October 6,1999
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S T A F F
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Charles W ashington
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Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
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Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
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REVEREND JESSE JACKSON TO VISIT
TALLAHASSEE CHURCH
On Sunday, Septem ber, 26 and
at the invitation ofRev. R. B. Holmes,
Jackson will participate in a state­
wide prayer vigil at Bethel M B.
Church.
“ T h e se b o m b in g s
have
c a u se d a lo t o f a n x ie ty on th e
c a m p u s ,” J a c k s o n sa id . “ S tu ­
d e n ts an d fa c u lty a re a tte n d in g
s c h o o l in f e a r , w h e n th e y
sh o u ld b e a b le to p u rs u e th e ir
d re a m s a n d p re p a re to le a d o u r
n atio n fo rw ard . W e m u st go fo r­
w ard by h o p e s and d re a m s and
n o t b a c k w a rd s by m e m o rie s
and fe a r. T h e n a tio n m u st com e
to g e th e r to s to p th e s e c o w ­
a rd ly a c ts o f d o m e s tic te r r o r ­
ism .”
W ith in th e p a s t m o n th , tw o
b o m b s h a v e e x p lo d e d on th e
p re d o m in a n tly b la c k ca m p u s o f
a b o u t 1 2,000 s tu d e n ts . T he la t­
e s t e x p l o s i o n o c c u r r e d on
W e d n e sd a y on th e f irs t flo o r o f
the P e rry P a ig e b u ild in g , w h ere
c la s s e s in a g r ic u ltu r e a re c o n ­
d u c te d .
A lth o u g h th e re w e re p e o p le
in th e b u i l d i n g , u n i v e r s i t y
o f f ic ia ls sa y no o n e w as s e r i­
o u s in ju r e d , b u t th e b u ild in g
d id s u f f e r so m e d a m a g e .
H o u rs a f te r the e x p lo s io n , a
s ta f f e r at W T X L -T V re c e iv e d a
c a ll fro m a m a le w h o m ade
th r e a te n in g a n d r a c ia lly o f f e n ­
siv e re m a rk s . “ T h is is ju s t the
b e g in n in g , b r o th e r ,” th e c a lle r
sa id . “ T h e o n ly th in g n----------
know how to fix is tu rn ip greens.
W hy th e f — do th e y n e e d a
sc h o o l o f a g ric u ltu re at
F A M U .”
A n o ffic ia l at th e sta tio n said
th is w as th e th ird tim e in re c e n t
w e e k s th a t a c a ll h a s b e e n r e ­
c e iv e d at the sta tio n from a m ale
w ho h a s m a d e r a c ia lly o f f e n ­
siv e rem arks in connection to the
bom bings or has threatened to do
harm to A frican A m ericans in the
city.
“ W e should take these bom b­
ings as a serious w ake up call,”
Jackson said. “ Several years ago
th e re w as an a tta c k on black
churches, we m ust act now to p re ­
vent an assau lt on this institu-
tio n -h isto rically B lack colleges.
Justice m ust have a face in T alla­
hassee. W e appeal for the bom b­
ings to end, for peace to return to
FA M U and for the city to put this
ugly incident firm ly in its history
b o o k s.”
School a couple o f weeks ago and a
stress that I’m sure that paychecks
staff member there told me the Grant
involves, but I think you have a huge
enrollment topped 2,000 this year,
responsibility to Jefferson, do n ’t
and that most classes have 40-50
you?
students. How can our numbers be
I also watched and listened as you
so low and there’s so high when the
and the school board claim to want
Jefferson’s attendance area has the
to see Jefferson be successful, but
largest number o f students. I would
again this year, just like the many
like to know how many o f those Grant
years before, you allow an enormous
students live in the Jefferson atten­
amount o f the Jefferson attendance
dance area.
area students to transfer to other
What are your plans for Jefferson?
schools. If Jefferson is to be success­
I have students on a daily basis ask
ful we need OUR students from OUR
me if Jefferson is going to be closed.
own attendance area to stay at then-
I always tell them that if you keep
neighborhood school. The change is
fighting you’ll be able to keep this
the transfer policy and our not hav­
school open. I have told them that
ing a freshman class where 50% or
your are committed to its success,
more at the ninth grade level instead
but your actions indicate otherwise.
o f the fourth grade level would allow
Watching you and the school board
everyone to know the great Jefferson
I can tell I am giving them false hope.
High School I and other parents, stu­
dents, and community member know
Last year a student from Jefferson
was allowed to transfer the first quar­
ter to Lincoln, but this year I wit­
nessed a family that wanted to trans­
fer from Franklin to Jefferson hire an i
attorney because they couldn’t get a i
full release for their son to attend ’
Jefferson. Why is it so easy fori
students to transfer from Jefferson'
and so difficult for them to transfer:
in? Is this a practice that you and the ■
school board will continue until we »
have so few students at Jefferson t
you say it is no longer cost efficient ’
for the district to keep Jefferson open?
