Homecoming through a Photographers Lens

"The greatest homecoming on earth", as North Carolina A&T State University homecoming is known to be, takes a lot of work. A lot of preperation goes into homecoming, the events, PR, set-ups, celebrities, alumni, security, etc. There is, however a lot of work that people don't think about.

The A&T Register is responisble for covering the many events that make up homecoming. Within the staff, each person's work load doubles. People tend to forget what a huge role photographers play in homecoming. Kenneth Hawkins is the head photographer for the A&T Register, explains some of the preperation and work that goes into covering homecoming.

Q: What is your position on the A&T Register?

A: I am the Photo Editor.

Q: How long have you been working for the Register?


A: I have been working since my freshmen year and now I am currently a sophomore, so one full year.


Q: Do you only take photos or have you written for the paper as well?


A: I am contractile on responsible for photos, and I have not written an article for the paper yet.


Q: What is the atmosphere in the newsroom during homecoming week?


A: The atmosphere is crazy and everything needs to be done with a quick return because a different event is the next day.

Q: What are your responsibilities during homecoming week?

A: Just to make sure we have good photos from every event and sometimes that means taking them myself.

Q: How many events are you covering this homecoming?

A: About 4 events and overseeing see all of them

Q: What’s the most difficult part about photographing homecoming events?

A: Two things; one is fighting SGA for press passes and the second is shooting in low light areas like the comedy show or gym.

Q: What is your favorite event to photograph?


A: Of course the concert but we don’t have passes this year and the football game.


Q: Do you get to sit down and enjoy any events this year?


A: Not yet I plan to enjoy the concert and parade.


Q: How long have you been taking photos?


A: I have been taking photos for 12 years.


Q: In your opinion, what do photos add to the paper?


A: Photos add lots of details that cannot be explained in writing and it is another way for communication for the deaf.

A&T Students Excel at Howard University Job Fair.

The North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University students attended Howard University’s Job Fair last Thursday.

Last Thursday Howard University’s School of Communications held its annual job fair. About 50 communication based companies gathered on Howard’s campus to meet and have mini-interviews with students. Although the job fair was held on Howard’s campus, other universities came to take part. Professor Gale Wiggins brought a group of A&T students to the job fair. In order to be able to go you had to be a member of the A&T chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

The job fair had someone for every concentration in journalism. Newspapers such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, to name a few, were there for those with a print concentration. For those interested in broadcast, television stations such as ABC, CNN, and NBC were there. Graduate schools such as Columbia, were there for upperclassmen looking to apply. Organizations that specialize in placing students into different media internships were also at the fair. There were also PR firms, radio stations, as well as companies that have something for everyone like MTV and Disney.

“Howard’s School of Communications is able to attract a larger crowd of companies than a lot of other colleges and universities, so we come here to take advantage of the opportunity they are able to create”, says A&T Register editor-in-chief Dexter Mullins.

Mullins was part of the group of A&T students that met outside Crosby Hall at 6 a.m. in the morning to take the five hour drive to Howard University. It took one van and three cars to transport the group. Kelcie McCray is a sophomore at A&T, “It was funny because we all carried our clothes in garment bags so we wouldn’t get our suits wrinkled. When we stopped at the McDonalds by Howard to change we all walked into the bathrooms looking a mess and walked out looking like a group of entrepreneurs! The people at McDonalds were looking as if they could not tell if we were the same group that had just come in.”

A few of A&T’s seniors left the fair with interviews at certain graduate schools, and most of the A&T students left DC with internship/job leads, irreplaceable contacts, and an amazing networking experience. Alessandra Brown, a junior at A&T who attended the fair, pointed out, “A lot of us got the chance to not only show, but give our work to very important figures in the journalism industry. Those of us who write for the Register put together packets of our work and resumes to give out to different companies. The representatives at the fair seemed very impressed.”

Another A&T junior, Joseph Escobar said this, “I thought the career fair was extremely beneficial. The exposure was great and it was well worth the six hour drive that we took. I feel that Ms. Wiggins and the rest of the Journalism Department did a very good job at preparing the students for future success as we met with representatives from some of the world’s top media sources.”

Escobar isn't the only person who praised A&T for its students work in journalism. “One woman in particular was looking at the PDF’s of the A&T Register that were in my portfolio and exclaimed, ‘This is way better than the Hilltop (Howard’s student newspaper)!’. She said it loud enough for others to here, it felt good to show the Howard students that A&T is competition.” said Mullins.

