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'panther
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September 25, 1991
who graduate from college, 44
African American men
graduate from college. Thus,
she presented the African
American men of the class of
1995 with a challenge of
changing the statistics
through hard work.
As she stood at the
attention of hundreds of
listeners, she reminded them
that "Black people have not
made it until all of us have
made it."
What's wrong with the
youth of today is not the
question that Silvia Bland, a
member of the class of 1995,
posed to the audience. Instead,
she challenged the new
students to answer the
question, "what's right with
the youth of today?"
Ms. Bland said that
"darkness is causing a
confused light." Thus, she
asked her classmates to "arise"
and say no to teenage
pregnancy, alcohol abuse, and
drug abuse, but yes to
education.
Shante McNair, a
freshman from Ohio, said that
the ceremony gave her a sense
of unity. "It's good seeing Black
people together in unity. . . I
History in the Making
New students waiting patiently to become members of the CAU family
almost wanted to ciy,” she stated.
Because the students were
seated according to height, Pamela
Williams, a freshman from Atlanta,
said that the activity gave them a
chance to separate from their old
"clicks" and meet new people.
On the other hand, Michael
Pearson, a freshman from Chicago,
said the programs were satisfactory,
but a little too repetitious.
Although there were
hundreds of students in attendance,
there were many who did not attend
for various reasons. For example, a
freshman who wishes to remain
anonymous, stated that he did not
attend because^of personal reasons.
He added that "after having a long,
stressful day at registration," he
simply was not in the right frame of
mind.
Some students did not
participate in the ceremony
because they did not have the
proper clothing. Lisa Ratliff-
Brown, a transfer student from
Detroit, and Shaun Brown, a
freshman from Detroit, fall
into this category.
Brown said that he does
not own a suit and his wife
Mrs. Brown does not own a
white dress. The couple said
that after explaining their
situation to someone in an
administrative position, his
attitude was that "if you don't
have a suit or a white dress you
can't attend."
Mr. Brown said that no
one in the CAU family asked
two questions that any family
member should ask: 1) What do
you have to wear? or 2) What
can / do to help?
"I have a nice dress that
I could have worn, but it's
blue," said Mrs. Brown.
The two independent
students were disgruntled over
the incident and described
their feelings as "bland."
However, Mrs. Brown
said that because of this she is
definitely interested in
running for SGA president
next year to see some changes
take place.
REGISTRATION BLUES
ARE HERE AGAIN
By Camille Woolcock
Contributing Writer
On Aug. 26, registration for undergraduate students
began. There were some changes made to accomodate the
influx of new and returning students .
According to Dr. Frederick Fresh, the director of
the registrar's office, " We are making steady progress."
One of the changes that took place was the registrar's
office implementing a schedule for all incoming freshmen
in their cluster classes. These students had the
opportunity to sign in on Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday,
Aug. 25, before the official registration period began.
The financial aid station was moved to Davage
Auditorium to make the process more convenient for
students awaiting award letters. The wait in this line
lasted from hours to days depending on particular
problems. This became a problem to some students
because the award letters were not mailed out before Aug.
26, according to a financial aid official. Other students
said that by having a new financial aid staff this year
may have contributed to delays also.
Many students did not share the optimistic
sentiments of Dr. Fresh concerning registration.
Frustrated students walking around confused, not able to
figure out what step should be taken next became a
common site during the process. Some students were
concerned about the willingness of the staff to assist them
when they encountered an obstacle.
Latonda James, a returning sophomore said, 'The
staff and administration of CAU are the last people to see
or be concerned if you are registering properly." Others
like Ramon Jackson said that registration was time
consuming and somewhat disorganized. Things are
presently being done to elimate the lines and to make it
easier for students to register.
One plan includes implementing a system in which
-students will be able to register by phone. Dr. Fresh is
unsure of when this will be accomplished but it will be at
least a year before changes are seen in the present system.
Although he did not discuss it in great detail, the
director stated that a plan using the scantron method is
being considered.
COLE... ..Continued from page 1
one issue outside of the campus that
has captured his attention. Dr. Cole
said that he is co .cerned about the
1996 Olympic Games and CAU's
involvement.
When Atlanta first received
notice that the 1991 Olympic Games
would be held in the city, CAU along
with the other AUC institutions
were told that they were going to
host various activities.
The Clark Atlanta
University Stadium, to be completed
by 1995, would host 24 field hockey
teams and a natatorium for water
polo would be built at CAU for an
estimated cost of $11 million.
However, Dr. Cole said that
the Atlanta Games Olympic
Committee (AGOC) may be moving
away from its original goal to hold
certain events at CAU.
"I will continue to press the
issue and make sure CAU along with
the other AUC schools get there fair
shake to host certain games," he
said. "Hosting a particular event
will help the university by
improving things cosmetically. But
I think it is important that we all
press the issue to make sure the AUC
isn’t left out of an international
event that can bring many changes."
Though Dr. Cole has taken a
"wait and see" approach with the
1996 Olympic Games, he has just the
opposite attitude concerning the
growth of CAU.
Dr. Cole said he hopes to see
the university grow to about 6,000
students with some continuity
among the campus and national
recognition as being one of the top
five institutions in the next 10
years.
"I see a great deal of good
fortune in CAU's future, but we have
to remember that one person can't
make a difference alone - we all
have to make a difference," said Dr.
Cole.
CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY'S
OPENING CONVOCATION
OCT. 3, 1991 - 10 A.M.
VIVIAN WILSON HENDERSON CENTER