Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 17 No. 876
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PONCHO SANCHEZ'S
Arro-Cusan FanTasY * 1B
E);;C(Slidates endure
disinterested public
® There was very little
to get excited about at a
recent political forum.
The candidates are to
be commended for
putting up with these
arduous meetings.
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
The candidate’s forum held at
Paine College on Wednesday
evening was a test of will for both
the candidates and the audience.
About 15 candidates for mayor
and the various school board dis
tricts had to endure a good two
hours of introductory remarks
while the sparse crowd came and
went before any serious dialogue
could be attempted.
At times it appeared as if the
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Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, right, foliowed by a staff
assistant, walks to a news conference to discuss the hate crime
legisiation. Lee said the attack against Matthew Shepard, a gay
University of Wyoming student who died early Monday, calls for
immediate action of hate crime legislation. (AP Photo/Khue Bui)
ADDRESS TO SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS
Strong measures proposed
to rescue education system
- @National Urban
League president
urges bold reforms
- in public education.
£ SAN FRANCISCO
~ Citing minimal progress in ur
ban education in the last decade,
National Urban league president
and CEO Hugh B. Price urged
. America’s urban superintendents
teensure thatall children achieve
their full potential by forming cre
ative partnerships, raising
‘teacher competence and advanc
ing innovations and combating
theinertia thatstill plagues school
systems.
In a passionate keynote lun
cheon address before the Council
of Great City Schools, Mr. Price
challenged America’s urban su
perintendents to replace modest
progress with real reforms and to
regtore accountability that par
‘ents are demanding. He warned
that African-American communi
?fiu are backing alternatives to
ipublic education, such as vouch
_ers and charter schools, in record
‘numbers and said the only way
for urban schools to survive is to
accelerate the pace of reform.
Previous Council speakers have
iincluded Governor Mario Cuomo
land Coretta Scott King.
* “It isn’t good enough for urban
Bathine Hollins Tribute
The Augusta Mini Theatre Salutes An Arfist © 1B
Augusta Focus
Senving Mefropolitan Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
Analysis & Interpretation
number of candidates exceeded
the number of onlookers. The few
college-age spectators that were
present were mostly silent. If
there were any voters among the
Paine College student body, they
were probably watching the
Braves get hammered by the San
Diego Padres. Very few showed
up to hear what any of the candi
dates had to say.
Asit turned out, the candidates
didn’t have that much to say, but
it was through no fault of their
own. When the floor was finally
opened up for questions from the
gallery, most of the audience had
either gone or apparently lost in
terest.
Unfortunately, the format did
not allow for any lively exchange
among the candidates. Each ques
tioner was instructed to direct
See CANDIDATES, page 3A
children to inch ahead while the
rest of the world gallops forward,”
Mr. Price said. “The progress
that’s made must enhance the life
prospects of children, not just the
public image of the schools they
attend.”
Noting successes among educa
tors in the audience, Mr. Price
offered specific reforms for more
widespread improvement includ
ing: the creation of smaller school
buildings that are more condu
cive to learning; a greater focus
on cooperative and experimental
learning coupled with increased
parent and community involve
ment; and the formation of new
partnerships, particularly with
the National Guard and U.S. Mili
tary. :
Mr. Price also issued an Aca
demic Bill of Rights that states
every child in America has the
right to:
- Quality pre-school education
that gets them off to a solid start;
- Qualified teachers who genu
inely believe all children canlearn;
- Access to challenging courses
that help them reach their fullest
potential; :
-Schools that areorganized and
outfitted for learning instead of
maintaining order; and
- Constructive after-school and
summer programs that promote
academic and social development
OCTOBER 15 - 21, 1998
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United House of Prayer for All People church
leaders spray water from a fire hose onto
thousands of believers Sunday as they were
baptized in the parking lot of the church in
Charlotte, N.C., Sunday Oct. 11, 1998.
Death of gay student sparks
bid for hate-crime legislation
By Robert W. Black
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
LARAMIE, Wyo.
The death of gay college stu
dent Matthew Shepard will not
be in vain if it spurs passage of
more hate crime legislation,
friends and gay rights activists
said Tuesday.
