Hampton University Men Aren’t Marriage Material

Tiffani Haynes

Hampton Men Aren’t Marriage Material

Word Count: 314

 

 

            The consensus it seems is clear: Hampton University men are not marriage material, at least right now. Most Hampton women believe that men on campus have the qualities of a good husband or becoming one but just choose not to act upon them while in school.

            Their focus isn’t finding Mrs. Right, it’s Mrs. Right Now,” said Sydney Finger, a senior nursing major from Hebron, Md.

            Finger even has proof that some Hampton men are thinking like that.

            “I always ask my male friends for their opinions on topics like this and they say that they’re not looking for Mrs. Right,” Finger said. “The girlfriends they have now are Mrs. Right Now but they could eventually turn into wife material.”

            All the women interviewed believe that it’s because men are still too interested in playing the field and meeting new women.

            “You don’t see people in exclusive relationships,” said Lianne Evans, a senior computer science major from Teaneck, N.J.  “A lot of relationships at Hampton are open because men are still testing the waters.”

            Kayla Emile, a senior communicative sciences and disorders major from Boston doesn’t believe that it’s only Hampton men.

            “A limited amount of men are ready for marriage at the age of 18-22,” Emile said. “I think this is playing the field time to see what type of female they like.”

            Shannon Cosby, a senior marketing major from Plainfield, N.J. agreed with Emile.

            “I don’t think any man is ready for marriage in college,” she said.

            Yet some are hopeful that love at Hampton is not a lost cause. Alaina Patterson, a senior English major from Los Angeles is one of the select few.

            “I don’t believe a lot of men are marriage material because I haven’t had luck with any of them but that doesn’t mean that somebody else won’t,” Patterson said. There’s still hope out there for some people.”

Hunt in Hampton for eligible Election ’08 voters

By Kathryn De Shields

 

When the Oct. 6 register to vote deadline arrived, 1½ months of employment ended for a voter registration crew at Hampton University.

 

Arron Mundy, a junior Management major from Inglewood, Calif., registered people to vote for a month. He joined the Community Voters Project to help people attending Hampton University to register for the first time, or re-register in Virginia.

 

“I was registered in California, but I re-registered in Virginia,” Mundy said. “I figured that Barack Obama is already going to win in California, so I want to take my vote elsewhere where it will matter.” 

Brittany Smith, sophomore biology major from Bronx, N.Y., decided to register people when she learned how many people she knew weren’t registered.

 

“A black man running for president is a big deal,” Smith said. “I would hate for my friends and people on campus to miss this opportunity to vote for a good thing.”

 

Smith and Mundy learned about the Community Voters Project through advertisements posted around campus and online e-mails.

 

Both students were paid by the hour to walk around campus and register people. There was a quota that they have to meet: A minimum of 12 voter registrations had to be turned in per day. 

“I had to chase people down and talk to anyone who was walking around,” said Mundy. “I’ve registered over 200 people so far.”

 

According to Mundy, along with the positive feeling of getting classmates registered, the $8.50 per hour he earned helped to pay his rent.

 

At the end of the day, Mundy, Smith and other participants returned to the Community Voter Project site located on Mercury Boulevard in Hampton to turn in applications for processing.

 

The fact that Virginia for the first time in over 40 years is a battleground state versus an automatic win for the Republican Party is a determining factor in the Voter Project. College students were encouraged to re-register in Virginia because some people believe that the absentee voting system is faulty and people don’t bother to vote at all.

 

“If everyone at Hampton was registered,” Smith said, “and surrounding colleges, it may make a big difference in who’s going to win the election.”

 

Legal constrictions and competition was a downside of the job.

 

According to Smith, about 20 people were getting paid to register voters and the numbers of remaining people not registered quickly dwindled.

 

“It’s getting harder because everyone I ask says that they have already been registered by someone else,” Smith said. “It’s hard to meet quotas now.”

 

According to a report on the WVEC TV-13 News Web site, three people were charged with voter registration fraud, and one of the suspects was a student, said the report. Voter registration workers can’t forge signatures, or mark an applicant’s paper in any way lest they face up to 10 years in federal prison per fraudulent form.

 

“Money is not worth time in prison,” said Mundy. “I don’t know why that person did what they did.” Despite strict rules in dealing with the forms, Mundy and Smith still believe the opportunity to register people was worthwhile.

