Nubian Message, Nov. 11, 2021 — Almost There

NUBIANMESSAGE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY | RALEIGH, NC | THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM | Thursday, november 11, 2021

Almost There

Thursday, November 11, 2o21 | 2

Letter from the editor

Tim

Hey y’all, We’re coming up on the end of the semester. Let’s do our best to make it to the end. Even if you’re like me and only making it through because you wanna see where the Marvel movies go.

Daylight Savings Time is also over and it's getting dark way too early, which might have triggered the beginning of seasonal depression for some of us. We got this, and we’ll be able to make it through.

This week's edition covers a few trending topics. We address the Astroworld Festival tragedy and the history of “rage” concerts. We also have a recap on the past two Pack Football games in preparation for the Wake Forest game this weekend.

THISISSUE 4

BLACK MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT

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MEDIA PAGE

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WOLFPACK FOOTBALL

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MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY

NC State does not care about its Black students Good vibes to finish strong NCSU has a chance at the ACC Title 2021 Delta Week Event

cover photo BY Amrita Malur/ Correspondent Sophomore guard Diamond Johnson and junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner celebrate on the bench during the game against UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.

Be sure to check out our media page which features a staff playlist to get you through the semester and an emotional tribute poem by Elikem.

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Andie

Andrea/ Andie Alford (They/Them) Editor-in-Chief

nubian-editor@ncsu.edu Elikem Dodor (She/Her) Managing editor

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Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of Nubian Message: Dr. Yosef Ben-Yochannan, Dr. John Henrik Clark, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, The Black Panther Party, Mumia A. Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Tony Williamson, Dr. Lawrence Clark, Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon, Dr. Wandra P. Hill, Mr. Kyran Anderson, Dr. Lathan Turner, Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are still on the journey to true consciousness.

Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 3

News

Fiasco at Astroworld This past weekend, Austin Modlin Travis Scott’s concert Correspondent

turned to tragedy when Friday, there was a surge in the crowd, causing the deaths of eight people.

Hundreds more suffered from severe injuries.

The long awaited ASTROWORLD festival concert took place in Travis Scott’s hometown of Houston, Texas. Many fans were waiting with anticipation for the ASTROWORLD festival, which was initially set to happen the summer of 2019, but was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Initially, the concert was meant to house 100,000 people in 2019. However, the new venue housed 50,000 people, with tickets selling out overnight.

Before the festival commenced, the Houston police department spoke with Travis Scott and his management team about safety regulations and overall expectations on how the event should be managed in case of any riots.

The meeting was, “brief and respectful,” remarks Houston Chief of Police Troy Finner. Finner stated that the meeting occurred the Friday before the event occurred.

“I asked Travis Scott and his team to work with HPD for all events over the weekend and to be mindful of his team’s social media messaging on any unscheduled events. The meeting was brief and respectful, and a chance for me to share my public safety concerns as Chief of Police.”

However things didn't go as planned, as that Friday night, the first day of the ASTROWORLD festival, people rushed the stage as soon as Scott started his first song.

This caused people to fall and get trampled.

There have been multiple videos coming out with people begging for the concert to end as Scott kept performing the set.

There is also a video circulating of Scott telling the crowd to rush the stage, “You know what you came here to do.” He then proceeded to say, “I want y'all to shake the mother-f---ing ground.”

Scott has had a history of inciting events that led to the harm of concert goers. In 2017 during his show at Terminal 5 in New York, Scott reportedly convinced a fan to jump off of a balcony, leaving him permanently paralyzed. In another concert back in 2015, Scott had concert goers attack a concert goer who stole one of Scott’s

Getty Images

Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on Nov. 5, 2021 in Houston TX. shoes. In the video, you can hear Travis Scott encouraging the audience to, “F--him up.”

So far the casualties have been eight dead, ranging from the ages of 14 to 26, and thousands more hospitalized. Sami Anjum, a field medic who served for the ASTROWORLD festival, accounts the concertgoers were one of the primary hindering factors in getting people the medical help needed.

