63.12 Spartan Echo

SPARTAN ECHO| Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504|NEWSROOM: 757.823.8200 E-Mail: [email protected]

MCJR Week 2016 brings media pros and alums to campus by Antonio Garland

On April 4, NSU hosted the annual Mass Commu-nications and Journalism (MCJR) Week with the theme of digital conver-gence. The week-long event introduces mass communi-cation and journalism stu-dents to alumni and media professionals to network with and learn more about their field outside the class-room, securing internships

and employment opportu-nities. It also gives alumni opportunities to re-establish friendships with old ac-quaintances. The main keynote speak-er was illustrator, director and celebrity photographer Derek Blanks. Blanks has taken professional photos of several Oscar award win-ning actors, ranging from Viola Davis to Nick Cannon. Blanks spoke about how he

was an artist as a child and used what he knew to help his photography skills. Blanks said that no one would have just one job in life and would have a variety of careers along the way. “I believe personally that you can’t continue to do the same thing,” he said. “You have to reinvent yourself or come up with something so you can grow as an artist.

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Different World cast speaks on campus by Tiana K. Allen and Malik Glaspie

On April 16, the cast of A Different World came to Norfolk State University to speak on the show, their experiences in college, and real world experiences. The event was sponsored by SunTrust and Access College Foundation. This event was the first time the cast has come together since appear-ing on the Oprah Show in 2009. Jasmine Guy, Kadeem

Hardison, Charnele Brown, Darryl Bell, and Cree Sum-mer sat down with commen-tator Janet Roach and gave their individual advice on the life of an HBCU student. The cast, like their charac-ters, were vibrant and held strong to their beliefs on being well educated individ-uals. Cree Summer admitted to being like her character, Freddie. She encouraged all students who are different to not mind other people’s criticism. She explained that

being who you are is the best way to find your own free-dom. The cast started off the discussion by explaining why an HBCU is a great choice for young African Americans. Among the cast, Jasmine Guy pushed the ide-ology that HBCUs give off a family vibe and familiarity. Like her character, Whitley, she insists that no other type of institution is going to love, nurture, or care for

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Vol. 63, Issue 12 04.29.16

The cast of A Different World spoke to NSU students on April 16, 2016. Photo from Norfolk State University.

At the close of MCJR week, the highlight was honoring retiring professors Dr. Stanley Tickton and Dr. Paula Briggs. Photo from www.flickr.com/photos/nsu_spartans.

Farewell to Norfolk State

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Power Returns

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Dress for success

Spartan Spotlight

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Roommate Tips

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Life begins for graduating seniors An editorial by Tyeka M. Bailey

Norfolk State University will celebrate its 98th com-mencement on Saturday, May 7 at the Norfolk Scope Arena. A processional will be at 9:30 a.m. The ceremo-ny will follow immediately afterward at 10:00 a.m. Paul D. Fraim, Mayor of Norfolk, will be the com-mencement speaker for the program. He has been a member of Norfolk City Council since 1986. With the rising and falling of graduation rates, Norfolk State University is set to have a little over six hun-dred students graduating this spring. These graduates are one step closer to start-

ing their dream career or even starting their very own business. “Walking across the stage means that I am invinci-ble. Every obstacle, every challenge and every road block has been overcome with God’s guidance and mercy because he chose me! Graduate school is next,” said Shakira Doby-Romar. “I'm actually starting my career with the Norfolk Sheriff ’s Department. I plan to continue to challenge myself and I have the urge to travel.” The road leading up to graduation seemed long to some and right on time for

others. Graduating from col-lege is a major milestone. “The next chapter in life is going to bring me unimag-inable success and walking across the stage would mean having a desire that was fulfilled,” said graduating senior Nadia Avery. Graduating from college is not the end of the journey, but it is actually the begin-ning of something great; it is the beginning of new dreams, new expectations, new goals and new accom-plishments. The Spartan Echo congrat-ulates the spring graduating class of 2016!

