Newspaper Page Text
Monday, May 4, 1998
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 7
WORLD AND LOCAL
Black College Spring Break '98: All Hype, Much Gripe
Troy Tieuel/STAFF
(Top) EYES ON THE
PRIZE: The men of
Freaknik enjoyed all
their prized possessions.
(Right) GRINDING TO
A HALT: The crowd
surrounds a couple as
they bump and grind to
the Freaknik festivities.
Troy Tieuel/STAFF
Massey Withdraws Support
for Future Freaknik
Claiming that Black College Spring Break is no longer
for or about Black colleges or their students, President
Massey has said he will no longer be supporting the event
in the future.
In a letter to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week,
Massey wrote: "I am among the presidents of black
colleges who signed a letter welcoming black college
students to Atlanta and admonishing them to behave
respectfully toward one another and thejpitizens of this
"But, after having learned more about the
demographics of the participants, I no longer feel any
special obligation to lend even tacit support to this event."
Massey said his change of heart came about after
talking to Freaknik participants "who cruised and
congregated in the area where me and my wife live." He
said he found that the majority of them were not even
college students, while others hailed from Indiana, Illinos
and New York - "where there are no black colleges."
Thus, to label Black College Spring Break as such "not
only denigrates the proud history and current
contributions of historically black institutions, but also
absolves other colleges' presidents of responsibility for
Saeed Ahmed
Freaknik—
Freak Not!
By Curtis K. L. Johnson Jr.
W&L News Editor
Despite the hype that
Freaknik brought to Atlanta, it
was just that to many students
— hype. The annual gathering
attracted just 50,000 people,
while its neighboring
celebration in Daytona Beach
reportedly pulled in more.
There were two reported
deaths in association with both
the Atlanta and Daytona
Beach Black College Spring
Break. A 29-year-old man was
killed in a shootout with police
after he opened fire on a
crowded street. And another
was reportedly killed in a car
accident en route from the
Atlanta event.
Officials reported that this
year's Freaknik, although
somewhat smoother, was just
as lewd. There were two
reported rapes, and over 400
arrests ranging from loud
music to traffic violation.
Many young women said
they felt unsafe, claiming that
the surplus of men and lack of
women caused men to go
frantic whenever they
approached someone of the
opposite sex. Students also
believe the event is no longer
for them, but are populated
predominantly by local men
and women.
While concerts planned in
the AUC and downtown areas
fell flat, a Job Fair at the
Georgia World Congress
Center was a major success.
"I think things went well
this year," said George
Hawthorne, chairman of the
Black College Spring Break.
He added the city plans
worked just fine.
On a related note, two
members of the state prison
system's riot squad, which was
called to Atlanta to stand by in
case of trouble during
Freaknik, have been forced to
resign because they exposed
themselves to some partyers.
About 11 a.m. on April 18,
six officers were killing time in
their motel room until they
were to go back on duty for the
Saturday night festivities,
when they spotted some
young partyers across the
courtyard.
"We can't get the straight
skinny," Department of
Corrections Commissioner
Wayne Garner said, but
apparently one of the officers
dropped his pants and bent
over to show his bare buttocks.
Garner said the other lifted his
shirt.
Rising Tide:
Blacks Running
forElectedOffice
as Republicans
Continued from page 6
given up her core principles."
"I'm still pro-choice. I'm
still pro-affirmative action.
I'm pro all the things that
mean so much to my
community," she says.
She cites two major
reasons for the increase in the
number of Black Republicans:
"the growth of the Black
middle-class, and the platform
of GOPs lends itself to the
interests of middle class
Blacks."
"As Blacks gain more
wealth, they are trying to
protect that wealth," she says.
Taylor says she was
attracted to the Republican
Party because "they are
working to protect small
businesses, which is in the best
interest of Blacks."
In rural southwestern
Georgia, 28-year-old Dylan
Glenn, former junior White
House aide under President
Bush, is running for a seat in
the House. In Florida, Bill
Randall, the former
Jacksonville-area NAACP
president, will also be a
candidate for Representative.
Other prominent Black
Republicans include Gary
Franks of Connecticut; J. C.
Watts Jr. of Oklahoma; and
Faye Anderson.
Franks and Watts were the
only Black GOPs to win a seat
in the House in 1994. After the
1996 elections, only Watts
remained.
Faye Anderson, president
of the Douglass Policy
Institute, a non-partisan public
policy education and research
organization, is also executive
director of the Council of 100,
a national network of African
American Republicans.
In an editorial in the
February 10, 1997 issue of the
Washington Post, Anderson
wrote that in efforts to
"maintain hegemony over
African American voters while
offering no new ideas or
agenda to promote their safe
passage over the vaunted
bridge to the 21st century,
Democrats sought to scare
black voters to the polls by
demonizing Republicans."
Despite the increase in
Black GOPs, the Democratic
Party still receives the majority
of the Black vote.
Furthermore, there remains
much criticism of the
Republican Party from the
Black community.
Dr. Abraham Davis,
professor of Political Science
and faculty member of the
Board of Trustees at
Morehouse, attributed the
increase in Black Republicans
to a "lack of understanding on
the part of Black Americans
having an inaccurate picture of
the history of the Republican
party."
"Republicans have done
a disservice to Blacks, and so
have Democrats in some
respects," he says. "But in the
last half of this century,
Republicans have not had the
best interests of Blacks in their
actions."
"What are these Black
conservatives trying to
conserve?" Davis adds. "We
need Blacks who will push for
a policy for change in the
status quo."
Taylor argues that both
parties have generally been
apathetic towards Blacks.
"Democrats take us for
granted and Republicans
forget we exist," she says.
However, the Secretary of
State of Georgia candidate also
contends that "the GOP
provides practical solutions to
the problems facing the Black
community."
For related informaton on
Georgia Republicans, visit:
httpd/www.gagop. org
