Friday, November 17, 1989
THE BENNETT BANNER
PAGE THREE
Part of the cafeteria team: Ms. Frankie Williams Howell, TWM Food Services
director, supervises line server Ms. Ruth Cole. Williams is striving to bring
improvements to her domain and to respond to student suggestions, (photo by
Cherryl Floyd)
Close Gorrell?
by Rehan Overton
The administration’s ef
forts to close a section of
Gorrell Street and put up a
fence in order to enhance the
campus for both security and
financial purposes reap both
positive and negative reac
tions from the student body.
The idea to close Gorrell
Street, from the comer of
Bennett Street to the comer
of Sampson Street, came
about after several Bennett
women were assaulted by men
who strayed on campus. Al
though none of the incidents
involved any of the men who
loiter around Gus’s Grocer-
teria, some students feel that
the daily drug and prostitu
tion tra;ffic on the comer of
Gorrell and Macon Streets
does present a threat to stu
dents on campus.
“We do need a fence for
our protection. I’m worried
about my safety . . . What
ever they need to do, they
need to do it,” said freshman
Sherrilyn Hicks of Richmond,
Va.
“It would eliminate the
problem of ‘Gus bums’ being
on our campus,” said sopho
more Miji Bell of Durham.
“I think Bennett is trying to
look at ways to make the
greatest improvements in
security ... I think it’s just
another measure to improve
security.”
Although both sides of the
issue were represented by
students, the majority of the
students responded nega
tively about the closing of
Gorrell Street. Most felt that
closing a section of Gorrell
would do more harm than
help — not just to the stu
dents on campus, but also to
the community as well.
“I think it adds to the clos
ing in, the congested feeling,
that students have about this
campus life. We also have a
fire department . . . That
(closing Gorrell) is violating
their codes. When they need
to get through this street to
get to their destination in
time, they shouldn’t have to
drive all around to get to their
destination,” said Catherine
Netter, a sophomore from
Detroit.
“With all the traffic, es
pecially school and city buses,
I don’t see the point in clos
ing it,” said senior Jennifer
Jennings from Washington,
D.C. “They won’t do it.”
Some students stated that
Bennett’s efforts to build a
fence around the campus are
just a way to mimic other
small black institutions,
namely all-female Spelman
College in Atlanta.
Other students feel as if
Bennett should concentrate
on improving the educational
and physical aspects of the
college rather than debating
over the closing of Gorrell
Street. The energy and time
spent on trying to close Gor
rell should be focused on
expanding curriculum and
courses. “Aesthetics without
education means nothing,”
said Netter.
On the eve of the season
‘Cafe’ is coming along
by Cherryl Floyd part of her job is “staffing the
Frankie Williams Howell, food
service director for TWM Food
Squad is
by Erica Salter
The Bennett College basket
ball team has retumed this
season with few players, but
the squad is hoping talent,
determination and optimism
will persevere.
Five players are back from
last year’s team with new
attitudes and noticeable im
provement. They are; Pam
Warner, a 5-11 sophomore
from Greensboro; Artlisa
Alston, a 5-10 sophomore
from Savannah, Ga.; Yvette
Williams, a 5-7 junior from
Indianapolis, Ind.; Perdita
Patrick, a 5-6 sophomore from
Greensboro and Erica Salter,
a 5-3 junior from Cincinnati.
Ms. Joyce Spruill, who is
the coach of the volleyball and
basketball teams, shows opti
mism for this season. The
returning players are “more
mentally prepared” and are
“more competitive,” said
Spruill.
Additional talents on the
team include: Hyler Jones,
a 5-3 sophomore from Denver,
Colo, and Kandys Taylor, a
5-8 freshman from Roanoke,
Va.
These two Belles have
spirit and are enthusiastic.
“They have good attitudes
and want to learn,” said
Spruill.
Not only are the basketball
players good on the court but
in the classroom as well. Two
of them, Warner and Alston,
were recognized as honors
students Nov. 2.
Goals on the team varied.
