Newspaper Page Text
Page 4
IHE PANTHER
November 5, 1979
Photo by Ly Benson
Brown Lectures At
BY MICHAEL H_ COTTMAN
Panther News Editor
Atlanta’s city elected of
ficials “should have the
courage” to persuade the
Georgia General Assembly to
implement a law that would
allow the Atlanta Police
Department to have sole con
trol over the proliferation of
hand guns, according to Atlan
ta’s Public Safety Com
missioner.
Dr. Ijee P. Brown was the
keynote speaker at Clark
College recently as he ad
dressed students forthefirstin
a series of Crime Prevention
Forums sponsored by the
Clark College chapter of Phi
Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.
Brown told a small, but
interested group of students
that the way in which
handguns are distributed in
the Atlanta area could be at
tributed to the increase in the
city’s homicides.
Brown added, curbing the
sales of handguns could serve
as one tool in an effort to
curtail Atlanta’s rising crime,
can’t depend on the police to
solve all the problems. We do
not have all of the resources to
do the entire job.”
In the midst of Atlanta’s ris
ing crime rate, Georgia State
Scott Informs Future Journalists
College is a total experience
and students should learn as
much as possible while in
school, said an Atlanta
Journal reporter recently to a
reporting class at Clark
College.
Peter Scott, an education
writer for the Journal since
1972, told the students thatthe
newspaper business is for
those who are serious and that
there is a lot of hard work
ahead.'
Scott cited problems in the
Atlanta University Center
<AUC) to he a lack of student
inputinto various publications
on campus.
“There are enough people
right herefin this class) to turn
the AUC upside down,” he
said. “Join your college
newspaper staff - it’s your res
ponsibility to write stories and
it’s the best wa v to perfect your
BY CHARLES ANDERSON
Panther Layout Editor
skills.
“At Georiga State,” Scott
continued, “there are white
stories that are being picked up
by regular papers.”
Scott said there is so much
happening in communities but
“people aren’t making things
happen.”
He said white dailies, in an
attempt to improve their
coverage of the black com
munity, often send white
reporters to cover black news
and they tend to be over-
generous.
“Sometimes I find myself
identifying something black
when there is no significance,”
said the veteran reporter. “You
can not do your job trying to
carry the burden of your whole
nice.”
Scott said one problem black
reporters must overcome is
meeting deadlines. He added
that most papers have a
probationary period to give a
reporter a chance to “learn
whatever needs to be learned.
“I went to a daily white
paper with a lot of ideas,” Scott
said, “but I wasn’t worried so
much about the black com
munity and whether it
received adequate coverage.
“It worries me to go to a
paper and because you’re
black, what you say is sup
posed to be considered,” he
added.
Scott said his role at the
Journal is “sometimes two
fold.”
“Today,” Scott said for
instance, “I may be pulled off
into some assignment that I’m
not really familiar with. But if
I keep abreast of news in
general, I can handle someth
ing else.”
Workshops Scheduled
The Atlanta University
Center’s NAACP Chapter is
sponsoring five workshops
Nov. JO — Dec. 2.
Five workshops in the areas
of education, government,
political action, employment
and the organization of
College Chapters will be led by
Student Activists of the 60’s.
Crime Rate Continues To Escalate
BY JOYCE CALDWELL
Panther Reporter
Crimes such as robbery,
murder, and rape, are steadily
increasing in the city of Atlan
ta. For this reason, the Omega
Psi Phi Fraternity sponsored a
Rape Crisis Seminar, during
the month of October in
Davage Auditorium.
Those persons involved in
the seminar included I^ee P.
Brown, commissioner of
Public Safety in Atlanta; Dr.
Cynthia B. Jenkins of
Spelman College’s Family
Planning Center; and Coloua
Bonds, a representative from
the Rape Crisis Center at
Grady Hospital.
