Newspaper Page Text
Monday, October 14
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 3
Town Meeting: Many Questions, Few Answers
By Okorie A. Johnson
Staff Writer
The Morehouse student
body entered King Chapel at
7:30 p.m. October 7 to seek
answers to the tragedy that has
befallen the AUC
communities. Instead of
Morehouse has
not and will not
turn its back on
these brothers.
providing answers, questions
were deflected and dodged in
the name of discretion,
confidentiality and diplomacy.
SGA President Antonio
Johnson chronicled the
happenings of this matter
since Thursday, October 4,
illuminating important details.
These included the time of the
judicial board meeting in
relation to the arrest of
Herman Banks, Dadon Dodd,
Darren Marshall and Tony
Clark. Johnson highlighted
the drastic age difference
between the alleged
perpetrators and the victim of
the crime. Johnson balanced
his assertion that "Morehouse
has not, [and] will not turn its
back on these brothers. We
must put ourselves in
everyone's shoes."
Johnson then outlined a
best-case scenario in which the
students were not rapists, but
were nevertheless guilty of
taking advantage of the
Spelman freshman, and
breaking the ambiguous
school policy of decent
behavior. Upon closing,
Johnson affirmed that though
he did not agree with the
arbitrary nature of the
decision, he supported the
justness and the
appropriateness of the
suspension.
Vice Provost of Student
Affairs, Ed Gaffney defended
the actions of the
administration, arguing that
their measures have "... only
put a positive spin on the
matter." Gaffney then
reassured the student body
that the Morehouse greater
community was invested in
this struggle, particularly in
the legal contributions of four
lawyers who are Morehouse
alumni.
A flyer, implicating the
alleged rape as the fault of the
respective victim, because of
her short skirt, alarmed
Gaffney and left him
concerned that if the media got
hold of such a document they
would create an image that
"Morehouse Men support
rape," which would ultimately
hurt the community at large.
Provost and Senior Vice
President of Academic Affairs,
Dr. John Hopps reported that
the four students were
"standing strong and standing
tough," while being held at the
Fulton County Detention
Center. Hopps stated that they
have nothing in their record
that would make Morehouse
view them as criminals. He
then attempted to use the
manner in which the students
were arrested as an example to
remind them that in America
"You are still just another black
man."
During the question and
answer period, Senior Abdul
Karim Boyd asked about the
consistency of the indecency
policy, its consequences and its
equal application to students,
organizations and faculty -
highlighting Dr. Lawrence
Carter's Sunday morning
remarks as an adequate
example for dismissal.
Senior Earl Adams
followed with a precise
question about what behavior
the policy states as prohibited
or illegal, admitting that he
could not follow the rules if he
did not know what they
entailed. "Treat it like your
parents home," responded
Vice Provost Gaffney.
Khari Shiver/Staff
Provost John Hopps faces tough questions at meeting
Honors Program Hosts Activist Dick Gregory
By Louis Clotman
Campus News Editor
Comedian and political
activist Dick Gregory recently
visited Morehouse College for
the Honors Program's "No
Rhetoric Allowed" Speaker
Series. Gregory spoke to a
standing-room-only audience
on Tuesday, October 8 in Sale
Hall Chapel.
Gregory attracted national
attention after launching a
hunger fast and continuous
prayer vigil to protest what he
considers to be the anti-Black
agenda of the Central
Intelligence Agency. "The fast
will continue until the CIA is
complete destroyed," he says.
Gregory maintains similar
sentiments for the Drug
Enforcement Agency. He is
currently awaiting trial for
protests that he and Rev.
Joseph Lowery led in front of
the DEA building. Dick
Gregory's autobiography,
Nigger, has over 4.5 million
copies sold.
The Honors Program's
"No Rhetoric Allowed"
Speaker Series is the creation
of former Honors Program
President Justin Jones.
Combining forums and letters
with student dialogue, the
Speaker Series examines
important
issues of the
black
intellectual
community
and has
hosted
notable
speakers
such as poet
and activist
Nikki
Giovanni
and Cornel
West.
"The
series is
meant to
explore, in
a n
intellectual
manner, the
issues,
concerns,
struggles and
history of
Black folk in
America and
throughout
the Diaspora," explains
Honors Program President
Obinna Eze Lewis. Rahsan
Stewart, Corresponding
Secretary of the Honors
Program Club, adds, "This
forum offers a unique
opportunity for students to
interact with prominent
faculty, academician, authors
and renowned thinkers of
contemporary Black
America."
Under the direction of Dr.
Jocelyn Jackson, the Honors
Program is a four-year
program of special learning
opportunities for students
who demonstrate intellectual
excellence, high motivation
and broad interests at
Morehouse. It has produced
Morehouse's first Rhodes
Scholar, Nima Warfield. The
Honors Program is actively
involved in the National
Association of African
American Honors Program,
the Southern Regional Honors
Council and the National
Collegiate Honors Council.
Courtesy Honors Program
Comedian Dick Gregory is protesting the
CIA’s anti-black agenda.
The series is meant to explore, in an
intellectual manner, the issues,
concerns, struggles and history of
black folk in America.