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2 Leaders of Tomorrow! OCTOBER 1998 MBC Wolverine OBSERVER
EDITORIALS
An Open Letter to the Morris
Brown Campus Community
A Matter
of Safety
Well, here we are beginning
a new semester with new
students and new ideas and
concerns. But some concerns
that I’ve heard are the same
ones from previous semes
ters. So I felt the need to dis
cuss one issue that’s been
beating at my heart for some
time - that issue is the De
partment of Public Safety.
First of all, I think it’s im
portant to say that yes, the
officers of Public Safety (at
least the gun totein’ ones) are
bon-a-fide, true, certified
Georgia Police Officers (or so
I was told). Armed with the
ability to do little things like
give traffic tickets for speed
ing or parking tickets for
where we shouldn’t be parked
(and we do want to know
where we CAN park?). But
the biggest misconception
about the Public safety Offi
cers is that they’re fake,
wanna-be cops who can’t do
anything. Let me be the one
to tell you all out there who
believe this myth, YOU CAN
BE ARRESTED BY PUBLIC
SAFETY OFFICERS!! Now
that I’ve gotten that out the
way...
Let’s move on to what this
article is really about. Let’s
talk about the fact that I, as
well as other students, don’t
feel safe! Let’s talk about the
fact that some Public Safety
Officers walk around with a
chip on their shoulder - wait
ing on some poor soul to
screw up before they pounce
on them like a fierce lion.
Yes let’s talk about these
things.
See, I’ve got just a few
items to touch on so the
masses can know how at least
one student feels about Pub
lic Safety (and perhaps many
other students feel the same
way). My first item I would
like to touch on is the fact
that Public Safety Officers
seem to refrain from doing
paper work. I know you’re
probably wondering where
I’m going with this and I will
explain. See, there have been
times that Public Safety has
been notified about incidents
that occurred in the dorms
(excuse me, Residence Halls)
and they allowed the infrac
tion to just go by. Meaning ,
no one went to jail, no report
was written, nothing! Just a
hello and goodbye. There
have been some incidents
concerning weapons and it
took a group of students to
actually go to the office of
Public Safety and make them
send an officer to the scene.
Is this really how it should
be?
My second item on the
agenda is the poor response
time of Public Safety. Ok,
granted, if someone is shot in
the head and is bleeding to
death, I’m sure Public Safety
will be there in no time flat.
But is that what it takes for
them to feel the urgency to
get to a problem? For exam
ple, there was an incident in
volving narcotics in one of our
residence halls and it took
Public Safety approximately
35 minutes to arrive on the
scene - they were busy lock
ing the gym. LOCKING THE
GYM!! Where are the priori
ties! They’re making the dif
ficulty level of locking the
gym equivalent to that of
rocket science! It doesn’t take
a genius to lock a door (or
does it?). The reason given for
the poor response time was
there is only one officer on
duty. Ok - then why did we
see not one officer, but TWO
in the car when they finally
arrived! And why, why did I
see another officer hop in his
vehicle and take off to do
something else!? Does it
really take two officers to lock
the GYM! Come on, how
many officers does it take to
screw in a light bulb (or to
really lock the gym for that
matter!)?
I’m not done yet. My last
point is the lack of responsi
bility from the officers. Yes,
it’s a fight. Yes it needs to be
broken up. But does it take
pepper spray to rid a crowd!
Isn’t that a violation of some
code in some manual that
they should’ve read before
becoming police officers, or
am I the only one who feels
this way?
Some of you are probably
going to be dumb-founded
and not understand anything
that I’m talking about in this
article. Some of you will know
exactly what I’m talking
about and will be able to un
derstand where I’m coming
from. But the reason of this
article is not to Completely
bash Public Safety, just let
them and other people know
how some of us feel about
them. I don’t think that they
suck (although some will say
they do), but they can use a
little work. Maybe we can
hire some officers who care.
Or maybe we can re-train the
ones we already have to do
the things they are required
to do,
Tune in next month when I
discuss my topic...
the CAFETERIA!!
Anonymous!!
(Y’all ain’t killin’ me!)
Benton
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
There have been rumors that
she was one of the founding
members of the college and
when we reminisce about her
life, she was definitely some
one whose life was charac
teristic of our motto - To God
and Truth.
The Wolverine Observer
Staff is sorry to say that this
illustrious persona, the divine
Miss Vera Benton, passed
away on the morning of Octo
ber 22, 1998. She will surely
be missed in our college, in
our hallways, in our class
rooms, in our hearts, and in
our lives. Now we will start
at her beginning and follow
along the life of one of Morris
Brown’s finest.
