Jerijah West signed up for 'Cuse Got Talent on a whim.

He thought it could be fun and a good opportunity to show people what he does best.

And according to the judges, he was the best in the competition held Saturday.

West, a sophomore communication and rhetorical studies major, commanded the stage at the second annual 'Cuse Got Talent, winning the competition.

The crowd of more than 100 shouted and cheered for West's hip hop/R&B dance routine, which won over the judges and earned West the $400 first place prize.

"It was really intimidating at first, but when I got on stage, it was all about me and expressing how I felt at the moment," West said.

With acts ranging from free-form poetry to interpretive mime dancing, this year's 'Cuse Got Talent embodied the artistic diversity Syracuse University has to offer.

SU students lit up the stage at this year's event, hosted by Phi Beta Sigma and the Traditions Committee. Each act brought its own unique talent to the stage and awaited critiques from a panel of judges who would ultimately determine which act deserved first place.

"I was pleased with the turnout," said Kannan Muralidharan, a senior and Phi Beta Sigma member. "Not only in number, but the diversity as well"   more »

The national chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. hosted the first annual Emmitt Smith Scholarship Gala recently at the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas.

Smith is a lifetime member of the Phi Beta Sigma, a historically black fraternity founded in 1914. The fraternity strives toward its founders’ ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service to the community. From its inception, the original Founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, conceived Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community. Rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves or their families, the founders held a deep conviction they should return their newly acquired skills to the communities from which they had come. This is a principle Smith has exhibited throughout his life. This deep conviction is mirrored in the Fraternity's motto, "Culture For Service and Service For Humanity".

The first annual gala kicked off the endowed scholarship in Smith’s name, designed to benefit college athletes, who are members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. The first ever Emmitt Smith Scholarship will be awarded at the 2009 International Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.   more »

Ohio State student Ibrahim Bamba is out of his comfort zone.

Born in the Ivory Coast and raised from the age of six in New York, New Jersey and Cleveland, the junior in chemical engineering considers himself away from home at OSU.

But while away, he said the next best thing to having his family right beside him is being a member of OSU's African Youth League - an organization that brings students from different African countries together to interact socially, talk about culture and educate the community on both current and future issues relating to the continent.

The organization meets weekly but holds monthly events open to the entire OSU community in order to advance its mission.

This week, AYL will be hosting Tribute To Africa, an education workshop being held each day from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center. As part of the event, students and faculty will interact to discuss topics such as hope for improved health and future development in Africa.   more »

There won't be much time to recoup from Mardi Gras madness as New Orleans' penchant for celebration continues all month long at Audubon Zoo.

Special events featuring music, food, dance and crafts are scheduled at the zoo to celebrate Black History Month in style.

"Audubon Nature Institute is pleased to offer myriad Black History Month activities again this year that are fun and engaging for the entire family, " said Nannette Smith, director of community relations. "We always receive positive feedback from visitors and schoolchildren about our festivities, so we are excited about this year's schedule."   more »

Holidays are here and people are gearing up to hang their decorations and start picking out their trees. Christmas also means that it is the season of giving, so it is also time to pick up a gift or some canned-food to help the ones in need.

On Monday, in the Sacramento State University Union Redwood Room, students from ASI did a food and toy drive for families in need.

"We (Lambda Sigma Gamma Sorority) usually put it on ourselves, but ASI beat us to it. No hard feelings though because it is all for a good cause," said junior communications major Risa Alarcon.

Also on campus people can drop off canned-goods at the information booth located by the University Stadium and the Sac State entrance from J Street.   more »

With temperatures dropping, they knew they had a long night ahead of them.

"We're having a sleep out for the homeless. What we're doing we're going to stay outside we have music, hot chocolate, we'll have a band out here. We're just trying to raise awareness for the homeless in the Kanawha City, Charleston, Institute and the Cross Lanes area," said Sam Scroggins, West Virginia State University's Phi Beta Sigma Inc. community service fraternity president.

They brought with them the essentials.   more »

Despite the brisk night air, the Delta Theta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma hosted its eigth annual "Sleep Out For Cancer" Friday, Nov. 2.

Sleep out for cancer is a collaborative program that Phi Beta Sigma hosts in association with the American Cancer Society. "This event brings in thousands of dollars each year and we present the check to the American Cancer Society ourselves," said chapter president Antaius Byrd.

"Last year we had a lot of participation and support from other organizations, especially   more »

Approximately 70 students attended a rally Thursday at the University of Southern Mississippi in support of a group of students in Louisiana who have come to be known as the Jena Six.

"We wanted to show our support," said Brandon Dobson, 21, president of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, the 16-person group who organized the rally at Southern Miss. "Since we are unable to actually go there, we wanted to show our support here. We wanted to bring attention to it at USM because everybody knows about it, but nobody is doing anything."
 
Dobson said the goals of the rally were to get more information out into the community and raise money for the families of the Jena Six to ease court costs. Organizers say they collected more than $200.   more »

More than a year after Phi Beta Sigma fraternity conceived a plan to offer free condoms in MU residence halls, Chancellor Brady Deaton is expected to respond to a revised proposal.

The response can be expected early next week, Missouri Students Association President Rachel Anderson stated in an e-mail.

Anderson said Deaton drafted a response to the condom proposal, and she met with Deaton and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs on Monday.

Scroggs said if the plan were approved, the university would still need to find funding for it. She said there is no money set aside to implement the plan.

“I think people thought that this would happen right away, but there was no plan for implementation,” Scroggs said.

Scroggs said there is also not a plan for distributing the condoms. She said the task force charged with creating the proposal for Deaton’s consideration had looked into the cost of tamperproof machines to dispense the condoms.

Running out of the SGA Office, carrying a folder with papers bulging out of both sides, Morgan Pippin, SGA President, is running one of his daily errands.

Pippin's job as president is time consuming. Pippin attends about 10 meetings per week, has to put in 20 office hours, makes sure that the student body stays informed about different issues, and serves as the student body's voice to the faculty and staff.

"If there is an issue that a student comes to me about, I try and let someone know within 48 hours," Pippin said. "I go to the source that needs to be told about it."

Pippin ran for president after his first year on the SGA.

"I had ideas for the University and wanted to implement them for the student body," Pippin said.

He campaigned with signs, Facebook flyers, cups, T-shirts and sidewalk chalk. He wasn't surprised when he won though.