at 771-2480.

opportunities available at SULC in reference to other law schools, Kourtni Mason, Editor-in-Chief of SULC Law Review responded.

“Opportunities are available here that I wouldn’t have had elsewhere,” Mason said.

John Pierre, Vice Chancellor of Institutional Accountability and Evening Program discussed how the Law Center makes choices concerning doing more with less.

“At SULC we break ceilings and we shatter barriers. The SULC was founded on serving non-traditional students, first year law students come from a variety of backgrounds.

Sometimes you have to struggle financially, we have to choose where we prioritize spending and sometimes the shortcomings are in the mind,”

Pierre said.Jamien Arvie, a second-year

law student, hosted a session on money management discussing budgeting, paying expenses, and mitigating excessive expenses.

“There are expenses you will need to pay, and there are ways to mitigate some of your expenses,” Arvie said.

Before students ate lunch and were given the option to tour the campus, participants were faced with one final challenge; conquering and holding their own in a law debate.

Representatives who participated included students from Southern University at Baton Rouge, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Xavier University and Grambling State University.

A panel voted for the winner

of each of the three rounds going head to head concerning whether students and teachers should be friends on Facebook, whether colleges should have a dress code and whether convicted felons would be allowed to vote following their sentences.

Colby Sutton a Southern University student participated in two rounds and cited a dress code as stifling ideas and culture of college students. Also Sutton argued that the right to vote is a human right and the process of stripping that right is “dehumanizing.”

Organizations present at the SULC Organizational Expo included: Admissions, Financial Aid, Career Counseling, Student Bar Association, National Black Law Society, GALE, and Clinical Education.

‘Halftime in America’ ad sparks debate

DETROIT — People rarely pick a fight with Dirty Harry. But Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” ad featuring quintessential tough guy Clint Eastwood has generated fierce debate about whether it accurately portrays the country’s most economically distressed city or amounts to a campaign ad for President Barack Obama and the auto bailouts.

The 2-minute ad holds up Detroit as a model for American recovery while idealistic images of families, middle class workers and factories scroll across the screen.

“People are out of work and they’re hurting,” the 81-year-old Eastwood says in his trademark gravelly voice. “And they’re all wondering what they’re gonna do to make a comeback. And

we’re all scared because this isn’t a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now, Motor City is fighting again.”

Conservatives, including GOP strategist Karl Rove, criticized the ad as a not-so-thinly veiled endorsement of the federal government’s auto industry bailouts. Others questioned basing a story of economic resurgence in a city that remains in fiscal disarray, with a $200 million budget deficit and cash flow concerns that have it fending off a state takeover.

But is it political? That depends on who you ask.

“I can’t stop anybody from associating themselves with a message, but it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part,” Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne

told WJR-AM in Detroit. “You know, we’re just an ingredient of a big machine here in this country that makes us go on.”

Last year was a pivotal turnaround year for Chrysler, which nearly collapsed in 2009. The company and its financial arm needed a $12.5 billion government bailout and a trip through bankruptcy protection to survive. Chrysler has since repaid its U.S. and Canadian government loans by refinancing them, but the U.S. government says it lost about $1.3 billion on the deal.

The ad with Eastwood, who previously publicly slammed the auto bailout, follows a highly popular one that aired last Super Bowl featuring hip-hop star and Detroit-native Eminem driving a Chrysler 200 through stark city streets — and introduced the tagline “Imported From Detroit.”

CorEy WilliamsThe Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — A milestone has been reached in a lawsuit that could determine whether thousands of New Orleans school employees are entitled to damages for the way they were fired after Hurricane Katrina.

Testimony from a trial that ended last June finally has been transcribed, filling more than 4,000 pages. Now, lawyers in the employees’ lawsuit have until Feb. 17 to file final written arguments. It is unclear how soon after that date Civil District Court Judge Ethel Simms Julien will rule.

The trial began last May, more than five years after Katrina struck and levees failed, deluging the city just as the school year began. With the population scattered and schools in no shape to open, the Orleans Parish School Board dismissed more than 7,000 teachers and other employees.

The trial ended in June, but transcribing testimony and compiling volumes of documents entered as evidence has taken months.

