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Page 2 The Panther April 11,1980 EDITORIAL COMMENT... The Pint Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofreligion orprohAitjngihefree exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the pressortherightof the people.... AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CHAPPERALS Dear UNCF Contributors: You are to be commended for the superb BENEFIT CONCERT which you provided on March 19, 1980, at Clark College in the interest of the United Negro College Fund. It is rare, indeed, that a group which is in great demand would sacrifice its time and talents to promote the educational ad vancement of so many young men and women. Echoes from many who attended the affair attest to the fact that it was superb in every sense of the word. The monetary receipts will certainly go a long way in help ing us to reach our1980goal,and for this we are grateful. Thank you, Mr. HoraceFlenry, the conductor, and each and every member of this dis tinguished group. May you continue to remember others on your road to national acclaim. Commendably yours, THE UNCF STEERING COM MITTEE C.D. Gillespie, Chairman Dear Mesdames Lewis and Jones: Please accept my congratulations for the awards received by The Panther in this year’s Georgia College Press As sociation competition. I ap preciate the efforts you and your staff have put into making the Panther the outstanding publication it is. Let’s go for first next year. Sincerely yours, Charles R. Stephens Vice President for Development Dear Panther Staff: Congratulations on being selected a winner in the Georgia Collegiate Press Association Newspaper Contest. The Clark College Panther was awarded third place in the category of Best Campus Community Service; Editorial Excellence and all of us here at Clark College are very proud of your ac complishments. Your decision to give your time and talent was a wise and generous investment, both for you as an individual seeking higher goals through education, and for Clark College as an institution of higher education seeking to provide education for future roles in our society. Again, congratulations on your achievement and best wishes for continued success. Sincerely, Gloria Scott Vice President Dear Panther Editors, It was a pleasant surprise to pick up a Panther and find an insert full of extra sports coverage like never before. The content of coverage and layout was excellent. «The insert idea was a good one by Veverly Byrd, sports editor. In previous years, ex-editors (not the sports editors) took a conservative stance on sports coverage. They would barely allow room for one page. I would like to commend the Panther staff and Ms. Byrd for a brilliant effort and display in covering the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament. With time permitting, I’d like to see another insert, perhaps focusing on baseball and women’s sports at Clark or the Atlanta University Center. There are no limitations. With Ms. Byrd’s innovative ideas and willingness to ‘‘get the news” and “print it", sports will definitely be a highlight of the Panther,'if it already isn’t. Sincerely, Charles Anderson Daytona Times Staff Writer Dear Mr. Anderson: We are glad that you enjoyed the insert and hope that this is an indication of intensive sports coverage for future PANTHER issues. Dear Sports Editor: At the beginning of the 1979- 1980 school year there were fifteen devoted cheerleaders, devoted more than Webster’s definition of a cheerleader. Disillusionment set in as the season went on. Why? because at Clark, cheerleaders are taken for granted. One, we are expected to be at last minute pep rallies, two, the sponsor is never around when needed, and three, fans are non-supportive, critical and they on ly show their enthusiasm when the school plays Morehouse or Morris Brown. The question that comes to mind is why was the first article (Cheerleaders Are No Leaders) written without the facts? The sports editor is supposed to have some facts not assumed in formation when writing an editorial. The sad thing about this editor is that one member of her sorority is a cheerleader and she would have been more than willing to quote our plight to her. If the reporter could not have contacted this young lady, there are eight other cheerleaders who lived between the courts and the dorms who she could have spoken with. For the last five years Clark College has had the Number One Cheering Squad. During these years Clark Cheerleaders have received no financial as sistance from the athletic department. We also do not receive meal cards. As members of Clark's Cheering Squad we have to furnish the needed extras that go with our uniforms like; shoes, socks and shirts. There are cheerleaders at Clark, because we are dedicated Clarkites, we