Where Are They Now?

BY AIYDA CELESTIN

WILLIAM KELLIBREW WAS HONORED BY THE WHITE HOUSE AS THE 2011 CHAMPION OF CHANGE FOR HIS WORK AS PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OR CRIME AND VIOLENCE. A national victims advocate who witnessed the murder of his mother and brother at the tender age of 10, a pioneering young Latino politician still coping with the devastating loss of his friend due to gun violence. | READ MORE

Don't Get Scammed

BY TINA HAMILTON

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO

The beginning of the year is a lucrative time for tax preparation.  The offer of instant money sounds like a great deal but many customers are not aware of the expensive fees attached.

“This is my time of year,” Janice Allen said as she was exiting Instant Tax Service in District Heights, Md recently. “I look forward to and need my return and that’s why I don’t appreciate so call professional’s stealing what’s owed to me”. Allen and several other filers are missing hundreds of dollars from their return, which Instant Tax Service prepared.  | READ MORE

New Student Center Breaks Ground

BY KAYDIAN JONES

COURTESY OF CANNON/MARSHALL/MOYA DESIGN

The renaissance of Washington’s only public university, University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is well on the way, with the groundbreaking of the institution’s Student Center on Jan. 18th and the plaza deck near completion.

Mayor of the District Vincent C. Gray helped break ground for the center, saying that its construction represents improvements in the public education system, a system that he and his administration is working very hard to improve.

Meanwhile Erik Thompson, senior project manager for Capital Construction which is building the center said,” It is a physical example of the strides the university is making to become a premier university, symbolic of its position as the nation’s state institution.”

The cutting-edge facility will be an addition and expansion of both buildings 38 and 39, moving out towards Connecticut Avenue through Van Ness Street. The project is a $40 million dollar project; the D.C. City Council funded $35 million in 2009 and the remaining 5 million was paid for through student fees.  While construction is being done on the center, a detour to the metro will be put in place for the public.

Tolu Onasanya, Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) president, who was also present for the groundbreaking said the student center will be a great addition to the university as whole and will improve the student life on campus. “UDC is progressing in the right direction in developing a center that we as Firebirds will be proud to call our own," he said.

The list of proposed amenities for the facility includes an auditorium, bookstore, ballroom, fitness center and offices for clubs and organizations. Building 38, which currently has the bookstore along with the student organization offices, will be tripled in size due to relocation of the offices to the center.

The ballroom, which is one of the exciting additions to the institution, will be used for a number of campus events such as lectures and job fairs. There will also be a special hall called the Heritage Hall dedicated to the history of the university telling the story dating back to when it all began in 1851 with Myrtilla Miner.  “This building will expand upon the architectural appearance of the campus, this resonated a lot with the community around us,” said Thompson.

In fall 2012, half the construction will be completed a tour of the building will be available to see the LEED Platinum building the completed date for the center is spring 2012.