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Say Yes to Drugs, Say No to Finan~ialAid Kerrita McClaughlyn "I didn't know anythingabout ii,"said Onyx Staff junior. criminal justice major, Cor1ez Bond. '1 don't think it's right that finan­ Many nor1heaS1emSIUdenlS filling o ut cial aid didn't disclose this. I don't think their federal financial aid fonmsthis mo nth it (drug convictions) has anything tod o may not be aware of a very impor1ant with getting financiala id." change,question28.AIIS1Udentsfi!Lingout Karim Evans, a middler criminaljus­ FAFSA's,mUS1 di sclose for thefirst time tice andpsychology major shares Bond's 'f whether ornotth ey've been convictedof concerns. "What do past records have drug possession or sale. This could bar to do,vith an individual's present goals," them from receiving financial aid. he asked. "Past records aren't relevant, A~rding to a Jan. 31 Boston Herald especially if the person has changed." article,th e measurewas d esignedto wilh­ At press time, Northeastem's Finan­ hold federalgrants, l oansand o ther money cial Aid office wasclo sed and we were from college slUdenlS,vith drug convic­ unable to ask them, if they had known tions and takeseffec t for the 2000-200I about and disclosed the facl thal ques­ school year,beginning JulyI . The regula­ tion 28 was on the FAFSA form. and JcmtaTillman perfonningat 1hcJohn o · ObryanlAfrican•American ln s1iruteUnity Ensemble tion wascontai ned in a 1998 bill that reau­ what that would mean for students. Choir concer1in the Curry S1udent Center Ballroom on January 2 1. thorized The Boston Herald (Pholo Credit:Kcni tu McClau hi ) highereducation spending. report s that Many srudents that we spoke to on financial aid office rs acros s 1he state deadline were nol aware of question are complaining about how 10 en­ Faith, Dance, and Praise 28 an d the potential costly co nse­ force the measure and are unsure quences for convicteddru g ofTenders. Kerri1a McClaughlyn clear e ndin g a nd "C han ged" led by 1---------------------'S,.,e:,:e...,D=Rc,Uc,G,.,S"'--"'a"""e'-"Z Onyx S1afT lyeoka Okoawo which dr ew tears a nd a standing ovation from the audience. KeepingKids Safe on theHill The John D. O' Bryanl Afiican-Ameri­ "As the choir sang, I heard angels ring can lnstilUleU niiy Ensemble Gospel Choir praises to the Almighiy God," said Keno By Philip Kasiecki build. It was thiscynicism, as well aspres­ held their winier concertal 7 p.m. on Friday, Mullings,a Nor1heas1emalumni and current Onyx Staff sure from peoplewho initially fundedit, that January2 Ia l theCurryS1Uden1Cen1erBall­graduateslUdent,touched byth e performance. helped leadto MissionSAFE's evolution. room al Northeastern U niversi ty. The highlightof the concert was Silent In an agewhere childrenface many is­ After about a year, their funds werecut The even~riLled "A New Beginning."drew a Praise, a liturgical dancegro up fromBerea Sev­ sues andliv e in households,vhere bothpar­ and more pressurewas appliedt o the pro­ largeaudience . many of whom stoodt o see the enth DayAdventist Churchin Dorchester.Their ents work,after school programs have be­ gram, leadingCarrab ino and Flionisto seek perfonnance.The estimated250 peoplein atten­ min1edperformance come popular alternatives 10 leaving chil­ the help of area residents. Theygave dance werevery diverse . They includedstudenis to the songs'The Banle" resi­ fiom Johruionand Wales Univmity in Rhode and "'Thank You" brought standing ovations drenalone athom e for long periods oftime . denlS areal voice in deciding the furureof Island. members of the Berea Seventh Day from the audience. One such program is MissionSAFE. the program and alsotried tobuild relation­ AdventiS1Chun: h in Don:heS1er,members of the "I likedSi len I Praise. theywere really origi­ It got its name because of its location in ships,vith them. Boslon UniversityGospe l Choir and S1uden1S nal, I sat there transfixed," said Ilka Alcantara, Mission Hill. MissionSAPE grew out of "Wewould knock on doors andge l input and visitors of a ll races and ages. a freshmanBoston Universilyfilm major. a contract for renewal of the Mission fromresidenlS of the areaon what they need The concer1h ad a recwring theme of Adaeze lbenecke,so phomore computer Main area in 1996, led by AnneCarrabino and whatth eir vision was",Carrabino said holding onlo faith,w hich was professedby engineeringmajor at NU echoed her senti­ and Nikki Flionis. The last few years "We also tried to builda relationship,vi th manymembers of thech oir who spoke.The ments." It was excellent I loved the mime by have been a learning but rewarding ex­ people in thearea as well", Flionis added. president of the JDOBBAIUniiy Ensemb le Silent Praise. It was goodto see this worship." perience for both. The program has