Newspaper Page Text
October 25, 1984/The Maroon Tiger/Page 12A
General Perry Leads 400 Soldiers To Gloster Hall
VvHrtr WE HXVE SERE is ^ FAU.URC To COMMUNICATE /
It all reached a boiling point
early Friday morning, October 5,
1984 around 1:15 a.m. Some 600
students of Morehouse gathered
in front of the Student Govern
ment Association (SGA) building
with sticks, brooms, knives,
bricks, and iron bars. They
plainly stated that they were fed
up with being harrassed by other
non-Morehouse students. Their
concern was basically about the
lack of respect from other AUC
schools (Clark and Morris
Brown). Apparently, Morehouse
students were being harrassed
and, in some cases, literally
jumped by students from Morris
Brown and Clark Colleges. These
assaults supposedly have been
going on for the past four weeks
There was another event that
occurred a few hours earlier,
which involved the brutal slaying
of a Spelman College Senior,
Corliss Sharlene Gammage, 22,
who was shot to death outside of
her home here in Atlanta by her
ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend,
Winfred Dallas, 25, was believed
to be a Clark College student,
but a police investigative report
later revealed that he was not a
Clark College student.
This incident kindled the fire
that was already flaming among
Morehouse students, simply
because no one knew all of the
facts surrounding the incident at
the time of its occurrence, and
assumed an innocent Spelman
student had been shot to death
by a Clark College student as an
extension of the tension among
AUC schools.
In addition to this incident, a
Morehouse student, Kevin Ross,
Vice-President of the SGA,
reported being harrassed by
unidentified persons, while try
ing to leave Spelman College’s
campus at 11:45 p.m. on Thrus-
day, October 4, 1984. Ross said
they were harrassing him by
trying to get him to take off his
Morehouse jacket and by saying
words of intimidation to him.
These two incidents are the
reasons why Morehouse
students were ready to invade
Clark and Morris Brown
Colleges at- 2:00 a.m. However,
Keith Perry was able to convince
participants that such a decision
would be unfavorable. Instead
members of the Student Council
decided that the students should
assemble in front of the SGA
building at 6:30a.m., prepared to
talk with the administration of
Morehouse College.
The meeting didn’t actually
take place until 7:30 a.m., here
led by a group of freshmen
parading through each dor
mitory, beating on doors with
sticks.
SGA President and
Commander-in-Chief, Keith
Perry headed the early morning
meeting, informing students that
classes were cancelled for the
day. However, some students
went to their classes anyway. At
8:05 some 200 student splus
headed over to Gloster Hall from
Chivers Dining Hall. As they
made their way over to the
Administration building,
students went into classroom
buildings,interrupted classes,-
and demanded that teachers and
students give their support.
Upon arriving in front of Gloster
Hall seven minutes later, the
number of protesters had risen
to 400.
At this point, students wanted
President Gloster present so he
could be made aware of the
brutality being made against his
students. For some reason, the
students believed that Dr.
Gloster was not aware of the
animosity and tension that ex
isted between the AUC schools.
Unfortunately, Dr. Gloster was
out of town at the time.
In front of Gloster Hall about
45 minutes before it was to open,
SGA President Keith A. Perry told
student ralliers that “The Martin-
Luther King, jr. Statue doesn't
stand in front of the Chapel
without a purpose, it symbolizes
leadership... it is because of his
method of non-violence that
Martin Luther King has a statue
named in his honor... it's not
only there because of the impact
he has made on this college, but
on this nation.’’ Shortly
thereafter, David Ross, a
sophomore, told the mass of
brothers assembled that “our
time has come,” referring to the
time for Morehouse Students to
stand up and stop accepting the
dictation of Morehouse’s Ad
ministration. Later on, Eric
Grimes, a sophomore, told those
students, who weren't exactly
cetain about why, or what, they
were protesting their purpose
for protesting. The reason was
the same as the initial concern of
the students of Morehouse
College. Afterward, Kevin Ross,
SGA Vice-president, stated “We
are going to remain assembled
until 9:00 a.m. and present a list
of grievances to Dr. Gloster and
the Deans of students.”
Meanwhile, the mass of brothers
proudlysangthe Alma materand
chanted a few inspirational
songs.
Dr. Harriett Walton, a
mathematics professor, ad
dressed the student protesters
too. She said, “Don’t you go out
with expectations of starting
fights (with the other AUC
schools), and stirring up more
confusion: instead, stay calm!”
Shortly after Dr. Walton’s
statement, Dean Carter and
Dean Crawford gave brief
statements of concern for the
students. Moments before 9:00
a.m., a member of the freshman
class stood up and said, “The
Class of 1988 does have concern
for the welfare of the student
body (as a contradiction to SGA
President Perry’s statement in an
11:00 a.m. unified assembly the
morning before), and it is ex
emplified here this morningwith
the number of freshmen pre
sent.”