In an email Anjum stated, “Many bystanders offered to help or directed the field medics to take certain actions but they did not understand the volume, variety, velocity, and variability of the medical emergencies we were being faced with. … We just had way too many patients to formally document anything we should have been doing. We had too many patients and not enough medical staff.”

There’s been videos of some concertgoers dancing on top of medical vehicles trying to get people to medical care. In the video you can hear people yelling, “Stop, get

off the car! Please!” You can hear Scott still performing in the background. Scott continued to perform for 40 minutes after the chaos ensued.

Reports state people had to lift unconscious up and had crowd surfed them in attempts to send to help. Many of the people in attendance share the sentiment that this was a life threatening affair.

One ASTROWORLD attendee, Andrea Contreas, stated, “A guy was stumbling trying to leave the crowd and completely passed out on top of this girl and she was screaming for help, so security dragged him out. This girl behind me passed out for a second then woke up.”

Another stated, “It was hell, everybody in the back was rushing to the front.”

“It was hell, everybody in the back was rushing to the front.”

Chris Leigh stated, “I was fighting for my life; there was no way out.”

Travis Scott issued an apology via Instagram Stories, noting his devastation about the ordeal as well as him working with the HPD to figure out the situation.

“I just want to send out prayers to the ones that were lost last night. Anytime I can make out anything that is going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need,” said Scott.

Many have noted how unprepared the medical staff were for this event. An example is Madeline Eskins, an intensive care nurse who lost consciousness during the concert. She recounts waking up and being placed where other injured people were. She notes one person with their eyes being rolled back. After stating she was an ICU nurse, a security guard took her to where people were receiving CPR. She states that medical personnel appeared to have no experience checking for pulses or chest compressions. “They all looked terrified,” she states about the medical staff.

There are currently several lawsuits being filed against Travis Scott and his team.

Kenneth J. Allen, a lawyer whose firm represented victims of the 2011 Indiana State Fair collapse, stated that this disaster could have been prevented.

“The reality is, this shouldn’t have happened and somebody needs to be held accountable,” said Allen. The legal proceedings could become extremely intricate. If enough of the 50,000 people in attendance file lawsuits, it could become a class action case.

Manuel Souza, is filing a lawsuit against Scott, organizers and other parties involved for their “motivation for profit at the expense of others health and safety”. He is currently suing for $1 million in damages, stating that he was trampled and severely injured.

Another attendee, Kristian Paredes, states that the organizers “knew or should have known” about Travis Scott and his fans history of chaos. More lawsuits are expected to be filed in the upcoming weeks.

Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 4

Opinion

NC state Does not care about its black students Does NC State Care about Black Students and Their Mental Health?

The simple answer is no. NC State University has shown time and time again that it does arana blake not care about its Black Correspondent students, from allowing racists to speak on campus to not hiring and retaining Black faculty and staff. We do not feel welcome and seen on this campus, and that needs to change. Black spaces need to stay Black spaces and need to stop being invaded by white students.

You have plenty of spaces on campus for you, why do you feel the need to take the very few spaces meant for us?

“ Black spaces need to stay Black spaces and need to stop being invaded by white students.”

These spaces on campus — built by us, for us — are an important part of building our community and allowing us to find sanity within each other's shared experiences on this campus. Since coming back to campus this semester, I have noticed significant changes to the Black community and our spaces. COVID really did a number on us and it's been hard to find that same community that was here my freshman year. That, and classes being back in full swing with no COVID pass/ fail grace period has really taken a toll on the mental health of many Black students not only here, but across the UNC school system.

Conversations surrounding the mental health of college students, especially Black students, are becoming more prevalent on different social media platforms. You would think that a college campus would have an abundance of resources for its students regarding such a serious matter, but it doesn’t. I guess it should be a given at a PWI that it would care more about its white student population.

Even still, I think that it is absolutely ridiculous to only have two Black therapists on campus. Two Black therapists for almost 2500 students to see if they want to talk to someone. Do they not realize that Black students want to be able to talk to people that look like them and have shared experiences? That we do not want to settle for the white therapist who does not understand Black issues? NC State needs to hire more Black therapists and treat them way better so that its students have more options.

