Newspaper Page Text
Page 2
THE PANTHER
December, 1963
CfUark ^antl|£r
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.
Barbara Lee Alma Steagall
Co-editors for the November edition.
Johnnie Downs
Campus News Editor
Barbara Lee
News Editor
Johnny Spencer
Departmental News
Connie Hall
Feature Editor
Alma Steagall
Editorials
Lamond Godwin
and Alonzo Reese
Sports Editors
Mr. Harold Hamilton
Advisor
AN EPILOGUE
For President Kennedy
By Theodore H. White
Reprinted from Life Magazine, December 6. 1903
She remembers how hot the sun was in Dallas, and the
crowds—greater and wilder than the crowds in Mexico or
in Vienna. The sun was blinding, streaming down; yet she
could not put on sunglasses for she had to wave to the
crowd.
And up ahead she remembers seeing a tunnel around
a turn and thinking that there would be a moment of cool
ness under the tunnel- There was the sound of the motor
cycles, as always in a parade, and the occasional backfire
of a motorcycle. The sound of the shot came, at that
moment, like the sound of a backfire and she remembers
Connally saying, “No, no, no, no, no . . .”
She remembers the roses. Three times that day in
Texas they had been greeted with the bouquets of yellow
roses of Texas. Only, in Dallas they had given her red
roses. She remembers thinking, how funny—red roses for
me; and then the car was full of blood and red roses.
Much later, accompanying the body from the Dallas
hospital to the airport, she was alone with Clint Hill—the
first Secret Service man to come to their rescue—and with
Dr. Burkley, the White House physician. Burkley gave her
two roses that had slipped under the President’s shirt
when he fell, his head in her lap.
All through the night they tried to separate him from
her, to sedate her, and take care of her—and she would not
let them. She wanted to be with him. She remembered
that Jack had said of his father, when his father suffered
the stroke, that he could no tlive like that. Don’t let that
happen to me, he had said, when I have to go.
Now, in her hand she was holding a gold St. Christo-
summer, they had wanted to put something in the coffin
when they were married; but when Patrick died this
pher’s medal. She had given him a St .Christopher’s medal
with Patrick that was from them both; and so he had put
in the St, Christopher’s medal-
Then he had asked her to give him a new one to mark
their 10th wedding anniversary, a month after Patrick’s
He was carrying it when he died and she had found it.
death.
But it belonged to him—so she could not put that in the
coffin with him. She wanted to give him something that
was hers, something that she loved. So she had slipped off
her wedding ring and put it on his finger. When she came
out of the room in the hospital in Dallas, she asked: “Do
you think it was right? Now I have nothing left.” And
Kenny O’Donnel lsaid, “You leave it where it is.”
That was at 1:30 p.m. in Texas.
But then, at Bethesda Hospital in Maryland, at 3 a m.
the next morning, Kenny slipped into the chamber where
the body lay and brought her back the ring, which, as she
talked now, she twisted.
On her little finger was the other ring; a slim, gold
circlet with green emerald chips—the one he had given her
in memory of Patrick. There was a thought, too, that was
always with her. “When Jack quoted something, it was
usually classical,” she said, “but I’m so ashamed of myself
—all I keep thinking of is this line from a musical comedy.
“At night, before we’d go to sleep, Jack liked to play
records; and the song he loved most came at the very end
of this record. The lines he loved to hear were: Don’t let
it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shin
ing moment that was known as Camelot.”
She wanted to make sure that the point came clear and
went on: “There’ll be great Presidents again — and the
Johnsons are wonderful, they’ve been wonderful to me—
but there’ll never be another Camelot again.
“Once, the more I read of history the more bitter I got.
For a while I thought history was something that bitter
old men wrote. But then I realized history made Jack what
Continued on Page 3
CAMPUS OMEGAS HONOR A. T. WILSON IN CHAPEL PROGRAM.
(l-r) Dr. C. Clayton Powell, alumnus Moses Norman, Mr. Wilson, Ronald My rick.
' Second Semester ,
<
' Panther Staff
: is !
Now Forming
^ v - hi ipi ipi pi— pi -
Christmas Vesper
By Philharmonic
The Annual Christmas Vesper
featuring the Philharmonic So
ciety was held in Davage Audi
torium, December 1, 1963 at 5:00
p.m. The Christmas Contata for
this year was quite different
from those of previous years.
The contata, “The Ballad of the
Brown King,” was written by a
Clark graduate, Margaret Bond,
with words by Langston Hughes.
The Philharmonic Society
sang to a capacity audience.
