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Duke University Library
Newspaper Department
Durham NC 27706
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"FEB 2 6 1382
v , INTHISISUE
f ' "Our Blood Runs Deep"
Blacks In The Military, Part III
X Special Black History Section
. ; Save Alt Three Ports
- (USPSjLigQ) : '
Words Of Wisdom
Mind are Bke parachutes. They oaly frac
tion when tbey are open.
Lord Dewar
The sorest way to be dull is to say H all.
French Prorerfc
VOLUME 63 - NUMBER 8
DURHAM, WORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1982
TELEPHONE (919)82-2913
New NCCU Student,
Protect
.'"V.- . . ' ; j " t : - "its '
A Times News Analysis
, - .. -.
By Milton Jordan
The recent student boycott of classes at North
Carolina Central University again reveals the tip of
an iceberg of serious communications problems
.that seem to have plagued this university fof years.
Both university officials and student leaders, say
the problem is not that students don't have ways of
. being involved in decision-making, but that
sometimes student comments arc hot taken serious
ly. :
It is a matter of conjecture how often student opi
nion is ignored because jt is unrealistic or because
some faculty and administrators just don't want to
- consider what students say.
"NCCU has more student representation on a
number of committees than a lot of. other univer
sities," said Curtis Massey, Student Government
Association president, who led the recent boycott of
classes, arid chided more students for not being in
volved. "But there are a lot 6f faculty members and
administrators who do not take student input
seriously and that i$ the problem."
Last week, about 600 students met in the univer
sity cafeteria to discuss plans and reasons for the
boycott, but then only about 200 students actually
didn't go. to classes. .While Massey has previously
insisted th,at the boycott was not intended to
threaten the administration, he did admit in a recent
.Interview that the demonstration was staged before
a planned meeting between student leaders and the
Trustee Board chairman to give students more
leverage in making their demands.
"To that extent, I think the boycott was suc
cessful," Massey said. "I think jthat students have
' gained more respect on this campus because of it
than we ever had before!" r
. But( while University Chancellor Albert N.
Whiting deplores the student demonstration, he
.concurs that there is a communications problem.
!I daresay that we don't have 100 per cent con
census qn the importance of student representation,
but by and large, I think the faculty and administra
tion have come to respect student input,"
In depth Interviews this week with both Whiting
Paresis
'Cbmmu.nicatidjis -VProblom
and Massey revealed dozens of examples of - i, Massey's position, to whatever extent it
, misunderstandings, contradictions and almost in represents the student body, can be characterized in
stitutionalized divisions that are likely to keep this three major categories:
conflict smoldering under the surface for. a long He would like to see more examples of student
time yet. j;.. ''..'iv , ; 's suggestions becoming a part of university policy, or
I rftf. if rr- J
LOS ANGELES Robert and Darline Austin in front of their home at 45.1 Wst dUt street aft, h
had learned the city treasurer had sold their home, which thev had made their final navmeni nn uimp 17
years ago. The home now valued at $45,000 was sold to a speculator for a mere $174 in 1974 to pay a delin
quent tax bill. The Austins say they knew nothing about the sale of the house or the bill for street liehtina
refuted by clearly provable facts, rather than, in his
words, "being ignored." In other , words, be
believes students should have more influence as well
as input. '.;...'''-. .t-;:' ...
He does not want to see the rules that apply to
irresponsible students be, applied to studenp who
have demonstrated more responsibility. He could
not suggest ways to designate one student more
responsible than another one. r
He wants to see more examples that ad
ministrators "fight" for students when either the 1
UNC Board of Governors or the State Legislature
render decisions that students believe are hot in i
their best interest. : sr
Whiting's response is simple: "There are areas of
decision-making in this university where student in
put is simply inappropriate. There are other areas
where there is no way to deviate from decisions
rendered by upper levels of the statewide university
system. And each of these areas often', affects
students directly, but there is no easy way to change
that system. In those areas where we have the
leeway to consider student input, I think we have
done so, and wil continue to do so. But there are
some things that simply can't be done." :
An immediate,difference between Dr. Whiting's
position and Masseys contentions is that Whiting
has more documentation to support his arguments
while Massey's contentions often seem to revolve
around opinions, seifond hand information from
students, and a general feeling that many members
of the faculty and administration are automatically
against any student position on an issue.
