Caribbean delights

by Keisha A. Mitchell

Caribbean Delights:

Located front and center in the West End, and accessibly placed across the street from the West End Mall, Caribbean delights is both nutritious and delicious. Featuring West Indian cuisine, and vegetarian and seafood dishes with a Jamaican flair, Caribbean Delights is happy to serve students at a dollar off any meal price.  

Ru Sans

by Keisha A. Mitchell

Sushi anyone? Well Ru Sans is the spot. With a couple different locations throughout the city, namely in the Edgewood/Moreland area near little five points, and a Buckhead locale, Ru Sans features a full sushi bar and (get this) A dollar menu catered specifically towards us starving students. How Sweet? 

The Yearbook vol1-The Party Animals: Hittsquad ENT.

By Keisha A. Mitchell 

School/s: Clark Atlana University

Classification: Undergrad & Post Grad

            How did the city of Atlanta become a Mecca for nightlife anyway? Well, one could speculate, but when it comes to the college crowd a large part of that answer is found back in 2004, when a group of young men from approximately 900 miles away came to Clark Atlanta University; correctly diagnosing and curing what was then, a staunchly different collegiate party scene.  But Anthony Adighibe, Corey Felder, and “a number of other gentlemen” got it done, and Hittsquad Ent.  has been “upgrading nightlife” for students in the city of Atlanta ever since.

             Adighibe, and affiliates started as self proclaimed “flyer boys” for HittSquad in New Jersey where the company was initially formed. The group coincidentally decided to pursue higher education down south, and ended up at Clark Atlanta University where they sensed a much needed improvement on the party front. As Adighibe puts it “… [We] said, ‘Let’s do the party thing’. We got tired of seeing other people doing it.”

The group, who started humbly in Adighibes’ house doing parties once a month, quickly found success when their first party at the Atrium Entertainment Complex and Night Club, brought in a little over 1500 people.  From there, the former flyer-boys were able to turn Hittsquad Ent. from being a New Jersey import, into a substantial party and promotions empire and the groups’ accomplishments have yet to slow down.

“We’ve been on the senior party every year for the last four years.  [We’re] known for the Clark [Atlanta] homecoming and we’ve done Morehouses’ homecoming, [and] we were the first people to throw a fashion show in the GWCC (Georgia World Congress and Convention Center).” Say Adighibe. Ask what his favorite Hittsquad accomplishment is thus far and he can’t choose: “I can’t honestly name just one, there’s so many.”  Though, he can distinguish between the litter, one accomplishment definitely stands out above the rest as a testament to Hittsquads’ dominance. Adighibe puts it best “We’re not just college guys anymore, we’re known in Atlanta”.

             So now that Hittsquads’ at the top of the party scene for students, where could they possibly go next?  Well aside from doing their annual trips to B.E.Ts’ Spring Bling, and going into the philanthropic realm with their community service initiative “Hittsquad Helps”, Adighibe says he’s going grown. Well, over 21 at least.

“I wanna go in a different circle; I wanna actually do the 21 and up. That’s the era we’ve been moving in.”  And then there’s always the potential to take over another state, Adighibe elaborates: “Use the same formula we used four years ago and got to another city, and set HittSquad up.”

       If you would like to be apart of the party, or at least get pics of what you missed while you may have been sleeping underneath a rock, you can always go to Hittsquads’ website; www.hittsquadent.com , join one of their numerous Facebook groups, or the fan page, check out their party pics at www.ATLEXPOSEDMAG.com, or keep your ears perked for news of their next event. 

   

BookShelf: “It’s Ok if you’re clueless… And 23 more tips for the college bound” by Toni Morrison

 by Keisha A. Mitchell 

  

    

A departure from her black literature niche, Toni Morrison gives realistic and relevant tips to students. Inspired by her sons’ undergrad experience, Ms. Morrison weaves a mothers’ practical advice with your favorite aunts flair. 

The yearbook vol1-The Steppers: Isteptoo.com

By Keisha A. Mitchell

School/s: Morehouse founded, students affiliations are nation wide

        Classifications: undergrad, post grad, and grad students 

If college campuses are anything, they’re a microcosm of the world around them; static surroundings seething with amorphous social trends, changes, and subcultures. For many students the allure of assuming the role of participant in any one group or organization is too hard to resist. Nowhere is this phenomenon seemingly more evident than in the world of one of the largest and perhaps even most overlooked activities found on many campuses: Stepping.

