CAFMMES, February 291996
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Inner city violence escalates as feelings of hopelessness persist
"If this was going on with white men, it would be a national crisis," Dr. Anderson said
by Mary Angelo
Contributor
Inner city violence
and "The Code of the Streets"
was the topic for Dr. Elijah
Anderson's lecture Feb. 15 in
the Gallery Lounge at Penn
State Harrisburg.
Dr. Anderson has an
interest in social psychology,
and has written many articles
and books pertaining to the
subject. His article and basis
for the lecture is "The Code
of the Streets," taken from
The Atlantic Monthly, pub
-1 ished in May of 1994.
Dr. Anderson pref
aced his speech by stating
that one of America's most
pressing problems is violence
in its cities, and the way it is
spilling over into the resi-
dential and urban areas. He
also described the plight of
poor families
"So much of the vio-
lence in the inner city is a
reflection of the troubles
people are going through
now," he said
However, this is not to
be blamed on them,he said.
The blame should be placed
upon structural problems in
our society, and the way the
poor are treated in everyday
s ituations.
The most powerful
tool in helping the young get
out of hopeless situations is
that of a family being con
nected to middle class values
Even in the poorest communi
ties most of the people reflect
mainstream values.
He added that many of
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the inner city poor have a
strong faith in religion. A
lot of them view their situa
tions as a test from God and
as a test of their faith, he
said. The church is an impor
tant piece in the lives of even
the most violent. There is,
however, a constant struggle
between either "street" or
"decent" values.
to accept mainstream values
and instill them in their
children," Dr. Anderson said.
"They harbor hope for better
ing their children, and tend
to be strict with them."
ins ti 11 a positive mental atti
tude in their children, he
said, while attempting to
enable them to be more polite
and considerate of others. A
spirit of cooperation is also
helpful, as is a respect for
others and their property.
Mast people fit this model, or
are trying to be this way, he
added.
The "street" families,
on the other hand, often show
a lack of consideration for
others, he notes, and also a
lack of respect. Many of the
parents are unable to cope
with being thrust into par
enthood, often at an early age.
Aggressive behavior is the
standard, as most children
will grow up with the under
standing that violence is the
only answer when confronted
with a situation.
Disorganization
results in a limited under
standing of resources, and
Crowd dances in the CUB
EMI
By Danielle C. Hollister
Co-Editor
The smiles and sweat in the
Capital Union Building at noon on
Monday were not from the people
working out in the gym.
Over2oo young audience mem
bers jumped to their feet to learn
the dances of the Akwesane
Mohawks of the Haudenosanee
I roquois Confederacy. Four mem
bers of the North American
Indian Traveling College, donned
in traditional Mohawk dress, led
the children in the native dances
"At our social dances we get
together and s ing, dance and
laugh at each other, but not make
fun of each other," said the pre
senter, whose name means he
pulls down the sky. "Once you
see one of our dances, you wil 1
want to do all of them."
The audience of anxious fifth -
graders from Demey Elementary
School in Middletpwn giggled as
they gathered in a circle to do the
"standing quiver dance." The pre
senter said it was a hunter's
dance that the men did when they
were putting their quivers and
bows together to go out hunting
for weeks or months at a time.
"When they left and later
returned to the village, they sang
this song," he said. "So when peo
ple heard the song coming, they
knew their men were back from
hunting."
The younger crowd oohed,
aahed, laughed and made faces
when the presenter said they had
' to hold hands for the "round
dance."
"All the guys out there will
thank me for this later," he said
as he encouraged them to hold
hands. "This dance represents all
the negative and positive forces
that everyone has in their life."
Frey Village residents, ele
mentary and college students,
faculty and staff watched the
"Decent families tend
They will also try to
ARTS & CULTURE
self-destructive behavior is
rampant, said Dr. Anderson.
Children and adults resort to
verbal and physical punish
ments.
"Might makes right,"
he said, when referring to the
motto often used in inner
city homes. Children learn at
an early age that they have to
fight for their place in the
world.
Part of the reason for
all of this self and family •
destruction is the unavail-
ability of good jobs and d is -
crimination, he said. Parents
need to maintain control of
their children, and control of
themselves. Another prob
lem, he states, is the persis
tent poverty these people are
meant to endure, and also a
lack of ambition because they
feel they're going nowhere.
This is when children
tend to gravitate toward the
street and form gangs. They
need a feeling of acceptance
somewhere, since they aren't
getting those feelings at
home. To survive in the inner
city, one must establish one
self as "bad" so that trouble
will stay away and reputation
will follow.
"Material objects
often play an important role
in their lives," said Dr.
Anderson. "Ski jackets, jew
elry, sneakers...all become a
necessity for a child. The
mother will often try to sup
ply her child with these
objects to insure that her
child will stay off the
streets."
dances and listened as the pre
senter explained the meanings.
