Vol. 59 Issue 2 The voice of the Spartan community 09. 14. 11

By Keona Prude-News Edi-tor

The month of August has been a very busy one in terms of weather. From earthquakes, to hurricanes and even fires, the area of southeast Virginia has seen it all. On Aug. 4, it was reported that a fire started by lightening was burning in the Great Dismal Swamp area. The fire has spread persistently because of dry conditions, wind and a large quantity of fuel left on the land from Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and from the 2008 fire. This fire has burned rampant since then. Barb Stewart, a U.S. National Park Service information officer, said the fire is the swamp’s largest in recent history, exceeding the 2008 fire that burned almost 4,900 acres. About a week after the fire began, it spread into North Carolina. The swamp fire has burned more than 6,000 acres in south-eastern Virginia and north-eastern North Carolina. Thick fumes of smoke have tormented Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina residents for weeks. Some NSU students strug-

Earthquakes, Hurricanes & Fires! Oh My!

gled to deal with the smoke and fog. Mary Wilson, junior sociology major and commuter student from Suf-folk, found the smoke from the fire to slow down her every day schedule.“It smelled like smoke ev-erywhere. It was very hard to breathe. The smoke and fog made it hard to drive some places,” said Wilson. Many hoped the passing of the Category 2 Hurricane Irene would put the fire out. Ten to 15 inches of rain landed on the fire site, but it has not put the fire out completely. Fire officials spotted a minimum of 30 acres where smoke was still prevalent. John Bearer, a spokesman for the Southern Area Type 2 Incident Team, who is also in charge of the fire said that there was no visible flames spotted and the fire did not seem to have widen. To the surprise of many people, an earthquake rocked the eastern coast of the United States on Tues-day, August 23 at 1:51 p.m. The 5.8 magnitude, 15- sec tremor originated in Louisa County, Virginia. The quake was felt from Georgia to Canada. Following the quake, approximately four

aftershocks were felt. The aftershocks ranged from 2.2 to 4.2 in magnitude, accord-ing to the U.S. Geological Survey. NSU students were busy going through their daily routines when the earthquake was felt at vari-ous locations on the campus. Junior building construction technology major LaToyya Carter was in class when the earthquake happened. “I was in my English class in Madison Hall when I felt the rumble. I had never felt one before, so I didn’t know what it was at first. Af-ter a few seconds, reality set in… an earthquake had just occurred. ,” said Carter. “I was really scared because I didn’t know what to expect.”Although there was minimal damage, the earthquake did disturb the everyday life of east coasters. The federal government had to send some workers. Here at NSU, all buildings were evacuated until the safety of the build-ing was sure and no after-shocks were felt. This was the biggest earth-quake on the east coast in years. Almost six years af-ter Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans and

other parts of Louisiana, an-other Hurricane threatened to do damage to the U.S. Hurricane Irene originated in the Bahamas and made its way up the east coast. Irene was expected to cause severe damage to the east coast. However, the more it traveled up coast, the weaker it became. Irene had caused damage in North Carolina, but as it made its way to Virginia, less damage was caused. With the threat of Irene being a treacherous hurricane, NSU officials decided to cancel classes for Friday, August 26 through Monday, August 29 in preparation for expecting the worse. Not only did they cancel classes, but campus residents were forced to evacuate the dorm residence halls. Emails and phone calls went out to NSU students saying, “Due to Hurricane Irene, N-S-U will close residence halls at 2 p.m. Friday, August 26 and will remain closed until 4 p.m. on Monday, August 29.” For those residents that did not have anywhere to retreat to, they were housed in Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall. Several

tweets were tweeted during the Hurricane to keep NSU’s followers updated on the status of the students housed in Echols. “Staying in Echols was a blast! It wasn’t your normal evacuation. We watched movies, played board games, basketball, etc. It was a posi-tive environment,” said se-nior mass communications major Steve Austin. “Hot meals were served peri-odically. Housing staff made sure everyone was comfort-able for everyone during the Hurricane.”The Hampton Roads area was of great concern be-cause it is known to flood, especially the independent city of Norfolk. The low-lying areas of Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Poquoson and Sandbridge had evacuation orders. Although Irene was not as bad as officials predicted, she did cause some dam-age. The Virginia Depart-ment of Transportation closed the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Midtown tunnel due to fear of flooding. Motorists were encouraged to stay off of

Hurricane Irene swept through Hampton Road with unexpected force, leaving in its wake limbs snapping, power outages, and flooded roads.