enjoy cheering, and we have a lot of school spirit, which a lot of Clarkites lack. We are devoted to both football and basketball season despite what anybody says. During the foot ball season, Clark Cheerleaders are left on their own to practice, but once the season change we are required to have a sponsor present. This is a frustrating time for us, because we want to prac tice, but due to our sponsor’s lack of responsibilities and priorities we have to cancel prac tice and miss out on road trips. In 1975-1976, Clark Cheerleaders were presented with new white uniforms. This year in January we were presented with new black uniforms. In no way did we receive three new uniforms dur ing this year’s basketball season. The red uniforms that we wore for a short time have been at Clark for more than ten years. Clark Cheereaders have en dured many things. It’s just a shame, for some unknown reason, we are always left out of the sport section of the newspaper, and we are sup posed to be a contributing asset to the athlete’s victories. We are excluded from the yearbook, what is the reason for this? This year we did not go on any Basketball road trips, but we expected to go on last minute trips. Clark cheerleaders are tired of the fans and our spon sor’s non-supportive attitude. We might have continued the season, but with constant fric tion, with our sponsor, we retired from cheering with not regrets. Dear Cheerleaders: First of all, you ask why this article was written without facts. In journalism, an editorial is an expression of opinion on some issue. I do not need facts to express my opinion and you may consult any professional journalist to verify this position. Secondly, you say that it is “sad”thatlhave a sororon the squad and did not consult her. This is true, it is not a matter which concerns me and my soror, or me and the cheerleaders - but that of the cheerleaders and the public’s rightto know what is going on. For this reason and this reason alone did I attack the cheerleaders. All I wanted to do was get to the bottom of your inac tiveness and get the bare facts in the open. I am no t concerned with the issue on a personal level but rather as sports editor, for it is my duty to get to the bottom of it. Again, 1 notice you accused me of saying that you received three new uniforms this season. If you would consult the March 10 issue, you will see that I said you “changed” uniforms — there is a difference. I also agree that the cheerleaders are due coverage on the sports pages. This is basically why I tried several times to get an article on the cheerleaders at the beginning of the year. And by the way, this time I did consult my soror, only she was an ivy then. I also approached Ms. Conner, but I guess it didn’t matter to you what went on in the paper. If you were so ap palled at not getting coverage, you too have the right to criticize me. I hope that all your problems will be solved and that you now understand my reasons for the editorial. I am pleased that you responded - for this was the ultimate goal of the article. Sincerely Veverly Y. Byrd Panther Sports Editor Dear Editor, My name is Kevin C. Frederick and I am currently incarcerated at the London Correctional Institution in London, Ohio. I wou Id greatly appreciate it if you could place this request in your college newspaper in hopes that some of yourstudentswould like to correspond with me . I am 23 years old, 5 feet 10 in ches tall, and weight 175 lbs. I have been at London for over a year. I am very lonely and would like very much to meet some college people through corres pondence. Thank you very much, Kevin C. Frederick No. 155-444 P. O. Box 69 London, Ohio 93140 Dear Editor: Don't you think that it is a ridiculous shame that the Clark College Chapter of the NAACP cannot maintain an annual membership of at least 250 people at a predominantly black institution which has an enrollment of approximately 2,- 000 students? I guess some of us did not learn our black histgry well or else we have seemingly forgotten the very significant role that the NAACP played in the early struggle for black equality in America. If that is the case, then let me share with you information Continued on page 12 <♦> The PANTHER is published twice monthly by the students at Clark College Editors Marcia E. Jones Lillie M. Lewis News Editor Michael H. Cottman Feature Editor. Entertainment Editor. Sports Editor Photography Editor.... Copy Editor Business Manager. Faculty Advisors ••••••a••••••••••••••••••••••••••«•#*•••••••••■•■••••••••••••••••••*•••«•>•• i ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••a**•••«••••••••• Benjamin S. Lumpkin ——-- Sherry Jones .Veverly Y. Byrd Tyraun Patterson Katrina Jones — Jack Jenkins . Denise Johuson 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.