PAGE TWO
THE BENNETT BANNER
FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1985
Editorials & Opinion
Apology to the basketball program
The cancellation of the basketball season caused great frustration for the
handful of players who lost a chance to demonstrate their skills and for Coach
Cathy Mussington and Athletic Director Leon McDougle, who hoped to build a
team whose quality matched the excellence of past squads.
“Belle troubled by lost season,” a story which ran in our March 1 edition,
inadvertently contributed to the frustration. The article, whose intent was not
malicious, focused on the disillusionment of freshman Latanya Hart. The prob
lem with the story is that it may have implied that Hart’s feelings were rep
resentative of the rest of the team’s.
In an attempt to give the complete picture, the Banner has interviewed
several players as well as Mussington and McDougle, and their version of events
differs sharply from the observations of Hart. According to freshmen Jackie
Ponder and Andrea Malone, the possibility of a cancelled season was apparent
from the first practice. In addition, Coach Mussington had the players sign
contracts which promised that they would attend practice.
“. . . we all knew from the beginning,” said Ponder, adding that “when we
signed the contracts, everyone knew . . . When the team was cancelled, there was
nothing to complain about.”
Secondly, Hart expressed dissatisfaction about not being Individually noti
fied of the cancellation and getting the news from another player. Neither
Malone, who got word of the end from Mussington, nor Ponder, who heard
about the cancellation and visited the coach for confirmation, was dissatisfied
with the manner in which she received the announcement.
At no time has any detail in our coverag’e suggested that the athletic de-
partment was responsible for the lost season. As our editorial in the first issue
of the semester stated, student indifference and the meager funds for grants
to athletes caused the cancellation. . . ^ j- .i j.- ^
Ponder summarizes the plight of the players who participated from the first
practice to the last. The terminated season resulted from a lack of interest
[on the students’ part] period. We busted our butts. We went out and recruited
people. We even promised to help them with homework. You can t beg people
to play. They have to want to play. But I was desperate,” she said.
“I was totally disappointed [by the small turnout],” Malone said.
Both Ponder and Malone praised Mussington’s efforts to keep the team going.
“I think it’s fair to say that she gave us so many chances that it’s ridicu
lous,” explained Ponder. “If there’s not a team next year, it’s the students’ fault.”
She added, “I think Coach Mussington was plenty fair.”
This newspaper apologizes for any embarrassment or inconvenience caused
Coach Mussington, Athletic Director McDougle or the players. In addition, we
apologize for any confusion which may have befallen our readers. We are con
vinced that the athletic department behaved honorably and professionally in an
extremely difficult situation. (Michael Gaspeny, Faculty Adviser)
Letters: article criticized; NAACP data
To the Editor:
The article “Belle troubled by
lost season” that appeared in the
March 1 edition of the Banner
was quite disturbing because it
contained numerous inaccuracies
and exhibited gfoss negligence in
responsible journalism. That arti
cle created unnecessary contro
versy and placed question marks
on the integrity of our athletic
program. What is most disturbing
is that such an article could set
a dangerous precedent by allow
ing any member of the Bennett
family who has a gripe, bone to
pick, or just the urge “to get
someone told,” to do so in a
feature story in our campus
newspaper.
It is certainly not my intention
or place to reprimand or rake
anyone over the coals. I realize
that many of us have difficulty
coping with disappointments, but
I also realize that many college
students have convenient bouts
with amnesia and verbal diarrhea.
The troubled Belle left the dis
tinct impression that the athletic
department conspired to sabotage
the basketball program and didn’t
allow highly skilled and motivated
student athletes the opportunity
to exhibit their talents. Thus,
causing one or more of these stu
dents to contemplate transferring
to other institutions. Nothing
could be farther from the truth.
This year’s basketball program
was doomed from the very begin
ning. Tryouts were well publicized
and attracted only a handful of
students, all of whom were “walk-
ons” with no playing experience
at the collegiate level. Many of
these students had never played
any organized basktball. To my
knowledge, not a single one of
these prospective players had
been offered or received an ath
letic scholarship or award to an
other college or university. It is
impossible to build a competitive
squad around a nucleus of inex
perienced “walkons.” But it is also
impossible to attract highly skilled
and motivated student athletes to
a program that can only offer a
.$150 athletic award for their
services.