Seven people are named as primary plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Once Judge Ethel Simms Julien rules — sometime after mid-February — they will learn whether the court believes they are entitled to damages for the way they were fired and how much they are entitled to, according to an attorney in the case.

But a decision will not mean the case is resolved.

Aside from the likelihood of lengthy

appeals, the case has been certified as a class-action. So a decision in favor of the plaintiffs could mean up to 7,000 former school workers also would be entitled to damages. Sorting out appeals and the amount of damages members of the class would be entitled to would mean more time before a final resolution.

“I’m prayerful that it will be soon,” said Walter Goodwin, former principal of John McDonogh High School, who said he attended every day of the trial last year. Goodwin, 65, said he was still a few years short of retiring when the dismissals came. The loss of his job came as he was renovating his flood-damaged home and rebuilding his mother’s home, which took on 20 feet of water when a levee broke in the Lower 9th Ward.

Defendants include the Orleans Parish School Board, the state Department of Education, and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The lawsuit is one element in an education story that has brought widespread attention to public schools in New Orleans, where even before Katrina the schools system was plagued by corruption, mismanagement and poor student achievement.

In the months after the August 2005 hurricane, the state took over most of the city’s public schools, leaving only a few higher-performing schools in the hands of the school board. Most of the approximately 70 schools run by the state’s Recovery School District in New Orleans have been turned over to independent charter organizations.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said the U.S. has a “very good estimate” of when Iran could complete work on a nuclear weapon, but cautioned that there are still many unanswered questions about Tehran’s inner workings.

“Do we know all of the dynamics inside of Iran? Absolutely not,” Obama said. “Iran itself is a lot more divided now than it was. Knowing who is making decisions at any given time inside of Iran is tough.”

Obama said that while he believes the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program can still be resolved through diplomacy, the U.S. has done extensive planning on a range of options.

“We are prepared to exercise these options should they arise,” Obama said during an interview with NBC that aired Monday on the “Today” show.

Obama’s comments come amid increased tensions in the Middle East and elsewhere over the prospect that Israel, a key

U.S. ally, could soon launch a unilateral strike against Iran. Fearing that such a step could trigger a broader war and disrupt the international economy, the U.S. and other western nations are scrambling to try to persuade Israel against a strike.

On Sunday, Obama said the U.S. was working in “lockstep” with Israel and did not believe Israel has decided whether to attack Iran, and said he hopes the standoff can be resolved diplomatically.

“I don’t think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do,” Obama said during a pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC.

Iran insists its nuclear pursuits are for peaceful civilian purposes, not a bomb.

Iran’s regime says it wants to extinguish the Jewish state, and the West accuses it of assembling the material and know-how to build a nuclear bomb. Just last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta would not dispute a report that he believes Israel may attack Iran this spring in an attempt to set back its nuclear

program.Obama refused to say whether

the United States would get notice from Israel before any potential strike on Iran.

“I will say that we have closer military and intelligence consultation between our two countries than we’ve ever had,” Obama said, adding, “We are going to be sure that we work in lockstep as we proceed to

try to solve this — hopefully diplomatically.”

The United States is leading that persuasion initiative, even though Washington largely has concluded that outside argument will have little effect on Israeli decision-making.

“Any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us,” Obama said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaks at a ceremony in Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, 300 kms 186 (miles) south of capital Tehran, Iran. For the first time in nearly two decades of escalating tensions over the Iranian nuclear program, it appears that world leaders are genuinely concerned that an Israeli military attack on the Islamic Republic could be imminent, an action that many fear might trigger war, terrorism and global economic havoc.

photo by hasaN sarbakhshiaN/ap file photo

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state & nationthe sentinel oF an enlightened student body sinCe 1926

southerndigest.com

The Associated Press

KEvin mCGillThe Associated Press

JuliE PaCEThe Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — New Or-leans has the nation’s second-highest rate of homelessness — nearly triple the national average and just barely below the rate in Tampa, Fla., according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

A new report from the group estimates that nearly 6,700 homeless people live in New Orleans, The Times-Picayune reported. That’s a rate of 56 per 10,000; Tampa’s is 57 and the national average 21 per 10,000 residents.

It’s based on an annual count made at the end of January by UNITY outreach workers in cities across the nation. They go to homeless hot spots such as shelters, service centers and outdoor gathering spots — and, in New Orleans, vacant buildings.

