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Page 2A - THE CHARLOTTE POST ' Thursday, April 12, 1984 editorials & comments Albrightls Challenge Equity And Excellence Rooted in 600 years of aca demic regalia tradition and ceremonyi Robert L. Albright was inaugurated last Sunday as the 11th and youngest presi dent of Johnson C. Smith Uni versity. The ceremony was the culmination of a week-long series of events blended with the 117th anniversary of the foun ding of the four-year degree granting institution. Dr. Albright told the 800 per sons in attendance at the dual ceremony in his inauguration address that, “...the most vital role for a president of a college is to establish a clear vision for the university...and pursue the high est standards of quality...” Al most within the same breath, Dr. Albright said, “I fervently be lieve in the value and signi ficance of the nation’s'historic ally black colleges - for they are institutions which have...provid ed meaningful educational op portunities for depressed and disadvantaged populations when few other institutions were will ing or able to take on such an assignment...” Ironically, most predomin antly white colleges still don’t and won’t take on the task of educating disadvantaged youth by whatever definition. Iron ically, too, the black institutions with their meager resources, higher staff costs, and many predominantly white institutions attracting the better academic students and faculty members, somehow continue to survive and play at best a beginning role up the educational ladder for many, if not most college trained black youth, and at worst try to bring other youth to the lowest step on the higher educational ladder who, in too many cases, vyill National Disgrace The barroom gang-rape of a young woman on a pool table in the state of Massachusetts last year, and the national attention given the recently ended trial with the media focusing more on the character of the victim than on the rapists, is a continuing example of how Americans abuse females. Now, we hear of a California day care center that has molested literally hundreds of very young children - rape, sodomy and porno movie- maKing. Tragically, in the abuse of children it is not just the : experience academic failure when they might have been quite successful in a non-college career. However, having tasted defeat in the educational arena, many such youth abandon all hope of pursuing other educa tional options. Albright stressed the fact academic excellence will require strong support from alumni and supporters of black colleges. He might have added that giving by foundations is often gauged by alumni and supporting giving. Undoubtedly, too, academic excellence and equity, particu larly at black colleges and uni versities, must begin in the high schools or earlier, so that collegiate resources do not have to be used for remedial course, that is, subsidizing the high schools’ course work with in structions and learning that should have occurred before a youth enters college. Black colleges and universities carry a disproportionate share of this burden, both academically and financially. Thus, Johnson, C. Smith like so many of its fellow black insti tutions of higher learning, is in the midst of a new but con tinuing crisis in the pursuit of equity and excellence. These characteristics (equity and excellence), are being placed in the fabric of JCSU by new mentor, by a man who knows the value of vision and has a vision of the future for Johnson C. Smith University. Because of his courage in of fering himself, alumni, friends, faculty and students and new challenge to heighten their quest for equity and excellence, we wish Dr. Albright well in his endeavor to create a NEW JCSU. sadistic acts of those doing the molesting. There should also be a concern about those sick- minded people who would choose to see porno movies involving little children. It is long past time for firm laws to be enforced and passed to protect the minds and bodies, psychologically and physically, from the deranged minds of some adults. With more women entering the workforce and need ing child care assistance, our national disgrace becoihes in creasingly urgent. Let us act now as your child and mine may be next. ths 60\(ef^NMeNT mu notpmscr us amp IF THFFOUICe CANNOT, nr FOUCWS 7HATULACH CtnZFNS NUSTFROTFCr THehSUVFSf *WE CANNOT WAIT UNTIL DISCRIMINATION ENI^ BEFORE WE RID OlDi COMMUNITIES OF CRIME. WECAN NO LONGER EXCUSE CRIME BECAUSE OF SOCIETY^ INEQUITIES,. WE STAND MENACED BY OUR OWN KITH AND KIN. ms INCONCEIVABLE TOME THATWEWHOHAVE PREIAILEDINSPITEOF THEBARBAfflSM OF WHITE PEOPLE SHOULD, IN THE LAST QUARTER OFTHE CENTURY, STANDAS MUTE SPECTATORS TO OUR DOOM. !WITH SABRINA JOHNSON CCHI Mop Dto-IntegrafidM Of Tfie Black CeihmHniffie* Are They Meaningless? How Important Are Polls? By Ann Robey Special To The Post Hardly a day goes by during this busy election year without a new poll appearing in the news papers or on television. Today’s poll might show Mondale with a slight lead, and tomorrow, it might be Hart who holds the edge. How important are these polls? Are they worth the time and money spent to do them? That all depends on who you are, according to Dr. Ted Arrington, profes sor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “For the general public, the polls are meaningless,” said Dr. Arrington. “There is absolutely no relation ship between what the polls say now and the result of the election in November.” On the other hand. Dr. Arrington noted, “Polls are very useful to the candi dates. They can find out where they need to cam paign, what kind of cam paign to run, what the is sues are, and where they can exploit the weaknesses of their opponents. Private polls are particularly valu able in this regard.” According to Dr. Arring ton, polls have been in existence since the 1930’s. However, exit polls are relatively new, having only been used in the last 10 to 20 years. “Exit polls are used as a