New @ October Gallery

August Wilson Center exhibit looks at the keeping of memories

After being officially open for just one year, the August Wilson Center, Downtown, has launched its inaugural art exhibit, and it's an ambitious one indeed.

A unique exhibit exploring Pittsburgh family life, "In My Father's House" features five rooms with six African-American points of view, showing the diversity that exists within our community.

While the title comes from a passage in the Bible (John 14:2, which begins "In my Father's house, there are many mansions ..."), the context of the exhibit, while certainly spiritually evocative, is not a religious but secular one.

"What's neat about this exhibit is that it is actually created like a house," says Erin O'Neill, exhibitions manager for the August Wilson Center.

Each room is organized, designed and presented by a nationally recognized curator, highlighting the way people of African descent preserve and display visual art and cultural material in their homes.

"In theory, it tells the story of a fictional Pittsburgh family, their hopes, dreams, struggles and triumphs," O'Neill says. "Like most of us, they have collected the things they love: the things that help tell who they are."

For example, in the "Entry Way," organized by artist and curator Mary Martin, photographs of local families dating as far back as the early 19th-century feature first-generation slaves and their descendants.

"These photos were collected all around the region in African-American communities," O'Neill says. "Mary made high-resolution scans of them and gave back the originals, but she kept the names of the families and included them in the exhibit."

As with the photographs, much of the art and objects included in this exhibit is on loan from local families; other pieces are on loan from national collections including personal and commercial galleries, universities and art museums.

In the "Living Room," organized by Lonnie Graham, professor of integrative arts and photography at Penn State University's State college campus, and Deborah Willis, professor of photography and imaging at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, most of the items are owned by Graham, such as the red-velvet Victorian couch and chair that belonged to his great aunt, among other furnishings. And the photographs that hang on the walls, which feature Homewood residents, were taken by Graham, as well, with the exception of two Charles "Teenie" Harris photographs of domestic scenes that are part of the August Wilson Center's collection. For this room, Willis designed the wallpaper, which features a repeated pattern comprised of a little chained slave on his knees.

Cheryl Finley, assistant professor of art history and visual culture at Cornell University's New York City campus, organized the "Kitchen" as a reflection of "African American Diaspora" with several campy, '70s-style photographs by Hank Willis-Thomas and a banquette covered in Obama fabric Finley found in South Africa in 2009.

The room also contains pieces by well-known contemporary artists, such as a print by Romare Bearden (1911-88) titled "Sorcerer's Village"; a semi-abstract print by Chris Offili titled "Malcolm X"; and several porcelain plates by Cary May Weems that commemorate people places and events, such as Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam, Harlem and Detroit.

The "Dining Room," organized by Smithsonian curator Tuliza Fleming, features works by African-American masters, such as two original Romare Bearden mixed-media collages and an abstract painting titled "The Fireships" by Frank Bowling.

"It's an amazing piece," O'Neill says. "It keeps growing on me."

Also on display, Jeff Donaldson's (1932-2004) portrait of a couple, "Victory," on cardboard may be made of humble materials, but it is a masterwork of brushstrokes and color.

The exhibit also features a short film titled "From Drums to Zeros and Ones" that was created by independent curator and filmmaker Demetria Royals. The seven-minute film chronicles African-American history from slavery to the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It's an emotional snapshot from the first footfalls of Africans in America to today.

"I have seen many, many people tearing up and very moved after watching this video," O'Neill says.

O'Neill says the exhibit asks the visitor to consider the different ways of approaching the preservation of the material culture of people of African decent.

"It poses the question of what is important to keep for future generations? What do we hold dear? What is it that we pass on to those who come after us and what stories do those objects tell about the people who lived or still live in these rooms," O'Neill says.

'Mixing Metaphors'

Howard University and the Bank of America have assembled almost 100 works of African American art in an exhibition with the hefty title of "Mixing Metaphors: The Aesthetic, the Social and the Political in African American Art."

