Newspapers / North Carolina Central University … / Feb. 27, 1980, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of North Carolina Central University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 2 THE CAMPUS ECHO WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1980 Editorials And Comments THE BLACK PRESS: A SAVING GRACE Freedom of the press can certainly be seen as an in alienable right of people in a free society. It carries with it the freedom and res ponsibility to discuss, ques tion, and challenge actions and utterances of our government and of our pub lic and private institutions. But from the earliest days of the nation, the concept of a free press was meaning less to Black America. Most Blacks were slaves and the principal interest of the press in their condition was to support their continued enslavement. The press ig nored those Blacks who were free, except when it had the opportunity to con done them. The constant encouraging of slavery and denouncing of freedom for the enslaved prompted John Russwurm, America’s first Black college graduate to launch Ameri ca’s first Black-owned news paper-Freedom ’s Journal “We wish to plead our own cause,” Russwurm wrote. “Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in things which concern us dearly.” Thus began the life of the Black press which has stood the test of time. But just as the future of historically Black schools is now in question, so may be the future of the Black press. It all began several years ago when the white press, as a direct result of the civil rights movement and the changes it was producing, began to give more atten tion to Black affairs. No longer was the Black press the only medium telling the story of Black people. The White; media, had joined in reporting the Black experience. But with the end of its monopoly came a new challenge for the Black press. It had a new competitor. The White media which previously closed its doors to Black journalists now welcomed By LARRY D. REVELLE Editor-In-Chief them. Obviously the Black press soon began to lost many of its top peole to other me dia. Better working condi tions, higher salaries and professional recognition were the lure. But we must continue to support the Black press be cause we still need it. We need a press that speaks to our needs, and'.will' repqr| our births, triumphs, faii-c ures, deaths, and all the other events that make up our lives. Even if the majority press wanted to expand its cover age of Black affairs, there is a limit beyond which it logi cally cannot go. It is ques tionable whether it’s general readership, which is pre dominantly white would tolerate such a policy. Currently the majority press is evidencing a dec-, lining interest in Black af fairs, an attitude induced by the absence of demonstra tions and confrontations CONVOLUTED REASONING Reprinted from THE CAROLINA TIMES Saturday, February 9, 1980 In the December 12th is sue of the Campus Echo, the official student news paper of North Carolina Central University, a survey was conducted to elicit the pros and cons of the propo sal to require compulsory class attendance next Sep tember. The question was put be fore a student from each class. Such a muniscule sampling can hardly be con sidered as representative of the majority opinion on the campus, but we think it is. The opinions were three-to- one against compulsory class attendance. More interesting than the sampling results were the erratic flight of logic that the students used to express their objection to compul sory class attendance. The most convoluted reasoning was that “we’re mature a- dults.” Another student ob jected because “compulsory class attendance was re quired in high school.” It was even suggested that stu dents had the right to “blow their own money if they wanted.” This reason ing was empirical evidence of the depth of the pro blem. It is clear that achieving maturity is confused with reaching a majority and continuing education is thought to be the same as staying in school. Public education costs the taxpay ers one hundred and sixty billion dollars annually. Nine out of every ten stu dents at NCCU receive some tax supported aid. This money is an invest ment. Colleges do not make education happen; at best they can only make it poss ible. Colleges provide the opportunity to get an education and tax dollars make it possible to take ad vantage of this opportunity. A good education today is an economic necessity. The opportunity that is “blown” is the students’ but the money squandered is largely the taxpayers. There must be accounta bility for the spending of state and federal tax dol lars. That obligation does not end when a student re ceives a grant-that is when it begins. To accept money for an education and then refuse to attend class is fraudulent. The punishmOTl should be expulsion. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Education is seriwis and expensive. Mack schocds roust not become a regarded as newsworthy a few years ago. Many white presses con stantly attack the Black schools and promote the ne gative side of Black commu nities. This is the case in Durham. ' Less than 5% of the per sonnel in the mass commu nication media are Black, with the’lowest percentage 3in the Metropolitan daily ■ press. In creating the Black press. Black Americans cre ated a needed and valuable dimension to the concept of a free press in America. It provided a forum for which unpopular ideas were aired unifying an oppressed mi nority and in the finest spir it of the first amendment petitioning to government to redress those wrongs. The Black press has been a sentinel against injustice loudly and fearlessly de crying the evils of our soci ety despite efforts to silence them. Let’s continue to support the Black press. Subscribe to Black papers and maga zines and use them for ad vertising means. It is claimed by some that the Black press is on the decline and on its way out. NO WAY! The Black press has been and intends to re main a torch lighting the road to freedom waging a continuing struggle against both overt and covert ra cism. haven and refuge for the indolent. A word about maturity- one does not achieve matu rity by just becoming 21 years of age, or by beating one’s chest and shouting “I’m mature.” Maturity isn’t judged by the number of “joints” one can smoke or by the number of beers one can guzzle. Boisterous obscenities are no indica tion of maturity. When a person is standing on his own feet and has passed from the dependence of adolescence to the res ponsibility of adult citizen ship, he can claim maturity. He is able to say, “I am pay ing my way in the human scene.” A person is not ma ture so long as he continues to try to solve adult pro blems in childish ways or to satisfy his ego with adole scent experiences. One sim ple objective is to become all that one can become, to progress from what is pass able to what is excellent and from what youth yearned to what maturity fulfills. Responsibility is the inevitable price one has to pay for independent matu rity. The answer to the ques tion “Should Central return to compulsory class atten dance,” is inherent in the question. , THE CAMPUS ECHO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LARRY D. REVELLE ASSOCIATE EDITOR RUTHELL HOWARD BUSINESS MANAGER . ..RONNIE JOHNSON ADVERTISING MANAGER SAMUEL COOPER NEWS EDITOR JAMES K. GREEN III FEATURES EDITOR WINFRED CROSS ;; CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER BRUCE LEE u ;;CHIEF OFFICE MANAGER MARILYN WILLIAMS CIRCULATION MANAGER CYNTHIA TAYLOR I CHIEF TYPIST TANYA PRUNTY o o O o n o o n o o O (’ 11 O u THE CAMPUS ECHO is a semi-monthly newspaper (i y serving the greater North Carolina Central University'* community and is published by the students at NCCU 11 every second and fourth week during the school year o except holidays. ^ All contents copyright 1980 by THE CAMPUS ECHO, ^ '•North Carolina Central University, Durham, N.C. and '' I [may not be reproduced in whole or in part, without [[ I > the expressed written consent of the editor. 11 THE CAMPUS ECHO appreciates letters to the editor. \Please address all letters to THE CAMPUS ECHO, Box 19896, NCCU, Durham, or via campus mail to Elder Student Union, room 104-B. THE ECHO attempts fo^ Wprint promptly all letters it receives but will make .cer- *^*^tain exceptions. i t THE ECHO will not print letters which are not signed \*with the legal name, class, department, campus address, I \and phone number of the writer, or letters judged to be ; \libelous. THE ECHO will withhold the writer’s name if (ihis request is accompanied by some valid reason. '' THE ECHO reserves the right to refuse letters contain ing racial, ethnic or sexual slurs; vulgar or incomprehen sible letters; or letters over 200 words. THE ECHO witl edit all letters for clarity, brevity, 'and correct usage, and reserves the right to delete ob- ' scene words or phrases.
North Carolina Central University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 27, 1980, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75