I
f or At-Risk Students
Dole Challenges Business To Involve
Employees In Mentoring Program
- I Mt (JAMULINA I IMhS-11
I \VASHINGTON — Secretary of''
ijlxjr EUzabeth Dole has urged
l^ess leaders to get involved in
lielping troubled youth in our
lociety by setting up mentoring
jKigtams in their businesses.
^ "I am issuing a challenge to each
l^ess in America to involve at
least 10 percent of their employees
in some type of mentoring program
«ith at-risk youth...nothing can
match the benefits that come from a
one-on-one relationship between a
troubled youth and a caring role
model." Secretary Dole said in a
speech before the National
Association of Manufacturers
(NAM). "American business has a
duty to help the most economically
disadvantaged and least skilled
among us our at-risk youth receive
die skills and education to make
their dreams a reality.”
"Many students simply don’t
understand the connection between
staying in school and jobs between
good school work and good jobs.
Many youth don’t have a
successful foie model who can help
point out pitfalls and potholes on
the road,of life." Dole said.
Secretary Dole cited the positive
results of a Proctor and Gamble
mentoring program at Cincinnati’s.
Woodward High School ’’Just 1
percent of the s^tudents with
mentors dropped out. compared to
12 percent of those without
mentors. On average, participating
students earn one whole letter
grade higher than non
participants...98 percent of the
participants are promoted to the
next grade level, compared to 42
percent of non
participants...Imagine the
difference if ail the 13.500 member
companies of NAM involved
themselves with mentoring
programs." Dole said.
Dole served as the Honorary
Chairman of the National
dentoring Conference. "At that
ime. we will continue the
trganization of a network of
mentoring coordinators in cities
icross America. These coordinators
»ill serve as a ‘mentoring
dearinghouse’ in their areas,
providing information to interested
parties on the schools and programshe
that need mentors." Dole said.
Secretary Dole also commented
on the current workforce skills
crisis and its impact on the future
competitiveness of America; "the
basic skills of our woricforce are
eroding at a disturbing pace. ’The
continued success of American
business -of your business rests on
the quality and skills of your
present and future employees."
Speaking of her initiative to raise
the skills level of America’s
workforce. Secretary Dole said. "1
will soon appoint a blue-ribbon
commission of business, labor, and
education leaders, and will charge
them with the mission of
'hammering out national
competency guidelines that reflect
work readiness..." and, "...a
working defmidon of what skills
employers require and workers
ne^ on the job..."
Secretary Dole said the
Commission’s report will be sent to
business men and women across
the country and urged NAM
members to involve local
educators, "Take it in to your
school system’s administrator...take
it to your local school board...put in
on their desk and ask ‘Are we here?
Have we met these guidelines? And
if not, why not?”’
Minority Students Organize
To Become Hospitality
Industry Mangers
ITHACA, N.Y. — Opportunities
for minorities to become managers
in the hospitality industry will
increase tremendously in the 1990s,
according to participants in the
indusUy’s first minority network.
"Our population is changing
rapidly, and minorities will become
major consumers in the 1990s."
said Alfred Watts, 21, of New
Haven, Conn. A junior in the
School of Hotel Administration at
Cornell yniversity. Watts is
president of the Society of Minority
Hoteliers. "There will be
tremendous managerial
opportunities for minorities in
hotels, restaurants and other
hospitality businesses through the
1990s," he said.
Watts said that between 80 to 90
percent of minorities now
employed in the hospitality
indusuy occupy jobs in the back of
the house with very few out front.
"That ratio is going to change
dramatically," he said.
Dave Sampson, vice president
for human resources in the Marriott
Corp., Washington, D.C., told the
society’s first national conference
that minorities and women may
account for as much as 80 percent
of hospitality industry employees
Jty the next centpR'^.. .
'' Founded as^a-local organization
at Cornell in 1985, the Society of
Minority Hoteliers was reorganized
into a national group at a March
conference at Cornell attended by
46 hospitality industry students
from 16 universities and by 18
industry professionals, 16 of them
minorities. They came to the Ivy
League campus in Ithaca from as
far away as the University of
Nevada.
The society, which will hold its
second conference at Cornell next
year and then move to other
universities, was organized to
enable African-Americans, Asians,
Hispanics and native Americans in
hospitality education to meet and
communicate with minority
executives so as to improve their
job opportunities.
Three students worked with
Watts in developing the society’s
national publication and network
system. Michael Burkeen, 20, of
Allentown, Pa. was co-expansion
coordinator along with Evan
Frazier, 19, of Pittsburgh, Pa., who
also was co-conference director.
Penelope Wint, 19, of Wheatley
Heights, Long Island, was the other
conference director. The students,
all African-Americans,
commented:
Frazier: "We want to encourage
people of color to pursue higher
AT ISSUE
Grant Statehood to the District of Columbia?
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is
president of the National
Rainbow Coalition, Inc., a
human rights organization.
He is also national presi
dent of Operation PUSH
{People United to Serve
Humanity).
Should Congress grant statehood to the Dis
trict of Columbia?
Yes. The American Revolution began when
people said “taxation without representation is
tyranny.” District residents pay more than $1 bil
lion annually in federal taxes—more than nine
states. Of 115 nations with elected national legis
latures, only the United States denies represen
tation to the citizens of its capital. District state
hood is morally right, rationally sound, legally
possible and constitutionally permitted. All that’s
needed is a simple majority vote in the U.S. House
and Senate and the President’s signature. Histori
cally, statehood has been granted when three cri
teria have been met: (1) the people publicly have
expressed their desire to become a state; (2) the
people agree with the democratic form of govern
ment practiced in America; and (3) there are suffi
cient people and economic wealth to support a
state government. The district meets all these
criteria.
