February 1,2010

Lillian Lincoln Lambert, the first African-American woman to obtain a M.B.A from

Harvard Business School, will be having a book-signing in the Howard University Bookstore on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Her newly released memoir, “The Road to Someplace Better: From the Segregated South to Harvard Business School and Beyond,” documents her journey from the south, to Howard for undergrad and through Harvard’s M.B.A program. Lambert attributes her decision to attend Harvard to her long-time mentor, the late H. Naylor Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh was one of the first African-American graduates of the Harvard Business School; after graduating, he found himself teaching at

Howard University where he met Lambert.

Lambert, Fitzhugh’s former student assistant, says she maintained great respect for him over the years after Fitzhugh assured her that she would be successful at Harvard. “I thought it was too expensive and there was no way I could pay for going to Harvard and I also thought that people who went to Harvard were super-smart—but [Fitzhugh] instilled in me that I was Harvard material and that’s why I applied.”

Check The Hilltop on Tuesday for an exclusive interview with Lambert on her life.

Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron was crowned Miss America 2010 Saturday at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas after dazzling the judges in her yellow satin gown, performing Beyonce’s 2006 “Dreamgirls” hit, “Listen,” and encouraging kids to participate in outside activities.

Currently studying broadcast journalism at the Virginia Commonwealth University, the 22-year-old native from Fredericksburg, Va. beat out 52 contestants, and won a $50,000 scholarship.

Cameron, who won her state’s title on her fourth try, is the first black Miss America since Ericka Dunlap in 2005. She will embark on a year-long journey representing the Miss America Organization and raising money and awareness for her platform, “Real Talk: AIDS in America.”

In 2007, Cameron received recognition from Congress for her work to bring instant-result HIV testing to Virginia.

S a t u r d a y ’ s competition began with the contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico performing a choreographed dance routine to the Black Eyed Pea’s hit song “I Gotta Feeling.”

Afterward, the contestants

participated in swimsuit, talent, evening gown and interview competitions. Their scores were added to points accumulated from a week of preliminary competitions. Each judge ranked his or her five favorite contestants in order, and their ballots were used to crown Cameron as the winner.

Actress Vivica A. Fox, gymnast Shawn Johnson and radio host Rush Limbaugh were among

the panel of judges.When asked about her

thoughts on the epidemic of childhood obesity during the

Howard University stomped all over the competition this weekend as the Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and Xi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. each took home first place in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Final of the Sprite Step Off in New York City and qualified to be two of the 12 fraternities and sororities stepping in the National Finals in February in Atlanta.

The road to the Step Off Final in Atlanta has been anything but quick and easy. Beginning in September, thousands of service-oriented fraternities and sororities from all over the country gathered at various locations in six different regions (West, Central, Southern, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast) to step their way into the tournament, with the top four sororities and fraternities garnering an invitation. The top sorority and fraternity in each region was given an automatic bid into their Regional Final, with the remaining second through fourth place teams moving on to the Regional Semifinals. Once at the semifinals, the top two scoring teams then moved on to the finals where the original winners from

the qualifying round awaited.The Howard AKA’s

and Alphas were winners in the qualifying rounds and were automatically entered into the Regional finals, while our Kappas, Zetas, and Sigmas all qualified to step in the semifinals.

“It was all very live,” said junior biology major Jeremy Williams, one of the members of the victorious Kappa Alpha Psi step team. To begin the day, the second through fourth place teams from the qualifying rounds stepped in front of judges only, with the top two moving on to step at night in front of the New York crowd. It was here that the Kappas made it to the regional final and the Sigmas

AARON RANDALLStaff Writer

As the snow fell heavily onto Howard University’s campus this past weekend, some Howard students had trouble leaving the Howard parking lots due to the snow left unattended.

Junior business management major Justin Stallworth said even after the snow was plowed there was snow left in the East Towers parking lot.

According to PFM associate VP for Administrative Services Michael Harris, the general protocol for snow removal on campus is determined by the most traffic or walking arteries on campus.

“We do 6th street, Bryant Street, W Street, and College Street first,” Harris said. “We tried to do streets and sidewalks to give students access to Blackburn because of food and general building entrances.”

As for parking lots, Harris said the snow removal depends

on the size of the parking lot and how many cars are in them. “We try to do the parking lots that have the most cars first,” he said. “The smaller lots will not get done until today at 6 a.m.”

He said due to the refreezing in some of the parking lots that were already cleaned they will have to go back to clean this morning.

While Howard students now have access to make their way to classes , safety precautions should still be taken when driving on the

roads in the District.In addition to having

problems in the Howard parking lot, Stallworth said he spun out on Georgia Avenue while he was driving. “In terms of safety, I’m going to try to limit my driving and when I am driving, I try to go as slow as possible,” he said.

