Author: macgod

When I was 4 years old, my mother taught me how to tell whether I could trust people. She said to trust my instincts. Speaking in terms a young child could understand, she said, “you can tell you shouldn’t trust someone if they give you a funny tummy feeling.”

I find that idea works not only for children lost in a grocery store. I use it when analyzing politics. The current concern with “voter fraud” and the remedy of new voter ID legislation gives me a funny tummy feeling.

Individual states–many of them southern, many of them rust-belt swing states–have been debating new voter ID laws and passing legislation to make it more difficult for minorities, the elderly and college students on election day.

Conservative politicians who advocate for these laws claim that requiring voters to show ID protects against fraud. However, there is no evidence that a modern election has been altered by fraudulent votes. In fact, The New York Times reported that “A number of election law experts, based on their own research, have concluded that the accusations regarding widespread fraud are unjustified.”

Still, conservative lawmakers are hell-bent on passing legislation for something that works more to suppress voter participation than encourage it.

The NAACP, among others, has been a vocal opponent of new voter ID legislation. A significant amount of individuals who lack IDs are African-Americans and other minorities. According the The Huffington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder said that while only 8 percent of whites lack the necessary identification to vote, 25 percent of black people lack such identification.

Why, then, are conservative lawmakers pushing so hard? It looks like nothing more than a poorly disguised effort to obstruct democracy. In 2008, the African-American vote overwhelmingly went to Obama. No wonder conservatives are willing to stoop to any level to pass legislation to prevent Obama from winning a second term.

Young voters, especially college students, are another group affected by new voter ID laws. Only about 50 percent of college students who live on campus have cars which require a current driver’s license. Additionally, students who move to other states for college have to jump through extra hoops when trying to get an ID. College students frequently change residency on campus, which catches them in the snare of new of voter ID requirements.

It is well known that 18-24 year-olds have a lower turnout than older groups. Why then would conservative lawmakers want to put further hurdles in the way of young adults? The answer is quite simple–60 percent voters aged 18-29 lean toward Obama, whereas only 29 percent support Romney.

Moreover, it is fundamentally wrong to charge a fee for voting, which is the effect of requiring an ID. Eric Holder calls these poll taxes. Who would have thought that in 2012, after countless struggles and triumphs against discriminatory voting practices, this would become an issue again?

IDs can be a cruel expense for the poor and the elderly. For example, it costs $34.50 for a driver’s license in Pennsylvania, which has very strict voter ID rules. Even simple identification cards cost $13.50, which is enough to force needy families to choose between putting food on the table and voting. For many, voting is their only opportunity to have a voice.

Voter ID legislation that specifically penalizes minorities, the young and the elderly are unfair and unconstitutional. Furthermore, they endanger the ideals of fairness and the long-sought victories of equal suffrage in this country. After all, inclusiveness is what makes the big melting pot we live in so great. The opportunity for all races and ages to participate in the important practice of democracy is threatened.

Doesn’t that give you a funny tummy feeling, too?

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Hannah K. Field is a senior at Brevard High School in Brevard, N.C, and a 2012 Chuck Stone Program for Diversity in Education and the Media scholar.

The words of Paripattal rang out in the theater: “Endure forever, O beauteous land!”

The rising of the heavy crimson curtain revealed five women elegantly dressed in traditional Indian attire. In their palms lay piles of sacred rice flour.

As the drum, violin and singing began, four of the women dancers moved rhythmically in a circle, the flour pouring gently between their painted red fingertips. The remaining dancer created a beautiful design in the center of the circle. Bells were tied on the women’s ankles harmonized with resounding live percussions.

As the show progressed, rice flour was spread across the stage by the movement of the women’s feet. These women made Ragamala Dance come to life.

Ragamala (meaning “Garland of Melodies”) Dance is the creation of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, a mother and daughter team. They drew their inspiration from India’s traditional wall paintings and rice flour drawings. Women in India often make drawings with rice flour in the threshold of their homes as offerings to the earth.

Ragamala Dance is a collection of seven poems, which together tell a story. The dancers’ movements are symbolic and supplement the verbal storytelling.

