Newspaper Page Text
September 29 - October 5,2010
www.themaroontiger.com
i
8 OPINIONS
Are Men of Morehouse Worthy of Its Reputation?
Anthony Galloway Jr.
Staff Writer
agallowayjr@yahoo.com
N obel Peace Prize recipi
ent and civil rights leader
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Olympic gold med
alist Edwin Moses. Academy
Award-nominated producer,
actor, writer, and film direc
tor Shelton “Spike” Lee. The
first HBCU to produce Rhodes
Scholars; a total of three.
Morehouse is known for
producing some of the stron
gest and most successful Afri
can-American men in history.
Hence the term, Morehouse
Man.
A Morehouse Man is not
your everyday guy; he's sup
posed to stand out from the
rest, and be better than the
best. The prestigious image of
a Morehouse Man is known
to represent one with high in
tellect, a strong commitment
to his community, ambition,
and class.
Whenever it becomes
known that a brother goes to
Morehouse, the expectations
of him raise to an unprece
dented level. People begin to
look at him from a new per
spective because Morehouse
is known to have produced
some of the most excellent
men in America.
As I walk down Brown
Street, however, or sit and ob
serve in front of Jazzman’s,
I am quite disturbed at the
things I see and hear. 1 find
myself worried about the fu
ture of this great institution,
and 1 ask myself this question:
We know Morehouse's reputa
tion precedes its students, but
does it also exceed them?
What I mean is, do the stu
dents that attend Morehouse
currently meet the standards
that our ancestors have set for
us? Sadly, I reply no. Although
there are a few great scholars
who are destined for greatness,
why is this not the majority?
Once upon a time, this
campus was run by the aca
demically superior and the
community oriented. They
took the knowledge and skills
they gained here and applied
them back home, uplifting
their community and their
people. Unfortunately, it ap
pears many students come
to Morehouse to mooch off
of its great reputation; not to
help add to the school's list of
accomplishments, but to get a
golden star on their resume.
The typical response to why
someone chooses to go to col
lege is to get a better job and
make more money. Although
this is important, and the ne
cessity for capital these days
cannot be ignored, why is no
one focused on the bettering of
their minds and the perfecting
of their craft?
It is clear that academ
ics aren't everyone's priority
when you have more More
house brothers on the Friday
and Saturday night buses than
you have being acknowledged
for making the Dean's list.
Something that is supposed
to make Morehouse stand out
from any other HBCU, and
any other school for that mat
ter, is that there is a culture
of class and benevolence that
is nourished. Professors here
don't simply teach the text
books, but they teach life.
Week after week in Crown
Forum, a speaker comes to us
to talk about self and spiritual
awareness. One would expect
to find men of great moral
standard and high ethics to
walk the hallowed grounds of
the ’House.
This too, is far off base.
Never in my life have I wit
nessed such great humiliation
and demoralization of us as
well as of our sisters across
the street. I've heard these
young women referred to
countless times as something
that cannot be published in
this paper, as if it was actually
their names.
It is evident that many More
house students don’t even
respect themselves with the
way some carry on. 1 was all
too appalled when I was told
by an associate that his plans
for the weekend were to "lose
all inhibitions and morals” via
numerous illegal activities.
I simply cannot compre
hend the mindset of some of
the brothers who walk this
campus.
Here at Morehouse we are
supposed to be the "Talented
Tenth"; the gifted few whose
responsibility it is to lift as
we climb. Not only is there no
lifting, but there is very little
climbing. No longer do we
have to blame "the man” for
holding us down, nor do we
have to blame black-on-black
crimes.
It seems that the black man
is capable of staying down all
on his own.
A great fear of mine is that in
10 to 20 years, long after I've
graduated from Morehouse, it
will have a thick smudge of
mediocrity on its image. Even
worse is the fear that I won't
be proud to boast of the school
at which 1 spent my under
graduate years.
It's time for current More
house students to step up
and stand out. We are not
supposed to be the median,
but the anomaly. Soon we’ll
no longer be able to ride the
coattails of those who came
before us; they will have been
worn out. Let’s not just try to
reach the high bar Dr. King
set. but let us rise above and
beyond it.