Chief of Howard Police Department Leroy James said students should avoid driving in snowy conditions and should try to use public transportation as much

as possible. “After a snow storm, drivers

should be very careful on the secondary roads which tend to be plowed and treated after the main arteries in the city,” James said. “Depending on the temperature even though a roadway may have been plowed and treated icy conditions may exist, and black ice could create a dangerous situation on the roads for drivers.”

THE HILLTOPVOLUME 93, NO.70 WWW.THEHILLTOPONLINE.COM

Monday, February 1, 2010

WEATHER4028

Tomorrow: 40

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF

33 The Daily Student Voice of Howard University 1924Established

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

NotebookWednesday’s

CAMPUSDREW HALL’S NAMESAKE TO BE HONORED BY NAVY FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN BLOOD AND PLASMA RESEARCH.

PAGE 2

NATION & WORLD

PAGE 4

MARIJUANA STORE OPENS IN CALIFOR-NIA TO ALLOW ILL RESIDENTS FOR MEDICINAL USE OF THE PLANTS.

BREAKING NEWSACCORDING TO CNN.COM, AMERICANS WERE DETAINED IN HAITI FOR SUSPICIONS OF CHILD TRAFFICKING.

TAHIRAH HAIRSTONCampus Editor

Snowy Parking Lots Leave Students Stuck

Courtesy of CBSNews.com

Caressa Cameron is the 3rd Miss America from Virginia in the pageant’s 91 years history.

AKA, Kappas Win Regional Finals

After four years of existence, the gentlemen of George Washington Carver Hall (GDUB) hopes to bring the essence of stepping back to Howard University – making steps to be recognized as an official campus organization in the coming weeks.

But the journey to becoming an official campus organization was met with a lot of obstacles. “We were met with a lot of adversity and roadblocks [and] other organizations did not understand what we were doing,” said Joshua

Taborn, head coach for GDUB. “We had to combat that adversity and put our identity down on paper.”

After members of GDUB networked with the administration, GDUB was able to bring the proper paperwork to the administration. Giving thanks to Lennon Jackson, director for student activities, for her speedy approval of GDUB’s constitution, senior political science and philosophy double major Taborn said he hopes for GDUB to be an official campus organization

GDUB Rises Through Adversity, Becoming Official

INDEX Campus 2 Nation & World 4 Sports 5 Editorials & Perspectives 7 Hilltopics 8

> See SPRITE, page 3

Photo courtesty of India Howard

Two Howard chapters of Divine Nine organizations represented the university at the Sprite Step Off over the weekend.

Both organizations will step in the National Finals

Virginia Native Crowned Miss America

CAMILLE AUGUSTINStaff Writer

Le’DIA J. SMITHStaff Writer

HU Alumna, Harvard Business Graduate Promotes Memoir

Photo courtesy of Lillian Lambert

Lambert is the first Black woman to receive an M.B.A from Harvard.

RILEY WILSONStaff Writer

> See GDUB, page 2

> See MISS, page 3

into the lap of the administration they ran with it,” Taborn said.

GDUB is a performance or-ganization based on stepping whose sole purpose is to represent How-ard University in local and national step competitions. “ We utilize all forms of performance art and style to encompass the characteristics of the University,” said Taborn. “We want stepping to evolve.”

GDUB was created in 2007 when five juniors came together to mentor the freshman on Carver Hall’s step team for ResFest. The relationship began to grow and the step team became more popular on campus. As a result, instead of

just a Carver Hall step team, the organization decided to accept any student that enjoyed stepping. Ac-cording to Taborn, over the years the goal and purpose evolved and GDUB became a step team to rep-resent Howard University.

Taborn said we have cheer-leaders and dance groups on How-ard’s campus, but no official step team. GDUB serves as an example to not being the norm and like the other organizations on campus he said.

By not hovering over what organizations think of GDUB as a recognized organization, Taborn said this is what makes GDUB dif-ferent. “While most organizations take the same type of people, in

GDUB we are always looking for diversity,” Taborn said. “Above all else, what makes GDUB different from other organizations is that we hold our University and other or-ganizations accountable.”

In addition, being honest and not biting their tongue sets GDUB apart from other organiza-tions he said.

Becoming a member in April 2009, sophomore political science major, Caden Witt said he joined because of the leadership that GDUB enforced. “The one thing I like about GDUB is that no one is shunned away, there is no stereotype in GDUB,” said Witt. “We show leadership through our stepping.”

Continuing to be visible on Howard’s campus, Taborn said they will build up recruitment and have more programs and events to tell students how stepping began. Taborn said they have lost mem-bers to the stigma that being in GDUB is “bad.” He said they did not want people to judge them. As of now, only 60 members are in GDUB he said.

