PAGE TWO
THE BENNETT BANNER
Friday, April 27, 1990
Bennett should be proud of faculty
During the past two-and-a-half years, I have written several editorials cri
ticizing Bennett. Some members of the faculty, staff and student body now
even expect to me to write editorials which criticize my “alma mater.” I emp
hasize alma mater because I consider myself more an alumna of A&T than I
do Bennett. But that editorial has already been written.
For this last edition of the Banner for this school year, (and possibly per
manently), and my last editorial as editor, I’m not going to downplay Bennett.
Instead, for once. I’m going to write about something good. But first, bear with
me a little. Even through my bad times here, I never gave up on my dreams or
goals.
I was determined to succeed no matter what obstacles Bennett put in my way.
And believe me, there were numerous obstacles. But I overcame them, with the
help and encouragement of several instructors and one special librarian.
Even though Bennett, as a college, is not up to par, members of its faculty
and staff are. If Bennett College can’t be proud of anything else, it should be
proud of the McKissick-Kemps, the Julia Scotts, the Dr. Adams, the Dr. Pont-
ings, the Dr. Meeks and most certainly, the Mr. Gaspenys. Each of these people
has individually contributed to my success here, and I would like to thank
each of them for their wisdom, friendshp and never-ending willingness to help
in whatever way they could.
Bennett may not be all that great, but its faculty and staff members are.
There was a time when I thought that there was nothing good about Bennett,
but I was wrong. And each student should be able to find at least one good
thing here. All you have to do is not let the bad attitudes and disorganization
discourage you from making the best of your college years.
I’ll be graduating next month and looking back on my four years at Bennett,
I can now say that I found six good things here: McKissick-Kemp, Gaspeny,
Adams, Ponting, Meeks and Scott. (Yvette Freeman)
Younger generation is unjustly criticized
Many members of the younger generation have often been told how much
easier things are for us today as compared to earlier times. In some instances,
young people are even put down. Our generation includes teenagers to college
students. It is during this period that one discovers and develops his or her
individuality.
It has been said that today’s young people are apathetic and have no deter
mination to give back to society in order to improve things. This idea is an
invalid generalization. Some adults believe that we have had too much given to
us; therefore, we take too much for granted.
Is there really justification for saying we have life significantly easier to
day? In some respects, this is true. We are fortunate enough to live in a time
when technology is flourishing beyond people’s expectations. Many families en
joy a higher economic status than they could have years ago. Some of us may
not have to work as hard as our parents and grandparents once did.
Although all of these things may be true, there is a deeper issue to consider.
Beyond all those superficialities, such as having expensive cars and fashionable
clothes, young people today are faced with many more serious issues. Granted,
our parents had their share of problems at our age, but their problems were
not of the same degree. There are several more serious problems in society
today.
We, as young adults, are faced with some difficult situations. Everyone is
aware of the threat that drug abuse is causing America today. There has been
a dramatic increase in the number of teenage suicides within the past few years.
People are terrified of the AIDS epidemic and how it might affect us in the years
to come. There is an increasing deterioration of the family unit, which means
people are growing farther apart. Combine those problems with an increasingly
competitive job market, in which now there are no guarantees, even with a
college degree. All of these factors amount to a very stressful environment.
These are just a few major problems young people are facing in an uncertain
world.
Everyone in society, both young and old, has to contend with these same
problems. The difference is the way in which one copes with those problems.
My focus concerns how young adults are coping. We are sometimes forced to
face the grim realities of life before some of us are ready or able to handle
them. Young people are not to be blamed for problems in society today, contrary
to the beliefs of some others. No matter whose fault the problems are, all of us
should work together to rectify some of our problems.
Fortunately,there are many young people who are accepting the challenge
to try to make things better. Despite the numerous obstacles placed in the path
way to success, there are many young adults who are reaching their goals. These
positive results are sometimes suppressed while people tend to dwell upon the
negative aspects of society.
As young people, we have to make some difficult decisions from time to time.
Due credit should be given to those who choose to make the right decisions.
Instead of branding an entire generation as “hopeless” or “apathetic,” every
one should consider both sides of the issue.
If those people who believe we have a worry-free life could walk in our
shoes, I truly believe they would find that it is not as easy as they might have
thought. (Ardra L. Brewington)
Life under apartheid recounted
a review
by Erica Salter
Imagine living in a shack in
South Africa and eating garbage,
leeches and blood soup, and you
have envisioned only part of the
living hell described in “Kaffir
Boy,” Mark Mathabane’s powerful
and shocking autobiography.
Kaffir boy, which means nigger
boy in South Africa, gives an
accurate, first-hand depiction of
life under the abominable system
of apartheid.
Mark “Johannes” Mathabane,
along with the other blacks of
South Africa, suffered under op
pressive laws and were at a ter
rible disadvantage. Black police
men constantly raided the homes
in the ghettos, checked passes,
took bribes and arrested those
who did not have money for
bribes.
Passes were papers which gave
a person an identity, enabled him
or her to get a job and go to
different places. If these papers
were not in order, the person
would be arrested, severely beaten
or kOled.
When word came that there
would be a raid, those who knew
their passes were not in order
would run miles away and hide
in ditches. Children would be left
at home and were often beaten
by policemen for not telling them
the whereabouts of their parents.