The show is a happy melding of three enterprises. Howard University, with an active art gallery since 1930, has been an important laboratory and showcase for art representing all parts of the African diaspora. The Bank of America has been a vigorous supporter of established and emerging artists, as well as arts education programs. The depth of its corporate collection, numbering in the thousands, has created 40 exhibitions. And to curate this show, the two institutions tapped Deborah Willis, art historian and expert on images of black folk.

These selections at Howard, representing 36 artists, are on view through Dec. 17.

Capturing the spirit of special moments in African American life is prize-winning photographer Carrie Mae Weems. "May Flowers" depicts three girls at a dress-up occasion, perhaps a church celebration in spring, perhaps a Mother's Day picnic. Whatever the day's activity, these three, stretched out on the grass, are not happy with their starched dresses. And though they seem to want to talk and gossip, someone has asked them for one last smile. No one complies.

With a focused eye Weems explores race and gender, whether it's modern or historic. Often her work is a deconstruction of stereotypes. This one has the artistic shadows of a Monet moment or the lyricism of the film "Daughters of the Dust." Weems didn't need any smiles to capture an afternoon not of choices, but of commands.

-- Jacqueline Trescott, cultural reporter

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For pioneering African American painter Lois Mailou Jones, a retrospective

Lois Mailou Jones, the artist and professor, tended to bark at her friends and students in a sharp voice that was heavily tinged with a French accent, acquired during her years of inspiration in Haiti, West Africa and France. But as soon as she had made her point, and the visitor turned to the walls in her Northwest home and atelier, the sting was gone.

Mailou Jones's great gift was transporting the viewer into the daily lives of her subjects. Her work was colorful, soaked with the shades of skin, sunshine, textiles, fruit and other objects of art. When she did a mask, the eyes moved with you. When she showed an African American girl cleaning fish, the strokes were rhythmic.

Mailou Jones taught at Howard University for 47 years. She had plenty of lessons to share, not only about technique, but about fighting for acceptance in the white art world. Despite rejections and racism, she pursued her own path and is considered a forerunner of several black art movements. She was the first African American to have a solo show at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in 1973. Jones, who died in 1998 at 92, is represented in many major museums and collections.

Her decades of work have been gathered in an exhibit that opens Oct. 9 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. "Lois Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color" includes 70 paintings and other works, representing an output of 75 years.

"Marche, Haiti," a 1963 painting in acrylic, follows the deliberate stroll of market women and shoppers as they fill a twisting street in Haiti. The faces are blank, but Jones has positioned them to show the activity of a typical Haitian market. Mailou Jones paints as if standing on a balcony, looking down on the scene of figures balancing trays and baskets. It's dense, soft and angular, but accurately dynamic.

-- Jacqueline Trescott, cultural reporter

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President Obama Says School Year Should Be Longer; Bad Teachers Should Be Bounced

President Barack Obama is calling for a longer school year to close America's achievement gap. He also wants teachers who do not perform well out of the classroom.

American students are falling behind the top-performing students in the world, especially when it comes to math and science, Obama said on the "Today" show. The AP writes:

U.S. schools through high school offer an average of 180 instruction days per year, according to the Education Commission of the States, compared to an average of 197 days for lower grades and 196 days for upper grades in countries with the best student achievement levels, including Japan, South Korea, Germany and New Zealand.

"That month makes a difference," the president said. "It means that kids are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer. It's especially severe for poorer kids who may not see as many books in the house during the summers, aren't getting as many educational opportunities.

"Whether jobs are created here, high-end jobs that support families and support the future of the American people, is going to depend on whether or not we can do something about these schools," Obama added.

The president also went on the attack against bad teachers. He said U.S. teachers' unions should not be resistant to change, especially when one-third of children are failing. He also called on teachers who fail after being given a second chance to be fired:

"We have got to identify teachers who are doing well. Teachers who are not doing well, we have got to give them the support and the training to do well. And if some teachers aren't doing a good job, they've got to go," Obama said.

