Technician
Red, White and Black app provides innovative look into black history Shawn Thompson Staff Writer
During Black History Month, everyone will have the opportunity to engage with the University’s students, staff and faculty whose influence and leadership have shaped opportunities for African Americans. This opportunity is made possible by a self-guided historical tour of the University’s campus, available through the Red, White, and Black Web app available on smart phones and other mobile devices. The historical tours are also available online for those who can’t access the app. “The inspiration for the Web tour was actually the first in-person tour that the Libraries helped organize [in] April 2011 that was led by Toni Thorpe of N.C. State’s African American Cultural Center and Professor Walter Jackson of the History Department. We had a large turnout and the information Ms. Thorpe and Dr. Jackson shared was fascinating,” Marian Fragola, director of program planning and outreach at N.C. State Libraries, said. The large interest in the initial tours and talks, the Department of History, and the African American Cultural Center, helped spark the idea for the Web app. The initial tours consisted of discussions and a walking tour led by Dr. Walter Jackson from the Department of History and Ms. Toni Thorpe of the African American Cultural Center. “It’s also a wonderful gateway into our special collections, including Historical State, which has a wealth of information to discover about the
history of the university. At the same time, if you have an opportunity to hear Ms. Thorpe and Dr. Jackson give the in-person tour, you shouldn’t miss it,” Fragola said. The Red, White and Black app contains audio and showcases photos and significant events from the University’s history. It’s also very convenient and easy to navigate through, according to students who have used it. “It was easy to use, and detailed. I feel that the app was very well designed and a creative way to incorporate the African American history into an ever-changing time. It’s something I would continue to follow up on,” Sharka Holmes, junior in agriculture business management, said. The app features tours of various locations on campus that hold significance in terms of the African American experience on campus through the years. Riddick Hall is one of the highlighted buildings in the app; it’s where the University’s first African American engineering students attended classes. “I think the new app is a cool resource for educating everyone on the University’s rich history, important information they would have otherwise maybe not been exposed to,” Sarah Flecher, freshmen in College of Management, said. Irwin Holmes is one of many historical African American leaders featured in the app. Holmes was the first African American student to earn an undergraduate diploma from the University, in 1960, earning a degree in electrical engineering. He also played collegiate tennis and served as co-captain of the University’s first integrated athletic team. “Because N.C. State Libraries has such an amazing staff of talented digital technologies librarians, as well as incredible special collections
with photos and information, we t hou g ht the app was a great way to extend the experience of the tour and make it available to anyone, anytime,” Fragola said. To experience more of the University’s African American history, you can visit the AfricanAmerican Cultural Center in Witherspoon Student Center. The African American Cultural Center w i l l continue to celebrate Black History Month with a wide range of events for the rest of the mont h a nd throughout the year. “I think the Web tour can enhance anyone’s experience of history for Black History Month because they can, on their own schedule, explore the spaces and places that have impacted African American students, staff, and faculty. You can be in an actual place on campus where
Shawn Thompson Staff Writer
New students at N.C. State will now have the opportunity to develop their leadership abilities early on. The Chancellor and Mrs. Susan Woodson have collaborated with N.C. State’s Women’s Center to bring new leadership opportunities to students through the Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program. The Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program was created to “identify and nurture emerging leaders, improve participants’ self-efficacy, self-knowledge and leadership abilities through information sharing and relationship building,” according to the program website. “[The program] has gotten my mind wondering about what I’m going to learn and achieve. I come to meetings ready for knowledge and ready to communicate. Although we’ve just started, everyone is just excited about this new adventure that no one else has done before,” Jermany Brown, freshman in fisheries and wildlife
The program will have numerous science, said. Students are selected through a activities where students will have the nomination process, which opens ev- chance to grow as leaders on campus. ery fall semester. 5 to 20 students who Some of the activities include arcan commit to meeting two hours per ranged dinners with the Woodsons week during the spring semester, are at the chancellor’s residence. “The program has had two meetings selected. “I became interested in the program so far, but I look forward to being a because I was looking for ways to get guest at the home of the Chancellor. I know that spending more involved in leadtime with the Chancelership around campus, lor is a unique opporand to do so with the tunity. I’m also interChancellor seemed like ested in learning about a great opportunity,” how female leaders are Katie Kyzer, freshman perceived in contrast in meteorology, said. to male leaders and Participants must how I can harness the be in their first year at NCSU and have an Dr. Ashley Simons-Rudolph power of that perception. It’s important interest in developing their leadership abilities. There will for females today to realize the great be a strong focus on students from leadership potential they have in our historically underrepresented groups, generation,” Kyzer said. Current participants of the program rural areas, and with a declared major in science, technology, engineering have selected topics centered on different types of leadership that will be and mathematical fields. “I am focused on stepping out of my featured in their upcoming meetings. comfort zone and actually speaking Some of the topics include, “Who up and being heard. I can easily do Rules the World: An introduction to that around friends but I want to be gender-based leadership theory,” ‘Hisable to do it at a professional level. I tory/Herstory: Historical perspectives feel like I have a lot to say and this and current laws that impact underprogram is exactly what I need to take standing of gender-based leadership,” and ‘Looking in the Mirror: What that first step,” Brown said.