“The movements and expressions of the dancers came together to tell their stories,” Chuck Stone scholar Charlotte Matthews said.

While Ragamala Dance drew inspiration from and honored the classics, it attracted a new audience by creating a more modern dance performance.

“We tend to think of world dance as fixed in time and not evolving…[but] in Ragamala Dance, you’ll see a perfect example of honoring classical forms but moving forward,” dance expert Nancy Wozny said.

Ragamala Dance was part of the 2012 American Dance Festival, “one of the nation’s most important institutions” according to The New York Times. The American Dance Festival aims to draw from the classics of dance and add a contemporary twist that will attract new audiences.

The dance was a very unique experience for many attending the show. Shows like Ragamala Dance are scarce in some parts of the country, so it was a new cultural experience for many people.

“Ragamala Dance was a very captivating experience,” Chuck Stone scholar Junior Dolcine said. “It was something that I have never seen before but also something that I will never forget.”

 

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Tess Allen is a rising senior at Wayne Country Day School in Goldsboro, N.C. Along with being editor of her school literary magazine, Tess is also the founder of a dance camp for underprivileged children to attend.

If you’re looking to come to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stephen Farmer is a good man to know.  As the Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions, he understands what the university is looking for when it comes to building a class that will leave behind a lasting legacy.

When we sat down for lunch with Farmer, all of the Chuck Stone students were a little anxious about meeting the man on top of UNC admissions, but were immediately put to ease by his genuinely caring nature. After sharing his own Chuck Stone story, he sincerely wished for us that this program has been a life changing experience.  He went on to say, “Professor Emeritus Chuck Stone is the absolute best representation of UNC Chapel Hill that anyone could ever know.”

It is no secret that the Carolina story is one filled with soaring SAT scores and impeccable grade-point averages.  It owns the title of number one among some of the best public universities according to The Princeton Review. However, Farmer and the people in the Office of Admissions strive to look beyond the numbers.

“We can’t use a formula to make our decisions, because people are people, not numbers,” Farmer said.  “Everyone has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses.  You can help yourself by letting us see that. Especially in your college essay, be authentically who you are.”

When asked about his time here at Carolina he responded with a smile saying: “You know I really love this place.  I am lucky to have had opportunities at other fine schools, but I don’t want to be anywhere else but Carolina.”

“We have a lot of smart people here, but it’s more than that,” Farmer said. “The people here are welcoming, friendly, and there is a level of trust that you don’t find just anywhere.”

It is safe to say that by the end of our time with Steve Farmer, every student was sold on Carolina and becoming part of the family that it is.  He connected with us on a personal level.

“At Carolina we do things really well, but we do them with heart,” Farmer warmly said.  “Because that is the Carolina way.”

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Charlotte Matthews is a rising senior at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia. She is interested in broadcast journalism.

 

There are approximately 6.8 billion people on the planet and a little something called technology makes the world seem small.

In Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains, he explores whether the Internet has positively or negatively affected society?

The answer to this depends on whom you ask. University of North Carolina’s Professor Napoleon Byars has an interesting take on it.

“There is a dark side to the Internet,” Byars said.  He noted that is sometimes used to promote pornography and other illegal activity. However, Byars recognizes the good, too. “The Internet gives people knowledge and power. too.”

Santana Jackson, 17 and a Chuck Stone scholar, believes the good outweighs the bad.

“I think it’s more positive than negative,” Jackson said. “Our generation is always connected and the Internet provides the tools to be educated. As a whole we are a more informed generation.”

Carr does a thorough examination in his book on the effect of the Internet. Most everyone agrees that technology has changed society. It is much easier to send a text message or post to a social network than to physically contact someone.

It also takes a lot less time find information or reading a book.

“Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words, now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski,” Carr said.

Carr appears to under appreciate how much the world has changed or the digital perspective of younger generations. Digital natives like myself were born into technology. We’ve never lived without it. Therefore, it is difficult to make the claim that technology is changing our brains.

Essentially young people have become the “Google generation.” The answer to any question can be found at the click of a mouse. Do I believe this is a tragedy? Not at all. Yes, it’s a nice thought to go to the library and read a book. Also, decades ago mom would be in the kitchen cooking dinner while dad was just returning home from work.  Today, computers and the Internet have changed the way we live, work and interact with other.

