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Continued, from page 1» 'panther page 3 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