Newspaper Page Text
September 22, 1982/The Maroon Tiger/Page 7
9.8% And Counting
by Wendell Williams
With every new disclosure of bad
economic news President Reagan cheer
fully tells the mounting number of
unemployed and needy Americans that
his program is working and the economy
will get better. And last week, when the
Department of Labor Statistics reported
that nationwide unemployment reached
9.8 percent in August, its highest mark
since 1941, White House spokesperson
Larry Speakes said the president believes
his policies will lead to a “permanent
solution for reducing unemployment."
“After 18 months in office it seems that
the only permanent program Reagan has
come up with is unemployment.” Since
July 1981 roughly 2.9 million people have
become unemployed, with some parts of
the country suffering skyrocketing un
employment rates not seen since the
Great Depression. Many heavy - industry
sectors are operating at Depression - era
levels of production, while bank failures
and mortgage foreclosures are once again
on the rise.
Although the list of negative economic
indicators is virtually endless, Reagan
insisted last week the new unemployment
figures are “lagging indicators” of
economic performance that have not yet
been touched by an undercurrent of
recovery. Reagan’s protestations would
be plausible if there were some consistent
indicators of economic growth, but such
figures do not exist. His assertions are
simply shallow excuses for a failed
economic program.
“After 18 months
in office it seems
that the only
permanent
program Reagan
has come up
with is un
employment.”
Carrying his ill-conceived economic
crusade one step further, Reagan
staunchly supports the proposed con
stitutional amendment requiring Con
gress to pass a balanced budget every ■
year. While the president and his sup
porter’s claim the only way to stop
“runaway” government spending is to
slam a heavy lid on it, opponents rightly
argue that the amendment is a partisan
political trick that would virtually squeeze
social spending out the federal budget.
Democrats and disenchanted
Republicans should keep in mind thatthe
best defense is a good offense, and
accordingly lend their support — now —
to candidates opposing the Reagan
program who are running for office in the
November elections.
Letters To The Editor
To The Editor:
I am presently incarcerated in the
Washington State Penitentiary in Walla
Walla, Washington. One of our most
important goals for rehabilitation is to
have or gain correspondence with the
outside world.
I am twenty-nine years old with a light
ebony tan, midnight black eyes, a goatee
and an ultra black natural. I stand six feet,
three inches tall.
My interests are many: from dancing
and romancing to a more subtle tempo
such as reading, sports and traveling. In
June of 1981, I received my Associate of
Arts degree from Walla WallaCommunity
College. I am currently taking cor
respondence courses from the University
of Washington in Seattle. Among other
things, I am an aspiring lyricist and poet.
Correspondence would be very impor
tant to me. I will answer all letters.
Sincerely yours,
Johnnie E. McGill, 257153
P.O. Box 520
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Hope For Unity Among AUC Students
This Labor Day past, Morehouse’s SGA
held its “Annual Labor Day Picnic.” Few
people turned out in the beginning, but
eventually it turned out to be a very nice
picnic. Students from other institutes in
the A.U.C. came out and seemed to have
enjoyed themselves. It was good to see
that students from all over could get
together and have a nice time.
I hope that this bond of unity that has
been displayed continues though the
year and the many others to come. We
thank these many students from the other
learning institutes in the AUC for coming
out and making our Labor Day Picnic a
very enjoyable one.
Charles T. Brant
Infirmary Rm. 21
I Think I’m Going To Like It Here
Despite the lines, the grouchy
registrar’s office, the rank odor in the
“Graveyard’s” unkept bathrooms, the
unattractive grounds, the unorganized
administrative “link” between Gloster
Hall and the faculty, the one cup of
orange juice rationed for breakfast, the
fist size roaches, being called an “African”
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (for the
first time in my life), and in every case
being told to “deal with it,” I think I’m
going to like it here.
Peace,
William T. Peters, III
c>loP WHINING ABOUT
fNEMPtPYMENT! IPoKAT
All Those want ads'. .
im
"lefT-handed Sewer-
flute player, must
SPEAK SWAHILI,
HAVE JET PILOT’S
LICENSE AND OWN
Bugatti. doctoral
degree required.”
i’ll apply first
Thing Tomorrow.
College Press Serv>
Question of the Week
Do you agree with the attempt to remove the
fraternities from campus?
What is your opinion.
YesD Non
Results of poll will be published the next
edition. Please cut out the box with your
answer and return to Maroon Tiger office by
Tuesday, September 25.
In My Opinion/Paul A. Dillard
It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times . . .
Perhaps the hope that is embodied in the arrival of the Class of 1986, can best be
captured and mirrored in the words of Charles Dickens:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...”
Certainly, as the newest members of the Morehouse family, the Freshman class
brings a renewed sense of hope, and a rejuvenated sense of purpose to this famed
“house” on a hill. Even as Black America feels the harshness and sweeping callousness
of a misanthropic neo - conservatism, your pilgrimage signals opportunities yet
unexplored. This duality, of hope and of uncertainty is expressed in your journey on the
road of academic preparation.
For us — faculty, staff, administration, and students — you bring the promise of
continuity. We are assured that our work, our labor, our struggle is not in vain; but
rather, all we have contributed is now passed on to you as heirs to a vast intellectual
fortune. Do not disappoint us, but be deligent custodians of an unmatched legacy. Do
not disappoint us, but meet every crisis that you must certainly face with a response
grounded in the high ideals you cherish. Do not disappoint us, but face each difficulty
knowing that it will soon become a door to deliverance.
Perhaps the words I conveyed to my brothers on thesa pages a year ago, are
appropriate expressions of the great expectations this tommuntity hasforyou: “Freely
you have received, freely now you must give. Give to the world a love that seeketh not
her own gratification, but the liberation of mankind. Give to the world, an intelligence
that does not seek arrogant isolation but operative solutions. Give to the world all that
you are and all that you have and all that the world has to give will come back to you.”
It is the worst of times, for we face the darkness of difficult days, yet to come. It is the
worst of times, for the vast majority of our people live in poverty, destitution, and
oppresison. It is the worst of times, for the gains we have made as a race over the past 20
years are being systematically negated and nuetralized by a cruel, calculating power
structure. But, you bring the hope that we cherish — the hope that these racist,
repressive elements will be transformed into conduits to our inevitable liberation. It is
the best of times, for the mantle of progress now rests on your shoulders and the tools
for change are in your hands. It is the best of times, for you emobody our hopes for a
brighter tomorrow and our dreams for a beloved community.
We welcome you therefore, members of the class of 1986, and challenge you to “bind
with us to build a better house,” a better community, a better nation, and a better
world.
The words of Martin King are especially applicable in this instance: “Now let us
begin. Now let us re-dedicate ourselves to the long and bitter — but beautiful —
struggle for a new world . . . The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it
otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment in history.”