“To contribute 110 percent
to the team” was Jones’.
“I want to crash the boards
and score,” said Alston. “Be
ing a better team,” was as
serted by Patrick. Warner
and Williams simply want “to
win.”
Twenty girls tried out for
the team. When the final
team was selected, 11 play
ers emerged. However, in
juries and changes in plans
caused four players to leave.
Other students are in the
process of joining the team
and are serious about helping
out in any way possible.
“The potential to be better
than last year is present,”
said Spruill. “The question is
will they work hard everyday
at bringing out this poten
tial?” she added.
Services, says that many changes
have taken place in Bennett’s
cafeteria since last year.
She says that students were
asked at the end of last semester
to write down some suggestions
that would improve the meals in
the cafeteria.
“Many students said that they
would like a variety of fruit and
a va-iety of juices for b”eakfast,
and we have tried to give it to
them,” she says.
Howell also says that there are
a variety of breads including muf
fins and biscuits and a variety of
salad dressings.
Tremis Johnson, purchasing
manager for TWM, notes the addi
tion of a taco bar, changes in the
appearance of the cafeteria and
holiday entertainment (like the
Halloween dance given recently).
The most difficult aspect of
being a purchasing manager,
Johnson feels, is disciplinary
problems with the students.
“We have a severe problem
with taking items out of the cafe
teria. We have even had a student
to almost get into a struggle with
Ms. Jones who sits out front,”
Johnson says.
Johnson thinks that the policy
of TWM should be first-come,
first-served, but that this is diffi
cult because “there are girls who
come in and wait in line for a
long time, and then people come
in and jump in front of them.”
“I don’t think anyone who cuts
in line should be served before
the people that they cut in front
of,” he says.
by Louise Morris
The confrontations between
blacks and whites during the
past few months have led
many students to believe
there is a rise in racism, ac
cording to respondents to a
Banner poll.
One of the most dramatic
clashes worrying many college
students is the Virginia Beach
Greekfest, a yearly gathering
of college students (mostly
black) out to have a good
time on the shores of Virginia
Beach. This year, students
were harassed, wounded and
injured by white policemen.
Another occurrence alarm
ing students was the death
of 16-year o'd Yusef Hawkins,
the black youth who was
murdered in Bensonhurst, an
Italian-American neighbor
hood in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I am very worried about
America and the relationship
between races,” said Staci
Green, a freshman from
Capitol Heights, Md. “We
unit.”
“It’s hard to find people with
the right attitude for food service.
If students find something wrong
with the food and the food server
has a bad attitude, then I’m in
double-trouble,” s;he says.
Line server Ruth Cole says that
sometimes the students have at
titudes. She still likes her job,
though, and just figures that when
a student has an attitude that she
has had a bad day.
Emma Long, TWM cook, loves
her job and says that she works
for great people.
Howell and Johnson say that
the earlier grade B sanitation rat
ing that the cafeteria received
was due to improperly working
dishwashing equipment and in
adequate temperatures on coolers.
This was the reason that students
ate with plasticware for some
time. The grade is now restored
to A since these problems have
been corrected.
Howell siays that the lunch
hour for this year has been ex
tended to last from 11:30 to 1 p.m.
She feels that this was necessary
to handle the number of students
who actually eat at lunch time.
Breakfast and dinner, though, do
not have very much participation,
and Howell does not feel the need
to extend them.
She says that provisions have
been made for students who have
gastrointestinal or other health
problems, or who for religious
reasons or by personal choice do
not eat certain foods.
“I started stressing the salad
bar, putting out chicken salad,
fruit salad, soup or whatever else
I felt would be better for those
students,” Howell says.
She recalls that the diet-plate
have a serious problem that
needs to be dealt with.”
“When will racism ever
stop?” asked Tracei Shavers,
a freshman from Winston-
Salem. “Everyone feels like
their race is superior, so you
cannot stop others from ex
pressing their beliefs because
it’s their right.”
There are quite a few
others who feel we are enter
ing a decade resembling the
turbulence of the ’50s and
’60s.