Another plan that GDUB has is to host mentoring programs where members of GDUB will be going into local schools to teach students how to step and hopefully put on a show for the Howard Uni-versity community to see.

Bishop John Bryant stood before the Howard University community in the Cramton Au-ditorim to preach the message of hope.

Bryant, the Senior Bishop of the Fourth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Epis-copal Church and father of Bal-timore, Ma. pastor Jamal Bryant, gave a message entitled “Being Hope Bringers.”

He compared the 1963 march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. with Martin Luther King Jr. to the day of the

inauguration of President Barack Obama. He said there were over 1,000 people at both making a movement to the field for the same thing and that was hope.

“The same problems impreg-nanted the same field,” Bryant said.

He defined hopes as “positive expectations, divine anticipation, and future boound.” Declaring

hope is the root of all thing. Showing the epitome of hope,

he told the story of a man in Haiti whose wife was stuck under rubble. Everyone else thought she died but he knew she was still alive. He said the man’s belief was the epitome of hope when everyone else is hope-less.

“He was really powerful be-casue he is so skilled at speaking,” said Aryn Davis, president of Cha-pel Assistants.

2 CAMPUS February 1, 2010

THE HILLTOP

BY TAHIRAH HAIRSTONCampus Editor

GDUB to Become Official OrgFrom a Carver Hall step team to GDUB, the organization has expectations to become recognized

As Howard University’s dormitory Charles R. Drew Hall bares his name, now the U.S. navy will honor Dr. Charles Drew, the former chair of the Department of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine, who saved many lives through his innovative workings with blood, with a ship in his namesake.

Secretary of the Navy, Don-ald Winter recently announced that a 689-foot, 42,000-ton Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ship, T-AKE 10, will be named the USNS Charles R. Drew, in honor of the physician and medical re-searcher whose pioneering work led to the discovery that blood could be separated into plasma.

The model for blood and plasma storage developed by Drew in the 1930s and 1940s -- separat-ing the liquid red blood cells from the near solid plasma and freezing the two separately -- has saved mil-lions of lives over the years and is the same process used today by the Red Cross.

Drew’s system for the stor-ing of blood plasma, the “blood bank,” revolutionized the medical profession.

When America went to war in 1941, Drew was named as direc-tor of the blood bank for the Na-tional Research Council, collecting blood for the U.S. Army and Navy. He established the American Red

Cross blood bank, of which he was the first director. Drew also orga-nized the world’s first blood bank drive, nicknamed “Blood for Brit-ain.”

In 1942, he returned to Washington, D.C., where he be-came head of the College of Medi-cine’s Department of Surgery and chief surgeon at Freedman’s Hos-pital.

The following year, he be-came the first African-American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.

A year later, he was elevated to Freedmen Hospital’s chief of staff and medical director, a posi-tion he held until 1948. While still at the College of Medicine, he was killed in an automobile accident in 1950 on the way to a medical con-ference in Tuskegee, Ala.

Dr. Bernard Kapiloff, who graduated from the College of Medicine in 1945 and was an assis-tant fellow in surgery and surgical assistant under Drew, applauded the award.

“He’s worthy of anything and everything this country can give him,” said Kapiloff, 92, a re-tired plastic surgeon who taught at the College of Medicine for more than 15 years. “It’s amazing that his work on blood plasma was his Ph.D., thesis. He saved many lives, and he established the depart-ment of surgery, as far as I’m con-cerned.”

Dr. LaSalle Leffall, one of the world’s most prominent can-cer surgeons, first black president of the American Cancer Society

and the American College of Sur-geons and a long-time professor at the College of Medicine, was a member of the last class that Drew taught.

“He was an excellent teach-er, and he had a reputation among surgical residents and patients as an excellent surgeon,” said Leffall, who has taught over two-thirds of the more than 7,500 College of Medicine graduates.

“He had a saying, ‘Excel-lence of performance will tran-scend artificial barriers created by man.’ What he was talking about was discrimination. That is a mes-sage that I have carried with me all

of my life.”Winter announced that three

other new Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo/ammunition ships are being named in honor of Ameri-can explorers and pioneers.

The ships will be named after U.S. Navy Commodore Mat-thew Perry (1794-1858), aviation pioneer Navy Capt. Washington Chambers (1856-1934) and Wil-liam McLean (1914-1976), a Navy physicist who developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder air-to-air mis-sile.

The four ships are being built by General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The ship

Dr. Charles Drew, Honored By U.S. Navy

BY RON HARRISHU News Service

continued from FRONT, GDUB

Campus Briefs

Howard University has different events go-ing on around campus everyday. Here is a list of some events that are happening around cam-pus thie week:

- The first black female to receive an MBA from Harvard University, Lilliam Lambert, will make her way to How-ard University Bookstore on Feb. 3 at 3:00 p.m. for a book signing for her book “The Road To Someplace Better: From the Segregated South to Harvard Business School and Beyond.”

