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The Panther
Editorials
Page 2
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Waiting to Explode: Students
To Registration and Housing
By Monique L. Guilford
Contributing Writer
One would think Clark Atlanta’s main priority would
be to ensure housing for all first year students. Many
incoming CAU students shared a similiar experience
this semester- no where to stay. A lot of freshman had
to deal with off campus housin because CAU accepted
more students than they could accomodate.
Many students expressed feelings of insecurity when
they were notified a week before arrival that there was
inadequate on- campus housing. Most freshmen made
the deadline payment for housing and were promised
aroomoncampus.
Students should not have to stay off campus in an
unfamiliar city their first year.
Fortunately, students like April Johnson know
people in the city they can stay with for the time
being. Her mother's friend had an extra room for her
at her house; however, she lives forty minutes away
from the school by public transportation. Unfortu
nately, Johnson had to take two buses, and one train
every day to get to school. Luckily, Johnson was given
a room on campus last week, but there are many more
students in this same predicament who still do not have
aroomoncampus. It is extremely hectic for students
living off campus to commute and it causes a problem
for many students to have the opportunity to be a part
of campus life.
This problem should not be taken lightly by the
C.A.U’s administration. Housing should be guaran
teed for all first year students at any college.
By Mike Frazier
Contributing Writer
Webster's dietiotiary defines the word palieijt as, “ being able
to ewiure affliction or pain without anger or eomplaiaft being
tolctaM and uilitaM-aiuiitii: '* Mom people pciii patience a.'
a \inue. rather th,in J'. a vice. On tTunvlav, Augiu-l 26. l‘W?.
n ua«blatantly brought t» my aneiHiunth.il I du nni pn«e«! inch
■l quality rhmuuh the gracious h.iruh ot C.tark Atlanta l 'niver
Mty Iv-asembuct.-ilbya seienhuiirresiwation pi oce«. which
■veeii"- to tie ihe highlight >>f my sfa> al CAU thu* t.ir.
Now befort n av«uinc that this .mother genera response to
registration, patronize me and endure my “sob story." I had
figured l «.-hilube the astuw tredinien and anmc eady for m>
IO:i0am.TegisliaimnappuiM«ient Un«iSpe«mi! amiiuj\ea.s
f wav, 1 did nor realize 1 had stepped into an oblivious heif
Meet mg with my advisor vasa tatriy quit k pnx-ess, but that was
be f<) red was only given seven credits. These credits did nut really
matter beesuse as U'!> as it took to register I nuphi’as well have
reconstructed my entire schedule. After a few hours of adding
Hasses and verification 1 was able to go to die gymnasium and
lake part In (he ctaimion struggle of ik’lualls ureal mg a status at
The fart he m thuip fmin my mmd wa*. creating a status. My
voneemration wasun trying to keep those indmdualsbehuhltiH:
stdl mthe bask, and those in from otmel wav trying to pot behind
me also. One incident wbteh represented how had my day was
when 1 had the luxury to be charmed by a tine blaek princess L
SO this >-ume lads sues cm Other VS aMoK-partnulmivnuem
me, id all people Next itung you know ibis mte young lady is
at the tront oi the registration line At thnt urnne m I bavkally felt
like a “five year old dorito caught in die Lazy Boy sofa,"
CJine 1 finally did reatb the regivtiaruin table. I had ullmiatt l\
changed m> schedule forth.- fourth time But no. the anguish ilid
nt -t c<mm? 1 could not e\ en rei eis e toy schedule because ins print
out would not mme through. So when i finally did receive the
schedule ! was blessed with all of the (ate afternoon classes.
Rascisan>, 1 have the pw td having tm mother’s nine m five
workday. At this point, do you really think feared?
I did not cate much about anything after such aberendous
experience. One goad thing did evolve out of all of this. When
1 was trudging nut the door* the nur young lady was sttll in the
legist) aiion line Apparently this young Indy did noitakc sare oi
hertinamiw sdsIh: wnight the'tegisirati on sap-irs. As far .is trie,
l was gone, like the wind
React
By Persephone Crandall
Staff Writer
It was not so long ago, 1
can remember a time when
the registration lines were
wrapped around the comer.