            Stepping, which is a practice not specific to Black or white Greeks and is rumored to have began when white frats used to gather in campus common areas and sing. With the inception of Black Frats, the practice quickly took root amongst the new organizations and was eventually melded with more African American based influences like the dance styles of popular groups like the Temptations and Stylistics. The activities’ evolution found stepping becoming more prominent on black campuses, and with the Civil Rights, and Black Power Movements, more culturally centric.

Today for denizens of HBCUs and campuses where Black Greek letter organizations exist, Stepping is a prevalent and common element to the social atmosphere. The sport is so coveted that many students, male and female, clamor for the chance to be on freshman dorm step teams during their first year (an activity which in many cases closely resembles pledging and often serves as a prelude to many students journey into Greek life).

Stepping, and steppers have adequate representation in most to all homecomings on these campuses (with the freshman step show being one of the most attended events in the homecoming lineup), most to all college parties (An attribution given to the Greeks who are known to breakout into their intensively choreographed routines at any moment several times during a single night), and in the overall day to day affairs on campus.

    What isn’t readily revealed however, is that Stepping, and its’ participants isn’t practiced the same from group to group, campus to campus, nor is it solely on campuses where there are African-Americans. As popularity of the sport grows, garnering it more attention from the media by way of television and film (i.e.; “Stomp the Yard”, and “How She Move”), solidifying its’ place in the social psyche of collegiate America, a whole underground network is cropping up that takes step seriously, to say the least.

 Enter ISTEPTOO.com, the first social networking site that serves as a “place for fans of step, steppers themselves, those acquainted with step, and for those who want to know about stepping events.” According to one one of the Founders Ronald Davis, “It’s a place for everybody to meet up”.

Founded by Joseph Andorful, Italo Brown, Ronald Davis, Brandon Earl, Brennan Manuel, Hannibal Scipio, and Bryan Wallace, ISTEPTOO.com was the brainchild of stepper enthusiasts turned Greek and step culture experts.  The group met in the AUC (Atlanta University Consortium) during their freshman year and all had prior exposure to the sport and wanted to expand their involvement with the activity on the collegiate level. The 7 eventually ended up going Greek as well some founders  mentoring younger steppers who embarked on  the same rites of passage they had a few years prior.  It was through their travels to other states, and colleges, and their interaction with other step teams that they saw a need for a viable and tangible network to be formed.

            “We always wanted real stepping to be brought to the forefront” says Davis.

 “We saw a lot of half stepping…we wanted to bring what we consider was the stepping and precision and definitely the entertainment factor.”

Davis  says the misconception about what Step actually is is partially credited to the sports lack of mainstream notoriety: “We feel like a lot of what step is got misconstrued as just dancing or thinking it was just isolated to certain cultures, or schools when that’s not true.” 

According to Davis, the amount of diversity to be found amongst the populace of steppers is completely contrary to what is often portrayed, but one thing that remains constant is the amount of discipline and creativity to be taken from it. “You have White steppers, and Latinos (especially in the North) and it [always] displays discipline and unity…I’ve spoken with them to see what they get from it…It’s something different for everybody but it brings people together, gives them something to devote their energy to creatively, gives them an out lease.

            Asked where he sees the site in five years, Davis says he just wants the project to remain sustainable and accessible, eventually aiding step in becoming mainstream. “ Really we just want ISTEP the company as well as ISTEPTOO to create a community that’s truly representative of the culture…We just want to grow in size and exposure … The goal for ISTEP is to become a household name and to be affiliated with anything step.”

  To become more acquainted with step culture, ISTEPTOO, or to reach out to the founders and find out how you can get involved you can reach them at their site www.ISTEPTOO.Com , or email Ronald Davis at RDAVIS@great8productions.com

                            

The Yearbook vol1- The Voices: The Yard Radio Show

By Keisha A. Mitchell 

School/s: Spelman, Morehouse, Hampton University

Classification: varied/undergrad

What happens when you mix radio, media savyiness, college students, and fresh coverage of pop culture?  You get YARD Radio.

Launched at Hampton University in 2004, the YARD is not your average radio show.  With representation on 4 campuses (the collective universities of the AUC and Hampton University), and a growing fan base, listeners tune in faithfully every week to get their dose of “pop culture for college students”  and the team that makes up the YARD works relentlessly to never disappoint. However, co-host Lauren Morton of Prince Georges County, Maryland and Producer Tyler Mccullers of Rosette, New Jersey want everyone to know that the YARD “is not solely, a radio show”.

 “ …What separates us from most radio shows ….to me when you think of a radio show you think of people sitting in a studio broadcasting for an hour or so, but the YARD’s so much more than that.”  Says Lauren “We’re a family, we’re a brand.”