Another resource that NC State has for students suffering with mental health issues is the CARES program. Faculty, staff and students can submit a report on a student’s behalf, even if they don’t know the student well. If the CARES report is flagged as high priority or high risk, there is a possibility that the student could have campus police show up at their door.

This is under the guise of students being saved from themselves in the form of a wellness check. As Black students, dealing with law enforcement is already a potentially traumatizing situation.

When you add mental health issues on top of that, it is a recipe for disaster and unneeded additional trauma.

It is important to recognize that there are some good parts to the CARES program such as letting the student know that people are worried about them.

However, I think that the possibility of dealing with law enforcement in such a vulnerable state is not worth the benefits.

The Dangerous History of Moshing In the aftermath of the Astroworld tragedy this past weekend, there have been several questions about mosh pits and the idea of “raging” at a concert in general.

Andie Alford With the growth of Editor-in-Chief moshing at concerts, regardless of the genre, I want to look at the history of mosh pits, the culture and the consequences.

According to Merriam-Webster, to “mosh” is to freely participate in wild activities — such as running into people on purpose — at a rock concert. The term first came up in the 1980s within the metal and punk alternative scene in Southern California. Moshing was yet another way to rebel against the mainstream music of the day (usually in response to disco, which is a longer conversation).

In the mosh pits of the ‘80s, people of all genders would pack themselves in front of the concert stage. They enjoyed jumping around and recklessly dancing with others to release pent-up aggression. They developed new dance moves and actions like the wall of death and slam dancing.

However dangerous these actions may seem, there were unspoken rules that were often up to concert audiences to enforce. These concert-goers were on the edge of these mosh pits and made sure that moshers weren’t throwing punches or trampling people. It was up to them to stop the constant motion and prevent injuries.

Quite honestly, regardless of the culture around mosh pits, I don’t think that it should be up to random self-appointed concert-goers to make sure people are safe. It was a good idea when the pits were first formed, but the individualistic culture of the United States doesn’t allow people to care about others.

In our capitalistic society, caring about others and their safety is only important when there is money to be made from it. In these pit situations, moshers have to put full faith in the people around them to help when things get out of hand. However, too often the mosh pit attitudes are “Whoa, don’t ruin the

vibes,” because “This is what we all came for.”

Mosh pits started losing respect in music culture around the ‘90s and were banned by musical performers like The Smashing Pumpkins. The acts would try to enforce limits on the crowd, but in the end they sometimes lost control of the crowd, and it resulted in injuries and deaths. The overall rock and metal scenes were increasingly anti-woman to the point where women no longer felt safe.

One of the final straws of the ‘90s era of mosh pits was the infamous Woodstock ‘99 weekend concert. The pits during that hellscape including several instances of sexual assault and 2 instances of alleged rape. Where was the sense of belonging and trust here?

All of the people who were supposed to be part of the culture were not there for those women. They left those women there to be traumatized because the women thought they would be further harassed for speaking out.

In terms of the Astroworld tragedy, moshing has recently been branching out to all genres of music and to people who do not have any prior knowledge of the culture. Although I haven’t participated in moshing because I refuse to put my Black life in the hands of white people, I understand that it is important to know the culture of the action before doing these potentially dangerous acts.

The increasing closeness of crowds in pits or standing-room only concerts has been seen as part of music culture, but the lack of care that Americans have for others means that people are more likely to look the other way when things go wrong.

We also have to acknowledge that the performer, Travis Scott, had the power to stop the concert, condemn the actions and take safety measures to protect concert goers. Scott could have stopped the crowd before it turned tragic. My heart goes out to those who died and those who were forever changed by this event.

Unless we can ensure the safety of concert-goers, mosh pits should be banned, especially considering their violent history and current practices.

