Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. partner with Delaware Valley Baptist Church to raise heart health awareness

Leading Ladies: “Go Red & Think Pink”

The “Leading Ladies Go Red & Think Pink” campaign is an initiative sponsored by the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, American Cancer Society, and the Cancer Coalition of Burlington County.  Locally, the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Theta Pi Omega, Pi Mu Omega, and Epsilon Upsilon Omega chapters; have partnered along with the Rancocas Valley Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Delaware Valley Baptist Church to bring this worthwhile program to the African-American community on Friday, February 24, 2012 at Delaware Valley Baptist Church, located at 493 Beverly-Rancocas Road, Willingboro, NJ 08060.  This event is free and open to the public.

This is a collaborative event to share information about the importance of living life in healthy ways while sampling of “Healthy Food Recipes for the Soul” prepared by local chefs and food specialists. The goal of this collaborative is to share information with the hope of raising awareness about the importance of living life in healthy ways to prevent heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer among African-Americans.

The highlights of the evening will be health information workshops on heart health and breast cancer awareness. In addition, participants will be provided a sampling of heart healthy foods prepared by local chefs and food specialist. Further, there will be a video on display, which will feature women who will share their testimonies about living with or having overcome heart health issues and breast cancer.

Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, taking the life of one in three women each year, and this is especially important for African-American women, who are at increased risk due to factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African-American women. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death among African-American women, exceeded only by lung cancer.

We hope that you will join us on February 24th for a casual evening of caring, sharing, and fun.

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Mrs. Otis Ruffin Colwell Douglas, 85, passed away Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in Charlottesville, where she had been living with her daughter, Beverly “BeBe” Colwell Adams since 2008.

Otis was born Nov. 5, 1926, in Youngstown, a daughter of Mr. Clarence and Mrs. Ida (Campbell) Ruffin.

She graduated from The Rayen School, The Ohio State University, where she received a B.A. from the School of Social Administration in 1948, Youngstown State University, where she received a Teaching Certificate in 1962, and Akron University, where she received her M.A. in School Psychology in 1970.

Otis lived all of her life in Youngstown, except during college and her first job in her field of social work at Aid for the Aged in Columbus.

While working in Columbus, she met her first husband, William A. Colwell.

Returning to Youngstown, she worked as a legal secretary for the law firm of Green, Schiavone and Murphy from 1953 to 1962.

In 1957, she married her second husband, Clifton O. Douglas Jr.

In 1962, she worked as a first-grade elementary school teacher at the Kimmel Brook Elementary School. In 1969, she was the first African American female visiting teacher and in 1970, she became the first African American school psychologist in the Youngstown Public School System. She retired in 1987.

Otis was an active member of the Third Baptist Church. She served on the Missionary Board and various other church committees.

Otis pledged the Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (OSU) in 1946. In 1953, she began her lifelong membership in the Delta Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., now called the Youngstown Alumnae Chapter. Otis had been chapter president and held almost every elected and appointed position in the chapter. She was a Delta for 66 years and was honored with the Delta Sigma Theta Educator of the Year award in 2002.

Otis became a member of the Youngstown Chapter of the Links, Inc. in 1970. She was chapter president and held numerous other positions. Nationally, she was awarded alumna and platinum status in the Links Inc. in 2008.

Otis was a charter member of the Youngstown Branch of the Negro Women’s Business and Professional Club (organized by Mrs. Margaret Linton). She was a longtime member of the Socialite Bridge Club. She served on the board of directors of the Youngstown Area Urban League, Campfire Girls, Mahoning Children and Family Service Board, and Diagnostic Evaluation Counseling Center. She served as the Urban League representative for the publication of“Opportunities Unlimited” along with the Youngstown Area Chamber of Commerce. She worked also on the Urban League’s bicentennial booklet,“Rediscover of the Past” in 1976. She was celebrated as one of the YWCA Women of the Year in 1983.

