North Carolina Newspapers

    November 12,1987
THE LANCE
page 3
Mzala Speaks
Free, Defiant, and
Still Unrepentant
What an incrediblc story! He
was 54 when he had his supposedly last
brealh as a ‘free man’. Today he is 77 and
has just been released from prison with
his convictions untouched, unscathed and,
more so, very unrepentant.
His name is Govan N'Ibeki, the
man whose back stood the test of time. He
who will live to testify against the inhuman
treatment of the South African black major
ity by the white-led regime. His life is a
living testimony of how one can spend
one’s 23 years of unproductive life in the
Apartheid’s jail. Yet, he cannot be quoted
or heard in ihc South African media accord
ing to the provision of the South African
regime’s banning order on his life.
The man in question had been
detained in 1964, together with Nelson
Mandela and some of his comrades, and
charged with High Treason; Opposing
Apartheid. They were sentenced to life in
prison for opposing that evil system and
seeking to destroy it by violently over
throwing the white regime. Nelson Man
dela was already in jail for two years by
then. During the trial, while the whole
world waited to hear those men’s fate, the
defendants refused to compromise their
convictions by unequivocally reiterating
their opposition to Apartheid. Their frce-
l6ms meant nothing in the land where
their human dignity was not respected
only because they were black. A sigh of
relief came when that devastating sentence
was passed. Capital punishment was not
inthe least unexpected, but we would rather
have them alive than executed.
Now why in the world would
leaders of such incredible influence be
subjected to that kind of situation? Govan
Mbeki is very clear on that. He could not
apathetically live and let die in the country
of his Father to see his children and his
people suffer the economic exploitation,
political oppression, ostracism, social and
racial discrimination, all because God
Almighty ordained that they be black. No
way could he stand such humiliation.
Govan and his comrades went to prison.
They did not know that their refusal to bow
to the pressure of being treated as sub
human beings would be raised as a phe
nomenal banner of victory by the younger
generation of today. The legacy of their
strength lies not in their past, but in the
present and the future. Their strength is an
inspiration worth its cost, a document of
our history, and a powerhouse to all the
freedom-loving people the world over.
A scorn over the South African
regime’s efforts to silence opposition and
rule happily ever after is cast by the fact that
the black majority know their leaders, in
jail or in exile, and they will not accept
any other government. Moreover, that ma
jority constitutes over 80% of the country’s
population. Hitler’s gas chambers would
not work, therefore, the problem which
was, and still is, remains unsolved.
How long is the situation going to
remain stagnant? As long as the power to
solve the prevailing problem remains
vested in the hands of the priviledged few,
it will forever be kept out of sight and out
of mind. Only a vigorous passion for lib
eration will enkindle the path to its attain
ment. Only those hungry for justice will
seek its cause. Itisthey who will break the
arrogant intransigience of the powerful.
We all love freedom, a fact even the most
fanatical dictator would be willing to admit
in a candid moment.
Be warned. South Africa, no
amount of repression will silence the
people’s desire to be free. No amount of
cosmetic convenient reforms will flush
away the people’s will to be free. Apartheid
is evil and cannot be reformed. It should be
eradicated. We are all sick and tired of
talking about it. It is a stupid theory, an
eternally doomed concept, and a blatant
display of the regime’s selfish desire for
power under the guise of racial conflict.
More so, it is a blasphemous interplay of
God and politics. History and common
sense know the inevitability of
Apartheid’s demise. Only the short
sighted Botha and his cohorts still desper
ately cling to the illusion of this outdated,
disgusting practice with the hope of creat
ing a better world for themselves.
Let us all salute the release of
comrade Govan Mbeki, on Thursday, Nov.
5, 1987, by loudly reiterating our call for
the release of all political prisoners in
South Africa, the unbanning of all political
organizations and amnesty for all exiles,
thereby creating an atmosphere conducive
to a peacefully negotiated settlement. This
message is to the sons and daughters of the
soil, you who love and cherish the ideals of
freedom, dignity and the brotherhood and
sisterhood of humankind. Your voice can
make a difference, too! Tataaah!