“What’s unique about New Orleans is that most of the city’s homeless are hidden from public view,” said Martha Kegel, who heads up UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a coalition of 63 agencies in Orleans and Jefferson parishes that deal with homelessness.

Obama: Iran intel ‘very good’

New Orleans homless rate 2nd in nation

Fired teachers’ lawsuit closer to resolution

The Southern women’s basketball team went into Monday’s game at rival Jackson State seeking to bounce back from a tough loss Saturday at Grambling State.

The Jaguars did just that at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center as four players scored in double fi gures to help Southern get past JSU 65-60.

The win keeps Southern (9-9, 8-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) hot on the heels of conference frontrunner Mississippi Valley State (12-10, 9-2) heading into next Monday’s showdown between the Jaguars and the Delta Devillettes.

In Grambling, La., Saturday, a late free throw by Jasher Blocker with three seconds left helped Grambling hold off the Jaguars 60-59 at the Frederick Hodby Arena.

In other SWAC action Monday, Mississippi Valley State (12-10, 9-2) routed Alabama A&M (11-10, 6-5) 73-44; Grambling (10-11, 6-5) defeated Alcorn State (8-15, 6-5) 66-58; and Alabama State (9-11, 6-5) kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-22, 0-11) winless, defeating the Golden Lions 68-57.

Southern returns to action this weekend, playing host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Southern 65, Jackson State 60JACKSON, Miss. — Laneisha Stephens

led Southern with 15 points and six rebounds. She was 7-for-11 from the fi eld.

Jasmine Jefferson, Kendra Coleman and Adrian Sanders all scored 10 points. Sanders also added seven rebounds for the Jaguars.

Tiffany Kellum led JSU with 16 points and nine rebounds. Rachel Jones chipped in 13 points and fi ve rebounds. JSU actually outshot SU, hitting .479 (23-of-48) while the Jaguars were 26-for-59 (.441) from the fi eld. JSU also led 31-27 at halftime, but Southern outscored the Lady Tigers 38-29 in the second half.

Grambling State 60, Southern 59GRAMBLING, La. — A pair of free

throws by Jasmine Jefferson tied the game at 59-59 with 1:35 left in regulation. Each team had chances late to take the lead.

Grambling’s Markisha Patterson Missed a layup with 1:04 left to play, but Southern’s Adrian Sanders missed a jumper with 46 seconds remaining.

GSU’s Wymekia Randle pulled down a huge rebound with eight seconds left, as the Jaguars grabbed offensive rebounds and missed shots prior to Randle gaining possession.

Laneshia Stephens and Sanders posted double-doubles for the Jaguars. Stephens fi nished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Sanders scored 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Southern point guard Jameel Grace’s career high scoring night going into last weekend’s action was a 15-point showing against Xavier-New Orleans in December 2010.

Grace exceeded that plateau in back-to-back games, and all of those points were needed in the Jaguars’ close road wins over archrivals Jackson State and Grambling State.

On Monday in Jackson, Miss., Grace scored six of the Jaguars’ eight overtime points to help Southern (13-11, 9-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) outlast JSU 49-44 at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center. He led all scorers with 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half and overtime.

On Saturday in Grambling, La., Grace scored 19 of his career-high 24 points in the second half to help the Jaguars rally past Grambling State 57-53 at the Frederick Hodby Arena.

In other SWAC action Monday, conference leader Mississippi Valley State (12-11, 11-0) defeated Alabama A&M (5-15, 3-8) 78-64; Arkansas Pine-Bluff (5-19, 4-7) slipped past Alabama State (8-15, 5-6) 62-61; and Alcorn State (7-16,

4-7) escaped Grambling State (3-18, 3-8) with a 57-55 decision.

The Jaguars return to the F.G. Clark Activity Center Saturday to take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Tip-off is 4:30 p.m.

Southern 49, Jackson St. 44 (OT)JACKSON, Miss. — Grace hit

the fi rst basket of overtime, and Quinton Doggett’s layup gave the Jaguars a 45-41 lead.

Jonathan Lewis’ 3-pointer brought the Tigers (5-18, 3-8) within a point, but a jumper by Grace made it 47-44 with 48 seconds left. After Jackson State’s Kelsey Howard missed a 3-point try, two free throws by Grace provided the fi nal margin.

