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Clark Atlanta University Panther
May 1, 1992
GLOBAL ISSUES
Mandelas Plan To End
Over 30 Years of Marriage
Cartoon Illustration By Kimoji Brown
By Veronica Fields
Editor-In-Chief
Winnie and Nelson Mandela, one
of the world’s most influential and
inspirational couples, are getting a
divorce.
When I first heard this I was
shocked. But then I began to won
der, was it really that inevitable?
They were separated for 27 years
and during that time they turned
into different people.
Ms. Mandela has taken a much
more radical political stand than
her husband and has been con
victed on kidnapping and assault
charges. She has also been ac
cused of ordering the murder of a
doctor who would have been a key
figure in the kidnapping case, and
has reportedly been romantically
linked with Dali Mpofu, her deputy
in the ANC's social welfare depart
ment.
Mandela, who was just released
from prison two years ago, said that
“I part from my wife with no recrimi
nations. I embrace her with all the
love and affection I have nursed for
her inside and outside prison from
the moment I first met her,"
He also said that their decision to
split was mutual and that "the ten
sions that have arisen owing to
differences between ourselves on a
number of issues in recent months.”
The couple said that the breakup
had nothing to do with Ms.
Mandela’s kidnapping charges.
However, the announcement about
their breakup was reported by the
AtlantaJoumal Constitutionone day
after a story appeared in that same
paper that one of Ms. Mandela’s co
defendants in the kidnapping case
said he lied about her alibi to pro
tect her.
Did she really do all of those
things? Is that the real reason for
this divorce? Are we crazy to think
that these two people could really
be able to lead a half way normal
life?
They have been together for 27
years but separated none the less.
Is their break-up really a govern
ment ploy to destroy a strong po
litical organization that is opposed
to apartheid? We may never know.
SGA President Evaluates
Her Administration
By Ramona Houston
Guest Writer
The 1991-92 academic year is
coming to an end, elections for
next year's officers have come and
the question becomes, “What did
this year’s SGA President do?”
Well, I must admit that in the
past I have been guilty of asking
this question, too. Now thisyear as
Undergraduate President of the
CAUSGA I, Ramona Houston,
have the opportunity and the re
sponsibility to answer this question.
Despite the fact that there were
major conflicts in the roles of the
Graduate President and the Un
dergraduate President, despite the
conflicts of interest between
advisor(s) and SGA
representative(s), despite the fact
that SGA only had a budget of
$ 1 1,441 for the entire 199 1-92 aca
demic year, despite the personality
conilicts within the CAUSGA Ex
ecutive Committee, despite the
enormous amount of apathy within
the CAU student body, despite the
lack of or little cooperation and
assistance from students to plan
and promote programs, I and a
handful of loyal supporters did a
lot for the student body.
We organized Black College Day
Celebration, Sept. 1991; organized
pep rallies Sept.-Nov. 1991; served
as Chairperson and organizer of
the National Black College Alumni
hall of Fame SGA Summit, Sept.
1991; encouraged HBO Indepen
dent Productions to do a show at
CAU. Feb. 1992.
I also organized AUC MLK week
end activities and MLK AUC rally
1992; elected Chairperson of a coa
lition of SGA Presidents of Histori
cally Black Colleges and Universi
ties, Feb. 1992; spoke at the con
ference on the Infusion of African
and African-American Studies in
the School Curriculum on behalf of
CAU students, Feb 1992; planned
Black College SGA and student
body conference to be held in At
lanta Sept. 1992; hosted WCLK
Day on the yard. Sept. 1991; en
couraged V-103 to do two live
shows at CAU, Sept, and Oct.
1991; promoted CAU-TV through
speeches and encouraged Presi
dent Cole to put the station in the
dormitories; promoted WCLK by
encouraging information to be put
in freshmen packets and Public
Service Announcements; wrote
CAUSGA budget for the 1992-93.
We encouraged CAU adminis
trators to raise CAUSGA budget;
encouraged improvement of hous
ing conditions for students; spon
sored four speakers for the year—
Dr. Julian Earls, Sept. 1991, Dr.
Moses Norman, Oct. 1991, Bro.
Tony Mohammed, Feb. 1992, and
Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Apr. 1992.
In addition, we began the tradi
tion of having a homecoming con
vocation which will feature a
prominent CAU alumna/alum
nus; member of the National Coa
lition of Black College Student Gov
ernments.
Organizations were also encour
aged to meet twice yearly with one
meeting being in Atlanta in Sep
tember each year; organized Resi
dential Hall Council Feb. 1992;
organized Class Presidents Coun
cil, Feb. 1992; planned and orga
nized Homecoming concert, Oct.
1991; initiated AUC Week; and the
list goes on....
I have often, everyday in fact,
evaluated my leadership. I have
always been extremely critical of
our past student leadership and
even more critical of my own. Stu
dents, it is so difficult for any one
person to change a bureaucratic
system in one year.
The Student Government Asso
ciation is not a functional organi
zation. All facets of the body do not
work. Individuals do work, but not
the group. Therefore, I beg and I
plead you . the CAU student body,
to get the roles and duties of all
positions defined, especially the
roles of the president(s).
Roe vs. Wade: Should The Decision Be Overturned ?
By Jayme L. Bradford
Editorial Page Editor
Once again the people of the
United States are debating over
whether women should have the
right to an abortion.
The Roe vs. Wade decision may
possibly be overturned by the U.S.
Supreme Court. Although I do
not favor abortions, I do feel that
women should have the freedom
of choice whether or not to have
an abortion because it is their
bodies and their responsibility.
The Supreme Court will hear a
case about Planned Parenthood
vs. Casey, an argument that chal
lenges Pennsylvania’s new restric
tive abortion law.
In Pennsylvania, doctors must
inform the woman seeking the
abortion of the risks, fetal devel
opment and alternatives. The
abortion is also delayed 24 hours.
A girl under the age of 18 must
have parental consent. Finally, a
married woman must notify her
husband in writing that she is
seeking an abortion.
The Roe vs. Wade decision
constitutionalized a woman's
right to an abortion. If the deci
sion is reversed, there will be
more babies being found aban
doned in gvm bags across the
nation. Therefore, the decision
should not be overturned.
In addition, the overturning of
the Roe vs. Wade decision will
also drastically increase the
number of illegal abortions. This
alone can endanger the lives of
thousands of women if they do
not receive the proper medical
attention.
As of now, various states like
Pennsylvania have the authority
to place obstacles in the way of
obtaining a legal abortion. Nev
ertheless, there has to be some
type of balance between an
individual's rights and the
government’s interest in human
life.
If the decision is reversed it
would hate to have babies brought
into this world, only to suffer .
because they felt unwanted.
It also means that more un
wanted babies would be brought
into this world to suffer from the
lack of love. What right do the
courts have to make someone take
care of someone they do not want,
because the child ultimately loses.