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CO-SPONSORED BY LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (BROOKLYN CAMPUS)

FALL 2007

Although older generations of Afri-can Americans cherish Christianity,this powerful religion is seeing its in uencegreatly waning among todays Black youth.

The last time I was in church was Eas-ter. Im just not religious, says a BrooklynTechnical High School junior, who requestedhis anonymity. I dont see why so many

people are into religion. Im doing just newithout it.

Such statements about organizedreligion are not uncommon among AfricanAmerican teenagers. Many claim to onlyattend church because their parents insistthat they do, or to make an obligatory ap-pearance on religious holidays. The reasonsvary why Black teenagers are not avidchurchgoers: Some feel that God and Jesusare personal spiritual entities and praisingthem should be done in private, as opposedto in a room full of people.

I dont like the feeling that I get

when I praise Him. I feel that [the othermembers] are judging me, says 15-year-old Fallon Jones of Queens Channel ViewHigh School. Black teens also expressedconcern that churches feel more like cor-porate enterprises rather than sanctuariesfor spiritual worship. I remember this onetime when I went to my friends church and I

felt that they were trying to sell Jesus to me,rather than let me feel him, says one Brook-lyn Technical High School student. Andbecause he was my friend, I felt pressuredto put money in a basket they were basicallyshoving in my face.

Another Brooklyn Tech student saysthat she was also put off by the moneyrequests. I went to my friends church, too,and they made us get up to give the money.So basically, if you didnt get up, everyone inthe church would know it. Then they wouldthrow funny looks at you. And it wasntlike they only asked for money once, they

asked four times, I swear. After thethird time, I was basically broke.

When I didnt go up the fourth time,my friend told me that some of the elders in her church said I wasrude, she said.Even those who dogo to church, admit that they onlygo to be with friends to socializeand have fun.

Devout adults and ministerssay the reason teenagers arent intochurch is because parents arentimplementing religious values andprinciples at home. For instance,Angela Dean, who regularlypreaches in public, cites numerousoccasions when teenagers mockedher. Sure, they might tell theirchildren that stealing is bad, butthats it. Theres no enforcement,no punishment, notes the devoutDean, who, surprisingly, is not amember of a speci c church. Idont pledge to one church. I feelthat [there are] so many differentinterpretations of the Bible, Id loveto hear all of them.

Deacon Harold Myers of FarRockaways First Baptist Church blames themedia and school system for not adequatelypromoting the value of the church. Theyretelling kids that its okay to turn away fromGod and [to] put [their] trust in science, hesays.

These textbooks are teaching evolu-tion and [humans coming] from monkeys.Honestly, how can a whole universe be cre-ated out of nowhere? I dont buy it. God didthis, and its a shame that kids today arentrespecting that, Myers said.

Despite the continuing growth of Chris-tian dissent, there are still those who remainpious, such as Benjamin Cardozo HighSchool junior Tiffany Robinson. She attendsweekly gatherings, Bible studies and evenenjoys reading religious material on her owntime despite her hectic schedule. Robinsonis also angered and affronted by the impu-dence of Black teenagers and expects they

will one day embrace church and religion.Its just a matter of time, she says. Teenag-

ers dismiss the notion that they are irreverent.They say while they are wary of organizedreligion they still respect God as a spiritualforce and are just paving theyre own roadto salvation. Minister Mark Jones, of an-other Far Rockaway church called The FirstChurch of God, places some of the blame onchurch practices, including excessive tithingand other calls for money. Unfortunately,there are greedy people out there, willing toprey on peoples ignorance and trust. Itsreally depressing because people lose faith inall churches, even the good ones, he says.

However, Minister Jones notes thatsome smaller churches ask for multiple offer-ings to stay a oat nancially.

Black teenagers arent the only onesmoving away from Christianity. Some Whiteteenagers are also avoiding religion evenclaiming they dont believe in God, Jesus,or the Bible. Im an atheist because I thinkeverything is fake, explains Brooklyn Techsenior Gloria Haynes. Even my motherdoubts God and religion.Andrew Frasier, aStuyvesant High School junior, admits thathe only believes and respects Jesus becauseits his familys history. I join in familyprayer before dinner just to make my parentshappy. But, honestly, I think they dont care.Its more of a tradition that no one cares tobreak, Frasier says.

Ironically, other young U.S. minoritiesare increasingly embracing Christianity. Igo to church every Sunday, Bible study onWednesday, and whatever else in between,said Tsung Park, a 17-year-old BrooklynTech senior who is South Korean. He is alsoa part of Seekers, a club devoted to teachingthe words of the Christian Bible. Park saidhe got reprimanded at school for trying toraise money by selling candy for his church.Although the punishment was only a warn-ing, he said he didnt mind doing that for hishigher power. If you dont have God, you have nothing, Park observes.

THE RELIGIOUS MUTATIONBy: Nikki Newton

C ollege is a time for growthmentally as well as socially. It isvery important for young people to havethe option to go to college, because if not, they may fall by the wayside.

Some kids do not have a four-year planafter high school. They may consider collegean impossible goal, due to the high cost of many four-year colleges, or because of lowgrades. It de nitely is a let down when kidsare told that their favorite school is a reachschool.

Community college gives kids a newcanvas and allows them to save money onloans they may have had to struggle to repay,since four-year schools can cost as much as$40,000 a year. Community colleges havealso provided a second chance for manykids, especially those who do poorly in highschool or otherwise didnt achieve high scoreson their SATs and are not deemed college-ready. Graduates of community collegesoften go on to four-year institutions. Manyfour-year schools allow students to transfertheir credits from community colleges. JolieRohde, 19, is one example of such a student.Rohde, featured in The Chronicle of HigherEducation, worked in construction and wason her own at a very young age. She went

back to Tulsa Community College after

dropping out, graduated and then went onto the University of Tulsa. Sandy Jimenezis a college advisor for ERDA (East RiverDevelopment Alliance), an organization forlow-income families in New York City. Theorganization helps students like Rohde, whomay not have thought of higher education asan option.

I think that community college policyand its effect on kids helps them in a reallygood way, and it is extremely valuable. I thinkthat there is some stigma like it isnt that goodor that you arent that smart when you aregoing to a community college, Jimenez says.

Most of them have good advisors, and theyreally work hard to assist you if you wouldlike to transfer. A lot of minorities are puttingthemselves on two-year plans and transferringto four-year institutions, and that number isincreasing, according to a 2001 study by JohnTsapogas for the National Science FoundationDept. Human Resources Statistics Program.From 1990 to 2000, full- and part-time com-munity college enrollment increased from 5.2million to 5.9 million nationwide. Minorityenrollment also increased 65 percent duringthis time period.