check,” explained Dr. Arrington. “The numbers you get from the election offices are all mixed up. You can’t tell how many voters were male, female, young, or old. With exit polls, you get a better idea of who actually voted. By comparing these figures with pre-election polls, you can at least establish the degree of accuracy of your polls.” Polling operates on two prime assumptions, both of which Dr. Arrington said are false. First, the poll sample represents accurately the population. False. It can be mathematically deter mined how likely the sam ple is to be representa tive, but it is nearly im possible to represent the population exactly. “The more people you poll, the more accurate you are likely to be,” said Dr. Arrington. “The margin of error with 600 people could be plus or minus five per cent, while with 2,000 people, the error rate could drop to plus or minus three percent.” The second assumption is that pollsters can talk to strangers and be told the THE CHARLOTTE POST “THE PEOPLE’S NEWSPAPER” Established 1918 Published Every Thursday by The Charlotte Post Publishing Co., Inc. Subscription Rate $17.68 Per Year Second Class Postage No. 965500 Postmaster Send 3579s to: 1531 Camden Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Telephone: 704-376-0496 Circulation: 11,023 106 Years of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Bernard Reeves Fran Farrar Dannette Gaither Editor, Publisher General Manager Advertising Director Office Manager Second Class Postage No. 965500 Paid at Charlotte, North Carolina Under the Act of March 3,1878 Member, National Newspaper Publishers’ Association North Carolina Black Publishers Association Deadline for all news copy and photos is 5 p.m., Monday. All photos and copy submitted become the property of The Post and will not be returned. National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. 2400 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago. III. 60616 Columet 5-0200 45 W. 45th St., Suite 1493 New York, New York 10036 212-489-1220 From Capitol HiU Achievements Of Black Caucus Alfreda L. Madison Special To The Post Recently this reporter had lunch with some black women from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, who were in Washington attending Wo men’s Aglow Fellowship, a religious group which is closely allied with the Born-Again Christians. They asked me what were the black members of Congress doing? There is no black congressperson from either of their states. Since blacks still look more to the white press for information on govern ment issues that affect their lives, with very little attention given to the black media, they are ill- informed about the many accomplishments of the Congressional Black Cau cus. There are 435 members of the House of Represen tatives with only 21 of that number being black. Since a few states have more than one black congress- person, there are only 16 of the 50 states plus the Dis trict of Columbia with a black member of Congress. These 21 persons stay in the forefront fighting for is sues that affect the whole nation, with specific con cerns for the 26 million blacks, other minorities and the poor. The Caucus members have to wage an Alfreda L. Madison battle to get Lins uuunixy lu accord the same treatment to coun tries with a large black population as it does to white populated nations. The advent of the Rea gan Administration and its brazen attempt to reverse the civil rights gains, the Congressional Black Cau cus’ (CBC) task has be come more . burdensome. Yet, notwithstanding all of the enormous tasks, the Caucus has had tremen dous success. During the first half of the 98th Congress that end ed in 1983, CBC achieved many of its legislative priorities. Each year, since Reagan has bwn Presi dent, the Caucus has pre sented an alternative bud get. Alter presentation on the House Floor of the Democratic budget, with addition and deletion of its amendments, the House budget resolution ended with the inclusion of 75 percent of the Caucus’ 1984 budget. Representative John Conyers reaped the fruits of his 15 years introduction on the floor of the House, a Martin Luther King holi day. While the Reagan Ad ministration was not in favor of the bill, he was left with no alternative but to sign it because of the House vote of 338 to 90 in favor and the Senate vote of 78 to 22. CBC member Augustus Hawkins, Chairman of the House Labor and Educa tion Subcommittee on Em ployment Opportunities, proposed and steared pass age of the House $3.5 billion which will create 500,000 jobs for the long term unemployed. This bill is pending in the Senate. The most controversial amendment to pass the first session of the 98th Congress was the amend ment which prohibited U.S. support of the Inter national Monetary Fund loans to South Africa. The Caucus was able to get another South African re lated bill passed by the House which prohibits U.S. corporations from making any new investments in that country. Retention of this bill is being worked out in the House-Senate conference. Another Caucus success is the $145 million set aside tor disadvantaged busi nesses and organizations, with the principal benefi ciaries being black col leges. The first housing author ization bill to pass Con gress since 1981 was pro posed and successfully ushered by the Caucus to passage, in spite of strong opposition. The federal supplement al compensation benefits which were increased through March, 1985, and Title 20 social services block grants increased from $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion were enacted be cause of the Caucus’ work. The enforcement payments of child support passed the House without a dissent ing vote and is now pend ing in the Senate. The 1983 Social Security Act incorporated initiatives to increase benefits to the aged, blind, disabled and poor under the supplement al Security Income. All of these social benefits are the results of the CBC’s deep concern and unfalter ing efforts for all