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PERMIT >3.-,
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University of Georgia Community
INSIDE
Widespread Panic is
among several bands
who’ll play tonight at a
Georgia Theatre benefit
for Jay Smith
5
Weather: Fun in the sun. Today,
mostly sunny, upper 80s, tonight,
fair, mid 60s. Wednesday, mostly
sunny, upper 80s.
TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 1990 • ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 97, ISSUE 118
Black, white Greeks discuss hazing
By LANCE HELMS
Staff Writer
The much-debated definition of hazing
came under repeated scrutiny as seven
students tackled the issue at a forum de
signed to enhance relations between
black and white Greek organizations.
At a forum titled “Black and White
Greeks: Understanding Our Differences,”
panelists asked each other frank ques
tions about the practices of black and
white fraternities and sororities, which
are often pointed to as possible hazing vi
olations.
Twenty-three black students and one
white student attended the Thursday
forum.
The forum, sponsored by the Minority
Assistants and Alpha Kappa Alpha so
rority, was divided into three parts — dif
ferences in pledging processes, traditions
and relationships between members and
non-members. Later, the discussion
evolved into an expression of hazing and
housing concerns, and non-member rela
tions received little attention.
The four panelists from traditionally
black Greek organizations were Adrianne
Butler of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Ken
Cook of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity,
Henry Joyner of Alpha Phi Alpha frater
nity and Natalie Lewis of Alpha Kappa
Alpha sorority.
The three panelists from traditionally
white Greek organizations were Dessa
Fritz of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Ian He-
nyon of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and Suz
anne Lynch ot Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Traditional practices
The black panelists said pledges are
usually honored to wear ornaments sym
bolic of their organizations.
Joyner said pledges in his fraternity
wear sphinx necklaces during “Ape
Week.” Butler said her sorority’s pledges
wear pyramid pendants.
Cook said his fraternity has a system:
Pledges wear blue jeans, T-shirts and an
adhesive bandage over the right eyebrow.
Later, at different stages, they are given a
cane and a brick. The cane is used for
dancing and the brick symbolizes perse
verance, solidity and strength.
Lynch said her sorority doesn’t have
any “physical traditions.”
A total commitment
The black panelists were asked how
much freedom pledges are allowed — spe-,
cifically, whether they could go home on
weekends and hold jobs.
“Pledging is a lifetime thing,” Butler
said. “Delta (Sigma Theta) doesn’t pay
you — you keep on working and you go to
class.”
She said pledges may be allowed to go
home once a month and in case of emer
gencies.
Cook said pledges are involved in daily
Understanding
Our Differences
activities designed to keep them aware of
their pledge status during every waking
moment.
Butler said, “Lately, there’s been a na
tional trend to cut down on the pledge
process, down to three weeks — a very in
tense three weeks.”
Hazing concerns
The discussion turned to hazing on
more than one occasion as panelists re
called the negative connotations asso
ciated with their organizations’
traditions, often confused with institutio
nalized abuse of pledges.
“You get a haircut and dress alike,”
Cook said. “It’s never harmed anybody.”
Butler said being a pledge was the best
part of her sorority career and remembers
that it took exactly six weeks and two
days.
“It’s not considered hazing,” she said.
“For some, it’s the easiest part — I re
member it was the best part.”
Fritz said her sorority is expressly for
bidden by the national office from doing
anything to draw attention to pledges.
Lynch said her sorority is forbidden
from making pledges keep a scrapbook or
wear white on bid day.
Henyon said, “We’re struggling to keep
the things that bind us together. Every
thing we do in our pledging process could
be considered hazing.”
Joyner said his fraternity’s practices
stem from its traditions. For example,
“stepping” — an energetic group dance —
is based on African dances and originated
when some members got together on a
football field half a century ago and
started “doing things to music.”
Joyner said each fraternity has its own
steps, which none attempt to copy from
the others.
‘Tm sure Ken (Cook) would feel upset if
I was on the quad doing steps with a
cane," he said.
Joyner said walking in line points to
the heritage of the black American whose
ancestors were chained together as
slaves.
“If I want to be hazed, who is to tell me
I can’t be hazed? Suffering has just been a
part of our lives, period,” he said.
When asked why some white fraterni
ties make pledges carry wooden paddles
and cans of Pledge furniture polish, He-
Tle
Ian Henyon: Represented Pi
Kappa Phi on interracial panel
nyon answered that it happens during a
period
‘If we did anything like that, we’d have
Ron Binder (adviser to fraternities)
knocking on our door,” Henyon said.