Tsapogas surveyed graduates of four-year colleges who transferred from two-yearschools. rities who graduated from four-yearcolleges also said they attended community

college to earn credits toward a bachelors

degree. The study found that 74 percent of minoThe collective savings on attendingtwo-year schools before four-year schoolscan be vast, depending on scholarships andgrants from the federal government and thestate.When I asked my principal, Ron Tabanoof John V. Lindsay Charter School, why somekids go to two-year schools and transfer tofour-year schools, he explained: Financiallyit makes a lot of sense, and many students

nd that it is easier to take the requiredcourses because it is cheaper. It also givesthem time to decide what they want to majorin. For some students their grades arent highenough to apply for a four-year school,he added. The key to selecting a two-yearschool is you have to make sure it is a two-

year school that four-year schools accept

credits from. There are also s ome two-yearschools upstate, as well as across the nation,that feature dormitories for students whomay not be locals. Many foreign-exchangestudents start in community colleges to workon their English before pursuing studies else-where. While some may think of communitycolleges as outdated and undermanned, someof the facilities are actually very nice. Thereare schools such as Sullivan County Com-munity College that house 320 students oncampus, and Onondaga Community Collegein Syracuse features new living quarters thathouses 500 students. I asked my guidancecounselor, Patricia Wong, who attended atwo-year school before transferring to a four-year college, what she thought of community

college.The good thing about community

COMMUNITY COLLEGES GIVING SECOND CHANCES AND CREATING NEW IDENTITIES By: Jordan Temple

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college, especially those in the CUNY sys-tem, is that students who need to improve ondevelopmental skills would be able to receiveassistance on writing, reading, and math. Afour-year school wouldnt help you in thoseareas, she said. Any school you go to, youhave to take a placement exam. If they ndyour Regents scores are low, they will tell

you have to go to a two-year school and thatsnot always bad. The school system has longbeen blamed for failing kids, especially inurban environments, and especially amongminorities. Hopefully the number of kidsgoing to college will increase no matterhow they get there. Education can truly be alifesaver.

W.E.B. DuBois, the late scholar andcivil rights leader, once said: Education isthat whole system of human training withinand without the school house walls, whichmolds and develops men.The educationalsystem is designed for every race, and everyperson, for the same reason, which is todevelop your mind and enjoy a career path

for which you have worked hard; my mothercalls it sweat-equity. The path you take toget there should not affect the person you be-come, and community college is just anotherway of getting thereand beyond.

TEENAGERS SHAKE UP COMMUNITY IN NEW YORK By: NKeya Peters

W hile most teenagers are shakingup violence in the communityand causing trouble, the members of theFlava Unit are making a positive changein their community and a positive changein their lives through volunteer work.

The Flava Unit is a teen communitygroup that does community service outreachin all ve boroughs of New York City. Itconsists of high school students in grades 9to 12. The Flava Unit members complete atleast two volunteer service projects a month,and hold meetings in Manhattan everyThursday at 5 p.m., where they socialize anddiscuss upcoming events.

The Flava Unit was created by Power105.1s radio announcer, Dj Vu whoalways had a passion to work with youngpeople: Young people need someone toguide them toward the right path. Not a lotof people do that; they would rather com-plain about young people than help them. Idrather help, says Dj Vu.

Dj Vu started the Flava Unit in 1997in Birmingham, Alabama, while she workedas an Assistant Program Director at WBHJ.It started off as a platform to gure out theinterests of teenagers and the things theyliked, and it led to teenagers giving back tothe community through volunteer work.

The Flava Unit currently has a chapterin New York City with approximately 32members residing in Brooklyn, Queens,Manhattan and New Jersey. Previous FlavaUnit branches include St. Louis, Missouri,and Richmond, Virginia. Volunteeringin my community makes me feel goodbecause most people my age are not doing

this, says 17- year-old Diandra Davidson.

The Flava Unit has worked with many dif-ferent kinds of volunteering organizationsfound by browsing the Internet. Many of these organizations include the Food Pantryof New York City, The Salvation Army, andHabitat for Humanity.

My favorite type of volunteer workwould be feeding the homeless at the FoodPantry of New York City, says 17-year-oldmember Wahkeeyah Johnson. It just feelsgood to help someone who is less fortunatethan you and who cant help themselves.

While other teenagers spend their Satur-days sleeping all day, these teenagers wakeup as early as 5 a.m. to volunteer for at least

ve hours in their community in the sun,rain, and snow.The most challenging thing

about being a member of the Flava Unit isgetting to the events on time. I have to get upat 5 a.m. on Saturdays. Its really hard, but Imade a commitment to the group and I mustkeep it, says 17-year-old member FatimahSesay.Flava Unit members make a commit-ment to arrive at every meeting on Thursdayevenings, and also to arrive on time for theirvolunteer events that usually take place twoSaturdays a month. This schedule is hardfor some members, especially seniors whohave to balance senior events and Flava Unitevents.

The most challenging thing about be-ing a member of the Flava Unit is making itto every single event and balancing that outwith other social events in my life, says 17-year- old member Brittany Allen, who gradu-ates from Cardozo High School this year. AFlava Unit membership lasts until graduationfrom high school.Many in the group havebeen members since their freshman year and

have developed close friendships, becomingclose like family. One male and one femalesenior of the Flava Unit are eligible for a$1,000 scholarship funded by Dj Vu. Sonot only are the members giving of their timeand energy to help their communities, theyare also eligible for a scholarship for all theirhard work.

Hours spent volunteering also goestoward my community service work, whichwill look great on my college transcript, saysmember Asia Foster.

The Flava Unit is bene cial to both thecommunity and its members, who are ex-posed to different aspects of the city that theynever knew existed. Besides gaining com-munity service hours, members also receivefun things such as movie passes, concerttickets and CDs. Trips to college fairs and the

Black Expo occur at least once a year. At theend of the school year, a graduation receptiontakes place, signaling the end of one FlavaUnit semester. Family and friends are invitedand everyone has a good time. Meetings re-sume at the beginning of the next school yearand new members are added to the group.

Flava Unit members learn that theworld does not operate alone, the worldoperates with everyone working together.Giving back to the community by civilservice makes them well-rounded individu-als and help keeps them out of trouble, saysDj Vu.

This holiday season, the Flava Unit willcontinue to shake the community in a posi-tive way by reading to kids in intensive careat a neighborhood hospital and by participat-ing in a toy drive.

