Source: 3 Chicis Politico’

If you’re feeling down on this lovely Friday afternoon, we’ve got a feel-good story to put you in good spirits. Identical twins Kristie and Kirstie Bronner enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, Gerorgia, with the determination to academically make the most during their stint as undergraduate students and achieve 4.0 GPAs.

“Before we came to college we prayed that we would keep 4.0s all the way through but I don’t think we ever really expected it,” Kirstie told WSBTV.

Not only did the sisters stick with their goal to attain stellar grade point averages, but they made history in the process by becoming the historic college’s first co-valedictorians.

“You don’t have to be the smartest. You don’t have to be the one who came in with the prior knowledge to be the one to succeed. It’s a great testimony and it’s also fun to be able to share it with one another. I don’t think we’d want it any other way,” Kristie said of she and her sister’s accomplishment.

To top it off, both sisters majored in music and have amazing voices! They have plans to record a youth contemporary gospel album after graduation.

Check out their impressive vocals on the next page.

Source: WSBTV

An out of control spring break celebration has resulted in the lives of four Atlanta students being dramatically changed forever. Three Morehouse College athletes are facing a host of charges including sexual assault after an 18-year-old Spelman student accused them of raping her, 11 Alive reports. Chukwudi Ndudikwa and Malcolm Frank are facing rape and aggravated sodomy charges, while teammate Tevin Mgbo could be facing sodomy, kidnapping and reckless conduct charges.

According to WBSTV, one witness said they saw the victim consume alcohol and Molly on the night of the alleged assault. Others say that she was very “flirtatious and sexually aggressive” at the party. One of the victim’s friends described the 18-year-old as “not recognizing her friends” on the night of the party and went on to say “she picked up a knife and tried to stab me.” Several other witnesses say that the victim had sex with multiple men in different rooms that night.

While the victim, witnesses and even the accused agree that sexual intercourse did occur that night, whether or not the sex was consensual is what’s being questioned. The capability of the victim to consent to sex considering her alcohol-induced state is also being investigated.

Court documents reveal that the victim admits to drinking alcohol, but says that she did not take any drugs.

“If you voluntarily drink to the point that you’re still conscious, that’s one thing. But if you drank so much to the point that you pass out and then someone takes advantage of you, that’s a different thing. In this particular case, it appears that she was conscious and not unconscious. That would be tough for the prosecution. What this boils down to is whether the defendants in this particular case thought that she had given a valid consent,” said Fulton County prosecutor Al Dixon.

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

They are celebrating over at HBCU Spelman College. Former Cosby kid Keshia Knight Pulliam hosted a major fundraiser at SAKS in Atlanta, reports The Young Black & Fabulous, and raised $1 million for her alma mater. The money will benefit Spelman students who aren’t able to graduate due to financial hardship. 

While African Americans give to charity more than whites, HBCUs are suffering in part because alumni do not give gifts to their schools. “One of the toughest problems HBCUs face is getting alumni to give back,” reports NewsOne. “Several studies report alumni giving at HBCUs to be in the single digits.” 

Marybeth Gasman and  Sibby Anderson-Thompkinseven penned a book, Fundraising from Black-College Alumni: Successful Strategies for Supporting Alma Mater, about how HBCUs can get black alumni to give back. The two theorize that HBCUs can’t use the traditional fundraising methods of other universities. They need to think out of the box when approaching alumni during fundraising efforts. According to the article, “Graduates often cite being treated poorly by a rude employee in the bursar’s office or some other administrative office as one of the main reasons they don’t give back.”

Empower magazine reports that some HBCUs, like Tennessee State University, has an average alumni giving rate of three percent. The national average is 20 percent. (A few like Alabama A&M has a rate of 50 percent.)

“African Americans prefer to give to concrete causes, want to be thanked and need to understand where their donations are going,” Gasman tells the magazine.

There have been some major gifts, such as Bill and Camille Cosby’s $20 million donation to Spelman back in 1987, which was and still is the largest gift to the  institution. But in order for financially-strapped HBCUs to survive, its successful alumni must give back.

Pulliam, who also starred in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, graduated with a B.A. in sociology and a concentration in film in 2001.

Spelman College, a historically black women’s college located in Atlanta, Georgia is the crème de la crème. With a host of illustrious alumni, Spelman has been ranked number one for five consecutive years on the list of top HBCUs. Here are a few famous ladies who have Spelman College listed on their resumes.

Alice Walker

Most of us know her as the author who wrote The Color Purple; but before fame,  she was awarded a scholarship to Spelman in 1961. During her tenure there, the author became an activist in Civil Rights movements in the state of Georgia. It is said that officials at the college weren’t supportive of her stance, and in 1963, she left Spelman for Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

Source: TMZ.com

Spelman College, one of the most reputable colleges in the nation (and arguably the top HBCU) is looking to add Gabby Douglas to their list of notable alumnae.