- Story continued on p. 3

PHOTO ANTHONY GORDON | SPARTAN ECHO

Spartan Echo editors

Quame A. HamlinEntertainment

Troy MuenzerSports

Anthony GordonMultimedia Editor

Keshara CoxEditor-in-Chief

Keona PrudeNews Editor

Bethany CartwrightManaging Editor

Marcus WitherspoonLayout/Design Editor

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By President Obama Ten Septembers have come and gone since that awful morning. But on this 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are sum-moned once more to honor those we lost by keeping our country strong and true to their memory. Over the coming days, we will remember nearly 3,000 innocent vic-tims — fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters who were simply going about their daily lives on a beautiful Tuesday morning. And we’ll talk to our children about what happened on that day, and what’s happened since. Like every Ameri-can, I’ll never forget how I heard the terrible news, on the car radio on my way to work in Chicago. Yet like a lot of younger Americans, our daughters have no mem-ory of that day. Malia was just 3; Sasha was an infant. As they’ve grown, Michelle and I faced the same chal-lenge as other parents in deciding how to talk with our children about 9/11. One of the things we’ve told them is that the worst terrorist attack in American history also brought out the best in our country. Firefighters, police

Let’s reclaim the post-9/11 unityand first responders rushed into danger to save others. Americans came together in candlelight vigils, in our houses of worship and on the steps of the U.S. Capi-tol. Volunteers lined up to give blood and drove across the country to lend a hand. Schoolchildren donated their savings. Communities, faith groups and businesses collected food and clothing. We were united, as Ameri-cans. This is the true spirit of America we must reclaim this anniversary — the or-dinary goodness and patrio-tism of the American people and the unity that we needed to move forward together, as one nation. Indeed, the last de-cade has been a challenging one for our country. But we have also seen the strength of the United States— in cities that have refused to give in to fear; in communi-ties that have persevered through hard economic times; and, above all, in our men and women in uniform and their families who have borne an extraordinary bur-den for our security and our values. The perpetrators of those attacks wanted to terrorize us, but they are no match for our resilience. Today, our country is more secure and our enemies are

weaker. Yet while we have delivered justice to Osama bin Laden and put al-Qaeda on the path to defeat, we must never waver in the task of protecting our nation. On a day when oth-ers sought to destroy, we choose to build. Once again, Sept. 11 will be a National Day of Service and Remem-brance, and at Serve.gov every American can make a commitment to honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 by serving our neighbors and communities. Finally, on a day when others tried to divide us, we can regain the sense of common purpose that stirred in our hearts 10 years ago. As a nation, we face difficult challenges, and as citizens in a democratic so-ciety we engage in vigorous debates about the future. But as we do, let’s never forget the lesson we learned anew 10 years ago — that our differences pale beside what unites us and that when we choose to move forward together, as one American family, the United States doesn’t just endure, we can emerge from our tests and trials stronger than before. That’s the America we were on 9/11 and in the days that followed. That’s the America we can and must always be.

President Barack Obama waves as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington as he returns from a trip to Detroit where he addressed a Labor Day rally, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By Keona Prude

An agreement was signed on Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. by the presidents of Norfolk State University and Tide-water Community College, Dr. Tony Atwater and Pres. Deborah M. DiCroce, re-spectively. The agreement is to guarantee the success of students that transfer from TCC to NSU. The union will help students realize their vision of possessing a bachelor’s degree.

PaSSport from TCC to nSu, institutions strengthen academic partnership

The two institutions confirmed their obligation and their partnership at the signing of the Guaranteed Admissions and Transfer agreement and Partnership for Academic and Student Success (PASSport). This program will help potential students at both institutions become more academi-cally prepared. The program gives PASSport students a chance to be enrolled at TCC while being engaged in NSU’s campus life.

