Newspapers / Bennett College Student Newspaper / Oct. 26, 1968, edition 1 / Page 6
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1968 THE BENNETT BANNER PAGE SIX Knoxville College Students Plead For Help; Officials Under ^Pressure To Get A Scapegoa|’ By GEORGE CURRY On Oct. 28, 1968, three Knox ville College students will go on trial to face conspiracy charges brougjit against them as a result of the death of a white cab driv er, A.J. Boruff, on the campus last spring. The three, Pete Tigner, of Rome, Ga.; Joe Scott of Roose velt, N.Y.; and Gary Keel, Indian apolis, Ind. are now out of jail on bond. The national wire services ran a distorted account of events sur rounding this unsolved murder case. In addition, Knoxville's po wer structure has consistently harrassed student body members. Over 400, about half of the stu- dent body, have been taken down town for interrogation. Students reported being asked, "Why is your hair like that? You and who else killed Boruff? Did outsiders start trouble over there? Who are the black power troublemakers?” Everything grew out of the March 9th disturbance op the pre dominantly black Knoxville Col lege campus. Boruff was found dead near the campus with a .22 calibre slug in his chest. Who shot Boruff? Where is the murder weapon? Did a student shoot him? Answers to these questions have yet to be found. The cabbie was reportly shot around 4:30 a.m. About two hours earlier police allegedly chased some Molotov cocktail- carrying youths near the campus. Although police did not apprehend anyone on the scene, they claimed they recognized Ga ry Keel, as being a member of the group seen transporting the cocktails. City police uncustomarily came on campus and arrested Keel. Several students attested that po lice manhandled them. Arnsel Collier, in a complaint filed with the FBI said a policeman, "Grab bed me by my arms and started kicking me on my hips.” Students after hearing what happened, then summoned other male students from their dorms to inform them of the events that had taken place. The president of the college, Dr. Robert L. Owens, III, after an exchange with sev eral students and leaders, was finally persuaded to go to the city jail and see if any charges had been filed against these arrested. He then left immediately. The crowd then moved from the men’s dormitories to the wo men's dorms. No effort was made to lure women outside; speakers simply told what had happen. At this time the crowd split into several factions. Curtis Johnson, chairman of the Student Social Action Committee (SAC), a cam pus black concious group, went to the city jail and arrived at the same time as the college presi dent. About 30 minutes later a Check er cab driven by Boruff entered the front part of the campus. Some students was amid turmoil. Boruff, they report, continued driving. Coming to a second group of students, some say Boruff was chased. Others say he tried to run over students, then was chased. Neither version has yet been as certained. Boruff radioed his employer. Checker Cab Company for help. Police wanted to invade the cam pus immediately but Curtis John son and Dr. Owens argued against it. They felt that it would only cause more trouble. The police finally agreed not to enter the campus when Owens said Knox ville College would pay for any damages done to the cab. In Ap ril’s Southern Patriot, Mike Fri edman, an instructor at the col lege said this possibly prevented, “a bloodier Orangeburg.” Two hours later, Boruff was found dead. Since the incident the black community has made both resti tutions and resolutions to the Boruff family. Entainer, James Brown, owner of the radio station WJBE, gave $1,000 toward a trust fund for the Boruff children. The college’s alumni gave $5,000 that would have gone toward purchas ing much needed books for the schools library. The president of the college announced that the Boruff children will be allowed to attend Knoxville College free. Despite these gestures, the white community has still pres sured the school and the police to convict somebody, , ,anybody, . . The local Knoxville News Senti nel has spoken of "black power intervention.” Even the school’s president mentioned students at tending a ‘black power meeting in Atlanta’, which was actually a Na tional Student Association (NSA) meeting which simply held a ses sion on Black Conciousness. Ten- nessee Governor, Buford Elling ton, announced a $5,000 state re ward. Knoxville’s Mayor Leonard Rodgers said his administration "is very anxious to solve the case,” Chief of Detectives, R.I. Wag goner, Sr. is quoted as saying, "We know that there are some persons on the campus who are not telling all they know about the murder and we intend to find out just who’s holding back.” The 3 students are charged with con spiracy to commit arson (police claim that they were about to burn the gym and a women’s dorm) and possession of explosives, Tigner is further charged with "feloni ous assault.” The school’s administration has refused to intercede in behalf of the students. In a letter to Nyles Horton, director of Knoxville's Highlander Research Center, Walter H. Bishop, President of East Tennessee Civil Liberties Union said Dr. Robert Harvey, Dean of Faculty at KC "thought it is good that the prisoner couldn't get out.” In a letter. Bishop writes "Dr. Harvey then said that the bail (he thought) was set too low.” Immediately after this conver sation with Harvey, Bishop noted that the students bail was raised from $2,000 to $5,000. Bishop states, "I’ll always believe that Dr, Itorvey is responsible for this.” Harvey incidently, is a board member of ETCLU and chairman of the Academic Free dom Committee. In the meantime, the student body voted 430- 76 to take money from their student fees to aid the legal expenses of the accusedstu- dents. However the administra tion did not release this money until the students staged a one day boycott of all classes and demanded that the money be re leased. On May 2 a mistrial was de- dared in criminal court when an attorney for the study's, John Lockridge, Jr., became ill. The