PAGE TWO
THE BENNETT BANNER
Friday, November 15, 1985
Editorials & Opinion Page
Science grant serves as inspiration
The Science Division and Dr. Robert Boyd Sr. deserve the highest congra
tulations for landing a remarkable and unprecedented research grant for Ben
nett College.
The National Institute of Health’s Minority Biomedical Research Support
Program has given this college $200,000 to study the influence of anti-depres
sant chemicals on laboratory animals.
Announcement of the grant made the front page of the Nov. 1 issue of The
Greensboro News and Record, serving as a dramatic example of the continuing
progress that is occurring here. The work is being done in association with Wake
Forest’s renown Bowman Gray School of Medicine.
Boyd, who is the project’s chief investigator, and four laboratory assistants
will study chemicals which may control or combat depression. Funds will cover
the purchase of new lab equipment and pay student researchers $3,600 per year.
Evelyn Fulmore and L^urrie Murphy have been selected as the first two as
sistants.
In many ways, the grant should serve as inspiration to us all. In the first
place it shows that with ingenuity and determination a small college can indeed
compete with larger institutions. In the second place, it is yet another example
of this school’s ability to offer qualified students challenging and rewarding
activities
Throughout the semester, we have been emphasizing the vast opportunities
for enlightenment that Bennett offers, and we have been trymg to refute the
complaint that the little happens on our campus.
In his address to the Nov. 7 Honors Convocation, President Issac H. Miller
Jr. described the mind as a ^"limitless source. It can take us to vistas of know
ledge if we are willing to train ourselves and capitalize on the many chances for
growth that the world offers us. Or it can be self-limiting and self-defeating, a
prison of “I can’ts,” “I don’t want tos” and “I could haves.”
Dr. Boyd and his students have the opportunity to aid in the solution of
problem which, according to the weekly news magazines, has reached almost epi
demic proportions in this country.
We offer them a good luck and a Godspeed, and we ask a key question: if
they can, why can’t we do something equally important?
It‘s obvious as the nose on your face
Anybody with eyes and ears knows what it took the Bureau of Justice Sta
tistics department plenty of time and money to determine — that many violent
crimes are committed by people who have been consuming alcohol.
A recent report by that alleged agency shows that more than half of jail
inmates guilty of violent crimes had been drinking before they assaulted, maim
ed, raped and murdered. This conclusion will not rank with Newton’s discoveries
or Freud’s map of the human psyche.
You don’t need a doctorate to see all those discarded beer cans and smashed
wine and liquor bottles in the street and link this refuse with lawless behavior.
Can there really be a person alive who hasn’t witnessed a fight resulting
from drunkenness or domestic trouble fire-brewed by booze? Is there any Ameri
can outside a convent who has not seen an inebriated person lose all sense of
restraint or an accident caused by a loaded driver? Who hasn’t heard a law
breaker excuse himself by saying, “I was drunk and didn’t know what I was
doing,” a justification which is equal to “The devil made me do it.”
We don’t need researchers to tell us the obvious, but they do—repeatedly.
We wouldn’t be surprised if some federal agency isn’t funding a multi-million
dollar, 10-year study on the effect of rainy days on human emotions.
The social scientists and staff people involved in this alcohol/crime correla
tion project are either incurably naive or intolerably cynical.
Their work would be laughable if its sponsor were Mother Goose or the Fairy
Godmother, but, regrettably, we footed the bill for this fiasco.
Ghana is striving to find balance
New regime restores freedom of speecli in Nigeria
a column
by Omotayo Otoki
In Nigeria, the civilian rule
under the leadership of Pre
sident Alhaji Sheun Shagari
was ousted by Major General
Buhari’s regime in December,
1983. The military regime
took over because the admin
istration was full of bribery
and corruption.
The former President was
placed on house arrest, and
some of the legislators were
arrested and sentenced to life
imprisonment, while some
managed to flee to other
foreign countries.
One of the legislators who
fled to London was the ex-
Minister for External Affairs,
Alhaji Umaru Dikko. In
August, 1984, two men were
arrested by the British gov
ernment for kidnapping the
ex-minister. He was taken
from his home, drugged and
put in a box. His secretary
got suspicious when he re
ported for work and the ex-
minister was not around; he
alerted the police. The two
men were arrested at the air
port before they could leave
with the box. The ex-minister
has since been under severe
surveillance by the police in
his home. He is still wanted
for embezzlement by the Ni
gerian government.
The regime of Major-Gen
eral Buhari was even tougher
and more unbearable than
what the Nigerians expected.
Freedom of speech was re
fused to the press and public;
people were arrested for voic
ing their opinions about the
government; scholarships and
foreign exchange were scrap
ped and many cuts in budget
were initiated to save the
country’s economy.
After about eight months
in office the regime was over
thrown by General Babangida
in August of this year. An
nouncing his takeover to the
press, he granted freedom of
speech to the press and the
public. He pardoned and freed
some of the legislators sen
tenced to prison.
This first step put a big
question in everyone’s mind.
Could this mean a better
change for the country under
the leadership of General
Babangida? Things can only
get better if Nigerians at
home and abroad lend a hand
to save the country.
No foreign interference or
help can do a better job than
we Nigerians. It will take
time but a change will surely
come.
Letters to tke editor:
BC praised; Rifles meet
a column
by Elfrida Mensah
Ghana is a republic of West
Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.
It has a population of about
11,835,000 and its capital is
Accra. Ghana has many dif
ferent African languages but
the official language is Eng
lish (Ghana was a British
colony).
