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Homecoming Hype Brings Havoc
By Sabrina Bradford
The crowd from one of the parties
following the 1990 Morehouse
Homecoming game, was too hype to
handle risking physical safety, causing
monetary damage and requiring the
assistance of Atlanta police helicopters.
The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,
Inc., Eta Kappa chapter, of Spelman
College, felt somewhat obligated to
give another party since during the
Howard game weekend the huge
turnout kept many people who bought
tickets out of "Ready or Not" at the
Colony Square Hotel.
To ensure that all interested
persons could be admitted, the co
social chairpersons of the sorority had
to find a place large enough to house
everyone.
Kirsten Charles, co-social chair,
said they chose the Lakewood
Amphitheatre because they knew its
holding capacity was large; therefore,
no partygoers would be turned away.
Everything was set for "Full
House"~the location was good, the
publicity was great, and the building
was perfect-or so everyone thought.
What could possibly go wrong in a
warehouse?
Everything imaginable could and
did.
There were three methods of entry
at the party. The first was by paying
the admission price of $5 or $7,
depending upon whether you arrived
By Carla Cherry
Far the past several years, African
medallions, t-shirts featuring Black
power slogans and pictures of famous
African-American leaders, and books
about African and African-American
history have become very popular
among African-Americans of all ages.
There has also been some discussion
about Afiocentricity, a phrase coined
by Dr. Molefi Asante.
Spelman was fortunate enough to
have Dr. Asante speak at a forum
about Afrocentricity on Thursday, Nov.
1, 1990. The program was sponsored
by the Living-Learning Program.
Dr. Asante was bom in Valdosta,
Georgia, - and educated at Oklahoma
Christ^ College in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma and at UCLA, where he
received his Ph.D. He is the author of
28 books, one of which is
Afrocentricity. He is now a professor
and chairperson of the department of
before or after 11:00 p.m.
"Bum-rushing" the door was the
second most widely used method of
entry. The people backed up at the
door united in a "Heave-Ho" plan to
get in.
There were two main "bum-rushes"
in which people were trampled and the
Deltas at the door were pressed against
a wall.
Katrina Myers, another member of
DST, said she was "appalled that the
men (if you can call them men) in the
crowd had no consideration for the
females that were being trampled."
After the initial "bum-rushing" crowd
burst thrc .gh the doors and broke a
table, many others just walked in
behind them.
After a while the Deltas stopped
trying to prevent people from entering
because "people’s safety is more
important than money," as stated by
Alicia Wilkes, president of the sorority.
The third method of entry was
achieved through the use of crowbars.
Apparently a back door was discovered
and approximately fifteen people
entered by this method. Those who
chose to enter by the second and third
methods were the main sources of
trouble. According to Ms. Wilkes,
about 250 people got in free.
The sorority kept the party going
up until the third bum-rush.
• African-American studies at Temple
University.
Dr. Asante adopted the concept of
Afrocentricity because he was "looking
for an answer to the perpetual problem
of misorientation and disorientation that
seemed to exist with African-
Americans."
He defines Afrocentricity as the
"quality of theory and practice which
demonstrates the image and interest of
African peoples". He believes that our
salvation will come from our "self-
knowledge".
Many African-Americans know
very little about their heritage, but
know American and European history.
For example, Dr. Asante said that
many of us know about "Marco Polo,
but not about Ibn Buttuta; or
Christopher Columbus, but not about
Sonni Ali Ber". He asserts that
because we lack self-knowledge, many
After the party ended, the Deltas
realized that the free entry incidents
were the least of their problems.
Atlanta City Police had to disperse
the resulting crowd with the help of
helicopters.
Before leaving patrons punched
holes in a very expensive acoustical
wall and one outsider kicked in a
window close to the door. Some people
reported others urinating on the wall.
The building sustained at least
$300 in damages at press time
according to John Orzech, director of
operations at the Lakewood
Amphitheatre.
Mr. Orzech said the immediate
damage included three broken windows,
totalling $90, and a stolen television
valued at about $200. The total
damages are still unknown because the
building investigation is incomplete.
Despite all of this, Skippy Welsh,
show director at the Lakewood
Amphitheatre, said the administration at
the amphitheatre is not in any way
bitter at the Deltas. He, personally,
was "impressed by the Deltas’ show of
responsibility."
Patrons of the party expressed
mixed feelings about the party and its
abrupt ending at 12:45 am.
Sheri Crump, a Spelmanite who
saw people using the crowbars to get
in, said that it was "a good sign that
African Americans are "disoriented."
He adds that Afrocentricity is not
anti-American, or the reverse of
Eurocentricity, but a way for African-
Americans to become centered, more
focused, and for us to feel a sense of
responsibility for each other.
He also emphasized the
importance of us "cleaning up our
language" by not referring to Africans
as "pygmies and bushmen" or the slave
trade as the "African slave trade" when
it was really a "European slave trade."
All in all, it was an educational
program. The students who attended
the forum were very appreciative of his
comments. Tahir Hemphill, a freshman
majoring in engineering at Morehouse
said that he likes "his books because
they’re simple and easy for us to grasp
and work with. Many of us believe in
someone’s reality, and we need
Afrocentricity to function."
Delta parties are so good that people
want to get in, but the extremes that
people go through are ridiculous. 1
think the party had to end when it
did."
Others were amazed that there
were not more atrocities inside the
party.
Purvis Middlebrooks, a junior at
Georgia State said that "it [the party]
was a vast mixture of people and I
was surprised to see as little tension
and violence as there was."
For the most part, people were
sympathetic with the Deltas; however,
two juniors at Morehouse were not so
pleased with the situation.
David Browning said that the
"party didn’t compare to the Delta party
last year. Not only did it end early,
but the place was not as nice.
According to Jefrey Jones, "It [the
party] was a rip-off. The Deltas always
shaft us."
No one- really had any suggestions
as to how to expedite the entry process
and make the party run more smoothly,
except that there should be more
visible security guards.
Alicia Wilkes stated that four
guards were present: three AUC police
and one security guard provided by the
amphitheatre. The problem was that
these guards were not in uniform.
With the title of "Full House," this
jam was definitely full of close calls.
"Trick-or-Treat"
By Sabrina Bradford
A dancing ballerina, a booing
ghost and a terrorizing monster all
share a common cause on Halloween:
to obtain as many treats as possible.
College students often miss this
experience and many children are
deprived of it for various reasons.
However, on Wednesday, Oct. 31,
the External Affairs Board of the
Spelman College SGA sponsored a
Halloween carnival for the children in
the West End community.
They elicited participation from
clubs, organizations, dorms and
interested students. About 14 groups
were represented.
Each participant was responsible
for setting up, operating and providing
prizes for her own booth. Some of the
activities provided were musical chairs,
word games and dancing.
When asked about the success of
the carnival, corresponding secretary of
the External Affairs Board, Cybil
Brown, said it was "very successful
because kids enjoyed themselves very
much and left satisfied."
Amber Hopkins-Jenkins, a fifth
grader at Oglethorpe Elementary
School, summed iKup best: "It was
fun; it was noisy; it was just the way
Halloween parties are supposed to be."
All About Afrocentricity