2
Martin attack spurs student outcry
♦ Emotional outpouring from all sides of the campus follows attack on Senate President
BY MARJORIE HALL
NewsEcStor
Shortly after midnight on Wednes
day, Feb. 11, Senate President Molly
Martin was assaulted in the Senate of
fice on the second floor of Founders.
She was knocked unconscious and the
attacker wrote "nigger lover" on her
chest. Many community members claim
the incident was not just an isolated
occurence, but an extreme example of
the racism present on the campus.
The attack provoked an open fo
rum for the Guilford community on
Thursday night in the cafeteria. Several
hundred students and members of the
faculty, staff, and administration attended
to voice outrage and concern over the
incident and to offer suggestions about
what can be done. "We are here, not to
apologize, to try to atone, or to feel guilty,"
said Martin. "We are here to act. And
there are certain people at this school
who have been begging us to act for a
long time now."
After a brief description of the as
sault, microphones were opened to any
who wanted to speak. English profes
sor Beth Keiser commented, "I've been
around here a long time. I've seen a lot
of meetings, and I've never seen any
thing like this."
Many of those who spoke ex
Week of February 20-26
20- Morning Quaker Worship, Hut,
8:05 a.m.
- Two Short Plays, Moon Room, 8
p.m.
- Union Flicks, Breakfast at
Tiffany's at 8 p.m. and The Muppets
Take Manhattan at 10:30 p.m. in the
Underground
- Friends on the Land Conference
at New Garden Friends Meeting
-Theater Studies presents "The
Devil's Gateway," Sternberger
Auditorium, 8 p.m.
21- Morning Quaker Worship, Hut,
8:05 a.m.
- Two Short Plays, Moon Room,
8 p.m.
-Friends on the Land Conference
at New Garden Friends Meeting
-Theater Studies presents 'The
Devil's Gateway," Sternberger
Zhe Week at
pressed anger over the inaction of the
faculty and administration in the wake
of Rob Owens' resignation last semes
ter.
"We have a people who are unsup
ported and we need to do something
about it," said sophomore Cassaundria
Penn.
Others also
expressed frus
trations that the
position was not a
position just for
African-Ameri
can students, but
that the position
was described as
"multi-cultural."
Students also complained that fac
ulty had not responded after a group of
African-American students made an
emotional presentation at a faculty meet
ing on Nov. 5. All of these issues were
also the subject of an AACS meeting
attended by President Don McNemar,
Academic Dean Martha Cooley, Dean
of Student Life Mona Olds, and others
on Wednesday night, previous to the at
tack.
Cooley acknowledged that the fac
ulty had not met as a body concerning
the Nov. 5 meeting.
Institutional inaction was not the
only issue, however. Many African-
Auditorium, 8 p.m.
22- GCRO Meeting for Worship,
Moon Room, 9:15 a.m.
23- Morning Quaker Worship, Hut,
8:05 a.m.
24- English Awards Banquet,
Carnegie Room
-ArtsECT presents Sweet Honey ii
the Rock, Dana Auditorium, 8 p.m.
25-Morning Quaker Worship, Hut,
8:05 a.m.
26- UNION presents Blues Coffee
house with KJ James, Underground.
9 p.m.
-Two Short plays, Moon Room, 8
p.m.
- "The Devil's Gateway,"
Sternberger Auditorium at 8 p.m.
News
American students spoke of an overall
attitude on the campus which excludes
them from the community. "You cannot
call yourself a community and behave
the way Guilford is behaving," said fresh
man Michelle Otis.
Though many talked about the need
for greater dialogue among the students
"Incidents such as this prove
that we are not currently
successfully teaching val
ues. " —Jack Zerbe
ceptable," said freshman lan Watlington.
"I hope dialogues regarding race be
come routine and not merely reaction
ary. Dialogues on issues such as race
should be like breathing."
Ideas included discussion groups
regarding race sponsored by JPS, an of
fer from WQFS news director Mike
Filoramo to put together a daily forum
for race and gender issues for the radio,
and theatre studies professor Jack
Zerbe's assertion that values should be
an integral part of the new curriculum.
"Incidents such as this are proof
that we are not currently successfully
teaching values," Zerbe said. "If we
were, it would show up in the shape of
our curriculum."
Issues besides that of race were
also addressed at the forum. "I think
we need to question whether or not this
would have happened if the student body
president had been a male," said senior
Chris Weber. "The pressure has been
building up and building up, drawing its
source from the issue of race, but when
it finally broke, it was onto a woman's
body. We need to look at where our hi
erarchies connect, because in this case,
I think they do."
Director of Residential Life Elgina
Manuel delivered an energetic speech
and faculty,
many speakers
also called for
action. "The
continued inac
tion of languid
liberal whites
enrolled and on
staff is not ac-
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calling for a greater representation of mi
norities and women in the faculty and
administration of the school. "We need
to put people in these positions who look
like us," Manuel said. "When I say
people that look like us, I mean people
who are black, white, Asian, women, and
people in wheelchairs. How can you talk
about race and gender issues when you
have people of a certain gender or color
who are not represented?"
On a more specific level, many
people expressed their fury at the inci
dent itself. "I can not believe the audac
ity of a person who would come into our
home and do this to Molly, do this to all
of us," freshman Kemba Bloodworth
said. "No more."
Students also expressed concerns
about security.
Security did not call the Greensboro
Police Department or Director of Secu
rity Sylvia Chilcott until the next day.
Zerbe proposed installing key cards in
all buildings on campus and instituting a
24-hour lock-down. More security
guards and GPD officers than usual pa
trolled the campus over the weekend.
The incident is still under investi
gation by the GPD and the security de
partment.
"The investigation is moving along
quickly," Chilcott said. She says that her
department will release information to the
student body when that can be done
without jeopardizing the investigation.
Amid the anger and frustration of
the Thursday meeting and the rest of the
aftermath of the attack, some have ex
pressed hopeful sentiments. "Things
have happened here that have not hap
pened in other places, so I'm encour
aged," said Manuel. "But just because
I'm encouraged doesn't mean I'm apa
thetic."
"What happened was horrible," said
religion professor Joe Groves. "But we
have a really good opportunity out of a
bad situation."
Corrections
The Guilfordian
February 20,1998