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4 • The Red and Black • Tuesday, January 8, 1991
OPINIONS
■ QUOTABLE
"We don't need the government inspiring debate about racial is
sues unneccessarily.”
— Larry Blount law school professor and president of the local
NAACP chapter on the minority scholarship controversy.
The Red & Black
Established 1893—Incorporated 1980
An independent ttudent newt pa per not affiliated with the University of Georgia
Jennifer Rampey/Editor-in-Chief
Elizabeth Graddy/Managing Editor
Jeff Rutherford/Opinions Editor
■ EDITORIALS
Welcome Back?
We would like to welcome everyone back and wish
them a healthy, happy quarter, but the situation in the
Persian Gulf prevents that. Jan. 15, a date repeatedly
used by President Bush to warn Iraq to leave Kuwait,
is fast approaching. The Middle East situation is on the
minds of everyone who has relatives there and anyone
remotely concerned with current events.
This issue should be on the minds of every college
student since a possible draft looms on the horizon. If
you haven’t made up your mind about the Persian Gulf,
you should do it now. In addition to making your
personal decision, you should let the president and
your senators and congressman know you how you feel.
Write President Bush at: The White House,
Washington, D.C.
Write Senators Wyche Fowler and Sam Nunn at:
Washington, D.C. 20510.
Write Congressmen Lindsay Thomas (1st
congressional district), Charles Hatcher (2nd), Richard
Ray (3rd), Ben Jones (4th), John Lewis (5th), Newt
Gingrich (6th), Buddy Darden (7th), Roy Rowland
(8th), Ed Jenkins (9th), and Doug Barnard (10th, which
includes Athens) at: Washington, D.C. 20515.
Black History
This is Black History Quarter, an extension of the
previous Black History Month.
Designating the quarter as a time to focus on black
history is an important step for the University. All
students must recognize the immense role that blacks
have played in our history both as a nation and as a
university.
But black history concerns shouldn’t be limited to
one quarter. The University administration should
make a determined effort to present a holistic view of
black history, in addition to the history of other major
minority groups throughout the year.
Black history shouldn’t be limited to African-
American studies classes. It should be included in all
classes, where appropriate.
Economics classes should study the work of black
economists. Business classes should study successful
black entrepreneurs. Art history classes should study
black artists, past and present.
Black student groups and organizers that are
planning events for the quarter should emphasize
education. The participating groups should carefully
plan events that maximize educational opportunities
and encourage the entire student body to participate.
Meanwhile, other minorities shouldn’t be forgotten.
The prevalent white male demographic makeup of the
United States is changing and the University
curriculum should reflect that change.
With the educational emphasis of this quarter in
mind, Dr. Norman Harris, Director of the Institute for
African-American Studies, recommended the following
books about black history.
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois.
Stolen Legacy by George G.M. James.
The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G.
Woodson.
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Street by Ann Petry.
Beloved by Toni Morrison.
The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual by Harold
Cruse.
Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed.
Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston.
STAFF
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Best friends despite ethnic differences
I’m still friends with my first roommate
Heather. We come from different backgrounds.
We have different tastes in music, different
hobbies and different religious beliefs. But
those differences did not keep us from becoming
friends.
We come from different ethnic backgrounds.
I’m black and she’s white. Our different skin
colors didn’t keep us from becoming friends. We
accepted the differences and respected each
other’s religious beliefs.
In the fall of 1987, I moved into Brumby a
week before classes started. I wanted to get
used to the campus and used to being away
from home. All week I wondered when my
roommate would arrive.
Heather moved in over the weekend while I
was at home packing more stuff I thought I
needed to survive.I returned to the dorm that
Sunday night eager to attend my classes the
next morning. I walked into the room loaded
down with luggage and exchanged the usual in
troductions of name, hometown, year and m^jor
with Heather.
After about 30 minutes of unpacking,
Heather asked, “ Do you mind having a white
roommate?”
“No,” I replied. “Does it bother you to have a
black roommate?”
“No,” she said.
I was surprised by her question. No one had
ever asked me if I minded their skin color.
We were able to talk about racism, stereo-
Sandra
Stephens 1^
types and our experiences with people from dif
ferent backgrounds without any problems.
I am glad that we talked about our differ
ences in the beginning. We didn’t have to
wonder who was going to pack-up and move out
or start shouting ugly names and phrases.
Often students move out immediately when
they find out their roommate has a different
skin color. They move out without giving things
a chance to work out or not work out.
Sometimes the parents pressure their son or
daughter to move out. They fear that their child
will be heavily influenced or abused by the
roommate of a different ethnic background.
My parents taught me not to judge people by
their skin color. They lived during segregation.
They came face-to-face with more racism than I
may ever experience in my lifetime. Even
though they’ve been discriminated against and
called ugly names, they’ve never told me to hate
anyone.
I do know what it feels like to be judged by
skin color. While working as a cashier at a Mc
Donald’s and a mall store, I had white cus
tomers hand me money very carefully so they
wouldn’t touch my hand.
I’ve been followed in department stores and
grocery stores from the minute my feet hit the
door until the minute they walked out the door.
Sometimes when I look for a seat on the bus,
I often see faces that say, “I hope she doesn’t sit
with me.”
In high school, many white students thought
they should always greet me with “Yo! What’s
up?” and should only discuss rap music.
“Have you heard the latest Run DMC or MC
Hammer song?”
I like rap music. I also like jazz, classical,
pop, country, rhythm and blues.
A new roommate, co-worker or neighbor
shouldn’t be judged by his ethnic background.
People can accept others’ differences without
sacrificing their own values and beliefs.
