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Page 4
THE PANTHER
OCTOBER 4, 1979
A Hassle Behind Scenes
Former Drum Major Injured Freshman Block Party
By Tyraun Patterson
Rudistky (Rudy)Anthony, a
physical therapy major at
Clark College, was critically
injured on Friday, August 2.
The automobile he was driving
went out of control and was
totally demolished by a City of
Atlanta dump truck and a
second automobile. The ac
cident occurred on Lakewood
Ave. and was said to have been
possibly caused by the severe
weather conditions.
Rudy, as he is commonly
called, went to work as usual
as a courier driver for the Mit
chell St. branch of C&S Bank
on the morning of Friday,
August 24. He began his route
in the automobile that he
drives everyday at work — a
1979 Ford Fairmont. About an
hour and a half after he began
his route he was met by what
proved to be one of the worst
accedents-that any driver with
the company had ever had.
Rudy was en route to a C&S
branch located near Lakewood
Ave. when he lost control of the
vehicle that he was driving
and went into a spin. His car
crossed the center line and was
met by an oncoming truck that
knocked his car into a third
vehicle that went on to strike a
utility pole.
The interior of the
automobile driven by Rudy
was in shambles. His body had
been so violently tossed
around inside the car that even
the seats were broken. When
the vehicle finally stopped,
Rudy lay unconscious in the
rear of the car with his head
having burst through the right
rear window. When emergency
help arrived, Rudy was still un
conscious and bleeding
profusely as he slipped into a
deep coma.
The former drum major and
“showdog” of Alpha Phi
Omega National Service
Fraternity, where he served as
coordinator of the Phyette
sweetheart program, lay
motionless in a fifth degree
coma for two and a half weeks
Rudistky (Rudy) Anthony Struts with Panther mascot.
(Photo by Jerome Gwinn)
while being looked on by his
family, friends and a whole
host of frat brothers and
sweethearts. His condition
was considered “borderline
and critical” by doctors who
reassured visitors that he
would pull though because of
his excellent condition before
the time of the accident,
During my last visit to the
hospital Rudy was doing much
better. He is able to understand
everything people say to him
or do for him — he can even
speak very softly at times. The
first thing that he said to my
amazement as a reaction to his
heckling sister Trellis (24) was,
“Trellis hits me too hard on my
shoulder when she is kidding
with me, I want you to hit her
back for me!!”
Rudy is considered as a very
active and supportive student
of the Clark College motto
“second to none.” “He’s one of
the best drum majors Fve seen
thus far, and he certainly has
my prayers and most
concerned thoughts with him
as he strives to recover,”
boasted Michael Holloway
who is the current drum major
in the Clark Marching Pan
ther Band and a senior
prospective pledgee for Rudy’s
fraternity.
Since Rudy is doing so much
better, he can now accept
visitors and receive and
understand all cards thatmay
be sent to him. His mother,
Mrs. Anthony is very proud of
her son’s progress during his
recovery. She says, “I don’t
want to celebrate just yet. . .i
want to celebrate when he is all
better. Then we can all
celebrate with Rudy in
cluded!!”
Clark College’s Roots
By Gloria Johnson
Panther Staff Writer
Clark College or Clark
University as it was called
before 1940 was named after
Bishop Davis W.Clark.thefirst
president of the Freedmen’s
Aid Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Clark was
one of the first institutions es-
tablished by religious
denominations after the Civil
War that provided Negroes
with formal education.
Clark was operated under
the auspices of the Freedmen’s
Aid Society. The Society was
started by a group of people
who saw the great need for
blacks to become educated.
The principle goals of the
society was the building of
religious foundations for
women, to provide teaching
training for women, to provide
elementary education for
Negro children, and to provide
training for ministers.
The first class was held in
1869 at the Clark Chapel
Methodist Eposcopal Church
in Atlanta’s Summerhill sec
tion (in the southeast area of
Atlanta), in a sparsely
furnished room in the
basement of the church. The
handful of students that
attended had little or no
previous academic training.
Clark changed locations
several times during its early
years. With Clark’s relocation
to South Atlanta in 1877 came
a gradual expansion in
concept and purpose.
