Newspaper Page Text
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Clark Atlanta University Panther
January 30, 1991
A UC Students Ponder Draft Mid-East Forum
Continued From Page 1
By WILLIAM BLACKBURN
Staff Writer
As United States war planes
descend over Iraqi skies, the
thought of a possible draft
seeps in the minds of many
students in the Atlanta
University Center.
Not since the dreaded days of
Vietnam in the late 60s has the
collegiate level been besieged
with such talk. Many students
feel with the competiting
personalities of President
George Bush and Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein, history is
bound to repeat itself.
“With the way this whole
situation has exploded, you
can’t rule out anything,” said
Kevin Moore, a junior at
Morehouse College. “I’m
expecting some sort of draft
measures.” Many students
have voiced that these mea
sures may be directed at
African Americans attending
college.
Clark Atlanta University
senior, Joe Barrett, says that
the draft will be “Operation
Wipeout.” “America is always
looking for ways to keep the
Black man from getting a
thorough education and
drafting us is much easier than
cutting our minority
scholarships.”
With the changing times
comes new provisions, accord
ing to Newsweek magazine and
the draft is no exception. The
last time it was used occurred in
1968, but laws, attitudes and
government officials have
changed drastically since then.
“You can expect the
government to include all
able-bodied African Ameri
cans into this draft,” said
Michael Blackburn, an intern
at the Atlanta-based Alston
and Bird Law Firm. "This is
the perfect opportunity to
eliminate what Whites believe
“If they do draft us,
we have to stick to
gether and say no!. For
the first time in our
lives, we have to be a
oneness. ”
are the 'smart Blacks’ and who
is better to do it than their own
Black brother, Saddam
Hussein.”
First born, enrolled in
college, only child and only son
are some of the guidelines
expected to be exonerated in
this strategic battle. Unlike
previous drafts when these
provisions excused individuals
from any draft considerations,
this call-up will be
unprecedented.
Morehouse history profes
sor, Vincent Fort, believes that
this will be a “Black draft” and
Bush hasn’t considered the
consequences or backlash he’ll
receive from the Black
community. “Bush believes
that the young African
American adults of today are
lazy, so instead of fighting the
draft they will give in and go.”
Fort also added that if
brothers and sisters of the
African American race stand
up and fight for their human
rights, the real war will take
place on American soil. “If
Bush is planning a draft and I
feel that he is, then this is the
chance for the Blacks in college
to really show their true grit
and show that all this Black
pride paraphernalia that they
display is for real and not just
for show.”
Government officials have
publicly evaded the issue of a
possible draft, however, the
sentiment in the AUC isexactly
the opposite. The students are
straight to the point. “I'm not
fighting for Middle East rights
when my rights here in the
United States haven’t been
granted," said a defiant Tory
Duncan, a junior at CAU. “If
they do draft us, we have to
stick together and say 'no,’ for
the first time in our lives we
have to be a oneness.”
CAU Faculty, Staff Have
Family Members In Gulf
By SHERYL M. KENNEDY
Staff Writer
As war dims spirits at Clark Atlanta
University, many faculty members have been
touched by the power of battle not just in Saudi
Arabia, but at the homefront.
Since the news of the crisis first made
headlines and hit air waves across the nation in
August, professors at the institution grew aware
that it was much more then a threat when their
sons, daughters, husbands, wives or other
relatives were called to serve in the Middle East.
It was then Dr. Ora H. Cooks, chair, Education
Department at Clark Atlanta University, turned
her speculation about war into a growing
concern.
Just a few years ago when Dr. Cooks wished
her son Michael success and good fortune upon
receiving his college degree, she never expected
that one day her neophyte engineer would be
faced with the task of engineering a war. “When
he first joined the military in 1986, it wasn’t what
I wanted but, I supported his decision,” says Dr.
Cooks. “A mother is always fearful when her
child goes against what she believes is best.”
Even though being in the military has been
rewarding for her son, Dr. Cooks says that all
those advantages would never make her
understand the purpose of war.
At present, Michael is stationed in South
Korea but because of the gloom of war he could
at any moment receive orders to go to Saudi
Arabia. “I have absolutely no doubt that if he is
called he will defend his country,” says Dr.
