PROPAINE
“Burning the Midnight Oil for a Brighter Education”
A STUDENT FEATURE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA STUDIES
NOVEMBER 01, 2011
Media Studies Student
featured in
By Rosa Jean
Sarasota, FL junior Tekeya Peterson was featured in the October 5,
2011 online issue of U.S. News & World Report. Interviewed by U.S.
News reporter Katy Hopkins regarding “How to Save Time On Your College
Applications,” the Department of Media Studies student talked about the
application process and her decision to enroll at a historically black
college.
“Instead of opting for a local community college, I submitted the
Common Black College Application at the behest of my high school
counselor,” says Peterson.
The Common Black College Application was developed by EDU, Inc.
EDU, Inc is the only company that offers a “common” application for
black colleges and universities. The use of this document allows students
to receive acceptance letters, financial aid packages, and scholarship
offers from several different HBCUs. The EDU, Inc. website maintains over
100,000 students have used its corporate services.
“If it were not for the application, Paine College would not have
even existed in my mind,” champions Tekeya.
According to Mr. Joseph Tinsley, Paine College’s Director of
Admissions, “EDU’s Common Black College Application serves as a
wonderful resource for high school seniors. Students pay a $30 fee and
their application is submitted to a minimum 35 HBCU’s.”
“I didn’t even see Paine’s name on the application, but Paine is
everything in a college that I hoped for, ever needed, and more,” states
the public relations major who dreams of starting her very own PR firm.
ISSUE 04
November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
Going to Augusta:
2011 Harlem Renaissance
Conference By Diana D. Dennis
Promoting the theme, “Rainbows of Artistry: Dancers, Divas,
Actors and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance,” the Department of
Humanities, which is within the School of Arts and Sciences at Paine,
will host the 2011 Harlem Renaissance Conference. The conference
will begin on November 9, 2011, offering four pre-conference
workshops that will be conducted by educators Hazel Arnett Ervin and
Ruthe T. Sheffey; children’s writer Jordan Trent; and local Augusta
artist Malaika Favorite.
Demonstrated in the workshops, which are open to the public,
especially secondary school teachers, will be African American literary
traditions which might influence pedagogical practices and strategies
when teaching and shaping creative and critical thinking. The
conference will end on November 11, 2011, following two days of
scholarly sessions, art exhibitions, and a dramatic presentation. This
year’s conference will be attended by college professors, and
graduate and undergraduate students who are traveling from within
Georgia, and from Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina,
New York, and China.
When asked about the history of Paine’s relationship with the
1920s Harlem Renaissance movement, Dr. Ervin, who is also Chair of
Paine’s Humanities Department responded, “In 2002, a group of
English faculty at Paine College began an annual conference to pay
tribute to Harlem Renaissance artists, writers, and musicians. It’s
imperative that this literary socio-politico tradition continues.”
For all who don’t know, from 1919 until 1935, the Harlem
literary movement was an unprecedented collaboration of artists,
writers, and musicians who converged upon Harlem creating a body
of arts and letters which portrayed the complexity of the African
American experience following the Reconstruction era in America.
The Movement also provided the means of resistance to attacks upon
African American intellect and humanity.
The Harlem period is famously associated with persons such as
James Weldon Johnson, W. E. B. Du Bois, Jean Toomer, Alain Locke,
Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Nella Larsen, Zora Neale Hurston,
Countee Cullen, Aaron Douglas, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington.
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November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
Dr. Ruthe
By Dominic Gibson
Dr. Ruthe Turner Sheffey will be the honored guest speaker for
the Paine College 2011 Harlem Renaissance Conference.
Dr. Sheffey is an educator, lecturer, scholar, editor and mentor.
For the past 61 years, she has been a Pillar of Excellence in every
respect at Morgan State University. It is said that in the classroom,
she “lights up the eyes of her students and fills the room with joy –
the joy of learning and growing and becoming better increasingly.”