People cursing and getting
attitudes.
’The nurse told me to come
wait in this line', or ‘I’ve
been waiting for six hours’,
you’d hear some students
yell.
Sometimes the famous re
sponses were, ‘Sir, we can
not find your financial aid
package', or my persona!
favorite, ‘Yourhealth forms
are not completed, call your
doctor and fax everything
to us’. What a mess!
I can thankfully say, I
didn’t have any registration
problems- at least for this
semester.
When I arrived at the gym,
the setting looked almost
the same as previous years,
but I heard no loud voices. I
saw no rolling eyes. I said
to my mother, “I think we
might not need aspirin this
year, looks like things are
going pretty smoothly.’’
Things did run pretty smoothly,
in fact, fall registration 93' was
practically flawless. No one lost
my money, ormisplaccd my medi
cal forms, I didn’t even wait longer
than 45 minutes.
Maybe Clark-Atlanta
University is starting to'wise up’,
or I was just a lucky customer.
When I received my acceptance letter to Clark Atlanta I was HYPED! I had wanted to attend this “One Exceptional University” because it is a
historically black college reaching its peak; and, it is a part of the Atlanta University Center, the largest and only consortium of historical black colleges
and universities (HBCUs) allowing students access to unlimited resources and connections with African-Americans in power-positions, not to mention
the geographical location. „_ T .... .
What intelligent, ambitious African-American wouldn’t be drawn to a city full of opportunity and often classified as the New African-American
Mecca”? Amidst all of my optimism, I never anticipated the housing fiasco that was lurking around the comer for me.
This is how it started: I had come to Georgia immediately after my high-school graduation to stay with relatives and get a feel for the area. I was
in GA no longer than two days when I was told by a student in the housing office that I would not have a place to stay. Panic set in my soul. Here
I was light-years from home, having already turned down the other colleges that I had been accepted to, and CAU wasn’t housing me!
Staying with my family was not a viable solution, they lived too far away, the environment was not conducive for studying. Besides, I had not moved
all the way to GA to commute. I could have done that at home and for a lot less money. Needless to say, the search was on for a place to stay.
The first place I went to was Carter Hall. I have to admit I was very impressed. The prospect of maid service and total freedom seemed wonderful,
especially after eighteen years of being an indentured servant to my parents.
This was late June and the people at Cater Hall said they were out of $215 a month triple rooms. All they had left were doubles and singles. The
singles were out of my budget and paying $295 a month for a double room did not seem like an intelligent move for a person not sure where money
for the next semester will be coming from.
My next alternative was boarding houses. The prices people were asking were outrageous! For all the money they were asking I would have been
better off at Carter Hall, but of course, when I finally called them back they told me that they were no longer accepting C.A.U. students.
Now I was desperate. I went back to the housing office to see what they suggested my next move be. When I presented my problem to the student
at the front desk in the housing office, he looked my name up and said that I would have housing. Now I was confused and frustrated. I could not believe
that I had gone through all the hassles I had, just to be told that I did have housing. My aunt and I decided that we needed to speak with an administrator
because I was getting the “run-around.” .
After refusing to leave the Housing office until we spoke with an administrator, my aunt and I met with both Mr. Bynam, assistant dean or student
affairs, and Mr. Huston, the housing director, Each meeting left me with a feeling that we had not accomplished much, but at least I was making such
a pest of myself that both my name and my housing problem had become old-news on campus.
For weeks I sat around my aunt’s house wondering what I should do next. I was just about to go home and apply to another college for the spring
semester when, as if by some miracle, I got a call from Peggy Hampton , the assistant dean of student affairs, telling me that I would have housing,
so “exceptional” when
but she didn’t know where. She said to just show up the first day for resident students and I would be told where to go then.
I was excited again about C.A.U., but not to the degree I had been before because I couldn’t figure out how CAU could be :
ever^thin^wa^o^iso^anized