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Clark Atlanta University Panther
April 10, 1992
PERSPECTIVES
Student Leaders Should Practice What They Preach
THE PANTHER ffc
Staff Members
Veronica Fields
Editor-In-Chief
Anthony George nr
Managing Editor
LaKesha Gage
News Editor
Jayme L. Bradford
Editorial Page Editor
Chandra Thomas
Lifestyles Editor
Lewis Pryor
Sports Editor
Kesha Moorefield
Copy Editor
- Ann Wead Kimbrough
*tf Adviser
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Panlher is an independent student pub
lication that serves Clark Atlanta University. No
items published in the Panther may be repro
duced or used in any form without the written
permission of the Editor and Advisor.
The ideas expressed on the editorial page are
the opinions of the individual authors and do not
reflect the ideas of the university or Panther staff.
The Panther’s mailing address is Panther
Newspaper, Clark Atlanta University, James P.
Brawley Drive at Fair Street, S.W., P.O. Box
329, Atlanta, Georgia 30314 or call 880-8647
for inquiries, The Panther office is located in the
Mass Media Arts Building. Meetings are held
every Tuesday at noon in room 120 in the Mass
Media Arts Building.
CIRCULATION
The Panther is distributed free of charge
weekly on Wednesdays. Copies of the Panther
can be found at the entrance of each campus
building.
ADVERTISING
The deadline for reserving advertising space
and submitting advertising copy is Thursday at
3 p.m. prior to the publication date. Advertise-
ments or requests for a rate chart should be
mailed to The Panther.
The Panther reserves the right to accept or
reject and advertisements. The acceptance of an
advertisement does not imply endorsement of
the advertiser, product or service.
By policy, The Panther does not accept any
advertisements soliciting the use of alcohol or
tobacco products.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the editor are encouraged. Letters
should be 200 words or less, typed and doubled
spaced. All submitted letters must include the
author’s full name, signature and affiliation with
the university in order to appear in the Panther.
Thedeadline for all letters is Friday of each week
by 5 p.m. Letters will run according to the date
received and amount of available space.
The Panther reserves the nght to edit for
clarity, length, grammar and libelous material.
All submissions, once received, become the
property of The Panther.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
As aservice to chartered CAU campus orga
nizations, the Panther will run announcements
for upcoming organizational events. Thedead
line for all announcements is the Thursday noon.
They will appear in the Panther in the order they
were received.
Organizations not listed on the official list of
chartered university organizations can still use
the Panther to announce events, but will have to
purchase advertisement space and meet the ad
vertisement deadline.
The Panther reserves the right to edit for
clarity, length, grammar and reject announce-
ments that we deem inappropriate.
By Jayme L. Bradford
Editorial Page Editor
. Well, it’s election time again. The
one period during the school year
when campaigning classmates ac
tually give the students gifts rather
than a hard time. But nothing in
life is free— people aren’t being nice
and extra concerned for nothing.
Since power and prestige are often
associated with leadership, there
are those who want your vote, and
some will bend over backwards to
get it.
Student officials are a direct re
flection on the student body. There
fore, we must all be held respon
sible for the representatives we se
lect. It’s hard, but we must get out
of the practice of voting for our
friends. Especially if you know that
your friend is not performing his or
herjob effectively. Leaders must be
sincere and open to constructive
criticism. We do not need officers
who are afraid to defend our causes
to administration.
A big problem with student elec
tions is that the winners are usu-
Sonia R. White
^aff Writer
What does it mean to be black at
historically black colleges and uni
versities? Does it mean that you
have read “The Autobiography of
Malcolm X,” that you follow the
rituals of Kwanzaa, wear kente cloth,
and have memorized the history of
the human rights movement?
Although the people on these cam
puses are predominantly of African
decent, all those faces have differ
ent backgrounds. These back
grounds differ in educational foun
dations, economic statuses, and
political affiliations. All these fac
tors help to define for each indi
vidual what it means to be black at
a historically black college.
When students first arrive at an
HBCU, maturation begins as soon
as they give their parents that final
hug. Learning to cope without the
comfort of parents pacifying them
along and helping them get the
things they need. This is only the
beginning of their four year career.
