Nowadays it seems like most adolescent films have the same plot: unpopular kids try to get laid. “Youth and Revolt,” a film adaptation from the original novel by C.D. Payne, has a similar plot, but with a different approach. Nick Twisp, a 16 year-old loner played by Michael Cera of “Super Bad,” lives with his sexually active mother who is dependent on his child support.

Nick is invisible to women, never having a girlfriend and never experiencing sexual pleasure. It seemed as though “everyone was getting action,” according to Nick, who is surrounded by the sexual drives from his mother and father. Eager to break out of his lonely state of being, he decides that he doesn’t want to die a virgin. It isn’t until a group of sailors come to his house after finding a banana stuck in their engine that Nick goes on an early vacation with his mother and her boyfriend (played by Zach Galifianakis of “Hangover”) that would give him this opportunity.

After arriving at their destination, Nick becomes instantly attracted to a girl, eventually gaining the courage to invite her to the beach. He has so much interest in Sheeni Saunders that he wants to write a book about her, and when it all comes down to it, he would do anything for her. Unfortunately for Nick, after spending days with Sheeni Saunders, his vacation comes to an end, but that isn’t going to stop him from seeing her again. He is willing to get kicked out of his house for her, but in order for that to happen he has to be “bad.” This is where his alter ego comes into play, where he makes his first “bad” move by destroying a police officer’s car, resulting in Nick getting kicked out of his house. He is sent to his dad’s house and while there he visits Sheeni at school. In the midst of an intense make out session he gets caught by a female patrol officer at her school.

Ever so determined, Nick concocts a plan to get Sheeni kicked out of school by sending her close friend sleeping pills so that she would fall asleep through her classes. As his plan fell through, Bernice begins to fall for Nick herself, and in no time Sheeni is expelled from school. Days pass, and on Thanksgiving, Trent, Sheeni’s previous lover, exposes Nick forcing him to leave the house. Everything seems to go downhill from there, but the movie gives hope for awkward people everywhere looking for love.

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The concert held at Lyte Auditorium Tuesday, Oct. 6 was quite the entertainment for the evening, bringing in a large crowd with both student and community spectators.

The European success group has been wowing crowds since 2007, with their “Vocal Play” performance that consists of singing in unison and portraying musical instruments. Their resume includes opening for musician Michael Buble, making guest appearances on “Ellen,” “Jay Leno,” and the “Today” show, while touring in locations such as Europe, The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The event was sponsored by many student organizations, and the night’s performances were introduced by BSU president Christopher Deans who was the emcee for the night. The opening act was the Millersville Gospel Choir, under the direction of conductor Kiheem Bynum, and organized by President Jonathon Love. The choir sang two selections, “Well done,” and “Let’s get back to Eden,” that moved the crowd even without the usage of microphones.

Needless to say they were just the beginning of what would be a spectacular night. The second act was the Footprints Dance Group that performed to the song, “Glorious,” by Martha Munizzi. Their performance was filled with bursts of energy, and one could see the emotions that replicated through each of the members, especially President Tianna Council.

Then came the headlining act: Naturally 7. Their first song was amusing, and the lighting complemented their high energy performance. After the first song, Rodger Thomas, the founder of the group, welcomed both “new and old” friends, and explained their “Vocal Play” presentation. He revealed that the performance held at Millersville University was the first show in four weeks since the drummer of the group, Warren Thomas, suffered from a knee injury.

It is clear that Naturally 7 finds passion in what they do, praising God, for they are firm believers that “everything that has breath should praise the Lord.” Each of the group members including: Rodger Thomas, Dwight Stewart, Garfield Buckley, Jamal Reed, Armad Hutton, Warren Thomas, and Rod Eldridge, performed a solo all in which were mind blowing.

One surprise that really caught the audience’s attention was when they did a Jackson Five tribute, and their rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” The crowd roared with excitement after each of their numbers, with many standing ovations. One audience member shouted, “We want some more!” Thomas ensured the audience before singing the slow number, “Say you love me,” that there was something special about the three words, ‘I love you’ adding some food for thought to the night’s attendees. They were able to come together as a group by God’s will, with their gospel, smooth jazz, and blues musical talents.

Naturally 7 performed all the songs directly from their album, with new twists on old classics. The group is like a current New Edition but with a different approach to music, along with their unison singing and dance steps. Crowd interaction was apparent, and at the end of the show, the audience was very pleased.

The tickets for the event were affordable, less than $15, but their performance as a whole was priceless. Naturally 7 is a group that is innovative and unlike any other; lifting the spirits of audience members, while leaving their mark everywhere they go.

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The Nationally known bestselling author spoke to Millersville students and the community at his presentation entitled, “To be popular or smart: The Black Peer Group”.

Beginning his career in 1974 after graduating from Illinois State, he went on to publish more than 25 books and even made an appearance on Oprah during his 35-year career.

His opening remarks were a snippet of a history lesson about Fredrick Douglas and W.E.B Dubois and how their actions then are relevant today for the black community.

The lecture in its entirety shed a whole new light on how we view statistics, for he is a firm believer that numbers do speak words.

He gave us an idea of how our society, racism, and the education system work especially in the black community.

In regards to education for example, only twenty percent of African Americans graduate from Millersville, and scored an average of 1291 on the SAT’s, the lowest out of other races, with Asians being first with an average score being 1600.
The reason for the gap as he explained was income vs. academic achievement.
He informed us however, that even though racism is still in existence we can “overcome it by knowing our culture.”

It was surprising to know that 76% of Drug dealers in American were white; that 28,000 dollars was spent on sending individuals to jail when it could be going towards a students tuition; and when it comes to STD’s, one in every four white people are infected while one in every two black people are infected.

Crazy huh? The ratios to these statistics and others became definite eye openers leaving the room silent during one point in the presentation when Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu asked, “Why do black men, kill other black men?”

The room did not respond, allowing him say, “Your silence disappoints me, you’re supposed to be critical thinkers.”

The answer to the question: It’s because they hate themselves. He made the audience begin to question themselves after saying, “what you spend the most time doing is what you do best.”

Towards the end of the lecture Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu told us that Americas divorce rate was fifty percent, while giving us the four stages of a good relationship; 1. The selection process;2. Romance;3. The Problem Stage; and 4. Commitment.

As freshman Biology major Khanita Johns explained, “He definitely gave the audience something to think about, other than assigning us homework.”

His ultimate goal was to make the students and the community become beneficiaries, learning from his statistical approach to make a change in ourselves and our society.

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