- On Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 11-3 p.m., Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will put on their 18th annual Woman to Woman con-ference entitled “Sister’s Let’s Talk...Unveiling Our Destiny, Pursuing A Path of Purpose” open to all Howard University females.

- On Thursday, Feb. 4, the Recycling Rampage campaign will put on a talent showcase in Blackburn Gallery, also educating students on being enviormentally friendly.

-National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day On Friday, Feb. 5 How-ard University Student Health Center in con-junction with S.H.O.P., NAACP, and CBC will host “Flava of Love 2.0” in Blackburn from 10 - 2, free HIV testing will be included.

- Memorial Service for the late President Emeri-tus James E. Cheek on Friday, Feb. 5 at 11:00 a.m. in Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel

Did You Know?

Deadline to pay $200 Housing Deposit - Friday, Feb. 5 Deadline to file FASFA, receive two RSVP points, and be eligible for a donor

scholarship - Monday, Feb. 15

Photo Courtesy of Joshua Taborn

Head Coach Joshua Taborn said GDUB has many future plans once they become officially recognized by student acttivities.

“ The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whome he

had chosen....” Acts 1: 1 -11

A cargo ship will be named after the medical pioneer and former medical school professor

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Dr. Charles R. Drew pioneered blood and plasma research.

were knocked from competition with a third place finish.

The Alpha Chapter, AKA’s had to do a little less work.

Doing what she described as “almost the homecoming show,” AKA Stepmistress Jasmine Carroll always knew her sorority had a great chance at victory. “We were already very proud of that [homecoming] show, so why not do it again? We just shortened it up a bit since we weren’t given as much time this go around.” Performing in front of a 3,000-plus standing room only crowd, both Carroll and Williams were confident in their chances. And while winning in front of an electric crowd was amazing for both Williams and Carroll, they say it still wasn’t the best part of the event.

Under the service platform of “Inspire Change. Live Positively. Get Started Now,” Sprite teamed up with Ronald McDonald Charities, Serve.gov and the Boys and Girls Club of America to encourage everyone to make community service and volunteerism a daily part of our lives. Before any stepping was done, each of the teams visited a Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx where they strolled, taught steps, donated books (the AKA’s won an award for donating the most books) and discussed the importance of college to youth.

“When Sprite came up with this… it was pure genius,” Carroll admits. After spending time with the kids, many of whom are considered to be “underprivileged youth,” the impact Carroll realized she and her line sisters had on them was unforgettable. “One of the girls told me she wanted to go to college and become an AKA. That was life changing for me.”

Williams agrees. “My favorite part of the trip was the service. The kids were really receptive and it was a really good cause. They were really excited.” Continuing in the spirit of service, the winners of next month’s national final will receive $100,000 to be put wholly towards scholarships. It is the hope of both Williams and Carroll that Howard works to send a contingent to support the two teams in that final.

The Howard AKA’s and Kappas join several other teams in the finals including but not limited to Deltas from Clark Atlanta and Virginia Commonwealth University and Alphas from the University of Houston. The final two teams will be determined in the West Regional Final in San Francisco on Feb. 6.

“Howard needs to come and support us; it’s only right,” Carroll says, “…help us bring it home HU!”

competition’s interview portion, Cameron insisted that parents remove the television and video games.

“We need to get our kids back outside, playing with sticks in the street like I did when I was little,” Cameron said. “Expand your mind, go outside and see what the world is like.”

Howard University students had mixed reactions to the crowning of Cameron based upon her response to the interview question.

“I thought her answer was down-to-earth and realistic,” said Janiece Williams, fifth-year architecture major. “She made a good point about getting the children from in front of the television and making them become more physically active.

That is a significant difference from this generation and those who preceded it.”

Junior legal communications major Geoffrey Witherspoon did not believe that the answer was winning, but agrees that television and video games have been proved to be a leading cause of childhood obesity.

“Miss America should have a basic understanding of the issues that plague our community today,” Witherspoon said. “I don’t think that the answer was winning, but with all factors included, she did a good job.”

The crowning of Miss America began in 1921 as a publicity stunt to convince tourists on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk to remain in the city after Labor Day. Since its creation, more than 12,000 women have competed in state and local competitions

to advance to the Miss America pageant.

The Miss America Organization has awarded more than $45 million in cash and scholarships to the winners of the competition and women who compete in the state and local competitions. According to their Web site, “Almost all contestants have either received, or are in the process of earning, college or postgraduate degrees and utilize Miss America scholarship grants to further their educations.”

Cameron follows two previous winners from Virginia: Kylene Barker in 1979 and Nicole Johnson in 1999.

