VISIT, from page 1
Africa’s peaceful transition to
democracy.
Other remaining events include
the African and African-American
Dance Repertoire with musician
Chuck Davis tomorrow at 8 p.m. in
McKinnon Hall, the film “Mandela
and de Klerk” on Saturday at 8 p.m.
in Whitley Auditorium and a dis
cussion about the financial impact
of the end to South African sanc
tions on Monday at 2:30 p.m. in
Moseley 215.
Selected students will also get
a chance to talk to de Klerk through
a question and answer session Mon
day at 4:30 p.m. About 70 students
were chosen from a large number
of applicants.
Those selected to participate
were asked to send Francis’ office
the question they would like to ask
de Klerk. Francis said the seven
best questions will be selected to
start the 45-minute session. The
remaining time will be for random
questions.
“We’re trying to get people to
prepare for (the session),” Francis
said. “You’ll get some real sub
stance out of the first part and then
you’ll have some spontaneity.”
Exposure From the Visit
If Thatcher was an indication
of the amount of exposure Elon
will get, the school should get plenty
from de Klerk’s visit.
“You can’t dream of the
amount of exposure having had
Margaret Thatcher here on cam
pus,” Francis said. “It was just a
wonderful program.”
At least five television stations
and a half dozen print journalists
attended the meetings, including a
reporter from the Associated Press.
DE KLERK, from page 1
the man himself.”
De Klerk, the 1993 co-recipi
ent of the Nobel Peace Prize, will
speak to students, faculty, staff and
members of the Elon Society about
the transition to peace on Monday
in Alumni Memorial Gymnasium
at 7:30 p.m. His appearance closes
out a week of films, panel discus
sions and other events celebrating
South Africa’s peaceful transition
to democracy.
De Klerk was part of the white
minority ruling class of South Af
rica before he helped end apartheid
rule in 1993. De Klerk, who be
came president in 1989, and cur
rent president Nelson Mandela,
were the major players in the change
of government.
Mandela, a black political pris
oner for more than 28 years, repre
sents the majority bfack population
of South Africa, who make up 75
percent of the country. Mandela
was the other recipient of the 1993
Noble Peace Prize.Despite ending
apartheid rule and racial segrega
tion in South Africa, Mandela and
de Klerk have had their differences.
The main dispute among Mandela
supporters is de Klerk’s refusal to
condemn the principle of apartheid.
De Klerk, who rose to power
under apartheid, will admit that the
system led to injustices, particu
larly the forced removals of blacks
from places legally declared off
limits to them.
“That is where it became
wrong, where it became morally
unjustifiable, where it became an
impairment of the dignity of
people,” de Klerk said in the Jan. 3,
1994 issue of Time Magazine. He
added that the system might have
worked in South Africa, had all the
nation’s diverse ethnic and tribal
groups accepted geographic sepa
ration voluntarily.
Some people around the na
tion don’t consider de Klerk much
of a peacemaker.
In late March, de Klerk can
celed an appearance at Yale Uni
versity because of protests sur
rounding the former president’s
handling of human-rights in South
TENURE, from page 1
faculty feel this is a flaw in the
system because students do not re
alize the importance of their input.
“What I think is a weakness in
the system is that students are not
advised about how important those
evaluatory vehicles are,” Mason
said about the surveys." They are
not administered in a serious enough
fashion for the student to realize
that their opinion counts.”
When a professor is up for
tenure his or her evaluations are
examined by two groups, both of
which make a recommendation.
The first group is the faculty pro
motion and tenure committee. The
other is the dean, who submits a
suggestion to Maher. The recom
mendations from both of these
groups are submitted to Provost
Gerald Francis who makes a rec
ommendation to President Fred
Young. Young decides which pro
fessors to recommend to the Trust
ees.
Congratulations
to our New Sisters!
nson
Africa. De Klerk was scheduled to
receive an honorary fellowship at
Yale’s law school.
But a group of Yale students
who called themselves the Coali
tion of Concerned Students col
lected 200 signatures to keep de
Klerk from receiving the fellow
ship, which recognizes “distin
guished contributions to the public
life of a nation,”
The group accused de Klerk of
lying about his government’s hu-
man-rights abuses. In a statement,
the coalition said, “We would have
relished the opportunity to pose
questions that have, for far too long,
gone unanswered.”
Despite a long line of enemies,
de Klerk did get the ball rolling
toward democracy in South Africa
when he initiated talks with
Mandela shortly after the founder
of the Umkhonto we Sizwe section
of the African National Congress
(A.N.C.) was released from prison
in 1990. And it was de Klerk’s
historic bush council that lifted the
government’s ban on the outlawed
A.N.C. that freed Mandela in the
first place.
De Klerk is quick to anger any
time someone blames him for hold
ing up the change to end apartheid.
Mandela, who was originally
raised to be a chief of the Xhosa
tribe, wasn’t exactly a peacemaker
from the beginning either. The
Umkhonto we Sizwe was founded
to participate in violent acts against
the South African government in
the early 1960s.
His imprisonment was a result
of his involvement in the group.
Still, the two men were able to
mend their differences and save a
country that was likely headed for
a bloody civil war.
Time Magazine writer Paul
Gray said, “Their common genius
was that they saw in the conver
gence of circumstances a ripeness
of moment — and that they acted.
Each needed his other, absolutely,
in order to succeed —and each knew
it.”
Another honor the two men
received for the historic agreernent
was Time Magazine’s Men of the
Year Award in 1993.
The major result of the change
in government was the first all-race
elections in 1994, which Mandela
won, De Klerk had served as sec
ond deputy president in the new
government until last summer.
He continues to lead the con
servative National Party and is ex
pected to be a presidential candi
date in the next election in 1999.
“De Klerk could still have a
major role in South Africa’s fu
ture,” said Elon political science
professor Bob Anderson, who will
be the moderator in the student
Q&A session with de Klerk set for
Monday at 4:30 p,m.
For now, de Klerk will spend
his time speaking about his
country’s amazing change to de
mocracy and what the future could
hold. Elon gets the next chance to
hear from this sometimes contro
versial former leader.
A professor denied tenurehas
a one year contract at Elon and can
appeal to the executive committee
of the Board of Trustees. Profes
sors are only allowed to appeal on
grounds of a mistake in the review
process, not on merit, said Maher.
Mason was denied tenure earlier
this year and is currently in the
appeal process.
The tenure task force, which
consists of Maher, Francis, Dean
Rosalind Reichard, three members
of the Board of Trustees, six fac
ulty members and a student, is look
ing at better ways to define the
difference between the tenure track
and the professional, or nontenure
track.
Maher said the professional
track gives faculty members a con
tract for several years, but they
have no expectation to receive ten
ure.
One problem being looked at
examined is the faculty review poli
cies of the different tracks.
“We want all faculty to be re
viewed in the same way using the
same criteria,” Maher said.
Mason said another problem is
that faculty on tenure track don’t
receive the feedback from the ad
ministration that they need. He said
improvements need to be made to
clarify the expectations of the ad
ministration.
Maher said the task force is
looking into all these areas of fac
ulty concern.
“These are very difficult is
sues and they don ’ t come with easy
solutions. If you go to any college
or university, you will find mem
bers of the faculty unhappy with
the tenure program. It will never be
perfect,” she said.