Most of what the president says makes sense, but his attack on teachers is unfair.

Unfortunately, the myth of the bad teacher as the reason our schools are failing is being pushed too much in the popular media. I agree that there are teachers that need to be purged from the system. Some teachers are burned out and have nothing left to offer. Others simply aren't suited for the job.

I think the biggest problem that teachers face, however, is a lack of support from student's parents. I attended public schools in New York City and Texas for 12 years before graduating and heading to a pretty good college. The biggest factor in my success was that there was always a parent or adult there to help teachers hold me accountable.

When my fourth grade teacher didn't like the students I was hanging out with, my mother showed up in the classroom one afternoon to observe. We then sat down and discussed the issue. When I tried skipping school once in the ninth grade and got busted, my mom was at the school speaking with teachers. When I tried to drop the math classes I needed to go to college, my ninth-grade math teacher raised hell. My mom got involved and I ended up with a tutor.

There was constant pressure from the adults in my life to make sure I was doing well in school.

Teachers used to tell my single mom all the time that they were glad she came to parent teacher night but there were about 7 to 10 other kids whose parents they were desperate to see involved. Those were the students who were falling behind, who were disruptive in class and making it difficult for everyone to learn.

We have to face the fact that there are social issues affecting kids coming in to the classroom that make it difficult for teachers to teach and students to learn. We need to attack those problems if we want our schools and our students to be successful.

In addition, we have to ask ourselves if we are providing teachers with the right tools and environments to be successful. I have friends in the New York City school system who have 35 or 36 students in their classroom. How can a teacher focus on students who need help in a classroom of that size?

We have also become fascinated with the Hollywood depictions of teachers, where they risk their lives and are willing to work 19 hours a day with low pay and under poor conditions for the success of their students. In real life, teachers are human beings. They get stressed out, discouraged and would like to get home at a decent hour to see their spouses and kids. They need the support of parents to be successful.

"No one wants an incompetent teacher in the classroom," National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel told the AP. "It's in the hiring, and in those first three to five years, no teacher has the right to due process."

Did I have bad teachers? Yes. A few.

Overall, though, many were dedicated and concerned about my well-being and success. Those teachers had the power to help guide me, because they had the most powerful ally that they could have, a parent.

Jeff Mays

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2 Men Face Hate Crime Charges For Beating White Teen For 'Enslaving Our People'

Two men who are accused of beating a White teen bloody because they were upset at him over slavery should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The men, one black and one Filipino, allegedly beat 16-year-old Shane McClellan as he was walking home in the early morning hours in West Seattle.

Police say Ahmed Mohamed, 22, and Jonathan Baquiring, 21, asked McClellan for a light and then began beating and kicking him. They allegedly beat him with his own belt, poured an energy beer drink on him and burned his neck with their cigarettes.

"How do you like it, white boy?" and "This is for enslaving our people," McClellan says the men said as they urinated on him and attacked him for four hours.

The case is being prosecuted as a hate crime and it should be.

The level of violence and ignorance displayed during this attack is disgusting. To beat a teenager for four hours simply because he is White doesn't make any more sense than attacking someone because they are black or Asian.

The attack also increases the chances that the child will develop a hatred for blacks and Asians because of the beating he endured. I hope his parents are getting him the proper psychological attention.

If these two men truly wanted to honor their ancestors who suffered through slavery and persecution, they would be out taking advantage of the things their ancestors fought for such as getting an education, working and giving back to their communities.

Beating some random kid accomplishes none of those things. Instead, they were walking around drinking a beer called Four Loko and looking for trouble. After the two had beaten the boy, they walked around with his blood on their hands for hours. A police officer spotted the two men and smartly took a DNA swab for evidence.

Now, given the evidence police have against these men, it's possible they will be headed to prison.

That's not the example their "people" want them to set for others. Instead of beating up white people over slavery, maybe these men should seek to escape the bondage they are in.

