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Page 2 EDITORIALS \ KNIGHT TO REMEMBER s. Edwin’s Report Acting Clark President Dr. Charles Knight presently sits in the most precarious hot seat at the college. It is no longer a secret tha1 Ir wants to become permanent in his position as president in the school’s heart attack post. Now what brings notoriety to Knight’s candidacy is first he has been with Clark since 1971, first serving as dean of faculty, then as vice president. Second, he’s practically the mlv known candidate around Clark running; subsequently he will be the only candidate’s position that will be thoroughly examined. Knight has a definite advantage over the over reported 150 applicants (if he’s the only Clark hopeful). Knight already has his powerbase established. He has a five year head start on the rest oi the presidential pack. His administrative performances at Clark are cut there for all to see. He knows the ends and outs of the college, so therefore he won’t need a period to adjust to the office. Yet, Knight’s past record could be his Achilles’ heel. As he probably knows Clark better than the other candidates, Clark in turns knows him just as well. There are staff anf faculty in favor oi Knight and there are those who could be considered as ABK group • Anybody but Knight. There has been not overt atmosphere of concern about the selection of a new president,. but ask anyone whether he thinks Knight should be the new chief, and you’ll get either a definite "yes" or ‘‘no”-but don’t quqbhe me.” Knight has a clear indication of who’s who. “Those who (facultv-staff) are in support of me have come to me and indicated it." he said in a recent telephone interview. No formal organized body - pro or con- has yet gone public in favor of Knight. Among Clark’s staff and faculty, however, everyone seems to know who is leaning in what direction. The criticism against Knight sounds similiar to the GOP attack tgainst Jimmy Carter: “He’s wishy-washy. He’s not firm enough. He won’t make a decision unless he has to.” One Clark ad- rrinistrator told me that all the criticism against Knight probably isn’t accurate. A lot of it is probably u based on hearsay and per- ®nal biases, the administrator pointed out. From all of the critics I talked with (I didn’t come across any supporters) they all had respect for Knight but they just didn’t feel “Knight would be right at this time.” Another point which may be to the detriment of Knight’s candidacy, explained this same administrator, is that very seldom universities and college around the country select the vice president to succeed the outgoing head. “They’ll usually go to west hell to find someone to take over.” the administrator said. By next week the sub-committee of the Search Committee will have chiseled the long list down to about 20 or 30 names. And by January 1977 there should be at least three or five prominent candidates who will be known to be in the running. If the presidency evades Knight, he will return to his permanant position as vice president. The months succeeding the final board confirmation of a president should prove interesting, for whoever it is will have hi: hand full in coping with the existing power structure which won’: tolerate any draxstic changes. ANSWERING OUR CUE By Malaika Adero With this academic year opening without the guidance and responsible leadership of the late President Vivian W. Henderson, it was inevitable that 1976-77 would be a year of problems and challenges and of intense struggles for Clark College, as well as for the Atlanta University Center. Many of us sensed thed inevitablitity of it all But what are we going to do about it? The murder of Blair Thomas symbolizes a most serious manifestation of the problems and challenges that are before the AUC community and the Atlanta community as a whole. It’s surely unnecessary to recount the details of the incident qgain. We’ve read, we’ve heard, and we’ve seen. Both Lloyd Jones and Blair Thomas made the praiseworthy decision to go to the aid of ethers at the risk (a very real risk) of their own safety. We can be thankful that at least one of the young men, Lloyd Jones, is still with ck. But it mustn’t end there. There are lessons to be learned from this incident, and questions to be raised—questions about crime, and about the way city leaders, the media and we, as individuals and as a community, 9ew and deal with crim and with each other. The Thomas murder drew attention from many sectors of the community. The local media picked up on it with front page stories and prime time coverage on radio and television news. The memorial service was well attended by students, members of the community, the Mayor, city administrators and police officials. But why did this particular murder of this particular young man receive so much attention, when black people in Atlanta and surrounding areas are victimized b daily by others, and by each other without arousing ire and such crusading and reforming spirit? The first answer that comes to mind is that this incident was a case of someone being killed while coming to the aid of others. This k a rare enough occurence in times in which we live to warrant the publicity that it received. However, that is not a full explanation. Blair’s being an A.U. Center student was another factor which warrented the publicity. Whether we deserve it or not, we do, to same some extent, represent the black intelligentsia: therefore, we received slightly more favorable atttention for the things that we do (or that happen to us) than the people in Vine City and Methanicsville for intstance. Also, A.U. Center schools are the alma maters of many black leaders of the community, not least among them. Mayor Jackson. Two others reasons tor the attention the incident received are that both members of the college community and city administrators have a vested interest in the case of the Blair Thomas murder. he administration’s interest is in pressing for the handgun fegislation that it has sought t so intensely. Mayor Jackson ha: publicly expressed his desire to push the legislation in light of the Hair murder several times since it happened. The handgun issue was the angle of the follow up story in one edition of the Atlanta Constitution. Police Commissioner Eaves expressed his concern and pledged to fight crime all the more intensely. And of course, the next election year is not so far away. A response to Blair’s death from the city administration was certainly called for, but al tl too often community leaders tend to exploit every opportunity to accomplish personal goals and to muster support. The A.U. Center students’ interest rests in the fact that the “real world” once again slipped through their wall of apathy to jar us from our “sleep.” We have discovered that we can be victims of crime. But, at the same time. We must realize that we are often the supporters and /or perpetrators of crimes. We tend to distinguish ourselves as students from our neigh bors in the area that we refer to as “The Bottom.” We are suspicious of that community and the people in it, and we often view ourselves as victims or potential victims of their “advances,” especially women. Yet when male students treat us the same way,, we don’t take exception. The other side of the coin is that individuals in “The Bottom” feel resentful of us, as students. And the men in the community sometimes take their resentment out on coeds by making advances. This is where we all fail each other and ourselves. We do not feel accountable to each other or for each other, and we view each other with suspicion. However we must realize that we are all both potential victims and potential villianjis. We are all potential Blair Thomases and potential Todds (the alleged murderer). Blair Thomas’s death presents us with the challenge to look at curselves and to look at what it is we must do to rid ourselves and our community of the things w that damage us. Now is the time for us to act instead of merely reacting. This is our cue to look analytically and critically at the problems in our community, and to take action to solve those problems. The ultimate question is, will we answer our cue? Letter to the Editor SGA Dear Editor The Clark College Student Government Association would Ike to thank the student body for its contribution and support for our brother Blair Thomas. The response of all the Clark family was overwhelming and helped to meet the needs of the Thomas family. Proceeds of the con tributions were used for the release of Blair’s body to his b family (206.00) and ($248.00) was spent to send three representatives (Lloyd Jones, Tarus Crawford and Michael Ffeterson) to the funeral in Cahicago. The rest of the con tributions weillbe used to purchase a plaque in memory of Brother Thomas. There is a Srong possiblity that a Blair Thomas Scholarship Fund will be established. Thank -you again for your support in this time of need. Michael Poole, President SGA