Newspaper Page Text
The Organ of Student Expression Since 1925
The
MAROOIh
1GER
Morehouse Students Petition Obama for Commencement
Kevin Mallory
Campus News Editor
kevincmallory @gmail .com
A fter a couple of years of
unsuccessfully attempt
ing to have President Barack
Obama speak at the More
house College Commence
ment Ceremony, Carl Ring-
gold and other students are
taking a different approach
toward bringing him here.
Ringgold, a senior sociol
ogy major, is spearheading
“The Obama Letter Cam
paign” for Morehouse stu
dents to petition the president
to come speak at graduation
on May 15, 2011. The ini
tiative has already been ap
proved by The Office of Stu
dent Services.
Seniors are encouraged to
write letters addressed to the
president asking him to speak
at Morehouse, which was one
of the first colleges or univer
sities in the country to have
an Obama support team dur
ing the president’s historic
2008 campaign.
The Maroon Tiger Editor-
in-Chief Nicolas Aziz will
write a letter on behalf of
the student body, and Gerren
Gaynor, Managing Editor of
The Maroon Tiger, will write
a letter representing More
house’s student organizations.
“We want to take it to an
other level,” Ringgold said.
“We are really trying to get
him.”
Aziz’s letter will feature
signatures from the student
body while Gaynor’s will
have the signatures of the
leaders of the various More
house organizations. The
plan is to have the petitions
and letters delivered to the
White House by Christmas.
“Imagine waking up Christ
mas morning in the White
House and under your tree you
find a basket with hundreds of
handwritten letters, all with
the famous Morehouse seal in
the comer,” Ringgold said.
“You start reading those let
ters and you hear how revered
you are by the senior class.
You read a letter from the Ed-
itor-in-Chief of our newspa
per and you see the thousands
of signatures from students in
their respective classes
President Barack Obama gives the 2009 commencement address at Arizona State University.
“You read another letter
from the Managing Editor and
you see more signatures with
the SGA President or MBA
President beside the name.”
However, Ringgold and
other students realize that or
ganizations and titles simply
will not be enough.
“We need numbers more
than we need titles,” Ring-
gold said.
The Morehouse College
administration has asked
Obama multiple times to
speak at commencement
QJ
crv
over the past few years, in
cluding this past summer
when he was officially invit
ed by President Franklin.
Many students were an
gered by the fact that while
Obama has not spoken at
Morehouse, he did manage
to give a commencement ad
dress at Hampton University
last May. Hampton was the
first, and remains the only
HBCU where Obama deliv
ered a commencement ad
dress.
Regardless of those facts,
Morehouse College and its
student body is still push
ing hard to get the president
here to deliver words to the
class of 2011.
“Obama is the ideal candi
date to speak at Morehouse’s
commencement,” senior Eng
lish major Rod Taggart said.
“He exemplifies what the col
lege envisions in the Renais
sance Man.
“Obama has defied the
odds, garnered success, en
dured much scrutiny, and
made history, all while
keeping his composure. To
have Obama speak at our
commencement would fur
ther inspire the next wave
of progressive politicians
and legislators.”
‘ Senior Mario Stephens sees
a common thread between
See OBAMA, page 2 ►
Second Alternative Spring Break in Haiti to Be
Available to Students for Continued Relief Service
Morehouse students are pictured in Haiti as part of the relief effort after the January earthquake in
the country. Jacques Pape (far left), a native of Haiti, has been involved with continuing trips to Haiti’s
Port-Au-Prince region.
Carl Ringgold
New Media Director
cariringgold@gjnaU.coin
A fter Haiti was rocked on
Jan. 12, 2010, many in
ternational organizations and
non-profits alike have do
nated supplies, humanitarian
assistance, and other valu
able resources. Morehouse
College has also taken part in
this relief effort by establish
ing the Morehouse College
Haitian Relief Effort, an ef
fort led by student coordina
tor Jacques E. Pape and fac
ulty advisor Gwen Wade, the
Director of the Morehouse
College Study Abroad pro
gram.
During spring break, many
students spend their time on
beautiful beaches tanning,
riding jet skis, and indulg
ing in other leisure activities.
A small group of Morehouse
students however, spent this
past spring break in Haiti
where they used most of their
time giving out food, water,
and clothing to people still
devastated by the effects of
the January earthquake.
Seniors Jacques Pape and
Ezekiel Phillips led the
group that visited Haiti as
American volunteers in the
relief efforts. For Pape, a
Haitian native, this trip was
a chance for more people to
witness firsthand what the
conditions were like in the
region
“When everything hap
pened. 1 was the only stu
dent in the AUC who went
to Haiti.” Pape said. “Yet one
voice was only so strong. By
bringing Morehouse students
to Haiti, they serve as ambas
sadors for not just Morehouse
and the AUC but the U.S. in
general because not many
Americans have been able to
go down there.”
For the first few days the
group provided food water and
clothes for people throughout
the Port-Au-Prince region. In
one day they laid the founda
tion for 150 homes in a small
Port-Au-Prince province that
hadn't been touched by any
international organization up
to that point.
As the demand for interna
tional assistance remains at an
all time high, seniors Jacques
Pape, Ezekiel Phillips and
Isaiah Scott have begun to
mobilize students, faculty,
and staff members across the
AUC to take part in the 2011
alternative Spring break in
Haiti. While these efforts are
still in the initial planning
phases, the organizers are ask
ing for the help and support of
the AUC community. In the
months and weeks leading up
to the trip, supplies (i.e. medi
cal, scholastic, and toiletries)
will be collected and brought
to those in need by the par
ticipants. Monetary donations
are still greatly appreciated
and can be submitted at any
time to the Morehouse Hai
tian Relief Fund.
If you would like to learn
more about this initiative,
feel free to contact any of
the student organizers at
mc.haitianreliefeffort@gmail.
com.
inside track
News 1 World & Local 3 Business & Tech 4 Features 6 Opinions.
• / A&E 10 Sports 11
Degrees that aren’t worth the money p. 4
The Black Identity p. 8
N.E.R.D. album review p. 10
A'
on the web
www. the m ar oo n t i gerxo m
www.twitter.com/themaroontiger
Recycle The Maroon Tiger
friday