Aggie Life has never been portrayed in a documentary style until now.  Kevin Wilson’s “Experience in Aggie Life” documentary debuted on Wednesday April 14 in the General Classroom Building Auditorium.   

The event opened with a performance of “Dear A&T” sung by the Iota Beta Colony of Phi Mu Alpha, followed by a spoken word performance by Miss A&T Ngozi Opara titled “Secrets”.

Wilson stated that the documentary contained over 20 hours of footage but had to be condensed to a 45-minute presentation.

The documentary featured commentary from A&T students, faculty and staff on various aspects of Aggie Life, from athletics to campus security.  The segments that dealt primarily with campus security gave insight into the deaths of Dennis Hayle and Chad Wiley.

Wiley was a football player that died during summer workouts and Hayle, a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was killed January 2009.

“There was mixed feelings about the documentary,” said Wilson, a senior Broadcast Production major from Durham, NC. “I chose to focus on Hayle because I felt like it was a story that people had forgotten.”

Since the documentary aired, there has been a lot of speculation that the Greensboro police have since begun readily working on the investigation. At the time this article went to press, The Register can neither confirm nor deny those allegations.

“I have to spark change. Focusing on the positive doesn’t start change,” continued Wilson.

Even before the documentary was showcased to the campus, Wilson showed the original version to the administration of A&T. Because of certain material it contained, he was advised to cut some of the documentary. Interviews it contained were derogatory toward the police, due to frustration.

“Personally, I already know of the system and how it works and how it affects the students and how it affects me.  The documentary wasn’t nothing new to me as far what goes on in the city of Greensboro,” said Gian Spells, a junior journalism and mass communications major from Raleigh, NC.

“I’m not about demoralizing the police, that’s why I put the disclaimer at the beginning.

Those were views of the students. Taking some of the material out was to protect myself,” said Wilson.

During the documentary, emotions were running high. Close friends of Hayle left the room after seeing some footage of an anonymous source referencing the death of Hayle.

“I talked with his brothers and we’re fine. They can appreciate the documentary and they can appreciate me,” said Wilson. “I just wish I showed [his brothers] the documentary before that night.”

“We walked away. In no shape or form was there any threat towards Wilson,” said Thomas Hudson, a senior Business Management major from Fayetteville, NC, also the fraternity brother of Hayle. “I have respect for him [Wilson] because I knew him before. People saw our emotions and jumped to conclusions. I’ll stop hurting when his mother stops hurting.”

“People don’t understand how we feel.”

Following the viewing of the documentary, SGA President Syene Jasmin gave a short speech commending Wilson for his work and encouraging students to take part in improving the safety of the campus and community.

“I think the film was definitely heavy, it had a lot in it, and I liked the fact that it captured the whole Aggie Pride since it got the positives and balanced it out with the negatives,” said Jessica Hallager, a junior sociology major from Philadelphia and vice president of the History Club.

“As far as campus security, their presence could be more visible, more active. I don’t think we should solely rely on the Greensboro Police Department to do that, we should definitely look out for each other as a family.”

• Jasmine Johnson & Marcus Thompson