OCTOBER 4 -10,1917 THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
5
Ed e pert addresses
campus phenomena:
cO�iJ�1!:Ng B ac
the number of college-going
Blaclcs has created a "ripple ef­
feet,"
"Once you start getting
fe er Bachelor's Degrees, you
start getting fewer Masters,
and fewer PhD's, and fewer
Bl ck faculty members at col­
leges and universities, It he said.
He stated that Reagan ad­
ministration budget cuts in
financial aid have also taken
their toll.
e increase in student
loans has grown steadily over
the past even years," he said,
"bu availability of grants has
declined,"
"When you recognize the
fact that 85 percent of Black
college students require some
form of financial aid you can
understand what is happening
here."
Wilson also said that rising
college admission standards
are limiting the number of
Blacks who are eligible to
enter college.
"Rising admission stand­
ards translates into higher test
score standards," he said,
"Black failure rate go up
every time standards are
raised."
The inferior education of
most big city chool systems is
"not giving students the
academic education to meet
new standards."
He cited a Florida test
which all high school
graduates must successfully
complete in order to attend
college.
Seventy percent of Black
tudents fail that test and
similar results are happening
in other states."
Another area of concern,
Wilson said, is the -resurgence
of raw racism on college cam­
puses.
A total of 61 incidents of ra­
cial violence or harassment
were reported in the 1986-87
academic year, Wilson said.
Most no able among these
ere:
• At the Citadel, a military
academy in outh Carolina, in
October 1986 five white cadets
dressed as Ku Klux Klansmen
bro e into a Black cadet's
dorm room, shouted
ob cenities, and burned a
paper cross.
- At the University of Pen­
nsylvania, in ovember of
1986, a Black female univer­
sity employee had obscenities
shouted at her from a nearby
fraternity and a bottle of urine
dropped on her.
- In January of 1987, at Pur­
due University, cross was
burned in front of Purdue's
Black Cultural Center and the
ords "Death, Nigger" were
carved on the door.
- In March of 1987, at the
University of Michigan, a disc
jockey t the student radio-sta­
tion declared "ooen season"
on Blac and broadcast racist
jokes 0 er the air.
"These incidents were not
confined to the South nor did
they happen at Podunk U., "
Wilson said, "These were
some of our most prestigious
and selected universities.
Wilson said that these inci­
dents aroused the concern of
the American Council of
Education's Board of Direc­
tors which consists of 40 col­
lege presidents.
At a May 1987 meeting Wil­
son, working with the Board
developed three iniatives for
improving the state of Blacks
in higher education.
The first initiative, he said,
will be to alert the nation "that
this is not a minority problem
but a national problem that af­
fects our ability to function as
a democratic society."
The ACE will develop a na­
tional committee to announce
a "clarion call statement"
about the seriousness of the
problem on January 15, 1988
to commemorate Dr.Martin
Luther King Jr's birthday.
Wilson said that former
Presidents Gerald Ford and
Jimmy Carter will co-chair the
committee.
The second initiative will
be the development of a hand­
boo on strategies for institu­
tional change on college cam­
puses.
Each chapter of the hand­
book will deal with a specific
area of concern and will be
written by experts in that area,
Wilson said.
The handbook will also list
the names of specific colleges
where certain institutional
changes for the betterment of
Blacks in education have been
successfully carried out, he
added.
The handboo will be dis­
tributed to all college cam­
puses in 1988.
The third iniative will be to
increase the number of avail­
able Blac faculty members,
Wilson said.
"It is intended to develop a
distinguished cadre of
talented minorities available
for a semester or a year as
visiting professors on college
campuses, " Wilson stated.
Wllson said the ACE ex­
pects to place 25 Black faculty
members at college campuses
this fall and that the number
of faculty members placed by
ACE will probably increase
each semester.
"What is required," Wilson
said, "is not more proliferation
of programs but the transfor­
mation of higher education in­
stitutions. "
"We cannot remain a lead­
ing nation if one third of our
people are langushing at the
bottom of our economy," Wil­
son said.
Fundraiser for Judge
1981, for conspiracy to accept
a bribe.
Despite being acquitted on
those charges by a jury, two of
the judge's fellow judges set in
motion a judicial investigation
of the same matters he had
been tried and found innocent.
The Judicial Council for
the 11th Circuit recommended
that Judge Hastings be im­
peached. The matter is now
pending before Congress.
Organizers of the
fundraiser note, Judge Hast­
ings' removal is being sought
during an administration that
has made only five Black judi­
cial appointments out of 300.
He has been an outspoken
critic of President Reagan and
an outspoken proponent of
asting
civil rights."
"One can only surmise that
there are factors in this un­
precedented move to get
Judge Hastings off the bench·
the only other time Congr�
has gone througth the im­
peachment process is when
Judge Henry Claiborne ( ev.)
was indicted and convicted
beyond a shawdow of doubt
for income lax evasion, say
fundraiser organizers.
Judge Hastings will address
the gathering at the fundraiser
and explain the details of his
original charges --- charges
that stemmed from an F.B.I.
agent's payment of $150,000 to
an attorney who allegedly
boasted he could use "fIX" a
case with Judge Hastings.
DETROIT - Five major
legal and civil rights organiza­
tions are uniting to host a
fundraiser to benefit
beleagured U. S. District
Court Judge Alcee Hastings.
The Wolverine Bar Associa­
tion, ational Bar Associa­
tion, Detroit Branch NAACP,
Detroit Branch 'Urban League
and Inkster Branch NAACP
are hosting the Oct. 9 recep­
tion at the Savoyard Club,
Buhl Building.
Judge Hastings faces
removal from his life appoint­
ment to the bench through im­
peachment by Congress.
Judge Hastings, the first
African American federal
judge to sit on the Florida
bench, was indicted in Dec.
MEMO:
Attention!
Business
and Communi y
Leaders
Plan to CI end: A Free "How 0
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Luncheon/Seminar
• Deciding on Bu ine siFranchise
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When:
Thursday, October 8, 1987 12:00 Noon
Sponsors:
The Highland Park Community College
Center for Bu iness and Industrial Service
Featured Speaker:
E. Delbert Gray, PhD.
Director
Minority Busines Enterprise
State of Michigan
Department of Comrnerc
For seminar Information call: Ch rle E. Gordon, Dean
Evening College/ Community Servlc
Director - Center for Busine nd
Industrial Service
(313) 252-0475 ext. 269/270
Business Lunch/Seminar Location:
Highland Park Community College
Multi Purpo Room II 336
Third and Glendale
Highland Park, ichigan 48203
,
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