Page 6
February 15, 1988
In Perspective
The sports mirror?
The RAW Essentials
by MONICA PARHAM
Staff Writer
In recent months two sports figures,
A1 Campanis of the Los Angeles Dodgers
and Jimmy “The Greek" Snyder have
made questionable remarks regarding
black athletes. Their statements have
ranged from "blacks may not have all the
capacities to lead” to "blacks bred in
slavery to be physically superior". Un
fortunately, such attitudes exist not only
in the sports world, but also in areas such
as business and education.
Consider A1 Campanis' remark about
blacks not having the capacities to lead.
Since that now infamous interview on na
tional television, much has been made of
the fact that there are no black managers
in Major League Baseball or black head
coaches in the National Football League.
"So what?" you may ask. Of course
I am offended by that statement, but since
I don't plan to be a coach, why worry
about it? Why? Note that there is not a
single black Chief Executive Officer of a
Fortune 500 company.
Put Mr. Campanis' remark into the
mouth of a personnel manager. "Well,
blacks are some of our most loyal workers
on the assembly line, but I don't think that
they have the capabilities of becoming
managers. All of the complex work that
managing involves — working with
figures, auditing finances, dealing with
worker complaints, and dealing with the
Board of Directors. Our line workers are
by GERDA D. GALLOP
Staff Writer
For many minority students, the
departure of Hayden Renwick. former
associate dean and director of the Office
for Student Counseling, was both a shock
and a devastating loss. Renwick served as
a reassuring voice from the inside who
understood the needs and concerns of
minority students, especially blacks on
campus. He knew how "the system"
operated and attempted to show blacks
how they could beat that system in order
to succeed at Carolina.
Below are some responses to the
question, "How do you think that Dean
Renwick's departure will affect black
students at UNC?"
"Minority students should be con
cerned because the future of the Office for
Student Counseling may be in jeopardy by
Dean Renwick's leaving. If minority
students lose the Office for Student
Counseling, they will lose a support
system which is the major support system
for minority students."
Teressu McKoy, junior, biology
pre-med
"Dean Renwick has been wilh the
University for many years, and he's been
a role model. He’s had experience with
happy with their jobs, they know that they
are doing a good job, and they are paid
well enough, so why put them into a posi
tion where they are destined to fail?”
For young black college graduates
entering the labor force, the implications
of attitudes such as Mr. Campanis' could
be quite severe.
Too many people ignorantly hold Mr.
Snyder's same belief that blacks are
somehow "physically different". This at
titude is even beginning to affect black
youth. Many of these teenagers feel that
all they have to do to succeed in life is be
able to shoot a basketball or run a foot
ball. They see superstars such as Michael
Jordan and Magic Johnson, and somehow
that English and biology look less impor
tant; after all, Shakespeare won't exactly
put that Ferrari in the driveway.
However, the chances of a college
player making it into the NFL (note you
still have to get to college in the first place)
are 1 in 1000. and even if a young person
makes it, one turn of the knee could be
the end of the road. The average length
of a pro career in any sport is three years.
Somehow we have to convince these
people that their brains can be developed
as much as our friend Jimmy the Greek
claims their thighs are.
Perhaps in a strange sort of way we
can thank Jimmy the Greek and Mr. Cam
panis. Maybe their statements will shock
us out of the complacency that we seem
to have fallen into.
black students tor many years, and he s
worked hard to meet our needs. Even if
they have a replacement, they won't be
as effective as Renwick. Renwick already
knew how to help black students. When
he left, black students lost. What are
blacks going to do now? Who do we look
to for help?
Joseph Love, junior, economics
"1 think that it's going to set back
the progress that the minority students
were making. We don't have anyone who
knows the system — someone who can tell
us how to gel around."
