Newspaper Page Text
The Panther
SEPTEMBER, 1965 3
My Year At Wellesley
by Addie P. Shopshire
After spending my very profitable and enjoyable junior year at
Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, I am now back at
Clark for my senior year. In “bull sessions” at different places on
the campus, many students and teachers have heard about certain
experiences that I had while at Wellesley. And although my fel
low-upperclassmen here at Clark have heard quite a bit about
the Wellesley “way of life” from Clark’s first guest junior, for the
benefit of the freshmen, I’ll briefly give some details about the
guest junior program and for the benefit of all, I’ll tell about my
adjustment and matriculation at Wellesley.
Three years ago, Wellesley in cooperation with UNCF (United
Negro College Fund) colleges initiated a guest junior program.
Nine young ladies from different UNCF colleges were chosen to
attend Wellesley on the basis of their academic performance and
on the basis of their other qualities. This program has been very
successful and is being continued and enlarged upon. This year
there are ten guest juniors and again one of them is from Clark.
After being chosen, I began to make plans to go to Wellesley
and to leave Clark for a year. After being there for a few days
and becoming acquainted with some of Wellesley’s 400 acre
campus and with some of my dorm mates (of which I was the
only Negro), classes began. In one of my French classes, I found
that it was very hard to understand the spoken French of my
instructor. This made me very uneasy. However, after hearing Miss
Clapp (president of the school) talk in chapel about the fact that
there was no need for anxiety (even in foreign language classes),
my anxiety subsided and I began to make progress and I con
tinued to do so. I found my classes interesting and stimulating and
I found that there was a tremendous amount of reading and study
ing that I had to do in order to prepare for them.
At Wellesley, I found an open-door policy where deans, teach
ers, directors of residences, etc. are concerned. It seemed to me
that these people were always ready and willing to help with any
student’s problems, be it academic or personal. They made us all
feel that we were individually important and significant. This in
deed lends much to the adjustment and stability of a student.
In my dormitory, I had a single room (as do most juniors and
seniors). There was never a need to lock my room since Wellesley
operates on an honor system. In fact, no keys were ever issued.
Because of this same honor system, the library had free, open
stacks and when one desires to check out a book, she merely signs
the card and stamps it in her book.
After “trying-out”, I was notified that I made the choir. Sing
ing in the choir was a worthwhile and enjoyable activity. Each
choir member had to sing at chapel once a week and at Sunday
worship twice a month. The 170-voice Wellesley choir rendered
beautiful and impressive concerts a number of times during the
year.
I was a member of Phi Sigma society. The six societies at
Wellesley are open to all juniors and seniors in diploma grade
standing. Each girl who desires to become a member of a society
can become one. Membership is not based upon popularity or ini
tiation duties. In fact, initiation is simply a ceremony. I enjoyed the
use of my society house and its facilities.
Many have been interested in knowing how I adjusted socially
at an all-girls’ school Well, I’ll assure you that “where the girls
are”, you’ll find boys. During most of my year I dated young men
from Harvard, Boston and Yale Universities. I must say that the
social espect of my year at Wellesley was gratifying.
Before I left Clark, I made a statement in chapel that I tried
at all times to live up to. I promised that I’d do my best. I have
done this and I am grateful to Clark for sending me and I am
grateful to Wellesley for making my experience a beneficial, en
joyable, and enlightening one.
VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Continued)
high percentage of ill prepared lectures and unconcerned instruc
tors. Faculty and student body alike seem to concern themselves
with too many irrelevant projects and traditions that should be
discarded in the light of the challenge that faces this institution.
The administration needs to carefully study its concepts of student
freedom and develop a philosophy of Student Freedom that allows
the student to accept the consequences of their acts.
I welcome all students to assist me in my efforts to awake the
mentally lazy faculty and student body alike. There is no possible
justification for allowing those members of the faculty who pre
pare poor lectures to go unannounced. Our struggle will be a long
and difficult one. We are fortunate to have Dr. Henderson as our
President along with the dedicated members of the faculty.
New Faculty (Continued)
ment. In Business Administra
tion are Mr. Benjamin Brown, a
graduate of Clark and Howard
University Law School, and Mr.
K. K. Das, a graduate of Dacea
University, University of Lon
don, and Harvard University,
and Mr. John Petrof with a
B.A. and M.B.A. degree from
Emory University.
We are pleased to have these
persons join us for the school
A Bit of Humor
What’s yellow and weighs a
thousand pounds? — Two five-
hundred pound canaries.
* * *
Why does an elephant paint
his toe-nails green? — So that
he can hide in the grass.
year 1965-66. Among the new
members we are especially hap
py to welcome the several Clark-
ites joining the faculty to work
at their Alma Mater.
New Equipment for Research Program
The physics department is presently housed in Haven-Warren
Hall of Clark College. The plans are now underway to move the
department to its new facilities in the proposed modem, air-con
ditioned, science building. The last two years saw a number of
events which brought dynamic changes in the department in terms
of students, funds, additional fa
cilities, grants, scholarships and
visiting scientists programs. As
one walks through the depart
ment, one sees and hears the
activity and excitement of the
students and faculty.