Opinion

GOOD VIBES TO FINISH STRONG playlist by Nubian Message Staff Keep pushin' through

Graphic by Kyle howe

OPTIMISTIC LIVVIN

SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS NXWORRIES, ANDERSON .PAAK,

IT GETS BETTER (WITH TIME) CALLIN MY NAME

THE INTERNET ELUJAY, J.ROBB

ONLY IF

STEVE LACY

SNAKES

JOEY BADA$$, T'NAH APEX

DIDDY BOP

NONAME, CAM O'BI, RAURY

INNAMISSON

SMINO

SH*T DONT STOP

WALE

FUNNY THING

THUNDERCAT

SKRAWBERRIES GRASS

JID, BJ THE CHICAGO KID REDVELL, CAMERON BOLDEN

WE GONNA MAKE IT AIN'T GON STOP ME FIND A WAY

JADAKISS, STYLES P REGGIE, MONTE BOOKER DUCKWRTH, ALEX MALI

Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 5

November 15, 2018 As I go into this third year, As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, And it gets harder to get out of bed, I contemplate whether all this was worth it.

Whether it was worth waking up.

My heart hurts and my soul is tired And now I don’t know if I’ll make it to see year three.

Jasmin, There will never be enough words in any language to describe this feeling.

Until we meet again. I love you.

-Elikem

Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 6

Features

Wolfpack Football to Battle Wake Forest For Chance at ACC Title This weekend the NC Tim Havens State football team visits Correspondent

13th ranked Wake Forest for control of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Wolfpack will travel to WinstonSalem for the 7:30 evening game to face the Demon Deacons on Truist Field this Saturday, Nov. 13. The game is scheduled to be televised on the ACC network.

NC State enters this game off back-toback wins that kept the team's chance at winning the Conference Title alive.

On Sept. 30th the Wolfpack protected home-field on homecoming weekend against a tough Louisville squad. It was a night full of celebration including North Carolina State video tributes for kicker Christopher Dunn on becoming the all-time leading scorer and wide receiver Emeka Emezie becoming the all-time leader in receptions in North Carolina State University history. The defense held up well in their first game without captain linebacker Isaiah Moore, allowing the game to stay close before NC State would pull away with 3 passing touchdowns from quarterback Devin O’Leary.

The Wolfpack controlled the game against their next opponent Florida State behind another impressive defensive performance and a well-balanced offensive performance.

O’Leary again spread the ball around with a different receiver catching each of his four touchdown throws in back-to-back weeks.

Tailback Trent Pennix led the team with 97 receiving yards on just three catches including his a touchdown for the second game in a row.

While the NC State offense is a balanced run and pass based attack O’Leary has been catching fire recently throwing for at least 300 yards and four touchdowns in the two most recent games.

On O'Leary's recent hot streak, safety Tanner Ingle said “It’s like watching an artist at work, literally he’s just dotting people up. It keeps up the morale, it allows us (defense) to get a break and not be winded when we go out there”.

Pennix also had something to say about the success of O’Leary and the offense.

“Coming in 2018 with Devon, just seeing him grow and growing with him as well… you can see it on TV everybody is just a family and we’re here to play for our brothers and not be selfish” said Pennix.

When asked about the next man up mentality of the team Pennix said “… you just gotta go in with the mentality that

Jon Williams/Correspondent Redshirt sophomore Wide Receiver Devin Carter celebrates with the team after catching a touchdown pass on Oct. 30, 2021, at Carter-Finley Stadium.

you’re the best team in the ACC.” When asked if he believed that statement Pennix responded “Of course, of course”.

The win against Florida State solidified this football team as one of the best in program history, beating the esteemed Florida State and Clemson football programs in the same season for the first time since 2002.

Some members of the team took some time to recap some of the success they’ve had this season. Coach Dave Doeren “beating Florida state, Clemson and Louisville is a first for me, probably a first for most of us. When I first got here they were all 10 win teams... it says a lot about what we’ve been able to do here.”

Pennix said “I feel like it’s a really special day… we have a really special team.”

Ingle made sure to reiterate that the team has a mentality of “one day at a time”.