N

K e y aP et er s

Jessica Jones, a 17-year-old high schoolsenior at Brooklyn College Acad-emy (BCA), is an active member in severalschool and social activities. Model UnitedNations is her most time-consuming activityand requires lots of research and writing. Inaddition to her homework and studies, Jessicabarely has time to focus on any one thing.The same goes for 17-year-old Yanik Joseph,another senior at BCA. Yanik is involved insports and the school band. Not only does hehave to juggle the pressures of school, buthe also has to go to work and deal with hisgirlfriend. Handling a relationship causes themost stress in his life, says Joseph. Becausethere are constant disagreements about minorproblems.

Between school, work, friends, parents,college, and even the senior prom, all theseissues eventually lead to the overwhelmingsensation of too many things to be done atonce. No matter what age, stress affects ev-eryone. These feelings can be both good andbad. The pressure of having an assignmentdue can encourage you to work hard to meetyour deadline, however having too manyassignments due at once can stress you out,which can lead to headaches and even panicattacks. In an article entitled Coping withSchool Stress, Katherine Kam discusses theeffects that teenagers, like Jessica and Yanik,experience in California. Hannah OBrien, a

junior at AcalanesHighSchool in Lafayette,California, observed that many of her peersbreak down into tears after receiving a lowgrade on a test and even go days without

sleep. This is similar to the seniors of BCA.

Students strive so hard to be perfect that theyloose their temper, confront teachers, andbecome hysterical when they feel that theyhave been cheated out of a better grade.

School isnt easy for teachers, either.High school teacher Jesse Kupferman justtransferred to BCA and teaches 11th and 12th

grade English/creative writing. He has veclasses each day and reveals that its verystressful being a new teacher and preparinglesson plans each night. Not only does Kup-ferman, 27, have to prepare for his job, buthe also has to make sure that his bills are paidand that he has enough money to provide forhimself and his girlfriend. Despite the age gapbetween Mr. Kupferman and the seniors, thecause for their stress is still similar. Everyonecopes with stress differently, for exampleKupferman says he likes to read, go out withhis friends, cook, and work out. Accordingto the U.S Department of Health and HumanServices, these activities are great for relax-

ing your mind. Studies show that physicalactivity increase the endorphin levels in yourbody and give a natural high feeling. Also,hanging out with friends or people that arepositive help keep you optimistic and sane.Yanik prefers to talk to his friends about hisproblems. Once hes done venting he tries todo something fun. Talking with someone isalways a good idea when you feel stressed,he says. Of course it always depends onwhom you talk to, which goes back to thepeople you usually hang out with.

Links:http://www.webmd.com/parenting/signs-of-teen-stress

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/coping-school-stress

STRESSING OUT AND REELING IN By: Tfarra Farrell BREAST CANCER RESEARCHGETS A CORPORATE BOOST

Just a few days before her 35thbirthday, Alecia Jones found outshe had breast cancer.

Now, years later, she has not onlylived to tell of her struggle, but of theunexpected help she got while battlingthe disease.

I had an appreciation for life aftersurviving, says Jones, a nurse at WilliamF. Ryan Community Health Center inManhattan. And compassion for thoseliving with the disease because cancer is avery unexpected and devastating diseasethat makes you examine who you are andwhy youre here.

According to the National Cancer In-stitute, more than 40,000 women die eachyear from breast cancer, but Jones choseto ght the disease and win. But thanks tocorporate initiatives, she knew she did nothave to ght the disease alone. Dozensof companies have stepped up to helpwomen survive their struggle and providesupport.

Nationwide oral distributor FTDrecently partnered with Y-ME NationalBreast Cancer Organization to donate 10percent of sales from their Pink Ribbonbouquet collection to ghting breastcancer.

We were so inspired by Y-ME thatwe felt strongly about stepping up our

own efforts to raise public awarenessabout breast cancer, said FTD executivedirector Bill Van Cleve in a statement.We hope to make the process easier forthose living with the disease.

The corporate push for breast cancerawareness support has grabbed the atten-tion of several other business sectors aswell. Fashion retailer Bloomingdales re-portedly gave away more than 70 millionpink ribbons to promote awareness of thedisease. Last September, technology com-pany Belkin released a line of pink-and-bone-colored cases for iPods, donating 10percent of the proceeds to breast cancerresearch. In addition, Lifetime Networkshas devoted an entire segment of theirwebsite to supporting the treatment,prevention and even political activism inthe ght against breast cancer.

With faith and support Jones didnot ght breast cancer alone and urgesstrength for those who are challengedwith it in their lives.

Ask God to giveyou strength to over-come this, accept lovefrom all sources,dont even pityyourself, she of-fers, and dontgive up.

By: Jasmine Tronchin

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LOOKING AT JUVENILE DIABETES

As a nurse working in New YorkCitys Of ce of School Health,Ruth Carter [ CARTER OR SCHNEIDER?CK NAME AND UNIFY] nds herself go -ing through a daily cumbersome process onbehalf of some students. The work consistsof lling out a special form, consulting witha lunch aid on what is being served, then be-ing sure elements like fats, sugars, and car-bohydrates are properly balanced or omittedbecause the students shes concerned withare not like others, and cant eat what theothers eat.

All this for students living with juve-nile, or type 1 diabetes.

The children really have a toughtime in the beginning, said Schneider [???CARTER?? WHO IS THIS?]. I couldimagine they feel punished not being able toeat other kinds of foods, and not being ableto share candy like other kids.

Schneider says her job entails work-

ing with parents and school nutritioniststo monitor food intake and insulin levelsin diabetic children, and even administersinsulin treatment. The ailment is an autoim-mune disease of the insulin-producing cellsof the pancreas. Many scientists believediabetes may be a virus that attacks the cellsand permanently destroys them. As a result,the pancreas can no longer produce insulinthat is needed to transport sugar from theblood to the cells for energy. The sugar thenpiles up in the blood and causes damage tothe organs and blood vessels.

People with diabetes have to moni-tor blood glucose level daily. In order toregulate insulin intake they must use adevice that takes sample of blood usually bypricking the nger to get an accurate readingin about seconds. In addition, they mustexercise and watch what they eat. The car-bohydrates in the food are counted and thatincreases the insulin intake, but if the personexercises that decreases the insulin intake.Everything in the childs life is calculated to

keep them regulated; this even takes placein school. Many factors, including genet-ics and obesity can play a major role in thedevelopment of diabetes. But scientists havenot pinpointed diabetes is triggered, but diethas found to be a factor. Excessive eating of fast food and candy, combined with a lack of exercise can increase the risk of becomingobese and encourage diabetes.