The last story

Wow, it’s been quite a jour-ney here at NSU. So many things have happened in the last three years. Years ago, if you told me where I’d be, I would had thought you were insane. Honestly, NSU wasn’t my first choice. Originally I wanted to attend anoth-er school, but that didn’t happen for various reasons. Coming here to Norfolk was actually the first time that I’ve been to a city. I came here wanting to escape the country and see the city and the beach. When I first came here, I wasn’t used to being around people, so it was very diffi-cult for me to talk to others. At one point, it took me two

weeks just to say “hi” to one person. My second semes-ter, I started writing for the school paper, starting in my news writing class, my social skills improved. Today, it’s a common, casual thing for me to speak in front of classrooms. During my time as news editor, my main goal was to bring people the stories that mattered, the ones that go unnoticed, such as the homeless students on cam-pus, how the school gives back to the community and the campus’s water quality. My time as a reporter has taught me so much, not just about writing stories, but what goes on in the world around me and I’ve met so

many different kinds of peo-ple along the way.Now, everything wasn’t perfect. There were many bad days, whether people were uncooperative or I had to be at ten places at once. My biggest regret is that I hadn’t really been anywhere travel-wise, not even around Norfolk. As a travel writer, I haven’t done much traveling. But I have so many ac-complishments, covering the Million Man March in D.C., becoming the Creative Writing Club’s president and interviewing celebrities. My most memorable experience, finding long lost family members in class, something I treasure dearly.

I can honestly say that I am a stronger person since I came here to NSU. I have so many people to thank, professors, colleagues and friends alike, too many to list, but they know who they are. My own piece of advice: If you want to be remembered

as someone special, you have to stand out of the crowd. You have to be willing to do things that others won’t do. I’m not sure where I’ll end up on this road called life, but as one story ends, another begins. I wonder where the next journey will take me.

An editorial by Antonio Garland

News Editor Tyeka Bailey prepares for life after graduation. Photo from Tyeka Bailey.

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Letter from the editor: Farewell to Norfolk StateAn editorial by Shareen Nicholson

As my time here at NSU slowly comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on how my time here has changed my life. I remember arriv-ing here during my fresh-man year in 2012, nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. College was a big step for me, and arriving as a freshman makes anyone feel like a small fish in a big pond. Sadly, at one point in time during my first year, I considered transferring primarily due to the feeling of not fitting in or being lonely. I decided to stick it out, though, and that was

one of the best decisions I ever made. Here I am four years later and I am about to gradu-ate on May 7, 2016, with two degrees! A bachelor of science in mass communi-cation with an emphasis on broadcasting, and a bach-elor of arts in journalism. With graduation around the corner, the feeling is actu-ally bittersweet. While I am extremely excited to walk across that stage, I am also going to miss all that Nor-folk State has to offer. While here, NSU has offered me so many differ-ent opportunities that I will forever be extremely grateful for. I’ve had the opportunity to engage with many differ-ent students during my time assisting with New Student Orientation. I served my class in many capacities while helping with the Class of 2012 executive board. I had the pleasure of inter-viewing lawyer and reality television star Phaedra Parks, and even starring in

Editor-in-chief Shareen Nicholson. Photo by Miche-al Nims.

an NSU commercial. My senior year has been the busiest by far as I was chosen to serve as the Exec-utive Administrator for the Student Government Asso-ciation. I was also chosen to become Editor-In-Chief of the Spartan Echo this spring semester, after serving as the lifestyle section editor. Both of these positions have truly helped me become a better person, as well as a better leader. They have tested my ability to work under pres-sure, and my endurance to keep going when things get hard. While everything that I hoped to pursue while I was here didn’t work out as planned, in the long run I have seen that everything happens for a reason and what’s meant to be for you will be for you. So I encour-age everyone who may feel like giving up to keep push-ing because no good deed goes unnoticed. I was fortu-nate enough to receive a few awards this year including

the 2015-2016 “Outstand-ing Student Leader” award, the MCJR “Professor Linda Scanlan Journalism Award,” and a few more for my du-ties with SGA and the Echo. That is why I say you cannot let anyone stop your shine, continue to do great and be great and your hard work will be rewarded! There are a number of fac-ulty and staff members that I need to thank for helping me throughout the years. They know who they are! I just want to thank them for keeping me focused, and for pushing me to keep going even when I wanted to give up. Thank you all for be-ing there when I needed a shoulder to cry on or just an ear to listen when I needed to vent. I love you all and just want you all to know that I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. I owe so much of my success to you all and will continue to strive for greatness in my future. To those who may be considering coming to NSU, make the decision and enroll