Shortly after 9:00, Perry in
formed patiently waiting
brothers that “A list of
grievances will be presented to
the administration (Perdue and
Williams) and a response is
expected by noon or further
action will be taken!” Among
the list of grievances was a
demand for more and better
campus security.
At 9:08 a.m., Perry met with
Robert Williams, Vice President
for Student Affairs, Dr. Lawrence
E. Carter, Dean of the Chapel
and Mr. Wiley A. Pedue, Vice-
President for Business Affairs and
other student leaders.
Meanwhile, a letter written
overnight was forwarded to all
AUC school presidents and SGA
Presidents, expressing the con
cern of the Morehouse student
body.
At ten minutes after 1:00 p.m.
on that same day, Perry informed
students of the results of the
meeting. Perry said changes for
the better were already un
derway, and that the success of
the protest was noteworthy.
Perry told gathered brothers that
they should be proud of what
they had achieved. Perry further
added that “Now, all we
(students) have to do is make
sure the administration follows
through with the agreements.”
On Saturday morning, a
mutually agreed upon restate
ment of the policy was circulated
on all AUC campuses, and in the
T. Harvey Stadium during the
Morehouse/Morris Brown foot
ball game. No fights were
reported before, during, or after
the game on Saturday afternoon.
Classes resumed on Monday.
Last night there were tensions
and conflicts involving students
in the Atlanta University Center.
These tensions and conflicts
were so serious that we called
today a meeting of the
Presidents, the Vice Presidents,
and the SGA Presidents of Clark,
Morehouse, Morris Brown, and
Spelman Colleges to consider
what steps should be taken to
alleviate the situation. As a result
of this meeting, which the
Spelman College President did
not attend because he was out of
the city, the Presidents of Clark,
Morehouse, and Morris Brown
Colleges decided to send this
announcement to their students
concerning the football game
tomorrow, and the SGA
Presidents of the four schools
agreed to send their fellow
students an appeal for friendship
and good sportsmanship.
We are calling on all students
of Clark, Morehouse, and Morris
Brown Colleges to refrain from
inflammatory speech and con
duct before, during, and after
the football game tomorrow. We
are asking the members of the
two football teams to shake
hands before and after the game
in order to show that they are
competing as friends from sister
schools in the Atlanta University
Center. We are dedicating the
game to Corliss Gammage, a
Spelman senior who was slain
last night by a young man who
was not a Clark student, as it was
rumored initially.
We realize that the
overwhelming majority of the
students in the Atlanta University
Center will conduct themselves
properly in their dealings with
students from other AUC in
stitutions, but we want to
emphasize that immediate steps
will be taken to dismiss any
student who provokes or par
ticipates in violent actions
against students of another AUC
school.
Please do everything in your
power to help us to have
relations which are unmarred by
insult, intimidation, conflict, and
violence and to develop friendly
relations among the students in
our schools.
We need and must have unity
and harmony as a leading center
of black leadership and higher
education.
Elias Blake. Jr.
President
Clark College
Hugh M. Gloster
President
Morehouse College
Calvert FT Umith
President
Morris Brown College
FROM: Morehouse College
Student Government
Association
TO: A.U.C. SGA Presidents
RE: A.U.C. Violence
We, the Men of Morehouse
College, in a sincere effort to
promote harmony and mutual
respect among the institutions of
the Atlanta University Center,
feel that an immediate agree
ment must be reached in orde
to curb the hostilities that exis
amongst the Atlanta Universit'
Center students. We feel that at
agreement is necessary becausi
these hostilities have reached ,
dangerously critical level, an<
have resulted in numerous ver
bal and physical attacks on ou
students.
We find this situation par
ticularly disturbing not onl)
because these attacks are in
jurious to our students, but alsc
because we do not feel that oui
behavior warrants these types o
attacks. Furthermore, we, a*
Black students living in these
crucial times, cannot afforc
disunity. There are enough
forces in the world to hinder us;
we do not need to hinder
ourselves.
Therefore, we would like to
reach an agreement with you,
the Atlanta University Center
schools, whereby we will treat
each other with the respect that
Black brothers and sisters ought
to treat each other with;
whereby, we will treat each
other with the respect that
young, Black leaders of
tomorrow ought to treat each
other with; whereby, we will
treat each other with the respect
that Black men and women
ought to treat each other with,
and together, we can and will
reach our common goal: the
advancement of the Black race.
We, therefore, submit our
proposal for harmonious co
existence in the Atlanta Universi
ty Center to you: let’s stop
fighting our brothers and sisters
and rechannel our energies into
fighting those who oppress us.
d
]
eat
Perform a
h-defvm£ art
1
Have your
ilood pressure checked.
(t)
American Heart Association \|^