Newspaper Page Text
The Maroon Tiger
February 22. 1979
Page 6
Letters to the Editor
Alumni Do Not Shun
Their Responsibility
S.G.A. Elections
Where Are We Headed?
Dear Mr. Mapson:
The Maroon Tiger continues,
for the second consecutive year, to
be liken to days of old when More
house men would look to the
“Tiger” for news and expressions
of student views. We congratulate
you for this effort.
This letter is written in response
to the February 1,1979 edition and
the article entitled, “Alumni Shun
Financial Responsibility” by Mr.
Jerome Walker. The writer forgot
to learn why the Alumni Associa
tion did not pick-up the athletic
guantlet thrown at their feet, and
provide the needed $72,000 to sup
port Morehouse in Division II of
the N.C.A.A.
Morehouse alumni rank second
to all Black colleges and universi
ties in the amount of funds contrib
uted by alumni. The alumni of
Hampton Institute are first, and
contributed $233,000 for the fiscal
year 1976-77. During that same
period, Morehouse alumni con
tributed $119,931.38. Hampton
has 19,000 alumni on their mailing
roster, while Morehouse has only
3,742! In fact, only 5,460 men and
33 women have been graduated
since 1867. As of June 30, 1978,
Morehouse alumni contributed
$109,862 which over the two-year
period included $125,050 in res
tricted funds to purchase 2,501
seats in the M. L. King Jr. Chapel.
This amount exceeds the total
combined contributions made by
alumni of Clark,. Morris Brown,
and Spelman Colleges.
Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter to bring
to the attention of all an unfortu
nate but true fact. It is thedack of
respect men many times have for
women.
It is shame that in our society
women are considered “loose” and
promiscuous if they do not feel the
need to be tied to one particular
man. However, it seems that men
who feel this same need (not to be
tied down) are, in fact, accepted by
society. They are also thought of as
doing something totally natural.
(But doesn’t being natural apply to
women as well?)
..Consequently, the women are
classified as “getovers” and not
In the previous article it was
shown that homophiles (gays), reli-
gously, (we are all children of
God); legally, (the constitution)
and socially are no less entitled to
human rights and freedoms than
you. With this in mind I shall dis
cuss the possibilities for Homo
philes to live in dignity in this
country today. (I want to preface
everything I say by noting that a
simple and open belief in God can
help sustain any honest person.)
Let us suppose that you are a
homosexual. (Don’t be afraid.)
You have read the previous article,
so you know that there is a chance
that God loves you and he may
even accept you (despite what min
isters may say). You know that the
sill fiifiJii*** ^fuTilomo*
The aiumni h'ave been asked to
finance a $260,000 pipe organ for
the Chapel, blazers for the Glee
Club, special financial aid grants
for students, summer jobs for stu
dents, endowment funds for the
College, support for the Medical
School, operational funds for the
Alumni Association and for
alumni clubs, and other special
projects to include half of the
$18,000 cost figure for the Glee
Club’s appearance in December at
Lincoln Center in New York. Since
1972, the alumni have provided
nearly $4,000 per year for books
for each athlete whether first string
or bench warmer, and since 1976,
the alumni bore the responsibility
for financing the Annual All-
Sports banquet to include trophies
and free meals for each athlete
which permitted the College to
utilize Her funds to issue letters,
jackets and blankets to deserving
athletes. Then there are other
Morehouse associated banquets,
socials, conferences, and College
memorabilia which necessitate
expenditures of funds.
The Board of Directors of the
Association have decided to accept
a challenge from a foundation
which will match alumni contribu
tions dollar for dollar. This chal
lenge, vve feel, will double our
Financial contributions to More
house. The single string in. accept
ing this challenge is that
contributions must be unres
tricted. (The $8,000 referred to by
respected at all by the men. Per
haps what many people fail to real
ize and are ignorant of is the fact
that respect, or lack of it in this
case, is an EQUAL thing! Why
should women have ANY respect
for men whose main goal in life
and/or full-time occupation is just
to “getover?”