today! While you may devel-op a love-hate relationship with the school, the love you gain for this institution will always outweigh the bad. There is nothing like being a Spartan, and you will get more than just a degree, you will gain a family. The experiences you will have are like no other, and you will always have a place to call home. And last but not least to my fellow graduating Spartans, congratulations and I wish you all the very best in all of your future en-deavors! Keep pushing, don’t stop here! We made it and the world is ours for the tak-ing; go out and make all of your dreams come true! Let’s show the world that Norfolk State University produces quality graduates who are a force to be reckoned with. I hope to see you all at our first homecoming next year as Alumni! Class of 2016 we did it! Norfolk State, I LOVE YOU!Behold the green and gold!

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MCJR Week 2016continued from front page

You can’t really settle.” Another keynote speaker was actor, model and di-rector Michael Copon, who is best known for the role as the blue Power Ranger in ‘Power Rangers: Time Force’. Copon spoke about digital convergence and how it’s both a good thing and a bad thing. “It’s good that you can post an event that’s hap-pening right at the very

moment and thousands of people can see it,” he said. “The bad thing is that people won’t come to an event because they can watch the entire thing from Snapchat.” Throughout the week, many panels were held where alumni and media professionals came to speak on different topics, includ-ing how they got to where they are today and inspire students on pursuing their goals. For instance, one

morning panel included 13News Now meteorologist and NSU alumna Iesha Scott and NewsChannel 3 an-chor Kurt Williams, among others. There were also boot camps that taught students various aspects of the media business, which included production internships, photography and video busi-nesses and how to market and promote a single/album. Some of the boot camp hosts

included Discovery Net-work director Katie Barrie and Attain Design's founder and creative director Kelcey Newman. “This being my first year [at MCJR Week] was very informative,” said Dr. Mor-gan Kirby, a new faculty member in the Mass Com-munications and Journalism Department. “I thought the workshops were very enlightening and I thought the alumni had amazing

messages for the students on how they can use their education here at NSU and how it can translate into future success.” The final event of MCJR Week 2016 was a retire-ment celebration for Dr. Paula Briggs and Dr. Stan-ley Tickton, both of whom are retiring at the end of the semester.

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Third season of Power starts June 5 by Aegious Perkins

This spring will reveal what America has been waiting for: Power, the urban drama, is scheduled to premiere its first show of season three on June 5. For the past two sum-mers, millions have been raving over the show. The season finale had over two million viewers, bringing the STARZ network record breaking views. Even though this show does not get as much press as the show Empire, it defi-nitely is not a show to skip over. It is unfortunate that the show has not gotten much press since starting. It has an abundance of actors that

portray their characters in a way that in unimaginable. Power has opened its view-ers’ eyes to see the inner workings of the drug world. Omari Hardwick has done an exceptional job on de-livering the role of Ghost, the leader of a major drug corporation. His character, throughout the show, struggles with in-ternal and external conflicts, mainly with his commit-ment to the drug game. Season two left off with major cliffhangers such as the big fight between Ghost and Curtis Jackson’s charac-ter Kanan. Angela, Ghost’s mistress, at first was unaware of the fact that he was a drug lord. She later finds out his secret

and has to decide whether to turn him in to her police team or let love control her judgement. Also Ghost’s partner, Tom-my, was sent to jail on behalf of Ghost. This brings about conflict between the two of them because now Tommy thinks he was set up. This character is played by Joseph Sikora. These are just a few of the many important conflicts in this TV drama. In this upcoming season, the viewers have to look for-ward to the return of Kanan. It’s safe to say that season three of Power holds ma-jor drama and excitement. Hopefully season 3 will pick up more views and ratings.

The drama filled series created by Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson has gained much popularity among millennials. Photo from www.facebook.com/Power.Starz.

The Purge commences July 4 by Aegious Perkins

America’s favorite holiday is approaching. James DeM-anaco, the writer and screen director of the movie series The Purge, is bringing the 3rd Purge: Election Year on July 4th to theaters.The first movie, The Purge, takes place in the year 2022, four years after the govern-ment’s decision that on one night every year all crime is legal, including murder. For three summers, DeManaco gave America an insight on the true sadistic thoughts of the citizens of the of the world. The second movie, The Purge: Anarchy, took the se-ries to the next level. During the movie, the viewers found out that the government ultimately made this deci-sion to get rid of lower class citizens.