Sydney Coleman’s layup for Jackson State with 5 seconds left in regulation sent the game to overtime tied 41-41.

Doggett fi nished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Southern, which has won fi ve in a row and defeated Jackson State 68-37 on Jan. 9.

Howard scored 16 for Jackson State, which shot 22.7 percent (15-of-66) for the game to Southern’s 37.8 percent (17-of-45).

Southern 57, Grambling St. 53GRAMBLING, La. — The

Jaguars shot 54.2 percent from the fi eld (13-of-24) in the second half, after starting with a

21.7-percent performance (5-of-23) in the fi rst.

Southern scored 18 of its 22 points in the paint in the second half.

Grambling State extended its 31-21 halftime lead to 33-23 less than 2 minutes into the fi rst half. Southern then scored 13 unanswered to go up 36-33 on

Fredrick Coleman’s dunk with 15:30 to play.

The Tigers would take their next lead, 52-51, with 3:51 remaining, before missing all four of their fi eld goals and going 1-of-3 from the free-throw line the rest of the way.

Quincy Roberts led Grambling State with 27 points.

With National Signing Day over with, some football fans would think that the recruiting process is over... it isn’t.

In college football recruiting is never over its actually year round, with recruits visiting campuses and talking to coaches.

Southern isn’t any different just last year the Jaguars picked up college transfer Jamie Payton, a linebacker out of Lambuth College, who made a signifi cant contribution to the Jaguars making fi rst-team all-Southwestern Athletic Conference team.

As of right now the Jaguars have signed 12 players and have three grayshirt players who are students who are early enrolled and can participate in spring drills.

“There’s a couple of guys we’re going to have to wait on to see how they fi nish, but that’s only two guys out of the 12,” said head coach Stump Mitchell addressing the signees who are eligible to play for the Jags come fall.

In year three of the APR suspensions the Jaguars are slowly recovering, being allowed to give 26 more scholarships this season than this time last year.

“This year, it’s not as drastic as it was last year,” said Mitchell addressing the added number of scholarships for student-athletes. “Last year, it was a total of 54 scholarships and we could not spread that over any amount other than the 54. So the big difference we are allowed to have 80 students-athletes on aid as opposed to only 54,” coach Mitchell added.

The Jaguars will look for this recruiting class to contribute early just like Mitchell’s previous two classes.

“I would like for Greg Pittman to focus on kicking PATs fi eld goals and kicking off, as opposed to having to punt,” said Mitchell, referring to the 5-10, 170-pound kicker from New Orleans that signed Wednesday.

Just like last year with the late pick-up of Payton during the summer, the Jaguars are hopeful to fi nd transfers.

“Some of the guys that were at junior colleges at your major colleges were anticipating those guys graduating in December and it didn’t happen, maybe they went on with someone else and those guys are looking for a place to land so we will be looking for a couple of those guys,” said Mitchell.

tuesday, February 7, 2012 - Page 5the sentinel OF an enlightened student bOdy sinCe 1926

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Southern’s Jameel Grace posted two of his career-best games last weekend, helping Southern post wins over Jackson State and Grambling State.

PHOTO By TreVOr JameS/diGeST

Digest News Service Aristide PhilliPsThe Southern Digest

Digest News Service

Jasmine Jefferson (center) was one of four Southern players in double figures as the Jaguars SU Jackson State 65-60 Monday.

PHOTO By TreVOr JameS/diGeST

Mitchell seeks more pieces

Amazing GraceGrace’s heorics help SU get past Jackson State, Grambling State

Southern splits games against JSU, GSU

The Southern University Men’s Federation and the Union Activities Board sponsored a Super Bowl XLVI Bash Sunday in the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union.

Students slowly migrated to the Union by the end of the first quarter students filling most of the seats that was placed out.

Armark provided food for students with a wide variety of foods like popcorn, potato chips, spinach artichoke dip, sandwiches, hot wings and cake.

Students were glad to have an event on a Sunday which is usually a day were student events aren’t held.

“The event was great we actually need more stuff like this on campus for the students that way we can actually come have fun and chill,” said Men’s Federation member Kirt Thibodeaux.