According to Public Safety
Commissioner Lee P. Brown,
these crimes, occurring in
Atlanta, are nationwide. FBI
statistics prove that Atlanta’s
crime rate increased 29 percent
over the same three month
period last year. These statis
tics also justify an increase of
24 percent in DeKalb, 60
percent in Savannah, 27.5
percent in New Orleans, while
the Nation’s Capital increased
a full 24 percent.
• Commissioner Brown said
that crime is not just a problem
of the police, hut a community
problem. He emphasized the
fact that policemen and people
in the community must work
together to solve the problems
confronting the community.
Commissioner Brown said.
“Blacks suffer greater from
crime than whites. Blacks are
more susceptible of being the
victims and the accusers.” In
most instances, blacks are kill
ing each other, and many are
friends who love each other.
In a recent incident, a man
shot his mother and sister. The
reason for this particular
homocide arose from a dispute
over who would drive the
family car.
Commissioner Brown em
phasized the fact that hand
guns, as a weapon, are used
excessively in crime.
Ijocal pawnshops require a
person to be 21 years of age to
purchase a gun. For this
reason, an escapee from a men
tal institution killed someone
in the streets of Atlanta during
the month of October. Dr.
Cynthia Jenkins, of the
Spelman F’amily Planning
Center, suggested that a
system be developed to control
the possession of guns.
Commissioner Brown
suggested that suspicious
people be reported. One may
call the Public Safety hotline
at 659-COPS, and report in
formation anonymously. The
key to safety is awareness;
therefore, one must learn to
protect himself against crime.
Coloua Bonds, a represen
tative from Grady Hospital’s
Rape Crisis Center, suggested
tips that must be instituted in
one’s lifestyle;
. Always check your car and
surroundings before getting
in.
2. Do not advertise the fact
that you live alone, i.e., The
Boston Strangler found 200
women just by looking on their
mail boxes.
2. Keep shades drawn when
you are alone at home.
4. Carry a can of active mace
in your purse. Active mace is
an aerosol that causes tem
porary blindness.
5. Scream fire instead of
rape; some will witness a fire,
hut no one will witness rape.
Clark
Troopers were given the as
signment of patroling the
city’s streets for a two month
period.
But as of Sunday last week,
Governor George Busbee
decided to withdraw these of
ficers .
Apparently, Brown did not
agree with Busbee’s action.
“I requested that the
troopers stay on,” Brown said.
“They were needed, but that
was the Governor’s decision.”
Brown, who said the
troopers “did a good job” while
patroling the city, said Atlan
ta’s crime would not rise due to
their absence.
Although Brown could not
elaborate on a firm figure for
the next police pay raise, he did
say however, he was in favor of
police officers receiving higher
wages.
“Our police officers do a fine
job, and I continue to advocate
police pay raises,” Brown said.
Brown suggested the API)
should have the authority to
control gun sales. He added by
taking this measure, Atlanta’s
growing homicide rate may be
lessened.
Brown, who said this duty
currently rests in the hands of
the General Assembly, said it
is the responsibility of city of
ficials to initiate such changes.
Brown said the majority of
crimes in the Atlanta area are
predominately black - on -
black related incidents, adding
“poverty and unemployment”
are two key factors that cart be
attributed to the city’s violent
mishaps.
“We’re killing each other,”
Brown charged. “We need to
return to placing more value
on a life rather than a piece of
property.”
Brown said there are no sim
ple solutions to the crime
problem, adding he feels “more
community involvement” will
assist Atlanta police in solving
this city-wide dilemma.
6. Dress comfortably, in the
event you have to run.
7. Install a 180° peep-hole, so
that a person may be viewed at
a sizeable distance.
Ms. Bonds stressed the fact
of remaining calm, so that one
may flee if that chance arises.
In the event you are raped, do
not bathe or douche. Do not
change clothes within 48 hours
of the occurrence.
Confused, or need answers
to unsolved questions, call the
Rape Crisis Center’s hotline,
659-RAPE.