Miss California Kristy Cavinder was the first runner-up, and received $25,000. Miss D.C., Jen Corey, was also in the top 10.

THE HILLTOP

NEWS 3

continued from FRONT, SPRITE

HU Teams Proceed To National Finals

continued from FRONT, MISS

Miss America Sees Mixed Feelings For Interview Question

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A 15,000 square-foot super-store opened late last week for hy-droponic and medical marijuana growing supplies in Oakland, Calif. iGrow, located near the Oakland Airport, sells items ranging from soil and growth supplements to electrical systems and lighting. The only products the store cannot sell are the seeds to grow the plant.

The owner, 25-year-old Dhar Mann, said that his idea will “take the black market out of the medical cannabis growing industry.”

“We’re excited that iGrow was born in the epicenter of the cannabis movement,” Mann said. “And we’re even more thrilled to see the strong support that the city of Oakland and the community has shown us for the grand opening of our new business.”

Californian voters passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which allows medical marijuana, also interchangeable with the word cannabis, to be used by patients ap-proved by a doctor.

The act, known as Proposi-tion 215, allows patients to have a maximum of 72 plants indoors, a 36 square-foot growing area, 20 plants outdoors, and up to three pounds of dried marijuana.

Many city councilmembers are supportive of the store, includ-ing Councilmember Larry Reid who represents the district where iGrow opened.

“It’s going to create new job opportunities for residents,” Reid said.

iGrow will consist of profes-sional technicians called the Grow Squad, similar to Best Buy’s Geek Squad, in order to answer questions and assist customers with growing marijuana. The technicians will also be available for house calls in California to install the supplies.

In addition to selling prod-ucts to grow the plant, the store offers classes on safe and legal horticulture, and an on-site doctor – called a “Pot Doc” – is available to conduct physicals and distribute medical marijuana patient cards used to legally grow and purchase it for medical purposes.

“I think it will be great for those with medical [marijuana] cards, and it will certainly help in legitimizing the marijuana industry, and the case for legalization,” said Ehren Vance, a junior biology ma-jor.

“It’s great that this country is opening up to marijuana again and realizing that this herb, that’s been used medicinally for thousands of years, is not as harmful as once thought,” Vance added.

Oakland native and senior sports management major Jazmyn Hammons agrees with Vance, and said that it was a smart idea to cre-ate iGrow. She, however, does not believe that the superstore will de-crease the selling of marijuana in the black market.

“With the way the law stands

now, the only people that should be al-lowed to partake in the products are those that have medical marijuana cards and can legally use it,” Hammons said. “Af-ter legalization and because of the way America runs, people will still have a need for a black market in sales, because the gov-ernment will either tax marijuana or they may enforce individu-als to have a license to sell. Either everyone will not be able to af-ford one, or they may not care enough to get one.”

The Compas-sionate Use Act of 1996 states: “[The purpose is] to ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use mari-juana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appro-priate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would ben-efit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain… migraine, or any other illness for which mari-juana provides relief.”

The act, which received more than $2.3 million in donations, also states that conduct endangering others or using marijuana for non-

medical purposes is not condoned.Until last October, the De-

partment of Justice and California federal officials have conducted numerous approaches to slow the progress of medical marijuana in the state. However, the Obama administration and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the end of the Bush administra-tion’s frequent raid on distributors of medical marijuana, and provid-ed safeguards to protect the distri-bution systems.

The opening came before the Los Angeles City Council’s approv-al of an ordinance last week that is expected to shut down 80 percent

of the city’s nearly 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries. In a 9-3 vote, the resulting number of dis-pensaries in the city will be reduced to the capacity of 70, but will make an exception to those registered with the city before 2007.

Currently, 14 states allow the use of medical marijuana, includ-ing: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michi-gan, Montana, Nevada, New Mex-ico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Ver-mont and Washington. Marijuana, however, still remains illegal under federal law.

Choosing the perfect college is a decision that usually requires much thought and consideration. “Do I want to go to a four-year uni-versity?” “Do I want to take a year off ?” “Or do I want to go to a two-year school and pick up a trade?”

These are common questions many ask internally during the col-lege selection process. The econo-my has changed drastically within the past decade, and there has been a drastic cut in jobs for people with just a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university.

Thus, many students have begun considering two-year schools and vocational schools, commonly referred to as trade schools, to im-mediately learn a skill, begin work-ing in their field of choice and pos-sibly start their own businesses.

According to CollegeBoard.com, leading authority in the Unit-

ed States college system, two-year colleges and trade schools were developed for two major purposes. The first is to provide courses for students who plan to transfer to a four-year university later. Sec-ond, community schools and trade schools exist to prepare students for the job market by providing career training for a certain skill.

