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THE MAROON TIGER
6?
HISTORY OF EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
AT MOREHOUSE
This is the first of a series of articles dealing with
the history of extra-curricular activities at Morehouse.
There will be three more subjects discussed:
History of Glee Club and Orchestra,
History of Inter-Collegiate Athletics.
His ory of Fraternities.
* * *
Debating
By G. W. Crockett. Jr., ’31
The first written account of inter-collegiate debating
at Morehouse is found in the Atlanta Baptist College
monthly The Advance for May, 1906.
“For the first time in the history of the college the
students had a debating contest this year with another
college, an event which was the beginning of larger and
more helpful relations with our sister institutions.”
This debate was held between A. B. C. and Talladega
College, and was won by the men of Atlanta Baptist
College. It became an annual affair, and the college
began to develop two teams -a negative team that
would do the visiting, and an affirmative team that re
mained at home in order to entertain the opponent’s
negative team. From this humble beginning inter-col
legiate debating continued to grow, until it reached a
position of paramount interest to the student body. As
recorded in The Advance for March 15, 1909:
“No one student interest at Atlanta Baptist College
has advanced more rapidly in the last four years than
debating. Aside from the regular debating organiza
tions, the annual contests with Talladega College do
much to encourage this feature of college life and
to give opportunity to any men in the college or school
who wish to develop themselves in this direction.”
We have received further information from the Reg
istrar’s Office that this Dual League between A. B. C.
and Talladega College was the first debating league
in the history of Negro colleges in America.
In 1910, The Advance ceased publication, and we are
therefore dependent upon the student publication of
Atlanta Baptist College and Spelman Seminary, which
at that time was known as The Athenaeum. In the issue
of January, 1911, we find recorded the admission of
Knoxville College into the Dual League, thus form
ing a Triangular League. The question for the first Tri
angular League debate was, Resolved, “That Municipal
Governments Should Own and Operate Their Public
Utilities.” The A. B. C. team composed of Messrs.
Carrie W. Moore, ’12: A. C. Williams, ’12; and A. B.
Nutt, T4, journeyed to Talladega, where they adminis
tered defeat to that institution’s affirmative team. The
A. B. C. negative made up of Messrs. Mordecai John
son, ’ll; Robert M. Turner, ’ll. and Victor C. Turner,
’ll, won a unanimous decision over Knoxville Col
lege.
In the second Triangular Debate, A. B. C. lost to
Knoxville, but continued its string of victories over Tal
ladega. “The question was Resolved, “That United
States Senators Should Be Elected by Popular Vote.
Constitutionality Conceded.” The following two years
brought forth two more defeats of Talladega, but Knox
ville continued to be our strongest rival.
The College Debating Society, “Chi Delta Sigma,”
founded in 1911-12 was functioning very effectively at
this time under the efficient leadership of W. H. Haynes.
Haynes was our outstanding debator at this time; and
upon graduation in 1915 he matriculated at Chicago
University where he made the debating team and assist
ed in defeating the University of Michigan. This in
cident gives one an insight into the quality of debators
that we were producing at that time.
The coach of debating at this time was Dean B. G.
Brawley, assisted by W. H. Haynes who had returned
to his Alma Mater as head of the Department of Eco
nomics. Dean Brawley was suceeded as coach by Prof.
Benjamin Mays under whose guidance more consecu
tive victories for both teams were registered than ever
before. This feat was in part due to the inherent de
bating ability of such students as Messrs. N. P. Til 1 -
man, our present coach; B. R. Brazeal, our assistant
roc: 1 :; H. W. Thurman, our present chaplain; J. M. Na-
brit, Gaston, Barbour and many others too numerous
to mention.
In 1919 we initiated Fisk into the league by unani
mously defeating her at Nashville. In 1927 Johnson
C. Smith University was admitted, thereby forming
our present Pentagonal League. This league is now
the outstanding debating league in the South. In re
cent years there has been a tendency to break even
in all of our debates. This is probably due to the
small number of men that participate in debating, thus
limiting the material from which to select teams. This
also denotes a lack of interest on the part of the stu
dent body ; and only in proportion as this interest in
creases, will our forensic prestige climb to the lofty po-
sion that held in former years.
PRE-EXAM TIME: A SHORT STORY
During the previous week of exams, a visitor was
walking through the campus. Well, he found every
body very busy and in a hurry. While doing the camp
us, he decided to give Robert Hall “a once over.” Just
as he walked into the hall on the first floor, a big
si7n which was tacked on the door read, “No Visitors
Allowed Until After Exams.” The visitor wouldn’t let
(his sign discourage him at all, but while standing
there, he heard some fellows in the room talking about
the trigonometric function of acute angles. In the ad
joining room some men were discussing “Watered
Stock.” He walked up to the second floor where this
epitaph was nailed on a door, “All Hope Abandon Ye
Who Enter Here.” The occupants of this room were
trying to find out where the blood goes after leav
ing the superior and inferior mesenteric veins. Just
across the hall was a big crowd of men roaring like
a room full of fullbacks, talking about the aim of
History of Philosophy, Heraclitus, the will being sup
erior to intellect and the monad theory. While the
visitor stood there a handsome young man stepped
quietly out of his room into the hall, looked toward
the heavens and yelled like a bull ape. Without no
ticing the visitor he went back into his room to con
tinue the discussion of a business that would sell
everything from a tooth-pick to a mule’s collar. Even
the period of depression and overhead expenses were
mentioned.
Listening to the various discussions caused the vis
itor to grow despondent. He willed all his possessions
to the Unkown Soldier and took his life with his own
hand.
The End
B. 0. Bealyer, ’30.