What effect would statehood have on the rest
of the country?
District of Columbia statehood is not for the dis
trict only! Quite likely it would mean an integrated
Senate where two progressive senators and a con-
gressperson would fight for a national health plan,
for affordable housing, for increased funding for
education, for strengthened laws that provide
equal protection under the law for all, for a cleaner
and safer environment, for a more just and peace
ful world through development of the Third
World, for the rights of workers (e.g., for raising
the minimum wage and against so-called “right-
to-work” laws), for fair farm prices and for fairer
and more progressive tax laws.
How else could we provide district residents
with full representation?
We could grant partial representation through
various annexation schemes. But democracy de
mands full self-determination, not just some rep
resentation. The Soviets granted representation to
the Baltics, but they voted for self-determination
instead. District residents deserve full self-
determination.Iil
U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula
(R-Ohio) was first elected to
Congress in 1972. He serves
on the House Appropria
tions Committee as well as
the House Select Commit
tee on Aging.
Should Congress grant sUiiehood to the Dis
trict of Columbia?
No. Numerous constitutional lawyers have ad
vised that Congress does not have the right to
“grant” statehood to the district. They believe a
constitutional amendment would have to be passed
by Congress and ratified by the states. I do not sup
port district statehood because the constitutional
questions are serious, the added bureaucracy
could be unmanageable for the district, and there
are other means for district residents to achieve full
voting representation.
What effect would statehood have on the rest
of the country?
I do not think district statehood would have a
profound effect. Politically, some conservative
states are concerned that the traditionally liberal
district would vote for liberal representatives. This
is not such a big issue in the House with 435 mem
bers, but would have a greater impact in the
Senate. I often hear a question like, “Why should
that city be made a state when other cities, like
New York, have millions of citizens living in
them?” There are valid arguments against this
question, but it seems to represent some of the
country’s sentiment.
How else could we provide district residents
with full representation?
It is not necessary to create a whole new state to
give district residents voting representation in
Congress. The land now comprising the district
once belonged to Maryland, and it makes sense to
turn it back to that state—minus a reduced enclave
of federal buildings administered by Congress—
just as the western portion of the district was re
turned to Virginia in 1846. Current district resi
dents would become citizens of Maryland, with
full voting representation. And retrocession would
preserve Maryland’s intent that the land it gave be
the seat of government. The question of voter rep
resentation for district residents is an involved,
serious one, but we do a disservice to the people of
the district if we limit the debate to only one
option.
©1990. PM Editoria!
IN APPRECIATION — George R. Lewis, vice president and treasurer, Philip Morris Companies Inc.,
accepts an Appreciation Award from the Black MBA Association, University of Chicago’s Graduate
School of Business. The presentation followed his recent keynote speech to the DuSable Busines:
Conference’s dinner at the Marriott Hotel. Making the presentation are, from left, Karen Mit “■ ‘i,
conference vice chairman and Leslie Brown-Franklin, conference chairman. Speaking on the't
"CORPORATE AMERICA AND THE BLACK COMMUNITY: An Agenda for the Future," Lewi:. '
the business students that talented, hard-working minority Junior executives would do well in major
business corporations in the future. He based his remarks on a combination of actions by sor
corporations, the large numbers of minorities scheduled to go into the workforce and the ir- ■
importance of the black community’s purchasing power.
levels of employment by
establishing networks of students
with industry leaders."
Wint "We the students will set
the standards for our society and
the goals that we wish to achieve.
We will help to establish society
chapters in other universities to
enable their students to make their
own direct contacts with industry
executives."
* Burkeen: "The contacts that we
make will be the underpinning for
opportunities and success of
minorities in the hospitality
industry now and in the future."
"This is a dream come true,"
Watts said. "The students are very
excited about their prospects. Many
of them who attended our March
conference are seniors or graduates'
who will take our society
immediately into the industry. Until
now, we students of color did not
have a system through which we
could-meet-and talk with people of^
colof^'Whb 3re working in the,
industry."
First Wachovia Notes Increase
First Wachovia Corporation’s net
income per share fulij diluted for
the first quarter of 1990 was $1.01.
up 5.4 percent from $.96 in the
same period of last year, according
to John G. Medlin Jr., chief
executive officer.
Net income totaled $71.3 million
compared with $67.3 million in the
initial quarter of 1989, a rise of 6
percent. On an annualized basis for
the first three months of 1990, the
return on average shareholders’
equity was 16.3 percent, and the
return on average assets was 1.22
percent.
The earnings increase for the
quarter was due primarily to Sood
growth in loans and other service
revenues and was moderated by a
narrower net interest rate yield than
experienced a year earlier, MedUn
ssid.
Average interest-earning assets
rose $1,707 billion or 9.2 percent
compared with the prior year.
Average loans grew $1,401 billion
or 10.2 percent Average
bearing liabilities incicr-' .7
billion or 9.8 percent.
Taxable equivalent
income was up $4.6 milli' ■ ' '
percent over the first qua ■
1989, reflecting the margin
compression. Excluding securiif':;
transactions, other service reverses
Zrew $9.7 million or 12.5 percent
while noninterest expense rose only
$7,8 million or 4.5 percenL
The provision for loan losses was
$17.6 million compared with $14.5
million for the first three months of
1989. Net credit charge-offs were
$12.4 million for the quarter or .33
percent of total loans versus $11.4
million or .33 percent.
At March 31. nonperforming
assets totaled $89.6 million or .58
percent of losses and foreclosed
real estate. On the same date, the
allowance for loan losses was $172
million or 1.11 percent of loans and
1.92 times nonperforming assets.
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