We cancelled the season on
Nov. 1, 1984 because we couldn’t
put five players on the floor. The
program was reinstated several
days later after the remaining
players and the coach literally
dragged in enough students to
make up a squad and after each
student had signed a letter of in
tent to play. Almost immediately,
about half of these students either
left the squad or started missing
practice sessions with reasons
such as “My mama said I couldn’t
play” ’or “I forgot about practice”
and “I had to go to a show at
the Coliseum since I had tickets.”
Coach Mussington kept everyone
involved in the program abreast
of the developments and the prob
ability of a lost season.
Collegiate basketball is a very
expensive and serious venture. It
Learning from Chisholm: lessons from the master
a column
by Vicky Dunn
I really appreciate the
variety that columns add to
a paper. My limited, recent
experience as a columnist for
the Bennett Banner has
made me appreciate the work
of William Raspberry, Jim
Jenkins, Bob Greene and
Erma Bombeck all the more.
They are only a few of my
favorites; the list goes on and
on.
I have begun to think that
the tie that literally binds us
is one of humor. The recent
appearance of former Con
gresswoman Shirley Chis
holm evokes both a humorous
and a serious response from
the writer.
On such an occasion as the
appearance of an important
person at the college, one has
been instructed to act, speak
and dress correctly. Given my
usual eloquence, I was rather
shocked at mv behavior. Hav
ing learned of Ms. Chisholm’s
fluent Spanish, I thought that
she might use a famiUar
phrase or two. So, after re
ceiving a short, signed note
on the back of my program, I
innocently inquired about its
contents.
“Is this Spanish?” I asked
earnestly, squinting to look
all the more authentic. Ms.
Chisholm tactfully replied,
“No, it says ‘aim high’.” Well,
at that moment, high would
have been about two feet be
low the belly of a snail. I was
never so embarrassed, but re
covered quickly with a ques
tion I’d been pondering all
morning.
I wondered why Ms. Chis
holm had only expected 10
great women to emerge from
Bennett. I also wondered
what I was to do to keep the
Editor-in-Chief Dee Evans
Associate Editors Avanti Allen, Alaina Cloud
Vicky Dunn, Tricia Hairston, Karen R. Taylor
Reporters Yvonne Breece, Karen Exum, Margo Gilmore
Mardell Griffin, Vicelia Howard, Teresa Lipscomb
Yolanda Lloyd, Shonna Luten, Valarie Reid
Kim L. Romeo, Bernice Scott
Adviser Michael Gaspeny
Opinions expressed in columns and letters to the editor belong to
the authors, not to the staff of the Banner.
Send letters to the editor to Box 2. All mail must be signed by hand.
momentum of what she’s said
alive and well. I mean, here
she was ■— a troublemaker,
and here I was—a newly in
cited local Negro ready to risk
all for liberty, equality and
sorority!
Anyway, her response is a
major concern today. I am
concerned that too many of us
are misinterpreting our part
in the struggle, just as I mis
interpreted the words “aim
high.” As a first step, Ms.
Chisholm directed me to con
tinue becoming educated. If I
may elaborate on her sugres-
tion, I might say that we
should not just robotically at
tend classes, but revive the
the long lost art of wide
reading.
As well, she encouraged me
to become active in commu
nity affairs, thereby forming
a network for the future. Un
fortunately, however, the cur
rent campus climate might be
expressed in the statement, “I
doesn’t do nothing that ain’t
about to help me.”
I am not insinuating that
all of us feel this way, or that
more than a few would ex
press the sentiment so un
grammatically, but I do feel
that we are lethargic enough
to warrant this address. I
have no pat response to the
question a black woman asked
so frantically in Gone With
The Wind. She screamed,
“What we’s gon’ do. Missy?”
I do know that we’s gon’ be
gin by really educating our
selves.
