Photo by Grace Singer

His favorite color is green because he wanted to be the green Power Ranger as a kid. He likes to cook, and he has listened to “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey before every test for the last seven years because the two times that he didn’t he failed miserably. His favorite genre of books, movies and TV shows is comedy.

Joseph Babadi is a junior economics major with a minor in applied mathematics.

“If I’m not laughing, then something is wrong,” he said while discussing his love of the TV show “The Big Bang Theory” and his all time favorite movie, “Billy Madison.”

Amidst all these simple pleasures he manages being president of two different honors organizations: Green Key and the Honors Student Association.

Green Key is an honorary leadership organization. Only the top 1 percent of students on campus who exhibit leadership qualities get inducted into the group. Members vote anonymously on the applicants. The main objective of the group is to facilitate the purchasing of the class gift. They come up with the idea, poll the seniors, fund raise and do the final purchasing. This year’s gift is bench swings in the central courtyard of the apartment area.

As president of the Honors Student Association, Babadi collaborates and plans for the honors freshman orientation and the monthly honors meetings. This year he helped to organize the Honors Summit, an educational event about a country of the HSA’s choice.

“Those are probably the three biggest things that I have done and continue to do,” he said. “I have grown as a leader but also as a person. I’ve had to work on my patience and other characteristics that I wasn’t really used to having.”

Dealing with paperwork has been a challenge for his patience. A particularly frustrating obstacle has been having to fill out paperwork to reserve a room for a meeting only to have a class consistently run over their class time and having to make adjustments.

Babadi says that becoming president of these two organizations wasn’t something he planned on doing; they just kind of happened to him. Once the idea was presented to him he started thinking about the potential of the organizations and how he might push them passed their limits and expand what they each represent and how they effect the JU campus. He particularly takes pleasure in working with the students within the organization. He tries to bring out the voice of the more shy students and help a student who’s stressing to relax somewhat.

The path up to this point for Babadi has not always been clear. When he left high school, he wasn’t even entirely sure he would be getting to college. He didn’t even know JU was here despite having been born and raised in Jacksonville. Babadi wanted to take his football career to the University of Miami. When life took him in a different direction, he ended up here. He continued to play football at JU, but when an injury took him out of the game, he decided to fill up his time with exercises in leadership.

This choice ties in nicely with his chosen career path. Babadi aspires to one day be mayor of Jacksonville.

“I’ve wanted to be mayor of Jacksonville since I was a senior in high school,” Babadi said. “Everyone was saying, ‘I can’t wait to get out of Jacksonville!’ and it made me wonder how they could grow up in such a great city and then just want to leave it. So I thought I should become mayor and make Jacksonville a city where once people come they just don’t want to leave. People just seem to forget the opportunities they have at their disposal here.”

He cited the city slogan from when former Mayor Peyton had just taken office: “The gateway to Florida.” He emphatically stated that he genuinely believes in the truth of that statement. He talked about how as a kid and teenager he was taught by and attended school with the children of public figures from television.

“So, like, there are people that you see on television, but you still know them. The big city with a small town feel pretty much embodies Jacksonville. The way I see Jacksonville is that it’s just a big neighborhood.”

Joseph looks to two people for inspiration: his own father and Albert Einstein. Babadi’s father immigrated to America with little English skills and no family alongside him. He left Iran and came here working two jobs to make a living for himself. With his entire support system overseas, he jumped feet first into the task of building his new life from the ground up.

When Joseph was a little kid, his father used to watch surgery videos with him hoping that the idea of being a doctor would stick. It quickly became apparent that becoming a medical doctor was not in the stars for Joseph, but, not to be deterred, he strives towards achieving his Ph.D. so that he might still achieve the title of doctor even if it isn’t quite what his father had in mind.

Albert Einstein also inspires Babadi because he was a genius who didn’t care what other people thought of him. The crazy hair and mustache don’t exactly detract either.

This summer Babadi looks forward to doing research with a program at the University of Michigan. He hopes that this program might contribute to his ultimate goal of becoming mayor and will continue to lead Green Key and the HSA with pride and joy.

