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THE PANTHER - Page 3* - March 1»?4 - 4 ’
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-— RAPPING FRANKLY
(M Students Are 'Pissed Off’
BY STAN WASHINGTON
In the early 1960’s the
students at Clark and the
rest of the Atlanta Uni
versity Center organized
and initiated the sit down
movement in Atlanta. The
students decided that they
were tired of talking about
the problem of desegrega
tion and that they were
going to do something about
it. So, they took action and
used the power of mass co
lection and desegregat
ed downtown Atlanta.
The students didn’t have
the economic resource that
sometimes make one turn
against his own brother,
nor did they have the power
that comes from the bar
rel of the gun. And politi
cal power was just as un
heard of as the other two.
But, the students evalua
ted the situation and after
realizing what they didn’t
have, they used what they
had the power of
mass collection.
The students used that
form of power and fought
the 1 downtown power struc
ture: who had all of the
money, guns, politics, dogs
and police. And they won.
That student movement
is over a decade old now
and some of those students
are still active in making
the powerstructure say yes
when it wants to say no.
Since those days apathy
and apathetic ingredients
such as drugs have swept
the campuses. Clark has v
been lost in the forest of
unaware, don’t give a damn
attitudes and everyday, all
day reefer smoked satu
rated minds.
Unlike the students of the
decade past, Clark students
aren't in any condition to
deal with the problems on
campus, not to mention
those that Black people face
on a whole.
The students can’t deal
with faltering dormitory
conditions, nasty attitudes
des on part of some of the
staff, campus rules and
regulations designed for day
care centers and the “no-
knock law” in the dormi
tories.
The disturbing thing
about the entire situation
is that the students are
fully aware of these prob
lems and more but, so far
the most constructive ac
tion the majority of the
students have taken is to
complain and gripe to them
selves.
The students today have
the same thing the students
of the ‘60’s used to fight
and overcome a much more
vindictive problem - - the
power of mass collection.
Students don’t seem to real
ize that a lot of problem
they have at school need
not be if they will only
unify.
Since I hadn’t heard any
specific complaints I took
my trusty pen and pad and
interviewed some students
to find out just what was
bugging them. > ■ r
Students interviewed had
six choices to choose from
on the Pissed-Off List”
The business office, finan
cial aid office, instructors,
campus, registar’s office
and dormitories compris
ed the choices.
Out of 26 students inter
viewed 21 were pissed off
at the business office. The
dormitories placed second
tie with the financial office
then campus and instruc
tors. Only one student,
a Freshman didn’t have
any gripe.
One complaint the busi
ness, financial aid and the
registar’s offices shared
was the nasty attitudes of
some of the personnel.
One student said he only
wish the personnel would
“stop trying to give the
students a hard time be
cause we’re trying to get
over just like them.”
‘‘Sometimes the adminis
tration act like they just
don’t give a damn.” he
said.
Another student said his
“beef” with the business
office is they sometimes
‘ ‘ send statements saying
you owe for something and
you don’t. He contributes
this problem to the ‘‘dis
organization in the office.”
If the students are go
ing to put the blame on
anyone concerning falter
ing dormitory conditions and
an inactive campus, they
should place most of the
blame of themselves. They
are the ones who have sat
back on their heads. . ,or
excuse- me, . . behindh
and let everything fall as
it may." • ■
Two on campus Coeds
who reside in Holmes Hall
say they are ‘‘treated like
kids” and the dorm direc
tor is ‘‘always sneaking
around.”
Apparently, when you stay
in Holmes you have to give
up your privacy. The two
coeds said that the dorm
director doesn’t knock but
‘‘just walks right on in.”
Blacks are very fami
liar with the ‘‘no-knock law
for it has been perpetrat
ed on Black homes by law
enforcement agencies ever
since Blacks had a door to
kick in.
They also said they were
to have open visitation but
they haven’t heard any
thing else about it.
If this is the case in
Holmes and similar in oth
er dorms it need not per
sist. In the student hand
book it states, ‘‘theresi
dence halls are governed
by house councils and house
senates.” the Council in
cludes you, the students
the residence director and
the personnel Dean ex-
officio.
It further states, ‘‘The
Council is responsible for
formulating the policies of
the residence hall ac
tivities, discussing all
problems involving group
living, establishing trad-
tions and understanding the
purposes and the philoso
phy out of which they have
come to be.”
The senate’s job is to
bring to the attention of-,
the council “’all factors
hampering the growth of in
dividual responsibility for
the good government of the
residence, for approving
revisions and recommen
dations made by the coun
cil ”
Considering visitors, it
says that the ‘‘time limit
for callers will be deter
mined by the councils but,
contradicts it in the next
statement which says ‘‘all
visitors are expected to
leave by midnight.”
If the students decide
to run the dorms as they
want to and not the way
somebody else do, it would
not be illegal or radical.
Young adults who come
from hundred and thousands
of miles away and pay an
inflated price for an educa
tion should not have to live
under repressive rules
and regulations.
I have talked to a num
ber of students who plan
to move off campus next
semester and if possibly
this semester. There are
all ready quite a few who
have moved off campus. And
also quite a few who mov
ed off and never come
back.