“Norfolk State Uni-versity is especially pleased to reaffirm its partnership with TCC,” said Atwater. “Higher education attain-ment is a shared priority and goal for both of our institu-tions. Consequently, NSU and TCC will collaborate in new and additional ways to increase the number of de-grees granted to students in the Hampton Roads area.” The counselors at TCC will aid PASSport students based on their

academic needs. During the PASSport students’ stay at TCC, their progress will be supervised by a TCC PASS-port counselor and the NSU community college liaison. After effectively completing an approved course of study at TCC, PASSport students will be automatically admit-ted into NSU. “In these challeng-ing times, it is more critical than ever that we pave new paths for our students to reach their dreams. Toward

that end, our robust partner-ship with NSU helps pro-vide accessible, affordable, quality education to fuel the region’s success,” said DiCroce. Both NSU and TCC understand the importance of education and recog-nizing that it is a lifelong learning process. Both institutions understand the significance of a vigorous agreement for move to a baccalaureate degree for community college students.

Norfolk State University and Tidewater Community College strengthen partnership for students to exceed higher expectations.

Spartan NewsSpartan Echo 3

highways and roads because the conditions were not suitable. Southeast Virginia also had warnings of pos-sible tornados until 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 27. On top of flooding and possible tornados, millions of homes and businesses lost power. According to one Dominion Power official, the number of power outages in Virginia “exceeded our expecta-tions.” Senior physical education major, Ashley Ferrell is hav-ing a hard time dealing with the power outage in Ports-

mouth. “It is difficult. I have to use a flashlight at night, which makes it hard to do my work and take care of my kittens, there is no hot water and all of the food went bad in the refrigera-tor,” said Ferrell. From fires, to earth-quakes and hurricanes, the east coast has had its share of frightening experiences. With the peculiar weather the east coast has seen, it leaves the minds of people to wonder what’s next.

Continued from p. 1earthquakes...

PHoTo anTHonY Gordon | SParTan eCHo

By Troy Muenzer

The Norfolk State football team will kick-off conference play at 1 p.m Sat-urday October 17 at Howard University in Washington D.C. for Military Apprecia-tion Day. In last season’s match up, the Spartans battled to a 10-9 victory over the host Bison. Pre-season ranked fifth in the MEAC, the Spar-tans come into this week-end’s match up looking for a

Spartans begin MEAC play in our Nation’s Capital

victory since Howard Bison are pre-season ranked tenth. “We are looking to improve on last season’s fifth place finish in the MEAC,” said senior quarterback Chris Walley. “This first game at Howard is a critical game for us to begin work-ing towards our goal to winning the MEAC champi-onship.” Walley comes into the game as the MEAC’s leading returning passer and a preseason first-team All-

MEAC selection. Joining him on the preseason All-MEAC first-team are senior offensive lineman Kendall Noble and senior nose guard Josh Turner. Senior line-backer Corwin Hammond was named to the preseason All-MEAC second team and will lead Norfolk State’s dominating defensive unit. In his first season at Howard as a head coach, the Bison’s all-time leading receiver Gary Harrell will be leading the Bison in their

first MEAC contest. The Bi-son have also installed a new offense under Offensive Co-ordinator Ted White, who is also the Quarterbacks coach. White was an All-American at Howard who himself holds most of the school’s passing and offensive re-cords. The Bison’s Defensive Coordinator Rayford Petty is a former head coach at Howard. Howard has a young squad with a freshmen start-ing at quarterback. Norfolk

State will look to its dan-gerous offense and strong defense to lead the Spartans to victory. The game will be played in William H. Green Stadium on the campus of Howard University, which holds a capacity of just over 7,000 seats. For tickets, visit the Norfolk State ticket of-fice or tickets will be avail-able at Howard on game day.