. About 177,000 young people under20 years old have juvenile diabetes and thenumber is only growing each year. Newstudies are now nding many new cases of children acquiring type 2 diabetes, whichwas once thought to only be found in peopleabout 45 years and older.

Subtle changes in a childs body candetermine whether he or she has diabetesbefore being tested. Symptoms includ-ing increased urination, increased thirst orhunger, and even nausea and vomiting canbe indicators. In some, severe cases theexperiences rapid breathing and may evengo into a diabetic coma.

But fortunately many treatmentmethods for the disease are now being usedthrough insulin injections or pumps and

even and oral medication and inhaled insulinis in the research stage, according to theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundationswebsite.

Reality television chef Sam Talbothas been living with diabetes since he was13, andtold theJDRF thatexercise,proper dietand regularcheckingof bloodsugar ispart of hislife andcan besomethingothers whohave Type1 diabetescan embrace to stay healthy as well.

Diabetes is a part of your life, try toembrace it the best you can, said Talbot.Checking your blood sugar and monitoringwhat you eat is a part of your daily routine.

By: Jastina Carter

w w w .t i m e . c om

NEW JERSEY OFFERS A JUNK FOOD ALTERNATIVE By: Leila Brown

M any public schools offer theoption for their students toeither buy school lunch or venture outto get lunch where they please, which initself can present problems in the way of teen nutrition. In Montclair, New Jersey,students take the opportunity and go out tolunch at surrounding fast-food chains. Highschool students, in particular, fall into thiscategory because they have free periodsduring the course of the school day.

To help stem this problem, the NewJersey Department of Agriculture hasdevoted an entire division to child and adultnutrition. Its Child Nutrition Program offersnumerous programs focusing on differentaspects of nutrition and health in schools,

which can be public or private, and includ-ing child and adult daycare centers.Over the past few years, there has been

a push toward the improvement of the foodserved in New Jersey school cafeterias. Onespeci c policy that has been established isthe Model School Nutrition Policy. Thisprogram is supposed to help eliminateunhealthy foods, and foods with minimalnutritional value, by banning them fromschools. Foods that fall in this category aresodas, candy, and any item that lists sugar asits rst ingredient.

The initiative for The Model SchoolNutrition policy began in May 2003, withthe idea of Healthy Choices, Healthy Kidsas the slogan. The program was sparkedby the idea of stopping the rapidly grow-

ing number of children in New Jersey thatwere either obese or had type II diabetes. All

of the school systems of New Jersey weremandated to have the policy in full effectin two years, which would have been bySeptember 1, 2006, and districts would haveto fully meet all of the requirements of theprogram a year later, which was September1, 2007.

Foods sold and distributed in schoolduring the day must meet strict guidelinesthat include:

Serving sizes not exceeding eightgrams of fat and two grams of saturated fat.

If not water or milk, beverages maynot exceed twelve ounces.

40 percent of frozen ice creams anddesserts may not exceed the other guide-lines.

More than $20 million has been spentpromoting nutrition and staying healthy. Butthe spending is an overall bene t becauseit saves money for parents who otherwisewould have to pay dietitians for consulta-tions or medical professionals for problemsassociated with obesity and poor diet.

The New Jersey Department of Agri-culture has had this policy in effect sinceJanuary of 2006 and it has so far provento be a success, with over 700 New Jerseypublic schools fully and hundreds more inthe process of getting up to speed.

WEAR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

By: Christopher SamuelTwo things change dramaticallyover time: people and fashion.Different trends come about and differ-ent styles come into play all the time, andpeople who fancy themselves as trendsetters come in no short supply. From the80s through the present, weve had toadapt to (and endure) a kaleidoscope of fashion hits, and misses ranging from Afrosand hip-hugging bellbottoms to Caesar cutsand hip-sagging wide leg jeans. So whatstyles do ckle, hip-hop in uenced citykids prefer? Has it gone from RocaWearand Phat Farm to True Religion and 7 ForAll Mankind jeans? Or is it all comingfull-circle?

Eighties fashion is repeating be-

cause we look like our parents just a littleyounger, said Raven, 16, a high school junior from Queens . Its not that otherclothing hasnt been around, but its justgetting noticed.

Its easy to understand whatshappened. Styles come and go. Every-one wants to wear whats in for that timeperiod. A particular brand will be popularfor the moment, but in the blink of an eyeno one will care about it. Its all aboutkeeping up, but if you dont the trend willmost certainly will pass you by. Whatslikely to happen, based on past trends, is asthe nouveau riche brands touted on FifthAvenue become more popular for urbankids, and the cheaper knock-offs becomeavailable, the once stylish haberdash andhaute couture of Phat Farm, Sean John andRocaWear will become obsolete.

Jason, a salesman for Bargain

Bazaars downtown Brooklyn location saidthe once rebellious but now increasinglylitigated baggy look is the latest victim of the fashion polices commando unit.

During the past 5 years the baggyclothes trend has changed to sort of a rockstar look. I feel this image comes from tele-vision the most, said Jason, who declinedto give a last name, but says hes workedin the clothing industry for two years andsees his inventory changing dramatically.In his business, the hip urban gear is nowaimed at a younger generation who seemto be slowly eschewing the thug look forclothes they could wear to an AmericanIdol audition.

Based on Jason and Ravens observa-

tions, it seems that fashion will changeabout as much as people change theirclothes, their hair, and even their lifestyles.However Raven, who has her own way of dressing, was quick to point out that peoplerarely act with eccentricity when it comesto their clothing.

My personal style is what peopletoday call tomboyish in a way, she said.(But) majoritywise (sic) everyone dressesthe same.They follow trends.

But even the new designers will fadeaway themselves and make way for whatwill make them pass. Nothing in thefashion industry will last forever there isalways room for new ideas and new stylesin this world. So to answer the questionwhat does the urban culture prefer? Theyprefer whatever is new and in style. We all

just want to wear wha ts in.

S ome say Nike is the mainconsumer products companythat has done the most to prevent globalwarming. The company has sponsoredraces to stop global warming and is set-ting an example for its consumers.

Such efforts come at a time whengreen businesses use less waste tohelp to prevent pollution and conserve

energy. A green business is known asan environmental leader and being agreen business can also give a companya marketing edge over the competition.Global warming is a serious issue, andnow the top businesses are beginningto see that. Besides Nike, Wal-Mart andPepsiCo. have become green. Pepsiis part of the United States ClimateAction partnership. This company wasalso recognized with ENERGYSTARpartnership. Claire Palmer, a representa-tive from PepsiCo., claims Pepsi hasalways been concerned about the com-munity. We are working to encourageaction, she said. A grocery store calledCompare Foods has been selling bagsfor customers when they shop. This was

made to stop the use of plastic bags thatcontribute to global warming.

