The Collegian Wednesday, February 7,1990
Politics and drugs
Writer believes D.C. Mayor Barry's
ethics, not his skin color, to blame
by Christine Spanos
Is D.C. Mayor Marion Barry a helpless, hapless victim of a plot
against black public officials (as many civil rights leaders, liberal
journalists and ministers seem to believe), or is he simply a public
official whose abuse of a powerful office prompted his recent arrest?
In my opinion, neither. Mayor Barry finds himself faced with drug
charges due only to his blatant disreganl for the law. Those who claim
Barry is a victim of racism don't seem to realize that by defending him
in that manner, they are, in fact, the ones engaging in racial
prejudices.
Implying that Barry is a victim of a plot against black politicians
is to suggest that he is nothing more than a simple-minded fool who
has no concept of law.
Perhaps that's all he is, but that doesn't say much for the people of
this country, particularly the D.C. residents who elected him.
Public officials are supposed to help stop the problems that
surround them, not become the problem. Public officials should be
examples to not only the young, impressionable people of this nation
but to everyone who enjoys this nation's freedoms.
Now I'll ask you again, is Barry a victim of his skin color or did he
create his own demise?
By placing himself in the public eye, Barry made his first mistake.
He could have been a back alley dope dealer and gone virtually
unnoticed by the police force and the media. But he is the mayor of
our nations capital and with that title comes great responsibilities.
Back alley dope dealers are not required to make important city
decisions, appoint public officials or utilize millions of tax dollars.
The idea of a man, high on crack, deciding how to spend the tax
dollars of every white man and every black man in the District of
Columbia should be enough to turn anyone's stomach.
One of Barry's most important tasks as mayor of D.C. was to
curtail a massive drug 1 problem, a drug problem that brought about a
murder rate that catapulted to ludicrous proportions in the month of
January.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't have sympathy for Barry. A drug
problem is a drug problem, but to say that Barry is a victim of a plot
against black public officials is to say that he shouldn't be held
accountable for his own wrong doing.
Barry's outlandish lifestyle led to his downfall. He had an attitude
that claimed no limitations. His administration was haunted by scandal
from day one. Key aides went to prison for taking kickbacks and his
former girlfriend was arrested for dealing cocaine.
If that isn't enough to prompt a full investigation into Barry's
administration I don't know what is. Barry could have been white,
green or polka-dotted and the end results would remain the same. When
a public official takes an oath of office he is sworn to uphold the law.
Barry failed and that's all there is to it
This isn't a racial issue. It's not a plot against black public
officials. It's simply the federal agents doing what they are paid to do.
Editor's Note: Columns and letters appearing in The
Collegian do not necessarily reflect the views of The
Collegian or Penn State University.
The Collegian
Published weekly by the students ot Beftrend Coßege, Erie, Pa
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The Colleoian Is a student-edited newspaper
rs to the Editor:
Lett
Student challenges administration's
punishment of Sigma Tau Gamma
Dear Editor,
Penn State is indeed an Equal
Opportunity University, is it
not? We preach that "Racism has
no place at Penn State." If you
are a victim of discrimination or
witness a racist act you report it
to the proper authorities and they
will take care of it, right? Penn
State is supposed to be a model
of a diversified institution. An
incident has occurred however,
that shows that we don't practice
what we preach.
On Tuesday, January 16 (the
day Martin Luther King, Jr. 11l
was at Behrend to speak, how
ironic) members of the Sigma
Tau Gamma fraternity attended an
Erie Panthers hockey game,
simply for entertainment. The
opposing team was ahead,
primarily due to one outstanding
player. He just so happened to be
an African-American (black).
Well, rather than jeer the entire
team, Sigma Tau Gamma, along
with the crowd and a 3 year old
child, began to chant, "Go home
Buckwheat, go home!" Needless
Writer
column on
testing for
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to
Christine Spanos' column about
drug use among students who
receive financial aid. Frankly, I
very nearly puked when I read
this bit of right-wing trash.
Although Ms. Spanos has the
right to air her opinion, I must
violently disagree with her
willingness to give up her and
my constitutional rights.
She says, "If the testing were
only for illegal drugs, ....it would
only be the drug users themselves
who claim that their
constitutional rights are being
violated." What an incredibly
The Collegian’s editorial opinion is determined by the editor, with the editor holding final
responsibility. Opinions expressed in The Collegian are not necessarily those of The Collegian or the
Pennsylvania State University.
Letter Policy: The Collegian encourages letters on news coverage, editorial content and university
affairs. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and signed by no more than two persons. Letters
should be no longer than 400 words. Letters should include the semester and major of the writer. All
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Postal Information: The Collegian (898-6488) is published weekly by the students of the Behrend
College; The Reed Union Building, Station Road, Erie, Pa 16563.
Opinion
to say, it got back to
administration at Behrend.
What do you make of that?
For those of you who do not
know, "Buckwheat" is a
stereotypical name for an African-
Americans with a negative
connotation. It denotes stupidity
and ignorance.
Since Sigma Tau Gamma is
an organization on this campus,
their actions will reflect on the
Behrend Community. Naturally,
one would think that this
behavior would not go
unpunished. The "Grapevine"
says that Sigma Tau Gamma had
to attend the Benjamin Hooks
lecture and send an apology letter
to the team. Is this enough? Docs
someone have to be hurt,
physically before a firmer
punishment is issued?
We all know that we can
apologize with a straight face and
not mean it as we speak or write
it. And how many times have
you been in class and retained any
information. A speaker series
lecture should not be used as a
form of punishment That gives a
opposes Spanos'
mandatory drug
financial aid
stupid thing to say! I don't use
drugs, but I am not willing to
forfeit my Fourth Amendment
right to be free of unreasonable
searches and seizures just because
the issue middle America is upset
about this year is drug abuse.
Drug testing without probable
cause is wrong.
Our founding fathers wrote
constitutional rights into the
U.S. Constitution because they
had experienced what it was like
to live under a (British) regime
which granted them no rights. It
pains me to see polls like the
recent one which said that 62% of
the poll respondents would allow
their houses and cars to be
Editorial Policy
Page 3
lecture a negative connotation.
Punishment is something that
makes you regret what you've
done. I doubt that they've given it
a second thought since they
chanted racial slurs at the player.
I am appalled by the actions
of these men, but even more
appalled at the passive
punishment being rendered. I
don't want to attend a university
that overtly shouts "racism is
wrong," but then covertly covers
it up when racism is evident.
This letter is not intended to
condemn the administration for
their actions because I am sure
that they will inflict a firmer
punishment. That is, if they are
the avid leaders for a crusade on
diversity, like they claim. This
letter is simply to make you
aware of the type of people you
associate with daily, so that we
are not fooled by the kind of
person they pretend to be,
because now we know what's on
the inside.
- Ala Stanford
4th semester. Biology
searched to help the "war on
drugs."
Ask older citizens of West
Germany what good it did them
to allow the abrogation of the
rights of Jews, homosexuals, and
Gypsies from 1933-45. Those
citizens ended up losing their
own rights as well. Can the U.S.
afford to single out one or more
classes of people and say, "we
will just take a few of their
rights"? If we do, we are no better
than the Nazis. Ms. Spanos
should learn from history.
Sincerely,
Ron Shull
Senior, Political Science