The trials and tribulations of dating were hashed out amongst a small group of differently minded people on  March 27. The students, congregated in the Ross Theater, discussed topics such as the characteristics that allow you to let your guard down, the importance of a man’s size, and the best and worst way for a guy to approach you.

Every one there had at least one moment where they felt incited enough to speak up about their view. Some people had many moments. One particular question, whether size really matters, evoked a particularly widespread response. It started off on track; each girl steadfastly stated that she would not break up with a guy over a lacking penis.

One female audience member asserted that it’s performance over size. It was at this point, however, that the discussion quickly devolved into an issue about how much physical appearance really matters.

Ernest Fleming, a junior sports management major, made the broad sweeping generalization that it is easier for white guys to get dates.

He used the example of shoes to illustrate how much harder black guys have to try to get girls to go out with them.

“Why do black guys keep their shoes so clean? That’s why,” he said.

The sound of audience members’ confused mutterings seemed to indicate that they found this example somewhat unfounded.

After this moderately divergent tangent the conversation turned to what turns a lady off. Based on the discussion that ensued it would seem that tunnel vision on sex, unkempt appearance, malodorousness, stupidity and bad teeth will not get you far with a lady.

A ponderous attendee wondered aloud if love could overcome those terms. This idea was quickly squashed with a firm, “No, you gotta go to the dentist.”

The discussion proceeded to highlight how important it is that a guy is able to present his best face and talk to a girl in person. It followed with a vehement statement about how offensive it is when guys try to attract the attention of a female by making noises at her.

“When a guy goes and makes noise at me like no, I’m not an animal,” said sophomore Kristine Brown. “Don’t make noise at me; just come up to me and talk with me.”

The evening of discussion rounded off with humorous recountings of some of the best and worst ways that the girls present had been approached. One girl in particular regaled the crowd with a tale about how her friends and she walked across the street to CVS one night looking for some sundries at 10:30 p.m. A man approached them on a bike, pulled out some money and was in the middle of presenting it to them when they turned tail and ran back on to campus.

It was the perfect light hearted anecdote to round off the evening. Everyone parted in good spirits and went forth with new insight into the tumultuous world of dating.

Photo by Kalli Unthank

The anticipatory rumble of chatter from assembled students faded away as Nene Flowers, president of the Black Student Union, took the stage to introduce the first of many acts to come. Throughout the night, about a score of students sang, danced, quoted and otherwise performed all manner of pieces with black heritages and themes for the fourth Annual Black History Program.

“Hate is too great a burden to bear,” said Alexis Jones, a Jacksonville University student. “It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.”

Jones was quoting the late Coretta Scott King on Feb. 23 in the Gooding Auditorium. Technical difficulties stalled the event at first, but the proceedings persevered only half an hour off schedule.

The campus gospel group contributed deep and rich music to the beginning and middle of the program. Seniors Rachel Moore, Anesha Hines, Brittany Carter and Jasmine Clements and sophomore Latonio Nichols sang their hearts out for the assembly.

Ashley Thorns, a fifth-year senior in music business performed a monologue called “Black Power.” The message of it was what black power is in the world. Throughout the monologue, the speaker told the audience all of the things that black power is: “freedom,” “me,” “education,” “you,” “confident,” “we” and “black power is us all.”

Students Evelyn Kenner, Driana Mitchell and Denaya Wilkerson performed a dance piece to a recorded reading of a poetic adaptation of a speech made by Sojourner Truth entitled “Ain’t I a Woman.” It was powerful and moving and the congregated students voiced these sentiments with vigor.

Julius Demps II, Ph.D.,  assistant professor of management in the Davis College of Business, gave a rousing presentation about what he sees on campus and what he believes is expected. He commenced by addressing the students with the question, “What is a civil right?”

One sharply dressed former student, Mike Henzie, said, “I believe a civil right is a right can’t nobody take from you.”

Dr. Demps followed up with some history about black and white men who were most active and influential during times of slavery.