At one raid Mathabane and his
father refused to tell where
Mark’s mother was, so the police
men arrested his naked father
in the street.
Apartheid drastically affected
the economic and educational
status of blacks. While whites
were Living in elegant brick or
stone homes and eating nutritious
meals, black families were living
in wooden shacks and eating
rodents, insects and sometimes
their own feces. When times were
good, they ate brown bread and
corn me'al. Mathabane’s seven-
member family shared a wash
rag.
Education was a luxury for
blacks. However, the system was
inefficient. There was an epidemic
of illiteracy. This situation wasn’t
surprising, for Mathabane’s pri
mary school contained 2000 stu
dents in a building the size of a
Bennett dormitory and teachers
too old or too young to instruct
and displine effectively.
The dropout rate in these
schools was over 60 percent. This
was because fees could not be
paid, uniforms and books could
not be purchased, students could
not withstand ‘the strict corporal
punishment policy and gangs
threatened those who attended.
Mathabane became a member
of a gang that beat him up. At
one point he was so afraid that
he did not attend school for over
three weeks.
The employment situation was
grim. It was modern-day slavery
for the majority of those who
leave their homes at four in the
morning, catch a “black only”
bus to a hostile white world, ijer-
form menial tasks, such as field
or house work and return home
at about seven at night.
The money earned was barely,
if ever, enough to purchase neces
sities or pay bills. Interestingly
enough, men who are unemployed
are arres.ted and transported to
prison farms.
As Mathabane grew up, he be
gan to realize that the system
was evU.. He understood what
apartheid entailed and refused to
remain in a country where such
vicious laws were enforced. This
enlightment came after numerous
children were killed during a
peaceful protest. Thousands of
young people marched, sang,
shouted words of black power and
denounced apartheid. This slaugh
ter turned out to be not only a
tragedy in South Africa, but in
the world.
Children in South Africa needed
role models to emulate. Those of
black South African descent barely
existed, so Mahatabne looked to
men of other countries, namely
America.
Out of the U.S. came Muham
mad All, Martin Luther King and
professional tennis player, Arthur
Ashe who was the first black man
to play at Wimbledon.
These heroes fought in more
ways than one; Ali, with clenched
fists. King, with words that soft
ened hearts and Ashe, with a
racket.
Ashe was highly visible in the
movement because he traveled to
South Africa and denounced apar
theid. He was a dream figure who
gave blacks the incentive to keep
striving and awakened their spirit
of determination.
One other influential person to
Mathabane was his father, who
unconsciously drove him to want
something better for himself and
his family. His father tried to
hinder any progress the boy made.
He refused to pay school fees,
saying school was a waste of time
and splurged what little money he
had on alcohol and gambling.
Mathabane hated his father for
this. He promised himself that he
would never be like his father.
Throughout his life, Mathabane
excelled academically. When
Arthur Ashe came to South
Africa, he began playing tennis
and distinguished himself in a
sf>ort, also. These positive attri
butes allowed him to befriend
influential whites from England,
Germany and America who would
eventually open the doors to his
future. These whites ignored apar
theid after learning the true facets
of its laws and they encouraged
Mathabane to tell other whites
of the horrible reality of this
system.
Mathabane’s white friends de
cided to make contact with
American colleges to get him an
academic or tennis scholarship.
Mathabane graduated from secon
dary school and was offered many
seholarships, one from Princeton
University. He also accepted a
summer job at a South African
bank and made more money in
one month than his parents made
in six.
After offers poured in from the
states, Mathabane decided to at
tend Limestone College in South
Carolina on a full tennis scholar
ship. He graduated from Dowling
College in 1988 and now resides
in High Point.
*TXe Fennell
Editor-in-chief Yvette N. Freeman
Reporters Iris Becton, Rehan Overton, Erica Salter
Photographer Yvette N. Freeman
Adviser Michael Gaspeny
Opinions expressed in essays, 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. AH 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.
The American government consists of hypocritical men
a column
by Rehan Overton
I am so disgusted with the
American government. Until
I saw the movie “Bom On the
Fourth of July,” I never rea
lized how corrupt and insensi
tive this country’s political
system really is. And we call
ourselves a free and democra
tic society ? America, wake
up and smell Uncle Sam’s
dirty laundry!
Our national leaders are
nothing but an organized
group of hypocrites who sling
mud at each another and think
the American public vrill ac
cept the political garbage they
gently wrap in pretty bureau
cratic red tape. Like prom
queens, our political leaders
are chosen on popularity, not
platform. Campaigning has
now come down to who can
sing “Yankee Doodle Dandy”
the loudest without letting
his opponent get in a note.
Our country is left to suffer
the consequences of an incom
petent, unscrupulous bunch
of over-polished, sniveling
administrators who can’t tell
broccoli from their you-know-
what’s !
Once I heard someone state
that the young people of today
do not have the fire and vigor
of generations past, that we
are the complacent “Me”
generation. I beg to differ
with this uninformed indivi
dual. My generation has just
as much fire about apartheid,
drugs, the environment, and
education, as our parents did
about the Vietnam War, civil
(see page 3)