Newspaper Page Text
Vol. XXXIII, No. 2
AN ATLANTA UNIVERSITY CENTER INSTITUTION
September 19,1980
I Am Somebody
President of Operation PU SH, The Rev. Jessie Jackson
(Photo by Ly Bensons)
CarterBoost Funds
To Black Schools
BY SHAWN McCRUDER
Panther Reporter
I AM SOMEBODY!
Respect me, protect me, never
neglect mel
Down with dope, up with
hope!
If my mind can conceive it and
my heart can believe it, then I
know I can achieve itl
I AM SOMEBODY...
Once again the Rev. Jessie
Jackson had the chance to recite
his distinguished words, “I am
somebody,” during the National
Association of Equal Op
portunity in Higher Education
summit conference. Rev.
Jackson, who was the keynote
speaker, addressed the Atlanta
University Center Community,
on September 2,1980. The meet
ing was held in the Martin Luther
King Chapel on the Morehouse
Campus.
Over 40 presidents and
chancellors of black institutions
of higher education assembled
with the Atlanta University
Center Community to focus
their attention on the unmet
needs for financing black higher
education.
President of Operation PUSH
and a political activist in the
cause of education for
minorities, Rev. Jackson spoke
from the subject of the res
tatement of the black colleges,
“The request for our money.”
He stated that "the mission of
black schools is to elevate the
victims of colonialism."-
“The black colleges have a
special mission; no other school
has a mission like that of the
black colleges. As trustees of
black education, black
presidents of higher education
must determine the flow of
dollars for black education.”
He continued to say that they
should "judge white schools,
determine the priorities of the
black schools budget needs and
stop black student athletic
exploitation."
There are 107 black colleges.
Last year, the money given to
colleges was approximately $394
million allowed for colleges. 4.1
percent of the money was given
to black colleges.
Jackson stated, "We have been
the experts of taking the rejects
of the county and building them
into the leaders of the country.
We must execute a serious
appeal to the president of the
United States to enforce that
which is already enacted by
Congress.”
continued on page 2
President Carter put some
legal teeth into a two year old
memorandum recently as he
signed into law an executive
order directing federal agencies
to increase aid to historically
black colleges and universities.
The order requires the
secretary of education and the
director of the office of
management and budget to set
annual funding goals for every
federal agency. Agencies must
also eliminate "unintended
regulatory barriers” and develop
new ways to increase the ability
of black schools to participate in
federal programs. The Education
Department will enforce the
order.
The order strengthens a
presidential directive issued in
January 1978 that some black
educators said had done little to
increase federal aid to some 100
historically black schools.
"We felt some gains had been
made under the directive, but
many agencies had been hedg
ing it,” said Niles White, director
of governmental affairs for the
United Negro College Fund.
"The executive order will go a
long way toward putting teeth in
the directive,” White said, who
attended the signing ceremony
in the White House Rose
Carden.
Administration officials had
predicted that federal funds
flowing to historically black
schools would double after the
1978 memorandum, but a draft
Education Department report
showed they only went up four
percent, and actually decreased
slightly as a portion of all federal
higher education aid.
The executive order was
needed, Samuel Myers,
executive director of the
National Association for Equal
Opportunity, said recently, “To
prod the agencies into more
than lip service. We felt that the
memo hasn't really netted any
increase in dollars for black
colleges.”
Each federal agency now is re
quired to designate an official to
implement the executive order
and to serve as liaison to the
Education Department, which is
charged with administering the
order.
"This initiative,” the order
states, “shall seek to identify,
reduce, and eliminate barriers
which may have unfairly resulted
in reduced participation in, and
reduced benefits from, federally
sponsored programs."
The United Negro College
Fund had originally hoped the
order would be implemented by
the Wh ite House or the Off ice of
Management and Budget, not
the Education Department,
White said. "OMB hasalotmore
clout; it's closer to the purse
strings,” White said.
Implementation of the order
will be directed by Herman
Colemena, former head of the
Michigan Education Association.
RegistrationProcess Changes
BY ANGELA ESANNASON
News Editor
Plagued with the usual finan
cial aid problem, Clark's regis
tration process - drenched with
predictability - had some minor
changes this semester.
"The registration process was
basjcally the same as it has been
in the last few wemesters,” said
Dean of Faculty and Instruction
Winfred Harris. He added,
however, that a few changes
were made. Among the changes
made were:
-Students who had outstan
ding balances from last semester
had to take care of them before
beginning the registration
process.
-Students had to check in with
their advisors to make any neces
sary changes in their schedule.
Also,
-A procedure was devised to
insure that counselors would
make contact with and offer as
sistance and give advice, where
needed, to academically delin
quent students.
During the fall semester close
to 2,000 students are expected to
enroll at Clark. Last year a little
over 2,000 students - the most
Clark ever had - attended the
college. Despite this high figure
for Clark which has only a
capacity to hold between 1750 to
1800 students, the college is
plagued with a financial aid
problem.
Students who have to rely on
financial aid - which 92 percent
of the students do - are usually
faced during registration with
coming up with enough money
to be admitted. Cries like "I
don’t have enough money” or "I
can’t pay it right now,” or "$300
is all I have; can I register?” are
usually cries of students to the
business affairs office.
Nathiel Williams, director of
Business Affairs, said he did not
want to comment on regis
tration. However, he did say thai
students do not take care of their
financial aid business. He also
said that running a college is a
big business.
"There isn’tsufficientfinancial
aid money to meet the needs of
students,” Marian Wilkes, direc
tor of financial aid said. She said
that is the result unless the
student receives outside as
sistance. "We don’t meet the
total needs of the students.”
This semester each student
receiving money from the Basic
Educational opportunity Grant
continued on page 2
