Friday, November 15, 1985
THE BENNETT BANNER
PAGE THREE
Expert discusses pregnancy wave
by Carla Bannister
“Teenage pregnancy is go
ing through the roof,” said
the top administrator for the
Women’s PaviHon in a in
formal talk with the Cone
Hall residents on Oct. 24.
Mr. Eric Engburg told the
students about pregnancy,
abortions, sex, birth control
and the services offered at
the Pavilion, where he has
worked for six months. Eng
burg explained that even
though he enjoys his job, he’d
“love to be out of a job,”
because that would mean that
fewer women would be hav
ing abortions.
Engburg said his staff
takes a rational approach to
abortion cases.
“We try not to scare or
scold the girls,” he said. “We
at the Women’s Pavilion feel
that they get enough preach
ing from their parents and
boyfriends.” According to the
director, the staff of the
Women’s Pavilion provides
help in many ways.
Advisers give all abortion
patients understanding, sup
port and a listening ear. They
also keep all information
about patients confidential.
Engburg feels so strongly
about confidentiality that he
said that he would fire on the
sp(>t any staff member if he
heard the adviser discuss a
patient with another patient.
Engburg shocked the aud
ience when he told them that
the youngest girl to come in
the clinic for an abortion was
13, and the oldest to come in
was 44. Engburg said that he
felt sorry for the 13-year-old
because when he asked her
what type of birth control
she wanted to use, she re
fused, saying that she was
never going to have sex again.
He felt sorry for the 44-year-
old because she was against
abortion, but she had to have
one because her doctor sug
gested it for health reasons.
When asked about the
safety of having an abortion
and the cost, Engburg said,
“Believe it or not, it is safer
to have an abortion than to
go through childbirth. The
cost of an abortion can run
anywhere from $200 to $650
depending on how far along
the women is in her preg
nancy.”
The Women’s Pavilion is
a state-licensed clinic with a
licensed gynecologist. It is
located at 823 N. Elm Street,
Suite 150; the number is 274-
3771.
Student apathy
Erased by poet
by Mardell Griffin
Students filed into the
science assembly room Oct.
30 with faces set in bored
disdain at yet another “shot
gun” poetry reading.
But the hall quickly filled
with cheers as artist-poet and
museum director and founder
Di-. Margaret Burroughs re
cited her prose work, “A Ken-
nedy-King College Student
Muses,” during the first of
her four days in Greensboro.
Burroughs captivated the
disgruntled students as she
read, “A poetry recital? Who
needs it anyhow? Everytime
I get real comfortable resting,
the establishment here start
telling me what to do. Do
this! Do that! And now go
here. Go there. Go to the as
sembly.
“Okay, Okay, I’ll go. I don’t
want to have a cut on my re
cord but I want it in the re
cord that I’m going under
protest . . .”
By the end of the piece, the
laughter and applause of the
audience made it apparent
that they agreed with Bur
roughs’ fictitious student,
who said, “Wow! Wow! . . .
I really dig that one. .. . I had
some of those same feelings
but I didn’t write them
down . . . What do they mean
the program’s over? . . .
Heck, she just got started.
Shucks, everytime we get into
something, the establishment
wants to take it away. I pro
test! Right on, sister! Right
on!”
Burroughs, author of sev
eral poetry books including
What Shall I Tell My Chil
dren (the theme of her Ben
nett presentations), also re
cited poetry written about her
extensive African travels. The
pieces are included in Africa,
Again and Again, her latest
volume scheduled for publi
cation in 1986.
“The need for self-expres-
sion” inspired her to write.
“It’s important to leave a re
cord of your being here,” she
told students, “and how you
felt while you were here.”
Burroughs lectured and
showed slides and met infor
mally with students Oct. 31.
Classroom visitations filled
Nov. 1, which was her 68th
birthday. On Nov. 2, an ex
hibit of her art work opened
at the Z Gallery, 107 South
Dudley St.
Asked at the exhibit open
ing, what she would like her
art to be remembered for, she
said, “Because of the fact
that I grew up in the Depres
sion, I developed quite a pro
ficiency with water colors; we
couldn’t afford oils. But what
I would like to be remembered
for is print-making.”
Several of her prints were
on display in the gallery as
well as pen drawings _ and
paintings in various mediums.
In addition to extensive show
ings in the United States,
Burroughs’ art has appeared
in Mexico, Poland, the
U.S.S.R. (where she won a
third prize for works repro
duced in Soviet Woman’s
Magazine), and Germany. In
1980 she received a presiden
tial citation for her achieve
ments in art.
Burroughs is the founder
and director of the Du Sable
Museum of African American
History in Chicago. Bur
roughs said, “In Chicago,
there was nothing to inspire
young black people and teach
them about their history. I
started it in my house in
1961.” A permanent home
was found for the museum in
1973 in a 25,000 square-foot
building in Washington Park.
A $1.5 million renovation pro
ject to the site was completed
last year.
“We’re adding an addition
that will be twice as big,
50,000 square feet,” she said.
“About $500,000 has been
raised for it.”
Burroughs had a few final
words for students before
she left. “Just keep your hand
on the plow and hold on,” she
said. “Aluta continua,” she
added. “That means that the
fight will go on; the victory
will be ours.”
r
Service to the college: Honored at the Founders’ Banquet were four women who have contributed a total of 88 years to
Bennett. They are (left to right) Mrs. Alta Johnson (23 years, now retired), Mrs. Amy Reynolds (15 years), Dr. Charlotte
Alston (25 years) and Ms. Doretha Ferguson (15 years). Photo by Keith Miller.
Perversion in pop lyrics
A column
by Tricia Hairston
It started with Donna’s Sum
mer’s “Love to Love You Baby,”
the disco hit that turned America
and Europe on to moans, groans
and suggestive lyrics.