Affectionately referred to as Ruthe, her polished skills in
teaching and inspiring her students have produced, among others, a
Pulitzer-Prize-winning short story writer in James Alan McPherson; a
Chief Judge of Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, in
Judge Robert A. Bell; a head speechwriter for President William
Jefferson Clinton in Terry Edmonds; academic leaders in Associate
Dean Barbara Griffin and Dean Burney J. Hollis; and a great legal mind
in Maryland Assistant Attorney General Turhan E. Robinson.
These students and countless other Morgan graduates attribute
their love of language, literature and passionate pursuit of excellence
to the unmatched tutelage of the educator’s educator, and scholar’s
scholar, Ruthe T. Sheffey.
With research expertise in Shakespeare, professor Sheffey
maintains her greatest scholarship lies with her scholarly research on
Harlem Renaissance icon Zora Neale Hurston. In particular, Dr.
Sheffey is responsible for holding the first major national conference
on Hurston for publishing a collection of Hurston essays, Rainbow
Round My Shoulder: The Zora Neale Hurston Symposium Papers, and
by founding the Zora Neale Hurston Society.
As a leader and as a mentor, Dr. Sheffey’s contributions cut
across several venues. She has served as President of the College
Language Association, and the Langston Hughes Society; Chairperson
of the Department of English at Morgan State University; and, guest
lecturer on African American and women’s literature at Kentucky
State University, Loyola University, New York University at Albany,
Towson State University, the University of Maryland—College Park,
the University of Maryland—Eastern Shore, and the University of
Pennsylvania.
Paine College is truly honored and privileged to be graced by Dr.
Ruthe Sheffey’s 2011 Harlem Renaissance Conference presence.
3
November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
Paine is Twisted
By Shakira Reid
On Thursday night October 27, 2011,
MAC 491 interns Victoria Wiggins and
Lydia Hawkins hosted campus wide
auditions for their upcoming soap opera
Twisted.
The Twisted auditions brought out
some of the most talented students at
Paine College, says Wiggins and her codirector Hawkins.
"The script writers are genius," says
Media Studies drama major Natasha
Gallop.
"I can’t wait to be part of this production," Gallop concludes.
Graduating seniors Wiggins and Hawkins have worked vigorously
to bring their ideas to light and it shows through their dedication to
this production.
"This is our baby and all we want is for our script to come
together in the most magnificent way,“ exclaims Victoria.
Twisted is being produced under Wiggins’ and Hawkins’ newly
formed production company, WiggedHawk.
Media Studies Department Chair, Dr. Gary Flanigan was asked if
he had any Twisted thoughts.
“Yes, plenty,” said professor Flanigan.
“Seriously, it’s great seeing our students push the creative
envelope to the edge of the theatrical table.”
“Since the proof of theory is application, you’ll never know if that
parachute’s going to open if you never jump,” Dr. Flanigan furthers.
Twisted joins OPN as a third soap being produced by the Media
Studies Department on the campus of Paine College. The Master’s, a
collaboration of Paine students with Blue Bistro, an Augusta
community theater company, is also providing opportunities for Paine
College student engagement. The Master’s is being directed by Mr.
Anthony Page who is also Blue Bistro’s founder and artistic director.
For more Twisted information, Victoria Wiggins and Lydia
Hawkins can be contacted through the Paine College Media Studies
Department.
4
November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
PROPAINEFILE . . .
By Tonja Bryant
As a junior here at Paine College, I walk past
many people every day. I’m not exactly friends with
everyone, but I will give a nice smile and “Hey,
how’re you?” One recipient of that nice smile and
friendly greeting is incoming freshman, Sabastian
Mensah. If you haven’t seen him, sooner than later
you will. He’s the brotha wearing an iPod attached
to his left arm, and beating his drum.
My chit chat with Sabastian finds him 18 years of age. He’s been
in America for eleven years, hailing from Ghana, West Africa. Since his
time in America, he has accomplished more than a lot.
Sabastian is a musician and composer. He has written over 600
songs. So, if you wonder why he goes around the campus beating his
drum, doing so has provided him the opportunity to work alongside
popular artists like Ne-Yo, Big Boi (OutKast) and Mr. Colli Park.
