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THE PANTHER
Ho-hum—another year
May, 1970
BY LILLIAN ANDREWS
A school year at Clark ends like
a school year at Clark begins —
with the same dull anticipation.
Seniors are in a rush to get
their business together so that
they can make the graduation
line; everybody is getting them
selves together to get their fi
nals out the way.
Returning Clarkites are getting
their accounts in order so that
they will not owe more than the
already bulging sum in Septem
ber. Others are paying their $25
fee now so that they will not be
charged a late fee for not paying
it by August 1.
Some students are making
plans to transfer to other col
leges, somie are waiting the start
of summer school.
There are a number of things
that need to> be more organized
in terms of making a year at
Clark more exciting.
There are a number of things
that could be done that could
do away with some of the rush-
rush that everyone gets in during
the last weeks of school.
Seniors would not have to try
to get their business together in
a matter of a few weeks if the
registrar’s office would have
conferences beginning in March
of the junior year. This could
probably be done if the regis
trar’s office was expanded so that
there would be enough people
doing the other things so that the
registrar could have the time to
help students straighten out
their requirements in terms of
what needs to be taken in order
to graduate on time.
The business office always
m'akes quite a sum on the $10
late fee that is collected from
students who do not pay the $25
reentry fee. The business office
always claims that it sends out
letters and post letters about the
fee. I came in. 1966,- and the
only tilme I ever saw anything
about my $25 was when I was
told to send it along with my
application to Clark. During my
sophomore year I was one of
the unfortunate victims who were
“mailed letters” but did not pay
by the 1st of August.
Another thing about the busi
ness office is the requirement
that students not be given final
exams unless their accounts are
up-to-date. Some students do not
have the money until after the
exam period. Then when they
pay up their accounts there is
the possibility that the teachers
are no longer around to admini
ster the exams. It would be bet
ter if the students were allowed
to take ithe exams even though
their accounts are not up-to-
date. Then when . they pay it
up, the only thing the business
office would have to do is enter
the debit to the students’ ac
counts. Grades are grades and
money is money. No need in let
ting one rely on the other.
The business office — in the
person of the business manager,
William Morrell — carries on
about the students’ monies as
if it belongs to it. Mr. Morrell
is known 'for all the hassling he
will do before he will give a
student part of the student’s own
money; he acts the same way
over money set 'aside for the va
rious departments and activities.
One would think that the money
is coming out of his pockets.
Now it’s time to come down
on the students.
In the first place, most of the
Clarkites 'around here act as if
they don’t know iand have no
idea of Where they are going or
what they are doing unless they
have a so-called leader.
They refuse to get involved in
issues. They follow whoever it
is that hollers the loudest in
stead of basing their leadership
on some proof of what the
speaker has accomplished in
terms of results. Many a black
man is lying dead today be
cause he was too quick ,to fol
low a loud talking “bad nigger”.
In case quite a few of my
readers are lost — let me be
more specific: When you elected
Joseph Johnson over Mike Ro
gers, you deserve exactly what
you are getting.
Now let me tell you what
you’ve gotten yourselves.
In terms of leadership, you
have none. How in can
this man help you when he
sneakingly pulled the rug from
under Mike to run against him
while Mike was trying to fight
the administration ALONE for
Joe Johnson ■— so that Joe could
be his running mate in the elec
tion? Even a dog doesn’t bite the
hand that feeds him.
Joseph Johnson cannot lead
you. When it comes to show
down . . . that man is gone,
“don’t know nothin’ about nothin,”
“had nothin’ to do with it” and
told the ones responsible that
he ought not have done it.
Take it from me, Joe Johnson
ran out on the newspaper when
the entire staff was called in
by Dr. Brantley about one of its
issues.
He was Chairman of the Stu
dent Life Committee but did you
know it? Did he accomplish any
thing that you know of?
Second, Joe Johnson might be
popular with the students ■—
now — but being only a junior
next year he is not going to do
anything which might help you
but which will maybe cause a
little static between himself, his
instructors and some facets of
the administration. Some of
these instructors come down on
you when you do things that
they don’t like. Some of them
give you flags for your records.
