Newspaper Page Text
Vol. XXXI No. 6
An ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER Institution
December 13, 1978
Forensics Team Wins Big
Forensics Society Members show trophies won at
Eastern New Mexico U.Tournament. Pictured 1.tor.are
Jesse Brinson, Sheila Harris, Lydia Pearman and
Suleiman Abdul-Azeez. Not pictured are Charli Cottom
and Monty Ross. (Photo by Jerome Gwinn)
Lewis Continues
Fight for Drama
Recognition
By Michael H. Cottman
Panther Reporter
Joan Lewis and the Clark
College Drama Department
are not yet satisfied by the way
members of Clark’s Ad
ministration are handling
Drama Department affairs.
Charges have been made
against members of the ad
ministration for their
negligence in assisting the
drama department in its
attempt to compose its newest
production, “What the Wine-
Sellers Buy.”
Ms. Lewis feels that ad
ministrative bumblings have
led to the delay of the play and
said that this is not the first
time she has been faced with
these kinds of difficulties.
She said she is not pleased
with the way the Drama
Department has been isolated
and that drama members are
always considered the lowest
on the totem-pole.
“I am simply asking people
to try to understand the Drama
Department and the work that
we do,” Ms. Lewis says
sympathetically. “We are
people, too, and these students
have the right to "deal in their
chosen professions.”
Ms. Lewis stated that on
May 17 this year she met with
Dean of Students Curtis Gilles
pie, asking for the use of
Davage Auditorium. She
stated the dates she needed to
prepare for the upcoming play.
Dean Gillespie then asked
her to send him a written
memo. According to Ms.
Lewis, a written memo was
submitted directly to the Dean
May 24. As of last October, she
said she had yet to receive a
response.
“This situation has
happened before,” Ms. Lewis
said in a very concerned tone,
“and I believe it will happen
again.” She also added that
she felt that there was not
enough emphasis placed on
the progression of the! arts.
“I am shocked to see you
here,” Dean Gillespie said,
appearing puzzled, “I really
didn’t know that there was a
problem.”
continued on page 3
By Michael S. Bailey
Panther Reporter
Clark College’s award-win
ning Forensics team launched
their first tournament of the
year in grand style Nov. 16 by
participating in a tournament
held at Eastern New Mexico
Univ., and bringing home
eight trophies. The team
competed against other
colleges and universities
throughout the nation and
Texas Southern Univ. was the
only other predominantly
black institution represented.
Seventeen schools
participated in the
tournament.
Six members of Clark’s team
competed in the tournament in
which each member
participated in at least three
events and placed in at least
two of these events. The
members who competed,
trophies they won, and their
area of performance are as
follows: Suleiman Abdul-
Azeez, third place, humorous
speaking and informative
speaking; Shelia Harris, first
place, persuasive speaking;
Charlie Cottom, second place,
Students May
By Judith Williams
Panther Reporter
“Federal officials say they
aim to make interest-free loans
available to all college
students regardless of their
families’ wealth, in time for the
spring semester,” was the lead
paragraph in a recent issue of
the Atlanta Constitution.
impromptu speaking, and
third place, oral interpretation
of prose; Jesse Brinson and
Lydia Pearman, second place,
dramatic duo; and Monty
Ross, third place, oral
interpretation of poetry. Due to
the number of competitors in
each event in the tournament
(25 or more), each member of
the team qualified for national
competition to be held in Des
Moines, Iowa.
After having participated in
the New Mexico tournament
against 16 new teams, Foren
sics Society President Jesse
Brinson commented, “I th ink
the overall performance of the
team was excellent, and that
this particular event helped
the members of the team
develop a greater awareness of
their talents. In other words,
each person feels that he can
participate against any school
in the natjon.”
As for what the New Mexico
tournament does for national
recognition, Brinson stated,
“The tournament will bring
recognition, first of all, to
Clark, and it will give the
members of the team a chance
continued on page 3
Get Loans
What effect will this new law
have on Clark College
students? “Presently, 92
percent of Clark’s students
receive some type of financial
aid,” says Marian Wilkes,
director of financial aid at
Clark. “With this new
government program, it is es-
continued on page 3
Pre-Registration
Changes
Improve Process
By Eileen C. Hocker
Panther Reporter
Clark College has just com
pleted its pre-registration
period for the second semester
of the 1978-79 school year and
the general reacton of students
toward it has been favorable.
However, this was not the
case on Monday and Tuesday,
Nov. 13 & 14, when pre-regis
tration was supposed to have
started. The two day delay in
the start of pre-registration left
many students upset and frus
trated with the college as a
whole. Nevertheless, Clark
was not to blame for the delay,
Wesley C. McClure, dean of
faculty instruction, said.
“Clark College was not at
fault,” Dean McClure said,
“we were ready on time, but we
had to wait for the other
schools, in the Center.” The
Dean further explained that
Clark could not go ahead with
its own pre-registration
because that would give
students from the other
schools in the Center a chance
to sign up for Clark classes
while Clark students wouldn’t
be able to sign up for classes at
the other schools. Therefore,
through no fault of Clark, pre
registration was held up.
There were, however, some
changes made in the pre-regis
tration process on the faculty
level at Clark. A leaflet en
titled, “A Pre-Registration
Mechanism” was distributed
to all the departments in the
school. In this booklet such
topics as the goals of pre-regis
tration, steps to be taken by the
faculty during pre-registration
and other were outlined.
One of the goals of pre-regis
tration was to make the regis
tration process easier for all
components of the college:
students, faculty,
departments, administrative
units, etc. Another goal of pre
registration was to provide a
means for getting useful, com
prehensive and accurate in
formation for instructional
and institutional planning.
One of the steps faculty
members were supposed to
continued on page 3
SGA Sees Active
Second Semester
By Angela Esannason
Panther Reporter
The Student Government
Association at Clark College
looks forward to a bright year
with several different
programs planned for the
second academic term starting
in January.
Among the programs
scheduled for the new year are
a special Olympics wherein
SGA will be working in con
junction with the Mass Com
munications Dept, and the
NAACP; a financial aid
workshop wherein SD A will be
working with Marian Wilkes,
. financial aid director; a senior
career day for high school
seniors wherein AGA will
work with Clifton Rawles, ad
missions director. SGA will
have still more guest speakers
next semester, including social
activist- Dick Gregory.
continued on page 3
Simmons Is Honored
By Marcia E. Jones
News Editor
Sidney Simmons, a member
of Clark College’s Mass Com
munications staff, was one of
seven journalists honored at
the Atlanta Association for
Black Journalists’ (AABJ)
Pioneer Luncheon Nov. 15 at
the Butler Street YMCA.
Simmons was awarded a
young black journalist award
for his success in the area of
cinematography.
Other awardees were Faye
M. Smith, audiovisual; Harold
Lamar, radio production;
Chini Billingsley and Maurice
Lawrence, print journalism;
Hoyt Fuller, the Pioneer Black
Journalist Award; and C. A.
Scott, special award.
The speaker for the luncheon
was WRNG Radio
sportscaster, Joseph Walker.
Walker spoke on the black
media’s responsibility as black
people to black people.
“The only way to succeed is
not by black news directors or
sportscasters ... the only way
things will change is if black
people own their own media,”
said Walker.
continued on page 3