Please See GREEKS, Page 3
Rally marks anniversary of massacre
Enforced silence in China
By ANNE-MARIE FANGUY
Staff Writer
Although Chinese officials
closed part of Tiananmen Square
Sunday to discourage demonstra
tors, freedom supporters from
Hong Kong to Atlanta remem
bered the one-year anniversary of
the June 4 massacre when the
Chinese Army killed hundreds of
students who protested in the
name of democracy.
Many of the almost 300 partici
pants in the “Tiananmen at Five
Points” celebration in Atlanta’s
Woodruff Park wore black arm-
bands and white carnations to
show their respect for the casual
ties.
Monday, some University stu
dents showed their support by
wearing white. Beijing authori
ties had warned citizens of that
city that wearing white, the
Chinese color of mourning, would
be interpreted as hostile.
‘Today there will be no flowers
and no commemoration in
China,” said Yin Wan-Lee, a
Georgia Institute of Technology
engineering professor and
member of the Atlanta Associa
tion for Democracy in China.
In an interview after the rally,
Yin said although the Chinese
government has lifted marshal
law in Beijing, “this does not
mean the citizens have the
freedom to demonstrate.”
Supporters of the pro-democ
racy movement in China took it
upon themselves to show that the
world has not forgotten.
At Sunday’s rally, a 7-foot rep
lica of the Goddess of Democracy,
which resembles the Statue of
Liberty, held her torch high as
participants stood silent.
Cao Yu-lin, president of the
University’s Student Union of
China, said, ‘Though we can’t be
there to demonstrate in Tia
nanmen, we still have lots of
things to do.”
Yin expressed his optimism for
the possibility of freedom in
China. “The Berlin Wall has
come down, Czechoslovakia has
elected a non-communist presi
dent and Romania has deposed
and executed a tyrant,” he said.
American concern over the
struggle for democracy in China
hasn’t gone unnoticed, he said,
Even in Beijing where authori
ties sometimes censor commu
nications.
‘The Chinese do not listen to
the lie of the Beijing govern
Goddess of Democracy: This 7 foot replica of the original
was displayed in Atlanta during Sunday’s rally
Cao Yu-lin: President of the University's Student Union of I
China speaks at the Atlanta rally
ment,” Yin said. ‘They listen to
the BBC and the Voice of
America.”
Cao thanked the American
people for the concern they have
shown, and urged listeners to do
more.
“We can hear your support for
the Chinese people,” he said.
Lu Hong-Kai, a psychology
graduate student and vice-presi
dent of the Student Union of
China, said, “We will surely con- I
tinue our struggle for freedom 3
and democracy in China.”
Athens resident Peggy Pitts I
went to the rally with some I
Chinese friends. She said they’ve I
made her more aware of the I
struggle
“I think many people still care; j
unfortunately not enough,” she |
said. “I certainly admire their I
conviction and strength.”
Fall graduate applications up
By STACY STENBERG
Contributing Writer
With a current record enrollment of almost
5,000, the University’s Graduate School is proc
essing 16 percent more applications for fall
1990 than it did in fall 1989.
So far, 5,085 applications have been proc
essed and 300 to 400 remain to be reviewed for
fall 1990 compared to 5,081 applications that
were processed for fall 1989.
“We have a high number of applicants, but
the number of students we can accommodate
may not increase that much," said Graduate
School Dean Gordhan Patel.
If a department has a large number of appli
cants, it can choose the best students to fill
available spaces. "Standards are rising,” Patel
said.
The Master of Business of Administration
Program has been profiled as one of the top 40
in the nation by Business Week and the College
of Education is ranked ninth in the nation by
Education Digest, Patel said.
Applications for the MBA program are up 50
percent for the 1990-1991 academic year, said
Donald Perry, business administration pro
gram coordinator.
The business program is strong across the
board. The rankings may be a “slight to some
departments,” he said.
"The bottom line is that with these rankings,
it is getting more and more publicity as being
one of the major universities in the country,”
Perry said.
'The increase of applications has put more
selective pressure on candidates,” he said. More
emphasis has been placed on an applicant’s
full-time work experience — the number of
yeare experience in the work force since grad
uation, he said.
Grade point averages and Graduate Manage
ment Admission Test scores are competitive
with those from past years, but it’s hard to pre
dict averages until students have enrolled, he
said.
An increase of 5 to 15 percent a year in appli
cations has been typical in the past although
the program has stayed the same size, Perry
said.
There are “more qualified applicants than
seats” and some people won’t get in due to this
factor, he said.
Alphonse Buccino, College of Education
dean, said applications are up at all levels.