The setting takes place on the streets of Los Ange-les in the low income area. After their apartment has been raided by an unknown group of masked peo-ple, Eva Sanchez and her daughter Cali were out on the streets to fend for them-selves. They were about to be killed and the character Sergeant, played by Frank Grillo, saved them at the last minute. Through the night they stuck by his side and defended themselves against the antagonists who were re-vealed to be the government. DeManaco spoke to Enter-tainment Weekly and men-tioned that while writing the script for the upcoming third installment in the se-ries, he realized that he was writing in reference to the current election. He wants the viewers to be able point

out which characters repre-sent the current candidates. The Purge: Election Year appears to take place in the White House. One of the candidates’ campaign was to end the annual Purge. This makes the candidate a target on the night of March, 22, the night of the Purge. Frank Grillo’s character comes back as the protector of the U.S Senate who is running for President. Even though the White House was under strict protection, they were betrayed within and had to begin fighting through the streets. DeManaco kicks this series up a notch every summer. The plot becomes closer and closer to our reality, so there is definitely a build up to summer for this election-year movie.

The third installment of the social science horror film will take on a presidential twist this summer. Photo from www.facebook.com/thepurgemovie.

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Different World cast speakscontinued from front page

an African American like an HBCU. “I think that students do have a lot to face when choosing a college. I’m not sure how particular that our black kids are being guided. I think that’s highly realistic that if you are a guidance counselor looking at stats and you don’t know any-thing about HBCU’s that you might want those stu-dent that are making high-er GPA’s to go to a bigger university. But the advantage of going to a black college is something that is not neces-sarily on paper,” said Jas-mine Guy when asked about students who are not partic-ularly aware of the benefits of an HBCU.

The panel discussion also featured several clips from A Different World that includ-ed familiar subject matter regarding college such as Greek life, balancing school and personal life, scholar-ships, and life paths after college.Charnele Brown confessed to not liking her charac-ter, Kim, at first. She stated that she felt that she was “too boring.” After a while, though, she began to like her character because she identified with so many college students. The cast pointed out that Kim is the ideal college student because many students are struggling to balance being scholars, working, and being a part of extracurricular activities.

Brown encouraged all stu-dents who feel as if they are a “Kim” to not give up and keep pursuing their degree and dreams. When asked about how HBCU students should han-dle themselves after gradu-ation, Darryl Bell said that they must simply go after the money. Kadeem Hardi-son encouraged HBCU students to find something that they love and to go after it full heartedly. When speaking from his character, Dwayne’s, perspective, he said that students should give back to their commu-nity. When discussing how HBCUs can overcome their negative reputations, Dar-ryl Bell stated “You apply

the skills that you learned and then you say ‘Now what do you have to say?’ That’s how you do it. You shut them up by succeeding. Let your success speak for itself.” At the end of the “It Is A Different World” event, different sponsors came together to give scholarships to 6 different students. Each received $1,000 toward their pursuit of high-er education.

Actor Kadeem Hardison and Actress Jasmine Guy lead the crowd in singing the show’s theme song. Photo from www.flickr.com/photos/nsu_spartans.

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Norfolk has a lot to offer on-campus students by Meleah Holmes

On a college campus, we seem to have everything we could ever need within walking distance: Housing, dining halls, laundry mats, a gym, convenience stores, our own personal clinic, a pool, a police station, bas-ketball court, etc. Believe it or not, these are only a few of the amenities afforded to us here at Norfolk State Uni-versity. Living on a college campus, for college students, is like living in your own little world. With so much

available to us here on cam-pus , there seems to never be a reason to leave; except if we need to make a Wal-Mart run, but even Wal-Mart may be making its way to college campuses soon. At any rate Norfolk State University is in the heart of the city of Norfolk. Our campus sits only minutes away from the on-ramp leading to downtown. Over the last few years, the city of Norfolk has become one of the biggest tourist attrac-tions, according to TripAd-

visor.com. While attending college, it is important for students not only to explore our beautiful campus, but to get off of campus and explore the surrounding area as well. Below are a few key hotspots, courtesy of TripAdvisor.com, that you may be interested in visiting while attending school here in Norfolk.