By Troy Muenzer

The Norfolk State Women’s Volleyball team had to cancel their season opener at the Asics Invita-tional in Hempstead, New York due to the hazardous weather brought by Hurri-cane Irene August 26-27. Team members evacuated to their homes and the homes of team-mates to avoid the dangers of the hurricane. The Asics Invitational continued play

Opening Weekend Canceled Due to Hurricane Irenethough, as host Hofstra University swept the tour-nament. In the champion-ship match, Hofstra swept Manhattan College (25-21, 25-23, 25-23). The Spartan women opened their season up at the Mercer Bear Brawl from September 2-3 in Macon, Georgia where they faced off against Tennessee State, Troy, and host, Mercer. The team continued

tournament play at the Mad-die Bingaman Memorial Tournament from Septem-ber 9-10 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Spartans battled with Fairleigh Dick-inson, Youngstown State, and host UMBC. September 16-18 the Spartans are competing in the Wildcat Classic in Davidson, North Carolina where they are facing North Carolina A&T, Coastal

Carolina, and host David-son. Norfolk State is look-ing to gain valuable experi-ence from their tournament play going into MEAC com-petition. Last season, the Spartan women recorded their best overall season in the history of the Division 1 era. This season, the team returns top performers from last year, including the team MVP. The Spartans also

bring in six newcomers who are expected to make an im-mediate positive impact to the team and their success. Norfolk State will have participated in four different tournaments lead-ing up to their home opener versus North Carolina A&T on September 27 at 6 p.m. in Echols Gym. To follow up on the results of the matches, you may visit www.nsuspartans.com.

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PHOTO ANTHONy GORDON | SPARTAN ECHOSpartans prepare for MEAC conference play at Howard University in Washington D.C.

By Troy Muenzer

Norfolk State was well represented at the inter-national level in men’s track at the 13th IAAF World Championships August 27 - September 4 in Daegu, South Korea, as two Spar-tans participated in compe-tition. Spartan sprinter Sean Holston competed for the Puerto Rico national team on their 4x100 meter relay team. Holston, who

Holston, Brown Participate at 13th IAAF World Championshipsran high school track at Robert E. Lee in Spring� eld, Virginia, is familiar with success as he has broken records and won champion-ships at Norfolk State as well as at the state and national level throughout his career. In high school, Holston was a Virginia State champion in the 200, 300 and 400 meters. His time of 33.21 seconds in the 300-meter was the second fastest in Virginia history and marks the sec-ond fastest in United States

history at the time. Since competing at Norfolk State, Holston has � nished � rst at the MEAC championships on multiple occasions while qualifying for the NCAA championships. Former Spartan Chris Brown competed for his native country of the Bahamas in both the 400m and the 4x400 relay. Brown also competed in the IAAF World Indoor Champion-ships in March 2010 in Doha, Qatar. Brown is also

familiar with success as he was a two-time track and � eld Division 1 All-Amer-ican at Norfolk State from 2000-2001. Brown holds multiple school records; he earned himself All-MEAC honors four times and was inducted into the MEAC Hall of Fame in 2009. Brown has also competed in the past three Olympic games, most recently win-ning the silver medal at the 2008 summer games in Beijing, China when he was

the anchor on the 4x400 meter relay team, which he just recently competed in at the world championships. Brown � nished fourth in the 400 meters at in Beijing as well at the 2008 summer Olympic games.

For the results of the 13th IAAF World Champi-onships, visit www.iaaf.org.

By Troy Muenzer

� e Norfolk State Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country teams will be competing September 17 at the UMES Cappy Ander-son Invitational in Princess Anne, Maryland. Last year the men’s team did not compete at the event, but the women’s team � nished in third-place