Now, it is necessary not only to do
your homework for the classroom
but, to also be your own secretary,
the CEO of your career, your des
tiny.
The hues of the students at an
HBCU range from one spectrum to
the other. Take into consideration
years ago one was not allowed to
attend Spelman College if she were
not of a “fair complexion" some
times referred to as “damn near
ally selected on the basis of their
popularity. Too many times the
most qualified candidate is not cho
sen because he or she is not in a
click or considered popular. As a
result, we all suffer. Our leaders
must not only talk the talk but walk
the walk.
There is more to leadership than
making appearances and giving
speeches. The jobs of the student
officials do not end at homecoming!
It is a year-long commitment that
requires a lot of hard work. For this
reason alone, it is imperative that
we all participate in the selection
process by voting. No one has the
grounds to complain about the lead
ership if they do not vote.
Every year promises are made,
but not implemented. Yet, rather
than replace the officials that are
slippin’, we look the other way and
keep on trippin.’ Officers make our
studentgovemment; therefore, they
must be made accountable for their
actions.
Nevertheless, we can not criticize
the student government if we are
white.” On the contrary and most
extreme, if one was a more rich
beautiful hue of ebony their only
choice was Morris Brown College.
Have things really changed in
determining what it means to be
black at a HBCU? I don’t think so.
Some of these “-isms" still exist to a
degree considering Morehouse Col
lege still requests photos of their
incoming freshman.
For some students, attending a
black college is a way of identifying
with their “blackness.” To their
dismay when they arrive they
quickly learn they could have sim
ply looked in the mirror, or better
yet, embraced their immediate family.
The benefits of attending a his
torically black college transcends
the four walls of a classroom and
extends into the windows of our
souls. The lifetime friendships that
are etched into our hearts, as well
as the words of our alma mater,
become everlasting images that help
to define for each of us what it
means to be black at an HBCU.
The way you walk and sometimes
most importantly how you speak
send signals to others about who
you are and where you are from.
Sometimes students from the South
comment that students from the
North speak “proper English.” The
only thing that sounds “proper”
about their speech is the fact that
they don’t have a southern twang.
In actuality, some Northerners En
glish is “worser” than theirs.
Student perceptions of each other
not supporting them. Nothing is
perfect, which obligates us to help
by attending the functions and
meetings that they are sacrificing to
give. Who is going to work diligently
for a group of people that are un
grateful? The average person is
not.
This year, the Clark Atlanta Uni
versity Student Government Asso
ciation sponsored several events
that were poorly attended. Al
though, communication could pos
sibly be a reason for the lack of
support, all the blame can not be
attributed to publicity.
In order to have a successful stu
dent government, we must all make
the commitment to do our part.
Things are always better when we
are working together toward a com
mon goal.
Unfortunately, there is not a so
lution that eliminates student apa
thy, but things run much smoother
when more people are involved. In
other words, no one can be a suc
cessfully leader without help or by
working alone.
is a focal point in defining what it
means to be black. The stereotype
that all Southerners eat fried
chicken, greens, macaroni and
cheese, com bread, and chittlins’
should be laid to rest this very
moment.
Seriously, just as Northerners
might have this perception, some
Southerners fail to realize that
people from the north eat these
items too and even know how to
prepare them. Did they forget that
Northerners have roots in the south?
The way we dress might also indi
cate were we are from but, not how
“black” we are. The “house look,”
often worn by New Yorkers is very
distinct but, Southerners wear it
too. The preppy look is popular also
and students in the AUC shop at
the GAP just like students from
Georgia Tech or Emory.
So, what exactly does it mean to
be black at historically black col
leges and universities? Perhaps,
being black at an HBC Umeans that
you are aware of the stereotypes
that have been indoctrinated into
your perception of what it means to
be black, and black at an HBCU.
Understanding one’s history as a
whole is the key issue in identifying
one's “blackness.” Because people
of African decent are part of a
diaspora, there is no one way to
define the black experience or what
it means to be black. Rather, this
definition should be based on the
individual experience. Now how do
you define being black?
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What Defines "Blackness?”