For Lithonia, Ga. hairstylist Ulrike Tyson-Stewart, an education at a trade school is just as valuable in the workforce as a degree from a four-year university.

“I knew I always wanted to do hair ever since I was seven or eight years old,” Stewart said. “I got a full scholarship to a four-year university, Brevard College in North Carolina, but I chose a dif-ferent route because I knew what I wanted to do.”

Stewart graduated from high school and began taking classes at Aiken Career Center in South Car-olina, later obtaining her associate’s

degree in business. Knowing what she wanted to do already, she pur-sued a cosmetology license.

Now a licensed stylist for 15 years, she has put all of her cre-dentials to use by opening her own shop, Stewart Michaels Hair Design Team. Though she took a different route for education, she encourages students to attend four-year univer-sities, if given the opportunity.

“Although I attended a trade school after high school, I believe that a four-year university gives students the full college experience that you do not get with a trade school,” Stewart said.

“I encourage students, when thinking about college plans, to make the right choice for you not anyone else, and consider all op-tions out there,” she said.

Obtaining a bachelor’s de-gree from a four-year university is the most common decision for many students when choosing to further their education.

Four-year universities pro-vide a different experience than vocational schools. College athlet-ics, organizations and residence life are some of the extracurricular ac-tivities that students may consider when choosing the perfect school.

Folasade Ogunmokun, a ju-nior television production major, wanted to attend a four-year univer-sity because she wanted to gain the full college experience she believed Howard University would offer.

“I feel that there is more in-formation to learn and more expe-rience to gain that you cannot get anywhere else [other than] a four-year university,” she said.

Ogunmokon said that at-tending Howard University has af-forded her the opportunity to join different organizations and gain long-lasting friendships. However, she said a person should choose a school based on what career he or she has in mind.

“Attending a trade school

means that the person has an idea as to what they want to do for a ca-reer, or you have a skill that you are trying to perfect,” she said “But a four-year university is for students that have ideas [about what they want to do]. [Four-year universi-ties] allow you to take classes and try different things to figure out if you still want to pursue career in that field.”

Both ladies agree that choos-ing the right college is one of the ul-timate decisions to make after grad-uating. According to Ogunmokon, a four-year university or a two-year school is no greater than the other, but pending on the person’s career of choice, much thought and con-sideration is needed.

“It depends on the person. Some people already know what they want to do when they gradu-ate, so it doesn’t make sense to waste years at a four-year school when you can get what you need done in two.”

4 NATION & WORLD February 1, 2010

THE HILLTOP

Photo Courtesy of The Seattle Post

Identification cards, like the one above, are issued to patients who are prescribed marijuana for medical treatment and must be shown before the drug will be released.

Ethiopian Airliner Crashes into Sea After Take-Off An Ethiopian airliner carrying 90 people crashed into Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off, various agencies have reported. Lebanese officials said the airliner disappeared from the radar five minutes after take-off from Beirut at 2:30 a.m. Monday. Taking off during a heavy storm, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was destined for Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

Kenya on Alert for Threat of Somali Militants Kenyan security agencies are on a high alert following reports that increasing numbers of the Al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group, al-Shabaab, are crossing the border into its territory. The move came after Kenya’s internal security minister, George Saitoti, told reporters that al-Shabaab elements, or their associates, were involved in a Jan. 15 demonstration in which Muslim youths protesting against plans to deport Jamaican hate-cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal clashed with police in Nairobi. Since last week, Kenyan authorities have detained more than 2,000 people in a crackdown on illegal entrants from Somalia. Among those detained were more than a dozen members of Somalia’s transitional federal parliament. The country’s Immigration Ministry is also busy registering legitimate arrivals and deporting those without proper documents.

Information from www.NewsFromAfrica.org

Nigerian Ruling Party Lashes at Obasanjo Nigeria’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s call on President Umaru Yar’Adua to step down due to ill-health as an “insincere attempt at self-exoneration.” The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary Rufai Ahmed Alkali accused Obasanjo of abandoning established channels of communication to make statements capable of causing disharmony and disaffection in the country. Meanwhile, the opposition Action Congress (AC) blamed Obasanjo for “imposing Yar’Adua on the PDP and rigging the 2007 presidential election for him.” Constitutionally barred from seeking a third term as Nigeria’s president in 2007, Obasanjo handpicked Yar’Adua, then the little-known governor of the remote northern state of Katsina, and shooed him in as the PDP’s presidential nominee and president of Nigeria. President Yar’Adua has been out of the country since November 2009, when he was admitted to a Saudi Arabian clinic with a serious heart ailment. Pressure has been piling on him to hand over to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

- Compiled by Marquis H. Barnett, Nation & World Editor

As the cost for college continuously goes up, more students are looking toward two-year technical schools as feasible education optionsBY ALEXANDRIA HOLTContributing Writer

BY Le’DIA J. SMITHStaff Writer

Trade Schools Offer Alternatives for Students

Marijuana Superstore Opens Amidst Controversy

SPORTS 5

THE HILLTOP

BY ROYCE STRAHANSports Editor

Sports Trivia!