Meanwhile, New York Universityis also trying to be more environmen-tally friendly. In October 2006, NYUlaunched a green action plan, an eventthat raised hundreds of thousands of dol-lars. Reporters at the New York Associa-tion of Black Journalists high school

journalism workshop interviewedtheir peers about globalwarming. One studentdidnt even know whatglobal warming was.When Brad Dewitt, astudent at Bayside HighSchool, was asked if hewas affected by busi-nesses turning green, hesaid, All I care about is me, myself,and I, and my family and friends, aslong as they are OK Im cool. As theinterview progressed, however, Dewittsprospective on businesses going greenchanged as he received more informa-tion about it. This interview changedmy mind a lot, he said. I think its

great what Nike is doing to keep theenvironment safe. Other students werea tad bit more informed. DominiqueCallahan, a Nike fan, said she thinkswhat Nike is doing is excellent and thecompany inspires her to stop polluting.Briana Marim, who likes Pepsi, likesthe companys approach to ght globalwarming. She says she plans to do her

part and will stop using hairspray, whichemits pollutants. This fall,former Vice President AlGorewon a Nobel PeacePrize for his efforts tostop global warming. Hehelped create the AcademyAward-winning lm AnInconvenient Truth toinform the public about the

global warming problem. Is Al Gore aninspiration for corporations to do bet-ter? Often, when a company announcesits plans to go green, some wonderwhether it is just a publicity stunt. Com-panies know that is what the consumerswant to hear, so its possible they are

just giving lip-service to the problem.

If companies understand the truecost of environmental factors to theirbottom line, they are more likely to dosomething about it on their own, saidJanet Ranganathan of World ResourcesInstitute. In Harlem, there is a busi-ness that sells condos called Kalahari.The condos that the company sell areenvironmentally friendly but very ex-

pensive for the average person, startingat $700,000. A reporter from NYABJHigh School Journalism Workshop wasnot able to contact

Kalahari for comment. However,a Harlem resident NAME? said: Wearent rich. We cant afford two to fourbedrooms for $700,000. You can buy abigger house with that kind of money.If going green is a positive change,why is it coming at such a negativeprice? Global Warming is considered aserious problem that can cause cata-strophic damage. Many other businessesare working in the process to followthe steps of businesses like Walmart,PepsiCo., and Nike to prevent it fromdestroying the planet.

EVRY HEART BEATS TRUE NEATH THE GREEN?By: Nadya Stevens

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From the beginning of the 20thcentury and even earlier we havegone from sophisticated and conservativefashion to a aunting society in which younggirls are taught that showing off their bodiesis beautiful. Some may think that we havemade signi cant stepswomen used towear girdles and corsets every day to achievesocietys ideal of a beautiful gurenow wewear what we want. But do we really?

Do women truly wish to wear tightpants, loads of makeup, wigs or hair exten-sions, or go to the extremes of cosmeticsurgery? Today, women chose styles basedon in uential televisions programs and printmagazines that de ne for us what a womanshould look like. But they rarely even men-tion anything in a woman deeper than theexternal. Back then ladies fashion used toconsist of them covering up their body parts,but now designers make clothes in any shapeor form so that females can feel comfortableshowing skin and expressing the way theyfeel, says Giani Grinelle, 20. Yes, fashiondoes have a great impact on beauty becausewe, as females, also want to look fashion-able but at the same time we want to lookbeautiful. For women today, keeping withsocietys style gives us a sense of self- con -dence, a feeling of tting in. We have a needor a desire to go with the current and neveragainst it. It isnt enough to look good inyour clothes the pressure to have the perfect

body has lead many women of color to seekcosmetic surgery.

Donda West, a retired college Englishprofessor and mother of hip-hop superstar,Kanye West, died tragically on MondayNovember 12, due to apparent complica-tions from cosmetic surgery. Mrs. West, 58,suffered fatal complications after undergoinga combined tummy tuck and breast reduc-tion procedure. Her case was rare, althoughdoctors warn that any surgery may involveserious complications, cosmetic plasticsurgery is one the safest medical procedures.The chance of death due to cosmetic surgeryis about one in 51,459, according to thePlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a medi-cal journal. The American Society of PlasticSurgeons (ASPS) reports an even lower rateof one in 57,000 procedures.

Each year in the United States, over$33 billion is spent on diet substances, morethan $20 billion on cosmetic, and in excessof $300 million a year is spent on cosmeticsurgeries. Women pride themselves on howfar we have supposedly come over the lastdecades, when in fact we have only trappedourselves in a corner. From a young age,women are shown what societys idea of beauty is in the form of a toy: Barbie, the tall,skinny blonde with blue eyes and the perfectbust size. If Barbie were a real human beingshe would have to walk on all fours becauseher unbalanced body couldnt hold her.

Our society has programmed our mindsto think that a womans face is the worth of her fortune. Women represent 52 percentof the population yet we have not managedto overcome our materialistic and shallowviews of the world around us. Cosmetics andplastic surgeries industries have thrived overthe last few decades, yet women today are nomore satis ed with themselves. As womenwe have worked too hard and too long to let

the desires of men destroy us.Womens fashion has dramaticallychanged over the century and all throughouthistory. Beauty has been based upon onesintelligence or her status in her neighborhoodbut never stressed upon her looks as they arein todays society. Todays women strive forperfection. They wake each morning, spend-ing countless hours on their hair and makeupthen on their out t for the day. When newfashions arrive, we rush to the stores andspend large sums on designer clothes, everyfew minutes reapplying gloss on our lips tomake our smiles only more attractive. Yetall during this time we are thinking of otherwomen in our lives, the ones who seemperfect. We curse them for having whatwe want. We distance ourselves from themout of pure fear of self-degradation. Today,women think of their places in the world andpride themselves on the steps we have taken,all the time failing to realize how far wemust still go and how much time and work

we sacri ce, while we strive for the ultimateperfection.

Young girls grow up today in a soci-ety that demands perfection. A young girlmust be skinny. A young girl must be smart.A young girl must be athletic. And mostimportant, a young girl must be beautiful.Last year Kiri Davis, a New York teenagerdirected the documentary short A Girl LikeMe that asked young black kids to choosebetween a white doll and a black doll to playwith. Almost all of the young children pickedthe white doll because to them the white doll

symbolized beauty and happiness. Also, inthe documentary were several black teenagegirls revealing their de nition of beauty andproudly showing off their black features. Un-derstanding that being of African Americandescent and having certain physical char-acteristics not only makes us different butbeautiful and fashionable.