Face it, it would have made
much more sense, if they wanted to
“getover,” to take an easier course
like Elementary Girl Watching
101, not Advanced Lack of
Respect 211. Hey, there’s still time
to change!
constitution will protect you - until
you come “out of the closet” - and
you know that your friends will
generally avoid you if they find
out. What about your family? They
may still love you but things will
change. They may disown you.
Having viewed this side of the coin,
you now consider what being hom-
ophile means. Do you now have to
twist when you walk; hsp when you
talk? Is there a chance for a stable
relationship with someone? How
do you find that someone? After
these considerations many people
kill themselves. A large group will
get married, have children and be
divorced. Others become angry
radicals; effeminate or super
butch. Everyone finds some way of
coping; some people drink; some
Nathaniel Veale, Jr
Director of Alumni Affairs
Mr. Walker was the amount within
the 1977-78 figure of $109,862
which was restricted to support the
Athletic Program) Unrestricted
funds received by Morehouse can
be utilized anywhere the College
sees a need. This is a three-year
challenge, and the foundation’s
matching grant will not exceed
$100,000 per year for each year of
the challenge. Therefore, if we were
to restrict $72,000 of our contribu
tions to the Athletic Program, we
would loose $72,000 from the
foundation. Yet, if we were to con
tribute $72,000 unrestricted, and
received $72,000 from the founda
tion, this would total $144,000 for
the college to use where she feels
the need. If the college desires to
utilize the funds on the pipe organ,
for blazers, good. If the college d' -
sires to utilize the funds to reno' ate
Graves and Robert Halls, $v>od. If
She decides to utilize the funds to
upgrade the food in the dining
room, good. If She decides to use
the funds to increase the number oY
academic scholarships, or to assist
in the building of a new athletic
complex, or a new dormitory, or
just to pay the water, light and gas
bills, good. “Morehouse will
decide, we will merely provide.”
Even though Mr. Walker’s arti
cle indicated the burden of respon
sibility of support for the Athletic
Program should come from “the
alumni or outside,” he failed to
look into Tuskegee Institute where
each student is taxed $10 per year
in support of their Athletic Pro
gram. Tuskegee has nearly 4,000
students, and at $10 per student
equal $40,000. The students voted
to tax themselves in order to sup
port Tuskegee’s N.C.A.A. Div
ision II program, and not the
administration. Thus, support for
Morehouse’s Athletic Program has
another avenue of “inside” sup
port her students.
Take care, and we hope some of
this is printed.
Cordially,
Nathaniel C. Veale, Jr.
Director
shootup. Some call themselves bi
sexuals some become Don-Juans
(to both sexes). It becomes obvi
ous that being gay is not necessar
ily being gay.
As a Black homophile, you can
look back on the civil rights move
ment to help find an answer to your
dilema. If, and only if, you have
concluded that you are a homo
phile, as defined in the previous
article, then you must accept it as
you accept your Black skin. You
did not ask for it, you may not
want it. but you sure are stuck with
it! This is truth. Now you can go
through life trying to change, as
Dear Editor and the Student Body
of Morehouse,
This letter is being written with
the belief that a message can be
drawn from it. Hopefully, some
sort of action on the part of us. the
student body, will take place. I'm
addressing my remarks to the
upcoming student body elections,
our own political and social aware
ness, and what direction should we
head.
First, to the best of my knowl
edge there are to be six candidates
for the office of president of the
Morehouse College S.G.A. For
what reason are these young men
planning to run? What will they
achieve? What will we as the stu
dent body gain? These, I believe,
are some basic, paramount ques
tions that we should ask of these
candidates. Will the S.G.A. have
the support of a few students or all
of us. In other words, will it be
strong or divided? The reason for
this question is that the S.G.A. can
only be influential if we give it our
total support. Why not push for a
political debate between the candi
dates? For one, I believe that we
should know what kind of people
will be representing us. It does not
have to be confined to political
science majors, let’s hear some
thing from the biology major or the
engineering major. Also, we need
to ask what purpose the S.G.A. is
serving. If it is the laughing stock of
the school or A.U. Center, then get
rid of it and began another.