Otis is survived by her daughter, Beverly Colwell Adams, Ph.D. of Charlottesville; two sons, Clifton O. Douglas III of Youngstown and Dennis P. Douglas of Florida; grandchildren, Jasmine Adams of Florida, Shawn Douglas, Samoa Douglas Haskins, Clifton Douglas IV, and Kimberly Douglas, all of Columbus, and Dennis Douglas Jr. of Charlotte, N.C.; great-grandchildren; her cousin, Alice Ruth Triplett (Clyde) and daughter, Cecilia Catley of Youngstown; and godchildren, Stephen, Cynthia, and Dean Francis, all of Columbus, who were also dear to her.

Otis was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; and a grandchild, Nicole Douglas.

The family will receive friends today from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Washington Funeral Home, where the Youngstown Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Soroity Inc. will perform the Omega Omega ceremony at 6 p.m. followed by a memorial tribute presented by the Youngstown Chaper of the Links Inc.

Funeral services will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Third Baptist Church, with the Rev. Morris W. Lee officiating.

Interment will be at Tod Homestead Cemetery.

Condolences may be emailed to Jewashton@aol.com or faxed to 330-782-2050.

Ministry of comfort provided by J.E. Washington Funeral Services Inc.

In the wake of a college drum major’s death in Florida, a lawmaker from the state plans to introduce anti-hazing legislation when Congress returns in mid-January.

The bill would strip financial aid from anyone sanctioned by a university for hazing or witnessing hazing and failing to report it – including the victim, said Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson.

“Hazing is demeaning, dangerous and, sadly, deadly,” Wilson, a former school principal, told the Los Angeles Times, adding that the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion warrants a federal response.

Florida has toughened the penalties against hazing, but Wilson said in an interview that, under her proposal, if anyone witnesses hazing – “including the victim, they will tell because they don’t want to lose their federal aid.”

Florida officials have ruled Champion’s death in November a homicide. The incident has drawn national attention and generated soul-searching on college campuses throughout the country.

Wilson, who has yet to draft the legislation, said she also wants the U.S. attorney general to set up a commission to examine ways to stamp out hazing.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2005 signed legislation making hazing that results in serious injury or death a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, even if the victim consents. The bill, the Chad Meredith Act, was named after a University of Miami freshman who drowned in a campus lake while trying to join a fraternity in 2001.

Wilson said that, notwithstanding the new law, “we have had a plethora of hazing incidents,” but prosecutions have been difficult because “you can’t find any victims to talk.”

“We’ve got to take a tougher stance,” added Wilson, who said that she became known as the “haze buster” while serving as South Atlantic regional director for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. “It’s time to stop it.”

Congress has been considering legislation aimed at bullying, including requiring states to report bulling incidents and expanding programs for teachers, administrators and counselors on strategies to prevent bullying and harassment.

In November 2010, I watched “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” and saw a piece on the hazing antics at several historically black colleges and fraternities. I took to Twitter to share my thoughts on the issue.

Much of the report focused on Southern University, and man, did the floodgates open as a number of students from the university angrily tweeted me back, cussing, yelling and screaming, with some defending hazing, while others were angry at the national attention focused on their university.

For hours we went round and round, and were joined in the discussion by members of several black fraternities, including my own Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. A number of these individuals actually supported hazing, or “pledging hard” and not becoming a “paper” member who “skated” into the fraternity.

Despite the anger and vitriol, I refused to back down, making it clear that getting beaten for being in a band or fraternity was absolutely dumb.

Here was a young man who went off to college, planning to earn a college degree while leading one of the nation’s most colorful and exciting bands, only to be returned home to his parents in Georgia in a coffin.

While hazing immediately was suspected, we could only speculate about the cause of the 26-year-old’s death. That is, until Friday, when the medical examiner released details of his autopsy, concluding that Champion “collapsed and died within an hour of a hazing incident during which he suffered multiple blunt trauma blows to his body.”

News of the death has rocked the Florida A&M campus, angering its students and alumni, triggering multiple state investigations and leading Gov. Rick Scott to call for the suspension of school President James Ammons. That prompted FAMU students to march to the governor’s mansion on Friday and camp out on his lawn, demanding he rescind the resignation call.