Student Rights Threatened
Chris Dolack certainly received
a warm welcome to this campus. A trans
fer from Appalachian State University,
Dolack was treated to a St. Andrews room
search three days after arriving here.
He voluntarily gave up the
articles security had been “anonymously”
alened to; an unused water pipe (a bong
in euphemistic terms) and a survival knife.
It was almost three weeks be-
Treriing Water
Opinion
Buck
T redway
tween the time this dubious room search
occurred and the time Dolack learned that
he was being charged for possession of
the items by the student attorney general.
The presence of the water pipe
was evidently assumed by the attorney
general to be evidence of intent to use
although no drugs were found.
Using the same logic we can assume that
carrying a jack in your trunk is evidence
oHntent to have a flat or possessing band-
aids is prima facie evidence of intent to cut
yourself. The doctrine of presumed inno
cence until guilt is established obviously
does not apply here.
Then we have the presence of the
survival knife of the type available at vir
tually any variety or hardware store. This
is the same type of knife which a member
of the Laurinburg Police Department states
is not illegal to possess or carry.
Fine, you say. It should be a
simple matter for Dolack and Student De
fense Counsel Judy Folmar to get together
and have this laughed out of Student-Fac-
ulty Hearing Court, right? Wrong.
According to Dolack both Fol
mar and Assistant Attorney General Matt
Wilson ad vised him not only to plead guilty
but to place his fate in the hands of the
dean of students. Picture an attorney ad
vising a client to have the member of con
gress who made the law decide his case.
Picture the traffic cop who stopped you
for speeding decide whether you were
guilty or not.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure
out that something is seriously wrong
when the office responsible for defending
student rights advises a student to plead
guilty to a charge which should not have
been brought to court in the first place.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure
out that you have eliminated all yotu’ op
tions and lost your chances of an objective
resolution to your case when the dean s
door closes behind you. As William
Shakespeare might say, there’s something
rotten in Denmark.
see Dolack , page 12
Student Association makes Progress
Charles Brown
Student Association President
We have entered the second half
of the ’87-’88 Fall semester, and it is pleas
ing to find that the Student Association has
made considerable progress. Through the
establishment of Executive committees,
we have formed channels of communica
tion between the students and respective
entities, namely, Saga and the Maintenance
department. These committees were estab
lished in order to do whatever possible to
improve the services of the above named
bodies.
The SA Saga committee, chaired
by Matt Wilson, has made considerable
ground in improving the aunosphere and
the services of Saga. The committee has
held taste tests, planned “theme nights,”
added meals to the menu via the taste tests,
attempted to improve the proportions of
food served, etc. Through the use of more
student suggestions and constructive criti
cisms, I’m sure that the committee will
have the opportunity to make further im
provements.
The recently formed SA Mainte
nance committee, chaired by Peter Rich,
has released a survey which we hope will
aid us in pin-pointing major problems and
concerns of the students in relation to the
services of the maintenance department.
The committee realizes that there are many
problems concerning maintenance, but the
best way for us to help the department
improve its services is to take on one prob
lem at a time.
Both of the above discussed
committees has the pledged support of
department directors and related admin-
strators.
The Student Association is aware
of the problems concerning the college
telephone system, campus security, cam
pus lighting, and other residential life re
lated areas. We have communicated these
concerns to college administfators and they
are working at devising effective resolu
tions to these problems. The SA realizes
that these concerns are in need of immedi
ate attention, however, we face what ap
pears to be a problem that is synonymous
with that of the total college environ: fi
nances. I have no idea when this problem
will be remedied, nor do I know why the
financing of such important projects as the
above named is so long in coming. I do
know that the sooner these things are taken
care of, the better. In the meantime, the S A
is making an attempt to resolve these prob
lems as well as our faculties will allow. The
student Senate has a committee which is
formulating a new proposal concerning the
telephone system. The Student Life
Committee has recently created a Security
sec Progress , page 12