The Administration-
needs to open its eyes and
ears a bit more to hear
the cries of the disinchan-
ted. The problems are not
one of unreachable solu
tions. Too many students are
leaving Clark pissed off.
At the present if some
one asked me should they
come to Clark I would tell
them No.J
. Clark campus is entirely
too smqll. for, it, to,, be as
disorganized and uritogeth-
er as it is. The students. 1
need -to ‘ ‘ can’ ’ their petty
rivalry and jealousies
and stop waiting on a Moses
to deliver them.
UMBU Blasts Morehouse Raid
By The University Movement for Black Unity
On Thursday evening, Feb
ruary 21, 1974, Morehouse
College was the scene of an
unprecedented raid by mem
bers of the Atlanta Police
Department. Five police
agents, dressed in street clo
thes, entered Hubert Hall to
arrest some alleged drug
pushers. The undercover
agents were mistaken for bur
glars and muggers, result
ing in a bullet-riddled campus
and the brutal arrest of at
least two students on non
drug-related charges.
This action was typical of
general police disregard for
the lives of Black people, but
highly unusual in that the cal
lousness of the police attack
was utterly disproportionate
to the subsequent materials
confiscated. This incident not
only raises questions of the
abuse of police authority, but
also raises questions of the
relationship of Black students
to the Black community, of
the validity of drug usage at
this point of our struggle,
and ultimately, of political
subversion. The University
Movement for Black Unity
(UMBU) feels that these is
sues must be brought to the
attention of the Black citizens
of Atlanta.
We do not propose to defend
either the use or pushing of
as another example of total
police disregard for the lives
of Black people. We are con
tinually opposed to the irres
ponsible abuse of police power
both on campus and in the
community. This typeof reck
less behaviour* was displayed
throughout the shoot-out at
Morehouse College.
Five agents dressed in
street clothes detained seve
ral students at gun-point in the
hall of a dormitory. The agents
did not immediately identify
themselves and were not es
corted by any campus official.
One month earlier, in that
same dormitory, several stu
dents were held up in an at
tempted robbery, and the cam
puses were uneasy following
a series of rapes and mugg
ings. Predictably, the agents
were mistaken for robbers
or muggers as other students
became aware of the situa
tion. One student armed him
self and entered the hall to
stop what he thought was a
burglary attempt. He was
verbally informed that the
‘robbers’ were police agents.
Although he was still sus
picious, the student turned and
left the dorm. As he was leav
ing, someone (presumably a
police agent) fired a shot at
him and the student-police
gunbattle ensued.
Police behaviour during the
entire episode can at best be
termed highly irresponsible.
At various times, the police
waved guns in students’ faces,
knocked out windows, and fir
ed erratically across the cam
pus. Approximately 20 police
cars rushed to the scene to
aid their ‘beleaguered’ col
leagues. Tony Ward, the stu
dent who tried to halt an
‘attempted robbery, gave
his gun to another student
and walked toward the police
with his hands in the air.
Even though the student was
visibly surrendering, one of
ficer shot at him. Fortuna
tely, Tony Ward stumbled on
the steps, and the police bul-
let whistled past his ear. Even
after Ward was handcuffed and
in custody, the police could not
resist further abuse of their
authority and he was seve
rely beaten.
Eye-witnesses report that
the police were firing .357 or
44 magnum hand guns. These
weapons are not standard police
issue, clearly indicating that
police did not mean to wound
suspects; rather they intend
ed to kill Black students! It
must be regarded as a miracle
that many Blacks were not
murdered or severely wound
ed that night.
TRAINING IN GENOCIDE
If these actions represent
the abilities of trained po
licemen, they must receive
training in genocide. Although
there have been ‘drug busts’
on white campuses, in no
instance were these incidents
accompanied by such wild and
erratic behaviour on the part
of police. We are not imply
ing that because white stu
dents receive preferential
treatment at the hands of the
law, Blacks should also re
ceive the same privileges . Our
concern is the protectionof
the lives of Black men, wo
men, and children. The tac
tics employed by the police
on the Morehouse campus are
identical to those employed
by police in the streets of
Atlanta every day - - in a city
where 19 citizens were kill
ed by police last year. It be
comes obvious that from Vine
City to the vine-covered col
lege campuses, the respect
for Black life is the same--
NONE!
Criticism should be direct
ed not only at the Atlanta po
lice department but also the
Morehouse College adminis
tration and the campus se
curity force. The college ad •
ministration’s handling of
the incident was extremely
poor. Although college of
ficials claim no prior know
ledge of the raid, there is
said to be an “unwritten
agreement’ stating police
would not enter the campus
without informing college of
ficials or by being escorted
by an administrator, except
in a case of ‘hotpursuit.’This
incident was clearly not a case
of ‘hot pursuit.’
A. U. SECURITY FORCE
The role of the Atlanta
University Center Security
Force must also be examin
ed. During the entire fracas,
security guards stood by and
viewed the incident as spec
tators making no attempt to
intercede. The security
guards are supposedly paid
to protect the students and
campuses of the Center, yet
in a situation that by all eye
witness accounts was not iden
tifiable as a police action,
they did not act. Their lack
of action leads to one of two
conclusions: the Center se
curity guards are totally in
competent or they had prior
knowledge that the raid would
occur.