Miss Vera L. Benton was
the youngest of two children
born to Willie Leroy Benton
and Sallie R. Benton on April
21, 1926, in Covington, Geor
gia. Her early education was
completed at the Washington
Street School in Newton
County. She received a Bach
elor of Arts Degree in English
from Morris Brown College in
1946. She later received the
Master of Arts Degree in
Big Bethel’s
’Heaven Bound*
Tradition Kicks
Off Holiday
Performances
Friday, November
13 th or Saturday,
November 14 th at
7:30 p.m.
t is a fitting pre-cursor
to the holiday season -
the traditional perform
ance of ‘Heaven Bound’ by
English Language and Lit
erature from the University
of Michigan. Advanced
studies were done at the Uni
versity of Southern Califor
nia, Indiana University, and
Wesleyan University in Mid
dletown, Connecticut. She
was the recipient of fellow
ships from the Guggenheim
and Rockefeller Foundations.
She began her teaching ca
reer at Social Circle High
School in Social Circle, Geor
gia. Two years later, in 1948,
she began her tenure at Mor
ris Brown College. Her in
struction included courses
from freshman English to
Advanced Composition and
Modern English Grammar.
Among her favorite offerings
were courses in Shakespeare
and 18 th Century Literature.
She fed thousands of hungry
souls with the beauty and
wisdom of great literature.
Miss Benton was active in
academia beyond the class
room. She was a member of
the editorial committee for
the publication Morris Brown
College: The First Hundred
Years. She served as aca
demic coordinator for the
TRIO Programs, then as con
sultant of TRIO Challenger
until her illness prevented
her participation in 1998.
Miss Benton’s church ac
tivities began at an early age,
at Saint Paul A.M.E. Church
in Covington, Georgia, where
she served in executive ca
pacities in local and district
lay organizations. Her influ
ence was felt through her ser
vice as a delegate to the gen
eral conference, as a work
shop presenter, and as a
chairperson of the Commis
sion on Christian Education.
She was a steward, a Sunday
school teacher, and a member
of the Women’s Missionary
Society.
Many recognized Miss Ben
ton for her service: She re
ceived the Sears Roebuck
Teacher of the Year Award,
the Outstanding Service
Award from Morris Brown
College, a Citation of Merit
from the National Alumni
Association, An Outstanding
Service Award from the
South Eastern Regional As
sociation for Social Program
Personnel. She was active in
the community with the
Phyllis Whitely YWCA and
the NAACP.
The Morris Brown College Wolverine OBSERVER
is Published Monthly by Morris Brown College, 643 Martin L. King Jr.
Dr., NW, Atlanta, GA 30314-4140 (404) 220-0308 - (404) 220-0312. All
contents are Copyright 1998, Morris Brown College Wolverine OB
SERVER. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed by editors and
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the combined choirs and
members of Atlanta’s Big
Bethel African Methodist
Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church.
The sacred play, which fea
tures spirituals and hymns,
portrays 24 pilgrims striving
to enter the gates of the
Promised Land. Who will
enter? Who will Satan chase
into the fiery pit? You must
see this historic performance
to find out!
To purchase tickets call the
Big Bethel Credit Union at
404-827-9715. Adults $10,
Children (5-11) $4, Students
with ID $5. Call the credit
union for information about
‘Heaven Bound’ group rates.
Model
UN Team
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
MODEL UN team
By Karon A. Daniel
OFFICE OF COLLEGE RELATIONS
ATLANTA - Three Morris
Brown College students and
their advisor stood before
members of the Atlanta City
Council and the Atlanta com
munity on October 19 th as
City Council President Robb
Pitts and Councilman Der
rick Boazman presented
them with the Special
Achievement Award for rep
resenting the City of Atlanta
in international competition
during the Flame of Human
Rights: Second International
Conference of the Model
United Nations (UN).
The Morris Brown College
Model UN Team successfully
defended its First Best Dele
gation title during the compe
tition, which took place in
Spain, September 6-13, thou
sands of miles from Morris
Brown in Atlanta, Georgia,
where Bruno Filipe, Pelagio
Filipe and Frederick Korley
attend college. The team’s
first international win came
fall 1997 when they won the
Best Delegation Award dur
ing the Cambridge Interna
tional Model UN Competition
held in England.
Councilman Boazman, a
Morris Brown Alumnus from
the Class of 1990, commend
ed the students for repre
senting the City of Atlanta in
international competition and
serving as ambassadors for
the city.
The students were the
only African-American dele
gation, the only students
from a Historically Black
College or University, and
the only American delegation
fo compete.
“We felt tremendous pres
sure to do well after our win
last year. We didn’t want to
let the Morris Brown College
administration down after
they invested so much in get
ting us to competition,” said
Bruno Filipe.
The team already is setting
its sights on a win in Cam
bridge, England in March
1999, where Harvard Univer
sity is anxious to take on
Morris Brown.