Fei ELE a 8 2 wight) © ey peied February 8, 1995 —LION'SEYE— Rev. Brown Challenges Delco At Dr. King Day Celebration By Martyna Sliwinska “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” Those were the words of Martin Luther King Jr. as spoken in 1962 in Washington before a crowd of twenty thousand people. On January 16, 1995, Delco had a chance to relive the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through a campus celebration with guest speaker Reverend Dr. William “Rocky” Brown, 3rd. Ms. Linda Campitelli, Student Life Committee, opened the program by greeting the honorable guest and the audience. Joining Delco’s students was a group of high school students from Coatesville. Next, Dr. Ed Tomezsko delivered a short welcome/ introduction speech in which he touched upon the role of Dr. King in today’s society. He pointed out how his powerful message is being trivialized by today’s society, and that the meaning of Dr. King’s struggle tends to fade with time. Representing Delco’s Black Student League was the president, Nikitra Bailey. She ended her welcoming remarks by saying, “We are the dream-makers to fill his [Dr. King’s] legacy.” Guest speaker Rev. Dr. William “Rocky” Brown, also known as the “Rappin’ Reverend,” took the floor to deliver his motivational speech. His polished look and gestures made him ~ appear cool and composed as well as determined and authoritative. He opened by underlining his motto “Join today to change tomorrow.” After a couple minutes of small talk with the audience, it was time to get serious, and Rev. Dr. Brown's professional manner came shining through. His low, almost meek, tone of voice vanished, replaced by the powerful, compelling, well-practiced voice of a motivational speaker. Strong words came out of his mouth, words that kept the spellbound audience in a magical embrace for over an hour. Reverend Dr. William “Rocky” Brown spoke about America, how in forty years it still hasn't "overcome." How it still is just as close-minded and discriminating as it was scores of yeafs ago. “America,” he said, “has a habit of reducing holidays and commercializing them to less than what they were meant to be.” No one was spared Dr. Brown's scrutiny. He went on to attack what “Generation X” adores: rap music. “Rap is hateful, vulgar, and disrespectful,” he stated. His message was that young people should put their minds to hard work and school instead of praising the music that promotes the decay of the society. To illustrate his point, he played the word game with the titles of some of the hottest R&B songs on the charts. The game got the crowd moving while, hopefully, it conveyed the message Dr. Brown tried to express. In closing, the Reverend asked the audience to answer the question, “If I die right now, what will people say about me?” If anything, it will give everybody something to think about. : The celebration was concluded with the entire crowd joining hands in a circle and singing “We Shall Overcome.” And everybody hoped that someday soon we will indeed. New Staff Member Virgil Perry Experienced In ‘The Field’ By Nicholas Felici One of the newer and most prominent staff people at PSU Delco Campus, Virgil Perry, works in the broad field of campus admissions and counseling. He is an important person for students wishing to change their major or transfer to other campuses. Mr. Perry has retention on the admissions council and he is currently coordinating the Minority Career Mentorship Program, which is designed to network achieving minority students interested in selected fields with mentors, or experts, of that field. This position networking is to benefit minority students striving for higher learning and first-hand experience in their chosen interest. Virgil Perry stated, "The program will allow students to have access to the knowledgable people of certain careers, in order for them to get ahead." Virgil Perry definitely did not appear on this campus in November of '94 with little knowledge of his field. A graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy, where he recieved his comission, Mr. Perry transferred to American University to attain his ‘bachelor's degree. He did graduate work and counseling, along with getting his second education at West . Chester University. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Walden University, and he is a well- experienced Army Reserve. Admissions counselor Virgil Perry works busily at his desk while still ~ brandishing the Martin Luther King Day pin. Photo by: WES TOMLINSON ' Linda Campitelli, Student Life Committee, admires a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. with program speaker Rev. Dr. William ‘““Rocky’’ Brown, IIL. ‘Campus Poll Photo by: WES TOMLINSON Can Delco’s Resolutions Be Kept for the New Year? By Jennifer Holland On New Year's Eve, most of us watched that big apple slide down the pole as Dick Clark ushered in the new year. At the time, the word “resolution” was nowhere to be heard. However, many of us here at Delco eventually did make promises to ourselves for the new year. Kareem Neal, DUS, explained, “My New Year's resolution is to do the best that I can in all of my classes and to make as many freinds as I can this semester.” Tom Sibley, a business major, made a stronger resolution: To get through another year without having a car accident.” Science major Kevin Vannicolomade a resolution to just keep his car running.” “My New Year's resolution is to be more laidback and just chill,” said Andre Harris, business major. Will Ramseur, liberal arts, had the same idea in mind. When asked about his New Year's resolution, he replied, “To chill even harder.” Finance major Norm Castiello made a touching resolution: “To bring back an important friendship with a very special girl in my life, Lisa.” Sylvia Schaffer, Financial Aid Counselor, resolved, “This year I want to run this department with prayer, patience, and perseverance, and to also keep from pulling my hair out.” Staff Assistant Diane Shorter, said, “My resolution is to help the students in any way that I can and to help them through this transition period of life.” Many students focused their resolutions to their studies. Bob Lewis, Liberal Studies, said, “My resolution is to graduate in May and to find the person in PHEAA who keeps losing my file!” Ken Napaver, Secondary Education, has academic goals also. He stated, “This year; I hope to get a 3.5G.P.A “I want to ‘try’ to start working out and ‘try’ to keep focused on my studies,” said Pam Erb, Arts and Architecture. Greg Fisher, HPA, also has shaping up on his mind. He said, “My New Year’s resolution is to become more physically fit.” Some students made unusual resolutions. Lou Piccone, DUS, said, “My New Year's resolution is to think of a New Year's resolution for next year.” When asked about his resolution, Rich Graham, English, simply said, “Not to go CRAZY!” Larry Zhou, Business, stated, “I want to make freinds with my enemies.” Rita Varano, SGA President, said, “I want to stop cursing.” Frankie Skull, universal freind to all, said, “My New Year’s resolution is to say ‘Happy New Year’ to everyone!” TIna Davis, Psychology, and Mabel Horodeczney, HRIM, shared a common resolution to stop smoking. Rich Carbone, Film and Video, decided that he shouldn’t take things so seriously any more. Lynn Christopher, Business, said, “My resolution for this year is to make more money.” “] want to become a more professional snow removal person. I want to have a deeper understanding of meteorology. I also want to remind all people that I talk with to wear high boots and ALWAYS have a sturdy shovel in their hand,” explained Jim Duffy, Campus Maintenance Manager. Tom Pfleger, Earth Science, said, “I just want to stop procrastinating.” New Year’s resolutions aren’t easy to keep, according to Angelique Howard, Business. When asked about her resolution, she said, “I want to tell people not to make New Year's resolutions because they never keep them!” snow season!!! A Special Thanks to the maintenance crew for all their hard work this
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