Today when beauty is mentioned,almost everyones rst thought is a womansoutward appearance and their sexual attrac-tiveness, says Latoya Stevens, 29. Womennowadays think that dressing in a provoca-tive way gives them attention, most likelynot realizing that theyre not only degradingthemselves and other females, but theyrealso getting a negative response from bothmale and females. True beauty is within, youmay not t the ideal of the most attractiveperson on the outside, but you may be beau-tiful on the inside.

FINDING THE BEAUTY WITHIN By: Tyra Francis

UPSET By: Terrique Johnson

The word upset is de ned thusly:to overthrow or defeat unexpect-edly. The thrill and glory of an upset is thereason why many compete in sports. Theoverwhelming feeling of defeating a team

thats supposedly better than your team isunexplainable. When youre an underdog,the successful sensation of victory is thebest feeling as an athlete. In todays sportsworld, upsets are the biggest enthusiasm forstruggling teams to look forward to, mainlybecause those teams have nothing to lose.If they lose, then they consider it that theywerent supposed to win. However, if theydo win, they have the biggest momentumswing, while they steal the opposing teamslimelight, hype, power, and sometimesseason. In all sports upsets are popular, how-ever, theyre not always too common. Thiscollege football season has been littered withupsets. Top- ve teams dropping like ies tounranked opponents and powerhouse teamslosing to division 1AA teams. This year,some teams that were predicted to be at thetop of the BCS standings or go undefeated,have already lost once or more and there arestill games left.

Usually college football has a minuteamount of upsets and good teams only loseto other good teams. So what is the differ-ence this year? Why are upsets graduallyincreasing? The answer is simple and manyanalysts have pointed to it, its anybodyseason. As long as a team truly believes itcan win a game, it doesnt matter whom they

play, it is possible they can come out witha victory. So why has this season been sodifferent than others. Why havent teams of great stature, prestige, and honor, been ableto knock off unworthy opponents? My dis-cussion with Spencer Tillman, CBS col-

lege football analyst, was insightful. Thelove of sports is based solely on unlimitedcompetition and un pre dic tab ility, whichis what, keeps thefa ns watching. Thisyear the competitionand unpredictability hasbeen progressive in col-lege football. So I askedTillman for his takeon why there beenso many upsets. Heexplained that theres somuch more to football,than what is seen onthe playing eld. Itall starts with coachingand scouting, if I (as asmaller team) can scoutthe same players as you,(the powerhouse team)spread out the eld, and if my guy is as fastas your guy, as strong as your guy, and I caneven out the playing eld, then I have anequal chance of winning the game. Doesntmatter what school youre from, what coloryour jersey is, or what the helmet says.

Tillman also explained how coacheshave to adjust to their players now more thanever. Saying this generation is a distrustinggeneration, If a coach 15 or 20 years ago,told one of his players to run through a brickwall he would do it, opposed to a player now,

who would ask questions. In todays gameeverything is essential to a teams success.Coaching, scouting, chemistry, potential,mind-set are just some of the backbone in-gredients to a successful team, mainly off the

eld. That said, we still have no idea whatteam is playing in what bowl game and itseems like the only sure bet for the NationalTitle Game (BCS bowl) is Ohio State, and

they, too, were bumpedout of their No. 1spot, opening doorsfor many Cinderellahopefuls. This yearthe top ve teamshave been changedand readjusted everyweek, and as with lastyear, there is a lot of controversy pertain-ing to whom shouldgo where. Includ-ing Ohio State, whoseemed impeccablethis year, Kansas, oneof the two undefeatedteams left, and they are

ranked third, and probably moving up, dueto Oregons loss this Thursday. Many believethat they should have been ranked higher,a few weeks ago, due to their undefeatedseason this year when so many teams havebeen upset. Where as others believe they hada light schedule, not having to face any trulytough opponents and they havent won anygames that they shouldnt have.

So does the BCS standing trulyfairly determine what ranking a team shouldhave? Is it fair that undefeated teams are in

a poor conference and they just dont losegames that they arent supposed to? Com-bining this years undefeated season andlast years 1 lost team, Hawaii has playedbetter football than big-name prestigiousschools like USC, Michigan, Florida, NotreDame, and LSU, yet they wont be eligibleto play for the national title. Tillman saysit all depends on what conference your in,predicting many teams wouldnt have hadthe seasons theyre having if they were in atougher conference. I also asked Tillman toweigh in on the Heisman trophy competition.My question: Is it harder to win to the Heis-man as a running back or quarterback? Hisresponse was, its harder to win as a runningback, but easier to lose as a quarterback, say-ing quarterbacks can be exposed a lot easier.Using Boston College QB Matt Ryan, whowas at the top of the list with Tim Tebowand company, as an example, Matt wentfrom being a Heisman hopeful, to an averagegood, not great QB within one game. Whereas RBs stay under the radar until they bustout with great performances. However, theytouch the ball a lot less and dont necessarilycontrol the outcome of a game as much as aQB will.

After my conversation withTillman, Ive discovered the other side of college football, and why the upset isntmuch of an upset this year. Discovering theplaying eld has been leveled and anyone,even a Kansas, whose basketball team wasdiscussed more than the football team at thestart of the season, can win a national title.

The 2008 presidential election willgreatly impact Americas youth.And yet, this generation wont have theopportunity to cast their votes next year andlet their voices be heard. But, if the so-calledGeneration Y could vote in the next presi-dential election, it appears they would backNew York Senator Hillary Clinton.

In a simple survey of 100 high schoolstudents in Brooklyn, 40% say they wouldvote for the former rst lady, while 30%say they would vote for Barack Obama.The massive media attention focused onthe two frontrunners has greatly in uenced

the students opinions. For instance, mostof the students were only aware of Clintonand Obama, and some 15% of those sur-veyed werent even sure who was running.However, they say they would vote for aDemocrat if they had to make a choice. Mostof the female students said they would votefor Clinton because she is a woman. Others,however, think Clintons gender posed a li-ability, citing sexism in America. Compara-tively, some students believe the country istoo racist or not ready to elect a black man aspresident, thus hurting Obamas chances. Iwould vote for Obama to give him support,

because I know that he may never have thechance to be president because he is black,says one respondent.The undecided stu-dents agree that it is important that the nextpresident focus on domestic issues, includingimproving the economic status of Americans.

It has been said that American societywould turn out differently if teenagers weregiven the opportunity to vote, although thereare those who believe that they would electa candidate based on popularity. But manyteenagers do feel they should be given theopportunity to vote in 2008. Although mostof them may vote for cultural or gender-

speci c reasons, they would vote for thecandidate that could relate to them the most.