Shepard, 21, died Monday, five
days after he was beaten into a
coma, allegedly by two high school
dropouts with extensive police
records. j
Wyoming is one of 29 states
with no hate crime laws based on
while keeping them out of harm’s
way. |
Reminding' educators of the
Urban League’s historic commit
ment to children and of his own
career work and push for educa
tional reforms, Mr. Price reissued
the pledge to work with those who
are serious’about change. . “But
hear me loud and clear,” Price
challenged. l“We will go to war
politically with any educators,
school boards, unions and politi
cians who stand in our children’s
way.” |
Assessing|the current state of
urban uhodfis, Mr. Price praised
superintendents who hayve fo
raising teacher expectation'of stu
dents. He said such progress and
increased parental involvement
has led to dchievements such as
the modest progress in test.scores
in some cities, as the birth rate
among unmarried black teenag
ers plunging to a 40-year low and
high schaol graduation rates of
black studénts now equaling that
of ;vhmie studgn:l. 4 i
et, he said educators t
rest on siich progress dtfl that
“African Americans mus{ be ob
sessed :1&' educating opir chil
dren” because the I'pictures
continues to prove that bldck chil-
See EDUCATION, page 'I6A
The 30-minute mass baptism was part of a
weekend of activities for the predominantly
black Pentecostal church celebrating its 72nd
annual convocation.
(AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, Jeff Siner)
sexual orientation and one of nine
states with no hate crime stat
utes at all.
Fourbias crimes bills have been
brought before the Wyoming Leg
islature in the past four years. All
have failed.
“We all know that laws in them
selves do not prevent crime. But
laws do voice the will and heart of
the people,” said Walt Boulden, a
friend of Shepard’s. “Wyoming has
always reflected the epitome of
the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ attitude.
Well, friends, this horrible mur
der has shattered our ability to
hide behind that type of stance.”
Inside
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October 24, 1998.
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John Little, the vice president
of United Gays and Lesbians of
Wyoming, said he believes the
enhanced penalties of hate crime
laws deter criminal behavior.
He also called for a program to
track hate crimes.
“We have a need for legislation
that will provide for accurate
reporting and listing of bias
crimes and activities of hate
groups,” he said.
State Rep. Wende Barker, D-
Laramie, said the issue has been
thoroughly studied by the Legis-
SEE HATE-BILL, page 2A
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éubemofoflol candidate Rep. Roy Barnes en
joys the day with the youth of Keysville, Ga.
during the Tenth Annual Come Back so Keysville
Day on Saturday, October 10. State Represen
tative Tyrone Brooks looks on. Keysville mayor
Emma Gresham hosted the celebration which
included a parade, a forum on adult literacy
(chaired by Brooks) and plenty of food and sun.
Others on hand included Representative Alberta
Anderson and congressional candidate Denise
Freeman. Keysville, just south of Augusta in
Burke County, was reactivated in 1988.
Photo by Charles Jones
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See 24
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
NO. 302 AUGUSTA, GA
Miller
By Dick Pettys
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
ATLANTA
Hoping to break open a tight
gubernatorial race with a little
help from a friend, Democrat Roy
Barnes went on the air Thursday
with a strong endorsement ad
from Gov. Zell Miller, whose 85
percent approval rating makes
him one of the most popular poli
ticians in Georgia.
Citing the two most popular
initiatives of his administration,
the lottery-funded HOPE schol
arships and the pre-kindergarten
program, Miller said in the ad
that Barnes is the man to protect
both.
“I've never sought trophies,” the
retiring governor said. “The only
monument I want is for the HOPE
scholarships and pre-K to con
tinue offering our youth opportu
nity long after I am gone. That’s
why it’s important we elect Roy
Barnes.”
Emory University political sci
ence professor Merle Black called
it “probably the most potent ad
Roy Barnes could run.”
“It tells me Barnes is behind,”
he added.
Black said he expected a Miller
endorsement ad for Barnes, but
looked for it to run later in the
campaign.
“I think what they’re trying to
do is use Governor Miller’s popu
larity to create a turning point in
See MILLER-BARNES, page 9A