The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of year and it’s also known for companies to show out creating the most entertaining commercials of year.

“That’s the only reason I watch the Super Bowl in the first place is for the commercial,” said Union Activity Board Member Keyandra Hall, whose favorite and arguably the funniest commercial of the night by many of the students, which was the Doritos advertisements.

But the students really came to their

support fellow Jaguars — the Human Jukebox’s Dancing Dolls and the Gold N Bluez — who performed at halftime with pop super star Madonna.

When halftime started, students cheered looking real hard at the large display screen to try and notice the girls.

But it was clear who were the Dancing Dolls when students who noticed their faces erupted in loud cheers.

They came out in their red and white outfits dancing along side pop star Madonna.

“The Dancing Dolls did great, being that I’m a former member of Jukebox it was a great honor to see them on that stage and perform well and represent the school at the same time so it was great,” said Thibodeaux.

But like a SU football game after halftime was over students left the and all that was left were students who were football fans and students who wanted to enjoy the events in its entirety.

But the highlight of the night had to have been the dancing dolls of southern and the support of students who were just a little bit more proud to be a student here.

“They were excellent, and it shows that Southern University students are stellar and have more unprecedented talent than any other institution in the country,” said Student Government Association President Demetrius Sumner.

Southern University’s Dancing Dolls had an experience of a lifetime — and they can thank YouTube for it.

The dance team performed in Sunday’s halftime show at Super Bowl XLVI with pop music icon Madonna. Local media reports stated Madonna discovered the young women after watching a video of one of their performances on the popular website.

“It goes to show the power of YouTube,” said Southern University’s band director, Lawrence Jackson.

This year’s game attracted more than 111 million viewers. Jackson said the performance was the first for the Dancing Dolls at the Super Bowl, which the New York Giants won 21-17 over the New England Patriots.

Kayla Smith, the Dolls’ captain, said Madonna told her that one of her personal trainers found the troupe while searching for dancers on YouTube. She and another member, April Rollins, flew to New York in early December to meet with the pop star.

“We thought we were actually going to be learning something,

but when we got there, they wanted April and I to teach them something,” Smith said. “We were like, ‘Oh wow, you want our choreography?’”

In a telephone interview after the show, Smith said they felt perfectly comfortable before they went on stage and during the performance.

“Once (Madonna) did all her tricks in the show, we knew all we had to do was go out and do our best,” she said.

The Southern University Band Department, which oversees the Dancing Dolls, will get a payment for the Dolls’ performance, Jackson said. He declined to reveal how much.

The Dolls normally have 11 members, but Madonna needed at least 20 dancers. So the group recruited nine other students for the performance, Southern University spokesman Edward Pratt said.

Jackson said Super Bowl halftime show representatives contacted him about possibly

inviting the Dancing Dolls shortly after November’s Bayou Classic, the annual football game between Southern and Grambling State.

The university had to keep quiet about the performance because of a confidentiality agreement with the NFL, Pratt said.

“This is an amazing event for our students, and we were bursting at the seams to try to say something,” Pratt said.

James Rollins, April Rollins’ father, was just as frustrated about keeping the secret. He said his daughter finally told him she was performing at the Super Bowl after she had been flying back and forth from New York to work with Madonna.

“Here she is dancing on the biggest stage, and I can’t tell anybody,” James Rollins said.

Many students watched the performance during a Super Bowl party held on campus. Once the red-and-white dressed team popped onto the stage with Madonna, the students’ cheers erupted throughout the room.

Southern Chancellor James Llorens said the invitation is a testament to the hard work and reputations of both the Dancing Dolls and Southern’s marching band, the Human Jukebox.

Aristide PhilliPsThe Southern Digest

Members of the Southern University Dancing Dolls dance while Madonna performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, Sunday in Indianapolis.

PHOTO By cHarlie riedel/aP PHOTO

CulturePage 6 - tuesday, February 7, 2012 the sentinel OF an enlightened student bOdy sinCe 1926

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SU’s Dancing Dolls perform with Madonna

SU students cheer on Dolls during Super Bowl party

The Associated Press

I know that this will be controversial, because I am a media representative talking about the media in the third person. However, if I make you think, then I will have done my job.

