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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/468256
FEB. 25 - MARCH 3, 2015 UCW 13 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM To be an active member of society, you have to be assertive and learn new things to help you make responsible decisions. That is why The Fayetteville State University Debate and Forensics Team is hosting the 5th Annual Frederick Douglass Debates on Thursday, Feb. 26, from 2 – 3:30 p.m. in Shaw Auditorium on the campus of Fayetteville State University. "The team is a group of students that travel up and down the eastern seaboard to compete against other colleges in debate and forensics, "said William Thomas, debate coach of Fayetteville State University. "We have been doing this the last five years, in which we get together in February and we have a public debate to talk about issues that would have been of interest to Frederick Douglass if he were still alive today." Thomas added that the purpose of the event is to educate the public by taking topics that people have probably heard about and allow them to learn and see both sides of it so that they have a better understanding of what is going on around them. The two debate topics are regarding the Presidency of the United States; with the first topic being In 2016, This Nation Needs change and the second topic is "The Time for Historically Black Colleges and Universities Has Passed." "I thought the presidency topic would be a good thing to explore for an audience as they are thinking about who they are going to vote for in the near future," said Thomas. "The HBCU topic created itself and you don't have to look any further than the news and look at the political debates in Raleigh and South Carolina State University." Thomas added that HBCUs are being hit hard by legislators all over the place and questions have come up about whether HBCUs are worth the effort anymore and if their mission is still relevant, particularly in times of budget constraints. This year faculty members will be debating instead of the students. The four professors who are participating in the debate are Dr. Noran Moffett, Dr. Timothy Moore, Dr. Chuck Tryon and Dr. Tamuchin McCreless. "I sent out an invitation to all the faculty and told them that we were doing a debate and I wanted to ramp up the quality of the debate to make sure that we are really educating the public," said Thomas. "These four professors were brave enough to step forward and put themselves out there to do this because they understand the mission of educating and want to be a part of that." Debates are free and open to all faculty, staff, students and the public. Seating is limited. For more information, call 910 672-2514. Frederick Douglass Debates Slated at Fayetteville State University by DR. SHANESSA FENNER The Frederick Douglass Debates at Fayetteville State University are an annual event that shine the light on issues that would have been of interest to Douglass. DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Contrib- uting Writer. COMMENTS? Edi- tor@upandcomingweekly.com. It is no secret that getting into college is stressful; there are the SATs, GPAs, applications and more. As parents do their best to prepare students and help them get through the process, it can be frustrating, confusing and costly. Coworkers Jasmin Brown and Tracey Pearson were both disappointed when they started looking for ways to get their respective children ready for higher education. When it came to preparing for the SAT, the programs they found were both costly and inadequate. So they decided to do something about it. That's how College Professional SAT Prep was born. It took some research and a lot of hard work, but on March 7, the team is set to debut its first session. "The SAT is based on what colleges and educators expect high school students to be exposed to," said Pearson. "So, we recruited college professors to help develop the curriculum and teach in the program." With more than 20 years of higher education experience between them, Brown and Pearson knew that getting students off to a good start as they head to college makes a big difference. So they added another facet to the program. Having qualified instructors is key, but they wanted to give high school kids insight that they could appreciate and understand. "We also have peer tutors who are college students who assist the professors during the sessions," said Brown. "They are also available to students during the sessions and afterwards, too. They can answer questions about college life in general. We have found that teens relate better to teens and will feel more at ease asking questions this way." Each session runs four weeks and is designed to give students everything they need to prepare for the SAT. Sure, it is still a lot of hard work for the student, but as entrepreneurs, Brown and Pearson have come up with a system that they are confident will make sense to both students and parents. "We structured the classes to mirror college courses. It is intensive learning but it is broken out so there is a natural progression from the learning materials to testing on those materials. It's important to learn the pace of the SAT," said Pearson. "The concept of these sessions is to break it down into manageable pieces, provide guidance and feedback for the essay and offer the opportunity to take a full- length practice SAT." The March session meets each Saturday from March 7 through March 28. The classes run from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. and cover the three major areas of the SAT: reading, math and writing. It also includes tips and techniques that focus on study skills. Each lesson costs 1/3 of similar programs and includes testing materials. "We will also offer boot camps over the summer. The boot camps will run four consecutive days and will offer the same content as the regular sessions. There are two sessions offered over the summer," said Pearson. Find out more about College Professional SAT Prep or enroll for one of the sessions or boot camps at www. collegeprosatprep.com or by calling 910.420.5679 or emailing collegeprofessionalsatprep@gmail. com. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Entrepreneurs Provide Students Leg up on College Entrance Exams by STEPHANIE CRIDER Jasmin Brown and Tracey Pearson wanted an effective and inex- pensive technique to get their children ready for higher education, hence they created a new business: College Professional SAT Prep.