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Clark Atlanta University Panther December 4, 1990 Page 7 A UC Males Feel Unprotected, Neglected By WILLIAM BLACKBURN Contributing Writer When it comes to campus security in the Atlanta University Center (AUC), it’s the males who usually become second priority. According to male students in the AUC, protecting the Black man is a note that is usually skipped over. “I think society sometimes forgets that the male needs a visual protector just like women and children,” said Kenyatta Disel, a junior at Morehouse College, “It’s apparent that security around campus reflects that.” Disel comments come in the wake of the murder of Duane Goodwin, a 19-year-old male student at Clark Atlanta University (CAU). Goodwin was slayed during an apparent robbery attempt less than 50 feet from the guard booth set up in front of CAU’s E. L. Simon Courts. Many male students ex pressed shock sbout killing, but were not surprised. The consensus among the male students seems to be that if anyone is protected in teh AUC it’s the females. “The security guards seem to take a personal responsibility towards protecting the females, while the attitude towards guys is “watch yeur back cause you know you’re in the ghetto,” said a dejected Keith Forgan, a CAU senior. This is an attitude that should cause concern for the safety of male students, but few seem to question it. The entire campus at Spelman College is enclosed by a barbed wire fence with a concrete security force. However, at the same time, Morehouse, CAU and Morris Brown each have a high concentration of male students and have no such barriers. Women Feel More By JOCELYN R. COLEMAN Contributing Writer Clark Atlanta University women agree that even though they generally receive more protection than men, they still must be constantly on guard against crime. “I think the boys’ dorm is more relaxed. It’s easier to get in. The dorm directors are a little bit more strict in the girls’ dorm,” said Kimberly Gross, CAU sophomore and member of the Student Security Task Force. Ms. Gross, however, still walks around campus at night with at least two or three people. “We walk fast especially from the library,” Ms. Gross said. According to the CAU Housing Office, there are four female dorms that house approximately 349 women. Brawley Hall, the only male dorm on campus houses about 100 men. Two annexes on Fair street are reserved for male athletes. Many CAU women agree that female residence halls are much safer than the male dorm. In order to gain access to a woman’s dorm there is a long procedure of signing in and showing ID for both sexes. Associate Dean of Students Mary Ware feels that the issue of female security is more sensitive than male protection. “Traditionally we have been victimized by all types of sex crimes. Nowadays both men and women are at risk. But with all the rapes and murders we have concerns that are peculiar to us,” said Dean Ware. CAU women interviewed recalled the same three or four female assaults that were public knowledge to the campus last year. According to the students, a woman was sexually assaulted in her E. L. Simon Courts apartment, another female’s face was slashed at the dumpster behind the Bird Cage while she was emptying her trash and another woman was threatened with a knife as she got out of her car right outside the gate surrounding the Courts. There was also another sexual assault in Holmes Hall near the end of last school year. Ms. Gross lived in Holmes Hall last year and feels that the classrooms in the basement where the washing machines are located were another problem. “Male students would be in the dorm after hours using the classrooms. If you were doing your laundry you didn’t know who was down there. Someone might come up and startle you,” Ms. Gross said. I don’t feel the-security around campus is good enough,” said Sherrie Henderson, a junior from Unlike Spelman, these institutions also have more than two entrances to the campus, with Morris Brown having the easiest accessible grounds. Females are allowed to enter the CAU Courts, the gates of Spelman and the grounds of Morehouse without being challenged. In the same sense, males entering these same areas must have proper identification. A pattern? Possibly. A potential problem? Definitely, according to most students interviewed. The male students agree that the only possible solution is a mental, solution. “The administration and the security guards seem to believe that the guys are more capable of taking care of themselves than girls,”said CAU freshman Paul Schoffer. “I carry no Safe, Secure California. Ms. Henderson had tried to convince her mother last year that that living near campus was not feasible. “My mom wanted me to live close to campus. She thought 1 was joking trying to get a town house way out,” she said. “When she saw the conditions she said ‘Oh no’ and saw that it was too risky for two young ladies.” On the other hand, Ms. Henderson notes that women have a better chance of beating the sometimes inconvenient security system on campus. “At the Courts sometimes they don’t trip if you do not have your ID and you’re a girl. They are not supposed to let you in at all without it,” Ms. Henderson