Newspaper Page Text
PAGE TWO
CLARK PANTHER, OCTOBER 13, 1951, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
The Clark Panther
A Journal of College Life Published from, September to June
By the Students of Clark College, Atlanta, Georgia
A promoter of school spirit by encouraging projects and efforts
among student groups and individual students.
A medium through which an opportunity is provided for students
to obtain experience in newsgathering, reporting, book-reviewing, edi
torial, and creative writing.
An instrument for fostering friendly and constructive criticism
of campus activities.
HAROLD A. HAMILTON, Editor-in-Chief
ERNEST PHARR, Associate Editor
J. F. SUMMERSETTE, Advisor
A SENATOR REFLECTS:
"If I Were A Freshman Again
By Harold A. Hamilton
. Senator Estes Kefauver, in an
article entitled “If I Were a Fresh
man Again”, which appeared in the
orientation issue of “Motive”, a
Methodist publication, states that
if he were a college freshman again
there would be two fundamental
goals of life to which he would
strive—working for others and
diversity of interests.
The Tennessee senator, who once
headed the Senate Crime Invest
igation Committee, believes that
the only worth-while accomplish
ments ate those which benefit the
great masses of the people.
He speaks of Washington, D.C.
and the selfish, narrow individuals
who work only for themselves, who
know no true or lasting peace but
are constantly seeking more and
more accomplishments of the same
unsatisfying character. In striking
contrast he writes of the few gen
uine idealists he has met in Wash
ington. “Whether they work in
behalf of world peace, better living
standards for the poor, or some
similar idealistic cause, they share
in common a repose of spirit and a
happiness of soul which those who
struggle only for material ends can
never hope to attain.”
His second objective, if he was a
freshman again, would be diver
sity of interests. He feels that spec
ialization has its virtues, but that
in this country there are too many
specialists whose knowledge rests
soley within the field of their spec
ialty.
The senator feels that men should
be concerned with knowledge of
things other than their special field,
that the physical scientist should
be acquainted with the humanities,
that the engineer should be inter
ested in social science, and that
everyone should be civic-minded.
As advice to all young people Mr.
Kefauver urges observance of the
“Golden Rule” Which he says is
thought of by young people today
as “a fine and noble ideal but as
something which actually has little
place in the modem world in which
we live.”
Finally, he advises students to
take the “Great Books” approach
to education, which he says has
proved to be an important and use
ful counterforce to the trend to
ward specialization. Of all admoni
tions that he could give a college
freshman, the first chosen would be
•—to read. “Soak up, devour the
books in your college library. And
do not confine your reading to just
one or a feW fields. A well-read per
son is not only a well-informed
person; he is a useful citizen.”
This advice of Mr. Kefauver
should be heeded by every student.
There is no end to the good accomp
lished by . reading. Reading in
creases the intelligence, it brings
into view new horizons, and clari
fies that which is mysterious to the
mind. Of all the advice that could
be given a freshman, reading ranks
as the most important. Books offer
new worlds of pleasure, of enter
tainment, and of instruction.
Do not limit your reading to any
one form or to any one literary
form. Read widely in all fields.
Read newspapers, magazines, nov
els and keep up with national and
international affairs; attend forums
and debates on public issues.
Think of things other than dances
and card games. Talk of mature and
lasting things, not of the frivoli
ties that have little significance
and short vogue. Act rationally.
Waste no time in nonsense. There
will come a time when frivolity
will seem folly, and the hours spent
laying a sound foundation will seem
but small payment for the benefits
reaped from laying such a found
ation.
Remember what the senator has
said, “Work for others and have a
wide diversity of interests”. Con
sider the advantages of wide read
ing Consider the short time you
will be here and decide how you
will take advantage of the oppor
tunity to be in college.
Notes on
Football
Many of the twenty million per
sons who attend football games this
autumn and watch halfbacks sweep
around ends and down field for long
runs would be quite bored by the
variety of the game played by the
ancients who started the game we
call football.
Most fans probably do not know
that football existed as far back as
the 12th century, and that during
that time it was so popular that
Edward II and Henry VII of Eng
land forbade it on the ground that
it took interest away from the
military sport of archery.
Football is far from being a new
sport. In medieval times a form of
football known as calcio flourished
in Italy. Natives of Polynesia are
known to have played a variety of
the game with a football made of
bamboo fiber; and Eskimos played
it with a leather ball filled with
moss.
England and the United States
are the strongholds of football
today.