Jeff Mays

Black Leaders Quiet About Bishop Eddie Long Scandal

Trying to get various black public figures to speak out for or against Bishop Eddie Long has been harder than getting 4-year-olds to go to the dentist. No one is talking, but everyone is paying attention. They are all watching CNN and seeing that Long is on after every other commercial break. They are reading the newspapers, where Long's face is plastered in every section other than Sports and Classifieds. They are seeing the websites that produce one Eddie Long article after another. The man is omnipresent.

Black leaders are also noticing the spandex outfit Long sported in those racy bathroom pictures. They remember the odd-looking wig Long wore, when appearing before the church this past Sunday. Most significantly, they've noticed the long line of young men, in different states, who don't seem to know one another, who are saying that Eddie Long had sex with them.

Roland Martin, a man who is far more diplomatic than myself, simply said that Bishop Eddie Long needs to step down. I agree with Roland, who understands the importance of protecting the church from all the craziness occurring around it. Others I've spoken with have mentioned rumors of various megapastors and their "extracurricular activities." Most of the people I've spoken with know what I've thought all along:

There are preachers who preach against homosexuality and still practice it.

If Long happens to be at least partially gay, he will be condemned for his sexual orientation more than his sexual appetite. Had he been the kind of "wink nod" pastor who eyeballs the 24-year-old woman in the front row, the church might have been able to forgive him.

He could have washed his earthly sins away with prayer and been accepted right back in to the fold. On the surface, forgiveness from the congregation would mean that people actually believe that the sexual deviance has been removed by God, but the truth is that it would simply be a reminder for him to keep his dirty business under wraps.

Men have wanted sex since the beginning of time, and so have women. People have written books about church scandals, some of which are simply unbelievable. I recall hearing a pastor's son tell me about how he often had sex on his father's desk with a bible under his leg.

I remember hearing about a preacher's wife who slept with more men than she could count, with one of them getting her pregnant. This doesn't count the numerous baby's mamas created by married pastors throughout the decades. The scandals don't stop and sometimes seem to get worse when you are close to the altar.

The Bishop Eddie Long scandal is different from the typical church scandal for at least two reasons: Long is accused of being gay, and there might be serious criminal charges forthcoming. One major public figure told me privately that his greatest concern about Bishop Long is that if it is determined that he was using church funds to wine and dine his way to fornication, he might be headed to prison.

The U.S. Government doesn't take kindly to people using 501-C3 grant money to obtain more sex. In spite of the embarrassment and financial strain presented by the allegations against Bishop Long, he is probably worried about the legal issues more than anything else.

All in all, I don't expect to see any major black public figure take a public stand against Eddie Long. Even his own attorneys have remained silent, in spite of the fact that they are being consistently gangster-slapped by the accuser's attorney, B.J. Bernstein. Most black public figures are smart enough to know a burning building when they see one, and the reign of power for Bishop Eddie Long may soon be coming to a close.

Gene Blythe

President Obama To Democrats: 'Buck Up'

President Barack Obama is mad as hell that Democrats seem to have lost their resolve and he's telling them about it.

Pulling out all the stops in an effort to lessen the expected losses in the House and Senate in November's mid-term election, Obama is telling Democrats that they lack the energy of Republicans, and if they don't step up, the gains Democrats have made will be lost and this country will slide backward:

"It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines," the president declared in a Rolling Stone magazine interview.

Obama is also taking his message to the young voters who energized his campaign and who helped propel him in to office. Speaking before a crowd at the University of Wisconsin, Obama said:

"We can't let this country fall backwards because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight."

In many ways, the lack of enthusiasm from Democrats doesn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't that long ago that Obama was drawing record crowds and folks were falling out in the stands. The economic collapse made it clear that something was wrong in this country.

Now, just 21 months after Obama took office, even Democrats have fallen by the wayside.

It's the unfortunate result of an impatient society, one that thinks the mere act of electing someone means that person does all the work and our participation is no longer required.

"People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up," Obama said in the interview. "Bringing about change is hard - that's what I said during the campaign."