Carr questions whether we are really thinking for ourselves or are computers thinking for us?

“I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain,” Carr said. He doesn’t blame the Internet for the moral collapse of the world. Carr believes the Internet has allowed him a platform to share his work. That is the greatest gift of technology.

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Gerty Joseph is a rising senior at Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Mass. She writes for her local newspaper, the Republican as well as contributing to the Huffington Post.

“The museum is carefully displayed and you can tell how much Carolina basketball means to Chapel Hill,” Tess Allen of Goldsboro, N.C. said about her experience.

The Carolina Basketball Museum consists of eight main viewing areas: Intro Theater Film, Coming to Chapel Hill, Four Corners, The Game, Impact, Tower, Month of March and National Championships. Each focuses on different aspects of Carolina history.

“The organization of the museum was awesome because there were sections that represented the team accomplishments, individual accomplishments and the history and tradition of the team,” Edgar Walker said.

At the entrance of the museum is a walk-in IMAX thater.  Several Chuck Stone Program participants were blown away by the film, featuring highlights from various games and player interviews projected onto a basketball-shaped screen.

“It was awesome, it gave me chills,” Mikala Whitaker remarked. “I really want to see some Carolina basketball now.”

then move on to their national championship showcase room. Here, UNC’s ACC title nets, final four tickets, and six national championship trophies and rings are on display.

“It makes me want to be a basketball player so I can play at Chapel Hill,” Charlotte Matthews joked.

The Chuck Stoners were then lead onto the half-court replica filled with player profiles and souvenirs. Signed player shoes, jerseys and basketballs fill the court.

“It really captured the Tar Heel spirit,” Santana Jackson said. “It really embodied what Carolina basketball is about.”

There were six profiles of the most prolific players and coaches in Tar Heel history. Michael Jordan, Tyler Hansbrough, Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, Roy Williams and Bill Guthrie were all featured,

Along with UNC’s six national championships and 17 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, the ‘Heels also have the most Final Four appearances of any NCAA basketball team– 18.

Most recently, the program reached the Elite Eight of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and produced four first round selections in the 2012 NBA draft.

“It’s a breath taking experience and opens your eyes to Carolina history,” Seyi Gbadgesin said.

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Seyi Gbadesin is a rising senior at Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, N.C. He is a native of Nigeria as well as an accomplished track athlete.

Raoul “Junior” Dolcine is a rising senior at Suncoast Community High School. He is an award-winning videographer who is proficient in video editing and layout design.

On Sunday afternoon, 12 Chuck Stone scholars arrived in Chapel Hill for a program that would change their lives.

They came in hopes of confirming their desires to become journalists, meeting other aspiring journalists and improving their writing skills. Little did they know they would be pushed by professors and each other to go far beyond their original dreams.

“After listening to Professor [Terence] Oliver, I definitely want to expand my skills in journalism. That’s my goal: to expand my knowledge in all the other subjects in journalism,” Chuck Stone scholar Raoul
“Junior” Dolcine said.

The Chuck Stone Program for Diversity in Education and Media held its first intensive summer workshop in 2007 and has been teaching aspiring journalists ever since. The Chuck Stone scholars were selected from a competitive group of individuals not only for their writing abilities, but also for their diversity. The program encourages the importance diversity in the newsroom.

“The idea for the program started in 2006. That was the year after Chuck Stone retired,” said Professor Queenie Byars, director of the Chuck Stone Program. “The faculty and Chuck Stone saw a need to continue the Rainbow Institute, which was a similar three week program that took place during the 1990s.”

“The concern with both the school and the nation was that there was a shortage of journalists covering diverse topics and diverse communities.”

The Chuck Stone Program honors Stone, who lives in a retirement home in Chapel Hill. He will celebrate his 88th birthday on July 21. Stone served in World War II with the Tuskegee Airmen and helped found the National Association of Black Journalists. This celebrated journalist and educator has interviewed and written stories on Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

In her blog, Diversityspeak.org, Byars described Stone as having “an unending desire to see young people of diversity succeed.”