trial for the accused stu dents gets underway Oct. 28,1968, Funds are urgently needed to meet legal expenses. Getting Sick To Meet The Doctor, Girls? No Use, ‘He’s’ A Woman This Year Dr. Barbara Gravely As Seen By Cartoonist Fannie Carter Some Answers Are Found To Dining Hall Dilemma By MARY SHANKS Why can't we have more va riety? Why can’t the meal period be extended? Will we ever return to family-style dinner? These are a few of the questions be ing posed by the student body in reference to the obvious din- ing hall problem. Inquiries made by the Bennett Banner as to the reasons for the existing problem have discovered some answers. In response to the question concerning more variety, the din ing hall must operate inside a stable money allowance while contending with rising food prices. As yet, the dining hall has not been alloted any signifi- cant financial increase. However, menu, planning is done with stu dent likes and dislikes in mind, and is open to any suggestions •from the student body as to possible additions. Why can't the meal hour be extended? The answer to this question also involves a lack of finances which leads to a lack of student help. Few students can afford to work over-time for free and many students cannot work overtime due to class sche- dules. The lack of student help seems to be the primary factor pre venting a return to family style dinner. Secondly, there is the problem of facilities. Out of necessity, so it seems, the stu dent body will continue to in- crease in number. As yet, no pro visions have been made for ex panding the dining hall or incor porating a second dining hall to accomodate the growing enroll- ment. To those members of the stu dent body who eat early out of preference or necessity, the in tensity of the dining situation has made itself physically felt. Women’s Colleges Need Courses In Money Management Women may control the na tion’s purse strings, but a sur- very of 137 senior women’s col leges throughout the United Stat es, sponsored by Muriel F. Sie- bert, first woman to acquire a seat on the New York Stock Ex change, reveals that a majority of these four- year institutions of fer no instruction in how to in- vest personal funds or in other aspects of money management. Describing this central find- ing of the survey as "incredi ble,” Miss Siebert adds: "It is inconceivable that the ma jority of women’s colleges today are so bound by tradition that they require their students to take courses in lab sciences. Students Enjoy Kaffle Klatsche For those of us who enjoy a few minutes of intellectual ex change and "good, old” gossip, or for those who miss break fast, the Tuesday morning Kaf- fie Klatche wasawelcomedsi^t. The relaxing effects of hot cof fee and doughnuts are not only conducive to open conversation, but also creates a soothing at mosphere to read the morning mail by. Considering one of the initial purposes for hiving Kaffie Klat sche, that of encouraging stu dent- faculty communication, it is unfortunate that faculty atten dance seems to have dwindled. For certain, the faculty mem bers who do attend seem to en joy the all- campus coffee bread as much as the students. By ELSIE PERRY For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of getting sick yet, go on out, catch your lit tle virus and visit our Bennett Sick House. For those of you with qualms about male physi cians, forget'em. However, we don’t hav6 a gynecologist. All of the sisters who visit the infir mary to have the doctor diagnose “trumped- up illnesses” and give pretty little pills to match your dresses, think up some new ail- ments this year. This year for the first time in Bennett his tory, the infirmary is sporting a young, black, curly-haired, nee dle-prescribing female doctor who probably knows all of the pseudo-illnesses ttiat could cross our minds. Ladies\ we must in vent some new ailments. Nurse Trammell who ha:; always been so nice and kind now displays sadistic traits by sticking you with two inch needles. Don't com plain about the needles -- the doctor says, "What did you come here for if you didn’t want to get well.'’ Dr, Barbara Jean who is now our campus physician is not to tally new to the Bennett family. By DARWIN PRIOLEAU In just a few years our en tire curriculum of studies may become based on the Thirteen College Curriculum program. This all depends on its effec- tiveness during the experimental stage. The Thirteen-College Curri culum is a program using new teaching techniques enabling the student to obtain a broader un- She is a native of Reidsville, North Carolina and has visited the campus on various occasions in previous years. During that time Dr. Gravely says they seem ed too strict. Her under - grad uate work was done at Howard University; graduate studies were continued at Meharry Med ical College, Nashville, Tennes see. Dr. Gravely's area of spec ialization is internal medicine. She is the second oldest of five children. Not only is Dr. Gravely with us at this time but other family members are a part of the Ben- nett family. One of her brothers, Clinton E. Gravely was the as sociate architect of the new Henry Pfeiffer Science Building. Bill Gravely, a student at A&T State University, is a favorite of many Bennett ladies. The doc tor’s varied interest range from riflery to raising poodles and great danes. Her life's ambi tion is to operate a nice rest home for the aged. Even though operating a rest home may seem a little unusual for a 29 year old doctor. Dr. Gravely says she really wants to see a decent, well- run rest home for our sen ior citizens. derstanding of the subject. The job of the teacher is to assist the student in understanding prin ciples throu^ the use of guided experiences that direct his at tentions to the concepts invol ved, without the teacher going into a detailed explanation of the answer. Sometimes the sources are films, field trips, or qua lified speakers. Colleges Program On Go Again
Bennett College Student Newspaper
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Oct. 26, 1968, edition 1
6
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