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The Maroon Tiger
February 22, 1979
Page 5
Jesse Jack?
Does The Crown Carry Over?
At the last Founder’s Day cele
bration Mr. Jesse Jackson was
asked to come and participate in
the activities. Although he had
been offered a small honorarium,
he refused to come. He wrote back
to Dr. Gloster and told him in a let
ter the President read in a gather
ing of some 600 persons that he
could not and would not come to
Morehouse unless he was paid his
usual fee and provided with first
class accommodations for himself
and his aid. And not only was this
rejection a refusal to speak at the
Founders Day activities but also a
refusal to speak at a special cerem
ony in honor of one of his dearest
“friends” and the College’s most
illustrious alumnus, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Sources have informed the
Maroon Tiger that Jackson had
initially been asked to speak at the
1979 Commencement Exercise.
However, when this was
announced to the senior class they
were dismayed for two reasons.
First, they had hoped to have
someone else give them their last
address at Morehouse College.
Second, they questioned the
sincerity of Jackson and his ability
to give them the depth of discus
sion which they desired. Therefore,
they went to Dr. Gloster to nego
tiate the speaker with him. They
were able to persuade Dr. Gloster
to retract the invitation for Com
mencement. Dr. Gloster, feeling
Cafeteria Breeds
Many Problems
Bv Miles Willis
It is 5:15 p.m., time for the daily
drudgery of eating dinner. You
walk into the cafeteria reluctantly
in anticipation of the unpalatable,
miniscule portions of gruel being
served/the lines are long but you
can’t afford to eat out today so you
wait, and wait because the line
moves so very slowly as people cut
in front of you. Gradually as you
enter into the serving area you are
again faced with the dilemma of
choosing between the lease hazard
ous of two entrees, today it’s
ravioli.
' You continue on down the line
to get some stale dinner rolls and a
desert which may well be the only
part of the meal you’ll end up eat
ing. Out you go into the eating area
to get a dirty and often cracked
glass into which you will put some
foul-tasting, improperly mixed
kool-aid to drink. As you turn
around to begin searching for a
place to sit you are appalled to find
that as far as the eye can see there
are hundreds of abandoned trays
filthy with half-eaten food, sloppy
masses of water soaked napkins,
and smelly often unextinguished
cigarette butts.
In solemn disillusion you flash
back to your elementary school
cafeteria and see a similar scene.
But those little kids didn’t know
any better. You then return to
Morehouse College and wonder if
the kids who left this ungodly mess
know any better.
1 like some, but far too few, of
you am totally disgusted by these
actions of our fellow students. In
an effort to ascertain the reason or
reasons behind this thoughtless
and inconsiderate behavior I spoke
with several students and came up
with the following: “well, it’s like
a form of protest. We feel that if we
leave our trays on the tables we’ll
get better food”. Morally this argu
ment doesn’t work because, simply
two wrongs don’t make a right.
The physical and financial fal
lacy displayed in this point of view
is that the abandoned trays left on
the tables increase the amount of
work that must be done by the
cafeteria personel, thereby increas
ing the amount of money they must
be paid, ergo decreasing the
amount of money which could be
spent on food. Besides, I’ve seen
students ‘protesting’ for two years
now and have not seen any
improvement in the food; it doesn’t
work. One fellow told me that he
didn’t think that the students
should have to carry the trays back
to be cleaned, ‘It’s their job.’ said
he. This is simply not true. We are
supposed to bring our own trays,
not to clean them, just so that they
may be cleaned. Have you ever
wondered why the kitchen some
times runs out of silverware and/ or
glasses? You need not wonder any
longer.
Also, very much to my dismay,
one brother told me with cool
unashamed nonchalance, ‘Hey
man, you know like, everybody
does it’. This type of mindless
apathy is the very reason we must
eat in such an unpleasant dining
environment. We men of More
house have to get our act together
before we can expect those harbin
gers of heartburn and indigestion
to do anything for us.
However, some how I just don’t
think that this article will affect any
change because it doesn’t seem as
though any of those senseless indi
viduals who leave their trays with
such unabashed indifference' will
or can read it anyway.
himself in a bind, moved to make a
compromise and invited him to
speak at Founder’s Day.
Another reason the senior class
included in their rejection of Jack-
son was that they questioned the
depth of his commitment to the
greater cause— as they put it,“the
unending push to discontinue the
unethical exploitation of all peo
ples in every facet of living.” They
went on further to state one reason
as his “insensitivity to the position
of our Black colleges.” In this state
ment they (the senior class) point
to his charging exorbitant fee for
speaking engagements at poor
Black colleges.
Sources, however, have
informed the Maroon Tiger that
Jackson is not getting the fee which
he asked for last year, but he will be
recieving an honorary degree from
the College. Also Jackson is
announcing in places where he
speaks that he will be speaking at
the Alma Mater of his “dear
friend” Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. At
this time Jackson is one of the most
sought after speakers in the coun
try and one of the best paid. After
Founder’s Day and forever more
Jackson will be a member of the
“Morehouse Family”
By John Silvanus Wilson, Jr.
An ineffable melancholy arises
in a man’s heart when hisirrepress-
ible cries in the name of elevation
find no echo. Perhaps dealing with
the apathy which plagues this cam
pus, and the bulk of the Black insti
tutions around the country, would
be an exercise in hackneyism -but
please hear me out. I’m afraid that
I cannot lay this dilemma of inertia
to rest, because it unquestionably
impinges upon the future of Blacks
as well as the future of man. As we
enter a new phase of subtle oppres
sion in our struggle for “equality” a
fact which absolutely must be real
ized is the need for young Black
minds to offer a fresco of revolu
tionary, “new world” attitudes.