Upon arrival the 12 students jumped right in to a discussion important to Stone and the program: the importance of diversity. Throughout the workshop, students focused on this topic. When writing stories about each other, the students focused on what makes each other different. Not only did these differences keep ideas fresh, but they also inspired many other students.

“Having a lot of smart people around me inspires me to stay on the same level as them,” said Chuck Stone scholar Jake Gore. “It’s cool that we all have the same motives; it makes me want to work harder.”

Tomorrow, the students will say a sad goodbye to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is the Chuck Stone Program. However, they will leave excited to spread the knowledge they’ve learned and inspired to use journalism to make an impact on the world around them.

“Because of the Chuck Stone Program, I now know that I want to have a future in journalism and am thankful to have been exposed to the many aspects of it,” Chuck Stone scholar Charlotte Matthews said. “It’s motivated me to become a broadcast journalist.”

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Mikala Whitaker is a rising senior at Ronald Wilson Reagan High School in Pfafftown, N.C. She is involved in many journalistic aspects at her school as well as being a varsity cheerleader.

 

 

The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice to become one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II. They proved conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen’s achievements, together with the men and women who supported them, paved the way for full integration of the U.S. military.

-TuskegeeAirmen.org

Chuck Stone Program participants had the opportunity to watch Red Tails (2012) on Tuesday night.

The Anthony Hemingway-directed film told the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a regiment of  African-American pilots during World War II. The Airmen–who famously flew planes with distinct red-painted tails–were subjects of great racial prejudice throughout the war, despite their excellent service record.

Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American pilots to ever fly in the U.S. military, and are widely considered some of the greatest soldiers in the history of the U.S. Air Force.

The story also hits close to home at UNC-Chapel Hill. Chuck Stone himself was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The “Stone Sound-Off” gives all participants in the program the chance to share their thoughts about the film and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Tess Allen: “It was interesting to compare Chuck Stone’s life with everything he was involved with as part of the Tuskegee Airmen. Even though we didn’t get to meet him this year, I feel like I kind of understood what he went through.”

Junior Dolcine: “It was historic; it was an eye-opener to what African-Americans were able to accomplish during the war.”

Hannah Field: “I thought in some parts it was a little bit cheesy, but I thought the message was still clear in the end, [especially when] the men were getting injured and dying. The acting was spot-on, and I learned a lot about the Tuskegee Airmen, which I didn’t know about before.”

Seyi Gbadegesin: “The movie was inspirational in that I can understand what they went through as African-American pilots. My only complaint is that I thought it ended on an abrupt note…I would’ve liked to see more.”

Jake Gore: “I thought it was a really good movie; it was inspiring. I thought it was good to connect with everything I learned in school about the [Tuskegee Airmen] this year…I thought it was pretty impactful.”

Anica Green: “I thought that it was an interesting historical representation. I thought that the dialogue was a little bit corny, but at the end of the day I thought it was a really good movie.”

Santana Jackson: “I thought it was inspiring–not only as an African-American but as a citizen of the United States…people are fighting for their lives out there.”

Gerty Joseph: “The Tuskegee Airmen showed self-reliance and resilience. Even though they were treated wrongly, they didn’t let that stop them, and they still did everything to the best of their ability. That’s a really strong message to bring back.”

Jaclyn Lee: “I learned all about the discrimination that was going on throughout the U.S. It was inspiring”

Charlotte Matthews: “I’m glad we watched the movie. It made me realize who the Tuskegee Airmen actually were, and I thought their courage was very inspiring because they were under appreciated but never lost sight of what they were fighting for.”

Edgar Walker: “I had never known much about the Tuskegee Airmen, and their record was extremely impressive. It’s an unforgettable story, and I thought the film did the unit justice–the bravery of the pilots was evident throughout.”

Mikala Whitaker: “I really liked how the pilots pushed through all the difficulties joining the Air Force and fighting…they really went far beyond the call of duty and put their whole hearts into it. Their drive was really inspiring.”

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Edgar Walker is a rising senior at Kenwood High School in Essex, Md. Edgar is a contributor to Varsity Sports Network as well as the founder of a high school basketball recruiting website, MarylandHoops.net.