Newspaper Page Text
Page 2
THE PANTHER
November, 1963
Wqz (Mark Pantlrcr
A journal of college life published from September to June
by 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 stu
dents to obtain experience in newsgathering, reporting, review
ing and writing.
An instrument for fostering friendly and constructive criticism
of campus activities.
Gwendolyn Mahone Johnny Spenser
Co-editors for the November edition.
Johnnie Downs Flora Wilks
Campus News Editor
Connie Hall
News Editor
Barbara Lee
Departmental News
Feature Editor
Alma Steagall
Editorials
Lamond Godwin &
Alonzo Reese
Sports Editors
Mr. Harold Hamilton
Advisor
Where’s “Good Ole Flavor ?"
by Contance E. Hall
We are about to embark upon a very meaningful oc
casion in America. It is a festive day, filled with worship
and bountiful dinners of roast turkey, plum pudding, and
mince or pumpkin pies. It is a day of rustic games and
amusement for the children. But are we, as Americans,
losing the good ’ole flavor of Thanksgiving?
The Puritans appointed every year some day in au
tumn, generally toward the end of November, as a day of
solemn prayer and thanksgiving for the blessings of the
year, and especially the bounties of the harvest.
This social and religious holiday was adopted in Amer
ica, and people of old used this day for prayer and worship.
However, they did not leave out food that was brought in
from the harvest. This was also a part of the huge festival.
Nowadays, it seems that people’s activities on this re
ligious occasion are far removed from giving thanks. They
leave out worship and concentrate on ‘having fun’. How
ever, there are some who have not forgotten to say “thank
you” in blessing the food on Thanksgiving. These are the
people who continue to say “0 give thanks unto the Lord,
for He is good.”
Campus Fraternities, Sororities
Serve A Valuable Purpose
Recently, on our campus there have been frequent
statements that Greek letter organizations are not con
tributing to the academic atmosphere of the college. That
these statements are fallacious, irrevelant, and completely
unfounded in fact is the raison d’etre for this editorial.
Basically, the primary objective of all the Greek letter
organizations on campus is high scholastic achievement.
This is not to say, by any means, that this objective is real
ized. Nonetheless, this common objective does exist. An
examination of the honor roll for the first semester of the
school year 1962-63 of students above the Freshman level
indicates that of the 75 students on the honor roll exactly
52% of the honor roll students were members of Greek let
ter organizations.
In recent years both the Valedictorian and Salutator-
ian of the graduating classes have been members of Greek
letter organizations.
For the most part the membership of the National
Honor Society-Alpha Kappa Mu- and the honor societies
in the various disciplines—Alpha Kappa Delta, Beta Kap
pa Chi—is composed of Greeks. As far as the academic
atmosphere is concerned, the foregoing information should
dispel the myth that Greek letter organizations are making
no contribution to the improvement of the academic at
mosphere.
Grades alone are not the only criterion for determin
ing an academic atmosphere. Learning can be achieved in
surroundings other than the formal atmosphere of the
classroom. A well-rounded student is one who can partici
pate in formal learning situations.
Another case in point is the natural resources used to
obtain certain types and qualities of leadership on campus.
Our student leadership is drawn primarily from Greek
sources. This should also be indicative of the usefulness of
Greek organizations.
A further illustration of the contributions Greek let
ter organizations are making can be seen in the high quali
ty of assembly programs which these organizations pres
ent. We support the premise that before a student gradu
ates from college he should have appeared on at least one
assembly program. Planning and executing an assembly
program require a great amount of skill which cannot be
learned in the classroom. Also, much of the formal learn
ing which takes place in the classroom can be utilized in
an assembly program.
It is felt that the facts that have been presented in
this editorial should remove any doubts as to the useful
ness of Greek letter organizations on this campus.
A Time To Take Advantage
When Clark College opened
its doors to students in Septem
ber, it marked the beginning of
the institution’s 95th year of
service to education. These 95
years have been characterized by
steady progress, but no period in
the college’s history has been
more productive or filled with
more significant developments
than the period at hand.
The background which spreads
itself out on all sides around
us at this time is one of change
and opportunity. It is a good
time to go to college and a good
time to go to Clark.
We have heard it said before,
but it is worth repeating that
Negro college students in this
country—and perhaps anywhere
else—have never had the oppor
tunities which they find now
slowly beginning to beckon to
them. Nor have Clark students
had so many rewarding oppor
tunities and experiences spread
out before them for the taking.
This is a time to take advan
tage—a day for the opportunist
to assert himself and be known,
to participate, to become involv
ed and to take his place among
the many distinguished alumni
of Clark College who will most
assuredly come from this gene
ration of students.
Edgecomb Says
S G A Needs A Student Council
by Johnny Spencer
George Edcecomb, SGA past president, believes that
“formation of a working Student Council will be the most
effective means of strengthening th role of the students’
assoication.”
Edgecomb revealed this belief in an interview with
this reporter following the recent SGA Retreat.