Where is your commitment?
1
For example, I visited Grant H igh»
Our low attendance, thanks to your
transfer policy, my cost us 3 FTE
this school year. If Jefferson is
expected to be successful taking
away FTE is not solution, it ’ s a prob­
lem. If we are expected to increase
academic achievement we need to
keep more o f our students and all of
our FTE, as they are both an impor­
tant part o f Jefferson’s puzzle and
ultimately its success.
The tone o f this letter is severely
harsh because this situation is very
serious and we don’t have time to
wait. I have written you in the past of
some o f these very same issues, and
I don’t ask for a written response, but
I did ask that you let your actions
speak for you. To date, your actions
have been the same, and that action
has been nothing for Jefferson. I am
now asking you and the school board
to show your commitment by chang­
ing the transfer policy, and if any­
thing increasing our FTE not decreas­
ing it. I would also like a written
response to this letter outlining your
specific plans and time lines for
Jefferson.
I sincerely hope you respond in a
timely manner, and that you and the
school board doesn’t continue their
current practice o f letting the stu­
dents, staff, parents, and community
o f Jefferson down.
w eeks, v io le n c e has e ru p te d at a
d ay care c e n te r in Los A n g eles,
in side a c h u rc h in F ort W orth
and on a c o lle g e cam pus o f the
U n iv e rsity o f In d ia n a .
“ W h eth er it is O k la h o m a C ity
o r FA M U , no n e o f us are safe
u n til all o f us a re s a fe ,” Ja c k so n
said. “ We m u st com e to g e th e r to
p ro te c t o u r c h ild re n and to stop
the sen seless v io le n c e . T he m e s­
sage must be loud and clear-th ere
is no room for ra c ia l strife in T a l­
lah assee, F lo rid a .”
The hum an rig h ts le a d e r m ade
th e c o m m e n ts a f te r sp e a k in g
w ith F A M U p r e s i d e n t D r.
F red erick F. H u m p h rie s, T h u rs ­
day m o rn in g , w ho a p p e a le d to
Jack so n to m ake an em e rg e n c y
v isit to the c ity to a s s is t in a ca ll
for ra c ia l h e a lin g and p e a c e .
Hum an rights leader will call
for an end to v io len ce and for
r a c ia l
h e a lin g
in w ake o f tw o recent F lorida
A&M U niversity bom bings
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.,
p re sid e n t o f the R ainbow /PU SH
C o a litio n , to d ay c a lle d on law
en fo rc e m en t o ffic ia ls in F lorida
to c o n d u ct a th o ro u g h and v ig ­
o ro u s in v e stig a tio n into the a l­
leg ed ra c ia lly m o tiv a te d b o m b ­
ing in cid en ts on the cam pus o f
F lo r id a A & M U n iv e r s ity in
T a lla h a sse e (FA M U ).
Jack so n a lso u rg ed “ peo p le
o f good w ill”— b la c k s, w hites,
H ispanics, N ative A m ericans and
A sian s— to com e to g e th e r in an
e ffo rt to stem the tid e o f v io ­
lence and hate crim es, w hich are
on the rise in A m erica. In recen t
d it o r
Joy Ramos
B
u s in e s s
M
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
A
A
d m in is t r a t iv e
s s is t a n t
Talunaka Washington
D
ir e c t o r
of
A
d v e r t is in g
Tony W ashington
D
is t r ib u t io n
M
anager
Mark Washington
C
o n t r ib u t in g
W
r it e r
Richard Luccetti
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D ear D r . C anada :
I am writing this letter for two rea­
sons. One is to address your lack of
commitment to Jefferson High School
and the other is to ask what you are
going to do to change that percep­
tion.
First, I want to tell you a little bit
about my husband and myself. We
have a junior and senior at Jefferson,
and they love Jefferson almost more
than life and, we as parents do too.
We are active parents, I sit on
Jefferson’s Site Council, and I am a
member o f the PTS A (Parent, T each-
ers, and Students Association, and
theBoosterClub. We both volunteer
at Jefferson on a weekly basis.
I watched and listened, as the start
o f the school year grew closer about
your commitment to visiting various
schools throughout the district. I
thought, “what a great idea.” I asked
my students if you had visited
Jefferson, and the response back to
me, by only two students, but all o f
their friends as well was, “who is Dr.
Canada?”
I understand that the reconstruc­
tion o f Jefferson was in place when
you accepted your job, but I don’t
understand how you can effectively
lead a district without visiting the
very school that was in the headlines
during your entire interview process,
and after you arrived in Portland. I
don’t claim to make nearly as much
money as you, nor do I want the
Sincerely,
Judy Brown
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