Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Page 2 The Panther February 5, 1980 EDITORIAL COMMENT... The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people... ERA Denounced In Georgia BY LILLIE M. LEWIS Panther Editor Despite the prolonged heated debate over the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), it was still defeated in the Georgia Senate last week. Most of the ERA supporters, such as, the National Organization for Women blamed President Carter for failing to influence the Georgia State Legislature to approve the ERA during his tenure in the White House. It was not President Carter’s fault because the Georgia vote came a few hours before the first presidential preference contest of ratifying the ERA. Rep. Cathy Steinberg (D- DeKalb) complained to the White House about the publicity surrounding its ERA efforts, and was even informed that unless the Carters made their voice public, they would be blamed for poor efforts. Many Georgians are also blaming Lt. Gov. Zell Miller and Gov. George Busbee for not seeking moral support for the passage of the ERA. Usually, whenever any type nf an amendment is proposed, it is unlikely that it will reach the floor of the state legislature, or the senate, because ratification may take anywhere from one to five years depending on the issue. In 1 975, the ERA Amendment failed in the I Senate by a 33-22 vote, and was killed in 1974 by a House vote of 104 - 70. Five years later, the ERA is finally axed by the Georgia legislature. Georgia women face it, it may be another 10 years before the ERA even reaches the floor again, if then. Think about it women, although the ERA was defeated in the state of Georgia, if the draft is actually reinstituted in the U.S. you will 1 have to enlist, and go through basic training. Although many women were for the ratification of the ERA Amendment, think of it this way, you haven’t really lost anything in the process, and you may still apply for various hard labor positions, if you can handle it. In my opinion, since there are so many senators, and legislators who are opponents of the ERA, why are some of these same people proponents when it comes to enlisting women in the service. The entire issue to me, seems totally unfair — We have access to the First Amendment, but it seems as though women’s rights are definitely being censored by our society. Where Do We Go From Here? BY MARCIA E. JONES Panther Editor Attention! At Ease! These familiar words characterize drill exercises in the army or other branches of the service. Many times, we tend to laugh at military comedies shown on television such as “Corner Pyle,” “Hogan Heroes” or “MASH." Well fellow classmates our laughing days may be over because reality is beginning to create a gloomy picture for us all. According to President Carter in his Jan. 23rd speech, the draft registration may be re-imposed for men as well as women, between the ages of lb and 26. So now many of us, both men and women, may have to register for what some may term as a “death certificate.” What provokes me and probably many others is that old men start the wars and the young ones are sent to fight them. It is difficult to understand American politics and the men who comprise our decision—making body. We have seen our men succumb to death in World War II, the The PANTHER is published twice monthly by the students at Clark College Editors Marcia E. Jones Lillie M. Lewis News Editor Feature Editor Benjamin S. Lumpkin Entertainment Editor.. Sherry Jones Sports Editor Veverly Y. Byrd Photography Editor Tyraun Patterson Copy Editor Business Manager Jack Jenkins Faculty Advisors Denise Johnson Osker Spicer All articles, poetry, photographs and other contributions to the newspaper may be dropped off at our offices in Thayer Hall. Address all correspondence to: PANTHER Newspaper, Box 154, Clark College, Atlanta, Ga. 30314. Life In Spain Every year for 5 weeks of the summer, a program is offered to students in the U.S. and Canada to travel and study in Spain. Last summer, 100 students from 25 states, Canada and Puerto Rico departed from Kennedy Airport in New York and flew to Madrid. The group was then bussed to the campus of the Ciudad Universitaria of Madrid where they lived and attended classes. The living quarters consisted of one room per student. Each class met five days a week and courses ranged from Elementary Spanish to Literature and Culture. Students toured La Mancha for two days, visiting all the interesting places related to Cervantes and Don Quixote. Sixty students made a four day tour to Santiago de Compostela and Leon. Once or twice a week a group was scheduled to visit such his torical places as Valle de los Caidos, El Escorial, Segovia, Avila, Toledo, Museo del Prado, Palacio Real etc. Students found that they had also more than enough time to do, see and learn what ever they chose. As part of the program, a trip was taken to Southern Spain, visiting famous cities as Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada, Malaga, and two days were spent in the beautiful Torremolinos Beach. Plans are already in progress for the 16th Summer School Program in Spain 1980. Students may earn 9 quarter college credits. All persons interested should write to Dr. Doreste, Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. 61201 as soon as possible. SDace is verv limited. Korean War and the Vietnam War. Now it appears imperative and inevitable that another war could develop. Men will be giving up their lives for their country and now women must join these ranks, too. The question is: Where do we as young adults go from here? Are we going to allow the government to enforce the draft registration? And how about the women? Regis tration for the draft will be a new experience lor them. The draft is ah experience that none of us would like to partake in, but the time has come. Are we going to take the initiative and challenge President Carter’s decision? Or shall we be submissive and allow ourselves, the future generation, to “sign our lives away.” Black vs. Black? BY VEVERLY Y. BYRI) On February 5, Atlanta voters will be called upon to elect a new City Council President in a special election. Once again we find blacks pitted against blacks causing us to split votes two ways, sometimes three ways and as in this election. We also find our black candidates cutting each other’s throats and dragging each other’s names through the mud. Why is it that black officials can’t unite and be more together? Surely everyone can not win. And before you know it, some unknown white can didate will slip in and run away with the victory as in previous elections. Many well qualified black candidates have been defeated because too many blacks were in the race and caused black support to be divided. One perfect example of this was the race for 5th District (Congressional seat when An drew Young retired to take a position on President Carter’s cabinet. Wyche Fowler was the victor as several black can didates battered away at each other. We can also largely con tribute the fall of black of ficials to the negligence of black voters who fail to show their concern in just voting. Each election proves blacks to be less concerned than ever. Even in the Atlanta University Center there are enough votes to almost assure any candidate of a victory. But we seem to see voting as trivial. Our future lies in our hands. Until concerned citizens register to vote and carry out our duty and black officials stop dividing the black vote, Atlanta’s empire will fall. An out of state student can register to vote in Atlanta for the time he or she is a registered student and renew the hometown voting rights after graduation.