Accepting the differences in our ethnic back
ground and beliefs didn’t guarantee that
Heather and I would get along. It gave us a
chance to hear about someone else’s experi
ences and ideas. We proved that roommates
from different ethnic backgrounds can get
along.
Sandra Stephens is a staff writer for The Red
and Black.
A new perspective on college athletics
Every once in a while something happens to
put intercollegiate sports in perspective.
Last year, a Loyola Marymount basketball
player died on the court, clutching his chest,
dying of a heart attack. He made us realize it
was not his efforts on the court which counted,
rather it was him. Hank Gathers the human. It
was his life that mattered, not his stats.
Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs basketball
team played the Iowa Hawkeyes on CBS.
And here viewing fans gained a renewed ap
preciation for the true meaning of college ath
letics.
The game was a pretty big step for women’s
basketball. It was the first regular season game
ever on national TV.
But something happened during the game, in
the second half, while these two viscious teams
were struggling, trying to gain a controlling
lead. Tammye Jenkins, a guard/forward for the
Bulldogs was defending a Hawkeye’s shot on
the baseline.
In a lightning strike of painful fate, Jenkins’
teammate, Camille Lowe, was covering the
shooter from behind and her forearm struck
Jenkins’ nose, shattering the bone inside.
Jenkins covered her face with both hands in
an effort to shield her pain, but it was too great.
The game immediately was stopped by officials.
It did not resume for at least five minutes, as
Chris
Clonts
Jenkins stood near the baseline, clutching her
face while officials and Georgia coaches tried to
treat her wound.
Betsy Fretwell, the team’s trainer, treated
the wounded Bulldog before she was rushed to
the University of Iowa medical center, and
CBS’ long-range microphones caught the com
passion of the moment.
“Don’t worry baby, it’ll be OK,” Fretwell said,
not unlike a mother whose son has come home
from a pick-up football game with a thumb or
shoulder pointing in the wrong direction.
Don’t worry, it’ll be OK. We care about you.
We care about YOU. We’ll miss your 14.6 points
per game, your 8.1 rebounds per game, but in
the end, we can live without those.
We care about you, and we’re sorry you are
hurt.
That was the message given to thousands of
TV viewers through Evans’ words to Jenkins.
It is certain head coach Andy Landers and
the rest of the Lady Bulldog staff are concerned
about an ir\jury to a key player. A key tool for
getting the job done.
No doubt at this moment they are drawing
plays and plotting schemes to work around the
loss of Jenkins, the second starter to suffer a
major injury this season for the undersized
Bulldogs.
Senior Assistant Sports Information Director
Tim Hicks said the team was looking into fit
ting Jenkins with a face shield, which would
allow her to return after two games.
The game must go on, the player must be re
paired and sent back into battle.
But Saturday, for those five minutes of team
and friend-oriented compassion, Jenkins and
the viewing fans got a message.
The game is great. Flay to win, but in the
end, all teams are made up of not guards or for
wards or poet-players or ball-handlers.
Teams consist of people. Humans. Our
friends.
For five minutes Saturday, we were not con
cerned with winning.
We were worried about a friend.
Chris Clonts is news editor of The Red and
Black.
Toss Richard Darman Out
With all due respect to President
Bush, his decision to go along with
Congress and increase taxes was a
terrible mistake.
White House Budget Director
Richard Darman must be replaced.
It was Dick Darman who nego
tiated the package of record new
taxes you and I will be paying on
January 1st. It was Budget Di
rector Darman who urged the Pres
ident to agree to proposals which
have gutted the effectiveness of the
Gramm-Rudman Act.
Budget Director Darman has
completely sold out to the pro-
tax/t>ig spenders in Washington.
Mr Darman has 1) disbanded ef
forts for privatization which could
save billions; 2)adopted a lax policy
towards the collection of tens of bil
lions of dollars owed to the govern
ment; and 3) encouraged federal
agencies to accelerate their efforts
to place costly regulations on all
aspects of Amercian life.
And in a final blow to all tax
payers, he has even ordered his
staff to stop calculating, tracking
or utilizing the waste-cutting rec
ommendations of the Grace Com
mission.
Unless we act decisively to fi
nally cut wasteful spending and
not increase taxes, America will go
bankrupt. With our new record def
icits, we are just a few years away
from the day when we will no
longer be able to pay even the in
terest on the national deficit.
Because of these and many other
reasons, I have written President
Bush requesting him to "Dump
Dick Darman” and replace him
with someone who cares about the
American taxpayer. I urge other
concerned citizens to do likewise.
Msrk Myers
Snellvllle, QA
Russell Defense
Let’s set the record straight
about Russell Hall. We've come a
long way due to the work of staff,
RA's, and hall officers. 1988/89 fire
alarms, 114; last year’s fire alarms,
11; this year’s fire alarms, 3.
Russell is a great place to live.
Endlesa Russell bashing is cre
ating more barriers we have to re
move before we can correct the
small problems which remain.
Russell Hall has a fully func
tional goverment from Community
to the hall level. We are the proud
sponsors of the proposed constitu
tion for the entire Colonial area
and are working with Brumby as
programming co-hosts. Laugh at
the post, but Russell is back and
will be a model on this and any
campus, not comedy material.
Hana Eckman
Sophomore, Biology
Macho Complaint
There’s a myth amok in America
that shows up prominently in both
our popular culture and our foreign
policy.
It is the myth of the tall brave
man in the white hat whose cause
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President Bush it reiving on thie
myth aa he rattles hie sabre at
Saddam Hussein. Could we really
launch an offensive eo titanic that
it would push an army of 400,000
well-equipped and battle-hardened
Iraai soldiers clear out of Kuwait? I
doubt it.
Preston Coleman
Danielevllla