Now, sexual lyrics in pop music
are popular and accepted among
teenagers, children and adults.
Well, not all adults. Elizabeth
Dole and several other senotors’
wives would like to censor re
cords and tapes that have lyrics
glorifying rape, incest, homosex
uality and carefree love. They
want parents to know exactly
what kind of music their children
are listening to.
Whether this will work or not
remains to be seen, but something
needs to be done about raunchy
lyrics.
A few examples of what pop
music is about today are “Be
tween The Sheets” by the Isley
Brothers, “Relax” by Frankie
Goes To Hollywood, “Like A
Virgin” by Madonna and the
granddaddy of them all, Prince
singing “Do Me Baby”, “Sister,”
“International Lover,” “Head”
and most recently, “Darling
Nikki.”
Every one of these sonys lets
you know the message the singer
wants to get across. Madonna’s
tired of being a virgin and she’s
ready and rather impatient for
her first lover. Frankie wants a
homosexhal lover; the Isley
Brothers want to get a girl be
tween the sheets and they are not
going to sleep. Prince is just des
perate; he wants his sister, a one
night stand or any female who
will have him. It doesn’t matter;
just give him perverted sex.
Let us not forget the rappers
and country-western singers. On
any given day, it is not unusual
to hear Dougie Fresh’s “La De
Da De,” “The Real Roxanne” or
UTFO’s “Bite It.” If you favor
Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Merle
Haggard or Conway Twitty, they
have a string of melodies about
cheating spouses, sexy one-night
stands or the famous motto “Don’t
come home with liquor on your
breath and lipstick on your
collar”.
Come on, singers, can’t you give
America something else to hear?
True, most of this music has a
beat to it, but so does Lionel
Ritchie’s “All Night Long” and
he’s talking about having a mas
sive good-time party. Or for you
slow-song lovers, how about
“Lady” by Kenny Rogers, “Super-
star” by Luther Vandross or
“Missing You” by Diana Ross?
All songs are not filled with
sexual lyrics; some songs insin
uate lovemaking, but that’s better
than actually saying it. When a
song is sexually explicit, it leaves
the listener with iiotnii\g to ima
gine. The radio won’t play it and
sometimes there’s a controversy
around it. When this happens
you’ll see the singer on TV ex
plaining why he sang the song.
This is what he wanted in the
first place — exposure. It brings
attention, and attention brings
money.
When a song is banned from
the radio, the public is made a-
ware of it through the media and
immediately people go buy the
record to see what the fuss is all
about. Thus the singer turns over
he know would get banned in the
first place.
Of course, we are all guilty in
one way or the other by promot
ing these singers. But remember
this; the next time you hear Tina
Turner singing “What’s Love Got
To Do With It?” the answer is
quite clear: Love’s got nothing to
do with it. Money’s got a lot to
do with it!
To those parents upset over
the lyrics and anxious to pre
serve their children’s innocence,
give up. You’re fighting a losing
battle. You cannot guard your
child 24 hours seven days a week.
The best thing for you to do is
talk to the kid and answer any
question he or she may have. If
you don’t, Prince, AC/DC, Judas
Priest or the Bar-Kays will!
Crime study seems blind
a column
by Vicky Dunn
One giant step forward for
mankind suddenly seems to have
been un-stepped.
Just when many Black Ameri
cans have begun to recover from
the myths that term them gene
tically and intellectually inferior
the young, short, muscular male
twins of criminal adoptive parents
have been attacked.
What’s all the hoopla? Two
Harvard researchers, James Q.
Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein
have made some conclusions
about the causes of criminality
based on what they called an “ex
haustive examination of many
studies.” Their major findings?
Criminals are born, not made.
In the famous words of George
(Kingfish) Stevens, a forerunner
of Fred Sanford and George
Jefferson, “something smells
fishy-kingfishy!” I must question
whether or not the study was ex
haustive because even a novice
researcher can vouch that one can
as easily prove his thesis or his
antithesis, depending on which
“exhaustive evidence” he dis
covers and subsequently chooses
to use. According to these two
researchers, there is no so-called
crime gene. They do attempt,
however, to convince the reader
that such variables as low intel
ligence and hot temperament in
crease one’s criminal tendencies.
What do I smell? A rat.
At the risk of sounding mora
listic and being accused of using
my soapbox as a pulpit, I will
simplify the whole matter by
labeling as the cause of man’s re
peated downfall—sin. This is not
to be confused with the Puritan
notion of sin which can never be
eradicated! Of course, crime is
only a single result. Another study
might provide another result.
Whatever one’s findings or per
sonal convictions, he must take a
thoughtful and realistic look at
the incessant war that is not only
against crime, but that is against
evil in all its existing forms.
(Jerry and Jesse have nothing on
my rhetoric! This, however, is
not the only viewpoint from which
Wilson’s and Herrnstein’s argu
ment can be dismantled).
I do agree that criminality is
not simply the result of chance.
To the contrary, it seems to be
best identified within certain
groups. I differ in reasoning from
the researchers, though. Aside
from the Original Sin factor, cir
cumstances often bring out but
do not determine one’s worst or
best. So, given different circum
stances, the variables which sup
posedly identify likely criminals
could easily be switched.
The researchers dealt with five
major characteristics of convicted
criminals. They were sex, age, in
telligence, body type and birth
(adoption and or belonging to a
set of twins.) Admittedly, men
commit more crimes than women.
This fact cannot be totally sup
ported by the notion of an in
heritable trait in men, but must
be tempered with other factors
such as that women are far less
often required to prove their
womanhood and therefore suffer
less psychological anxiety, a
probable factor in criminality.
(see page 4)