At SAAD Rally on campus
Lonise Bias
challenges
students to
live freely
Mrs. Bias tells students they are the nation’s greatest
natural resource.
A pin could be heard if dropped in
Turner Auditorium when Lonise Bias took
to the podium to speak to over 300 students
during a SAAD Rally, held in late October.
Bias, who was the I'.eynote speaker for
the daylong rally, anived later than ex
pected, but came to an audience of students
•fho wanted to listen and did just that.
“I left my hotel in Boston at 5:45 this
morning and three airplanes and eight
hours later I am here to speak to you
beautifiil young people,” said Lonise Bias.
Three Things First
“There are four things I want you to
know before I begin. First, I love you each
and every one of you. Secondly, I see
neither blacks, whites, orientals, hispanics.
Thirdly, I come to offend no man and
fourth, because I love each and every one
of you, see neither black, white, oriental
nor hispanic and come to offend no man, I
care nothing about what any man thinks
about me.
“My faith and belief in God.” said Bias,
“tell me that God took one man, my son,
to save millions. My son died so that
millions will live,” said Bias. “I did not
come here to eugolize my son. We did that
on June 21, 1986.1 came here to bring you
a message of hope—a message about life.
Mrs. Bias is the mother of Len Bias, who
was a student at the University of
Maryland, and a star member of the
basketball team.
“You have no control over when you
will live or when you will die. All you
should be concerned with is that dash in
between. I come to talk about that dash—
your lives.”
Mrs. Bias talked about the Whitney
Houston tune, “The Greatest Love of
All.” She repeated to the youth the first
verse of the song, which she stated is what
she was going to talk about. “We believe
the children are our future. Teach them
well and let them lead the way. Show them
all the beauty they process inside.
The Real Problem
“Ninety percent of the problems that
exist,”said Bias, “stem directly from us
dealing with the symptoms instead of the
cause. Drugs and alcohol are only symp
toms. Ninety percent of the problems that
exist,” she continued, “stem from peer
pressure. ‘The greatest love’ has nothing to
do with the names which you wear on your
back,” said Bias, referring to the designer
names the young people are wearing.
“If you don’t know who you are, it’s all
in vain. That’s how the trap is set for you.
You have to show just how ‘bad’ you are.
Everyone who laughs and grins in your
face is not your friend.
“A true friend is someone who un
derstands your past, believes in your future
and accepts you just the way you are
today,” emphasized Bias. “The best
friend you have right now is there in your
own home. Don’t take your parents for
granted. Yes, they ask you to call home
and want to know where you are and who
you’ve been with, but that’s only because
they love you. They have a charge to keep.
to bringing you up a certain way,” Bias
exclaimed.
“The foundation for understanding is the
willingness to listen. Listen to those who
are in authority in order to receive un
derstanding,” she went on.
"Be Different”
“If you stand up for what’s right, your
so-called friends will talk about you in
fi'ont of your face. If you go along with the
negative, those same so-called friends will
talk about you behind your back. You have
been betrayed, young people, whether you
stand up for what’s good or for what’s bad.
Anyone can go along with the crowd—but
who will dare to be different,” Bias
emphasized.
“You are fearfully and wonderfiilly
made. Each of you are different and you
don’t even know who you are. You have to
fight for your space today, young people.”
said Bias. “It’s not alright to do everything
everybody else is doing. Love takes place
on the inside rather that the outside.
“We need to work on serving the whole
man. You are this nation’s future. Where
are you going? I don’t care what you’re
going through right now, someone is going
through something tougher. Everyone has
something they’re dealing with everyday.
It’s called life. It’s like a cup of honey and
a cup of lemon. It doesn’t become life till
you stir it together. ’ ’
Lessons to Leam
Bias talked about the insensitivity of
young people in this day and time.
“You’re insensitive to one another. You
don’t have compassion and you don’t know
how cruel you are. Someone could have
been almost kiUed and you keep cracking
jokes and laughing. All of you who dish
out the cruelty, it’s going to come back to
you—ten times worse than it was. I give
goodness,” said Bias, “and goodness
comes back to me. All I want to give back
is goodness. You can make it young
people. Decisions have to be made.
“Fight for your beautiful lives,” said
Bias. “You are a miracle. Love is forever.
Love is everyone. That’s how change
comes. That’s how you get to the root of
the problems.
“The number one killer of our young
people will not be drugs, alcohol and
suicide. Suicide is a permanent solution to
a temporary problem,” Bias pointed out.
“Every life has reason and all problems
have solutions,” she stated.
“I hope that none of you have to drink
from the cup I have,” she said in referring
to the death of her son. “It hurts so bad and
you never get over it. All problems have
solutions,” assured Bias.
“The number one killer of our young
people within three years will be AIDS,”
Continued on next page
Computer
Workshop
conducted
The Department of Business
offered a non-credit six-hour
intermediate level workshop on
Lotus 1-2-3 in McSweeney
Computer Center in late
November.
Stated Professor George
Hazelton, “This was an intensive
workshop presenting the array of
financial functions available in
Lotus. While some spreadsheet
financial models were presented
as class exercises in order to
illustrate these types of fiinctions
from Lotus, workshop par
ticipants were invited to submit
problems of their own to be used
as possible class exercises.
Hazelton explained, “The
workshop did require some
background in Lotus and was
given for those users who wish to
go beyond the basics of electronic
spreadsheet design and to do
something meaningful for the
business with the mircocomputer.
“The workshop consisted of
‘hands on’ work with the
department’s IBM-PCs, 286-
XTs, and ATs. Each computer is
equipped with a hard disk and
supports Lotus graphics.”
It s like a cup of honey and a cup of
lemon. It doesn ’t become life
until you stir them together. ”
The Chowanian, December, 1988—PAGE FIVE