Ghana gained her indepen
dence on March 6, 1957, be-
coming the first African
country south of the Sahara
to have done so. Her first
president, Dr. Kwame Nkru-
mah, was a strong, deter
mined leader. His strength
and perseverance gave many
countries in Africa much in
spiration.
The name Ghana was the
name of a medieval African
kingdom. It was adopted by
Dr. Nkrumah after indepen
dence. Ghana used to be called
the Gold Coast, a name given
by the European traders, be
cause of the flourishing gold
trade.
Presently, Ghana is recov
ering from an economic crisis
brought about by a chain of
coups and changes in the ad
ministration of the govern
ment. Ghana is now under a
military head, and groups
have been formed to further
aid her in a full recovery.
Most of these organizations
and associations aim at gett
ing most Ghanaians to be as
self-sufficient as they can
possibly be, so that any
sudden changes in the govern
ment will not be difficult for
them to adjust to. Families
are encouraged to cultivate
and grow crops on any land
that they may own, however
small, to help them lessen the
amount of money used on
food.
Another problem facing
Ghana is the evasion of taxes
by some fairly large busi
nesses. This is being dealt
with by the government and
has so far been a success.
There was a lot of brain drain
during the time of the coups
because many intellectuals
went to neighboring countries
to seek new jobs. Many of
these intellectuals are now
back in Ghana.
There have been loans and
aid from different countries
including the United States
to help in stabilizing the eco
nomy. These loans and aid
have been of great help in
trying to get Ghana back on
her feet.
Newspapers like The Gha
naian Times, People’s Daily
Graphic and The Ghanaian
Voice are also helping in en
couraging the people to join
in the strife for a better
Ghana. There are slogans like
“Power to the people means
DISCIPLINE” and “Power to
the people means RESPON-
SIBILITT”, displayed on the
front pages of newspapers.
Ghana is going through a
phase in development, as all
developed countries had to go
through before they became
developed. An African pro
verb says that “Before a
child learns to walk with his
feet firmly on the ground, he
must fall a number of times.”
To the Editor:
Bennett College is a very unique
school. It allows a certain close
ness among its students that most
colleges don’t have. I think Ben
nett College is also a special school
in that its members consist of
only the female species.
I would highly recommend my
school to anyone who is interested
in furthering her education. In
my opinion, Bennett College is
the best schools around to attend.
If I were asked by someone, “Is
Bennett a good choice in deciding
which college to attend?”, I would
proudly stand up and say, “Yes!”
The students that attend Ben
nett College are very respectable
ladies in the sight of their peers.
Each student is unique in her
very special way. I guess you
could say that we are a melting
pot of very precious and valuable
gold.
Although at times we do not
get along, there still exists a
strong bond of love and sister
hood. The sisterhood among Ben
nett’s special ladies is in itself
precious because it grows more
and more each day. Although each
day the same colorful faces are
seen, it becomes sweeter and
sweeter to behold the faces of
such beautiful, inwardly as well
as outwardly, people.
The faculty of Bennett College
is also rather unique in their own
way. Each instructor is different
in that he/she has a different
style of conveying lessons, but
they are unified in that they are
a part of the same “family.”
There may be times when the
instructors feel that they have not
done adequate work, but I’m sure
to the students, the messages were
conveyed. Unlike the students, the
faculty are not of the same race;
however, this does not present a
problem for anyone. On the con
trary, it makes this institutional
family even more special.
The administrators of Bennett
College are certainly no excep
tion. They are very hard workers.
Although they are not always
seen, they keep the institution
operating in the background. Cer
tainly they deserve to be put up
front. There is not very much to
say about our administrators due
to the fact that they are always
in the background, but if success
is doubted, there are records that
will display their diligence.
Each of the above mentioned
are reasons that add up to make
Bennett College a very special
school. If it were not for the stud
ents, faculty and administration,
this school would only be an old
wintry gray building standing on
its last two legs, soon to meet its
appointment with death.
Gail D. Brady
To the Editor:
Who are the Pershing Rifles?
The Pershing Rifles are a na
tional society wnicn was founded
in 1894 by General John J. Persh
ing. General Pershing saw a need
to group young men with the
same interest. These young men
formed a club that later became
the National Society of Pershing
Rifles (P/R).
As the years passed, the organi
zation allowed women to join. In
1962, the National Society of
Pershing Angels (P/A) was
formed locally; however, it was
governed by the National Charter
of P/R.
A well-known and successful
alumnus of A&T, General Charles
Bussey, brought the unit of P/R,
Company N-4, to A&T in the
spring semester of 1952.
The Army R.O.T.C. program is
(see page 4)
nn^
Associate Editors Avanti Allen, Bernice Scott, Karen R. Taylor
Reporters Alelhea F. Adams, Carla Bannister, Tricia Hairston
Shonna Luten, Mardell Griffin, Penny Hill, Rhonda Wesby
Columnists Vicky Dunn, Elfrida Mensah
Reviewer Laura Nelson
Photographers Myra Davis, Keith Miller, Jill Royster
Faculty Adviser Michael Gaspeny
Opinions expressed in columns and letters to the editor belong to
their authors, not to the staff of the Banner, whose ideas appear in the
editorials at the top of this page.
Send letters to the editor to Box 2, campus post office. All corres
pondence must bear a handwritten signature and must be acknowledged
by the author. Letters are subject to editing according to newspaper
style and demands of space. No anonymous letters will be published.