The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 167, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 22, 2004 Page: 1 of 10
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, January 22, 2004
Tarleton State U niversi ty Weekly News * Since 191 9 Volume 167, Number 1
March and dinner honor MLK Junior
By Patrick Charles
Wright
Staff Writer
To commemorate and
honor the late Dr. Martin
Luther-King, Jr., Tarleton stu-
dents, faculty and adminis-
tration gathered in the crisp
winter air of Heritage Oaks
Park to pick up signs and
march .in symbolic salute to
the civil rights marchers of
the 60s.
Beginning at the park, a
chanting and singing crowd
of more than 60 wound its
way around campus, end-
ing at the Thompson Student
Center where they conclud-
ed with a discussion about
the importance of the march.
Dr. Pafci Hendrickson,
assistant professor of social
work, sociology and crimi-
nal justice, led the discussion
about diversity and incl^i-,
sion. )
The idea for the Peace
'March-and a tribute to Dr.
King dinner, was created by
"...a committee of students
of all colors/' Helen Eklund,
administrative assistant of
Tarleton multicultural ser-
vices said.
Eklund also said that the
purpose of the Peace March
"...was to experience a frac-
tion of what Dr. King felt in
his mind. We're not goiri^ to
get beaten, hosed or go to jail
this time." Many civil rights
demonstrators did receive
such violent treatment in the
actual peace marches during
the attempts to rid the coun-
try of segregation and racial
strife.
According to'the Temple
Daily Telegram, NAACP of-*
ficial Willie Ford said, "D£
King's legacy is that of the
civil rights movement as seeii
„ on a daily basis. But, there
is still a lot to accomplish, a
recognizable blueprint deep-
ly rooted in the civil rights
movement is the activism in
black churches today/' Ford
said.
Ford also said that Dr.
King's dream, to him, is a
passionate desire to obtain
the change we want on the
inside.
Students and faculty who
participated in the peace
. march came to honor the as-
sassinated civil rights leader.
"I felt empowered to partici-
pate in the march, and, if it
wasn't for' him, we wouldn't
be this well off in the world/'
Alex Johnson/ a junior from
Fort Worth'said. "A lot of
people had doors opened by-
Dr. King, and the speech and
" peace march was to honor
■ him."
"I was on the planning
committee. Why would I
plan something and not fin-
ish the job. Somebody has
' to be a leader," Anthony
Bradford, a junior from Fort
Worth said.
The tribute dinner in the
ballrooms Tuesday night
drew a capacity crowd of
more than 240 people. The
event featured The Gospel
Jubilee Singers from Mineral
Wells and a re-creation of
the late Dr. King's "1 Have a
Dream" speech by key note
speaker DeArtis Nickerson.
Hie speech brought many of
the crowd to their feet cheer-
ing..
The meal featured tradi-
tional ethnic soul food items,
including fried chicken, roast
beef> green beans, mashed
potatoes, gravy, rolls, maca-
roni and cheese and cobbler.
During the dinner the
Gospel Jubilee Singers sang
"I'm a*-. Living Testimony"
and a variety of other spiri-
tual numbers. •
While all of these activi-
ties paid tribute to Dr. King,
some Tarleton students were
deeply concerned that Dr. [S
King's dream hasn't become
a reality yet. "We're very'4-
close, but just because we'r^
close doesn't mean that rac£
ism isn't obvious/' Bradford
said. ' ' . !
He's no t the only one who
felt that way. "We're "a little
- closer, but there is still much1
more to be done," Johnson
added.
"Even though the Strug!;
gle isn't over, the passion for
change seems to be missing,
and, if King were here today,
Please see "MLK"
page 3
Parking lots
get face-lift
By Robert Benton
Advertising Sales
The fall 2003 semester came
to a close as construction
equipment rolled in to begin
a $1.5 million project to re-
habilitate 18 parking lots at
the Tarleton State University.
The project will create 254
additional parking spaces
and safer parking lots with
additional lighting at lots P-
3 and P-10.
"The overall project
habili'tation of parking, ad-
ditional lighting and light-
ing upgrades on 18 parking
lots at an , estimated cost
of approximately 1.5 mil-
lion dollars," Jerry Graham,
Tarleton's vice-president of
finance and administration,
said. -
Alpha Building Corpo-
ration,,^ "job order contrac-
tor," based In San Antonio
is overseeing the project on
campus with Dallas based
All-Tex Paving contracted to
pave the lots thatjbegan ren-
, ovation work on Dec. 15, ac-
cording to project manager,
Gary Raymond.
"We had seven of them
(parking lots) to complete
during Christmas break,"/
Raymond said.
Twenty to 30 workers
are employed on the project,
doing rehabilitation of park-
ing lots and resealing the
parking lots at the Tarleton
Agricultural Farm. .
Alpha and All-Tex are
paving and rehabilitating
an estimated 600,000 square
feet of parking lot space at
the costs of $17 per a square
foot, with Raymond describ-
^ing-th^pjpjecfc.aSf.a^
expensive job and process."
With the equipment,
asphalt and labor, other ex-
penses come from preparing
the lots and asphalt for pav-
ing.