•Chrysler Museum of Art•Norfolk Botanical Garden•Nauticus National Mari-time Center

How to be a great roommate

•Virginia Zoo•MacArthur Memorial•Naval Station Norfolk•MacArthur Center - Mall•Harbor Park – Baseball Stadium•Mermaid Factory•Hampton Roads Naval Museum•Military Museums•Spirit of Norfolk – Cruise Ship •Town Point Park•Virginia Stage Company at the Wells Theater•The Chrysler Museum Glass Studio

•The NorVa – Venue •Pagoda & Oriental Garden – Restaurant •Field Guide –Restaurant

All of the destinations list-ed can be located and routed from your current location via Google Maps. Also, Tri-pAdvisor.com offers ratings, reviews, and prices for each activity! Get out and explore the beautiful city of Norfolk. Enjoy!


by Tiana K. Allen

Let’s face it, having a roommate can be stressful. If you aren’t used to shar-ing a room with someone, the concept of living side-by-side with a stranger can leave you wondering what exactly the “do’s” and “don’ts” of rooming are. Although you may not know how your roommate will handle themselves, you can come in to the new living situation full of knowledge

on how to be the best room-mate you can possibly be. Establish ground rules. It may be a little uncom-fortable bringing up topics like having the opposite sex over, sharing clothes, and privacy, but nine times out of ten, your new roommate is having the same concerns as you. Talk to them about what you expect and hear what they have to say. If you two are having some differ-ences in opinions, then meet

in the middle. Communi-cation and compromise are vital to a healthy rooming situation. Clean up after yourself. It’s understandable if your side of the room isn’t spot-less 24/7, but be considerate. Create a cleaning routine with your roommate; that way, you both will be held liable for any messes in your room. Start off the school year with good habits. Practice taking out the trash weekly, putting your dirty clothes in the hamper, and washing your dishes after you use them. If you see your roommate slacking, nicely tell them that you don’t want to let your room get too messy. Also, you can silently convince them to keep their side of the room clean by leading as an exam-ple and keeping your side clean. Bond with them. Your roommate can easily be-come a close friend, if you two allow your friendship to blossom. Try grabbing lunch together at the café or going to a school event together.

Plan movie or game nights. There are so many ways to bond with your roommate. If you two have any com-mon interests, build off of that! Respect their sleep and study times. We’re in col-lege. This means that sleep and studying are going to be a key part of your life until graduation. Respect your roommate’s sleeping and studying schedule. If you like to stay up late, but your roommate hits the sack early, try keeping it down or spending time in your dorm’s lobby. Also, remem-ber that not everyone studies the same. You may be okay with background noise, but some people may need total silence. Talk to your room-mate about their studying habits and what time they usually like to hit the books. Work around their habits and request that they do the same with you also. Be considerate when it comes to guests. Having guests over is okay, but being inconsiderate is not. Talk to your roommate

ahead of time if you would like one-on-one time with a guest. Do not spontaneously throw an awkward situation at them. If you are having friends over while your roommate is in the room, be mindful that your guests should behave themselves in a respectful manner and should leave at a respectful time also. Check with your roommate every so often to confirm that they are fine with you bringing certain people into your room. If you are annoyed with their guests or feel that they are being inconsiderate, kindly speak to them about it. Having a new roommate can be tough, but it can be very rewarding too! You have the opportunity to learn about a new per-son’s customs, lifestyle, and ideologies. Take advantage of the chance to learn about yourself as well as others. Listen to them, they may have a lot to offer you. Make the most out of college with your roommate.

Being a good roommate will lead to a great academic se-mester. Remember, your roommate may become a lifetime friend! Photo from www.facebook.com/Norfolk-State-Uni-versity/photos.