For example, Massey said the reason students
wanted more than one student representative on the
Search Committee assigned to find a replacement
for Dr. Whiting who will retire next year is because
". . . .one student cannot adequately represent
5,000 students, particularly a student body as
diverse as this one.1'
Whiting, on the other hand, said the reason
(Continued On Page 4)
pi!
taxes until a county marshal tacked an eviction notice on lheir porch a week ago. A Superior Court judce In PactorTinn Pqcq
has given them a 30-day stay of eviction at Hie request of legal aid attorneys. .cMpta..a 'V , ""lalGIIIIIlJ UdG.
Wayne WfflSffii?
Father Testifies
For Defense
By Trellie L. Jeffers
ATLANTA - In a
dramatic two days of
testimony, Homer
Williams , took the
witness stand last week
for the defense Vf his
son. He is the father of
Wayne Williams, prime
suspect in the case of
Atlanta's 29 missing
adults and children.
The younger Williams
is on trial for the
t murders of Nathaniel
,Cater and Jimmy Lee
Payne and at least ten
other, of the Atlanta;
murders, have been link-:
cd to him.
The 68-year-old
. former educator told the'
jury that Wayne
Williams was a "model'
son who had been suc
cessful in his various
business ventures"
despite the fact that the ,
prosecution 1 offered
evidence that fr young
Williams flunkeu of.
Georgia State Univei..
.and that the elder
Williamscs have gone
bankrupt in 6r3cr to
; finance their son's
i various "businesses".
Homer Williams also
denied under direct
cross-examination that
his son once choked him
when he refused to write
and went out for an ap
pointment the ap
pointment which ap-,
parently took him, three
hours later, across the
Chattahoochee.!
However, the prosecu
tion has been unable to
locate the person, named
as Sharon Johnson by
William.v, whom young
William;, was to have
met.
Homer Williams' alibi
also conflicts with his
son's who had said
earlier when questioned "
that he had remained on
the telephone "making
business deals until one
o'clock a.m." on May :
22, and had then left his
home for an appoint
ment.. In addition, the
elder Williams was
unable to prove to the
jury that he had in fact
gone on May 21, 1981, to
a photography session,
saying "the appointment
had been canceled and it
was therefore not record
ed in his appointment
book."
H. Williams ' also
testified that the' green
carpet which the pro
secution said was rare,
and had been found in
the Williams home and
on at least ten other
murdered victims was
not installed in his home
Law School Solves
Major Problems
Page 3
Durham Academy of
MedicineDentistry Pharmacy
Page 4 .
1
New Housing Commissioner 's Vote
In Old Fight
Symbolizes
Victory
By Milton Jordan before the board, but
Now when Mrs. Alma then was silenced when it
Steele casts her vote as a came time to vote,
member of the Durham "It was sometimes
Housing Authority's very frustrating because
board of commissioners, 1 realize that much of my
it symbolizes the victory ability to influence the
in a seven-year struggle, other commissioners was
Mrs. Steele, who has shortcut by my not being .
lived in McDougald Ter- able to vote," she said,
race, a subsidized nous- "But still, I did my best
ing community, for more to represent the issues
than twenty years, was and concerns of the
recently appointed to the residents, and I think I
board by the Durham Ci- did a pretty fair job, con-
ty council, ine appoint- sidering the handicap."
from .an opinion
from conflict and therefore
the, North Carolina 'At-'", woi .v.ate the law.
torney; general s, onice
saying, that for a tenant
to vote on the authority's
board of commissioners
would violate the state's
law against public of-
ficials having a conflict
. of interest.
The Opinion essential
ly concluded that since
commissioners', decisions
directly or indirectly af
. feet ' housing authority
However, after strug
gling with a bill to
"clarify the law," Rep.
Kenneth B. Spaulding
(D-Durham) succeeded
in getting the new law
passed in the last
legislative term.
"It passed the House
in the 1979 session, but
didn't pass the Senate,"
Spaulding explained in a ...
Dhone interview. "Then
him another check and
that this prompted him A.in 1971 as is claimed, but
(the father) to draw a was installed
in
December, 1968. He nro
duccd an ad from a 1968
issue of a local
newspaper, which he
said prompted him and
his wife to buy a "more
expensive type" after be
ing convinced that it
would be installed before
Christmas.."' , ,
Since that testimony.
gun on his son.
