Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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4 UCW MAY 24-30, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Leslie Pyo leslie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR Earl Vaughan Jr. GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Paul Hall BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Keri Dickson keri@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for pub- lication consideration, but assumes no respon- sibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distrib- uted at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Cover art designed with various elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. When my oldest walked across the stage at UNC Chapel Hill this past Mother's Day to receive her diploma, I could not have been prouder. Big days like this don't just happen. For more than two decades, countless people have invested in her and the entire class of 2017. My daughter is a product of the Cumberland County Schools system. I am thankful for everyone in it who contributed to her success: the teachers who pushed her to do her best; the ones who called her out when she was trying to get away with doing less; the ones who saw her struggle and offered encouragement; the ones who taught her how to be an independent thinker; the ones who taught her to love reading. I am thankful to the teachers who spon- sored clubs that instilled in her a love of theater, debate, foreign languages, adven- ture and a sense of civility and love for her fellow man. I am thankful for the admin- istrators who showed compassion when her dad was deployed and our family was struggling. I am thankful for administrators who were always kinds and professional. My hat is off to the volunteers who spent time in her classrooms, held fundraisers to benefit local students and who helped in other ways I'll never know. I'm thankful to all of them — and so many more. Having good-hearted, solid leaders who care for children at the helm of our education system makes all these things an everyday occurrence in this commu - nity. Cumberland County Schools Super- intendent Dr. Frank Till Jr. is an excellent example of leadership, and he is serious about helping local students prosper. His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Dr. Till recently received the North Carolina PTA Superintendent of the Year Award and the North Carolina Association of School Administrators 2017 Raymond Sarbaugh Leadership Award. ey are well-deserved. I know mine is not the only heart that is full this time of year. At commencement ceremonies across the country, proud families reflect and students celebrate, some showing their gratitude with messag - es like "anks, mom and dad!" on their mortarboards. at's not been the experi- ence everywhere, though. It has been disheartening to watch the news coverage of graduations at some other establishments, including the booing of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's com - mencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University. Eventually, the noise became so disruptive that the school's president, Edison O. Jackson, interrupted DeVos to tell the students, "If this behavior contin - ues, your degrees will be mailed to you. Choose which way you want to go." In addition to booing, several of the students had risen to their feet and turned their backs on DeVos. Similarly, as Vice President Mike Pence took the stage to give a commencement speech this past Sunday at his alma mater, Notre Dame, a crowd of about 150 got up and walked out. While Pence did not ac - knowledge the walkout, he did note, "is university (Notre Dame) is a vanguard of the freedom of expression and the free exchange of ideas at a time, sadly, when free speech and civility are waning on campuses across America." Pride and hard work and all the warm fuzzies of the season aside, as a mom and as an American, it breaks my heart that this is the platform some choose in voicing their views. I am a firm believer in the First Amendment and expect people to stand up for their beliefs. ere is also some - thing to be said for having a little class and a sense of occasion. ere is a time and place for booing, for protesting, for dissenting. A commencement ceremony is not one of them. Are we really turning out a generation of easily-offended, emotionally vulnerable snowflakes? For all our good intentions, has the helicopter parenting, coddling and overpraising backfired? Have we produced a graduating class across this country that is so self-centered and self-absorbed that sitting respectfully through one com - mencement address is just too much? I hope not. I choose to believe not. Although there were clearly some who chose to ruin a day that was decades in the making at Bethune-Cookman University and Notre Dame, I choose to believe that the class of 2017 is going to make the world a much better place. I believe they are up to the task! Graduates, Choose Which Way You Want to Go by STEPHANIE CRIDER Fayetteville's Weather Forecast May 25 Scattered Thunderstorms May 26 Sunny May 27 Sunny May 28 Mostly Sunny May 29 Partly Cloudy May 30 Partly Cloudy THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 79 HIGH 84 HIGH 90 HIGH 92 HIGH 91 HIGH 89 LOW 59 LOW 60 LOW 69 LOW 71 LOW 70 LOW 68 STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. COM- MENTS? Editor@upandcomingweek- ly.com. 910.484.6200 I choose to believe that the class of 2017 is going to make the world a much better place.