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www.themaroontiger.com
September I - 7,2010
8 OPINIONS
The Mystique
No, Officer, You Cannot Have
My Number
Defined
Anthony Galloway Jr.
Contributing Writer
agallowayjr@yahoo.com
W hat is the Morehouse
Mystique? How do
you describe it? After be
ing here one year. I find that
I have not yet grasped its
meaning. What about Mother
Morehouse? Who is she. what
does she do?
These two entities are the
elusive themes constantly re
ferred to at Morehouse Col
lege. Every year at NSO and
every Thursday at Crown
Forum we are force-fed these
same cliches. Even prospec
tive students are bombarded
with these infamous lines
through brochures, websites,
recruiters, and campus tours.
Sayings like “Mother More
house.” “the Morehouse Mys
tique” and the Howard Thur
man crown quote resonate
strongly through the minds of
students who call “Dear Ole
Morehouse" home. But do we
really understand what these
sayings mean?
1 tend to think of the More
house Mystique as a mysti
cal force that hovers over the
campus and executes her will
over the student body, nurtur
ing them into her perfect sons.
As wonderfully ominous as
that may sound, it only pro
motes a student body that sits
back and watches the magic.
The Mystique gives the il
lusion that the divinity of a
Morehouse Man is every stu
dent's fate here at 830 West-
view Drive, and that we all
will attain our crown one day.
Again, though this may
sound like the prosperity doc
trine of many gospel songs or
the typical theme of most Dis
ney movies, it is not realistic.
It is an unhealthy mindset for
a student to believe that the
Mystique is slowly maturing
him and that Mother More
house is carefully watching
out for her precious sons of
royalty.
Even as students we tend
to speak of Morehouse as a
person, or living being, that
is sitting on a throne with au
thority over us: "Morehouse
won't let you do this. More
house is always doing that.
Morehouse places a crown
over your head.” As we con
tinue to give Morehouse an
identity through personality,
qualities, actions and even a
gender, we continue to lose
sight of the truth.
That truth is that like any
other college campus, the
power of the school lies
within the student body. The
students fund this institution.
It is our money that pays the
salaries of the administra
tors. professors and staff; our
money that allows this place
to operate from day to day.
Morehouse employees work
for the student body.
Beyond the cult-like cer
emonies and the ancestral
worship, this is an academic
institution first. College is
about education; its No. 1
goal should be to successfully
teach the student whatever
knowledge he or she may
seek. A college or university
would not be so if there were
no students there.
It's time for the Morehouse
College student body to real
ize that we wield the power
and dictate what happens to
us and our school. It is time
for the Men of Morehouse
to take back the power from
the Mystique. Understand
that this campus would be a
decaying memorial if it were
not for the students who at
tend and. more importantly,
fund this institution.
To clarify my point. I'm
not saying death to the Mys
tique. Nor am I saying it is
totally nonexistent, rather the
student body is the mystique.
Through our actions on and
off campus, our character, and
the values we uphold, the stu
dents who walk this campus
are responsible for being the
embodiment of this mystical
force.
As paying students we
shouldn't wait for the school
to change, but be the visible
and physical change we w'ant
to see. I believe a Man of
Morehouse steps up and does
what needs to be done, not
wait for the Mystique to do it.
Let's not focus on the myths.
Let us focus on the man.
Anthony Galloway Jr. is
a sophomore at Morehouse
College. Majoring in stu
dio art, Galloway aspires to
become an architect after
graduate school. He currently
serves as the Freshmen Class
Coordinator for the Bonner
Office of Community Service.
Karen A. Bullock
Associate Opinions Editor
xlovealise@gmail.com
6 Thy not? Give me a
VV good reason why I
can’t call you.”
The answer: Apart from the
fact that I hate cops, I find it
weird to exchange numbers
with the guy who checks my
ID at the Morehouse gate ev
ery day.
I was perplexed by his im
propriety. Was I being sexually
harassed or mildly annoyed,
was the question at hand. I kept
my reasoning to myself and re
signed to a much less offensive
shoulder shrug.
He further whined that he
was a man with a job, while
“these Morehouse dudes
around here can’t take you out
and show you a good time.”
My thoughts: Among these
dudes is the doctor my Mom
sent me searching for when
I was a mere eighth-grader
crushing on good-for-nothings.
With the nonchalance that
this man approached me with, I
wondered if this could be clas
sified as sexual harassment,
or simply an uncomfortable
situation in which a man's ego
blinded him to the fact that he
couldn't get my number in that
uniform at that age.
I was a bit confused about
the rules. Should I report him
to a supervisor or merely an
nounce that I wasn’t interested?
Tre'vell Anderson
Opinions Editor
anderson.trevell@yahoo.com
T o develop men with dis
ciplined minds who will
lead lives of leadership and
service. That is the mission
of Morehouse College. The
latter, however.only seems
to be an aspect attributable
to Greek Life, Bonner and
Adams Scholars, and other
scholarship recipients.
