Coleman, Marshall University Class of 1968 Graduate, Speaks to a Group of Pre-Law Students in Foundation Hall’S Nate Ruffin Lounge on Friday
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar The aP rthenon University Archives 9-24-2012 The aP rthenon, September 24, 2012 Shane Arrington [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/parthenon Recommended Citation Arrington, Shane, "The aP rthenon, September 24, 2012" (2012). The Parthenon. Paper 60. http://mds.marshall.edu/parthenon/60 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The aP rthenon by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. C M Y K 50 INCH MONDAY Thundering Herd pluck Owls September 24, 2012 in OT, 54-51 | More on Sports VOL. 116 NO. 15 | MARSHALL UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER | MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM PHOTOS BY SHANE ARRINGTON | THE PARTHENON ALL: Judge Rudy Coleman, Marshall University class of 1968 graduate, speaks to a group of pre-law students in Foundation Hall’s Nate Ruffin Lounge on Friday. Coleman was in town to visit his alma mater and share his experiences with those who plan to pursue law as a career. Coal mine to court room Judge gives Marshall grad overcomes odds to succeed advice to By SHANE ARRINGTON EXECUTIVE EDITOR MU students While Marshall University is a THE PARTHENON home of sorts for many colors, Marshall University stu- creeds and cultures, it does not dents were recently given take to too long of a road trip to see the opporunity to speak to a many parts of West Virginia are as man who helped pioneer the far from diverse as is possible. law career for black men and Now imagine, if you can, growing women. up in West Virginia coal country as Rudy Coleman, retired N.J. a young black man before the civil judge, first black president rights movement. of the Essex County, N.J., Judge Rudy Coleman, a pioneer Bar Association and Mar- for black Americans in the field of shall alumnus, shared his law, did just that. experiences with pre-law Coleman was raised in the Tams students and the Center for coal camp in Raleigh County, West African American Students Virginia. His father, a coal miner, in- on Friday. stilled in his children early on the value Coleman emphasized the of education. Coleman said he knew importance of hard work mining was a worthy profession, one and a good education. that put food on the table, but wished “You have to work hard a less harsh life for his children. to get ahead,” Coleman “My parents and my grandparents said to a group of pre-law wanted me, my siblings and my cous- students in Foundation ins to go to college, to do something Hall’s Nate Ruffin Lounge. other than work in the mines,” Cole- I’d like to’ but I never did anything “Don’t limit yourself man said. “In Beckely, most people, about it,” Coleman said. She is the because you think your most males at least worked in the one that actually made the request background or school isn’t mines and they didn’t want that for for the application for the law school good enough. us. They thought it was important admission test. Once I had that I “When I started my sum- that we go on to be educated and have had to act on it. So I sat on the test mer internship, it was me, some sort of professional career.” and applied to a number of schools, another guy from Rutgers, And Coleman and his siblings did including Harvard. I didn’t expect to a guy from Yale, one from just that. One of his older brothers get in and of course I didn’t, but it Harvard and another guy loved working with his hands and was one of those you had to at least from Penn. When it was over made his living as a master brick- try for. But I was accepted to Rut- it was just me and the guy layer, while his younger brother gers, and that was an ideal situation from Penn.” followed in his footsteps and gradu- because we didn’t have to change Coleman said his out- ated Marshall to pursue a career as anything.” performing two Ivy League a credit manager. Coleman would Coleman said his grandfather students proved that in the eventually attend Rutgers University was not happy when he made his end it was the hard work of and receive his law degree, but every- decision to leave his teaching job the individual, not where thing was not what he had planned to study law. He said he referred they received their degree after he graduated Marshall and left to lawyers as nothing more than that mattered. West Virginia for New Jersey. “crooks and scoundrels.” Coleman Maurice Cooley, director “I wanted to teach for a brief time Jersey because of its proximity to to attend school,” Coleman said. It made it his life’s work to prove those of the Center for African at least,” Coleman said. “It was my New York City. They figured if they just turned out to be an ideal situa- words did not apply to him. American Students and the intention to teach for a year or two were going to live someplace for a tion for me to move forward into a “And I said to him that I wanted Society of Black Scholars, and then return to graduate school. couple of years until he returned to different career.” to show that need not be the case,” said it was an honor to have I had been accepted to Ohio State graduate school it might as well be A rewarding career that Coleman Coleman said. “As a result of that, Coleman come and speak. in a romance languages doctoral somewhere they could watch plays just retired from in March, after a lot of my activities have involved “These types of expe- program, but after that year or two and enjoy the other forms in enter- practicing for more than 40 years. ethics and professional responsibil- riences should inspire I realized I enjoyed teaching and I tainment the city offered. A career that he said he thought ity. I’ve always emphasized to my students,” Cooley said. “It began to question whether I really “It turned out that at the time we about for a while, but would per- law clerks and the people I’ve had shows what possibilities are wanted to pursue the degree in ro- were too busy to take full advantage haps have never pursued without a dealings with the importance of be- available to them.” mance languages.” of what the city had to offer, but push from his wife. ing an ethical person.” The Parthenon can be Coleman said he and his wife, ultimately we ended up loving the “She knew that I had a desire to go contacted at parthenon@ Marguerite, originally chose New area and it gave me the opportunity to law school, but I kept saying ‘well See COLEMAN | Page 5 marshall.edu. page designed and edited by SHANE ARRINGTON INSIDE: NEWS, 2 | LIFE!, 3 | OPINION, 4 | SPORTS, 6 HI 70° LO 48° [email protected] C M Y K 50 INCH 2 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 | | MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM Clinton: Romney’s campaign money poses threat By NOAM N. LEVEY “Assuming the debates turnout that will match 2010, and Democrats will work deal or more likely agree “She wants to take some TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU are even a draw, I think the when Republicans scored together to avert a major to some sort of period of time off, kind of regroup, (MCT) president will win,” Clin- major gains in the midterm budget crisis. time to avoid the fiscal cliff write a book.” WASHINGTON - A month ton said CBS’a “Face the elections, retaking control of “As soon as this election’s and make the budget deal “We got a lot of able peo- and a half before Elec- Nation.” “But I think you the House and nearly retak- over, the incentives for grid- then.” ple in our party who want to tion Day, President Barack can’t know because of the ing the Senate. lock will go way down and Looking forward to the be president,” Clinton said. Obama is winning, former enormous financial advan- “They have a theory that the incentives for action will election after this one, Clin- “Got a lot of bright young President Bill Clinton said tage that Citizens United if ... the people who vote in go way up,” he said, noting ton said he had “no earthly governors, we’ve got a lot of Sunday, citing a raft of recent gave to these Republican 2012 look more like the 2010 the imperative of acting to idea” whether his wife, other people will probably polls that show Obama wid- super PACs and because electorate, then the folks avoid tax increases and ma- Secretary of State Hillary run out of the Congress,” ening a lead in several key of the work they have done that elected the president in jor cuts in federal spending Rodham Clinton, will run for but, he added, Hillary Clin- swing states. and will do on Election Day the first place in 2008, that if that threaten the economy. president in 2016. She already ton is “an extraordinarily But Clinton said Romney’s to try to reduce the number they can get enough of those “It will force them to con- has said she does not intend able person.” money advantage and Repub- of young people, first-gen- folks to stay home, they can centrate and I believe there to serve a second term head- “I just think, you know, lican efforts in states around eration immigrants, and still win.