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Black colleges at
the crossroad
Letter to the Editor
By Jahi Issa
special to The Panther
“A new civilization is emerging in our
lives, and blind men everywhere are trying
to suppress it”
The Third Wave: Alvin Toffler
Anyone who is looking at the world
intelligently can tell that a change is taking
place globally. The 90’ s have brought about
a wave of political and social change. The
collapse of the former Soviet Union, the
30-year trade embargo lifted by the United
Nation against Cuba, and the 1993 elections
in the Canadian government that the ruling
party dropped from 153 seats to 2. And
here in the United States “The Contract for
America” headed by Newt Gingrich.
Yet in spite of all the things that are
happening in the world, the black college
seems to be operating in a 19th century
fashion. It is evident with all the budget
cuts going on in Congress that black people
in this country will suffer the most.
Not only will these cuts hurt poor none
working families, but they will have a
tremendous effect upon Historical Black
Colleges and its students. Which leads me
to wonder, why hasn’t there been much of
a protest by black university officials about
the proposed bills that will cut the amount
of money giving to these schools?
It seems that our university leaders are
walking around blind and deaf.
In 1991, former president George Bush
proposed a Bill that would make black
colleges force the students who need
student loans to have a credit check. And
if they do not pass the check, they will not
be able to get a loan. Congress has also
passed a law that will cut federal grants
that are given to universities by 65%. The
Supreme Court headed by Clarence
Thomas voted last year that Affirmative
Action is against the Constitution. So this
means that all the race-based scholarship
that blacks and other people of color
depended on to get through school are
now gone. These and many more laws
will go into effect in the coming years.
All the things that we have seen
happening in Congress in the last few
years have not hit us as of yet. But in the
coming issue, I will deal with the historical
reasons for the changes that are occurring
in this country and the rest of the world.
Black colleges must deal with the issues
facing Black America, or the number of
black colleges will decrease.
At present there is a petition
sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha
and the Political Science
Association of Clark Atlanta
University being taken around
campus.
Does The Administration Really Care
About Students?
An editorial by the Student Government
Association
The Clark Atlanta University Student
Government Association (CAUSGA)
serves as the liaison between the
administration of the university and the
students. The relationship maintained
between the administration and CAUSGA
is a mirror of the relationship maintained
between the administration and the students
at large.
Thus, the question emerges:
Does The Administration Really Care
About Students?
During the past six months of our tenure in
office, CAUSGA has not met with the Vice
President of Student Affairs, Dr. Doris
Weathers. In addition, CAUSGA has not
been able to hold an exclusive meeting
with the Assistant Dean of Student Life,
Ms. Peggy Hampton. Several meetings have
been scheduled, but each one has been
canceled, or postponed and then canceled.
Despite the fact that these two
administrators should be operating as
advisors as well as supervisors to CAUSGA,
neither has placed any priority on
communicating with us.
How Does This Lack Of Communication
Affect You, The Student?
If CAUSGA does not have the opportunity
to meet with Dean Hampton or Dr.
Weathers, the link between the “voice” of
the students and the “ear” of the
administration breaks down. It is the
responsibility of CAUSGA to not only
listen to the concerns and interests of the
student body, but also to relay those issues
to the applicable administrators. However,
if neither administration maintains
availability, how can anv issue be relayed?
What Specific Concerns Need To Be
Addressed?
There are several issues that have been
lingering for the entire semester that have
been neither confronted nor resolved:
* Budget
The Student Government budget, which
is YOUR money, is completely
inaccessible. Your SGA treasurer can not
access any account holding SGA funds
except through bureaucratic steps. In
addition, CAUSGA had no input on the
allocation of funds to the budget. In other
words, YOUR opinion, through your SGA
officers, was not sought in reference to
YOUR money, i.e. student activity fees,
tuition, etc.
* Maintenance
Dozens of students have voiced
legitimate concerns about the maintenance
of university buildings. The air conditioning
has not been converted to heat in some
buildings, others have showers that flood,
or strange smells... It is interesting to note
that the administrative buildings are
maintained, but student facilities do not
receive the same care, i.e. Thayer Hall, the
student activities building, Crogman. the
student dining hall, and all of the student
residential facilities.
* Pre-planning For Homecoming ‘95
Homecoming festivities represent one
of the biggest events for students throughout
the year. Dean Hampton called one meeting
for the Homecoming committee and
CAUSGA approximately one week before
Homecoming began todiscuss policies and
procedures'. However, both Dean Hampton
and Dr. Weathers were not accessible during
the plenary stages in the summer and the
month of September. As aresult, CAUSGA
had no administrative backing or
information - in other words, no one was
working with CAUSGA to make YOUR
Homecoming a success. Thus, there was
proposal to the Dean of Undergraduate
Studies requesting that midterms occur
either the week before or the week after
Homecoming; there was no conversation
with the Athletic Director about scheduling
for Homecoming events and the Women’s
Volleyball Tournament...
What Is CAUSGA Doing To Remedy
This Situation?
CAUSGA is in the process of addressing
these and other concerns to those
administrators above and beyond the
division of Student Affairs. President Cole
has always been receptive to the needs of
students, and we are currently deviating
from the chain of command by pursuing a
meeting with him toensure that these issues
are confronted. We will be insisting that
Dr. Weathers maintain the weekly meeting
schedule that has been in place since
September, and that she and Dean Hampton
keep the lines of communication open.
How Can You, The Student, Help?
Demand a higher level of performance
from upper-level administrators.
Demand higher visibility from these
individuals, and more respect for
CAUSGA, because ademonstrated lack of
Continued on P7
See P7 for more on the petition
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