At the beginning of the 19th
century several types of the game,
in which only kicking and no carry
ing of the ball was permitted, were
being played at various English
public schools including Eton, Har
row, and Rugby. The modifi
cation which permits carrying was
first introduced at Rugby in 1823.
In America, a form of football
was played in the colony of Vir
ginia as early as 1609. In the
eighteen-thirties a form of football
was taken up at Harvard, Yale and
Princeton; at Harvard and Yale it
took the form of a rush between
freshmen and sophomores, and be
came so rough that the faculties of
the two institutions prohibited the
game in 1862. The first inter-colle
giate football game in the United
Continued On Page Four
European Diary
Observations Of Europe's
Culture And Traditions
By JAMES P. BRAWLEY
In the afternoon of July 28, 1951, Mrs. Brawley and I em
barked from New York on “Her Royal Majesty’s Ship, The
‘Queen Elizabeth’ ” for our maiden trip abroad. This huge
ship 1,031 feet in length, 118 feet wide, weighing 88,673 tons,
with its 14 decks, 35 public rooms, 2,279 passengers and a
crew of 1200 gave us at once the sense of security so much
needed by new and inexperienced seafaring passengers. Al
though one might retain the sense of security, when he gets
out in mid-ocean he becomes very conscious of the fact that
there is a mighty heap of water out there and even the
“Queen Elizabeth,” the world’s largest ocean liner becomes
small.
It is immediately recognized that here is a city Jr community in mini
ature, a cross-section of the nations and peoples of the world. Here on
board the ship one is introduced to the spirit to be found in England,
France, Italy, and other European countries—a cosmopolitan spirit, a
spirit of catholicity, a spirit of legality. There is a freedom which lifts
one out of a rigidly-maintained and protected class and'easte society to a
level where he is thrilled by the extraordinary experience of being recog
nized as a human being without stigma and without being reminded of
his color. It was curious and surprising, however, to some of our fellow
Americans to see a few Negroes in company with them enjoying without
limitations all the privileges, courtesies, and luxurious facilities afforded
by this magnificent ship.
European culture and the spirit of the old world at once expressed
themselves. They were evident on every hand. People were people. The
three classes on the ship were classifications of' accommodations and serv
ices, but not classifications of people. The class in which one traveled
was his own choice in terms of what was available or in terms of the price
he elected to pay. The same courtesies were extended us that were ex
tended other passengers. We enjoyed the gracious “sirs” and “madams”
addressed to us from the captain down to the least important crewman,
the same as did any and all other passengers abroad.
The “Queen Elizabeth” ploughed the waters of the Atlantic at the
speed of about 29 knots an hour and in five days called at Cherbourg,
France on scheduled time. We proceeded thence to Paris, our first stop.
In Paris one is immediately engulfed in a cosmopolitan air, a feeling
of friendliness and of freedom. One notes the courteousness, the socia
bility and the leisureness of the people. No one seems to be in a great
hurry,—I should say no one except the taxi drivers. They dash through
the streets in their old model cars with such speed as to make one think
that after all there really are two classes of people in Paris—the “quick”
and the “dead.”
The closed shops and stores for hours in the middle of the day,, and
the crowded sidewalk cafes which are most numerous, bespeak a custom
and tradition of the French people (most expressive of the art of relaxa
tion. Here, they sit for hours enjoying the company of friends, conversing,
and drinking wine which seems to be more essential to the Frenchman
than water is to the American.
Though the buildings in Paris are marked with the age of the cen-
tures they are remarkable for their architectural beauty, of ancient de
sign. The layout of the city shows plan, order, design and beauty in every
direction pne moves. This is evidenced in the wide boulevards such as
Champ De Mars which proceeds from the Ecole Milftaire through the
Eiffel Tower, across the Seine River to the Palais De Chaillot, or the
Avenue Des Champs-Elysees which leads from the Place of the Concorde
to the Arch of Triumph and the Place of L Etoile.
The entire city portrays a richness of culture in architecture and ob
jective display of historical events. There are hundreds of centers of inter
est, everyone of which is noted for its cultural and historic significance.
To list a few, there are:
The Place de L’Opera, The Church of the Madeline, The Church of
St. Severin, The Church of the Sacred Heart, The Cathedral of Notre
Dame, The Pantheon, The Pl,ace of the Bastille, The Palace of Justice,
The Arch of Triumph of the Carrousel, The Arch of Triumph of L’Etoile,
Eiffel Tower, The Luxembourg Gardens, The Tuileries Gardens, The
Palace of the Tuileries, The Louvre (Museum). In the Louvre is housed
probably the greatest collection of art work otf the great masters to be
found anywhere in the world.
