Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 September 2004 — Page 5

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2004

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

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Maya Angelou tells freshmen to be their best

By T. KEVIN WALKER Special to tho NNPA From the Chronicle WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (NNPA) - About 1,000 new students recently started classes at Winston-Salem State University. It seemed like every last one of those new students showed up for a New Student Convocation held at the campus’ Kenneth R. Williams Auditorium. The large numbers - virtually every seat in the auditorium was occupied - at the event were aided greatly by the evening’s keynote speaker, literary legend Maya Angelou. The program was dominated by Angelou’s words of encouragement, her poetry and sense of humor. Angelou is accustomed to speakingtoyoung people. She has been the Reynolds professor of American studies at Wake Forest University since 1981. And she often speaks at colleges throughout the world. Angelou spoke later at Duke University’s new student program. Angelou said she sees endless possibilities when she looks into the eyes of young people. "You may be the one,” she told the students, the one to rid the world of racism, cure AIDS or be a future president of the United States. But she said students should prepare their minds for whatever they hope to accomplish in the future. Angelou, whose best sellers include /Know WhytheCaged Bird Sings, complained that the brain power of today’s young people is becoming increasingly dull, thanks to DVDs and the Internet. She encouraged the students to read so that they can learn to visualize and exercise their brains in the process.

"Learn as much as possible,” she said. "Go to the library as frequently as possible.” Angelou diced her speech with her own poetry and work by Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Mari Evans (who was in the crowd for Angelou’s speech and in town for a speech at Bennett College). Many of the poems she recited focused on romance. Angelou said people who lack romance tend to be brutish. She encouraged the students to be human and caring, or as she put it: Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloudy sky. "Light a path for someone else to follow,” she said. Angelou’s appearance was not the only topic making news at WSSU. The school welcomed a record number of freshmen, and the campus celebrated news that WSSU is the fastest-growing school in the University of North Carolina system. To top off the week, the school learned that it was again named the Top Public Southern Comprehensive College for Bachelor’s Degrees by U.S. News and World Report. It is the fourth straight year that the school has earned that honor. Alumni and school administrators credit Chancellor Harold Martin for all the good news at the school. Martin spread the credit around when asked last week about the school’s elevated stature. He said the school has raised its intellectual environment, which, in turn, has stimulated student growth. Parents feel confident that their children will get a well-rounded education when they send them to WSSU, Martin said. He added that the enrollment boom is slightly more than he had expected.

EDUCATION BRIEFS

Minority student recruitment fair Minority students and their families are invited to learn more about nine local independent schools at a Minority Student Recruitment Fair Oct. 7 from 57:30 p.m. at the International School of Indiana, 4330 N. Michigan Road. The fair will have information booths from independent pre-elementary, elementary, middle and high schools. Information about application procedures and financial aid will be available from every school. For more information call Ana Nelson at (317) 923-1951. Tutors needed The Pike Township Freshman Center is seeking adult volunteers to tutor students in the new Learning Center. Individuals with backgrounds in math, science, business, foreign language, English and social science skills are needed. Volunteers should be patient, communicate well and display a willingness to take an active role in the educational life of students. For more information call Charles Moore at (317) 347-8662. Homework hotline Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Homework Hotline is now available Sunday through Thursday from 7-10 p.m. at 877-ASK-ROSE. The hotline is a free math and science tutoring service for students in grades 6-12. You can also ask questions via the Web site at www.askrose.org.

SEPT. 15 -19

FIELDHOUSE

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