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Dressing for success is a reality by Kori Wiggins

What is it about the suit and tie that gives a man this newfound demeanor about himself? Is it the clothes or the reactions of the people? The Spartan Echo had the chance to interview a few of Norfolk State’s most debo-nair men about the suit and tie effect. Starting with Keith Chap-man, a junior mass com-munications major. His inspiration is his family, especially his father. Coming from a family of high quality men and women that are well known for having a foot forward in what they wear out in public, he feels as he must uphold that reputation to a high standard. “I feel like the man. Walk-ing around school, getting

a lot of compliments, I feel like money. When you dress nice, you feel nice,” said Keith when asked how it feels when he dresses This statement holds some truth to it as well; recent studies have proven that those who wear baggy, frumpy clothing majori-ty of the time tend to feel more depressed, whereas those who wear nicer cloth-ing- such as higher quality tops and jeans- tend to feel happier. Next is James Daniels, an Optical Engineering major and graduating senior. “Get yourself ready for the professional world because you’re going to have to dress according to your environ-ment once you graduate,” Daniels said when asked

about his reasons for dress-ing up. His influences are business men and celebrities, more specifically Blake Scott-an Instagram sensation and well known fashion blogger. “Blake Scott has a variety of different things he puts together as far as when he dresses and I think he has a great outlook on style,” Daniels said. Mr. Scott’s work can be seen on thescotteffect.com. Lastly, Trevon Waters, a sophomore biology major, says he doesn’t emulate anyone. “I don’t look up to any-body really. I just try to put together things that look nice,” said Waters. For Trevon, interaction with his peers is different from when he wears his suit

and tie versus when having his dressed down attire on. “It’s the way that people greet me, the type of respect I receive, and just overall the type of interactions between people when I’m suited up or not,” said Waters. For example, when dressed to impress, his professor offered him research, which gave him the step towards the future he wants to pur-sue in the field of biology. The effects of the suit and tie are vast, but plentiful in the doors of opportunity. Dressing up is an excellent practice to pathways that would otherwise prove more difficult to achieve, and it’s fun to do as well. The many looks, compliments and forms of respect garnered through it are just the icing on the cake to it.

Cheap textbook options help students by Tiana K. Allen

Paying for college text-books can easily cost a student up to $1,000 a year. Fortunately, this is an issue that can easily be avoided if you are willing to look beyond the convenience of your campus’s book store. Free books. Take a look at Google Books. Google has scanned many texts into its data base, so there is a chance you may find what you need. You may not be able to get the book you want, or not all the pages, but ManyBooks.net also has over 33,000 free eBooks to choose from. ETextBooks. CourseSmart.com is a site that allows stu-dents to own or rent eText-books for low prices that can save you up to 60%. Students

can highlight and take notes on their devices easily. If you do not mind reading from a tablet, laptop, or iPad in class, you may really appre-ciate this option. Renting. Renting a text-book will cost a student much less than purchasing. Ask your school’s book-store if they have textbooks for rent. If your school does not have textbooks to rent, check out books online. Sites such as Chegg.com, BookRenter.com, and CampusBookRentals.com are some of the many sites that offer you the option to rent textbooks for low prices. Buying Online. Campus-books.com and Bigwords.com are search engines for both new and used books.

Type in the book that you are looking for and the site will search for the best pric-es offered. Amazon is also a great way to search for cheap textbooks and, often, pro-fessors recommend finding their course’s textbook on the site. Other students. You do not always have to go to a story or site for a good textbook. Look around on social networks to see if students at your school or a nearby school are selling the book you are looking for. Their prices may be more reason-able or they might trade you for a book they need. Finally, selling you own books. If you need some spare cash to purchase another textbook, try sell-ing one of you own. School

bookstores may not always pay you back all that you spent, but websites and other students may be able to cough up a little more money to buy the book off of you. Look into sites such as Campusbooks.com or Chegg.com to sell your books back. Post on social media that you have books to sell; fellow students may be willing to buy from you. If you are feeling charitable, you can donate your books to BetterWorldBooks.com, a site that raises money for literacy enterprises. If none of these options have worked for you, speak to your professors or advi-sors and ask if they know of any other textbook alterna-tives.

e d i t o r s

Shareen NicholsonEditor-in-Chief

Mahogany WaldonOnline/Managing Editor

Tyeka BaileyNews Editor

Meleah HolmesLifestyle Editor

Aegious PerkinsLifestyle Editor

Tyra WhitneyMultimedia Editor

Sarah JeffersonDeputy Graphic De-sign/Layout Editor

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Kiara Howell and Deon King named top athletes of NSU