"But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place," Obama said.

It takes more than 21 months to make significant changes.First-time Democratic voters and liberals should realize that. The question they should be asking is how much of their policy goals would be accomplished if John McCain had won and what will happen to the accomplishments Obama has made if Democrats lose?Some are questioning Obama's tough-love approach, saying that he's alienating people who have a right to be angry with him."We are focused on motivation, not laying blame or pointing fingers, because the consequences for sitting this election out could be disastrous," said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.The Republican Pledge to America should make it easy for voters to see what their choices are. For example, after Wall Street's near collapse and the discovery of the unscrupulous things that were going on, the best solution Republicans have for Social Security is to let those under 55 invest in the stock market?

That's not even creative.The all or nothing approach is not going to work.

Jeff Mays

Why We Should Embrace Essence's White Fashion Editor

Essence decided to hire a white woman as their fashion editor, which brought mad disappointment to many of its readers. This hiring decision, though, is a sign of entrepreneurial, if not also racial maturity. Fans should take note.

The hiring of Elianna Placas, a white woman, to be fashion editor of Essence magazine has proven madly controversial, almost invoking images of Beyonce squaring off with Ali Larter in "Obsessed." The anger here is misplaced though, if not unfair. The assumption is that a white woman couldn't possibly appreciate nor understand a black woman's sense of fashion, even though that's exactly what Placas did for six months. If Essence's readers weren't enraged during that time period, then there's no reason they should start now.

The fashion world and the media world are intensely globalized industries, not beholden to any one race or ethnicity. Even niche African-American publications need white readers and further circulation from mainstream media partners to stay afloat.

Fashion-even that which is targeted at black women-is no different. Consider one of the top designers for black women, Kimora Lee Simmons, is half-Asian, grew up in a suburb that is almost 90% white and lived in Paris since she was 13. But that hasn't driven black women to write letters of fury to Phat Fashions.

Would it hurt Essence's readers' feelings to know that not all of the staff of House of Dereon is black either? Probably not.

Would it surprise any of us to know that most of our "black" media publications are not exclusively black staffed? Definitely not.

We all know about Viacom's ownership of BET, or Time Inc's ownership of Essence-people cried foul then. Those buyouts took place years ago and somehow neither brand has dissolved from the market or have been whitewashed down by evil white supremacists or whatever people's worst fears were. If anything, their market brands have expanded and the grand majority of decisions made about content in these outlets still come from black people.

This is no less true in small black press outlets. Both of the black newspapers I wrote for in Pittsburgh-one of which was the historical Pittsburgh Courier-had white reporters and editors and these Caucasian inclusions made the publications no less the blacker for it. Black people still flock to watch "Girlfriends" and "The Game" even though both are produced by white Republican Kelsey Grammer.

It's not about who can create the blackest product, it's about who can create the best product to compete in the marketplace. In that respect, Essence's hiring of Placas displays a great amount of maturity, and other niche publications would be wise to follow their example. Also, the conversation around race needs to be elevated beyond calling "race betrayal!" every time a white person is introduced into the picture. In the racially segregated world of the early-to mid-20th century that may have had a place, but it's played out in today's society.

Brentin Mock

Nick Cannon Challenges Eminem to a Fight

Apparently, Nick Cannon is still mad at Eminem for dissing his wife and now wants to challenge him to a charity boxing match.

The things that men do for love.

The love/beef triangle between Eminem, Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey has been going on for what feels like way too long. After Eminem addressed his alleged past relations with the current Mrs. Cannon on the unflattering "Bagpipes From Baghdad" off of 2009's Relapse album, Nick Cannon fired his own shots courtesy of his blog in defense of his wife. Mariah also responded to Slim Shady via the song "Obsessed" and denied the two ever had any relationship. But then Eminem, being Eminem, blasted both Cannon and Carey on the scathing diss song "The Warning" and completely took the gloves off.

Cannon responded briefly via Twitter and then the issue appeared to be a done deal as many of us hoped it would just fade into obscurity.