Soloists Charles Pierce, Almedia
Sanders, Nancy Johnson, Samuel
Hagen and Van Dee Perry did a
magnificent job of interpreting
the ballad. The Philharmonic
Society under the direction of
Professor J. DeKoven Killings-
worth lived up to its long estab
lished reputation of being able
to interpret music with great
feeling and magnitude.
Adding to the atmosphere of
Christmas created by the Phil
harmonic Society were the beau
tiful Christmas decorations on
the stage and around the walls
of the auditorium. These decora
tions served to set the stage for
a superb rendition of “The Bal
lad of the Brown King.”
Biology Research
Students in the Biology De
partment are participating in a
seminar designed to give those
senior and junior students who
have demonstrated competence
in biology, opportunities to do
individual studies and research.
Five students are doing a lim
nological investigation of a local
pond. Charles Bacon and Wil
liam T. Grimes are concerned
with the flora of the pond, while
Clarence Flannigan, Ronald My-
rick and Jean West are investi
gating the fauna of the pond.
The student investigating
group has made one report to
the seminar and is now in the
process of preparing the second
report.
Seminar meets on the second
and fourth Tuesdays in each
month and is open to all who
might be interested. Interim lec
tures are given by the biology
staff or by guest lecturers.
Democracy’s Challenge
By Lamond Godwin
In the early years of the Twentieth Century, Ameri
cans and Democrats everywhere were supremely confident
that democracy was the ideal political system that fur
nished the answer to all social ills, and whose superior
virtues were so appealing and self evident, that it would
shortly sweep the world. So profound was this conviction
that America fought a war to “make the world safe for
democracy.”
By mid-century that confidence had been shattered, for
in the years following the first world war democracy did
not sweep the world and in fact succumbed in many na
tions to the attack of totalitarian philosophies that rejected
it root and branch. Even the countries which continued to
cherish democracy discovered that it was not a panacea
and seems increasingly hard to operate.
Today American democracy is faced with a serious
threat from within. This enemy is the stream of violent
hate that has intruded into our national life. It is an irra
tional hatred not possible of explanation. It is the type of
hatred that has resulted in the dynamiting of children,
homes, and churches in Birmingham, the murder of Mead-
ger Evers by a sniper doing death out of darkness, and
most recently in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The death of president Kennedy has shocked us to a
realization of the damage that this type of foe can do to
our nation. Who was to blame? Was it Lee Harvey Os
wald? Or should we all feel a sense of guilt? What moti
vated Oswald to commit the terrible act he did may never
be known to us. But we do know that such acts are com
monly stimulated by the hatred that is eating its way into
the bloodstream of American life. That this force is put
ting our institutions and our democratic faith to the test is
the basic fact of our life as a people. Will Americans allow
this enemy to destroy democracy?
Huddlers Active
By Dallas Turnipseed
It seems that in previous years huddle groups and
leaders were only instruments of Freshman Orientation
Week. It seems that no matter how many plans were made
to have huddle groups serve a yearly function, these plans
never reached more than the planning stage.
This year there seems to be something in the air other
than music. It’s the determined spirit of Huddle Group
Six to make the original purpose of huddle groups and
leaders a reality. And the result of this determining spirit
will be, as you will later agree, no “little thing..”
Within two weeks plans have been made to attend one
of the performances of a Clark graduate, Mrs. Georgia
Allen, at the Academy Theatre, to present a Christmas
Carol Party, and to sponsor a new kind of amd a more
beneficial chapel program. More immediate plans are to
enjoy Thursday night, December 5, at the Fun Bowl.
Leading the group in making these more than just
“plans” are: Betty Mann, president; Albert Hayes, Vice-
pres.; Marilyn Lewis, sec.; Annie Floyd, assistant secre
tary; Brenda Minnitee, treasurer; Edward Turnipseed,
chaplain; Ronald Williams, reporter; Brenda Davis, chair
man of Tour Committee; Beatrice Madison, chairman of
Social Committee; Brenda Minnitee, chairman of Program
Committee.
The group has planned many more things which will
prove enjoyable and helpful to the Clark family, as well
as to the Huddle Group- Not wanting to be selfish in its
benefits, the group is opening its arms to six sophomores
who were not able to enjoy the experience of a huddle
group, as they were second semester students.
Mrs. Mary J. Todd McKenzie, faculty advisor, has
proven extremely inspiring and rewarding to the group.
She is much the “life”of the group.
Freshman guides for Huddle Group VI are Dallas Tur
nipseed, Leader, and Jean West and William Gordon,
associates.