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THE MAROON TIGER
Page 7
church lias not kept pace with time in doctrine and re
sponsibility. Can any institution be named that has?
Nevertheless, the church has done a great deal of good
and the student must admit that progress has been and
is being made. The job of religion is to develop man
into a symmetrical being. The college man, if this also
be one of his purposes in life, can assist the church by
toiling within its confines and not by railing and prattling
on the outside.
Religion demands an opportunity to express itself in
the Negro college. It asks for a rational recognition of
human personality and conception of God. It seeks to
prepare man to live a life of common weal on earth.
The college man, if he will, can aid in the attainment
of these ends and, in doing so, he promotes the welfare
of his race, his native land and mankind in general.
—F. N. Marshburn, ’32.
IS STUDENT OPINION PARALYZED?
S tudent government in Negro colleges is some
thing that is very new. It is a product of the
recent years. Prior to 1912 there was not a
single Negro college in America that possessed
anything that would even approach the term, student
government. Faculty control was rigid and the students
had little to say about extra-curricula affairs. These con
ditions have changed to some extent in many instances,
but there is still much to be accomplished in the way
of freeing the Negro student from the state of intellec
tual serfdom that has kept him from applying his own
ability to the solution of his problems and made free
dom of opinion and speech almost impossible because
of the dominating attitudes of those who are in power.
Most of our Negro college magazines or publications
are not mediums through which student opinions af
fecting student life are carried to the administration,
alumni and general public. They are mere puppets.
For example, a student is dissatisfied with a given con
dition on the campus. He sits down and writes his
candid opinion on the subject, sends it to the editor of
the college paper, who, in turn, often words it so it will
conform to the ideas of the administration. Probably
this is not entirely the fault of the editor. It may be due
to the high-school practice, from which the Negro col
lege student has been unable to emancipate himself, of
having faculty advisors and censors on the editorial
board. As long as these conditions exist we will never
get any idea of what the student opinion is upon such
subjects.
Now, we are arriving at the question—Why should
there be any objection on the part of those in authority to
students having an uncensored medium through which
they can express their opinions and desires on such sub
jects as athletics, discipline and self-government?It is due
in part to the students’ own unaggressiveness, but there
is another reason. Most college executives do not wel
come suggestions upon some of the most vital problems
that confront our colleges, as student government. They
generally feel that intellectually, students are still in the
embryonic stage and that their opinion upon such prob
lems are of little value, knowing all the time that only
a few days are between college davs and the time when
they will have to form opinions and make decisions for
themselves. They seem to think that colleges are places
where students in some mysterious way prepare for liv
ing an active life that is to come without living an ac
tive life in their present positions. I take no stock in
such a view. I believe that college is life in its truest
sense and not a preparation for life.
If students are to leave college and tackle the prob
lems of life in a creditable way, they must be prepared.
They must be ready to make decisions, and reach opin
ions, which will vitally effect our economic, political
and social life. Just how is the student going to assume
the right attitude, or for that matter, any sort of attitude
towards these problems that are sure to meet him and
must be faced by him? Is it by evading the problems of
his college days, and suppressing his opinion, or is it by
the adoption on the part of the student of an attitude
of indifference? It is not by either. It is by facing
these problems squarely in the face and expressing real,
honest and justifiable opinions.
These opinions should be welcomed by faculties no
matter how radical they may seem as long as they em
body truth or theory of truth. A good administration
welcomes criticism because such reveals defects in its
operation which the leaders are willing to correct for
the good of their constituents. We need more constuc-
tive criticism of the direction of college affairs in Ne
gro colleges from the students.
Until the Negro student has freed himself from the
negative forces in college which have in the past made
it impossible for him to draw conclusions, express opin
ions opetdy, without fear, and show his own initiative
in dealing with his problems, it will be impossible for
him to go out into the world and think soundly upon
the problems that will face him. Democracy in college
is the best fore-runner of democracy in national life.
The school paper is and should be the medium through
which democratic ideals may be developed.
—Charles H. Walker, ’31.
WHO’S WHO IN THE SENIOR CLASS
To Morehouse men who have become campus leaders
because of their versatility in class work or in extra
curricula activities this column is solemnly dedicated.
An attempt to sketch the collegiate careers of our most
oustanding students is a new and progressive policy of
The Maroon Tiger. The writer hopes that this feature
ivill serve as an incentive to each man in the college to
actively participate in all constructive campus activities
and to maintain a high standard of scholarship and right
living.
In the last issue of The Maroon Tiger the following
were singled out because of their attainments: James R.
Edmonds, Robert B. Stewart, Jr., Griffin F. Day, and
Geo. W. Crockett, Jr.
George W. Cabaniss.
Wherever fearless student initiative is needed, one
turns instinctively to “Cab,”, because of his manliness, his
clear-mindedness and his versatility. “Cab” is a product
of Washington High School, of this city, where he was
an honor student and commencement speaker. He has
carried these qualities over into his collegiate career
which is shown by the fact that he is, and has been, on
the Dean’s List, and a varsity debator for two years.
At present he is also Student Accountant to the Student
Committee on Activities, ex-President of Alpha Rho Chap
ter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Editor of The Washington High
School Alumnus, and a member of the Executive Com'
mittee of The Political Science Club. He intends to
enter the field of business, and we know he will be suc-
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