Secondly, how many of us can
some Blacks tried to change color,
or you can accept it. If you accept
it, then you must work with it. If
you can’t accept it, then you are
lost. There are too many negative
considerations around to merely
sit and accept what you are. You
must also have an armour of hope,
self-love, worth and humor in
order to combat the legions of dis-
pair, hate, corruption and ignor
ance marching against you. As
Black people, we must love what
we have and know who and what
we are to survive. You must do the
same.
The homosexual will fight many
battles. The battle of names is one.
There is “faggot,” which goes back
to the times when homophiles were
burned at the stake. The word
queer, which reflects the ignorance
of the speaker. Then there is the
ever popular “sissy,” a favorite
word of prepubescent “men.”
“Punk” receives wide usage among
southern college men and women.
(One has to fight this battle alone.
There is no pat answer and little if
any help. Humor may be the best
weapon.) The battle of guilt (refer
to God, I said God.) You must bat
tle being a sterotype, and being
yourself. You must battle other
gays. It is a glorious campaign
w'hich will give you a chance to be a
unique person or nothing. The
longest and most interesting battle
however, is being a man or woman.
As you know gays are not men
(so they say). Well, what is a man? I
am going to be very radical and
.efine male or man-as primarily
that member of the species who-
ant of events that are occurring
around us? Having answered that
question, what, if any. can we pres
cribe? For a political scientist, this
form of questioning should be ele
mentary' but what of the biology or
English major? You too. are
involved and should actively ques
tion this. Where are w'e headed pol
itically? Do our institutions that
represent us enlighten us to what is
happening politically or socially
ie., the S.G.A? Have they per
formed their roles and if they have,
where is the proof? This, 1 should
point out, is not an attack on our
S.G.A. or Morehouse, but basic
questions that we, as Black men.
and the future of our race should
be concerned about.
Thirdly, where are we headed?
What, if anything, are we as young,
responsible Black men doing con
cerning our future in a political
sense? Do we question why our
Black legislative leadership is
slowly being eliminated? Are we so
satisfied with piece-meal legisla
tion that we will slow or push for
our rightful position —
economically, socially, and politi
cally? Or do we “go through the
motions” to celebrate the memo
ries of outstanding Blacks of this
century, while we are failing to
keep pushing like they pushed at all
costs. There are but a few things to
ask ourselves, for if we don’t start
here, if we don’t “get our feet wet”
and stand up, then every gain,
(either large or small) will be for
naught.
carries the fertilizer and who’s
body has particular opposites to
the female’s body. I think that in
todays world, little else can be
intelligently said to distinguish
human males from human females.
With this definition then, gays are
men and lesbians are women (the
definition of women is implied).
All the rest is cultural contrivances
spanning thousands of years. To be
man is not to be strong, brave,
good at sports, aggressive, tearless
or straight. Why, because all peo
ple do no fit into these slots?
Should the facts fit the rule or
should the rule fit the facts?
You are a man, as to whetheryou
are “masculine” that is for you to
decide. All people have degrees of
the feminine and masculine in
them. It is not bad to be feminine,
we just say it is. The same is true for
being masculine. You must come
to grips with your behavior and
mold it, as much as possible, into
what makes you comfortable and
flexible. All of this envolves being
aware of yourself, your goals and
your peace of mind.
To be a homophile in this society
with a sustained sense of worth,
self-love and a productive person
ality requires that you tenaciously
and ruthlessly battle ignorance,
laugh at adversity, cry at despair
and pick up the cross of truth for
the fourth time, setting it down
finally, as a monument to yourself
and an inspiration to others.
I invite you to involve your mind
in my next article which will
address the need for differences.
Lack of Respect...An Equal Thing
Sincerely yours,
LOOSE but RESPECTED
A Challenge To Love
The Glorious Campaign
By Gerard Marable
actually claim that we are cogniz-
Darrell M. Hargrove
Continued from third column