"We have people work-
ing on multiple lots at the
same time, doing different
things," Raymond said.
"On the lots we pulver-
ize the existing asphalt and
haul off the excess. They
then add cement to the pul-
verized material
Please see "Paving"
page 5
IL.m
ivutftrrnf
AReal World' cast member speaks out
Photo By Ron Landers, The J-TAC
DeMarcus Cormier, (left) and Alex Johnson, (right) of Alpha Phs Alpha participate m the Peace M^rch that honored the late
Dr. Martin Luther Ksng, Jr, on Tuesday. A Tribute Dinner followed the march with key note speaker Deartis Nickerson.
Melissa Schneider
Editor-in-Chief
In. 1992,' MTV (Music
Television) decided to try a
new reality type show that
-put complete strangers in a
house for a certain period of
time. This new genre of teler'
vision comprised its formula
from documentary and soap
opera styles.
The "Real-World" New
York brought seven people,
with diverse backgrounds
and lifestyles, together to live
in the SoHo neighborhood
of Manhattan. The opening
line "This is the true story of
seven strangers picked to live
in a loft" began its quest to be
on household TVs through-
out the nation.
For a struggling actor
and model, being one of the
first cast members on one of
America's first successful re-
ality TV shows can be a "real
world" resume booster. But,
for Eric Nies, being on MTV's
"real world" has given him
more than a glamorous re-
sume.
Nies, who was living in
New York at the time, was
called by MTV for some cast-
ing roles. "I was just having
a, good time and enjoying
myself. I thought this would
be just another casting," Nies
said in a phone interview.
After making casting calls
on radio stations, in newspa-
pers and malls all over the
country, MTV picked the first
seven members of the Real
World family. Three of the
seven were already living in
the New York area.
"I had mixed emotions
about being picked to be on
the show. I had to accomplish
living with different people,"
Nies said. "The show helped
me open my mind and made
me a lot wiser. There was a
great deal of understanding
people."
"I don't think that I was
misinterpreted though. We
[the cast members] only lived
together for three months.
There really wasn't any pres-
sure to become friends. ,1
think my show was a lot dif-
ferent from the shows now.
People already know what
to expect and it becomes pre-
meditated."
After realizing that the
"Real World" was gaining
popularity, MTV brought to
life another reality TV show
called "Road Rules." This
new show mirrors the Real
World in some areas, but it
differs in the sense that cast
members must compete in
various challenges, some-
times in different countries.
After the creation of.
its second reality TV show,
MrV's next idea was to have
cast members from different
seasons of the Real World
and Road Rules cpmpete in
seasonal challenges, deter-
mining which team was the
best.
"I like doing the chal-
lenges, but I can't stand the
drama and fights. I was on
Real World/Road Rules: Bat-
tle of the Sexes, and this was
the most mentally and spiri-
tually challenging show. We
tried to bring people togeth-
er, and we tried to help each
other," Nies said.
These days, Nies not only
appears on the MTV chal-
lenges, but also spends his
time working on the "Road
to Reality" DVD, volunteer-
ing his time to charities and
working on his global youth
movement,' "A Moment of
Hope."
. "Road to Reality" is a
DVD special that features
Nies and four other cast
members from various sea-
sons of the Real World and
Road Rules. The setting
for the show is South Beach
in Miami, Florida, during
spring break.
"Over .the years some
cast members have felt mis-
interpreted or embarrassed
on the show. It helps bring
closure. This shotor is to in-
form the fans that things are
not always what they seem,"
Nies said. "This is what real-
ity TV is. It, is not produced
or directed in a certain way.
Also, we do not get any re-
sidual offers. We do our own
shows and make our own
money. We aire always look-
ing to better our careers and
tp make money,"
For the past nine years,
Nies had worked extensively
with the Elizabeth Glazer
Pediatrics' Aids Foundation,
volunteering his time and
efforts to raise millions of
dollars each year. He had
worked with Prevention
First, a nonprofit and training
organization that specializes
in prevention of substance
'abuse and related issues.
Nies has also worked
with the American Council.
for Exercise, and he has suc-
cessfully lobbied to have the
Physical Education for Prog-r
ress Act passed in Congress.
. "A Moment of Hope" (MOH)
is a global movement that
will unite and empower
youth and was co-founded
by Nies. Providing.informa-
tion on healthy living-men-
tally, physically and, spiritu-
ally, community activism
and cultural understanding,
the MOH website is geared '
toward empowering young
people worldwide.
An MOH release stated
that "...it is.our vision to
have experts in the areas of
•-the mind, body and soul pro-
vide the necessary tools and
educational materials online
Please see "Real World'
page 5
ISSUE
i
Opinion
We want tti know why you feel a certain
farjeton students shouid expect the
: fijrat broadcast: from KTRL,, Tarleton's radio'* • ;;
sMtiorv fo be in early February : '
r. V$IQ Will Win the Sup^BowK l^ J- "'::
v ^ TAC and Golden ; China/are; sponsoring a ;;;
«,• give-away.
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 167, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 22, 2004, newspaper, January 22, 2004; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142069/m1/1/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.