‘Teaching jobs look better," he said. “We are en
tering a period of faculty shortages,” which
makes the outlook for certain careers and pro
fessions favorable.
The increase “gets more bright students into
the program and stimulates the program,” he
said. The recent ranking of the school at ninth
in the nation will have a positive impact on the
program.
“People are responding to an increase in the
significance of education. People are thinking
more along the lines of education than in the
past,” Buccino said.
The increase in applications can cause prob
lems if the departments try to exceed capacity,
he said, but the College of Education tries to
keep students at a manageable level through
selection recruitment procedures.
The Masters of Social Work Program ex
panded last year to relieve the strain on the
program, Program Director Kate Bigham said.
Applications are up and the department will be
cutting beck on the numbers accepted this year
to avoid further strain. Sixty-five will be ac
cepted fVom a pool of 102 applications, she said.
Thomas Holland, professor of social work
and coordinator for the social work doctoral
rogram, said the program will have nine stu-
ents beginning in the fall.
Holland doesn’t see the social work program
expanding in the near fiiture. “Eight to nine
students is the most we can handle and still do
a top-quality job.”
Mary Case, director of genetic graduate
studies, said genetics isn’t getting an increase
Alphonse Buccino: Education dean
says applications are up at all levels
in applications.
The move to the new Biological Science Com
plex will give the genetics department more
space, but the department expects to stay the
same size, she said.
The graduate admissions staff has worked
Saturdays and one week of 10-hour days to
process applications for fall 1990. Generally 48
percent of applicants are accepted, said Grad
uate Admission Director Mary Ann Keller.
In fall 1988, 4,778 applications were proc
essed and 5,081 were processed in fall 1989.
Forty percent of those who applied in 1989
were accepted and 65 percent of those accepted
enrolled. The important figure is the per
centage of those accepted who actually enroll,
Keller said. “Students are inclined to apply to
more than one school.”
The number of foreign students applying to
the Graduate School is about 40 percent of total
applications, Keller said.
“It’s been increasing each year. Just like our
total applications have been increasing each
year, domestic and foreign. I think that’s pretty
much a national trend that we are seeingjnore
foreign students in the United States," she
said.
Fight breaks out after
McWhorter Hall party
By MICHAEL W. McLEOD
Staff Writer
More than 100 people gathered
in the parking lot outside McW
horter Hall after a “get-together”
on the third floor turned ugly early
Saturday morning, according to
University police.
Several fights broke out and two
students were sent to the hospital.
Witnesses disagree on how many
people were involved and who was
fighting who.
Adrian Hart, a senior marketing
mujor and Kappa Alpha Psi frater
nity member, said he received cuts
and carpet bums on his face and
bruises from being kicked and hit.
One of his teeth was kicked out
during the scuffle.
Winston Campbell, a University
student and fellow Kappa Alpha
Psi member, said he suffered va
rious head injuries when hit by a
stick or pipe. Both were taken to
St. Mary’s Hospital and released
Saturday morning, Hart said.
It all started in the television
lounge on the third floor of McW
horter, witnesses say.
'It was a big crowd, about 150
people maybe,” Hart said.
Campbell Baid the crowd con
tained many non-University stu
dents.
George Brewer, a freshman in
dustrial education m^jor and foot
ball player, said, “It wasn’t much of
a party, just a social get-toge
ther...I don’t think that many
people would fit in the TV
lounge...it was made up of mostly
frat and football people.”
Hart said he overheard a girl in
the room say a Kappa Alpha Psi at
the party was about to be as
saulted. Hart walked over to a
group of people and told them not
to fight, when he was punched bv
someone he said was a football
player’s brother. Hart said he
fought back and then was attacked
by a group of 12 or 13 men who he
believes to be mostly football
players.
“Six guys then picked me up and
tried to throw me on my heaa,” he
said. “They tried to kill me.”
After that, the men surrounded
him, Hart said, kicking and
beating him. Campbell said he
tried to break up the fight and was
hit in the head.
Campbell said he didn't recog
nize any football players among
the men surrounding Hart. He Baid
the people causing trouble were
the non-students.
Hart said people began bran
dishing pipes and sticks. Some
even had guns, he said, although
he didn’t hear one fired. He said he
was hit by a pipe and a two-by-four
while on the floor before being
pulled away.
No witnesses to what happened
afterward in the TV lounge were
available at presstime.
University police Officer Skip
Strickland saia when he and three
other officers arrived about 3:30
a.m., 100 to 150 people were gath
ered in the McWhorter parking lot.