The media’s purpose is to serve its audience with information and access to policy and procedure that may otherwise not be transparent. Media organizations —whether they are in print, broadcast or online mediums — are established to serve their audience base.

Educate the public on what they want to know and give them the facts so they can make an informed decision concerning their own lives.

The ethical media does not aim to make decisions for its audience, persuade their audience, nor spoon-feed their audience with individual or personal decisions/beliefs.

I am beyond upset at people in the public blaming the media for all of the issues, problems and dysfunctions of America.

It is always easy to pass your burdens or problems on someone else.

When you were a kid and broke something that belonged to your mother, it was always easier to say it was your sibling or the dog. It was easier to lie if you thought it would never get back to you.

At some point, you had to face the facts that you broke the vase, and you either had to pay for it or suffer the punishment.

Put yourself in the media’s shoes: How easy is it to serve the public that blames you for all of its problems?

How does it feel to come into work everyday to get phone calls, or emails regarding someone who has no media training telling you how to do your job?

How would you feel about a job that you never get paid enough to do, for the hours you work and the sacrifices you make?

When every day you spend away from your loved ones, family, friends and other obligations is for a public that doesn’t respect your work, your contributions or your sacrifices.

Now, rethink this media

conspiracy. Conservatives often think that the media is too liberal while liberals often think that the media is too conservative. Could it be it depends on perspective and exposure?

Everything that is correlated is not causated. It’s possible that information can be correlated without one event causing the other.

People are more important than issues, but in a demand-driven world, we have to focus on problems to solve before people to introduce.

If you ask for it we will try to write about it but we are not magicians or have flying carpets. If you tell us two hours before the event, it’s a miracle if we are there. But, send us your calendar and we can work you into the schedule.

The media is not the enemy, people make mistakes and try to cover them up, and the media will report it, if it is the truth.

The media’s job is to seek the truth and report it, minimize harm (ever wonder why we don’t print victims names), act independently (not liberal or conservative), and be accountable (the reasons why we answer your phone calls and heed your recommendations).

The media is not the enemy; the media is seeking the represent the people that they are accountable to.

SUBMISSIONS POLICYThe Southern DIGEST welcomes letters from readers commenting on current issues and other matters of general interest to the SU family and public. We set aside this space to publish these letters for others to enjoy. This newspaper is not responsible for individual opinions expressed on its editorial and opinion pages. The Southern DIGEST reserves the right to edit any contributions and or reject them without notification. Authors are encouraged to limit the length of submissions to 300 words. Letters should not include libelous statements. Offensive and personal attacks will not be permitted. The DIGEST will not print “open letters” addressed to someone else. All contributions must be type written, signed and must include the author’s address and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Southern University students should include their majors, hometowns and year in school. When referring to specific DIGEST articles, please include the date and title. All materials should be directed to the editor in chief of The Southern DIGEST, P.O. Box 10180, Baton Rouge, La. 70813. Materials may be delivered by hand to the DIGEST office located in Suite 1064 Harris Hall or can be e-mailed to digest@subr.edu.

EDITORIAL POLICYStaff editorials represent the opinions of the author and the majority opinion of the Southern DIGEST Student Editorial Board, which is comprised of the student staff of editors and columnists. The Southern DIGEST provides an open forum to educate, inform and enlighten the students, faculty and staff at Southern University, Baton Rouge, La.

PUBLICATION ASSOCIATIONSThe Southern DIGEST is a member of the Black College Communications Association (BCCA), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), University - Wire Network (U-Wire), Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), College Media Advisers Association (CMA), Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Full member of the Associated Press (AP) and the Louisiana Press Association (LPA).

