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Cosby to Students: Don’t Let Ego Ruin Your Grades
Bill Cosby and Dr. Robert Franklin warmly greet Morehouse junior Llewellyn Dixon during NSO week.
Ron Thomas
Maroon Tiger Adviser
rthomas @ morehouse .edu
O nly one month into the
semester, many strug
gling Morehouse students are
already challenged by a criti
cal decision. Will they seek
help, or will they embrace
risky denial?
“There are certain men
tal gargoyles and they are in
the caverns of your brain in
the ego department,” famed
comedian Bill Cosby said
in a recent phone interview.
“You’re having trouble with
a certain subject or maybe
two subjects, and your ego
gargoyle says, ‘Continue on,
and act like you're not having
a problem. Let everything be
hidden.’
But you know that particu
lar course is a sinking ship,
so you are saying nothing but
you are putting yourself in a
compromising position with
the course.”
Cosby, who joined More
house President Robert M.
Franklin ’75 during NSO’s
“Welcome to the House” cer
emony, encourages struggling
Men of Morehouse to utilize
every form of support avail
able - study groups, consul
tations with professors, cor
rective labs, peer tutors and
professional counselors.
Unfortunately, far too many
of today’s Men of Morehouse
turn away from assistance.
For example, English pro
fessor Delores Stephens,
who has taught at Morehouse
for 46 years, reaches out
to students if she notices a
weakness in their writing or
thinking.
“I will write on their paper,
‘Please come to my office to
see me,’ ” she said. “If I write
that on 30 papers, I might
hear from two.”
Cosby believes that many
students fear their friends
will find out they need help
with coursework.
“Your enemies will make
fun of you for going there,”
Cosby said. “Your friends
will probably embrace you
and welcome you to study
with them.”
He worries that students
who run away from help
eventually will trip and fall
toward failure.
’’You do things within your
comfort zone - smoking
some stuff, chasing girls and
finding company - people
like yourself,” he said. “And
you’re on your way out.”
Ultimately, Cosby believes
a Morehouse student’s will
ingness “to stand up to what
college really and truly de
mands” determines his fate.
He saw his late son, En
nis, steer his future by over
coming dyslexia through
hard work and a concession
to reality. Auditory learning
was difficult for him, so “He
would say to anybody, even
when he was 20, ‘Let me-
write this down because I see
See COSBY, page 7 ►
International Union Seeks to
Unite Sodexo Employees
AUC Career Fair
This Monday
A Sodexo employee fills the plate of Bryan Foushee-Morris.
Nicolas Aziz
Editor-in-Chief
nickbaziz@yahoo.com
Carl N. Ringgold
New Media Director
carlringgold@gmail.com
T he national food service
that operates the cafete
rias within the Atlanta Uni
versity Center will soon be
united under the organiza
tion of a labor union. Sodexo
stands as a giant - one of the
largest food services and fa
cilities management compa
nies in the world.
With nearly 380,000 em
ployees representing 130 na
tionalities, present on 30,600
sites in 80 countries, the com
pany has undoubtedly estab
lished itself as a global pres
ence in its industry. Services
from the billion-dollar com
pany are available in many
sectors; from government
agencies and private corpo
rations to hospitals and, of
course, schools from elemen
tary through university levels.
Despite Sodexo’s large
profits in the past few years,
the company has recently ex
perienced controversy and
built an unfavorable reputa
tion over its alleged mistreat
ment of employees. Several
colleges, including the Uni
versity of Tampere in Finland
and Loyola Marymount Uni
versity in Los Angeles, have
experienced at least nine boy
cotts of Sodexo. The students
at these institutions are pro
testing the company’s alleged
low pay of employees, former
investment in the private pris
on business, and the lack of
local food options.
The Service Employee In
ternational Union (SEIU) is
a labor union representing
nearly 1.8 million workers in
over 100 occupations in the
United States, Canada and
Puerto Rico. Workers from
the various Atlanta area col
leges and universities have
began organizing to possibly
join the SEIU.
Valencia Smith, affection
ately known by Morehouse
students as “Ms. V,” has been
working for Sodexo for five
years. She feels that unioniz
ing will create a better work
environment for those work
ing in Chivers Hall.
“[Unionizing would create]
more respect and more ca
maraderie,” she said. “We’re
fighting for better wages and
better benefits, and we’re tak
ing a stand to correct some
problems that aren’t being
voiced.”
See SODEXO, page 2 ►
Kevin Mallory
Campus News Editor
kevincmallory@gmail.com
M ore than 100 prominent
companies looking to
fill vacancies for internships
and full-time positions will be
represented at the 44th Annu
al Atlanta University Center
(AUC) Career Fair Monday,
Sept. 27.
Students from all majors are
welcome to attend the event
that will be held at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel in downtown
Atlanta from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“Top companies, top em
ployers, and top recruiters are
looking for top talent,” Kel-
lye Blackburn-Eccles said.
Blackburn-Eccles, the career
advisor for non-business ma
jors in Kilgore Hall Room
209, believes it is no surprise
that prospective employers
seek out the skills and talents
of AUC students.
“And where else would
they go but to the AUC to find
the top talent?” she said.
Recruiters and employers
are looking for students that
have particular skill sets that
will help their businesses and
companies continue to grow
and thrive, especially in tough
economic times.
“They’re (recruiters) look
ing for leaders; they’re look
ing for people who can clear
ly articulate and are good
communicators who are in
telligent and able to represent
their companies very well,”
Blackburn-Eccles said.
“Recruiters return to the
AUC year after year because
of the quality of the graduates
from the AUC.”
Blackburn-Eccles man
dates that students who at
tend career fairs dress in strict
business attire. For men, this
includes a dark blue, dark
gray or black suit with a con-
See CAREER, page 2 ►
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