Champion’s death isn’t the first time we have seen individuals in a band or fraternity die. It is incredible that some folks have given their lives — literally — for just being a part of a student group.

State laws have been passed, organizations have been kicked off campuses and national fraternal and sorority groups have paid millions in settlements because of hazing, but we continue to see these stories.

“Why?” is a consistent question that is asked, and at the end of the day, it boils down to power and a desire to demand others kowtow to someone else’s demands in order for them to be accepted.

A decision not to follow through means you can be ostracized, ignored and marginalized. That’s the last thing any young person wants to experience when in an organization.

Every one of these organizations is overseen by adult leaders or advisers. But in truth, fellow students run the show. Normally in a band, a drum major sits at the top of the food chain, but Champion clearly had to bend to the band’s culture to be fully accepted as a member of FAMU’s “Marching 100.”

So what you have is a bunch of students between the ages of 18 and 22 calling the shots and making it clear who is accepted and who isn’t, who gets in and who doesn’t. You aim to please them and no one else. Oftentimes they are leading based on how they were led, and it has been indoctrinated into them that this is the way of life, take it or leave it.

These are powerful forces that can only be changed by peers. Hazing will only be brought to a close when members of organizations make it clear the vile hazing traditions will not go forward. No one today can be hazed if the student leaders make it clear that it’s unacceptable. Yet because of the natural turnover in student organizations, that mindset has to be created and passed on for it to succeed.

When I was about to pledge Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. in spring 1989, I met with my four other pledge brothers and made it clear: I’m not getting hit, I will never use alcohol and I will not agree to be hazed.

Even though my older brother pledged the same fraternity at Texas A&M two years earlier without any nonsense, I was making it clear that such shenanigans were idiotic. All five of us agreed and in the four weeks, two days, 16 hours, 38 minutes and 39 seconds I was on line (yea, having to recite such specifics was a part of our process), the behavior that we often heard was associated with pledging didn’t exist.

Yet because of that, we weren’t always as accepted by other fraternity members at other campuses. Our chapter was called soft; we were criticized as not “pledging the right way” and had to constantly defend our manhood.

Me, I didn’t give a damn. I would look others in the eye and say, “In the history of our chapter, only one brother has failed to graduate, and we do nothing with him. Are you guys on the six- or seven-year plan, and can you match our graduate rate?”

From my perspective, we were supposed to be in college to graduate, not to pledge. And if my fraternity was founded as a study group at Cornell University on December 4, 1906, why would we eschew academics?

Even though we pledged the right way at Texas A&M, that peer pressure was still unbearable for some. That summer at our national convention in San Antonio, hazing was on the agenda, and I made it clear I was going to speak. Some other brothers in my chapter pulled my coattails and said, “Don’t tell the brothers you didn’t take any wood (that’s being paddled).”

I yelled, “If we pledged brothers the right way, why in the hell are we afraid to say it?”

Since those days, I’ve never wavered from my anti-hazing position. It is deplorable and shameful to think that someone would beat another person for them to prove something. Prove what? They can take a punch? No. I prefer to challenge his mind, his intellect.

Our goal as fraternity men is to take young men and mold and shape them to be better men. It is not our aim to take young men and train them to be collegiate mercenaries, hellbent on inflicting as much pain as they got onto the first person they have control over.

Is there tremendous value in fraternities, sororities, bands and student organizations? Absolutely. The leadership opportunities are tremendous, and the lifelong relationships are vital.

But what has to be preached and preached and preached to every student, whether they are white, black, Asian, Latino, male or female, is that if they love that frat, sorority, drill team or band, they shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it for the next person.

Do we need tougher hazing laws? Yes. Do we need universities to take punitive action, including kicking students out who break the rules? Yes. Do we need national organizations to ban chapters for years for egregious behavior? Absolutely. Should fellow student leaders turn in others who break the rules and haze? Of course. There must be a zero tolerance attitude from every state official, administrator, student leader and organization member. To hell with tradition, rituals and “the way we do things.” All that must end. Now.

But we also must raise a generation of young people who have enough confidence in themselves to say, “I will not take a beating just to be accepted by you. I’d rather not have your affection or support if it means putting my life on the line.”

