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Vol. 37, No. 51: Section 01
Tallahassee, T allahassee, Florida
Dec. 22 - Dec. 28, 2011 2011
The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute By Paul Douglas
Tis the Season
Outlook Contributor
Person of the Week
Sean D By Terrika Mitchell Outlook Staff Writer
His Twitter bio describes him as a DJ, a producer, a photographer and always on his “positive vibes.” What most people may not know about Sean Woods, or Sean D as he’s affectionately called by community members, is that connecting with local youth is priority for him. “That’s just a personal passion,” said the Daytona native, in which the D in Sean D represents. “I know a lot of kids listen to me on the radio and I feel like I’m kind of obligated to go out there and be face-to-face with them and let them know how life really is.” The modest Woods often
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Positive vibes
The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute is the largest and most advanced proton therapy facility in the world. The $250 million, 98,000-square-foot center gives hope to thousands of cancer patients. to ease human misery and save this endeavor would bring reve- lion, which was out of the budget lives,” Harvey said. “I don’t think nue to a university that could use range of most universities. Knowing that black men that there’s anything better than the financial assistance. However, he also acknowl- have a 60 percent higher rate of that.” During an era when there edged that the state-of-the-art prostate cancer than whites, Harwere only three of these facilities center would cost anywhere vey was inspired to put his instiin the country, Harvey knew that from $180 million to $240 mil- tution in a position to help fight See INSTITUTE, Page 5
FAMU board bucks Scott, keeps Ammons on the job By Brandon Larrabee
OPINION / 4 EDUCATION / 5 RELIGION / 6
Briefs State Board of Education OKs tougher FCAT grading system
FAMU Board of Trustees Chairman Solomon Badger Champion died in Orlando following the annual FAMU-Bethune Cookman football game on Nov. 19. FDLE has since announced that it also is looking into the band’s finances. Badger also said the board would meet at FAMU next month to conduct Ammons’ evaluation. And in a statement issued following the meeting, the board said it was too soon to force Ammons to step aside, even temporarily. “Until information and results from the ongoing investigations are made available to the board, enabling it to effectively conduct a fact-based deliberation on the role of the adminis-
Belle Wheelan, president of SACS Commission on Colleges, FAMU’s accrediting body tration and the President in these matters, the board is deciding to leave the status of the President unchanged,” it said. Scott publicly waded into the controversy last week, calling on the board to suspend Ammons to remove any doubts about the thoroughness of the investigation. Ammons said after a Dec. 16 af afternoon meeting with Scott that he would consider the advice, but the board action Dec. 19 would keep him on the job for the time. The governor released a statement following the meeting saying he would follow the board’s decision. “For the sake of appearanc-
With a unanimous vote Monday, the State Board of Education approved a tougher scoring system for the FCAT, the state’s standardized reading and math exam. The change is meant to raise the academic standards for Florida students. Last year, state officials rolled out the FCAT 2.0, a new version of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. A new scoring system is needed for the new test, state officials have said. However, many students are expected to score lower under the newly approved grading system, which determines the “cut scores” or the scores that determine failing and passing grades. More Floridians are taking their toothaches to the ER
See BOARD, Page 8
See POW, Page 5
Alumni and students unite sharing untold stories By Ashley Hogans Outlook Staff Writer
Miami native Rondrea Mathis decided to further her education in 2001 by attending Florida A&M University fresh out of high school. However, once she stepped foot on ‘the Hill” and experienced college, she realized she wasn’t prepared. “I didn’t know what to do as a freshman,” Mathis said. “I didn’t know how to navigate college because I was the first one in my family to go to school. I came to Tallahassee with my friends saying, ‘We are going to do this thing.’ But I didn’t know what do. I was just following the crowd.” After Mathis struggled academically for a few years, she decided to drop out of college in 2003. For three years she was out in the real world and realized the importance of a college degree and decided to attend FAMU a second time. Mathis said she was elated to receive a second opportunity. “For everything to come together and work out, and for people in the financial aid office to
Inside COMMUNITY NEWS / 10
The News Service Of Florida Special to the Outlook
The Florida A&M University board of trustees agreed Dec. 19 to keep President James Ammons on the job despite an ongoing investigation of the school’s famous “Marching 100” band, rejecting a recommendation from Gov. Rick Scott that Ammons be suspended. The board’s decision came in the wake of building pressure on Scott to butt out of the inquiry at the historically black university, with the regional accrediting body and the head of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus both telling the governor to keep his distance. And in explaining the decision, FAMU Board Chairman Solomon Badger sent an implied warning shot at Scott and others. “We will stand firm against outside influence, regardless of how well-intended,” Badger said during a teleconference to discuss Ammons’ status. The board did agree to set up weekly meetings over the next 60 days to remain apprised of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation into what happened to drum major Robert Champion, whose death after a hazing incident was ruled a homicide last week by Orange County Medical Examiners.
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Vowing to find out more about proton therapy, Dr. William Harvey, president of Hampton University, decided to conduct his own research about the cutting-edge treatment after several Hampton alumni inquired about it earlier that day. Fascinated by his results, Harvey decided to visit a proton therapy center in 2005 after having a vision of bringing an identical center to Hampton. That same vision later transformed into the largest and most advanced proton therapy facility in the world. The $250 million, 98,000-square-foot center gives hope to thousands of cancer patients. In other words, it’s one of the industry’s heaviest hitters. “With this center, we’re able
10
Rondrea Mathis
James Bland
say ‘because you are standing in my office and even though I don’t know you, I am going to give you a chance,’ that really touched my heart.” Many stories like Mathis’ are being told on website WeAreFAMUnited.com. The website is designed to paint a true portrait of FAMU while igniting a movement, according to website founder and FAMU alumnus James Bland. This comes after FAMU re-
ceived a lot of media attention nationally and locally for the death of drum major Robert Champion, who died from being hazed following the Florida Classic, according to Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office. “This is not the FAMU that we know,” Bland said. “And, we hope that people would not only know that side of FAMU that is being painted in the media. We want to empower those who want to be a positive voice and bridge
the gap between Rattlers — young and old — by uniting them around a central bond that we all share, the love for our university.” Amanda Byrd, who was the 2008-2009 Miss FAMU, graduated from the institution in 2010, and is now a pediatric occupational therapist. She is working closely with Bland managing the website and Twitter page (http:// twitter.com/WeAreFAMUNITED). “We feel like the institution itself is to educate, uplift and provide ‘Excellence with Caring’ in all of us,” Byrd said. “Many of us are out here in our respective fields doing phenomenal things and we feel like that’s what FAMU is about.” FAMU alumni, current students and individuals in the community impacted by FAMU are encouraged to upload their video blogs to Youtube.com or Vimeo. com, and send their video blog link to famuforever@gmail. com to be uploaded to www. WeAreFAMUnited.com. Many FAMU alums have shared their personal stories on the website, and like Mathis who See UNITED, Page 5
More Floridians who go without routine dental care are resorting to hospital emergency rooms when the pain of tooth decay or infection becomes too terrible to bear, costing taxpayers and hospitals nearly $90 million last year. Health experts said too few dentists accept Medicaid patients in Florida, where reimbursement rates are among the lowest in the nation. And in many cases, ER visits only result in treating the pain — not the underlying cause, resulting in a costly cycle of return visits.
This Week’s Word “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:4 (NKJV)