“I am hesitant to discuss specific portions of the SGA
prosposals have not been revealed to our student body,”
he said. “However, I do feel that some sort of relatively
small body of students, authorized by their constituency,
can emerge as the most potent force in developing SGA
into the kind of organization it is intended to be.”
Venturing further opinions on the work of the associa
tion this year Edcecomb feels that incumbant SGA presi
dent George Smith “has a formidable task before him in
continuing the job developing the organization of Clark
students. The extent to which he will be successful will de
pend on the extent of student interest and participation.”
he added.
Seminar Speaker
Wright Speaks On i ‘Revolt
99
Dr. Jay Talmdage Wright appeared in October as the
initial speaker in Clark’s Seminar on Social Relations.
Here are some excerpts from his message which was de
livered in Kresge Hall.
ity in the total population. When
the negro is seen as a citizen, then
all the rules and customs of the
citizens apply to him. The dem
onstrations and sit-ins have
dramatized the urgent problems
of the community in relation to
the Negro citizens. Intelligent
community action depends upon
three major factors—1) a good
press, newspaper leadership
which will provide realistic
public education for continuous
change; 2) hard headed police
leadership dedicated to the pre
servation of democracy by pre
venting lawlessness of enforcing
the law impartially; and 3) a
city government with enough
imagination and courage to lead
the community in learning how
to change. The success of Atlanta
is due primarily to its proud
possession of these three factors.
The really tough job is not in the
handling of the demonstrations,
but in developing methods and
techniques for the endless day to
day conflicts inherent in human
relations regardless of race.
The Negro college is now
caught in the midst of the revolt.
Unless it takes the initiative to
provide aggressive leadership in
developing students who can
help vast numbers of Negroes to
catch up with our dynamic
society, the Negro college will
either sink into a well deserved
oblivion, or it will become the
repository of the second rate
student.
There is a great deal of talk
these days about the Negro Rev
olution, sometimes referred to
as the Black Revolution. Actual
ly there has been no revolution,
nor is there likely to be one in
the area of race relations. There
has been a revolt, and this revolt
is likely to continue. It arises
mainly from the unwillingness of
Negroes to continue to live with
the indifference and indignities
of the past. The revolt has erupt
ed all across the land, sometimes
organized with all the slickness
of a Madison Avenue production.
More often it is spontaneous and
purely local in character. The
aim of the revolt is to secure
those rights guarenteed by law,
to strengthen the law by full
participation. This is conserva
tism, the opposite of revolution.
One object of this revolt is to
destroy the mythical picture of
the Negroes as a mass of happy-
go-lucky children who look
alike, act alike and are content
with their lot. It is a paradox
that some Negro leadership
seems to give the impression that
the whole Negro population is
one vast congregation whose
main function is to fulfill the
dream of the shepherd of the
flock. This has been reinforced
by the attempt to view the pres
ent conflict as a moral problem
which would indicate that its
resolution should be left to the
moral leaders.
The hard facts are that the
conflict will be resolved by the
decision makers of the communi
ty on the rational basis of poli
tics and economics. Seen racially
Negroes are a permanent minor-
Nobody Asked
Me .... But
Imagine a country’s official re
presentative to the U. N. being
clobbered in his own country?
“Something is rotten in Den
mark”
Or a city that won’t clean the
streets around one of its centers
of higher learning?
“Well, sweep it under the rug.”
How about an instructor who is
unusually bright, and has an
empty classroom?
“Man, like I don’t get but twelve
hours now!”
A song that has no music; and-
or-a house that’s never been
built.
“I see it!”
“What?”
“Ever think about a sick man
dying for an opreation and the
doctors won’t see him?
B-ONG! BO-ON-GG! ! ! !
PLAIN COMMON SENSE!”
What about a dish-washer who
sings in seven languages?
“Kenny, pay attention! As I was
saying, the scale is A to G....”
Did you ever read Ralph Elli
son’s INVISIBLE MAN?
“Don’t you SEE-”
Think about ... no, that’s in
conceivable; I mean, NOBODY
backs down from an ultimatum!
“Chick King”
“Good move”
Seeds have pits . . . Right?
Well, I heard somebody’s bill (I
think they said) fell into pits . .
or was it bits?
“If you don’t water the thing
how do you expect it to live?
You nut!”
EVALUATE: Negroes are more
religious than whites.
Suppose Santa Calus turns up
with a Hawaiian sun tan!
’’Did you ever hear Miles Davis’
SO WHAT?”
Do you know John Lewis, Ann-
elle Ponder, Stokley Carmichael,
Willie Roers, Jesse James Glov
er, Freddie Harris, Arthur Jack-
son?
Pssst! ! ! THE NATION Oct. 5,
1963, pp 193-197
I heard one laboror say to an
other laboror;
“What is black, like night and
day?
Different in that respect, or in
another way?
Some say black is no good bad
and awful, ,
but who do they think they are
deciding black’s unlawful?
Those folks shor’ got some nerve
I mean why thye so naive?
’Specially when the whole world
knows,
we’re all from Adam and Eve. ..
hie!”
C. Calloway.