The 1979 Clark College
catalog indicates that there
was an emphasis upon train
ing students to become
teachers and ministers as com
pared to the limited curriculum
of vocational subjects and
general studies of earlier
years.
continued on page 8
By Michael S. Bailey
Panther Staff Writer
There was dancing, people
meeting people, old friends
greeting one another after the
summer, and generally a good
time had by all at the Atlanta
University Center Block
Social during freshman orien
tation week. But there was a
hard time trying to find even a
smile behind the scenes of the
planning of the event ac
cording to Clark’s SGA
president, Alfred Wyatt •
“I think that it is the general
feeling among SGA presidents
in the Atlanta University
Center (AUC — Clark,
Morehouse, Spelman, and
Morris Brown) that the plan
ning that went into the block
party could have been made
easier with the cooperation of
the chairman of the Atlanta
University Center Student
Council,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt also stated, Jeffrey
Cooper of the AUC Student
Council simply left this past
summer without leaving the
other persons who were help
ing plan the block party with
an idea of the amount of funds
available for plans. In ad
dition, Cooperdidnotsignare-
quisition to receive the funds
from AUC Chancellor Charles
Meredith for the block party.
The AUC Student Council is
made up of representatives
from all of the undergraduate
schools in the Center.
However, Wyatt said thathe
went to Meredith to ask for the
funds available for the block
party. “Chancellor Meredith,”
Wyatt said, “was very helpful
and he told me just as I walked
through the door that a
maximum of $500 could be
allowed for the block party but
we needed to give him an
outline of our expenses”.
Since Wyatt andnoneof the
other SGA presidents had the
authority to requisition the
funds for the block party, he
drafted a letter of proposal
which all of the SGA
presidents from the other
colleges signed and he
presented the letter and the
outline to Chancellor
Meredith.
“All we needed was $125 for
the PA system,” Wyatt said,
and Chancellor Meredith
okayed the funds.”
The Public Announcement
system for the block party was
rented by the AUC student
council from Mykol Williams,
a Clark College student who
works with WCLK the campus
radio station provided the
music for the party.
But as of September 19,
Wyatt said, “Williams had not
received his $125 from the
AUC Student Council.”
“Cooper told Williams to bill
Chancellor Meredith,” Wyatt
said, “and now the process of
Williams receiving his money
is supposedly under way.”
In a rather irritated tone,
Wyatt said, “I feel that all of
this trouble could have been
avoided if Cooper had signed
the requisition for the funds
and Williams could have
received his check on the night
of the block party.
Gwendolyn Brooks To
Address Writers Workshop
By Rozell Clark
Entertainment Editor
Gwendolyn Brooks,
renowned writer-poet, is
among the many personalities
expected to participate in the
second annual writers
workshop sponsored by the
Southern Collective of Afro-
American Writers (SCAAW).
According to SCAAW
president, Alice Lovelace, this
year’s conference will convene
at Clark College’s Davage
Auditorium October 19-21, and
is expected to attract twice as
many people as last year’s
conference.
“To fulfill our primary
objective which is the
development of the young
writer, we have planned a
weekend of events which will
begin with a SCAAW Benefit
Buffet,” Ms. Lovelace said.
The buffet, which will be
held at West Hunter Street
Baptist Church, will be
sponsored in part by Hoyt
Fuller, publisher of First World
Journal, and long-time editor
with Johnson Publishing
Company. The program will
include music, an auction, and
a buffet. “Our expected guests
will include not only
Gwendolyn Brooks, but Hake
Madhabuti, Sonia Sanchez,
Shirley Franklin, Toni Cade
Bambari, and many others,”
she added.
The conference will also
include several workshops,
among which are:
“Developing as a Writer,” with
Osker Spicer, an instructor at
Clark College as moderator;
“Writing for Film and TV,”
which will have Diedra
McDonald, producer', WXIA
Channel 11 as moderator;
“Getting Your Work
Published,” with Toni Cade
Bambara, author, educator
and publisher as moderator.
Although Ms. Lovelace
won’t be participating actively
as a moderator in any of the
workshops she has already
established quite a track
record as a writer since first
coming to Atlanta four years
ago.
continued on page 8