 

“Knowing that I got people registered,” Mundy said, “and that they are going to vote on Nov. 4 is going to feel really good.”

 

The writer is a junior at the Hampton University Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications.

Only 1 in 5 at Hampton Univ. registered for emergency text-message alerts, officials say

By KATHRYN De SHIELDS

A press conference was held in at 4 p.m. Sunday to address the multiple shooting that occurred that morning on Hampton University’s campus. Three men, including the shooter, a former student, were wounded at 1 a.m. at Harkness Hall, said Hampton Police.

President William R. Harvey spoke to the media in the football meeting room of Armstrong Stadium. The student body was invited to attend, but an overflow crowd could not accommodate the number of students who showed up. The overflow of students was directed into a different room in Armstrong Stadium where they would be briefed later.

Many students were upset that the HU administration didn’t hold the conference in a larger place where everyone would have room to attend.

“I knew it was going to happen,” said Kyle Winfield, a junior theatre major. “Logically, it would be better for this to be held in Convocation where there would be room for students to attend and ask questions.”

It was announced at 4:30 p.m. that Barbara Inman, vice president of student affairs, would address the students in the Student Center Theatre. Patricia Easley, a senior finance major, said

“I believe this (press conference) should have been held at a bigger venue. Students are scared, students are concerned, and students need to know what is going on.
“This school owes its students an honest explanation. There are too many conflicting stories and the explanation the school has given us is vague and generic. It isn’t comforting at all.”

Students were also concerned about the emergency notification system that was used to alert them about the shooting via text messages and e-mails.

Alexandria Willis, a senior communicative sciences and disorders major, said she was not notified at all about what was going on. “The Harbors [off-campus apartments] was full of police and nobody stopped me or my friend to tell us there was a shooting and not to go back to campus,” she said. “We walked right into it.”

Overflow crowd
As students crowded into the Student Center Theatre, every seat was taken. Chairs placed in the aisle ways were filled. Many people stood in any free space that was available. There was still not enough room for everyone.

While people waited for the Armstrong Stadium press conference to end, two students took the initiative and addressed the student body.

Easley and Jasmine Williams stood at the podium and asked the students to participate in a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting. Soon afterward, the conference was moved to the Student Center atrium.

Donell Woodson, a freshman computer science major, said that he couldn’t go back to his room in Harkness Hall after coming back to campus from a party.

“I didn’t know where I was going to stay or what I was going to do for myself. I was standing outside for three hours before someone was able to come on campus and get me.”

Inman and Harvey entered the student center at 5 p.m. to address the crowd. Inman went over the events of what occurred during the shooting and what measures were taken then opened the floor to questions.

Many questions dealt with the emergency notification system.

Inman said that less than 20 percent of the campus was signed up despite the administration urging students and faculty to do so. The text message and e-mail system was installed in response to the Virginia Tech campus massacre of April 2007.

However, those who did sign up stated that they did not receive text messages Sunday.
“I did not receive a text message at all even though I was signed up for it,” said Easley. Some students said that they did receive the text message three hours after the shooting occurred.

“We need to make sure we have the facts before we send out information,” Inman said in response to a question about the delay of the notifications. “We don’t want to send out false information.”

Inman stressed throughout the forum that the university will be “revisiting security procedures” and that people who haven’t signed up for the emergency notification system need to do so immediately.

Student suggestions
Students offered suggestions to HU faculty in attendance about how to improve security measures, and observations on the failings of the current measures in usage.
For example, broken ID-activated dormitory locks to the front doors, front gate police officers not taking down the proper information for drivers without decals, and rectifying evacuation and notification procedures were addressed.

Although Inman stressed that these measures were always in effect, many students disagreed that they were not.

“Listen to us,” said a male student to Inman. “You’re telling us that these things should be happening, but we’re telling you that they are not.”

Student suggestions were written down by attending administration officials.

Harvey stressed a need for unity on campus during the tragic time and that everything possible was being done to ensure student safety.

“It is not us against them,” said Harvey, “it is we in this together. We are a family.”
Another Hampton University forum is scheduled 5 p.m. Monday at Ogden Hall.

The writer is a junior at the Hampton University Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications.