4 The HBCU Advocate Editorial


Volume 1 Number 8


Who Is Secretly Supporting Trump?


in the old adage, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” or they consider Trump a friend that they do not have to keep an eye on.


Several Democrats who are


BY ANGELA JONES What better time to look back on


African American history than with “45” in the office of the U.S. Presidency. His promise to “Make America Great Again” encourages many people to ask “What exactly does he mean by ‘Great Again?’” Some have made the assumption that his promise means that he is going to make America White again. Te good thing about his statement is that he has people looking at American history and reflecting on the past, which has been said to be tantamount to avoiding repeating the past. Obviously, he has a lot of overt and covert supporters and wherever Trump is planning to take the U.S., these supporters will happily follow.


A lot of people chose to boycott


the State of the Union address by not watching it, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus. When there was an African American president in office, they had an opportunity to make unprecedented strides for African American people. For whatever reason, that did not happen. Tose who boycotted the SOTU address, either do not believe


not members of the Congressional Black Caucus but claim to have the African American interest at heart, including Nancy Pelosi could be seen applauding during the President’s SOTU speech. If one were to be honest with themselves, they would realize, it has been quite some time since Democratic lawmakers, stepped up for African Americans. Te silence of the majority of Democratic lawmakers was deafening during the height of the Black Lives Matters Movement and the numbers did not lie when the election tallies were counted showing exactly who voted for “45.”


For those of you who believe


the democratic party has your back, according to Wikipedia, some of the Democrats who admitted to voting for Trump include: David Clarke, sheriff of Milwaukee County; Tom Luken, former mayor of Cincinnati and former United States Representative; David Saunders, political strategist and author; Andrew Stein, former Borough President of Manhattan and President of the New York City Council; Adam Walinsky, lawyer who served in the Department of Justice and as a speechwriter for Robert F. Kennedy; and Jim Webb, former U.S. Senator from Virginia and 2016 presidential candidate.


May I suggest that one does


not hold their breath waiting for impeachment or indictment. Like it or not, Trump is here to stay. He would not have won the election if he did not have a large group of undercover as well as overt supporters.


Winter/Spring 2018 Your Opinion Matters


HU: On the Record Regarding Transition From MEAC to Big South


BY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY HAMPTON, Va. — Reports


from athletic officials at some MEAC schools that Hampton University has opted out of playing Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football opponents in the 2018 season are inaccurate and misleading. Te truth is that Hampton University has offered to play a full schedule of MEAC football games in 2018, but the MEAC refuses to sit down and talk to Hampton University about any transition to the Big South Conference. Instead, they have issued a set of unreasonable demands which Hampton University finds totally unacceptable.


For example, MEAC has levied


vindictive sanctions against our student athletes, stripping Hampton University students and coaches of Conference Superlatives, such as bowl games, automatic NCAA tournament berths, MEAC Player of the Week, All-Conference team honors, Coach of


the Year, or even selection to the


Commissioner’s All-Academic Team. Hampton University Senior


Vice President Paul C. Harris sees the MEAC’s actions as an attempt to punish student-athletes for the university’s strategic decision to leave the conference.


“I am appalled that, aſter a


22-year rewarding and productive relationship and numerous conference championships, the MEAC wants to hang Hampton University student- athletes out to dry. Tese are the same talented young people whose NCAA appearances have resulted in millions of dollars being poured into MEAC coffers,” Harris said.


dated Dec.


Hampton University, in a letter 4, 2017, from President


Dr. William R. Harvey, stated its willingness


to play a full (8-game)


MEAC football schedule and remain eligible for the 2018 Celebration Bowl; to allow the MEAC to retain a pro-rated portion of $520,000 Hampton University received from the NCAA when HU participated in its 2015 men’s basketball


tournament; The HBCU Advocate


Angela Jones, Publisher Chris Parks, Editor


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Copyright pertaining to contents of this edition. All rights reserved.


to compete


in 3-4 football games in 2019-2022; and to schedule four MEAC games in women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and soſtball.


Instead of accepting those


favorable offers, MEAC set into action a list of unreasonable demands that were sealed officially on Feb.5, in a letter from Dr. David Wilson, current chair of the MEAC Council of Chief Executive Officers (CCEO):


Hampton University must


schedule a full 8-game MEAC slate for its 2018 football season. (Tis demand hamstrings Hampton University from scheduling games with its future conference teams in the Big South.)


Hampton University will


not be eligible for any MEAC championships following its effective date of withdrawal from MEAC. (Tis demand eliminates any opportunity for Hampton University to earn a bid to a bowl game in football, an automatic invitation in basketball for winning a conference championship, and from being considered for an at- large bid in other sports.)


Hampton University will not be


eligible for any conference superlative awards such as Player of the Week, Coach of the Year, etc. (Tis demand


penalizes every Hampton University student athlete and coach who excels on the playing field or in the classroom.)


Hampton University will be


a non-conference opponent for all MEAC member institutions. (Tis demand makes Hampton University the only independent college in NCAA Division I football, effectively ending hope of qualifying for a bowl game.)


Hampton University is required


to compete in a full (8-game) MEAC football schedule for 2019 – 2021 unless both institutions agree not to play. (Tis three-year demand is impossible, since Hampton University will belong to the Big South and will schedule 8 conference games these seasons. In addition, Hampton University is being forced to pay financial losses caused by failure to play MEAC opponents.)


Hampton University will not


be eligible for any MEAC revenue distribution from MEAC subsequent to June 30, 2018, including any future revenue that would otherwise be


obligated to a current MEAC


conference member. (Tis demand means that Hampton University would receive no more revenues from MEAC, including event revenue sharing, from playing a member school during the remainder of this year.)


MEAC is assessing a $250,000


financial penalty against Hampton University for its failure to comply with MEAC Constitution and Bylaws. (Tis demand has no basis in the MEAC Constitution and Bylaws, and means that Hampton University would have to take money away from student athlete programs.)


Te CCEO determined to not


allow Hampton University a voice by opening the Feb. 2 conference call by voting down the agreed-upon face-to-face meeting with MEAC membership. Hampton University is appealing that decision, but the MEAC has arranged for the appeal to be heard by the same CCEO that made the underlying decision. One must assume that it will be heard by the same judge, jury and executioner.


Hampton University openly


acknowledged it missed a July 1, 2017 deadline to notify MEAC of its intentions to move to the Big South Conference, which it


Nov. 16, 2017. Importantly, however, Hampton


University missed


announced the


deadline due to ongoing discussions with several other conferences regarding potential membership, not because of negligence or bad faith or antipathy toward MEAC. In fact, in full transparency, Hampton University held numerous open


conversations


with MEAC officials about its plans to move up in conference status, disclosing information referencing negotiations outside the conference.


Over the past few years, higher


ranking athletic conferences have courted Hampton University for potential conference membership, including the Big South (ranked No. 25). Hampton University engaged in exploratory discussions with several other conferences and, at all


times,


again, kept MEAC Commissioner Dennis Tomas apprised of those exploratory discussions.


When Hampton University ON THE RECORD PAGE 11


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