“Looking in the Mirror: What kind of leader will YOU be?”
insidetechnician
15 2012
Speaker series on aging relevant to students Though college students don’t tend to focus on aging, this speaker series asks them to take another look. Elyssa Dornic Contributor
history was made—and
Illustration by Alex Sanchez
find out all about this history while you are standing there. It can be
APP continued page 5
Chancellor’s program holds opportunities for freshmen Thanks to Chancellor Woodson, students have another opportunity to improve leadership capabilities
february
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
New smartphone application seeks to get N.C. State involved in Black History Month
wednesday
kind of leader will YOU be?” “We will feature guest speakers, topics related to leadership, advanced protocol training on how to interact in different kinds of business situations including cultural confidence components, something the typical student would not face everyday,” Dr. Ashley Simons-Rudolph, director of N.C. State Women’s Center and Chancellor’s First Year Student Leadership Program, Instructor in Women’s and Gender Studies Department, said. Interested students should email Dr. Ashley Simons-Rudolph (apsimons@ncsu.edu) during the fall semester. The email should include the student’s name, email address, telephone number, declared major/minor and a one-page essay on why they are interested in a genderbased leadership opportunity. “It’s an honor to have been selected and it’s a wonder program. This is a wonderful addition to lots of really good leadership opportunities on campus. Our campus is really strong in leadership in general, so we are really pleased to offer this program, as well as other leadership opportunities on campus,” Rudolph said.
Aging is an inevitable reality of life. Daniel Morrow, an associate professor of psychology and member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, plans to address this. He will be delivering a lecture as part of a speaker series on aging later this month; the series will be hosted by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Morrow received his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a noted scholar in the field of cognitive aging and human factors related to communication in complex tasks. His upcoming lecture for the series is entitled, “Supporting Comprehension and Decision-Making Among Older Adults with Low Health Literacy but High Self-Care Needs.” Dr. Thomas Hess, professor and coordinator of N.C. State’s graduate program in Lifespan Developmental Psychology, helped to organize the talks; The talks are an effort to call attention to an emerging problem that has yet to be addressed on many college campuses. “We started this colloquium series due to the increased interest in issues associated with aging on campus and in our country. The proportion of our population that is over age 65 is increasing dramatically, as the baby boomers age and as people live longer due to healthier lifestyles and changes in medical issues,” Hess said. “Thus, aging is an issue that is likely to have a significant impact on our country in general, and the effects go beyond dealing with medical issues.” Although N.C. State isn’t a medical institution, part of the mission of the university and its programs is to attend to difficulties affecting society as a whole. Hess explained, “Landgrant universities such as N.C. State are charged with understanding and helping to deal with the problems of our state, nation, and world.” With this in mind, the psychology department at N.C. State is using this speaker series to pinpoint certain factors of growing older that are most relevant to society today. “We are addressing these issues by examining, among other things, the factors that influence the effectiveness of decision making in later life, how older adults interact with new technologies, and how we can design effective interventions for maintaining high levels of cognitive functioning,” Hess said. In addition to this, other researchers at the university in areas such as design, engineering and economics will need to determine how to address related issues in their respective fields. These talks on aging will serve as the catalyst. According to Hess, aging is relevant
aging continued page 5
Features
page 6 • wednesday, february 15, 2012
Technician
Now that the big night is over, its time to reflect take a minute to think about the events of last night, or lack there of. illustration By Taylor Cashdan
How’d it go? It was awesome! The night could not have gone any better.
Puerto Rico experience proves valuable
i nnov
Tsui and Marchand pace State during spring semester’s first outing. See page 8.
ation
Road to London begins in Cary
Top-40 table tennis players in the United States battled for a spot on 2012 Olympic Team. See page 8.
Technician’s Power Rankings Was it
Terrible...she started crying!
You don’t really know... you had fun, but you couldn’t tell if she was completely into it.
your fault? See page 8.
Yes. No. Creating ‘La Vie Bohème’ with Now that the Don’t big night is over, its viewpoint jump to any Good! Can you see Well, let’s start with features conclusions just yet. yourself getting to know University Theater’s ‘Rent’ time to Phew! Don’t fret dude, No. reflect this: is the damage Was she smiling and/ this person better? V-Day isn’t easy for repairable? classifieds throughout? University Theater’s production of ‘Rent’ take a minute tolaughing think about the events of everyone. Your best bet is giving it a few opens this week. See page 3. last night, Don’t worryor too lack there of. See page 6. sports days, then calling to Yes. much. V-Day carries too much pressure. Just act normal when you see her next.
No.
Yes.
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