THE VOTE OF A GENERATION Y By: Ann-Quette Wade

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WHO DO YOU THINK HAS THE BETTER CHANCE OF WINNINGTHIS POLITICAL COMBAT?By: Roseann Williams

As the presidential candidates beginto combat each other in the key primaries,its becoming more of a toss up on who willemerge as the front-runner for the Demo-cratic and Republican parties. Even more un-certain, is who will Americans nally entrustto lead the county next year as we continueto ght the unpopular war in Iraq, while con -cerns about the domestic economy rise.

Decision 08 will be a tough onefor many Americans as we decide whichcandidate has the best policies to lead thecountry forward. For the undecided, here isa rundown on the key positions advocated

by the front-run-ners from eachparty. The leadingRepublican candi-date is former NewYork City mayorRudy Giuliani.He wants to givecitizenship for someillegal immigrants,but not before

legal immigrants.At the same time,Giuliani says illegalimmigrants mustpay back-taxes,learn English andAmerican history

before gaining citizenship. The Republicancandidate also supports short term use of theNational Guard to secure the U.S- Mexicoboarder and long term increases in border pa-trol personnel. On the issue of the Iraq war,Giuliani believes removing troops from Iraqnow would be a terrible mistake. He supportsBushs plan to send additional U.S. troops toIraq and says failure to secure Iraq will leadto broader regional con ict.

Though Giuliani doesnt support gaymarriage, but he believes in equal rights forall Americans. While he says that marriageshould be between a man and woman, he

supports domestic partnerships and legalbene ts for same-sex couples.

John McCain, another leading Re-publican, supports stricter enforcement of existing laws to prevent illegal immigrantion.Although the Arizona senator opposes theamnesty program, he is open to allowingsome illegal immigrants to earn citizenship.And, he agrees with a plan to expand visaprograms for skilled workers.

McCain voted for and continues to

support the Iraq war. But, he said the U.Sentered war without many troops andemployed the wrong strategies. McCainopposes same-sex marriage and civil unions,but says the issue should be left to states.McCain wants to promote competitionbetween healthcare providers and believes if the cost of medicine were reduced, health-care would be affordable. The leadingcandidate for the Democrats is New YorkSenator Hillary Clinton. Though she is popu-lar among the vast majority of democrats,Clinton doesnt have signi cant support fromthe gay population. Clinton has admitted toattending conferences opposing gay marriageand thinks same-sex marriage should remainillegal. On immigration, the former rst ladyadvocates building a wall between the U.S.and Mexican border. She agrees with theidea of deporting illegal immigrants and saysthe Mexican government needs to improve

its economy to prevent the exodus of theircitizens who are searching for better livingconditions. C linton feels illegal immigrantstake jobs away from Americans.

Clinton is opposed to sending moretroops to Iraq. Although she voted for thewar, she wants to bring the troops home.In addition, Clinton believes that everyoneshould have health care despite their eco-nomic lifestyles, gender, race or class.

The second leading Democrat in the

2008 presidential election is Illinois SenatorBarack Obama. He believes the Iraq war iswrong and voted against it.

On the immigration, Obamas believesthat politics have exploited immigrants anddivided our nation. He says America hasalways been a nation of immigrants andstronger border enforcement would decreaseimmigration. He says it is not fair that il-legal immigrants in America can ght thiscountrys wars, but are forced into hidingwhile trying to gain citizenship.

Everyone has the right to live healthylives even if they cant afford it, says Obama.He hopes to create a new health plan to coverthose who cannot afford health insurance.His plan includes, eligibility for everyone, af-fordable premiums, easy enrollment, manda-tory coverage of children and an expansionof Medicaid.

CLIMBING THE LADDER OF SUCCESS

T yler Perry is a very skilledwriter, producer, and director,but as a child, it was another talent thatkept him busy _ carpentry. By the age of 12, the New Orleans native was help-ing his carpenter father put additions onpeoples houses, and earned between$30 to $40 for his work. But it was not ahappy time _Perry and his father didntalways get along, because his father oftenphysically abused him. As a result, Perry

suffered from depression and even triedto commit suicide twice. (He and hisfather have since reconciled.) When hewas 21, he took a road trip to Atlanta, aplace that he would love for the rest of his life. He loved Atlanta so much thatin 1990 he returned to New Orleans,packed his bags and moved to Atlanta,where he has never left. While livingin Atlanta, he saw an Oprah Winfreyshow where she was discussing how it isgood to write stories down relating to apersons actual life. With $12,000 fromhis savings and the encouragement of hisfriends, he staged his rst play I KnowIve Been Changed, which dealt withthemes of child abuse, substance abuse

and broken families _ all subjects thathad touched Perrys life in some way.But it was a op; only 30 people cameto the show on the opening weekend.This left Perry not only devastated, butalso broke. Over a six- year stretch, Perrywent from job to jobeven working asa bill collector and a used-car salesman.Each year he saved enough money tostage one of his playsand every yearhe would see them fail. By 1998, he wasready to quit, but he decided to stage one

last show at Atlantas House of Blues.This time he hit the jackpot, using pastorsand other members of popular churchesin his show. Looking out of his non-heated venue, he saw a line that reachedaround the corner. He sold out that timeplus eight more times until he movedto the 4,500-seat Fox Theatre, where hesold out two more nights. Perrys playsshow black people struggling with drugaddiction, abandonment, and poverty.

Soon Perry was doing 200 to 300 showsa year, and playing to 30,000 peopleevery week. Viola Hargrave, a retiredteacher and church mentor, remembersseeing one of Perrys plays in the early90s and being impressed. The rst timeI saw Tyler was at the Beacon Theatre tosee the Diary of a Mad Black Women,she said. There was a large audiencewho seemed to be his fans. Every onewas totally into the storyline.

Perry is involved in every aspect of his plays, movies, and TV shows. Be-sides starring in his creations, he servesas a writer, director, composer, and alsohelps with makeup and set design. Hedoes all of this while working with a tight

budget. Perry has de nitely grown; hewent from playing in 200-seat theatersto arenas with 12,000 to 20,000 seats.Perry tends to recast certain characters inhis projects, a technique that makes theviewer familiar with the individual char-acters. He has not only done plays andmovies, but he has also ventured into TV.Perrys sitcom House of Payne, on TBS,deals with issues of moral values in a funand interesting way. The show deals withheavy topics but is still suitable for young

kids to watch, unlike many of the showson cable TV. Tyler Perrys movies, suchas 2005s Diary of a Mad Black Womanand 2006s Madeas Family Reunionwere incredibly cheap to produce, cost-ing Perry and Lionsgate Entertainmenta total of $11 million to produce. Bothmovies became No. 1 at the box of ceand grossed about $150 million.