But, for some reason that only Cannon knows, Mr. Carey waited an entire year to come out with his own dis record titled "I'm a Slick Rick" where he borrows Rick the Ruler's flow and proceeds to blast Slim Shady over the "Teach Me How To Dougie" beat (weird, we know). In the song, Cannon claims that Eminem ducked him at this year's BET Awards and that apparently pissed him off all over again.

But now, Cannon has taken the beef a step further by challenging Marshall Mathers to a charity boxing match. A fight? Really Nick?

What's funny about Cannon challenging Eminem to a fight is that Em probably has completely forgotten about the "America's Got Talent" host. I mean, seriously, the Detroit rapper claims that he is finally living his life completely sober so those memories are probably floating around in a cloud of smoke and drowned in a sea of pills. He's probably laughing at Nick getting bent out of shape a year after the fact.

And this is Nick Cannon we're talking about here. Nickelodeon Nick Cannon. Drumline Nick Cannon. America's Got Talent Nick Cannon. What would a fight do for his image? More harm than good probably. First of all it looks like Cannon is trying to pick a fight rather than defend his wife's honor. Secondly, what if Eminem really had a piece of your wife? Whoops! He's defending something that is a moot point. You've got her now Nicholas. No point in rekindling old beefs.

So Nick, here's some advice: Go sit down somewhere. This beef is terribly old and nobody really cares anymore. We're more entertained with Hammer's ill-advised beef with Jay-Z than watching you try to call out someone who raps circles around you. Keep the dis records and boxing challenges to yourself and be more concerned with loving your wife and stacking money.

Drake Biography

Known initially for his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Toronto, Ontario, native Drake (born Aubrey Drake Graham) stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006, when he initiated a series of mixtapes. A year later, despite being unsigned, he scored major exposure when his cocky and laid-back track "Replacement Girl," featuring Trey Songz, was featured on BET's 106 & Park program as its "Joint of the Day." He raised his profile throughout the next several months by popping up on countless mixtapes and remixes, and as rumors swirled about contract offers from labels, he gradually became one of the most talked-about artists in the industry. It did not hurt that he had support from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne. By the end of June 2009, "Best I Ever Had," a promotional single, had climbed to number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. After a fierce bidding war, Drake signed with Universal Motown in late summer and released an EP (So Far Gone) made up of songs from his popular So Far Gone mixtape. It peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and won a 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. Thank Me Later, a full-length featuring collaborations with the Kings of Leon, the-Dream, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, was issued through Young Money the following year.

Andy Kellman, Rovi

Suspect in fatal NJ college shooting due in court

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey man charged in the fatal shooting of a Seton Hall University student at a party over the weekend is due in court.

Prosecutors say Nicholas Welch will make his first court appearance Wednesday morning in Newark.

The 25-year-old was arrested Monday night at his house in East Orange, on the same street where Friday's party was held.

Police say Welch was refused admittance to the party and returned with a gun and started shooting. Nineteen-year-old honors student Jessica Moore of Disputanta, Va., was killed and four people were injured.

Authorities are searching for a second man who they say provided the gun.

Both Welch and the second suspect, Marcus Bascus, are charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses and are expected to face attempted murder charges.

Recap: One student's story

One Seton Hall University student who attended the off-campus house party at which five people were shot said the gunman stood on her back as she lay on the floor and didn't appear to be targeting anyone during the chaos she described as "hell."

"He was just shooting he had no intended target," said a text message from the woman, whose friend was the only person killed.

The woman spoke Sunday by BlackBerry instant messenger on condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety while the shooter remained at large. She said she was too upset to talk over the phone.

She described the Friday night party, which lasted into early Saturday, as a "typical fraternity party" with at least 100 people at the privately owned row house.

Students said the shooter was kicked out of the party when he refused to pay the cover charge.

The woman said she heard a fight erupt before the man was thrown out. Seconds later, she said, he returned with a handgun and started shooting as chaos erupted.

