For immediate release — Jan. 26, 2010
(DALLAS) — In a battle of brains (not brawn), beating the buzzer and winning points is the focus of the Dallas area’s first
African-American Male Academic Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 30. Shouts of “I’ll take African-American history for 400 points!” or “We’ll choose science for 100 points!” will ring through the halls of the Bill J. Priest Campus of El Centro College until two team champions are crowned. The event begins at 8 a.m. when teams arrive to prepare for the single-elimination tournament. Participants and coaches will be welcomed at 9 a.m. during an hour filled with activities; the tournament begins at 10 a.m.
This exciting inaugural event — a cross between the academic bowls of TV from 40 years ago and today’s ever-popular “Jeopardy” show — pits 21 teams (4th/5th-grade and 6th/7th-grade teams) from throughout Dallas Independent School District. Facts will fly, answers will make or break the competition and teams will face off during the daylong event. Titled “Aiming for the Stars,” this program — which will become an annual event — is designed to encourage young African-American men to study hard, work hard and achieve their dreams ... to aim high and succeed.
Sponsors include Dallas County Community College District, the University of Texas at Dallas, Project Still I Rise Inc., AT&T, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and Merit Provisions.
Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr., DCCCD’s chancellor, and Dr. David Daniel, president of UTD, are co-chairs for the event, which seeks to address the achievement gaps, plus academic and social pitfalls, facing African-American males. Starting at the elementary and middle school levels is key, based on a number of studies.
The event competition will be keen as team members seek to out-think and out-score their opponents — just like the academic bowls and popular game shows that showcase bright competitors whose brains are filled with facts and figures, in which correct answers are the name of the game. A committee of representatives from DCCCD and UTD formulated questions and compiled a study guide for the event, which each student received and used to prepare for the event. These volunteers — as well as coaches and organizers — have given hundreds of hours in service to launch the first African American Male Academic Bowl.
For more information, contact David Robinson in the DCCCD office of outreach, recruitment and community engagement by phone at (214) 378-1728 or by e-mail at
drobinson@dcccd.edu, or visit the African-American Male Academic Bowl Web site.
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Press contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
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