Hpmer Williams also
offered an alibi for his
son on May 21 until a
few hours before he was
stopped, at 3 a,m. , on
May 22 On the bridge of
the Chattahoochee River
where a stake oui team
said they heard a loud
splash. Homer Williams
j it . 1 . . 1 ' 1 1
saia mat ne naa gone io nuwexcr; rename reports
a photography session, have surfaced that a loan
taking" the only family document filed with the
car and that upon his Fulton County deed of-
' return around midnight, ice has been found to in
the , younger Williams7 dicate that Mr, and Mrs.
war in bed asleep. He' Williams made a loan
. said that his son received with Prudential Home
a telephone call shortly Improvement Corpora-
j after midnight. The son.tion on December 7,
then got out of bed, ac-. 1 97 1 for - $1,97188, in
cording to H. Williams, .which the Williarhses,'
' (Continued On Page 4)
ment finallv cave th
power of the vote to a
seat she has occupied
since 1975.
The Durham Housing :
Authority operates
almost 2,500 units of1
housing including con
ventional subsidized
apartment complexes,
two Turnkey III single
family developments,
and more than 600 units
of housing leased under
three separate federal ;
programs. '
More than . 8,000
families and individuals
live in housing under the
Housing Authority's
control.
v Except for , rules
specifically mandated by
federal laww or regula
tions, all housing
authority policy is set by
the Board of Commis
sioners, appointed by the
Durham City Council.
The implication of Mrs.
Steele's appointment to a
voting seat means that
subsidized , housing i
residents now have a''
voice in policy, rather"
than merely an opinion. !
For seven years,, Mrs. 1
Steele, 65, who
represented the Housing .
Authority's tenant
population, had to con
tent herself with giving
her opinion on issues
The handicap sprang
residents, any resident ; last year, when it again
with a vote would be in. (Continued On Page 4)
Brings Black History Stamp
Collection To Durham
By Milton Jordan
Over the past three
years, Shelley Murdaugh
has traveled more than
3,000 miles, spending his
own money to show his
unique black history
lesson to more than
100,000 people.
Murdaugh, 52, a
Philadelphia postal
police officeri collects
stamps, and other ar
tifacts that com
memorate , famous
American blacks.
"There is always more
than , one way lo
demonstrate - black
history and the contribu
tions that blacks have
made to thii country,"
Murdaugh said. t"With
the collection that I've
put together, I show that
K1 irtc hau tidAM inufstlif-
ed in a lot more things f
than some of us realize. " J
Murdaugh, who takes
leave time from his job
every- February 'during
Black History jjtfonth to
take his exhibit on the
road, came to Hillside
High School and North
' Carolina Central Univer
sity two weeks ago. More
than 1000 high school
and college students
visited the exhibit. ;
Standing in the middle
of the room with his ex
hibit hung and propped
around him on the walls,
on tables
Murdaugh,
and chairs,
a tall tan
,man, witn sieaay Drown ,
eyes, talked with the
authority of a man who
loves what he does.
(Continued On Page 2)
Of Murder
By Qonald Alderman
After deliberating Yor 6'i hours, a Durham
i Superior Court jury of ten women and two men
Tuesday found Thomas Carter guilty of second
degree murder in the beating death of Ms. Cynthia
Carol Easterling.
Judge Giles Clark granted a defense motion to
delay sentencing until Friday, February "26." Final
motions also will be heard Friday. ,
Defense Attorney William Sheffield is expected
to move to introduce evidence concerning'
statements Mark Allen Upchurch allegedly had
made to inmates that may be favorable to Carter.
Upchurch is also charged with Ms. Easterling's
death and is awaiting trial in Durham County jail.
A jailer reported that he heard rumors indicating
Upchurch had made statements to inmates that
would have been in Carter's favor.
The partially clothed body, of Ms. Easterling was
found behind a picnic shelter in Duke Park around
12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 1981. A public
safety officer patrolling the area became. curious'
when he spotted a shoe and pocketbook in the park
ing lot.
The. officer later, found Carter lying on a bench
under the shelter before spotting a body laying on a
pile of lumber behind the shelter.
An informant later notified police that some of
Ms. Easterling's belongings may be in a car belong
ing to Upchurch. He was subsequently arrested.
The defense strategy appears to have ironically
worked to presecute Carter. The state couldn't call
Upchurch as a witness, but the defense could and
did. When Upchurch took the stand, he put all the
blame on Carter. f
Upchurch testified that Carter repeatedly struck
the victim with a wooden chair teg while he waited
at his car which was parked nearby.
According to testimony, Ms. Easterling died as a
result of multiple blows to the head. Tne chair leg
was found in the shelter where Carter was sleeping,
according to testimony. ;
Clark also granted a motion to have Upchurch
examined at a state mental institution.
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SHELLEY MtlKUAUUHjmd NCCU Students and Stamp Collection Exhibit.