That is a thrust of attitudes which
will usher us into a new pew of
hope for mankind. However, as a
converse to this, we seem to sit idly
by and are either mute, or have
turned a deaf ear to the problems
and sufferings of a land and of a
people.
While we (Morehouse students)
dally mutely here in this frolicsome
ferity, today’s sophisticated racism
sends us deeper and deeper into a
mire of progressive anemia, and
we’ve only to offer our dingy indif
ference. Query: “Where is your
insurrection Morehouse?” We
meet with indifference problems
ranging from our own campus to
the national sector and this indiffe
rence ought to be considered lethal,
as it distressingly debilitates pro
gression and facilitates oppression.
(It genuine concern does exist, it is
terribly indeterminate).
To remain a passive on-looker
expressing no opinion at all is to
imply complacency. Something is
missing in your being if you haven’t
the courage or the concern to make
a vital attempt to destroy the inhu
mane chaos in which we are
By Jerome Walker
The great theologian Howard
Thurman said, “Over the heads of
her students Morehouse holds a
crown that she challenges them to
grow tall enough to wear.” I often
wonder if this applies to all her stu
dents or just the students striving
for academic excellence. If it does
apply, then I wonder about the
plight of athletics.
When academics is compared to
athletics, one will surely find that
academically Morehouse leads all
Black colleges in percentage (60
percent) of Ph. D.’s on the faculty.
Yet, I wonder if the same serious
ness is considered in hiring
coaches. Also, Morehouse leads all
Black four-year colleges in the
average percentage (over 60% per
cent) of students graduating and
going on to professional schools. I
wonder what happens to athletes
that graduates.
I sometimes speculate that the
problem is finance, but then I am
confused. Perhaps my problem is
that since the enrollment here is
approximately 1600, then why do
we not have the money? If we let the
record speak for itself, we would
situated. You approach merit when
you are willing to apply yourself
intelligently to a carefully orches
trated vendetta agaihst the oppres
sive powers that be, whether your
defiance is aimed locally, nation
ally of both. Is this mindful type of
insurrection possible on a campus
where the favorite pastime is
exploding milk cartons on side
walks, or are we merely voiceless
mines dancing a helpless dance of
acquiescence? As Elie Wiesel says
in sharing his experience in the
Jewish holocaust, “The execution
ers I understood, also the victims,
though with more difficulty- but
the Others ...
Note: Keep an eye on the upcom
ing events, sponsored by the Class
of ‘79 as we try to augment the
social concern on this campus.
More in later issues.
Concerning Black Elevation
John S. Wilson Jr.
In accordance with our vital
concern for increasing the amount
of social awareness and
intelligence among students in the
Atlanta University Center in
general, and Morehouse College in
particular, we, the Class of ‘79 at
Morehouse College', stand in full
support of the very important
speaker series going on right now,
sponsored by the Canterbury
Center, and held every Tuesday.
This speaker series is an effort to
make Blacks more aware of the
problems facing us, and to give us a
better understanding of our
heritage. We urge everyone to
make a serious effort to participate
in this very vital program at the
Canterbury Center, located just off
of Fair and Chestnut. The
programs begin at 6:30 every
surely find that Morehouse leads
all Black four-year colleges and all
Georgia four-year colleges in the
alumni (191) who have earned aca
demic doctorates. Morehouse has
produced more Ph.D.’s than have
all the other Black Georgia colleges
combined. One out of every ten
Morehouse alumni has an aca
demic or professional doctorate.
Moreover, Morehouse leads all
Black four-year colleges in the
number of alumni who have
become physicians and dentists.
More than 450 Morehouse gradu
ates are physicians or dentists, and
over sixty are Certified Medical
Specialist-Diplomats in Medicine.
Furthermore, Morehouse leads all
Black four-year Colleges ,in the:
number of alumni, more than 30 :
who have become '‘ college-
presidents. . ,
After reading these very honora-.
ble and impressive accomplish-’
ments, I wondered if my initial
theory, lack of money, is the prob
lem; but then how could that be?(
Morehouse alumni rank second to
all Black colleges and universities
in the amount of funds contributed
by alumni, according to Alumni
Director, Nathaniel C. Veale, Jr.
Then I became even more
confused.
After much thought I came to
the conclusion that perhaps the
athletic department is not generat
ing enough money. I thought the
students pay their fees for athletics
upon entering the college or at least
before leaving. Consequently, I;
wondered if that money is not.
enough, but realizing if this money
were combined with the money
that the alumni gives, then it
should be enough.
Not wanting to retire until com
ing up with a logical answer, I
thought that perhaps Morehouse
does not have the athletes to work
with, but then I wondered where
do the other teams get their ath
letes? Are those students not aware
of Morehouse? I came to the con
clusion that is not true because
Morehouse has at least one student
from every state in the United
States except Idaho, Iowa, Maine,
Nevada, New Hampshire, North
Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota,
Utah, and Vermont. Moreover,
Morehouse has at least one student
from Nigeria, Rhodesia, Ghana,
Kenya, South Africa, Saudi Ara
bia, Thailand, Canada, Libya,
Ethiopia, and Cameron. Surely
these findings suggest that students
are aware of the College. I have
also wondered that something is
wrong with the recruiting system,
but if that were the case why does
Morehouse have so many students
from so many different areas? Con
sidering all these facts, I still-have
not found the reason or reasons
behind Morehouse’s decaying
athletic program, but rest assured
Morehouse, like the “typical repor
ter,” I will not rest until I do.
Tuesday, and involve subjects
from Malcolm X to Black
Leadership. If you find your thirst
for knowledge becoming
stronger—please drop on by.
The Others