And if that means other students calling you out or teasing you, fine. I’d rather you talk about me like a dog today than be hazed and have my friends search to figure out what to say at my funeral.

Texas police on Friday released a composite sketch of a man they believe broke into the homes of four former members of the same sorority, then sexually assaulted them.

No name has been given for the suspect in the alleged break-ins and attacks, which took place between November 2010 and October 2011, according to a timeline from the Plano police.

Detectives, however, do have “a definite DNA profile on the suspect” after a crime lab report, the police statement noted.

Plano police in October released a video — dated in April — showing a man with a distinctive swagger who they believe is responsible. Snapshots from that video were distributed Friday.

The alleged assaults occurred in the cities of Plano, Coppell and Corinth, all suburbs of Dallas.

The alleged victims — all females in their mid-50s to mid-60s — were alumnae of the same predominantly African-American sorority: Delta Sigma Theta, according to police.

They offered similar descriptions of their assailant as being a black male in his late 30s to mid-40s, weighing from 275 to 300 pounds and standing between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall.

“He made it obvious to our victims that he knew information … about them personally,” Plano police spokesman Andre Smith said this fall, adding that none of the women believe they knew their attacker in advance.

According to Corinth Police Capt. Greg Wilkerson, all the assaults occurred in “residential settings” between 9:15 p.m. and 4 a.m. when the victims were alone. The alleged attack in his city, 35 miles northwest of Dallas, took place on October 14.

The late-night setting, the fact the victims were often asleep and the alleged assailant’s “attempts to conceal his identity” make it challenging to definitively identify the attacker, said Wilkerson.

Wilkerson said that the nature of the assaults suggest the alleged assailant was “possibly suspecting surveillance, spending some time around the areas … prior to the attacks.”

The police captain said authorities do not know how the suspect learned details of the victims, speculating it may have been over the internet, by accessing an old directory or noticing would-be victims with Delta Sigma Theta jewelry, placards or other paraphernalia out in public.

Delta Sigma Theta’s President Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre this fall issued a statement urging members in the Dallas area to take precautions.

“To think that our members are being targeted is disturbing and extremely disheartening,” she said.

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It is time to remit dues for fiscal year (FY) 2012!  NPHC, Inc. operates on a fiscal calendar of January 1 to December 31. Annual dues are to be remitted by January 31 of a given fiscal year.

Undergraduate councils are responsible for dues in the amount of $150, Graduate councils with 1-9 Chapters in the amount of $250,  Graduate Councils with 10-19 Chapters in the amount of $300, Graduate Councils with 20-29 Chapters in the amount of  $350.00, and  Graduate Councils  with 30+ Chapters in the amount of $450.

Members remitting dues after February 15 must include a $25 late fee with annual dues. (1) If a council has not been financial in the previous fiscal year that council is responsible for remitting dues for the previous and current year, as well as a $50 reactivation fee (Ex. Undergrad councils = $350.00; Graduate Councils with 1-9 Chapters = $550.00; Graduate Councils with 10-19 Chapters = $650.00;Graduate Councils with 20-29 Chapters = $750.00;Graduate Councils  with 30+ Chapters = $850.00); and (2) if a council has not been financially active within a five year time period, that council must be re-chartered.

Again, you are advised not to wait until the last minute to remit your dues.  Should you have questions or concerns as to your council’s financial status and/or account balance, please contact NPHC National Treasurer at  treasurer@nphchq.org.

Attached is the link to the remittance form http://www.nphchq.org/docs/2012Remittanceonline.doc

Also use this link if you would like to remit payment online  http://nphccouncildues.eventbrite.com

Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, a former federal prosecutor and head of the governor’s inspector general’s office, has been appointed chairwoman of the Chicago Housing Authority board, the mayor’s office said Tuesday.

Scott, most recently a private attorney specializing in white-collar criminal work, replaces James Reynolds, who last week was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to the board of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

Along with the CHA’s new CEO, Charles Woodyard, Scott will try to steer the agency amid a struggling economy that has undermined its $1.6 billion Plan for Transformation, an effort to create vibrant mixed-income housing developments where crime-ridden high-rises once stood.

