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The Organ of Student Expression
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VOL. 71, NO. 2
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE; ATLANTA,GEORGIA
Thursday, September 17, 1998
IN CAMPUS NEWS
An initiative to reduce teacher
course load is slowly taking
effect at Morehouse.
Page 3
IN FEATURES
A former editor in chief
reflects on his enlightening trip
to Israel and Poland.
Page 5
IN SPORTS
Will they do it? The
Morehouse tennis team is
going for their sixth
consecutive SIAC title.
Page 8
Hundreds at March vow to combat ills
By Alavini Lata
Staff Writer
It's Labor Day in Atlanta,
and the weather is in the high
90's as hundreds gather on
historic Auburn Avenue to
rally against drugs, violence,
police brutality, and economic
and social depression.
Master of ceremonies
Prince D'Jour, host of BET's
Youth Summit, pumps the
ralliers up as the crowd of
youths, parents and
community leaders sings "We
shall overcome."
This cross-generational
congregation in the cradle of
the nation's civil rights
movement capped a four-day
gathering on September 7 led
by a group of young, little-
known activists.
Known as the Million
Youth Movement, the event
captured the endorsement of
an unusual mix of Black-
interest groups, including the
NAACP and the Nation of
Islam.
More
importantly,
the Atlanta
gathering
was
unmarred
by the
kind of
violence
that ended
a similar
event in
New York
City two
days
earlier.
Both
events
failed to
attract the
one
million
youths that were anticipated.
"We know there are a lot
of people who wanted to come
but couldn't," said Ati
Cashmere-Muhammed, the
Movement's
president.
Muhammed,
a member
of the
Nation of
Islam, said
the fact that
two
marches
took place
in one
weekend,
"shows
that young
people can
work
together
despite
their
ideological
differences."
Among
the guest speakers and
presenters at the Atlanta rally
were the Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Cedric Dark/STAFF
(Left): Nationalism on display at the weekend rally that
capped the Million Youth Movement events. (Above):
Activists hand out informational pamphlets on police
brutality at the rally site.
and Kweisi Mfume, president
of the NAACP. Other events
that took place during this
three-day gathering included a
series of workshops held at
Morehouse College, a hip-hop
party, and a worship service.
Youths traveled from
places as far away as Boston,
Continued on page 3
See Related Story Page 2
Fourth time's the charm?
Shaun Spearmon/STAFF
Freshman quarterback Derek Howard receives a dose of
encouragement during the Maroon Tigers' disappointing
home debut loss against Lane College, September 5.
Morehouse is 0-3 this season with two losses already in
conference play. Saturday, the Maroon Tigers lost to Miles
College, 28-15, and with their next game against Albany
State, which has beat the team the last 2 years, another
win seems unlikely.
HOMECOMING '98
Director's resignation derails plans
By Faraji Whalen
Staff Writer
With a second resignation
barely a month into the
semester, the Student
Government Association
appears to be barreling
headfirst into a year of political
chaos.
Chief of staff and
homecoming director, Scott
Davis, resigned August 27,
leaving a huge dent in the
homecoming plans. His
departure comes a week after
the resignation of president
pro tempore Ike Ummanah.
In a letter to SGA
President Chris Jones, Davis
attributed his decision to "a
critical breakdown in
communication and
organizational skills."
Davis accused Jones of
excluding him from
homecoming planning
meetings, ignoring his calls
and pages, and effectively
blackballing him from
involvement in planning the
event.
"It was more like being in
the Masons than in the SGA,"
said Davis. "I'm surprised
they didn't have a secret anti-
Scott handshake."
Davis said this forced
isolation led to his decision.
"I couldn't work with
children in a childlike
atmosphere. Chris' actions
were highly unprofessional
and inappropriate," he said.
Jones disagreed with
Davis' contention.
"There was
miscommunication, certainly,
but there was no intentional
attempt to somehow isolate
Scott," he said. "He's a great
guy and we're going to miss
his expertise."
Davis claimed that the
catalyst for the fallout was his
reluctance to approve Jones'
choice for homecoming
promoter — a former
Morehouse student, and Jones'
personal friend.
According to Davis, the
promoter did not pass a
background check given by
Morehouse's legal
department, and his refusal to
endorse the candidate led to
his alienation.
Continued on page 3