Spartans Prepare for UMES Cappy Anderson Invitationalas former Spartan Jennifer Chichester ran a season-best time of 18:50.19 to place fourth overall. Junior Kellen Rutto � nished � � h overall in a personal-best time of 18:57.53, just behind Chich-ester. With Rutto’s suc-cess in the race last year, the Spartans look to be tough competitors on September 17, with other experienced

top returnees Jamia Hutto, Syeeda Gee, and Lillian Morales-Gonzalez, all who � nished in the top 30 in last year’s event. � e Spartan men come into the invitational as the defending MEAC cham-pions with a roster stacked with talented runners, in-cluding last year’s top overall runner in Vincent Rono. Rono � nished as the MEAC

runner-up at the conference cross country champion-ships last season, and plans to lead the Spartans to a top � nish at this year’s UMES Cappy Anderson Invitation-al. On September 24, the women’s team will be racing at the Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge in Wil-liamsburg before both the men’s and women’s cross-

country teams will head to Cary, North Carolina for the Great American Cross Country Festival on October 1. � e Spartans will compete in the MEAC championship in Princess Anne, Maryland on October 29 with hopes of bringing home the 2011 titles.

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Spartan Suites offers a home theater for students entertainment.

By Keona Prude

The Spartan Suites is an apartment-style resi-dence hall on the campus of NSU, located on Corprew Avenue and next to the Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall. This building is occu-pied by upperclassmen. Recently, before the school year kicked off, the Suites have seen many upgrades. The carpet has been pulled on the first floor

The Spartan Suites gets a movie theater

and has been replaced with wood, the walls and doors have been repainted and wireless internet service is being installed. The Suites has also created a movie theater in the building for the viewing and usage of the residents. The movie theater, which is available to all resi-dents, is also equipped with several gaming systems. Residents must sign up to use the theater. The theater

can hold up to fourteen per-sons, and is on a first come, first serve basis. Residents of the Spartan Suites are excited about the new theater. Senior computer science major, Jasmine Blunt cannot wait until the theater is open for use. “I think having the movie theater will be cool. As soon as I can, I plan on using the theater just for the experience,” said Blunt.

Second degree nurs-ing major, Kirsten Dicker-son looks forward to using the theater. “I believe the theater will be a good place to hang out with my friends. It looks very nice from the outside. I’m excited about it open-ing!” The movie theater is one of the amenities the Spartan Suites residents have. The theater was cre-ated so the residents will

By Krysta Ricks Despite the fact that they are not uncommon, tattoos can be perceived as unprofessional. The boom-ing business of body art is growing America, and the number of Americans getting ink has risen so much that employers who deny inter-viewees with body art risk very small employee options during the hiring process. According to a 2010 Pew Research study, 15 percent of Baby Boomers, 32 percent of Generation X and 38 percent of Millennialshave tattoos. Over the years, tat-toos have gone from be-

Is a body full of tattoos worth risking advancement in the workplace?

ing reserved for rebels to a means of self-expression for all age groups. Senior, Donovan Thomas, plans to be an engineering contrac-tor after graduation. He has spent around 25 hours getting his tattoos, which include a sleeve of eleven on his right arm and two on his left arm.When asked about his expe-riences with employers and his tattoos, Thomas said“Up to this point, no job has de-nied me because my resume and credentials up front are good. Jobs don’t really notice until I get comfortable with

the work environment.” Junior Biology Pre-Professional major, Chris-tian Ezeagwu, describes the places he would not get a tattoo, considering his desire to enter the medical field. “Anywhere on the abdomen or above the elbow is fine. As a future doctor, I wouldn’t get anything on my forearm or my neck. It’s not for me to determine what is acceptable; nobody will want to hire me.” Is this true? Will nobody hire someone who is “tat-ted up?” Of course some professions, such as singers,

rappers and professional athletes look favorably upon body art. What about the “average Joe” looking for a white collar job behind a desk? Elementary school teacher, Devonna Simmons, says there are some profes-sional environments where body art is minimal. “I have one on my back, which I cover, and an-other on my ankle, which is tasteful. Many other teach-ers here have small ones, and I doubt parents would be comfortable leaving their children in the care of people with bodies deco-

rated with huge skulls and crossbones.” Many employers’ decisions to hire tattooed persons are based solely on whether they will engage in direct or indirect contact with consumers. For in-stance, a receptionist would be expected to be tattoo-free. However, someone who answers phones throughout the day and never physically deals with customers would have more relaxed body art regulations.

have a place to relax in their own home. For more informa-tion on the Spartan Suites movie theater, please contact the Spartan Suites front desk at 757-626-3136.