Joe Johnson knows this and he
is not going to bring 'about any
changes on this campus which
might upset some olf the high-
strung instructors he goes to.
Keep in mind that he is in the
chemistry department. Old Simp
son is also there. Let some of
your classmates hip you on him.
Third, Joe Johnson stole Mike
Rogers’ platform. Just before the
last issue of The Panther— and
the election— came about—Mike
Rogers had told The Panther of
his platform. At the time, he had
not even selected the other mem
bers of his party.
During that same day, he de
cided on Joe Johnson as his vice-
president. However, Joe Johnson
was working on his own thing
at the time, but leading Mike to
think that he really was with
him. But he wasn’t. Joseph John
son withdrew from the race be
cause he was told he did not have
the average to run for vice-pres
ident, so he formed his own party
with himself as president.
To the rescue came SGA pres
ident, John Wyatt, who has in
sisted that the academic require
ment was not in keeping with
what was really stated in the
constitution he had been funct
ioning under. He .maintains that
some olf the specifics had been
filled in and that it was up to
the Student Council to set the
criteria for election of SGA of-
Let's check
out our minds
BY LARRY EARVIN
As I walk around the Clark
College campus I can remember
the days when Clark was an ed
ucational institution — about
three years ago. Retrogression is
not what I seek, however.
What is lacking today at Clark
is a course of direction. With
the black awareness that has
come to mean so much to col
lege students in particular, has
come a social and educational
liberation; a liberation so power
ful that perhaps we as students
no longer realize its bearing on
the Black man.
Black is beautiful! Yet we
must define what beauty actu
ally is. Is black beautiful when
it means disrespect for our black
brothers and sisters? Does being
black take us in a positive direc
tion when we try hard to destroy
those foundations created by the
hands of our black predecessors?
Is this black?
Black institutions have a defi
nite duty to perform' the com
plete development of the black
man. This means that Clark must
become more relevant in its ex
istence to the needs of its stu
dents. In order to promote the
relevancy we, as students, must
find ourselves and set a goal to
reach.
We, as students, must realize
that our basic purpose here is
to gain knowledge and any bb-
stical that hinders that process
must be removed. We must al
ways be aware that to be a
complete black man is to foe well
informed and to have a sincere
concern for one’s brother.
Why don’t we all check our
minds and get involved in mak
ing our future worthwhile? We
should not have to be begged to
take interest in our destiny.
ficers. A meeting was called with
the Student Council, which is
composed of representatives from
each of the thirty or so chartered
organizations on Clark’s campus.
At this meeting a lower academic
requirement was set and Joe
Johnson was on his way.
Not alluding to favorites, but
to who would have served you
best, Joe Johnson is not your boy.
It’s your own fault that you let
your chance get away.
Mike Rogers has served the
student body since he first hit
the campus as a freshman. When
he was a sophomore he was de
nied the chance to run tor the
SGA executive committee be
cause he had a 2.49 average and
not a 2.50. Nobody held any
meeting for him so that he could
run anyway . . and he Was
worth a meeting.
In a recent newsletter to the
student (body, John Wyatt ex
cuses himself of his shortcom
ings in office by pointing the
finger at you, at me, and very
specifically at Mike Rogers. Why
did he come down so personally
on Mike? Was it because he and
Mike had disagreements about
what the SGA should 'have ac
complished this year? Or was it
that Joe Johnson iand John Wyatt
are more of each other’s type of
SGA president?
Last year, when somebody
wasn’t listening, James Mays
said, “If you don’t watch it,
Clark is going to slide ail the
way back down the hill.”
And you know, somebody didn’t
watch it . . . and it did happen.
Newspaper geared to whom?
A newspaper is given the responsibility of telling the news —
factual accounts that otherwise would be overlooked. A newspaper
is thought-provoking through editorials.
A newspaper’s first responsibility is to its readers — or say —
its subscribers.
A college newspaper is supposed to be geared to the students
of the college where it appears.