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.
re- —1965
VDIvS \m\l 5 OF VORtHOUSf; COLLEGE
m slum 3f THE soyymsf .*•»«
UMOtlSm OFTHt NOBEi PEACEfM
$tm k< hadittf A* f ■
tvjoMkmi p&grfw&t (o cmk the }
hchmd vwnmh out tor ptirpm
h mxd out fam m dmwxn m. hk
iW' hi ncrvh hv> %<% mm/'Woty
If & m h k# pm'A (vii
our rnt mm wzd
m m. <** «** *
mm #* w*
rtf.ytfr/i «7< fe#
11TH MOREHOUSE COLLEGE BREAST
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. INTERNATONAL CHAPEL
8:00AM
m
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 2, 2010
REGISTRATION FEE:
$20
(INCLUDES A SHIRT)
Benefiting the American Cancer Society - "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer"
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER CALL:
SANDRA WALKER (404) 215-6200 OR MARY PEAKS (404) 215-2636
genesisonecreative
advancing ministry.
The Mold of Martin
James Williams
Contributing Writer
james.willi@yahoo.com
T here is one name that
is often spoken here at
Morehouse College. You
can expect to hear him men
tioned at least once every
Thursday at Crown Forum
in the eponymous chapel
where you sit. More than 40
years after his death, we still
walk by the most fundamen
tal of his values and seek
any and every opportunity
to embolden his memory.
One could say he is Mother
Morehouse's most cherished
son, for he has become not
only the greatest alumnus of
Morehouse College, but an
American legend.
Martin Luther King Jr. has
served as not only an inspi
ration to the vast majority
of Morehouse students, but
the acute representation of a
great Morehouse Man.
This being so, it should not
be much of a surprise that
here at Morehouse we are
often taught values and prin
ciples to mold us into great
men like him. One common
idea sitting at the bedrock of
Morehouse College's foun
dation is the belief in the pro
duction of great men. It is be
lieved that we. as the future
of not only this great nation
but of the world, descend
upon this distinguished in
stitution in hopes that with
in four years we will come
out better than we came in;
molded into the men that we
and others have come to ex
pect us to be.
But in doing so, let us not
forget the very thing that
made Dr. Martin Luther
King. Jr. great - his individu
ality.
The willingness of my
brothers to do whatever they
are told to fit this idealistic
concept of what a Man of
Morehouse should be, has
become frighteningly more
obvious as 1 have transitioned
from a rebellious freshman,
to an even more rebellious
junior.
Morehouse teaches us that
a Man of Morehouse is to
be a leader in all aspects of
his life. We are to be trail-
blazers; the first to stand up
against injustice and the first
to speak against intolerance.
We are to be individuals.
Yet. here at this great in
stitution. we have instituted
a dress code policy in which
the primary objective is to
project an image of how a
Man of Morehouse is sup
posed to dress and present
himself.
We are told daily by not
just the administration, but
by our own brothers, what to
do. think, and how to behave.
In essence, we have care
fully constructed a common
characteristic of the Man of
Morehouse to be projected to
those who are ignorant to the
institution itself.
But, if to make us alike is
to make us Morehouse Men.
how does that belief fall in
line with our very purpose?
Let us not forget why we
chose Morehouse College.
We came here not to be made
into great men, but greater
men. We were not admit
ted as delusional freshmen
or empty vessels. We had
thoughts, goals, and beliefs
before we came. The very
definition of a Renaissance
Man is a man of enlighten
ment, a man of rebirth.
So if we are being told to
walk a path that has already
been paved, what will sepa
rate our footprints from those
who have traveled the same
road long before us?
Change does not occur by
doing what has already been
done and a Renaissance can
not be achieved by doing
more of the same.
So in praising his name, let
us not be like Dr. King. Let
us be so unlike him that we
are him - an individual with
thoughts, beliefs and plans
for a better future of our own.
Let us uplift his legacy not in
the name of likeness, but in
the name of difference.
As Men of Morehouse, let
us not walk the same path.
Instead, let us walk several
different paths so that on
our own individual roads to
bettering ourselves, we may
meet in the middle of change.
James Williams is a junior
accounting major at More
house College. Originally
from Omaha, Neb., Williams
currently serves as a Resi
dent Advisor for DuBois Hall
and a member of the More
house Business Association.
Recycle The Maroon Tiger