The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

The Student News Site of North Carolina A&T State University

The A&T Register

    My last farewell with The A&T Register

    In all my years at A&T, I have never walked into a lobby and saw students reading the paper. I have never seen copies of the paper running out in a matter of hours and people would find me and ask, “Where can I get a copy of last week’s issue?”

    I have never seen so many artists on campus trying to get their comics printed in the paper, until this year.

    The rising interest of The A&T Register from the students speaks for itself. Point blank– this was a successful year for our student newspaper. The success we found is because of the work of the entire staff.

    I would like to thank Mrs. Harris for being a great advisor for The A&T Register, for molding me into the best leader/journalist that I can be and for believing me. I would also like to thank Dexter Mullins, Malcolm Eustache, Mike McCray, Leroy Mikell III,

    Kenneth Hawkins, Jasmine Johnson, Anjan Basu, LaPorsha Lowry, Daniel Henderson, Stacie Bailey and Marcus Thompson for being such great assets to the A&T Register. All of these individuals went above and beyond every week to come out with a successful paper. We all worked together as a team and for that I am thankful and blessed to have the opportunity to work beside you all.

    Chanel Legette, Shanice Jarmon, Whitney Dickens, Ashley Reid, Michael Jones and Evan Summerville all of you were our most loyal contributors and Mrs. Harris’s interns as well. Even though I was the “boss” of The A&T Register, I never thought I was above you because you were all just as important to The A&T Register. From the contributor, the staff reporter, the editors, photographers, and the advisor, we all were an essential piece to the success of our paper.

    Now that my time as editor-in-chief is up, let me list the accomplishments we had for this year.  We won nine awards from the 11th Annual HBCU Student News Media Conference (BCCA), had outstanding coverage of President Barack Obama, presented the raciest story ever reported at A&T, “Same Sex Dating,” and covered Chancellor Battle.  We improved our website, content, and layout. These were all great accomplishments that stuck out to me during my term and for that I am proud.

    When I first obtained this position as editor-in-chief I was so terrified. My background in journalism couldn’t compare to others, especially Mike McCray’s who was the past editor-in-chief.  I was just a swimmer, studied fashion journalism in Paris, and was into painting/photography on the side. The only working knowledge I had with newspapers was The A&T Register at that time. My internship didn’t come up until the end of my term. With that, I didn’t know if I was capable of leading a successful school newspaper.

    I would constantly ask questions of my advisor to see if I was doing things right, and I looked at past papers from previous years and communicated with my staff so I could get a clearer perspective of the management with The A&T Register.

    The register, and the rest of my college life, challenged me as a leader. There would be moments where I was afraid to get up the next morning because I remembered around 5 a.m. that we forgot a cut line. There have been times that I would doubt my leadership and sometimes felt that I wasn’t being respected, or looked at as leader from the department or to my own staff. 

    However, I didn’t let my insecurities get the best of me. I realized at the end of the day that my name is listed as editor-in-chief for 2008-09, and as long as I felt that I uphold to the duties that come with that title then I shouldn’t worry about how others think of me. Plus, being a leader means that people will criticize you, it comes with the job!

    I would like to personally thank Mike McCray for being a great person to learn from. During his tenure as editor-in-chief, he was the only staff member of The A&T Register who knew how to layout the paper and how it operates. I was just an intern known as JBG (Juice Box Getter) and everyone else he hired was brand new. With that we would stay up until 4:30 a.m. every Tuesday night, finishing the paper. We lived in that office and it took us hours to finish the paper.

    Every Tuesday night you could always find me, Malcolm, Mike and Leroy in the office finishing the last final touches. Those three guys were my brothers and were the foundation of this year’s success for the student newspaper.

    Malcolm, thanks for being there for me and for helping me go through my anxieties as your editor-in-chief. I know you will have much success in law school and please keep writing; you’re so talented in that area!

    Leroy and Mike, I know you guys will be great leaders for students to and I know you will both make your mark in the journalism world like you did in this department. You all are some of the most talented men I have seen in this department and it has been an honor working with you. You guys also took home the most prestigious awards from the Journalism banquet and you are both strong assets to The A&T Register.

    That says a lot about the quality of the journalism students that are involved with the student newspaper.

    For the new editor-in-chief, Dexter Mullins, I pass this legacy down to you. I know we have had our moments but in the end it made us stronger as individuals and brought us closer together. Your mark on with The A&T Register started with your “Same Sex Dating” story. It was so funny at the time because we put a hold on your story for about a month. But, when it finally released it was the biggest talk on campus!

    I’m not worried about next year. I know the paper is in capable hands. So, I expect you guys to take home all the awards from the BCCA next year!

    Ultimately, I feel like I have accomplished more than what I planned for.

    I am so glad that A&T gave me the opportunity to be your editor-in-chief for 2008-09, being a swimmer for the Lady Aggies swimming team and for Chancellor Stanley F. Battle sending me off to Paris, France to study fashion journalism. I am so thankful and I really do appreciate everything this institution has offered for me.

    For all the students still on campus, leave A&T with a sense of accomplishment. Leaving your mark on this campus, whether it’s through community service, leadership, athletically, or academically says a lot about your character and your dedication to A&T.   

    • Aasiya Townsell