Take then the case of the college newspaper that is faced with
administrative policies that tell it “you cannot,” or “you should
not,” “you shouldn’t have,” or better yet “you’d better not.” Does
an administration have the right to dictate to its newspaper?
Take the case of Spiro Agnew and the press. “Either you straight
en up or . . he has tol'd it.
Take the case of Clark College and The Panther. “Tell the
good side” — or “Don’t let the outside know that this and that
exists at Clark,” or “Don’t send that paper anyplace else. No one
else must know.” Are we about to re-enter the days when the news
paper was censored?
Faculty members, do you have the right to interrupt a college
newspaper reporter for the sake of giving your opinion of the last
issue of the paper? Did you have the right to interrupt him as he
was taking a test? Did you have the right to approach him at all?
Is it repressing a thought about an existing condition good if
one expects bad response? Should The Panther overlook an item
of news because it will make the college “look bad”? Should an edi
torial opinion be forsaken if it will start people thinking of the
“wrong” things which are really the right things?
Should the United Press Association warn its members that a
“good picture should be given of the U. S., don’t let Russia know
we have rapes, murders, muggings, robberies, riots, rats or that
our natural environment is threatened because of filth and pollution”?
Should The Panther not talk of the roaches in Holmes Hall
because it might convince a freshman that he shouldn’t come?
Why is it that The Panther was told by a member of the ad- *
ministration to explore the rumored “prostitution ring” and the “drug
situation in Brawley Hall and other parts of the campus” yet leave
the administration alone . . . ? “There are other things to re
port on.”
Time is closing the curtain on another year . . . but what about
next year?
How will you /take it when you are told of the recent discus
sions by the trustee board? Fact is . . . will you be told?
What are you coming to, Clark College?
Education vs. training
By BARBARA BOONE
As a senior (measured by the number of hours as defined by
the college catalog and not to be confused with the term ‘^graduating”
senior) I find the thought of graduating a disturbing one. It reminds
me that I haven’t reconciled the meaning of the college’s idea of
a college education with my idea of what a college education
should be.
The responsibility of defining for one’s self the meaning of a
college education is not an easy one. How many times have you
been asked, “What are you taking up in school?” Remembering that
question tampers with my metabolism even though “taking up” does
adequately express the Clark College picture. Or was the question,
“What are you going to school to be?” The nausea brought on by
that one never quite leaves me the same.
Clark and other educational institutions are geared toward turn
ing out trainees for jobs. This is all well and good but there is some
thing else to education and it rests with the student and his ob
jective regarding the total development of the person.
Propaganda about the many opportunities open to black college
graduates is just that — propaganda. Conferences that are designed
to enlighten students to the many values of a college education via
dialogue and “prep” talk should be set aside for ditch-digging semi
nars.
When you graduate chances are you will work along side your
former high school classmate without a degree at approximately the
same salary. The case of the college’s idea is undesirable because
the tangible returns may not be so great. So what else is there?
Education for its own sake can result in unlimited returns.
Though this is an interesting avenue for thought, because of my
undergraduate training here I know it is a dead-end street. It is a
dead-end street because education on this campus is practically
nil and training has been getting better and better.
What do I ask of education? Nothing. What do I ask of the
institution? I demand of the institution: leadership with dictatorship,
sensitivity without pompousness, intelligence without pedantry, and
academic disciplines, no academic drills. I demand of the insti
tution what a tripper would demand of the drug LSD — mind ex
pansion. The difference is I would look to LSD — Leadership, Sen
sitivity, Disciplines — as a stimulus for a safe and lasting form of
mind expansion.
My idea of a college education and that of the college will prob
ably never reach a common ground and the school will continue to
operate as it has in the past.
But the school need not be an impediment to education and
mental growth as long as it is recognized as the communal training
center that it is.
Clark College — Atlanta, Georgia 30314
Editor Lillian Andrews
Associate Editor Barbara Boone
Campus Editor Joseph Johnson
Feature Editor Tethel White
News Editor Harold Burley
Adviser — Alan Bussel
The Panther is published by students of Clark College
as an organ of student expression. Letters to the editor
are welcome but must be signed. However, names will
be withheld on request.