During the 1964-65 school
year, the department of physics
has added two new laboratories,
namely: X-Ray Diffraction and
Optics. Also the department re
organized the four year under
graduate curriculum leading to
a B.S. degree in physics. An in
dependent study research par
ticipation program has recently
been introduced in order to
stimulate interest in physics
among the undergraduates at
Clark. This program received
further support and encourage
ments by the initiation of a vis
iting scientists program, which
received its financial assistance
from the American Institute of
Physics, Western Electric Com
pany and Oak Ridge National
Laboratory. Under this program
the department was visited by
Professor P. J. Bray, Chairman,
Physics Department, Brown Uni
versity, Dr; Edward Sturcken of
DuPont and Dr. E. J. Bowers of
Western Electric. These visitors
not only benefitted the students,
but also provided opportunities
for physics staff members of
Clark to discuss their research
and teaching problems with the
visiting scientists. Many useful
suggestions for the development
of the department have resulted
from these discussions.
In order to upgrade the un
dergraduate laboratories and to
meet the present day demands
of excellence, the National Sci
ence Foundation has recently
awarded an equipment grant in
the amount of $14,000.00 to the
physics department under the
Music Department
It is with pleasure that the
teachers and advance students
wish to welcome the incoming
music majors for 1965-66, also
Miss Ray Patterson (organist)
a new staff member.
The Clark College Marching
Band of sixty-five members are
daily preparing for the football
season. The Philharmonic So
ciety of sixty members is now
working hard for a good balance
of voices. Several programs are
planned for early fall.
The following graduates have
changed their addresses: Dr.
Harold Johnson, Chairman of
the Music Division, Maryland
State College, Prince Ann,
Maryland; Judge J. Cleveland,
Chairman of Music Department,
Jarvis Christian College, Haw
kins, Texas; Jesse S. Hardeman,
Choral Music Director, Harper
High School, Atlanta, Georgia.
Class of 1965 graduates:
Curtis Byrdsong, Band Direc
tor, Henry County Training
School, McDonough, Georgia;
Larry Matthews, Band Director,
Lyons Industrial School, Lyons,
Georgia; Beverly Jackson, Chor
al Music, Canton, Canton,
Georgia.
The recently appointed band
director of South Carolina State
College, Marcus Rowland, is a
graduate of Clark College.
direction of Dr. O. P. Puri, Pro
fessor and Chairman of the de
partment.
A dedication to instruction,
research and development has
always been the hallmark of the
physics department according to
Dr. Puri, it is a standard by
which we judge the past, shape
the present, and most important,
by which we plan the future.
As a result of the efforts
which Dr. Puri and his faculty
have been making, the General
Electric Company, Western
Electric Company and Bell Tele
phone Laboratories have poured
a significant amount of equip
ment into the department for
the purpose of upgrading the
laboratories and aiding the
present high quality of in
struction. The faculty research
headed by Dr. Puri and Mr.
Rowe also received two grants
from the Atlanta University
Center Research Committee.
The department of physics is
also now cooperating very ac
tively with Harvard University
in development of its “Harvard
Project Physics.” Dr. O. P. Puri
is in charge of this program at
Clark which is now in its be
ginning stages.
The undergraduate research
program has become a great
Dr. 0. P. Puri
success at Clark. Mr. William
Gordon, a junior in the depart
ment, presented a paper on “X-
Ray Diffraction” at the annual
meeting of the National Insti
tute of Sciences during the
1964-65 school year. At present
there are five undergraduate
students who are working under
this program which secures its
financial support through the
grants which have recently been
awarded to the department.
Tangibly this means that the
grants and the development pro
grams have helped the depart
ment to meet directly the needs
of a good physics program on a
scale commensurate with the
importance of this subject in the
college curriculum and equal in
quality to the most up-to-date
and efficient laboratories else
where.
Faculty Member Returns
Home Economics Receives Grant
Mrs. Flora Davis and Mrs. Evelyn Gilliard of the department
of home economics at Clark College have received a grant from the
Atlanta University Center Corporate Research Fund to engage in
a research study of “The Managerial Problems of Family Living”
in an impoverished area in a northwest section of Atlanta.
The primary purpose of the
research design was to study
managerial problems related to
socio-economic conditions of a
selected group of families. After
analyzation of the data and spe
cific problems focused, the re
searchers are desirous that fur
ther development will continue
by offering the families in the
community personal and practi
cal experiences in areas such as
family economics, management,
food and nutrition, housing, and
household equipment.
The research is now in prog
ress in that the data have been
collected and the researchers
are engaged in compilations and
analyzations.
Y.W.C.A. Makes Plans
For Coming Year
The Y.W.C.A. held its first
meeting of the year September
22, in Holmes Hall. Officers for
the year are: Deborah Edwards,
President; Jean Ivey, Vice Pres
ident; Mary Ann Reid, Secre
tary; Leila Bailey, Assistant
Secretary; Vera Walker, Treas
urer. The advisors are Mrs. Lin
ton and Mrs. Gilliam, who will
also be assisted by members of
the advisory board.
In the very near future the
club will conduct a workshop
under the supervision of Miss
Rosetta Gardner, the regional
president, to make plans for the
coming year. They will also plan
activities in conjunction with
the Y.M.C.A.
Mr. Paul McGirt of the
French Department has returned
to Clark College after a two-
year leave.
He was studying toward a
doctorate degree in Romance
Languages at Western Reserve
University in Chicago.
He received his A.B. and
M.A. degrees from North Caro
lina College and has done fur
ther studies at Laval University,
Quebec, Canada; Ecole Nor-
male Superieure and Institute
Haitiano-Americain, Port-au-
Prince, Haiti; Sorbonne, Paris,
France; and College Duvivier
Hall, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
He has been associated with
Clark College since 1957. He is
Acting Chairman of the Foreign
Language Department this year.