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PHONE: 225.771.2231FAX: 225.771.5840

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STUDENT MEDIA OFFICEDirector ...................................................... TBAPublications Asst..................Fredrick BatisteBusiness Manager .............Camelia Jackson

CONTACTS (area code 225)Student Media Newsroom............771.2231Advertising Office ......................... 771.5833Student Media Services ................771.5812

SPRING 2012 STAFFEditor-in-Chief ............................. Evan TaylorManaging Editor ...................................... TBACopy Editor ..................Norman J. Doston Jr.Copy Editor ........................... Jimmica YoungPhoto Editor .............................. Trevor JamesStaff Writer .............................. Christie CarralStaff Writer ...............................Tyrone CarterStaff Writer ..............................Marcus GreenStaff Writer ........................... Lauren JohnsonStaff Writer ................................. Raees MalikStaff Writer ........................... Aristide PhillipsStaff Writer ................................ Jessica SarpyStaff Writer .......................... Samantha SmithStaff Writer .............................. James TeagueStaff Writer ..........................Arthur ToledanoStaff Writer ......................... Billy WashingtonStaff Photographer ...................Arielle BurksStaff Photographer ......................Talor KinzyStaff Photographer ...................Keldric NashStaff Photographer ..................Ariana Triggs

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Student Affairs.

tuesday, February 7, 2012 - Page 7

COmmentarythe sentinel OF an enlightened student bOdy sinCe 1926

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evan taylOr

The Media ‘Conspiracy’

WASHINGTON — When the 2010 census asked people to classify themselves by race, more than 21.7 million — at least 1 in 14 — went beyond the standard labels and wrote in such terms as “Arab,” ‘’Haitian,” ‘’Mexican” and “multiracial.”

The unpublished data, the broadest tally to date of such write-in responses, are a sign of a diversifying America that’s wrestling with changing notions of race.

The figures show most of the write-in respondents are multiracial Americans or Hispanics, many of whom don’t believe they fit within the four government-defined categories of race: white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native. Because Hispanic is defined as an ethnicity and not a race, some 18 million Latinos used the “some other race” category to establish a Hispanic racial identity.

“I have my Mexican experience, my white experience but I also have a third identity if you will that transcends the two, a mixed experience,” said Thomas Lopez, 39, a write-in respondent from Los Angeles. “For some multiracial Americans, it is not simply being two things, but an understanding and appreciation of what it means to be mixed.”

Lopez, 39, the son of a Mexican-American father and a German-Polish mother, has been checking multiple race boxes since the Census Bureau first offered the option in 2000. Marking off the categories of Hispanic-Mexican ethnicity, “other” Hispanic ethnicity and

a non-Hispanic white race, Lopez opted in 2010 to go even further. He checked “some other race” and scribbled in a response: “multiracial.”

More than three million write-ins came from white and black Americans who appear to have found the standard race categories insufficient. They include

Arabs, Iranians and Middle Easterners, who don’t fully view themselves as “white” and have lobbied in the past to be a separate race category. They are also Italians, Germans, Haitians and Jamaicans who consider ancestry a core part of who they are.

Roughly half a million black Americans — between 1 and 2 percent of their total population — wrote in answers to signify their preferred term for black. Among them: African-American, Afro-American, African, Negro, mulatto, brown and coffee. More than 36,000 described themselves as “Negro” in whole or in part. The term, which was listed as an example on the 2010 census form, drew criticism from some black groups for being outdated and insensitive.

Lopez, a mechanical engineer who helps run a multiracial awareness group, said he believes the gvernment should provide a wider range of choices on survey forms. “Right now there’s a significant segment of the population who feel that the boxes do not adequately represent them,” he said.

While the issue of racial identity can be deeply individual, it is also highly political: census data are used to enforce anti-discrimination laws, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal aid for roads, schools and health care, and to draw political districts based in part on a community’s racial makeup. Over the past decade, the number of people identifying as “some other race” jumped by 3.7 million, or 24 percent. Experts say an increase in the write-in responses could signify limitations to the form and potentially skew government counts.

the sentinel OF an enlightened student bOdy sinCe 1926Page 8 - tuesday, February 7, 2012

Many Americans resist census race labels hoPe Yen

The Associated Press

This undated photo released by Obama for America shows President Barack Obama’s father, also named Barack Obama, and mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (her father always wanted a son). Obama’s father left the family to study at Harvard when Barack was just two. This visit, when Obama was 10, was the last time he saw his father; by then Ann had remarried. The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House. Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: “black.” The debate has waxed and waned since “African-American” went mainstream, and gained new significance after the son of a black Kenyan and a white American moved into the White House. President Obama’s identity has been contested from all sides, renewing questions that have followed millions of darker Americans: What are you? Where are you from? And how do you fit into this country?

PHOTO By OBama fOr america/aP PHOTO