What former Major League Baseball player was suspended from baseball

for life as a result of allegedly gambling on baseball?

Search the Hilltop for the answer!

February 1, 1992

Barry Bonds signs baseball’s highest single year contract ($4.7 mil)

Sports Throwback Photo

Photo Courtesy of ind.scout.com

Former Bison football player Antoine Bethea will once again play in the SuperBowl this year with the Indianapolis Colts. Bethea was one of four NFL athletes from the MEAC, and one of two from Howard University who was in the playoffs this year.

February Basketball Schedule

Mon 1 Delaware State Dover, Del. 7:30 PM

Sat 6 Winston-Salem Winston-Salem, N.C. 4 PM

Mon 8 South Carolina State Orangeburg, S.C. 7:30 PM

Sat 13 North Carolina A&T Washington, D.C. 4 PM

Mon 15 Norfolk State Washington, D.C. 8 PM

Sat 20 Florida A&M Tallahassee, Fla. 4 PM

Mon 22 Bethune-Cookman Daytona Beach, Fla. 7:30 PM

Sat 27 Maryland Eastern

Shore (Senior Day) Washington, D.C. 4 PM

The men’s and wom-en’s basketball teams split decisions again Saturday in a snowy afternoon game against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

Saadia Doyle posted a career-high 32 points and battled for her 13th double-double of the year as the Lady Bison beat UMES 55-51 at the Hytche Athletic Center.

Doyle and Zykia Brown both combined to seal a Bison victory hitting five of eight free throw at-tempts with only minutes left in the game.

The men lost by only one point against UMES men’s team (6-14 overall, 4-3 in the MEAC). UMES’ Hillary Haley scored a ca-

reer-high 33 points to lead his team to a 67-66 victory over the Bison.

Haley hit a three-pointer in the end of the first half and then scored 16 of his team’s first 19 points in the second half going 11 of 17 from the field and 7 of 10 at the free throw line.

Howard (6-16 over-all, 5-3 in the MEAC) made costly turnovers down the stretch causing them to let the game slip away.

Senior guard Curtis White scored a team-high 17 points while freshman Dadrian Collins scored 14 poi.

Both teams will travel to Dover, Del. to take on the Deleware State Hornets to-night. The women’s game is set for 5:30 p.m. while the men play at 7:30 p.m.

Want to write for sports? Come to the budget meeting Sunday at 6 p.m. to grab a story from

the sports section.

Bison Post Split Decisions Against Maryland

Photos Courtesy of HU Sports Information Office

The men’s Bison team fell to UMES Saturday 67-66 while the Lady Bison won 55-51 in two hard-fought games at W.P. Hytche Center.

THE HILLTOP

6 ADVERTISEMENT February 1, 2010

Howard University seems to have a knack for producing winners – not only academically, but on the extra-curricular level as well.

From Miss Howard be-ing crowned Miss HBCU in Atlanta last year, to this weekend’s Sprite Step-Off Service Challenge, representatives of How-ard University continue to display an unwavering and winning spirit – all while making us proud!

This weekend, three representatives of Howard’s Divine Nine took the National Sprite-Step-Off Challenge by storm. After competing against a number of other step teams, the Howard University chapters of both Alpha Kappa Alpha Soror-ity, Inc. and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. won first place in the final rounds, as well as $29,500 a piece.

The Alpha Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. also made their mark in the

Step-Off Challenge, winning second place and an overall $23,500 after battling five other sororities in the final rounds in Charlotte, N.C.

“It feels good to have

won,” said junior electri-cal engineering major Alix Martin, who participated in the show, stepping with his fraternity.

“I like the fact that the Alpha Chapter AKA’s won too – it represents the How-ard community very well. People all over New York were congratulating us. We

were there to represent for Howard and hopefully we did a pretty good job.”

The majority of the student body may not have been aware that the Sprite

Step-Off, a national competition geared to-ward encouraging vol-unteerism and commu-nity service in the daily lives of young people, even existed, but will now be proud to know that representatives of Howard Univer-sity went out and con-quered the challenge.

Howard has made another point – we as students, and

later graduates of one of the most significant HBCUs in the nation, win both on- and off-campus, in both the aca-demic arena and community involvement.

We’re proud of you guys – congratulations on representing Howard Uni-versity the right way!

Perspective:The State of Student Government

EDITORIALS & PERSPECTIVES 7

THE HILLTOP

Divine Nine Represents for Howard University

D a i l y S u d o k uDirections: Each row, each column and each 3x3 box must contain each and every digit 1-9 exactly once.