had When HUD evenrually cut contract Choir,Jeremiah Shepherd spoke about people Another lirurgical dance selection was to relocate several times and has had to money and the need for volunteers being ashamedto believe and gavea moving also fealUredon the program. Jenita Tillman face funding pressuresin addition to the arose. the relationships they built with tribute tohi s faith. performed two dance pieces and was ac­ issues that arise from running an residents became very impor1antand led "'Thereis a God, he's moving throughm e companied by her mother who read the afterschool program. to the creation of the MissionSAPE that rightnow ," Shepherd said"G od touched me. poem HDance." Carrabino and Flionis initially faced exists today. God told me, Jeremiah.I am real!" "I liked the varieiy in the concer1- the an uphill battlewi th residents in the area. The basic idea behind the program.was The choirs' performance was memo­ praise and dance made it lively," said Avril Many residents were very cynical about to havea place foryoung kidsto gather, be rable for songs that included; "E lijah Felix, a sophomore MJS/finance major.. the program al first and the ideaof people safe, and spend time,visely , as wellas to aid Rock," an accapella that had a crisp, working togetl1eras a communil)' was a their overall growth. While a parenttrain- See Praise, page 2 rather new, therefore trust was hard to See Keep ing, page 2 ? • Jan/Feb 2000, The Ony x Informer 2 The New State Of Young Black Boston Alexandra Mitchner Boston. hosted a Black Power Brunch. Ac­ George"Chip"GreenidgeandV.Faith Menino on November 8, 1999. Onyx Staff cording 10 Faith Daniels, ''the turn out was Daniels are currently the co-chairs of " I think he knows that the world isn't exceUenL" Over I 00 peopleshowed their sup­ SYBB. Greenidgehas been profiled in colorblind, so we're jus t going to work Are you trying to find social events, par­ portduring the breakfast power meeting, which Essencemagazine for the workhe's done on him with that," says Greenidge.'The ties, and places to meet people? held various sess ions on Housing, Arts/ with SYBB and the organizationhas also organization is currently working on a Are you intere.,red in finding a Black Entertainment, Educat ion, Politics, and been profiled by The Bo ston Globe. status report outlining all of the action church that mee ts your needs? Technology. One of the results of this pro­ Greenidge,and Daniels. as well as steps that came out of the conference Are _1•011 ZO or over and th111kingabout gram, which came out of the Arts & En­ many other youngBostonians, cameto­ held last June , as well as preparing for relocating to ATL, N >'. DC. or VA? tertainment session, was a proposal for a gether in mutual frustration. They real­ their next upcoming conference, which , The S tale of Young Black Bo ston calendar of eve nts for various activities izedthat the needsof theirgeneration were once again, w ill be held in June . (SYBB). is an organization designed 10 im­ such theatre. museums, and clubs, which not being me, were not even beingrec­ "As we conquer one dragon. of course prove the quality of life for young Black wou ld cater lo minorit y preference s. ognized,and, as a resul, many wereleav­ there are still many others still to be slain," Bostonians.It addressedthe questions above, "Whatwe ' re trying10 do is get in the minds ing New England.In their first confer­ says Faith Daniels about the future of among others. duringthe ir fir..1co nferencein of the20-40 year olds and make them realize ence, the doors of communication SYBB. SYBB is not actively recruiting June 1999. n,e conference was a great suc­ that they're a crucial panin building this com­ opened . As a result of the accom­ members. but according to Daniels. they cess, furtherencow,iging SYBB 10 tight for munity", said George Greenidge,co-founder plishment s made by the June con­ welcome everyone with ..an idea, a mind. a more comfortable life for minorities. ofSYBB. "Boston's not such a bad place, we ference, SYBB got the opport unity or a mission", SYBB meetings are held at On January8. The Stale of;ow1g Black have a lot of strength s here," he said. to exp ress t heir concerns to Mayor Roxbury Community College, every first Monday of eve ry month . at 6:30pm . Silent Praise Keeping, from page 1 program called Neighbor to Neighbor MissionSAFE has also expanded its came out of MissionSAFE and some kids· view of the world . This has been parents who had been on welfareha ve accomplished with field trips,s tipend paid greatly benefited from tl1e program's internships for kids 100 young to have a services, the focus has been on young job, and the various contributions ofnearby kids aged 7 to 19.

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