Then he took a turn towards the 21st century and started to describe the kinds of behaviors that he sees nowadays in students on campus. He entreated audience members to put down the phones and eschew Facebook because such practices, in his words, “rob you of your time.”

Then he called out for the students to start wearing appropriate and professional looking attire. According to Dr. Demps, this is the time when students should be recreating their image.

“You are getting ready to stop living for you and start living for your kids,” he said.

Finally, Dr. Demps asserted that education and skills are the only thing that will save African Americans.

The night proceeded with more quotes, an original rap by freshman political science major Angel Buckmire called “Can I Live,” a monologue entitled “Stand” performed by Mike Henzie and finally a solo song, “I Believe in You and Me,” by senior vocal performance major Anesha Hines.

Anesha’s song was meant to have been the last performance of the night; however, Ashley Thorns took the stage one last time. She embraced her friend before turning to address the crowd.

The five man band at the foot of the stage struck up a tune and Ashley began to sing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. Corey Wilcox provided a dynamite trombone solo to complement her singing.

“I wanted it to be a surprise – a tribute to Whitney,” Ashley said after the program.

As the audience filtered out of the auditorium, the band continued to fill the room with a lively jam session. Quashaun Oliver played keyboard, Darryl Moore played drums, Justin and Gentle Groover played bass guitar and Corey Wilcox played trombone.

The crowd left abuzz with nothing but good words to describe the program.

“I think they did a great job of incorporating historical facts with the present relevancy of those facts,” said Nicole Sanders, a junior psychology and philosophy double major.

“I just really enjoyed the coming together of talent and the lessons that were showcased,” said Ariel Brown, a junior business administration major. “It was a great event.”

Photo by Ninoska Nunez

The early evening of Feb. 14 saw an overcast and gloomy river front. Members of the honors program at Jacksonville University had their fingers crossed that the rain would hold off long enough for them to get through the final night of their Italian Summit.

They feverishly arranged their scene: columns to bring a piece of the past to the present, a cardboard gondola, a home-made fountain to create an ambiance and various Italian desserts and coffees to bring a bit of culture to the Dolphin Green from the other side of the pond. If all went according to plan, the evening would be an outlet for students to come out and dance away their stress or frustrations with friends or just spend a nice night out in the open air with a loved one.

The evening started out a little slow. Everyone was not quite comfortable letting loose in front of each other. DJ Mark Whitted played some toe-tapping tunes in hopes of enticing some moves out of the people who came out for the occasion.

After a bit, students got more comfortable mingling with each other. A couple of line dances brought people out on to the dance floor. Twenty to 30 students of all years lined up to dance the Cupid Shuffle, Electric Slide and Macarena. Later in the evening, a competition between a couple of juniors, Joseph Babadi and Eric Smith, president and vice-president of the honors program respectively, broke out. Each tried to prove himself the best at cat-daddy-ing.

By the end of the dance all present were happily engaged in either dance circles or conversations with their friends. Freshman Oyin Hunyinbo from Nigeria impressed and amazed the friends she had come with when she uncharacteristically busted a move off in a corner of the dance floor that she had hoped was inconspicuous.

The night rounded off around 10 p.m. with one last Cupid Shuffle in which everyone participated. It came right on time. With the crowd disappearing into the distance, the clouds started to drizzle on the honor students breaking down their set. The drizzle turned into a light rain and the light rain into a frigid and constant rain. The spirits of those left behind to clean up were not diminished by the weather change.

“I feel gangsta’ yo!” said Emily Sammons, a freshman in the honors program, who throughout the course of the night could be periodically seen swaying and dancing what she dubbed “the gangly white girl dance.”

President and Vice-President Joseph Babadi and Eric Smith were both very satisfied with how the long-awaited evening panned out.

“All the time and effort was worth it,” said Joseph Babadi. “As with most events, things don’t always come out how you see them, but this hit the mark of what we were aiming for.”

“I feel like everyone had a lot better time than I expected,” said Eric Smith. “Everyone dancing the Cupid Shuffle and me teaching people how to dance the cat daddy were highlights for me.”