Sabastian says he prides himself in being able to turn his
negatives into positives by creating music. Continuing to make
excellent grades in school while being a part of The Compound
Foundation (Ne-Yo), Big Kids Foundation (Big Boi), Georgia
Empowerment, “to empower the youth in the foster care,” and The
Orange Duffle Bag Foundation has made him a source of inspiration.
Featured on CNN, FOX5 News, and in The Atlanta-Journal
Constitution for his exceptional accomplishments, Sebastian Mensah
is that Paine student who marches to the beat of a different drummer.
In his case, however, the drummer is none other than himself.
PROFILE:
Birthday:
Favorite Color:
Right or Lefty:
Shoe Size:
Height:
Ideal Vacation:
November 10 (Scorpio)
Red, Black and Green
Right, trying to be left
9½
5’7
Ethiopia and/or Brazil
Can’t Leave
Home Without: My iPod
5
November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
The Paineful Truth
by Gary F. Flanigan
As a Department Chair, the month of PaineFest found me focused
on more than a few senior audits. And, in examining the four year legacy
of those more than a few, I found myself saying more than a few times,
“You have pretty good grades.”
Subsequently, that complimentary expression of approval
reminded me of a “pretty good” poem written by CBS reporter Charles
Osgood that requires (in the words of John Legend) “just a little”
improvisation:
Are you a pretty good Paine student
Who sits in a pretty good Paine class?
Are you taught by pretty good Paine teachers
Who always let pretty good pass?
Ask yourself are you all that at reading?
Can you hang when the subject is math?
Is your higher education leading
Straight down a pretty good Paine path?
Do you really find schoolwork exciting?
Are you satisfied in doing pretty well?
And, what about English Composition?
Is spell-check your pretty good way to spell?
When it comes to GPA calculations,
Is pretty good regarded just fine?
If 3.0 will get you on outta’ here,
Why struggle for that very good 3.9?
If the pretty good Paine class you sit in
Is part of a pretty good Paine School,
Are you a Paine student exception?
Or, pretty much a Paine student School rule?
Ask yourself when it comes to your future,
Is pretty good all you wanted and pretty much had?
‘Cause if pretty good is your fate, and
All others are great,
Pretty good is in fact pretty bad.
6
November 01, 2011
PROPAINE
Issue 04
Windowpaine . . .
You will not be able to
drive down just any road
my brotha or sistah.
You will not be able to
change the channel, turn it
off, or switch to just any
frequency. You will not be
able to control the volume
or put in a CD you bought
or that bootleg DVD you
just made. Why?
Because the Evolution will
be broadcast!
The Evolution Will Be
Broadcast
From the Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge
Torrian Tucker
The Evolution will be
broadcast, but it will not be
brought to you in part by
your local GMC dealership
with 45 minutes of nonstop
music or miles of gas.
The Evolution will not play
50 Cent, or give you fifty
cents change. You will not
see Beyonce saying what
she wants or hear her doing
what she does courtesy of
L’Oreal, which isn’t real.
But, the Evolution will be
broadcast.
The Evolution will not be on
Tonight, Today, or Good
Morning America. And it
will not be right back after a
quick commercial break.
It will not be blacked-out,
black-balled, or white
washed by smart moms
who use white rain. You
will not have to worry
about what station it's on,
what frequency it is, or
what time it's played.
Why?
Just look out your window.
We are the EVOLUTION!
7
A WiggedHawk Production
PROPAINE
November 01, 2011
Issue 04
a Biweekly Publication of the Department of Media Studies
Student Managing Editors:
‘
Rosa Jean
Patrice Simpson
Tonja Bryant
Paine College
1235 Fifteenth Street
Augusta, GA 30903
Photo Journalist:
Derric A. Miller
Shakira Reid
Tonja Bryant
© 2011
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Gary F. Flanigan
Chair, Media Studies Department
Staff Coordinator:
Pamela Mclean, School of
Professional Studies
www.paine.edu