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Clark Ml^t(^University^ Panther November 13, 1991
Singleton Speaks Candidly
Pafife2
JOHN PATTON
In the role of a preacher in "The Color Purple," Patton used his
singing voice to reunite father and daughter. In the role of a teacher at Clark
Atlanta University, he will give music students insight into the history of
Black music and composers.
Patton will teach as a visiting professor of music at CAU for two
weeks in November.
"Many of our young people regard folk music as trite or unimportant.
They try to discount what has gone on before. They wait for people like Dick
Clark to determine what's good or not good," Patton said. "If they would learn
from wisdom of past performers, it would give a higher quality of their
performances."
Beckwith Smoulders
By Kanata Herring
Contributing Writer
Residents of Beckwith Dormitory
were evacuated Nov. 2 after an early
morning wake up to a buzzing siren.
A malfunction in the mechanical
room caused the fire alarm to sound
at approximately 8:00 a.m. “I
thought I was dreaming,” said jun
ior f'Jicole.
Residents were evacuated after
an unidentifiable liquid was found
on the mechanical room floor by
dorm director David Cooper.
Maintenance attempted to turn
the heating system on in the dorm
early Saturday. Because the sys
tem had not been activated before,
the “newness” caused a leak and an
excessive amount of smoke. Coo
per, who had no prior knowledge of
the system being turned on, called
the fire department.
Four fire engines arrived 15-20
minutes after being notified. CAU
is not hooked up to the central
system that would ordinarily call
the fire department, because of fre
quent malfunctions with the alarm
system. Cooper speculated that the
fire department may not have been
aware of the urgency due to the fact
there were no flames.
After further investigation the fire
department found no damage and
recommended the system be
checked before being turned on
again.
Cooper said that one of his main
concerns during the ordeal was resi
dents’ response. “Why do residents
have to see flames before evacuat
ing?” he said. Residents’ doors were
knocked on to assure that everyone
was evacuated.
Beckwith resident, Ravena
Baskerville, said, “Because of the
frequency of the alarm going off I
was not compelled to immediately
leave the building.” Many residents
called the security booth and were
told that they would be notified if an
evacuation was necessary. Minutes
later the residents were indeed told
to evacuate.
Maintenance reported that
Beckwith has one of the best boiler
systems and that the Saturday in
cident is an isolated one. Mainte
nance also insists Beckwith is “one
of the best dormitories around,”
and that the smoke detectors are
very sensitive and immediately
sound due to the heavy smoke in
the mechanical room.
By Misha Stums
Contributing Writer
The childhood wish came true
for writer/producer John Single-
ton, as he embarked on the suc
cess of his first major movie, “Boyz
N The Hood,” last summer.
Singleton told six Clark Atlanta
University, Morehouse College,
and Spelman College students how
his dreams became reality.
“I knew after seeing “Star Wars,”
that I wanted to go into film,”
Singleton said.
While growing up he used to
admire Steven Spielberg until he
realized that films were not being
made about his people. Af
ter graduating from high school,
Singleton met Spike Lee and con
siders Lee his role model because
of his afrocentricity. Before Lee,
most Blacks in film were portrayed
as “foot-shuffling comedians” or
“hustling pimps,” he said.
The 23-year old, 1990 graduate
of the University of Southern Cali
fornia film school said that he had
to fit into the “good ole white boy”
school.
He managed to fit in along with
winning the Robert Riskin Writing
Award and two Jack Nicholson
awards for writing.
He has received criticism from
the media for his movie, such as
the movie promotes violence, how
ever, he wrote the story as a brief
account of events which occurred
in his life. “I’ll never write a film
that you can’t get something from,”
he said.
The title of the movie which was
taken from a song written by rap
pers Ice Cube and N.W.A., por
trays the life of most Black males
growing up in South Central Los
Angeles.
“I don’t care how squeaky clean
you are, if you’re black and have
some kind of power, you’re going
to experience negativism from tire
media,” he said.
“I try to portray females in a
positive perspective,” he added.
The character Tre Styles, played
by Cuba Gooding ,Jr., was the son
of a strong Black woman accord
ing to Singleton. Most Black
mothers are strong figures accord
ing to Singleton, not sex objects.
He briefly reminisces his child
hood while comparing himself to
Tre. He credits his mother with
much of his success.
However, he also believes that
boys need their fathers. “A woman
can’t teach a boy how to be a man.
A man must teach a boy how to
become a man,” he said.
His next film, “Poetic Justice,”
is about a 19-year old girl who
writes poetry to alleviate her prob
lems. The movie is scheduled for
release in thg summer of 1993.
Singleton commented on the
animosity within the black popu
lation. He would like to see more
blacks promoting unity but he said
that Blacks are afraid to unite.
He added that many Blacks are
interested in finding a job after
college when they should be con
cerned with helping each other. If
Blacks hire other Blacks, the un
employment economy could be bal
anced. “We must support one
another. If we don’t, who will?” he
questioned. Singleton does not
believe that economics should pre
vent Black men and women from
uniting with one another.
“I plan to scout for more stu
dents from the Atlanta University
Center in the future,” he said.
Teaching at a Black college is also
one of his future plans.
When speaking at different
schools Singleton tells his audi
ence to focus on the internal and
not the external. “Learn to write
a screenplay,” he said. “Diversity
is what makes things complex
and beautiful."
Budget Restrains Homecoming Activities
By Sonia White
Contributing Writer
According to Tanya Kimbrough, treasurer of the SGA, the estimated
budget for this year’s homecoming was $36,500. This figure was based on
the budgets of previous academic years, with money allocated by the
school.
Various homecoming committees established budgets early in the year.
However, the greatest amount was reserved for the concert, featuring Tony
Terry, Damian Dane and Brand Nubian, the Coronation ceremony and
the Red, Black and Grey Ball. The estimated budget for the concert was
$10,000, while the cost for the coronation and ball was $5,000 each. The
remaining funds were dispersed to the talent show, fashion show, step show
and the artist and vendors market
Alumni contributions absorbed some of the cost for homecoming through
events such as the CAU Southern Amateur Open Golf Tournament, the Hall
of Fame Breakfast and the Tailgate Party.
“As of now CAU’s SGA has spent $38,000 for the homecoming festivities,
which leaves only $2,000 to use for the duration of the year,” said Jayme
Bradford, undergraduate vice president of SGA.
“Accurate figures for the homecoming budget will not be available until
the festivities end,” said Michelle Rhodes, student activities director for the
university and the advisor of SGA.