Wake Forest entered their game against UNC this past week undefeated and into the fourth quarter it looked like they would stay that way heading into their game against NC State, but a late comeback by

the Tar Heels left Wake the loser of a 58-55 shoot-out. Wake Forest has a potent offense that has scored at least 35 points in every game this season.

After the loss, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson “In my mind we have a championship game next Saturday”.

“Playing the team with the best record in our league, a really good football team… they lead the ACC in a lot of categories… it’s gonna be a great game and a great challenge. I look forward to the opportunity and have a lot of respect for Coach Clawson,” said Doeren on Wake Forest.

This battle will see the Wolfpack's best defense in the conference against what may be the conference's best offense in Wake Forest. Something will have to give in this match-up as North Carolina State’s defense allows opponents to score 16 points per game whereas the Wake Forest offense averages 46 points per game.

After defeating Florida State, head coach Doeren said “We like having our back against the wall… keep disrespecting us. It's good for our football team.”

With a win this weekend North Carolina State will only have to win two home games first against Syracuse and then the finale against rival North Carolina Chapel Hill to guarantee a trip to the ACC title game for the first time since the inaugural title game in 2005. With a loss the Wolfpack could still reach the title but would need Wake Forest to lose the following two games and Clemson to lose one of their last three.

The grind of the football season has begun to take its toll on the Wolfpack's health. Six defensive starters including All-ACC linebacker Payton Wilson, leader Isaiah Moore, Cyrus Fagan, Savion Jackson, Tyler Baker-Williams and C.J Clark have been injured since the beginning of the season.

On the injuries Doreon said “If you wanted to pull the four most vocal leaders out of our defense we just did”. Yet the defense has persisted with a balanced effort led by LB Drake Thomas and S. Tanner Ingle who’ve had 20 and 23 tackles, respectively, in just the past two weeks since Elijah Moore’s injury.

The Wolfpack did receive positive news on the injury front as Tyler Baker-Williams will be able to return against Wake Forest while Savion Jackson will be day-to-day going forward.

When asked about the ability of the defense to perform at a high-level while sustaining injuries to important players, Ingle said “... it’s just becoming a thing with us. Next man up, no matter the situation props to (Devon) Betty props to JPL (Josh Pierre-Lewis) regardless of how much they play throughout the season, everyday they practice they prepare like they're gonna play their game.”

The predictions have Wake Forest winning this game by a slim margin that suggest Homefield may be the difference maker in this battle. North Carolina State struggles on the road this year with both of their losses coming away from Carter Finley stadium while Wake Forest enters the game undefeated at home on the season. The Demon Deacons would like to capitalize off an added boost from the crowd as this is their last home game of the season.

This will be the 118th match-up between the former cross town rivals dating all the way back to 1895. Currently NC State leads the series with 67 wins, 41 losses, and 6 ties. Last year the teams played a back and forth high scoring game that saw NC State narrowly win by a score of 45-42.

Features

Thursday, November 11, 2021 | 7

Making the MOst of your MOney: Learning to Budget and Save

On Oct. 26 2021, the Milan Hall Mu Omicron chapter Correspondent

of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. hosted Making the MOst of Your MOney, an event to teach attendees how to budget efficiently and effectively.

Before the guest speaker gave their presentation, attendees' background knowledge was tested via Kahoot.

Attendees also received some general information on budgeting in college.

Some of this information included the benefits of budgeting. The four ones given were that it allows for full control over one's own money, it helps set and focus on financial goals, preparation for unexpected costs, and it allows for awareness over savings and debts.

After giving the base information, the main presentation was done by guest speaker Lori Jones Gibbs. Gibbs is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Senior Vice President, Community Development Carolina Market Manager for PNC. Gibbs is a member of multiple boards such as, National Institute for Minority Economic Development and North Carolina Community Actions Association. She has also written and published a couple of books.

Gibbs' started her presentation by saying the goal is to be smart, sophisticated, financially savvy women and said “there is nothing more dangerous than an educated Black woman”.