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PHOTO EBONY S. BROWN | SPARTAN ECHO

By KEONA PRUDE

The nation’s obesity epidemic is steadily grow-ing. Researchers have found a direct link between obesity in children and obesity in adults. As the numbers of obese and overweight ado-lescents rise, we can expect a corresponding rise in the future of obese and over-weight adults. According to www.adultobesity.net, the 2010 adult obesity statistics show that adult obesity rates increased in 28 states. Some states kept their rates the same, while the District of Columbia was the only area that declined in their rates. Blacks’ and Latinos’ obesity rates are higher than Whites’ in approximately every state. According to the Weight-Control Information Network, “66 percent of

Obesity: From adolescents to adults, obesity can followadults in the United States are considered overweight or obese.” When an adult con-sumes more calories from eating than he or she can burn off, it can result in obe-sity. The human body needs some calories to maintain a healthy life and be ac-tive. However, to maintain weight, the body has to balance the energy that is consumed through food and the energy the human body uses. When someone eats more calories than he or she burns, the energy is turned into weight gain, which can ultimately lead to obesity. Other factors that play a major part in the obesity epidemic are genetic, envi-ronmental and social.Obesity is likely to run in the family, making it a genetic cause. The en-

vironment has an effect on obesity because it can decide what lifestyle man-ners a person may choose. Lifestyle manners can be what a person consumes, how much he or she con-sumes and his or her level of physical activity or inactiv-ity. Factors like poverty and low-level education are also linked to obesity. Another known factor is cultural differences. Certain food-specifi c cultures that prepare their food with a large num-ber of fats and salt can result in obese individuals. Obesity can cause several health risks such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pres-sure and stroke. Obesity can also cause a higher rate of certain types of cancer. For men, those types of cancer may be cancer of the co-

lon, rectum or prostate. For women it can be cancer of the gallbladder, uterus, cer-vix or ovaries. Other health risks and diseases associated with cancer are gallblad-der disease and gallstones, gastroesophageal refl ux, osteoarthritis, fatty liver dis-ease, pulmonary breathing problems, gout and repro-ductive risks in women such as infertility and menstrual unbalance. People that suffer from obesity may also suffer from emotional issues. In today’s society, the empha-sis is on physical appear-ance and being slim. Those who are obese may feel they are less attractive or not good enough as those who are slim or physical fi t. There are plenty of health initiative programs that can help get America

back in shape. Locally, NSU has its own Healthy Spartan Initiative where students, faculty and staff are en-couraged to take the stairs instead of walking and to make other health choices. Making healthier decisions and choices can begin to reverse this trend of obesity. For more informa-tion on obesity, please visit the Centers for Disease and Control website at www.cdc.gov.

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By Quame a. Hamlin “People in this industry expect if they have more followers on Twit-ter, or if they’ve got two hit singles out or if they’re screwing the hottest rapper alive right now, for the sec-ond that he’s hot, they’re go-ing to try to say something and I always have something boisterous to say back,” said bad girl Natalie Nunn. This is exactly what you expect from the real-ity TV star who was most popularly introduced to America through Oxy-gen’s reality show Bad Girls Club. What you may not know about Nunn is that she bolsters two bachelor’s

Behind the Bad Girl: natalie nunn

degrees from the University of Southern California and is very business minded. Nunn started her first business when she was fresh out of college with funds she was awarded through her grandfather’s will and a reward for gradu-ating from school. She said it was one of the smartest things she could have done with such a large sum of money, “instead of running off and buying a brand new Mercedes and you know, all the things that kids do when they finish college.” When Nunn entered the BGC house for season four, she was immediate the star of the cast on what

became Oxygen’s most watched television show. “For me, the oppor-tunity was not just go on a reality show and act up. It was: let’s make this a busi-ness and let’s capitalize off of this and let’s really milk this whole thing until it runs dry.” Capitalizing is exact-ly what Nunn did, branding herself in such a way that she became synonymous with the title “bad girl” and shattered the time clock on a typical reality star’s 15 minutes of fame. Now, her daily life includes modeling in vari-ous magazines, hosting par-ties all over the world and being a celebrity personality, which are many-a college girl’s dreams, but never Nunn’s. “Well, I was always a tomboy. I was always the girl that came to school in her soccer shorts…soccer was my life,” said Nunn de-scribing her admiration for sports. From this love, she formed her specific post-collegiate career goals. “My first plan was: When I get out of here I want to do broadcast sports journalism or something