Being the Minorty at an HBCU

Amina Pasha is a sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural & Technological State University from Seattle, Washington. She is a Business Management major who lives on campus. Pasha is part of the campus organization West Coast Aggies. She eats at the cafeteria, goes to some football games and the occasional house party. Amina Pasha is an Aggie; she is Aggie born, Aggie bred, and when she dies she’ll be Aggie dead, just like any other student that goes to A&T. On paper, Pasha sounds no different from the traditional Aggie. To the eye, Pasha’s bi-racial roots make her stand out on A&T’s predominantly black campus.

Pasha is one of 825 non-black undergrad students who enrolled at A&T in 2008. A&T is a HBCU, Historically Black College or University.

In the US, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Indians are the minority races, once one steps foot on an HBCU campus Whites join that list and blacks become the majority race. In recent decades there has been an increase in the amount of minority students enrolling at HBCU’s, that is the amount of Hispanics, Whites, Indians, Asians, and “others”. The increase in numbers leads some to wonder what makes HBCU’s appealing to non-black students.

Amina Pasha’s case is an interesting one. Pasha looks Asian, or even White to some people, but she is actually Asian and Black. “My mother is Asian and my father is Black”, Pasha explains.
When it came time for Pasha to decide what college to go to, she knew she wanted to go to an HBCU, “My high school was predominantly Black and Asian, so I was used to being around people of color. I thought going to a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) would be too much of a culture shock. I thought going to an HBCU would be a good experience, and my dad suggested A&T because at the time he was doing business with the school’s Engineering Department. I also liked the size of A&T’s campus as well as the school’s class sizes”
Pasha’s expectations of A&T were few, “I know I don’t look black so I knew some people may look at me like ‘Why is she here?’ at first but I knew I would get over it. I also expected to see more of a mixed student body.”

Pasha says A&T turned out to be a completely different world than where she’s from, but most of the differences are regional not racial. “I’m used to people from the west coast. We talk different, dress different, and listen to different type of rap music.”

Pasha says that she doesn’t feel the reaction from her fellow Aggies was a negative one. “Random people would come up to me and ask me ‘What are you?’ or ‘What are you mixed with?’ as soon as they met me. I didn’t find that offensive though because I’d rather someone ask me than just stare at me and speculate.”

Jasmine Chaves, another minortiy student at A&T, also says she is bombarded with the same "what are you" questions. Chaves likes to nonchalantly respond, "a girl", because while being Hispanic is a piece of her, it is not the most important one.

The adjustment hasn't been easy for all minority students here at A&T. Antonio Gonzalas has a somewhat different take on his A&T expereince. "It has been hard to meet new people. It’s hard because I feel sometimes a little bit segregated, everybody looks at me a little different because I’m a different guy from a different place and it’s so weird to find somebody that gets close to you and starts talking to you. It’s unbelievable that I have more friends at UNCG than at A&T and I feel that people over there have been more embracive, more open-minded but I don’t know why. I have met amazing people here but it has been harder to meet people at A&T than at UNCG. Sometimes people just stare at me but they don’t talk so it’s hard. So far this school has been great, great professors, but basically the same.”

Most of Pasha’s friends are black, “I didn’t come to A&T to make friends with other Asians that kind of defeats the purpose.”

When it comes to being part of a minority race here at A&T Pasha says this, “Your experience here depends on your attitude. You can’t walk around always being race conscious. Just enjoy your experience and don’t let your race affect it.”

True Life: I'm an Editor-In-Chief

Dexter Mullins is the Editor-In-Chief of North Carolina A&T SU’s award winning newspaper, The A&T Register. He is a senior, Journalism major here at NC A&T.

The A&T Register is a student run newspaper, but it does have a faculty advisor. The paper runs weekly, and is available every Wednesday at various points around campus.

Being Editor-In-Cheif makes Mullins the most important man on the newspaper staff. In an interview, Mullins allows us to take a closer look at what his position truly entails.

Q: What Steps did you take to become Editor-In-Chief?

A: I’ve been involved in journalism for eight years. I wrote for my high school’s newspaper from my freshman to senior year and I’ve been writing for The A&T Register since my freshman year. Last year I served as assistant managing editor as well as the online manager. Due to my heavy involvement with the paper I was chosen, along with one other staff member, to be put on the ballot. The student body then voted during the SGA elections at the end of last school year.

Q: What are your responsibilities as Editor-In-Chief?