            The show, which covers everything from your usual pop culture commentary to national news, to more pertinent information centered around the collegiate community, doesn’t stick to your average urban broadcast format either. Rather, in true media platform fashion, they bring their coverage to their audience, and nowhere have they been more successful in doing so than with their popular “Green carpet” coverage. As Tyler explains:

“[The] Green Carpet is a welcoming committee for events on and off campus. We try to help upgrade the status of an event…make it a little more interactive and fun.” 

The “Green Carpet”, which has boasted the appearances of everyone from Keri Hilson

and Farnsworth Bentley, to Morehouse President Robert Michael Franklin Jr., has

become an undeniable trademark and testament to the shows’ expansiveness. According

to YARD participants  however, this expansiveness isn’t always recognized or

appreciated:

“Our pioneers’ goal wasn’t just to stay at Hampton” Lauren says. “It’s very important for

us to get around to PWIs (predominately white institutions)…” Tyler concurs: “[The]

Yard is not just a black radio show… We try to open ourselves to everybody.  We try to make it a platform for college students and everybody to

use …the next school we’ll jump to is a PWI.”

             So outside of diversifying their listening audience, what else does the YARD Radio Show have planned next?  Quite simply, a lot.

“[We have] television shows in the works, homecoming, fashion shows, launch parties…If you hear about it, the YARD will be there. Simple.” Says Lauren.

“I wanna be on a college campus in the Netherlands” Tyler Mcculler says of the shows progression in the next five years, but more immediately he says there’s a “whole bunch of new stuff planned for this upcoming year.” Including more of a presence on the show from other campus influentials

“I definitely want to get a lot more campus figure heads on the show this year. SGA Presidents and let them talk about what they plan to do.”

    When asked for advice on how to run Atlanta on a budget, the YARD had some notable suggestions.

Tyler starts: “If you’re broke but if you do have a car, Fellinis’ is definitely where you need to be at.”  On being a student in the city Lauren adds:  “We’re not located in some backwoods, in some random part of the city. We can hop on a train and go almost anywhere we want. Concerts, dance performances, arts performances, [the city] has so much to offer.”

 And After you had your fill of the city, be sure to check out the YARD Radio show during their live broadcasts on Thursdays at 9:00 form WSTU station 98.1, or from their podcasts. To find out how to get down with the YARD be sure to friend them on Facebook, screen name: The YARD Radio Show, or check out their website at the www.yard radio.com  

The Yearbook vol1- The Creative: Sobriaus Ibim

By Keisha A. Mitchell

School/s: Georgia State

Classification: Junior

            For every great party flyer, there’s an even greater visionary commissioned to succinctly visually convey just how dope the event listed will be. Having said that, there’s a good chance your favorite flyer may have been created by none other than graphic designer and entrepreneur Sobarias Ibim, aka Sobi.

           The Atlanta, Georgia native says he knew from an early age exactly what he wanted to do: “I always knew I wanted to be in the graphic design industry.”

Sobi, who started out doing comics in elementary school, developed his company Maximum Animation LLC by the time he was in middle school.

“When I went to college, I want[ed] to form a company and make it legitimate.”  

Doing just that, Sobi has turned Maximum Animation LLC into a media and graphic design consultant/firm, and today, he actively does designs for different businesses and individuals throughout the city of Atlanta.

             When asked what inspires him, Sobis’ answer is simple “What inspires me is what everybody else is doing. When anybody’s doing something, I like to go left… [that way] I have a competitive edge over the others.”

            While that competitive edge has definitely helped set Sobi apart from his peers, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t see others as necessary. Sobi says that networking, and interaction with others has helped him gain much of his success. He explains:

“Most of the stuff I’ve learned and needed I learned by meeting people outside on a day-to day basis.” He continues: “Network as much as you can and get to know everyone. They can refer you to the best spots and the best people; you definitely can’t depend on juts school to get you where you need to go.”

         And Sobi is going places indeed.  In the upcoming year expect to see a lot more of the graphic designers work. Sobi explains “In the upcoming year, expect to see us working with a lot of big name clients.” And Sobi doesn’t plan on stopping there.

“I’m satisfied with what I have now, I’m blessed with what I have now, but I’m always reaching for more, so be surprised if you see us working on something [entirely] different.”

       As Sobi knows, we’ll be watching. And if you want to grasp for something graphically stimulating in the meantime or even just catch up with Sobi to inquire about how to join his team you can always check him, or his works out  on his website, maximum-animation.com, or on Facebook, screen name: Maximum Animation, or follow the companys’  tweets on Twitter.com/maximum animation.