The actual financial aspects of Gibbs presentation started with budgeting.

A budget is described as an estimate, a summary of income and expenses for a period of time, a written spending plan, and tool to organize finances. The simplest way to describe a budget however is income minus expenses.

Gibbs also mentioned other ways of why budgeting is important; it helps build assets and improve quality of life and shows responsibility.

The suggested budget approach given in the presentation was the 10-10-20-50 rule.

In this approach 10% of your income goes to donations, 10% for personal savings, 30% for cash which is for wants and fun (i.e going to see a movie), 50% goes to your total monthly debt or essentials which would include things such as rent.

Delving further into expenses, another piece of advice was to manage your needs versus wants. Some examples of this were

Contributed by the mu omicrom chapter of delta sigma theta sorority , inc.

needing a purse versus wanting a luxury purse and needing a car but wanting a brand new car. However, wants should not be completely ignored. It is important to include wants into your budget because according to Gibbs “a budget that does not include wants is doomed to fail.” The audience was also told that there is no shame in not wearing designer clothing or re-wearing clothes.

“A budget that does not

include wants is doomed to fail.”

There was also a general tutorial on how to start your own personalized written budget. The two steps are to determine your income and then determine your expenses. Income includes things such as wages, bonuses, recurring gifts, and interest. To determine expenses, track spending habits, writing down everything that is bought, and how much those items

prep cost.

The budget section ended with listing off some apps that would make budgeting easier to do. Acorns is an app that invests your change from purchases and allows you to slowly save over time. Mint is an app for monthly budgeting. Albert is an app that analyzes your transaction history over time which helps figure out your income. This app is especially handy if your income is not steady. YNAB (You Need A Budget) is for people who share their spending with their partners. Wally is an app that helps the user understand their spending and it creates the budget for them. Some other apps mentioned were PocketGuard, Prism, and Clarity money.

The next part of the presentation was about savings. This section started off with some general saving tips. Some of these tips were to direct deposit to savings instead of checkings, save extra money from birthdays, holidays and cash gifts and apply at least 50% of pay raise to savings. A more old school tip is to put excess change in a jar or container at the end of each day.

A more specific saving plan that Gibbs

gave during the presentation was the 52 week savings plan. In this plan the weak number correlates with how much money is put into a savings account. For example in week one you put one dollar in your account and so on. The plan can also be reversed, with week one meaning to put $52 into an account and then decreasing the amount of money put in each week.

Again to relate to the audience of college students, Gibbs included some money saving apps. Qapital is the best for goal setting, it rounds change to the nearest dollar and moves into savings, and it allows for specific goals to be set and named.

Digit is a simpler app that calculates what its user can save and sets it aside and includes a savings bonus every three months. The previously mentioned app Acorns can also be used for saving.

Considering the audience was young women, the presentation also included a special notice to women. If you are married, divorced, separated or widowed make sure that all relevant credit information is filed under your own name.

In the present day having control of one's finances is the norm for many, however there was a time when men would handle all finances. The reminder is just to make sure that women are able to be financially free.

Gibbs' presentation concluded with a question and answer section where the audience could ask for clarification or for advice on finances. One of these questions had to deal with credit, which Gibbs replied with a proposition to come back and get a presentation on credit.

After the question and answer section, the event moved into the discussion section, where the audience was prompted with questions. Some of these questions were “how can we make financial education more accessible?” and “what are some things you struggle with in terms of financial education?”. The discussion allowed for people to share their own personal experiences as well as show the knowledge learned from the event.

Making the MOst of Your MOney was an event that allowed college students to learn how to handle their finances and gave them the resources to do so.

$500 REWARD

NC State Student Media is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the identification of the person(s) responsible for damaging two newspaper kiosks near Witherspoon Student Center between sundown Saturday, Oct. 30 and 3 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 31.

If you saw anything suspicious during that time or have information regarding either incident, please contact Officer Andrew Shillingburg at arburkes@ncsu.edu and reference Report Number 21P0001112.

Student Media

studentmedia.dasa.ncsu.edu