the na tion’s needy. Without the unceasing dexterity of these 21 black members of Congress, one shudders to think of the predicament of the 26 million black citizens, other minorities and the poor, in this nation. Sabrina absolute truth. According to Dr. Arrington, people don’t always know the an swers to the questions. They make up answers that make themselves look good. “The trick,” said Dr. Arrington, “is to ask sim ple questions that people can answer and will an swer truthfully. For ex ample, do you usually vote Democratic or Re publican? Or, if the elec tion was held today, who would you vote for? They might not know the answer to that last question, but then they may not know on election day either. At least this type of question comes closer to mirroring election day.” One result of polling is that it tells candidates which campaign strategies are working. When asked about candidates, people mention things that are apparent in the campaigns. Tying Walter Mondale to special interest groups is an example. If it had not been used as a campaign strategy, it would not be mentioned as an issue. “Polling is a vital part of democracy,” he said. “If a candidate tailors his cam paign to voter concerns then fails to follow through when elected, he is dis honest. Dreams Into Realities Now that spring has officially arrived, it is time to stop and “smell the roses.” Time not only to familiarize oneself with public issues and presidential campaign promises, but to rejuvenate and forge ahead. It is a time to turn dreams into realities. Taking this into consideration, the writer has chosen not a social issue, nor a political one, but to fociis on someone with a dream who is turning that dream into a reality. The public education system and its woes are social issues. However, the writer has found one woman who has discovered a light at the end of one of the dark educational paths. Her name is Ruby Bell. She is from Philadelphia, PA, and now resides in Willingboro, NJ. Mrs. Bell has been a part of the Philadelphia public educational system for more than 25 years. Throughout her endeavors of teaching and managing, she discovered a major weak ness in the students - their inability to take tests effectively and efficiently. She found a certain amount of test anxiety followed the announcement of standardized tests coming soon. Taking this information in hand, Mrs. Bell set out to devise a systematic ap proach to teaching children how to first take tests, and ultimately develop better reading and comprehension skills. In doing so, she combined her teaching education, experi ence and demands of co-workers into a comprehensive program titled “Reading Test Practice For Parents and Children” The story continues from there. Prior to the formal publication of Mrs. Bell’s reading materials, she circulated the work among her co-workers who found the materials to be most helpful in the class room. After the positive response, Vel Bell, Inc. was developed by Mrs. Bell and three associates. (A.G. Watkins, C. H. Davis and M. H. Pierre-Louis), and since then, three publications have grown: (1) “Reading Test Practice For Parents and Children” (1981), (2) “Test Taking Practice Pull Outs” (1983), and (3) “Reading Practice Booklet” (1983). All developed with one goal in mind - improving test-taking and reading skills. These materials have proved to be successful in the Philadelphia area. But the story does not end there. Although Mrs. Bell’s educational mate rials are success-oriented, many obstacles have found their way into the publications’ success. Vel Bell, Inc. is faced with a visibility problem. By being a small com pany, school boards shy away from the materials believing that large companies have better quality teaching materials for this area. Financial backing is another problem area for the company. Vel Bell, Inc. has found that because the product is new to the marketplace, potential investors are few and meek. The publications are the best of their kind, unfortunately, the three above stepping stones are acting as poten tial anchors. Ruby Bell is standing up to the anchors and is fighting to up-root them. She is actively turning her dream into a reality by continuing to publish the materials, tests and update and market them to their present potential. Marketing potential for the publication can be broadened if visi bility and curiosity demand increase. To do this, she and her associates are taking the materials and presenting them to as many people as possible. Formal presentations are made on behalf of the publications. Parents complain of their children’s test scores and their inability to understand what they read, board members and prin cipals complain of the decline in test scores - well, here stands a potential answer to the problem. Vel Bell, Inc. publications have been founded, tested and found true to increasing the skills found to be weak in America’s children. Through these publica tions can be found a ray of hope - hope that can become a reality: the reality of being literate in a world with a high illiteracy rate. This is part of the dream Ruby Bell is turning into reality. She is doing her part to combat the crippling disease of illiteracy in the United States. As it stands now, her product has only reached a small area, but as parents, teachers, principals, and board members come to terms with possible alternatives, Vel Bell, Inc. will be part of the alternative solution. Turning dreams into realities - is that not what America is all about? Ruby Bell is turning a dream into a reality - although Vel Bell, Inc. seems to be operating against the odds - it is the long shots that prove to be the most profitable. ..NOTE TO READERS: If interested in finding out more about Vei Beli, Inc. for improving test taking and reading skills, piease write to: Vel Bell, Inc., P. O. Box 66, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 12, 1984, edition 1
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