TMZ reports that the school president even flew to London to get a leg up on the competition.

We’ve learned Spelman — an all-girl college in Georgia — wants Gabby in a bad way and sources at the University tell us the Team USA gymnastics superstar has become the number 1 recruit by far.

In fact, the President of Spelman, Beverly Daniel Tatum, went out to London and made sure Gabby got a Spelman gift bag containing a congratulatory note, school t-shirt and a CD containing a song produced by the college.

Tatum also released a statement to TMZ in which she acknowledges the school would LOVE to get its hands on the gold medal winner:

“A young woman who has demonstrated the drive and discipline needed to achieve world-class excellence is likely to have what it takes to be successful at Spelman, and we would welcome her interest in the college.”

It’s not clear where Gabby is in her high school studies. Most recently, she was being homeschooled by her host family in Iowa. She’s sixteen, so she may be nearing completion. However, it’s doubtful that college is at the top of her list of things to do any time soon.

Source: Money.com

Now, that she’s done with the Olympics, she is reportedly going back to her hometown of Virginia Beach to visit for the first time since she left in 2010. But, she’s not there to stay. The 40-city Kelloggs’ Tour of Gymnastics Champions begins Sept. 8 and though she won’t make every appearance, she’ll be at most of them. Not to mention that for the next four years, her calendar will likely be flooded with appearances, speaking engagements, and endorsement deals. “The Flying Squirrel” or “Golden Gabby” (as she likes to be called) is already seeing dollar signs. While still in London, Desmoines Register reports that she told the media:

People were like, ‘Gabby’s going to smile all the way to the bank.’ I remember reading that, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I have to stop. I’m going to foam at the mouth with all this money,’

I just have to learn how to save it and control myself. “I wasn’t the richest kid on the block and my family struggled a little bit. We went through some very tough times. … But I’m so happy that I stuck with it and can bring my family out of the financial situations.”

Everyone says it’s not going to hit me until I go home and see all these parades, posters, pictures of me. “They said it’s going to be really crazy, but just enjoy it because it’s going to go by so fast. You’ve got to seize the moment.

I’m so ready for it.

ABC says that it’s estimated the Olympic golden girl could bring in up to $10 million in endorsements over the next few years.

Source: CNN.com

Gabbulous also isn’t ruling out another trip to the Olympics in 2016. Apparently, Dominique Dawes is the only gymnast in recent history to have done back-to-back Olympic Games (1992, 1996 and 2000). So, a return is not common, but Gabby says:

I’m not going to count that out just yet, because I’m still young and still fresh and my body’s still good. So, if all goes well, you’ll be seeing more of me.

Evidently, with her plans of enjoying the perks of being an overnight celebrity and possibly training for another run at the Olympics, Gabby doesn’t seem to be considering college. In fact, the only formal schooling Gabby has mentioned in the past few days is driver’s school. She says wants an Acura NSX, but needs to study for her driver’s license first.

We have to hand it to Beverly Tatum though for having the forethought to pursue Gabby for Spelman immediately. After her third trip to the Olympics, Dominique Dawes graduated from University of Maryland, College Park, so Olympic gymnasts going to college is not unheard of. Gabby may decide to go to college too, whether in the near future or a decade or so down the line, and Spelman already has their name in the hat.

What do you think of Spelman attempting to recruit Gabby Douglas?

Follow Alissa on Twitter  @AlissaInPink

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(News One) — Spelman College’s endowment fund was reportedly worth more than $350 million in 2010, making it the largest private endowment of all historically black colleges and universities, and second only to Howard University in largest overall endowment.  Though Spelman’s endowment is only a fraction of those at predominantly white universities like Harvard, whose $26 billion fund top all U.S. colleges, the fund’s impressive growth is a testament to its success cultivating a host of alternative investment strategies.  Typically, most schools rely on financial instruments like government securities that carry little risk, provide a secure revenue stream, but ultimately offer a small return.  In contrast, Spelman’s endowment has posted better than average returns by dedicating much of its fund to private equity.  And it is exactly these investments that have watchdog groups scrutinizing the private endowment of America’s first black female college, putting its fund raising efforts, its mission and moral integrity into question.

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Our first lady will be speaking at an institution synonymous with black women for centuries: Spelman college.

The graduating class of 500 students will listen to the first lady speak at their commencement on May 18.

“In a personal address, the first lady will discuss her upbringing, and the significance of being part of the first generation in her family to graduate from college,” a White House source told theGrio. “She will also encourage the graduates to continue to serve their communities, embrace the challenges ahead of them, and strive to fulfill their ambitious goals.”

Check out the rest of the story at theGrio.com.

No, not every young sister has aspirations to be a propped-up doll. At a time when our culture seems wrapped up in the notion of women using sex and seduction to “win,” the Spelman College Spelbots, the first all female African-American robotics team, are using their smarts and making a global impact.

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