"Everyone was scrambling n stampeding. People were jumping out the two windows n all I cud smell was smoke n blood," the woman wrote. "The next thing I knew I opened my eyes n saw hell..blood n just panic."

The woman said was on the floor when the gunman stepped on her back and shot her friend Jessica Moore, a 19-year-old honors student majoring in psychology. Moore, who was from Disputanta, Va., died later at a hospital.

Authorities had not released the names of the four wounded people, whose injuries weren't considered life-threatening.

Two of the injured are 19-year-old women who go to Seton Hall, and one is a 25-year-old man who attends the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The other is a 20-year-old man from New York who is not a student.

East Orange police were following several leads but had not identified a suspect, spokesman Andrew Di Elmo said.

On Sunday, police had set up an electronic sign, the kind usually used to tell drivers of detours, to ask for help solving the house party shooting, which occurred just after midnight. The message advertised a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

The party was primarily for students at Seton Hall, a well-regarded Roman Catholic university with a gated campus in South Orange, about 15 miles from New York City. There are no sanctioned fraternities at Seton Hall and no fraternity houses.

The university, with its collection of red brick buildings tucked behind a wrought-iron fence, stands in stark contrast to the gritty neighborhood where the party was held a mile away. Just a block from the shooting site, the remains of a memorial for another recent shooting victim could still be seen.

There were at least five shootings in the area this summer, said Rabu Anderson, who owns a clothing store there.

"Some of it is gang violence, some of it is just plain ignorance," Anderson said.

East Orange resident Leon Drinks, who lives four doors down from the house where the party shooting occurred, said the violence has become much worse in the past couple of years. He said just after midnight he heard six shots — not an uncommon sound on South Clinton Street.

"I kinda laid low for a minute, then I heard the stampede of people on this side of the street and that side of the street," said Drinks, 54. "People were running in driveways and alleyways trying to get out of the mess."

Seton Hall, which has 10,000 students, knows about the dangers in some of the neighborhoods nearby and advises students not to leave campus alone.

Associated Press

Public? Private? Who Cares?

Starting just about a week ago, millions of parents across the nation began finding out whether months of applying, IQ tests, posturing, maneuvering and hand-wringing in the attempt to get their young ones into their schools of choice were successful or not.
And with few exceptions, at some point during that period, many of those parents engaged in a heated debate over the age-old question of public school versus private education. The last argument I had – with a die hard public school devotee - was intense enough to maybe even damage a friendship. That’s because it was a ridiculous conversation.
Let’s get to the bottom line here. Arguing the merits of one educational system over another – public vs. private, suburban vs. urban, parochial v. home schooling, is a road to disaster and the setup for a decision based on absolutely the wrong set of questions. The fact is, your child will not attend a school system, he or she will attend an individual school, with individual teachers and individual administrators, and the effectiveness of that combination can vary wildly from school to school.
In every city there are pockets of excellence in public schools and hotbeds of hype in the private world. The act of paying tuition is no more a guarantee of quality than free is a promise of mediocrity. It’s far more complicated than that.
A careful parent should be looking at any number of factors before making such an important decision. To be sure, some factors fall to the favor of one system or the other, but it is the sum total you must evaluate and determine what makes the most sense for who your child is, and who you want your child to be.
Whether public or private, no one school fits all. Even in the same family, siblings may have different personalities and varied ways of learning. Location, convenience, prestige may have some bearing on your decision, but ultimately you may find the best school for your unique child’s learning style has none of those things.
Think of the child first, not your bragging rights, and then follow this list to get you started on a good decision.
PhilosophyMuch more important that public, private, grades or reputation is a school’s philosophy of education, and whether that philosophy matches yours. In a nutshell, you should ask and expect a clear answer to the question: “How do you think children learn best?”
Most of us are trained to expect a mastery of fundamentals early on and judge a school’s effectiveness by that standards. But increasingly there are highly effective schools who believe a mastery of concepts and meaning should come before the standards. In other words, knowing what “2” and “4” really are is more important than just remembering 2 + 2 = 4. Other schools think play is a critical learning tool. Others get down to the basic right away. Know which camp you’re in.