Alicia Quarles, an entertainmentproducer for Associated Press Television,

says the key to Perrys success has beenhis ability to show real life in an enter-taining way. Thats part of the geniusof Tyler Perry, she said. I like how heshows the men and women in a goodand bad way just like it is in reality.Tyler Perry is also an author. His book,Dont Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings, made the New York Timesbest-sellers list, a distinction whichindicates that its not only black peoplewho are paying attention to Tyler Perry.One thing that made Tyler Perrys playsa little controversial is one of his funni-est characters, Madea. Madea is not likeany other grandmother in the family. Shecarries a gun and pepper spray every-

where she goes. Although a little violent,Madea usually ghts the woman thatssleeping with the married man or viceversa. Madea helps show moral values,speci cally regarding the young blackcommunity, in a fun and interesting way.In fact, all of Perrys movies, plays, andhis TV show are fun, but at the center of all the madness is moral behavior. Since1998, Perry has produced 11 touringstage plays and has made $150 mil-lion. His DVDs of the movies and plays

have sold more than 11 million copies.Remarkably, Perry has retained owner-ship of all his work. Perhaps his greatesteconomic accomplishment was whenTBS bought 100 episodes of the sitcom/drama House of Payne. Undoubtedly, thepeople who were instrumental in helpingPerry move up from living in his vanto living in a mansion in Atlanta wereChristian, middle-class, African Ameri-can women. Perry is poised to become

a mainstream superstar, but will gainingwhite Americas acceptance actuallymake or break him? Perry deserves hispopularity because he does what he doesso well, and is such a good writer. Hetakes the dried-out concepts and mixesin a real concept to juice it up. Perrysmovies, plays, and TV show seem to beso interesting because hes motivated byhis own moral values, not Hollywoodsso-called values. Quarles thinks he willbe popular for some time. He is settingthe groundwork for the future. He doesa great job in showing the middle andsometimes high class in society, and heappeals to everyone, she said.

I can tell you why Tyler Perry is

rocketing toriches andclimbingthe ladder of success: Itsbecause heknows whathes say-ing and heknows whomhes sayingit to.

By: Antonio Thurman

BROWNSTONE BOOKS

B orn and raised in BedfordStuyvesant, Crystal Bobb Sempleis no stranger to this Brooklyn community.She is the owner of Brownstone Books andcreator of the Stuyvesant Heights ParentAssociation. Bobb Semple is also a mem-ber of SOLA (Shops of Lewis Avenue)all of which has positively impacted thecommunity. Seven years ago Bobb Sempleintroduced Bed-Stuy to BrownstoneBooks, a community-based bookstore.Instead of traveling outside the communityto buy a book, Bed-Stuy residents now hadthe opportunity to walk around the corner and buy a book from their neighborhoodbook store. Crystal works at the bookstoreherself six out of the seven days that thestore is open, this allows her to actuallymeet and build relationships with her fellow neighbors and supporters. Buyersknow not to expect nothing less than thebest when they enter Brownstone, becauseof the limited space, decisions must be

made about whats shelf-worthy, a decisionthat is largely made by the readers. If youdont see a book that you want, they order

it and have it sentto the bookstore free of charge.Not onlydoes Brownstone books offer the bestbooks, they also hold at least four booksignings a month, where the readers getto met the authors of their favorite books;they have story time twice a week for children under the age of seven; and anopen-mic poetry event for poets rangingin age from 15 to 30. Brownstone Booksalso holds annual book fairs at schools, in-cluding Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development and Boys andGirls High School.Crystal is also a member of the Stuyvesant Heights Parent Associa-tion, where members work to improve thequality of life for parents and children inthe neighborhood by making the neighbor-hood a safer place for children. Followingan incident at Stuyvesant Park, a childrensplayground, where a dog wandered in andscared the children, parents got together and petitioned the park, and soon a proper

lock was placed on the gate, with the helpof the Stuyvesant Heights Parent Associa-tion. Also every Halloween in Fulton Park,

the association throws an annual Hallow-een parade for the children of the neigh-borhood. Children come dressed in their Halloween costumes and parade aroundthe park while their parents watch proudlyfrom a distance. After the parade, childrenand parents are given maps with the loca-tions of 60 houses in the neighborhood,and they all go on a trick or treating. Thisyear, more than 600 children were presentat the parade. Now, the Stuyvesant HeightsParent Association is working on openinga new school in he neighborhood that canbe academically challenging and excitingfor its students. Not many of these schoolsexist in Bed-Stuy at the moment. I thinkthe fact that they are trying to bring anacademically challenging school into thiscommunity is great, says Hope Garvin,parent and resident of Bed-Stuy, whose10-year-old son attends a charter schoolin Harlem. This community needs moreacademically challenging schools.Bobb

Semples bookstore, Brownstone Books, isa part of SOLA (Shops of Lewis Avenue),which Crystal help found. The Shops of

Lewis Avenue is aconsortium of all theshops in the area, in-cluding BrownstoneBooks, Breadstuy,Lewis Gallery,and Red Boutique.Their mission is toreinvent Bed-Stuyas a great place tolive and they encourage other people whowant to be in the buisness to do the samething. Every year SOLA hosts a Hallow-een party, all proceeds of which go to their annual Christmas tree lightning at FultonPark, now in its eighth year. The tree stayslit, choirs go around caroling all night,and Santa comes with gifts for the peoplein attendance. SOLA also holds welcomeparties for the new residents of the Bed-Stuy and street fairs, or sidewalk sales, thatencourage people to shop locally.Im justcreating a community that I would love

to live in and to have the support of thepeople feels good! says Bobb Semple.

By: NKeya Peters

N K e y a

P e t e r s

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Workshop Coordinating Staff

Coordinator/Print DirectorAngela Pruitt

Broadcast DirectorCatherine McKenzie

Graphic Designer Web ProducerJadalia Britto Malik Singelton

Editors & Contributors: Joe Gray, Nekesa Moody, Stephanie Green,

Chloe Hilliard, Robert Bowden IV, Brenda Campbell

CO-SPONSORED BY LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (BROOKLYN CAMPUS)

The Executive Board of

The New York Asscoiation of Black JournalistPresident

Gary Anthony Ramsey

Vice President Print Vice President Broadcast Zachary R. Dowdy Catherine McKenzie

Secretary TresurerDante Higgins Curtis Simmons

ParliamentarianRobert S. Anthony

Immediate Past President Matthew S. Scott

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