Teresa Smith, junior, administrative
criminal justice/psychology
"The black students that need him
will think that the school did something
to make him leave, because he seemed
happy in his position. You can't really
replace him. Students felt so close to Ren
wick. He was so straightforward, you
didn't have any doubts about what was go
ing on. "
Nicole Majette, freshman, broadcast
journalism
"His presence will be missed great
ly because he has proven to be an incredi
ble asset to the black community here at
Carolina. "
Rencnta Clanton. si>phomore, broad
cast journalism
by DIANA LOWERY
Associate Editor
I went to see Eddie Murphy’s Raw
one night with nothing to do. I expected
the movie to be somewhat boring since
Eddie was doing close to two hours of
stand-up comedy. What 1 received was
beyond any expectations gathered.
Eddie quite literally busted on black
men and somewhat on women. His radical
statement of the night — “All men
cheat!" No matter how good a man’s
woman is, he will cheat on her. It's in
their blood and their sexual organs.
In Eddie's explicit style, he covered
the areas of; sex, marriage, love and rela
tionships. Never should a man get mar-
by RICHARD J. WHITE, III
News Editor
Participation in the political process
has long been a major concern in the black
community. The time is approaching to
elect campus leaders and officers, and
eventually, national leaders. At the end of
it all. it will be interesting to see to what
extent the black community, here at the
University and across the nation, has par
ticipated in the.se important elections. We
need to get our act together.
In the time remaining before elec
tions, take the time to learn about the stu
dent body presidential and Daily Tar Heel
candidates. Become familiar
with their stand on issues and concerns.
All decisions that are made while they are
in office will affect us in some way or
another. Every vote counts. One of the
benefits of voting is that the candidate
receiving our votes becomes accountable.
To ensure that the student body president
is responsive to our conccrns, we need to
do all that we can to elect the best
candidate.
In the community, there needs to be
a singleness in effort. It is marvelous to
have many voices, but we need to be sing
ing the .same song, preferably in tune. We
need to define focus, and set forth an
agenda for the upcoming year. Let us look
closely at ourselves to identify, en
courage, elect, and support articlulate, im
aginative and expressive leaders. We must
utilize those among us who have excep
tional skilfs in critical thinking and effec
tive planning.
The black community has always
been a place of nurture. We must com
mend our sisters and brothers for their ac-
ried anytime soon because he doesn’t
know what the outcome will be. If any
problem arises and divorce pops up — no
matter how poor a female was before she
went into the relationship, she will come
out with half of everything that the man
had. And as Eddie said, men just don’t
want to do that.
He asks that every man be wary of
females that they plan to marry.
Eddie had the whole theatre audience
rolling with laughter until the end when
he started telling jokes about his father.
Then it got a little dry but paying the
theatre ticket price was worth it.
1 left the theatre wondering as I'm
sure every other female was wondering
— Do all men really cheat?
complishments and encourage them to do
more. Most importantly, need to show
each other more respect. No matter how
many ways we find to separate ourselves,
our history makes us one. We must make
a commitment to that history which the
nation celebrates this month. We must de
mand that the truth be told. If education
is the transmission of culture, we must see
to it that our heritage is preserved and
transmitted as well.
On this campus, there are several
areas of concern. The BSM should not be
an organization best known for the per
forming arts. Its political arm must be
strengthened. The only way to receive
more space for the Black Cultural Center
is to generate a -demand through well-
attended, qualitative, fresh and infor
mative programming that not only enter
tains, but also promotes mind develop
ment. If the environment on this campus
was more welcoming and if a greater ap
preciation for those things “black" in pro
gramming, faculty members, and course
offerings existed, more emphasis could be
placed on retention rather than recruit
ment. There is something quaint about the
internal fabric of this University. A more
intellectually and culturally-oriented en
vironment is needed. And finally, we
must rally around the office of Student
Counseling now that we have lost a
cherished advocate in Hayden Renwick.
These are some areas that we must
look into and consider when we look at
a new chancellor, student body or Black
Student Movement candidate. Let us
make it our business to preserve our
heritage through political participation.
Those who stand tall in our
presence appear to be of unusual height because,
in most cases, they stand
on the shoulders of giants who have preceded them.
J.H.F.
Anyone interested in writing or being a
photographer for the Black Ink during the spring
semester should contact the editor, Sherry
Whitesides, at 933-0458. Interested persons do not
have to be journalism majors.
What do you thinic?
Power in Politics