Hopefully, the ethical and
spiritual consciousness of the
entire campus will escalate
at the same rate.
is physically and emotionally de
manding for both players and
coach. The game is recreational
only for spectators. We cannot
and will not attempt to put any
team on the court or field when
the majority of players view the
competition as a casual recrea
tional pursuit. The program had
financial commitments and obli
gations to other institutions, to
officials and to other campus per
sonnel and services. Having
weighed all the circumstances
very carefully, I made the deci
sion to cancel the season on Nov.
18, and the buck stopped with me
and not Coach Mussington.
Student interests, needs and
concerns remain a major priority
and we were all sadened by the
loss of our basketball season. This
loss could quite possibly lead to
the end of a proud and winning
tradition. Nevertheless, one of our
responsibilities is to protect the
integrity of the athletic program
and the college’s investment in
that program. Given the same set
of circumstances, I would again
make the same decision.
Sincerely yours,
Leon J. McDougle
Athletic Director
To the Editor:
The top ten black-owned busi
nesses in the United States today
and the chief executives are as
follows:
Motown Industries, Berry Gordy
Jr.; Wallace & Wallace Enter
prises Inc., Charles Wallace;
Johnson Publishing Co. Inc., John
H. Johnson; Fedco Foods Corpora
tion, Samuel Berger; H. J. Rus
sell Construction Co. Inc., Her
man Russell; Vanguard Oil &
Service Co., Kenneth Butler;
Smith Pipe & Supply, Inc., George
Smith Sr.; Johnson Products Co.
Inc., George Johnson; Grimes Oil
Co., Calvin Grimes Jr.; Chioke
International Corporation, Chris
topher Chioke.
Bennett NAACP
Looking for adventure! Try a sea cruise
a column
by Dee Evans
With summer coming up, and
classes ending, new plans will be
made. Now if you’re a school-
aholic, you can attend summer
school and sit in a classroom for
three hours a day or so. Or if
you’re money hungry, you can
work at the job of your choice if
you get hired.
But if you’re just out to “bum
around” and enjoy these hot
months, find something memora
ble to do.
One suggestion I might make is
take a cruise. You always see it
on TV, so for once make it a
reality.
First you make a choice of what
cruise line you want to sail with.
You can choose from several such
as the Holland American Line,
the Cunard Line, Eastern Line,
the Norwegian Caribbean Line or
the Carnival Cruise Line.
Next, prepare yourself by going
out and buying the most exotic
wardrobe you can find. Surpris
ingly, you will find that your taste
will in no way match the person
next to you who is wearing a
tiger-skin swimming suit.
Pack light! The less you have
the less you lose.
Now you’re ready to go. Oh, by
the way, if you’ve chosen a cruise
which goes out of the United
States obtain a passport and take
your birth certificate.
Be prepared for a long wait in
order to get on the ship. Customs
likes to fuss over new luggage.
Once you go aboard the boat,
luxury is in store. Glass after
glass of champagne will be served
while you’re meeting new people
and touring your temporary home.
The boat will finally take off and
it’s U'ke you’re on the “Love
Boat,” waving goodbye to friends
and family, throwing confetti up
in the air and drinking the bubbly.
Enjoy the beauty of the blue
waters and the entertainment that
the cruise director will have
planned for you. Take advantage
of everything. Caution! When a
storm comes along, beware, espe
cially if you have a weak stomach.
Seasickness is almost a contagious
disease and quick to be caught
too. You might suffer from nausea
and a case of wanting to jump
overboard in order to relieve
yourself from the constant sway
ing and rolling, but don’t worry
because the illness won’t last more
than a couple of hours. A quick
shot in the side and several
dramamines will do the trick.
The real excitement will begin
when you dock at the ports. See
everything you can possibly see.
Buy everything you don’t have
and take pictures of things you’ve
never seen before. You’ll know
when you’ve seen it all. Your feet
will start to tremble and burn.
That’s a sign of an adventuresome
tourist who’s on top of it all.
The last place you dock should
be your best. Go all the way.
Spend the rest of your savings
and come back with too many
bags.
The trip home should be a non
stop party. Keep partying after
the sun goes down and comes up
again. Even keep going when the
band packs up and the crew
members go to bed.
If by this time you’re ready to
go home, you’ve had an enjoyable
cruise. Remember, a cruise is a
once - in - a - lifetime experience.