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Clark Atlanta university PANTHER Volume II Number IX Atlanta, Georgia December 4, 1990 Dr. Cole Awarded $100,000 By TONYA LATIMER News Editor Clark Atlanta University president Thomas W.Cole Jr., was awarded 100,000 this week by the Knight Foundation for strong leadership in liberal arts education for “special populations.” Dr. Cole was one of the five United States college presidents to receive this honor and one of two among the group recognized for service to African American students. The Miamibased foundation announced the awards on Monday, saying it rewarded small, private, liberal art institutions. When asked he felt about receiving the award, Dr. Cole replied,“I feel good. 1 only wish it was my own personal money.” As of now Cole has not exactly decided on how he is going to spend the award. However, he did state that he had a long list of possibilities, among which is to pay for some of the new security measures. Other colleges which received the award were California Lutheran University in Thousands Oaks,Calif; Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.; Ohio Dominican College in Columbus, Ohio; and Sinte Gleska College in Rosebud, S.D. The Knight Foundation president, Creed Black, said, “The grants are an investment in the quality of presidential leadership at these schools, and also an affirmation of the direction that liberal arts education has taken at these institutions.” He added that he think these colleges are on the upswing. Dr. Cole, a former chemistry professor and administrator at Atlanta University, became the Dr. THOMAS COLE JR. president of the Clark College in 1988. When the two institutions consolidated in 1989 he assumed the presidency and has guided it through a difficult period. AIDS Increases Among Students By NANNETTE L. WILSON Editorial Page Editor It was a message from Surgeon General C. Everett Koop that first aroused people about the AIDS virus. For years it had been kept under lock and key, but no more. Little did anyone suspect that about one in every 500 U.S. college students would be infected with the AIDS virus and further, the disesase would spread if students did not change their sex habits. Risk factors associated with human immune defiency (HIV) infection, such as sex with a number of partners, clearly exist among those on university campuses. But it was jarred from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that sexually transmitted diseases are an important cause of morbidity on many campuses, and unwanted pregnancies continues to occur despite the availability of reliable contraceptive methods. Information from university health centers suggested that intravneous drug use was not prevalent among students, but other drugs that can impair decision-making about sexual choices and behavior is frequent. There were few data about HIV infection on the Atlanta University Center campuses, however. A total of 16,863 specimens were collected and tested from 19 universities (17 public and 2 private) however, none of which were from the AUC. The median age of the students in the sample was 21 ySars (range, 13 to 73). Female students predominated, composing 64.5 percent of the sample. All but one of the schools provided information on race and ethnicity. Most students in the sample (78 percent) were white. Thirty specimens were positive for HIV antibodies. Ten schools had no positive specimens, and only one school had a rate of seroprevalence of more than 0.6 percent. Seroprevalence increased with age, from 0.08 percent among students from >8 to 24 years old to 1.0 percent among those 40 or older. Results for White, African American and Hispanic students did not differ significantly, but the number of African American and Hispanic students were too small to provide meaningful estimates of seroprevalence according to race and ethnic group. Students who were over the age of 24 and male were, respectively, 6.5 and 25 times more likely to be seropositive than those who were 24 or younger and female. Among the universities that took part, 76 percent of students were undergraduates and 75 percent were state residents. The age and racial or ethnic distribution of the overall student body and the samples from the health centers were similar. Hopwever, since young women use the health services more frequently than young men, the proportion of women in the sample was larger than the proportion in schools overall. Using the age, sex, and racial or ethnic distribution of the students at the 19 schools in the sample and at all U.S. universities, the CDC calculated seroprevalence rates that were standardized to those populations, the rate of seroprevalence would increase to 0.25 percent if the proportion of male students in the 19 schools altogether or in all U.S. universities . Standardization according to age or sex did not change the rate of seroprevalence. Greeks Hold Conference By TONYA LATIMER News Editor There will no longer be any more shaved heads, line formation, dress identity, boots, greetings, etc. assciated with Black fraternity and sorority pledging. The National Teleconference, “Black Fraternities and Sororities: A Glorious Past, The Road Ahead,” was shown live via satellite at Georgia State Univerity’s Urban Life Auditorium Wednesday. The first part of the program was the showing of the actual video. The second part consisted of a live panel discussion by representatives of each Black Greek organization. The video dealt with fraternities and sororities in general and the live panel discussion specifically addressed the new intake program (new pledge rules). According to the video, the 1900s gave rise to Black fraternities and sororities. They promoted unity to African American college students. They were especially important for early Black collegiates because they were often isolated on college campuses and had to struggle for economic and social success. Furthermore, they were desperately needed on White caspuses because African Americans were excluded from the input on preodminately White colleges. “This group of Blacks found themselves together for their own protection and also for social interaction. But they also believed that a fraternity should be more than a social group. It should be an organization that binds men of culture together,” said Dr. Henry Ponder, Alpha Phi Alpha’s general president. Another spokesperson said that in early years, the individuals who were part of the organization began to look around the campus to select people who were similar in their ideas. However, some students today feel this act is no longer practiced by sororities and fraternities. One Clark Atlanta U niveristy senior stated, “There use to be a time when they would go out and seek girls who could benefit from the organization, but today they don’t seek girls at all and only accept those who are ‘fly.’ ” The group kept reiterating how Black fraternities and sorities have gotten away from traditions. Ponder said, “It is good to have friends. It is good to have fun, and we thought that was important. However, it is more important to become educated and be able to do something like contribute something to society.” Ulysses McBride, grand polemarch. Kappa Alpha Psi, said that to be a good Greek one must be less focused on socializing and individual pursuits, and more focused on social awareness and uplift. The national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority said that the present pledging procedures are definitely out of hand. She added that the new intake program is definitely needed to take the sororities and fraternites to their roots. Although each fraternity and sorority is unique in its diversity, every representative of each Greek organization agreed with Yvonne Kennedy that the new intake program was the best solution to . the hazing problem. According to Flora B. Devine, GSU’s attorney-Legal Affairs, “Hazing is any activity endangering or likely to endanger one’s health preconditioned to joining an organization.” She reminded the audience that hazing is not always physical, but can be mental as well. Upon hearing Devine’s definition of hazing, Georgia Tech Omega Psi Phi Fraternity member, “Chili-Dog” questioned what shaved heads, boots, dressing alike and lines have to do with hazing. He stated that none of these things ever hurt anyone before and questioned why there had to be an immediate change as opposed to a gradual process. In response to his questions, the panel agreed that the process was not immediate and said that it has been in the making for some time. Students mentioned that since there was already a no-hazing policy and that didn’t work, what makes them so sure that this policy is going to be successful? Robert Willis, Alpha Phi Alpha, said that everyone knows that there is no no-hazing policy because it is being broken “day by day by day.” He Continued On Page 2