On Monday Apr. 18, NSU’s athletic department held its annual all-sports award cer-emony, seniors Kiara Howell and Deon King were named top athletes of Norfolk State. Howell, a mathemat-ics major and graduate of Grassland High School, was named the MEAC co-Most Outstanding Field Athlete at the MEAC Indoor Championship in February. She earned the award by placing second in the shot

put and weight throw. She also won the Most Out-standing Field Athlete award at all three of the MEAC outdoor championship meets she competed in. Howell is ranked among the top six in the MEAC in the four outdoor throwing events: the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin. King, a senior linebacker from Reston, is a three time All-MEAC linebacker. He was named NSU’s First Di-vision I FCS consensus First Team All-American last fall

Spartan Spotlight: Brehanna Daniels

by Justin Bell Senior and second year shooting guard Brehanna Daniels is a unique Spar-tan. Doubted by many in her past and told that she couldn’t accomplish her goals, she has achieved much success during her time at Norfolk State Uni-versity. Since transferring from McCook Community College in Nebraska and Louisburg College in North Carolina, Brehanna has seen plenty of success since her admission to Norfolk State University. She joined the Lady Spar-

tans basketball team in her junior year. During the pre-vious coach’s tenure on the basketball team, she didn’t see much playing time, but she always knew tshe was ready for the spotlight. It wasn’t until Coach Larry Vickers took over as coach and saw that Brehanna had the potential and fire of a true Spartan waiting to be ignited that she got the play-ing time that allowed her to perform on the court and demonstrate her ability. Always being active in bas-ketball, even at an early age, Brehanna knew that she had the skills to help her team to victory. Brehanna believed in herself, and so did coach Larry Vickers. A solid shoot-ing guard, Brehanna is crafty and a very flashy player. Not only that, she’s very fast on the court as well taking the necessary risks to help her team win. Brehanna Daniels was

awarded the Women’s All Basketball Academic Team trophy for 2015-1016, but that’s not the only thing that she’s great at. Her talent ex-tends much further than the basketball court. An honor graduate, grad-uating with a 3.3 GPA in mass communications, she has sold herself off the court as well. Recently, she will be one of the faces on the cover of this year’s Behold maga-zine and had a role in NSU’s Dream commercial and also a commercial for the NCAA. But that only scratches the surface of who Brehanna Daniels is. She tried out for the NA-SCAR pit-stop crew events that were held in Echols Hall and got selected out from two other Spartan athletes, all men at that, one from track and two from football. She’s a tenacious Spartan, who bested the physical and mental obstacle courses of

the event. Her hard work paid off when she received a call from the NASCAR event director Phil Horton to be invited back to participate in a NASCAR combine event that’s going to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 26- 29. This event includes attending social events and classes on how pit crews operate and she will be taught the art of how to change a tire under the pressure of the sport of NASCAR. She will be competing against 20 other people and only half will be selected. She has also will be attending the NASCAR XFINITY race in North Carolina on May 28. Her talents and accolades will extend even further once she graduates this May. Brehanna plans on work-ing with Michael Copon. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Copon, then you might remember him when he was

here during MCJR Week. You might also know him as the Blue Power Ranger, Lucas Kendall, in the 2001 Power Rangers Time Force. She also plans to play bas-ketball overseas after grad-uating as well. She is set to participate in combines and tryouts just so she can reach that goal. Daniels is definitely a go-getter. She has overcome grief since the passing of her mother while in the ninth grade, but instead of getting caught in limbo, she uses that as motivation. Bre-hanna Daniels’s story is that has been foreshadowed by a lot of things in her life, but she is definitely a Spartan that has reached the lime-light. An amazing woman and intelligent student, she has overcome a lot in her life and is finally now reaping the benefits, the true defini-tion of a Spartan.

after leading all of division I in tackles. King was also named the 2015 recipient of the Buck Buchanan award, given annually to the top defensive player in the FCS. Among other NSU ath-letes, sophomore softball second baseman Seana Moriarty, graduate of Hick-ory High School, was named the NSU Female Scholar Athlete of the Year. The male recipient of this award was junior baseball first baseman Brian Beard. Howell and King were named as the top athletes of NSU

this year. Photo from nsuspartans.com

by Malik Glaspie

63.12 Spartan Echo

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Transcript of 63.12 Spartan Echo