revealed. “Sometimes they don’t even sign you in. They rush you in and say they’ll fill it out later,” she said. “Every guy has to have it (ID). If they don’t have it they don’t get in.” According to Ms. Gross, the individuals supposedly responsible for student security last year were actually part of the problem. Many students witnessed security officers flirting with female students. "I watch my own back. I don't depend on security guards. You have to watch out for yourself around here." “Fast year a lot of the girls felt that some of the security guards were trying to talk to the girls,” she said. Sonya Richey, a senior and resident in the Birdcage dorm located in the E. F. Simon Courts, commented on the same issue. “Fast year,there were a couple who tried to flirt. There were four or five who were trying to get friendly,” said Ms. Richey. A former Clark security guard informed Ms. Richey, who also witnessed two off-duty security officers shooting at each other behind the E.F. Simon Courts last year, that the “friendly” guards were fired as a result of their actions. Ms. Richey takes special precautions as a woman living in the Birdcage. She always parks her car near the entrance, never sleeps with her windows open (no matter how hot it is) and only goes to the dark, deserted dumpster during the day. “1 watch my own back. I don’t depend on security guards,” said Ms. Richey. “You have to watch out for yourself around here.” Jeter, a Morris Brown junior. “But we don’t come down here crazy, and knowing we’re in the projects we would never dismiss any notion of having security around us”. Disel added that the guards think just like they act — without regard for the male students. “That’s the problem around here, assuming that the male wants no protection, but we have to learn to protect the Black man also” Media Has Field Day In Wake Of Tragedy By SHERYL M. KENNEDY Contributing Writer When the news of a slain student first emerged, many Georgians experienced a painful reminder of the rapidly increasing problem of crime in their urban and rural communities. It frightened students on campuses around the nation, especially in the Atlanta University Center. As with any other unfortunate incident, the media were in full force. Many students resented the intrustion while others saw it as a necessary evil. Many students have expressed a concern over whether or not the media’s attention was for the “right reason.” “Was it just to shine a negative light on the African American community?” queried one student. “Or to fill an empty space on a past deadline editoral page?” It was early Sunday morning when Duane Goodman was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. From that point on, the media has appeared in swarms in and around the Atlanta University Center. The Atlanta JournalConstitution was the first metro publication to tackle the slaying of Goodman and to analyze Clark Atlanta University’s method of preventing that particular incident and others that could occur. Since then, they have been accused of nonobjective and careless reporting. Even though the Atlanta JournalConstitution was the first medium to cover the issue, they were the first to refer to Duane Goodman as Dwayne Goodman on more than one occasion. According to Monica Kaufman, an anchorperson with WSBTV, it was a mistake that could have been easily corrected if someone would have called in and given the correct spelling. “Concern is a twoway relationship,” said Ms. Kaufman at a news conference. “It could have been avoided by the newspaper and television station if the proper research would have been done combined with the proper amount of concern given to produce a quality article not a gossipy piece of news.” “The media did a very poor job of covering the entire issue,” says Jamyee Pleasant, Clark Atlanta University Student Government Association undergraduate president. “The media portrayed it as another attack on the African American institution and its struggle to continue to hold a vital role in society.” The media’s handling of the event also alarmed many university administrators about the onesided coverage of the incident. In response to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's article “The Perils of the Urban Campus,” that appeared in the Nov. 17 issue, Clark Atlanta University’s president Thomas Cole, Jr. wrote a letter to the editoral page editor, Tom Teepen, about the errors throughout the article. According to university officials, the article insinuates CAU administrators were reluctant to provide answers to several questions raiesed by the press. It also focused on Sims Security, owned by James E. Sims Jr., and their training as adequate security officers. “The editorial misses one fundamental point,’’says Dr. Cole. “The death of Duane Goodman was a painful reminder that much more needs to be done in our communities by all of us.” weapons like most females and 1 go to school in the ghetto just like these females, and I want the same protection.” No security guard would comment publicly on the matter, but when asked whether the male students consider themselves to headstrong to have protection, most nodded yes. “Everyone comes down here cocky,” said an angry Ronald