Cooks. “I have always taught him if he makes a
commitment to stick to it and defend it, but this
time it’s life or death.”
As an educator, Dr. Cooks views it as the
educational world’s responsibility to teach and
emphasize war more seriously in the classroom.
“The educational institutions have failed to get
across to our students that war is not glorious,”
says Dr. Cooks and she also notes the harsh
results of war in previous decades.
She says that if teachers paint a picture of war
that shows the positive and negative, it could
affect the choice of national leadership for years
ahead. “If educators began to stress war history
along with how much it has failed us in the past,
we as a nation would not continue to make the
same mistakes,” says Dr. Cooks. “If educators
began to stress this in the classroom no matter
what the subject, the characters of the people we
elect as leaders in this country will change for the
better.”
Like most families in America, the Cooks
were affected by the situation -throughout the
holiday season. Not only will the war dictate her
son’s future, she also has a godson and best
friend who are at the mercy of war.
Dr. Cooks says that war changes one's
attitude, especially when family becomes a
target. “My whole attitude has changed,” she
says. “It reminds me of a black cloud that never
goes away.”
According to Dr. Cooks, it’s impossible for
the institution to know exactly how many
faculty members have been touched by the war,
but whether it be a son, daughter, grandchild or
niece the pains of war are lasting.
Dr. Abu-Akel shared his experience with the situation in the
Persian Gulf. “Four villages were destroyed to the ground near
my home town,” he explained. When Israel became a state
close to five hundred Palestinian Arab villages, Muslims and
Christians were destroyed to the ground and their people
became refugees. You and I are still haunted by that same event
in history,” said Dr. Abu-Akel. “That Palestinian refugees
today are in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan, in Egypt, in Kuwait,
in Suadi Arabia, and in the West Bank. The people there know
what happened to the Palestinians. As a result. President Bush
talks to the American people and the American people do not
know the Palestinian story, according to Dr. Abu-Akel.
“Saddam talks to a hundred and forty million Arabs and a
billion Muslims and those people know the story!” said Dr.
Abu-Akel amidst a strong sound of applause.
Throughout the entire evening a familiar echo could be
heard: “Why was the deadline set by the U nited Nations for the
war the same day as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday?”
Candice Bates, president of Alpha Pi Chapter, stated that
although there may be no connection, she and members of her
sorority felt that the issue should be aired out and discussed.
“I would like to see a new activism in the Atlanta University
Center,” said Ms. Bates. “Whether you agree, disagree or have
no opinion, there is something to be gained from this exchange
of points of view.”
Students from around the Atlanta University Center have
views on the war as well. “The Persian Gulf war is a mere
prophecy in the making,” said Mark Oliphant, a senior at
Morehouse College. Furthermore Oliphant said, “1 he Iraqis
and Americans both realize this. America is trying to defy
prophecy by attempting to dominate the world, including the
Persian Gulf.”
During the forum held in Davage Auditorium the audience
also had the opportunity to hear Rev. Joseph E. Lowery,
president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Rev. Lowery expressed the need for a new world information
order and peace. "Peace without justice is no peace, peace
without justice is like a bird without feathers and like a bathtub
that won’t hold water,” said Rev. Lowery. In addition. Rev.
Lowery said Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy demands that
African Americans witness for peace.
Other individuals in the African American community
expressed their views in other ways. Concerned Black Clergy
of Atlanta held a press conference in opposition to the Bush
Administration's Persian Gulf Policy. They compared the Jan.
15 deadline authorizing force agianst Iraq on the same day as
Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday as a “gross insensitivity” to
the memory of a champion of peace and non-violence.
Individuals coming together in the Atlanta University
Center on the eve of the deadline set by the U nited Nations was
just one of the many demonstrations held in efforts for peace.
Howard University students organized a national network
under the banner of Student Call Against the War. “Part of the
learning that students have to be able to do is doing their
research, coming up with the facts, and being able to support
what you say. That is part of the learning experience I must
stress,” said Dr. Rose Sloan, who teaches philosophy and
Ethics at Clark Atlanta University.
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