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The Organ of Student Expression Since 1925 ta MAROO Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA February 1 - 7, 2012 Volume LXXXVI, issue 14 President Robert M. Franklin to Step Down at Lance Dixon Managing Editor ldixon2012ijsgmail.com A t about 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30, press releases sur faced stating that More house’s tenth president, Dr. Robert M. Franklin, would step down from his current position at the end of his contract’s five-year term, June 30 of this year. Franklin will take a sabbatical as a scholar in residence at Stanford University’s Martin Lu ther King Jr. Institute. Franklin was granted the esteemed titles of Presi dent Emeritus and Distinguished Scholar by the school’s Board of Trustees. Following the breaking of this news, Morehouse began to dis seminate further information. At 6:42 p.m. a mass email was sent to the student body containing a letter from Franklin further articulating and clarifying the decision and the steps ahead. “While the leadership of the Col lege is changing, its mission is re maining the same,” Franklin stated in the letter. “Morehouse will con tinue its nearly 150-year track re cord of excellence in educating African American men - bright, dedicated and motivated students, like you, who have made my presi- Term’s End dency of Morehouse the highlight of my career.” The letter and press release indi cate that the preliminary work of searching for a successor has begun and Franklin will remain in his cur rent position as late as December 31 of this year if necessary, but no fur ther. Franklin leaves a tenure that included a rebranding of the school through the inception of the “Renais sance Men with a Social Conscience and Global Perspective” and through his “Five Wells” initiative. The presi dent also raised alumni giving from 17 to 36 percent, kept accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2009, gen erated $60 million in federal grants and launched a capital campaign which raised $33 million during its quiet phase. A Town Hall meeting, which was exclusively for students, faculty, staff and alumni of the college, was held on Tuesday. The meeting further ar ticulated the emotional appeal from Franklin to students, as evidenced in the final words of his letter to stu dents. “I thank each of you for your out standing scholarship, leadership and service. Keep up the good work so that one day soon I will meet you again as fellow alumni of our Dear Old Morehouse,” Franklin stated. SUSTAINABILITY CORNER: RECYCLEMANIA President Franklin Holds Town Hall for Morehouse Community Malcolm Tyler Associate Sports Editor maxtyler.tyler2@gmail.com D r. Robert Michael Franklin, President of Morehouse Col lege, held a town hall meeting Tues day night in King Chapel to discuss his coming departure from More house College. The meeting was open only to current Morehouse students, alum ni, and parents. President Franklin addressed the audience with a tone unfamiliar to the student body. He spoke softly but confidently. “This was my decision. Not someone else’s,” President Franklin said. “I was not forced out. I said to the board this is what I want. I have peace about this.” President Franklin came to Morehouse from the classroom as a teacher, an educator, working di rectly in the lives of young men and women. He expressed how after finishing his book, “Crisis in the Village,” in 2007, he joined the search for the next president and was privileged enough to be selected. “But I miss that work,” Franklin explained. “I miss my love and my first calling.” Franklin feels as though he has accomplished what the board asked him to do. Now he moves on to a new opportunity and a new adven ture at Stanford University where he will teach and become more directly See PRESIDENT, page 3 ► Jordon Nesmith Associate Campus News Editor jnesmithl7@gmail.com F ebruary 4 will mark the begin ning of what has become a new and exciting annual event in the Morehouse community. The Re- cyclemania bug is catching and I hope everyone will catch it. Recyclemania is an 8-week long competition between over 500 col leges and universities in North America and Canada to see which ''schools can collect the most re cycled waste. Among participat ing schools are not only the AUC’s own Morehouse College, Clark At lanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Interdenominational Theo logical Center, but also Agnes Scott College and Emory University. Recyclemania is a friendly com petition that will gauge More house’s recycled paper, bottles and cans, cardboard, composted food and e-waste. Acceptable electronic or e-waste include hand held de vices, consumer electronics, power cords, chargers, computers, print ers and other peripherals and an cillary equipment. Recyclemania is a fun and friendly competition meant to pro mote recycling among students and faculty, bring awareness to campus sustainable efforts and address en vironmental issues in a light and positive way. The winning school will be the recipient of not only a trophy made from recycled materi al, but also bragging rights as being a sustainable institution. This is an important opportu nity for Morehouse to showcase itself as an environmentally-con- scious institution. Sustainabil ity and green issues are scarcely geared toward the Black commu nity or individuals of lower socio economic standing despite a pre disposition within these groups to stretch and reuse resources. It is important that the AUC take part in the movement and set an ex ample for the surrounding com munities to promote the issue. I challenge the Men of More house to collect as much recycling as possible for the event. It is para mount that we make sure not to contaminate the on campus recy cling bins with food soiled prod ucts (pizza boxes) or other non- recyclables. The Recyclemania kick-off event will be held on Saturday in the parking lot of Spelman’s Milligan building at the corner of Lee Street and Westview Drive, directly across from the Leadership Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Present at the event will be EPA officials, repre sentatives from the Atlanta Mayor’s office, the Black Chamber of Con gress, Atlanta Interfaith Broadcast ers, community business leaders, local vendors and sponsors. JAZZ 91.9 WLCK will be broadcasting the event live and there will be food and games. Recyclables and e-waste will be collected on site and dis tributed among the AUC schools. I encourage everyone to come out, have fun recycling and as always, THINK GREEN! inside track News 1 World & Local 4 Business & Tech 5 Features 6 Opinions 8 A&E 10 Sports. .12 President Franklin coverage p. 2 From Crack House to Morehouse p. 6 What Ruins a Community p. 8 MHHP on the web tip www.themaroontiger.com www.twitter.com/themaroontiger ^ a Recycle The Maroon Tiger A