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.

Students: HU professors did not stress civic virtue this election year

By Shemar Woods

Just a year ago, the first Tuesday in November created chaos around Hampton University’s campus.

For this year’s election, the buzz has fizzled out tremendously. Many students roam the campus unaware that Nov. 3 was Election Day.

“I didn’t even realize there was an election,” said Norbert Jones, a senior finance major from Long Island, N.Y. “People aren’t campaigning like they were last year to get the word out, which I think has had a significant impact.”

There has been a fair share of coverage during this year’s election campaign, but students from all over the country who attend HU share a common lack of interest.

Students say they “are not from Virginia,” or they “don’t know the candidates platform,” or “two years isn’t long enough to make a change.”

The low priority can be applied to Hampton University professors.

This year, no was little to no evidence of exemptions given to students who wanted to make a trip over to the polls to cast their poll, a complete reversal from 2008, when there was an unwritten rule that classes would be canceled on the Tuesday of the historical election.

“The teachers didn’t stress the importance of voting this year in classes,” said Edmund Dunn, a senior business major from Chicago.

The election teachers did not stress and students overlooked was between Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds. President Barack Obama came down to Hampton Roads last week to speak at Old Dominion University on behalf of Deeds, who eventually lost the election Tuesday night.

McDonnell’s big win was surprising yet easy. He collected 59 percent of the vote. The win also broke an eight-year streak, where Democrats had won the last two races for governor.

“I don’t see how his election will really affect us over the next two years,” said Jones. “Yes, the party in control has changed, but two years is not a very long term.”

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