"This is very interesting for
me because during the Rapid City
flooding, I was a volunteer with
disaster response for the
Churches of the United States,"
said Frey Village resident and
program director for tower resi
dents, George Sturgen. "I met the
Ogalala Sioux Tribe and they
made me an honorary member. My
name is Wambli Ohitikaa, which
means brave eagle."
The traveling troupe is part of
the nonprofit culture center
working to preserve native cul
ture. They have performed at
Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian
Festival of American Folklife, the
National Museum of American
Indian, and the Canadian Museum
of Civilization, as well as at many
cultural organizations and
schools through out the country.
Through all their dances and
storytelling events, the troupe
aims to address to importance of
giving thanks to the Creator.
While showing the audience the
water drum, cowhorn rattles and
other traditional instruments,
they explained the significance of
nature, animals, and unity of
their people within their culture.
The tribe 1 ives on ancestral
land along the St. Lawrence River
where northern New York meets
southern Ontario and Quebec. The
tribe did two presentations on
the history and culture of the
Akwasasne Mohawks at 3 and 7
p.m. in the Gallery Lounge
The free presentations are part
of the Multicultural Bridges
series of lectures and perfor
mances designed to foster commu
nication and cultural exchange in
the community.
Sturgen said a certain group of
15 to 20 Frey Village residents
attend all the events at PSH.
ee Nadve Amer! an • a 6
One's bearing on the
street must send the message
that one can be violent, and
can take care of oneself.
Facial expressions, gait and
general physical appearance
can all be factors in deter
r ing others from "messing
with" them
If they don't know
this "code," it can get them
killed, said Dr. Anderson.
"The perpetrator will think
nothing of killing the other
person s imply because the
victim didn't know better."
A display of nerve ca
also provoke a life-threaten-
ing response. Teenage girls
are beginning to follow the
males lead, Dr. Anderson
said. Although they rarely
kill people, their fights stem
usually from others "talking
about" them, or the game of
"who's prettier than whom."
The violence is esca-
lating because of the con
tempt the people feel for con
ventional society, feelings of
hopelessness and alienation,
joblessness, and drugs. Many
feel that white society is
against them. Very few see
the future as being a place of
hope and success
Dr. Anderson pointed
out that one in three young
black males have been in con
tact with the criminal justice
system
"If this were going on
with white men, it'd be a
national crisis," Dr
Anderson said.
Calculator controversy sparked
by club's fund-raising idea
By Miriam Turpack could not understand why they
Staff Reporter couldn't sell the calculators,
The TI-92, a Texas especially because they were
Instrument calculator, created going to sell them for about
a controversy when the $5O less than the book store's
Integration Club, proposed to price
sell the calculator to raise
money for funds.
They were told they
couldn't sell them because
Penn State Harrisburg book
store already sells them.
Jaleyne Jud, secretary
for the Integration Club, and
Tresa Mal l igo, treasurer, pre
sented their proposals for
funds at the Student
Government Association. They
stated their intentions to sell
the Tl-92.
The Integration Club is
a forum where people of all
majors get together to became
more familiarized with math
and its functions. They want
to present math in a way that
everyone could relate and
understand it, without feeling
They received the intimidated.
amount of money they pro
posed, but were later told
they could not sell the calcu
lators.
Janet Widoff, Student
Advisory Coordinator, said the
calculators could not be sold
because they would be in
direct competi t ion with the
book store, which is consid
ered a conflict under the PSU
Policy manual.
" Sales activities can
not be in direct conflict with
the on going operation or
interest of the university,"
Widoff read from the policy
manual.
The bookstore is con
sidered part of the university,
Widoff said; therefore, the sale
of the calculators would be
against the policy
Whenever something
like this happens, they try to
work with the clubs to find
other means of fund raising,
Widoff said.
Jud and Mall igo said
they were disappointed. They
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Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (lEEE)
Job Fair, Saturday, March 23, 1996. Sponsored by
PSH -lEEE and the Susquehanna Section of the lEEE.
There will be no fees for attendance. Fields of interest
include: electrical. electronic and computer engineering
fields. Contact Jim Rehmeyer at 948-9463
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"I think there is a
monopoly, Malligo said."
To this date the
Integration Club has not had
any other ideas for fund rais -
"Math is not a scary
thing," Malligo said.
The goal is for every
one to see math as fun ,
Mal 1 igo said. Unfortunately
not everyone understands or
knows about the club.
Mnct of the club mem
bers are Secondary Education
majors. Jud and Malligo would
like to see an increase of peo
ple with other majors join the
club.
at the moment, predominately
women; they still would like
more women to join .
Women, Malligo said,
are not well represented in the
world of mathematics . In high
school, Malligo said, she had
plenty of female math teach
ers, but her experience in col
lege has not been so favorable.
A former professor in
another campus told her that
math is a male dominated
field. It was not exactly what
he said, but how he said it
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