“The acts that are being
performed on blacks today
are the same that were per
formed on my forefathers,”
said Monique Jones, a junior
from Rahway, N.J.
“I feel we are regressing
back to the lynching of the
past because of ignorance
among and for one another,”
said Jaki Davis, a freshman
from Washington, D.C. “We
are uneducated about differ
ent races and we are not
open-minded enough to accept
plan that was used last year was
ineffective. The names of students
who could not eat the food that
was being served were placed on
a list by Nurse Cora H. Waddell.
Those students could come in and
request a diet plate.
“I could have a student come
in one day and ask for a diet plate,
and then the next day I could
come in and see them with five
or six waffles on their plate
smothered in butter and syrup,”
she says.
Howell has placed a suggestion
box at the entry of the cafeteria
so that students can tell her what
they want. The problem with the
suggestion box, though, according
to Howell, is that the students axe
not specific enough in their criti
cism,
“Criticism I can handle, but
give me some constructive criti
cism, something I can work with.
Then maybe we can do some
things,” says Howell,
One of the things that she plans
to do is to start an annual tradi
tion for the senior class called a
“Wine-and-Dine Delight.” She
says that the senior class will
come in and learn to eat some of
the finer foods, specifically sea
food.
“If you are a senior, your
grades have already earned you
an interview. If that company
wants to take you out to dinner,
you need to know how to eat
certain foods, which fork to use,
and things of that sort,” says
Howell. “This will be our way of
preparing the senior class.”
Howell says that she will try
to give students what they want.
“I can’t serve T-bone steaks
every night or every week, but
I can come as close as possible,”
she says.
rise
a race and their culture for
what they are. And until we
do that, we will always have
racism.”
Other sources mentioned
improvement of racial rela
tions since the ’50s and ’60s.
“I believe blacks and whites
have come a long way since
the lynching of the ’50s and
’60s,” said Areaka Foye, a
freshman from Landover, Md.
“We’re working and educating
ourselves together, and that
was something our parents
and forefathers could not do
back then.”
One respondent confirmed
that racism is a nationwide
problem.
“Racism is a nationwide
problem for everyone who
wants to accept that we in
this nation have a problem
with other ethnic groups,”
said Terrilynne Jenkins, a
lunior from Syracuse, N.Y.
“It is not only happening in
New York and Virginia, but
it’s everywhere.”
Public Enemy gives sermon at A&T’s Homecoming
by Marci Smith
The rap group Public
Enemy is taking the risk of
lessening its popularity by
trying to incorporate a posi
tive message into its concert
performances, according to
students who attended A&T’s
Homecoming.
Students were not pre
pared to hear a sermon-like
dialogue which left very little
time for the audience to enioy
the music. Public Enemy does
have a reputation for using
Afrocentric Messages, but its
new approach to teaching
motivation to audiences is
definitely something thus far
unused in the music industry.
“It was a very positive
message, but it was delivered
to a totally unprepared and
somewhat unreceptive crowd,
who had come only to hear
the music and have a good
time,” said Kevin Roach, a
senior computer science major
at A&T.
“The group was trying to
drop a little knowledge, but
the crowd just wasn’t trying
to hear it,” stated Waita
Moore, a junior from Brook
lyn, N.Y. “They totally sur
prised people in their ap
proach; it just wasn’t the
right atmosphere.”
There is .something to be
said for Public Enemy’s per
sistence in bringing forth an
inspirational message.
“I think that they should
try to teach a positive mes
sage as often as they can.
If people are constantly
bombarded with positive mes
sages. I fee! that whether
they realize it or not, their
subconscious will tune in on
it and eventually come to
their realization,” speculates
Michelle Stewart.
“People who started to walk
out of the concert still stuck
to the message,” said Jerald
Waltington, a senior account
ing major at A&T.
Public P'nemy is definitely
serious about getting its mes
sage across at all risks. The
group is willing to jeopardize
its place in the rap industry
as one of the top groups.
For Howell, the most difficult
Racism’s on the