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CAMPUS NEWS
Public Health Events
On Wednesday, December 2, The Department of
Health and Physical Education will host their 3rd
Annual Health and Fitness Fair. Medical practitioners
will be on hand to provide nutritional counseling,
blood/glucose screenings, massages, tuberculosis and
hypertension testing, HIV testing and counseling and
spinal screenings. The fair will take place between
10:00am and 2:00pm in Henderson gym. For more
information call 404-880-8230.
New Course
The English Department will be offering a
journalism course in the spring semester '99. The
course is.not included in the registration book, however.
Interested students should contact Dr. McGrady at
extension 2169 or in his office in room 215 of the English
Department.
Call for Submissions
Submissions are being accepted for The Catalyst,
an annual literary journal published every spring
semester, featuring works by Morehouse students. Cash
prizes will be awarded to the best three works of poetry
and short fiction, respectively, as judged by The Catalyst
staff. The best photograph as judged by the staff wili be
featured on the cover of the journal. Works must be
submitted to Dr. Lutenbacher in room 114 of the English
Department in an envelope with name and contact
information on the envelope, but not on the works,
themselves. The deadline for submissions is December
11.
The Maroon Tiger is looking
for creative, diligent students
who are interested in
contributing to the layout and
art design of the paper. Must
be familiar with Pagemaker
6.5 and Photoshop 5.0.
Interested students should
come by the office in room
112 in the basement of
Archer Hall, or contact us at
(404) 614-6041.
Morehouse professor organizes
literary conference, fulfills dream
By Tash Moseley
General Manager
A conference highlighting
the richness of Caribbean
literature was held last month
in the Bahamas, thanks to the
efforts of Dr. Melvin Rahming.
Rahming, a venerable
twenty-year veteran of the
English and linguistics
department, toiled for over a
year to ensure that the much-
needed conference came into
fruition. He expects it to be an
annual affair henceforth.
"The conference gives me
a chance to bask in my cultural
heritage and spread its
excellence throughout the
world," said Rahming, a
native of Nassau.
Entitled the International
Conference on Caribbean
literature (I.C.C.L.), the
gathering took place
November 4 through 6, and
featured renowned
participants, such as the Vice
of the West Indies, the
Honorable Rex Nettleford;
author Earl Lovelace; and
author Sylvia Wynter.
Rahming, who jointly
organized the conference with
Dr. Jorge Raman-Lagunas of
Purdue University Calumet,
said it is designed to provide
Rahming carries the torch
for Carribean literature.
discussion of Caribbean
literature as a way of
promoting understanding of
the region's culture.
"I wanted the first
conference to take place in the
Bahamas because it is my
home and my connections
there would help facilitate the
organization and
implementation of the
conference," said Rahming.
"The College of the
Bahamas enthusiastically
accepted our invitation to
host the proceedings there."
To represent the rich
cultural diversity of the
Caribbean, the conference
had paper presentations in
English, French, and
Spanish. English professor
Steven Glaze and Spanish
professor Gloria de Cunha-
Giabbai were two scholars
who presented papers. Also
in attendance were English
professors Emily Williams
and Hazel Ervin, both of
whom chaired committees at
the conference.
Rahming also made a
point to invite Morehouse
student participation in the
events.
"I did want to focus
Continued on page 5
Chancellor of the University a P latform for the S lobal
Shaun Spearmon/STAFF
Facts, figures and fatherhood: Obie Clayton speaks
By Lemar Slater
Contributing Writer
Obie Clayton, director of
the Morehouse Research
Institute, shares his views on
the role of African American
fathers.
Among the situations that
cause men to become absent
from their children's lives;
none, save death or
incarceration, are reason for
them to neglect their sacred
role in the institution of
fatherhood. Yet all too often,
men become disenfranchised
by the relationships with their
lovers or spouses and turn
away from the union, without
regard for the welfare of their
offspring.
The Morehouse Research
Institute (MRI), along with the
Institute for American Values,
recently hosted a three-day
conference which addressed
the issues sui rounding the
lack of African American
fathers playing a significant
role in the lives of their
children. Among the scholars
at the gathering were Dr.
William Julius Wilson and Dr.
Glen Loury.
The Maroon Tiger sat
down with Dr. Obie Clayton,
director of MRI, at the conclusion
of the conference, November 6, to
further discuss the Black father/
family quandary.
The Maroon Tiger: Do you
feel the conference was a success?
Obie Clayton: Overall, I
think it was effective.
Basically, what came out of
this conference is that if we
want to strengthen the African
American community, the
major thing is getting jobs.
And they have to be jobs that
will allow a person to sustain
jIvov wen> jj t? u,ri. noiih'hi'.s
a family.
Seventy percent of all
African-American babies were
born to single females.
Economically, what's going to
happen if that rate is kept up?
We've got to work with young
people and somehow stress
family and shared
responsibility. Sex roles have
changed now. So maybe in the
institution of marriage, men
have got to assume more
responsibility too.
Also out of this
conference, came the idea to
Continued on page 5
f i 'Jatilrl H -1 UT'} V j i
Seventy percent of all African-American babies
were bom to single females ... We’ve got to work
with young people and somehow stress family and
shared responsibility.
Obie Clayton
c t i LT} o' j i