Our View:We’re proud of you for

representing Howard the right way!

Want to write for The Hilltop?

Come grab a story at our next budget meeting.

Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Howard Plaza Towers West

P-Level

THE HILLTOPThe Nation’s Only Black Daily Collegiate Newspaper

Brittany HarrisAsst. Business Manager

The Hilltop encourages its readers to share their opinions with the newspaper through letters to the editor or perspectives. All letters should include a complete address and telephone number and should be sent electronically on to [email protected].

Any inquiries for advertisements should be sent directly to The Hilltop Business Office at [email protected]

THE HILLTOP2251 Sherman Avenue NW

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[email protected] Now in its 85th year, The Hilltop is published Monday through Friday by Howard University students. With a readership of 7,000, The Hilltop is the largest black collegiate newspaper in the nation. The opinions expressed on the Editorial & Perspectives page are the views of the The Hilltop Editorial Board and those of the authors and do not necessarily represent Howard University or its administration. The Hilltop reserves the right to edit letters for space and grammatical errors and any inappropriate, libelous or defamatory content. All letters must be submitted a week prior to publication.

India ClarkBusiness Manager

Crystal J. AllenEditor-In-Chief

Jada F. SmithManaging Editor

Traver RigginsManaging EditorDeontay Morris

Deputy Managing Editor

Charles Metze IIINicolette McClendon

Cartoonists

Eboni FarmerOnline Editor

Alexis K. BarnesBusiness & Technology Editor

Cierra Jones Life & Style Editor

Genet LakewMetro Editor

Brittany CliftonRonesha DennisMacy FreemanDilane MitchellMichele Steele

Copy Editors

Ryan HamiltonAdvertising Layout Manager

Royce StrahanSports Editor

Tahirah HairstonCampus Editor

Ryan FosterEditorials & Perspectives Editor

Bree GantSean Robinson

Photo Editors

Marquis H. BarnettNation & World Editor

Courtney ColaLocal Advertising Manager

Jasmine CarpenterAsst. Copy Chief

Jenerra AlbertOperations Manager

Anastacia MebaneCopy Chief

Oluyomi SodunkeBrian Lipkins-Scott

Landneshe MagwoodPhotographers

There have been a few things bothering me these last two weeks. These things were mainly comprised of the general state of student government.

Now, this is not a personal stab at any one individual or council. I have many friends that are in student government, but just like they are government officials, I am a student in which they are representing. So before you get mad, understand that it’s simply business, this is me simply summing up what I have noticed during my time here. I apologize in advance for bouncing around.

When I first arrived at Howard, one of the first things I noticed was how “organized” and “productive” the student government was. Or at least, that’s what I thought I saw. When really, it has only just appeared to be progressive, instead of actually doing what they said they would.

As the years went by, the leadership began to seem less and less productive. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen many good things student councils have done such as the Black Male

Initiative, or relieving the $34,000 debt left from a previous council, to name some examples. But, that’s not why I’m writing this. I’m writing this to point out the things that I’ve seen that have disappointed me.

Yes, there have been several student government officials who have done their jobs well, but they have been overshadowed by “skit” leaders. A skit leader is the student who runs for office because they think they can win, not because they think they can make a difference. Student leaders need to consider their positions main priorities, and having problems attending mandatory meetings doesn’t sound like it’s at the top of their priority lists.

So what if there are several positions where the candidate is running unopposed? That just shows that only one candidate is fully prepared to step into that role. It’s not like there weren’t deadlines put into place and it was well-advertised.

What I don’t want to see is someone who runs for a position because of all the “we need candidates” talk.

All it takes is someone who is fairly “popular” to run and win because they are fairly “popular,” or at least more so than their opponent.

Personally, I am not upset with the lack of candidates participating in this election season. And quite frankly, I don’t blame the student body for individuals not wanting to partake in the “festivities,” but I do blame them for the current state of Howard politics.

Most students don’t pay attention to the things that happen in student government until something goes wrong or the “crime” has already been committed. We must do better.

Student government officials get away with just about anything because no one puts the necessary pressure on them to ensure that they stay on their jobs. So my request for you is to stay informed and take back control of your student government.

Domenio Smith,junior

public relations major

Naya ScarbroughWellness Editor

Send your perspectives to [email protected]

Speak up.

Sports Trivia Answer: Pete Rose

Nicolette McClendon - Cartoonist

8 HILLTOPICS February 1, 2010

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Join Howard’s

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Spring 2010

Rush Week

Monday 2/1

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Tuesday 2/2

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Wednesday 2/3

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Founder’s

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Thursday 2/4

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Friday 2/5

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Party @ Fur

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Saturday 2/6

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Interest Meeting

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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