Newspaper Page Text
Monday, November 11
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 13
Spelman Sister Sets the Record Straight
To the Editor:
To all of my brothers and
sisters ' of the Atlanta
University Center, I think that
we need to all sit down and
talk about this incident which
has caused dissension
amongst the men and women
of our schools. It wasn't until
this evening that I discovered
just how little we seem to
know about the law and how
little we know about each
other.
In a letter to the Maroon
Tiger , Frederick Draper
addressed the alleged rape,
and I have some strong
objections to some of the
things he said. I agree totally
with your reminder to the
Morehouse administration, as
well as the rest of the world,
"innocent until proven guilty."
However, before you start to
spout off your obviously
limited grasp of the legal
world, I advise you to think.
What you know is only
HEARSAY. You were not in
the room. "From my
understanding . . ." doesn't
amount to a hill of beans in a
court of law. You must give
FACTS! I too have heard many
speculations about that night,
and I admit that I have formed
a bit of my own. I on the other
hand do not decide to air those
opinions that I have, because I
was not privy to the
happenings of that night.
What you also do not seem
to understand is that it is
illegal to have sex with
someone if the person is
drunk. Alcohol impairs
judgement, so even if she
said yes when she was
drunk, she was in no condition
to analyze the situation
rationally. If you are right, and
the young lady was indeed
drunk, then you have only
succeeded in making your
brothers look even more
culpable and yourself - well
you have already made
yourself look silly. Charge that
to the game!
For the men and women
who share Frederick's
opinion, allow me to present
to you an epiphany. Rape,
according to Webster's
dictionary is: sexual
intercourse with a woman by
a man without her consent
and chiefly by force or
deception; unlawful sexual
intercourse... So now that we
have that straight, why is it
that most of the student
population is having such a
hard time in discussing the
issue itself. We talk about the
personalities of the four men
and how the media has
handled the situation. But
why are we so reluctant to
examine what leads to rape?
Is it because we have been
taught that men are just
naturally aggressive and that
if they want sex then they can
have it?
Or is it that we can't
believe the brothers who are
now sitting in jail are capable
of committing such an act of
cowardice? Too many of us
have had some interaction
with one or all four of the
defendants. Would you
want to admit that your
brother was capable of rape?
Of course not. I am NOT
saying that the men are
guilty - in fact I am just
waiting to learn the verdict.
But before we are so quick
to draw sides, can we at
least know what it is that is
dividing us? Even though he
did apologize in the event that
he is wrong, I don't feel that
Frederick truly understands
how callous and archaic his
words sounded. I mean I
could get down just like he did
and say that if those four
young men couldn't hold it in
their pants, then maybe
college isn't the place for them
to be. Or perhaps I could say
that if that four men had to get
one girl drunk in order for
them to get their rocks off, then
that shows just how pitiful
they all are.
I don't want to come off as
overly caustic or hard on my
brothers in jail or in the AUC,
but I do want to leave
everyone thinking about this.
If men were able to respect
women, and their bodies, then
rape wouldn't be a word in our
culture. You all joke all of the
time about ADW(the
mandatory class for freshman
at Spelman), but maybe men
need to take ADW. Perhaps
then they would gain a deeper
respect and appreciation of
women. Believe me, we want
to be your queens, but you
must act as kings.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Hayes
But before we are so quick
to draw sides, can we at least
know what it is that
is dividing us?
Senator Shocked by Procedural Problems
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter on
behalf of a generally passive
student body to express our
disgust with the SGA's blatant
disrespect and irresponsibility
toward their constituency. I
am an active member of the
Senate, a responsibilty I
consider privilege, not a
BIRTHRIGHT. The Senate
process is a ridiculous game.
Communication between the
SGA and the Senate is
virtually nonexistent. Vital
information, as it pertains to
spending and other matters,
has been witheld.
I am ashamed to say that
though I am a representative,
I have no copies of the minutes
from the previous Senate
meetings. The SGA claims
that they are willing to provide
us with the minutes after we
approve the document by
vote. This is done to eliminate
any inconsistencies or errors.
However, if Senate members
do not have individual copies
of these reports, it cannot be
properly reviewed. Therefore,
the current process of having
the minutes approved by one
copy being read aloud to me
like I am some kind of six year-
old is completely
unsatisfactory.
At one of the meetings,
two major appointments were
arbitrarily made for the Junior
and Senior class court justices
by the SGA president, Antonio
Johnson. I am ashamed to say
their appointments were
confirmed by the Senate
without being made aware of
their qualifications. These
candidates were not officially
introduced, nor were they
given a chance to properly
address the Senate.
To add insult to injury,
there is no communication
between the SGA Treasurer
and the Senate Appropriations
Committee Chairperson. So,
while half of the semester has
passed and money has been
carelessly spent, there is still
no documenation to show just
how much money was used.
Morehouse students pay over
$700 in student fees. Proper
accountability is mandatory!
We should have had these
documents a long time ago.
Prior to the conclusion of
a meeting, four senate
representatives stood up to be
acknowledged to express their
concern. The Chair of the
Senate openly ignored them
and adjourned the meeting.
This is an outrage.
These are only a few with OUR finances. I hope the Sincerely,
specific complaints in SGA will be aware that they JBj) ,
comparison to the many are being scrutinized and that /MT u
grievances of the student body, they still have a chance to
The SGA owes it to the student make amends,
body to be honest and open Rasaq "Akim" Balogun