In these centers of culture and history, supplemented by scores of
others one finds expressions of the Ijfe of the French people across a
span of history of at least 600 years. The master paintings and the
sculpture in the Cathedrals, Churches, and Museums strongly reflect the
spirit and influence of the Italian Renaissance and the noted Italian mas
ters of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, all of which gave birth to a
great culture all over Western Europe.
Brief reference must be made to Versailles and Fontainbleau both
of which were palaces’of Kings of France. Versailles grew from a small
Chateau in the I7th century under Louis XIII to an immense and magni
ficent Palace under Louis XIV. Kings of France lived here in splendor
and luxury until 1789. The palace is filled with master pieces. Its ma
jesty, its galleries, its scores of rooms including chapel, library, museum,
etc, its gardens, groves and surrounding landscape of beauty are beyond
description. The Palace at Fontainbleau, the favorite residence of Na
poleon, is no less striking in magnificence, luxury, splendor, and interioi
beauty.
Back of all this luxury, splendor, art, architecture, tradition, culture'
and beauty there is a note of sadness growing out of grim facts of history.
On seeing all this one easily understands the reason for and significance
of the French Revolution, begun in 1789. The great architectural struc
tures erected at the behest of Kings and Sovereigns, that have stood for
centures and will stand for centures to come, represent human toil with
out the aid of modern building equipment and facilities. They bespeak
the debt that French civilization owes to the human hand. They represent
the enslavement, suppression, and exploitation of the peasant which led
to a revolt against the selfish power of Kings and the oppression of the
poor. The French Revolution from 1789 to 1800 was a struggle for free
dom. French culture was bought with a price of human blood, now free
dom, justice, liberty, egalty and fraternity are the precious possessions
of all.
Continued On Page Four , 'i
Now Hear Ye
By Edwin Thomas Pratt
The School year has begun, and
with it your new Student Council
administration begins.
In order to have an effective and
functioning Council this year it
will be necessary to have the full
cooperation of the entire student
body.
As each idea is proposed and
discussed there will be differences
of opinion. Mark Twain said, “It is
•differences of opinion that make a
horse-race.” The Student Council
can be likened to a horse-race in
that every day we are moving to
ward our goals set forth last sem
ester. Your opinions are needed to
make our race effective and suc
cessful.
During the past year our great
est fault was more criticism than
participation. We sat back and were
either contented or discontented
With the proceedings of the Student
Council. This year we must have
active participation by students in
the affairs of the Council.
Your leaders can only be as good
as you make them. Should we have
a Student Council whose function
alism becomes a fungus, or should
we have an effective Council? You
will be the determining factor.
•
Full cooperation is urgently
needed. Instead of forming little
“gossip groups” and discussing
what you consider important issues,
present those issues to your Stu
dent Council for the best and most
intelligent solution.
In segments our strength is very
limited, but as a unit with one pur
pose in mind, our resources are
many and the results from unity
of purpose may be tremendous.
To make this a “Banner Year”
in the annal, of Clark’s Student
Council history, your cooperation
is needed. Can we count on you?
Looking At The
New Broom
By Harold Hamilton
Mr. Sinclair V. Jeter is rapidly
becoming a familiar figure to Clark
College students since their return
to school. Mr. Jeter, in the course of
his duties, will probably be the most
widely known and talked about
member of the Clark College Staff.
He is an affable person, and from
all indications, if personality can in
dicate such a thing, he will have
great sympathy and understanding
for those whose bills run unpaid
past deadlines. This is not to say
that he will allow bills to remain
unpaid indefinetly. Oh no, he’s not
here for that! But don’t worry, if
mamma and papa are a little slow
about “sendin’ th’ dough” he’ll only
keep you from the dining hall—-
and who can say that that’s cruel ?
I suppose you’ve guessed who Mr.
S. V. Jeter is by now. But if you
haven’t, he’s the Bursar—the man
who collects the cash, the Business
Manager, etc.
Mr. Jeter finished Virginia State
College, studied at Howard, Amer
ican University, and at Brooklyn
College. He is a native of Wash
ington, D.C.
By the way, “Jeter” is pro
nounced with the “J” sounding like
a “J”, and not like a “G.” A pilot
who flies a jet plane is a jeter, if
that helps any.
Famous last words (of Mr. Jeter)
“Be seein’ you.”
Join the N. A. A. C. P.
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