Each year entering stu
dents are informed of what
it means to be a Man of
Morehouse or a Morehouse
Vlan during New Student
Orientation (NSO). Ac
cording to President Rob
ert Michael Franklin Jr.,
we are Renaissance Men
with social consciences and
global perspectives. We are
men who are well-dressed,
well-read, well-spoken,
well-traveled and most of
all, well-balanced. During
Welcome to the House, our
institution's seven pillars of
Awareness, Integrity, Truth,
Compassion, Respect, Spiri
tuality, and Academic Ex
cellence are so eloquently
orated to the masses - no
tice, community service is
missing.
When it comes time to in
troduce the Bonner Office of
Community Service (BOCS)
during NSO, maybe 100
reshmen are in attendance
to a supposedly mandatory
assembly. In response to this
poor turnout, Dean of Fresh-
This encounter with an offi
cer hasn't been my only uncom
fortable experience with men
in authority. There’s a security
guard who chose this summer
to confess that I was his favor
ite library patron. “With your
sexy self,” he added.
I’m definitely not the only
woman on either Spelman or
Clark Atlanta’s campus that
has been inappropriately ap
proached. I complained about
this phone number situation
on my Facebook. In turn, I re
ceived many responses from
classmates agreeing that the
officer had gotten fresh with
some of them. While we all
agreed that it was inappropriate
and creepy to have been solic
ited by a member of campus
staff, not one of us suggested
man Alvin Darden attempts
to reiterate the college’s
commitment to service.
He states how community
service was and remains a
cornerstone of Morehouse
College and how it is unac
ceptable for virtually no one
to be in attendance.
But, if service was such an
important part of Morehouse,
when radio personality Mi-
44
chael Baisden came to More
house hosting his One Million
Mentors Tour, why were Men
of Morehouse nowhere to be
found? Furthermore, why is it
that the Boys and Girls Clubs
of Metro Atlanta in still in
need of a thousand Black male
mentors when Morehouse is
right around the comer?
It appears that with almost
3,000 students, Morehouse
has yet to attempt to aid ei
ther cause, but community
service is a cornerstone of
that the officer be reported.
When I told my guy friends
about the situation they sug
gested I ignore it, brush it off.
etc. "Take it as a compliment,”
many suggested.
I tried to explain that there is a
difference between commenting
on a woman's stunning beauty,
and expressing one’s sexual at
traction. It arises an equivalent
amount of discomfort as expos
ing erect genitalia every time
your favorite sexy patron walks
through the doors of the so aptly
nicknamed “Club Woody."
I have found that the only
way to help a man understand
sex-based victimization is if I
told him to imagine an older
gay man hitting on him. They
acquiesce. “Yeah, yeah, I guess
you're right" is their response.
our institution, they say.
Over three-fourths of our
students participate in com
munity service is what the
Morehouse brochure states.
Our students are leaders and
figures of the community is
what is told to parents. The
community we talk tedious
ly about must be the one of
selfish, heartless individu
als that continue to be con
cerned only
about things
that negative
ly affect them.
How small-
minded of you.
Community
service is not
something to
be taken light
ly. It is not and
should not be
used as pun
ishment. Nor
is it a quick,
go-to option
for a resident
advisor's re
quired enrich
ment program. Community
service is not something that
you should be forced to at
tend; neither should you ex
pect a material reward from
doing so. Service is about an
intrinsic versus extrinsic mo
tivation.
To be extrinsically mo
tivated is to ask “What’s
in it for me?” This form of
motivation is the one that
plagues the lives of Men of
Morehouse. We are too often
so concerned with what we
In the spirit of not wanting
a man to lose his job, I told
the supervising officer about
my uncomfortable encounter,
omitting his name. His super
visor didn’t take the matter
lightly, which, I guess, is assur
ance that it is inappropriate for
one of our officers or security
guards or maintenance workers
to go asking for numbers from
male or female students.
It is up to us students to make
administration aware of any
situation where we feel com
promised, disrespected, or
mistreated.
Karen Bullock is a gradu
ating senior of Spelman Col
lege. Majoring in English,
Bullock hopes to further her
literary accomplishments by
can materially gain that we
neglect the initial purpose of
the act in the first place. We
put ourselves on this golden
pedestal. Seemingly try
ing to reach the crown that
Mother Morehouse holds
above our heads, we neglect
that from which we came,
the shoulders upon which
we stand, those who have
not.
It is those who are intrinsi
cally motivated, though, that
make the world go round. It
is that deep down feeling of
gratification and peace that
sustains us, not monetary
compensation. The conver
sations with the homeless in
a soup kitchen, the smile of
a child in need, the tears of
an emotional mother - those
are our rewards.
My brothers, it is time that
we realize our lives are not
our own, nor for our own
pleasure. We live so that we
may help another person live
better. Men of Morehouse
are not only well-balanced,
well-dressed, etc., but Men
of Morehouse are also men
of service.
Tre ’veil Anderson is a
sophomore at Morehouse
College. This year he serves
as the sophomore intern for
the BOCS Bonner Scholars
Program. To become in
volved in community service
activities, visit Ms. Jackie
Dugger in the BOCS on the
fourth floor of the Leader
ship Building or contact An
derson via email.
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becoming a full time writer.
Men of Service, Where are They?
It is those who are intrinsi
cally motivated, though,
that make the world go
round. It is that deep down
feeling of gratification and
peace that sustains us, not
monetary compensation.