Teacher Ratio.
A lower number of students per teacher (for example, less than 20-1) is not an absolute determination of a school’s strength, but it does mean your child is likely to get a bit more personal attention if they require it. Better schools will enforce a limit on this ratio.

Parent Involvement Does a school welcome parents into the classroom as active partners in education, or do they just want you to sign the homework and give a gift to the auction? Sure, you may not have the time make costumes, build volcanoes and babysit a hermit crab. But if you’re not being asked frequently, there may be trouble afoot.
Likewise, how aggressively do parents involve themselves? Are parents working to make the school better or battling over distractions like parking spaces and drop-off rules? Can you attend a parents’ meeting before deciding?

Handling ExtremesHow does a school assess whether some children are either ahead of the curve or behind it? What is their action plan once those children are identified? Does a school adjust or supplement curriculum based on achievement levels, or will it stick to the standards, leaving advanced children unchallenged and children who need assistance out of the loop?

Boys/Boys of Color If you want to make a school really nervous, ask them what their record is regarding boys. Then specifically ask about Black boys. Boys of all stripes have off the chart energy levels that if not addressed actively can result in class disruption at best and at worst, kids being pegged as troublemakers or troubled learners unfairly. This a particular issue when the boys are black.
Look for male role models in the school, particularly outside of PE teachers and the head janitor. Ask teachers if they are parents who have boys. Ask for a list of past parents or check Mommy listens to see what experience people have had on the issue.
If you’re at a majority white school, you may not want to seem like the potentially angry Black parent, but asking the question up front puts administrators on notice that it’s a concern and your child will not be considered a disciplinary case for being a normal boy.

Engagement If you’re looking at a school that goes K-8 or K-12, don’t limit your visit to the lower school. Pay special attention to grades 6-8, the hormonal years. Are the kids in the classrooms still engaged, or do you see the dull eyes of pimple angst? If children at this age appear to still be excited about learning, you’re in a good place.

Knowledge of StudentsInsist on a school tour, preferably with the principal or admissions director, and while school is in session. Watch closely. Does your guide know students’ names? Are the kids speaking to the principal unprovoked, or is there fear in their faces? Schools are reflections of their leader. When walking the halls, does the school’s leader seem like the head of a family or a herder of cats?

Discipline Don’t be shy about asking a school to explain how they correct disruption and conflict, whether initiated by your child or others. Ask also about bullying. A school should be an oasis from a crazy world, not a reflection of one.

Communication How do teachers communicate with parents, and vice versa. What’s the system they have in place to facilitate that communication? E-mail? Newsletters? A note that will get lost in a backpack?
You also want to know what information is being communicated. Preferably teachers are using most of the communication to give you guides to reinforce what’s being taught in class.

Culture and Community How does a school’s culture facilitate the building of a concerned and active parent community. At one school I know, it is standard for parents to walk children to their lockers each morning and not leave until they are safely greeted by the teacher. Cellphones are also banned. It forces parents to stop, slow down and make a final, sometimes critical connection with children before they start the day. It also provides time to bond with other parents, see how children interact with classmates, stay informed and address any concerns with teachers face to face.
On the student level, do kids seem safe, happy and well adjusted? Are children in the lower schools exposed to older children and difficult concepts too early or are kids encouraged to remain kids as long as possible?

The Path A school is not a destination but part of a journey. Where does the school you pick lead your child toward a desired goal? What middle schools or high schools does it feed into? Where have its graduates been accepted? Beyond the fundamentals, what kind of broad experiences and values will your child be exposed to on their journey.
Those questions are a good start, but ultimately a child’s education is your responsibility. If you plan to drop your child at the door and get back a genius at the end of day, you will be disappointed in any choice you make. The best education begins – and continues – at home.