A: As the Editor-In-Chief it is my responsibility to know what is on every page; know all the content including wire articles that we pull. I authorize what is published, so if there is a problem it’s my responsibility. I assign out article topics, I lead the editorial board, and basically I am the voice of the paper.

Q: What makes you different from past Editor-In-Chiefs of The A&T Register?

A: I wouldn’t say any of us were better than the other. What separates us is our focus. When Mike Mcray was Editor-In-Chief his thing was sports. He was known for ripping teams apart when they performed badly. Last year’s Editor-In-Chief, Aasiya Townself was big on arts & lifestyle. She went to every arts &lifestyle event that was her main interest and focus. My main interest/focus is news and editorials. I’ve written both news and editorial articles in almost every issue of the paper. I’ve gone to every news event.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being Editor-In-Chief?

A: This may sound crazy, but I love the ciaos. That’s what the newsroom is about; drama and ciaos. I love knowing that my staff is working hard to get out the information. I feel honored that the A&T student body trusts me to inform them of what they need to know.

Q: What is your least favorite thing about being Editor-In-Chief?

A: When we’re late. I hate being late in any aspect of life, and when it comes to the paper, being late is not professional. Tuesday’s are production day, so when things run behind and my team is stuck working late into the night, I blame myself. I hate keeping them out, I believe everyone needs personal time, I know people have things to do and I hate keeping them. Oh, there’s also the fact that being Editor-In-Chief is a lot of pressure.

Q: What was your favorite issue of The A&T Register?

A: It would have to be the same-sex relationships issue. I wrote the article, and it took me a month and a half to write it. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the response that we got from that issue. It was the first time I truly felt as though every single person on campus was talking about the paper. It showed me how much people rely on the newspaper; it truly does have all the power.

Q: What is your main goal for the newspaper this year?

A: To win. We take part in various competitions and my goal is to be first place in every single competition we participate in. This is a first class paper and it deserves to be recognized.

Check out Dexter's webpage!

Dexter Mullins can be contacted through The A&T Register’s email address: theatregister@gmail.com

Q&A on the impeachment process at A&T

Today I sat down with North Carolina A&T State University Senator Raymond Beamon. He is one of 31 senators on campus representing the most powerful entity in SGA.

Due to the recent acts of our SGA President, the students have looked to our Senate to decide what consequences should occur.

The word "impeachment" has been thrown around a few times. As a result, I asked him to explain the impeachment process here at A&T.

Q: What is your Position in Senate?

A: I am a District one Senator, meaning I represent the College of Arts & Sciences. I serve as the Judicial Chairman in the Judicial Committee.

Q: What are your duties under that position?

A: We follow the Judicial Review. Basically we check the Executive Board, Class Officer Association, Election Committee, and the A&T Register. We check them on three points, “What have you done?” “What do you plan to do?” and “Are you following through with the promises you made during the election?”

Q: For those who may not know, could you define the term “impeach”?

A: To impeach is to accuse, a public official, before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.

Q: Who is specifically in charge of the impeachment process?

A: The only thing the constitution specifies is that a committee of three senators is to be put in charge. Who those three senators are is not specified. In my opinion the committee should be made up of, the senator that is most experienced (served the most years in senate), the Rules and Regulations Chairman, and the Judicial Chairman.

Q: Can you explain the impeachment process here at A&T?

A: Section 6, Article VIII of the Constitution explains the Impeachment Process. Basically, the three person committee is responsible for investigating and assessing whether there’s been a violation worth impeachment. They then vote and if it passes they draft the articles of impeachment. The committee then presents the articles of impeachment to the full body senate. The full body then votes on whether the official should be impeached or not. 3/4th’s of the senate must vote “yes” in order for the official to be voted out.

Q: Who wrote the constitution?

A: Jesse Jackson wrote the constitution for A&T. However, he must have not thought we’d ever have to impeach someone. He left us no by-laws, no detail, nothing. We’re basically wondering on uncharted territory.

Q: So is it basically a general consensus that the section on impeachment is insufficient?

A: Yes, I mean he only left us one paragraph.

Q: If you could change anything about the impeachment process, what would you change?

A: Yes, I would make it so that the Judicial Branch votes on whether the violation is worth impeachment and be the ones to take in front of the senate. I also believe the senate has too much power; we are the most powerful officials on campus. A lot of people don’t realize it but we are in charge of everyone, including the students.

Q: Where can students find a copy of A&T's constitution

A: A copy of the Constitution can be found in every student planner. A downloadable copy can be found here.

If you have any more questions Raymond can be contacted at: rbeamon@ncat.edu

-By Sylvia Obell