By Quame a. Hamlin

Drake, Miguel and Kendrick Lamar are just a few of the artists R&B singer Jhené Aiko collabo-rated with for her mixtape, Sailing Soul(s), released in March of this year. The music industry veteran made her first splash on the scene with T.U.G./Epic in the early 2000s. That was the time when T.U.G. was at the height of its success, but the songstress is once again garnering major recognition from all music lovers. “Before, I was like 13, 14 and I was just sing-ing other people’s lyrics...but now, I have input on even

R a d a r : J h e n é a i k othe production of the song. It’s not a new sound for me. It’s just my sound,” said Aiko. Aiko’s sound is in-deed unique and is drawing great comparisons to new artists such as Frank Ocean, Miguel and The Weeknd. “My daughter has helped me be more honest with myself, so I put that in the music,” says Aiko in recognizing the force of her lyrics. Aiko stepped away from the music industry to live a normal life in her early teens. She says that she never stopped creating music, and while attending junior college Aiko met The

Fisticuffs who produced the majority of Sailing Soul(s). An album Aiko intended to make a free release. “Every song means a lot to me because they’re very personal,” says Aiko about her latest project. Sailing Soul(s) currently has over 20,000 downloads, but the singer’s work is far from over. In late August, she released a new music video and plans on releasing an EP this month that is definitely worth a listen. Check out video of Jhené Aiko’s full interview on the Spartan Echo’s You-Tube channel, www.youtube.com/nsuspartanecho.

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Jhene Aiko’s Sailing Souls mixtape sold mass of 20 thousand down-loads since its release in March of this year.

along those lines, but my back up plan was, ‘let me double major and let me get my sociology degree’ be-cause I loved working with young kids.” Nunn goes on to elaborate on her back up plan, “I liked working with kids who were always in and out of trouble, kids who were on probation. I wanted to be like a probation offi-cer.”From dreams of being a sports broadcaster or a pro-bation officer to becoming entertainment’s bad girl may not add up. But according to Nunn’s definition of a bad girl, it does because to her, it’s not all about looks, cloth-ing, or being the craziest girl on the block. “For me, a bad girl is someone who is really competitive and I’m a very competitive person,” Nunn said. “When I was living in the house with those girls, I wasn’t there like who’s going to get in a fight today, I was there to do things to mess with their heads. If I was picking on one of the girls, it was just my whole competi-tive personality.” Rarely tuning into an episode of the BGC or

reading tabloid magazines, Nunn said “I have to find time to still educate myself and read a book. Or turn on my TV and watch Na-tional Geographic—that’s the only channel I watch in my house. I don’t read junk magazines. “ Nunn stays true to not consuming her life with the thought of fame by giv-ing back through various charity events and staying connected to her fans. One of the things that she stress-es to her fans and viewers of the Bad Girls Club is the importance of education. “People can turn around tomorrow and say ‘Natalie’s not the baddest, bad girl anymore, look at this new girl on season 20.’ Tomorrow, if this is all gone, like all of the bad girls stuff just disappeared, I still have a degree and I can still get an amazing job. Nobody wants to work with a dummy and even in the industry.” That personality con-tinues to propel Nunn as she serves as the unofficial face of the popular reality show. Even as it is midway through its seventh season, Miss Nunn will always maintain her business minded men-tality.

Bad Girls Club Natalie Nunn stays focus as an aspiring model, still maintain-ing two degrees from the University of Southern California.

SPaRTan eCHO Norfolk State University 700 Park Avenue Norfolk, Virginia 23504 neWSROOm 757.823. 8562 e-mail: spartanecho@nsu.edu

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