Petition proves division

There is a number that is the beginning sign that FAMU is coming undone at its foundation-1,156.

At press time, there were 1,156 signatures from alumni, students and other members of the FAMU community demanding the end to the leadership of President Fred Gainous.

The petition written by FAMU alumni Demetral Wester and Vanessa Byers, located at http://www.petitiononline.com/famu1887, lists valid arguments for the impassioned request.

The accusations made against Gainous are not sensational claims as some individuals may insist but statements detailing the mishaps, shortcomings and shenanigans of FAMU’s current leadership. The detailed list brings to light several well-publicized failures that have retarded the University’s continual growth and development.

The petition also brings into question the abundance of interim deans, athletic failures, and questionable fiscal management.

Although there has been no public acknowledgement by President Gainous of the intent or fierceness of the petition, the issues that are addressed within the document must be confronted. Gainous must be made aware that the number of signatures is increasing at a staggering rate and change is inevitable with or without him leading FAMU.

Even if the document fails to incite a change of leadership at FAMU, there are two certainties. There is a vocal group of dissenters that will not settle for marginality when FAMU is capable of greatness. And anyone with a vested interest in the future of the University should plan to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 14

because this issue is on the verge of reaching a boiling point.

True story revealed

The world knew Kobe Bryant’s accuser was going to pursue civil litigation long before the jury selection began during the criminal trial. What the world didn’t expect was for her to forgo the criminal trial. Fortunately, we are not the world.

This case was not an issue of rape or violation of fundamental human rights. This case was about how long Kobe’s accuser would wait before she cashed out.

The criminal case had enough flaws and room for character attacks that it would have ended in an acquittal.

Barring the O.J. Simpson case, an acquittal hurts a prosecution’s chances at big money in civil court.

However, now we would like to try Kobe’s accuser for violating our rights. She wasted the time and tax dollars of millions of Americans in Colorado by pursuing a criminal trial that would never happen. We cannot get back the money to pay the officials, the hours of wasted media coverage or Kobe’s reputation.

We are not; however, defending the adulterer who, after a halt to criminal proceedings, admitted to a potential difference in opinion about consent at the time of intercourse, which in laymen’s terms is rape.

Kobe’s accuser also made it that much harder for actual rape victims to take their cases to court. Because of cases like this, high profile rapists and pedophiles are slowly being allowed to slip through the cracks on the merits of their celebrity. The common assumption will become that any woman who makes a claim of rape against anyone of a certain financial or celebrity standing is just out to make a quick buck. The only way this travesty can be prevented, and to protect the rights of victims, is to pass legislation that denies civil action unless there is a criminal conviction. Laws like this would weed out the fortune hunters and punish the guilty on both sides.