“The Chicago Housing Authority’s board will play a crucial role in completing the Plan for Transformation and tackling the important challenges facing Chicagoans with affordable housing needs,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Z Scott has the track record of innovation as well as the experience needed to deftly lead this board.”

Scott brings to the CHA post years of public agency management experience, as well as a formidable record as an assistant U.S. attorney. That included prosecuting former Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Richard Sarallo in a bribery case that led to his guilty plea to income tax evasion in 1994.

She was head of the governor’s inspector general’s office from 2003 to 2005.

But Scott acknowledged in an interview Tuesday that her experience in dealing with often complex housing market issues is limited. Scott was first appointed to the CHA’s board in July.

“There is a learning curve,” she said. “It’s new. The issues are new, which is why I think it’s important to me to take the time to become familiar with the challenges and the issues and the concerns.”

“I think that given that all public entities are faced with a terrific amount of work to do with limited resources, we really have to take a hard look at what we have to do,” she said.

Robert Whitfield, an attorney who represents CHA tenants and who has been critical of the agency, said he was encouraged by Scott’s law enforcement background. There has been some upheaval in CHA leadership in recent years, including the resignation of former CEO Lewis Jordan last summer amid questions over his use of an agency credit card.

Those who deal with the agency look forward to moving on, Whitfield said.

“We’re all taking the attitude of let’s wait and see what the new regime will bring,” he said.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Marquette University Presents The 2012 Brew City Stomp Down Step Show Sponsored By City Year Milwaukee

On Saturday, February 4, 2012, the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Marquette University once again brings you Wisconsin’s largest step show- and this time it’s BETTER THAN EVER. Featuring the organizations of the Divine Nine: Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Iota Phi Theta.

With a special guest host, music by Marquette’s very own DJ Poizon Ivy, and the most talented, most LIVE step crews from across the Midwest all on the Riverside Theater stage, the 2012 Brew City Stomp Down Step Show is sure to be one show you don’t want to miss.

Tickets will be available beginning Friday, December 9, 2011 at noon. General admission tickets are $20 (+ taxes and applicable fees). Tickets can be purchased online at www.pabsttheater.org/show/2012BrewCityStompDown, in person at either the Riverside Theater box office (116 West Wisconsin Avenue) or Pabst Theater Box Office (144 E. Wells Street) Monday through Friday from noon until 6:30pm, or through the box office by calling 414-286-3663.

Like in previous years, this event is guaranteed to sellout- plan to get your tickets early! For the latest updates on the show be sure to follow us on twitter: @brewcitystomp.

Please direct any questions or concerns to brewcitystompdown@gmail.com.

Bermuda’s annual reading book fair hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was held in Victoria Park on Saturday, November 5.

The book fair was about children getting books and having fun, and most importantly becoming better at reading and writing.

There were many activities for children such as musical chairs, red light, dance freeze and of course reading.

A member of the sorority read to little children seated around her in the bandstand.

Near the bandstand there was a book tent with tables full of books, free for the taking. In other tents there were arts and crafts, and if you wanted a snack, there were popcorn, cotton candy and drinks available.

Antonia Mills of the Delta Sigma Thetas said that the reading fair has been going on for 12 years.

She has worked at the fair for three to four years. During her time there, she said, it has been a very educational fair to help children with their writing and reading.

Later on, a parent, Lisa, who was doing arts and crafts with her son, said that the reading fair was very educational and that her son has improved in reading a lot for a two-year-old.

Françoise Wolff, who had just moved to Bermuda, said that it was her first time going to this book fair since she had moved here.

She had brought her son and said that she really enjoyed it and hoped to be back next year.

Nafiayah Rayner in Year 7 at the Bermuda High School for Girls (BHS) said in her opinion that the fair was more for little children and not for older children because she felt that they should have had books for over the grade six level.

She felt that it is what made the day for her a disappointment.

The Bermuda book fair was truly about the community. Kids from small to big could come and join the free, fun and educational fair which aimed to help people learn to read better.