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THE MAROON TIGER Pape 3 ^be SVegro College Community and £ife By James A. Hulbert, ’33 After four years of supposed study and contact with professors supposedly possessing breadth of minds fav orable with their degrees and positions, the college gradu ate emerges into a world not so alien after all to his world of books and classes. With his diploma he must face practically the same problems that he has already been concerned with, but on a larger scale and a more intense fashion. For, indeed, the college is a sheltered community, a small world within a world but embracing, similarly, problems of law and government, of disci pline and justice, of health and sanitation, of democracy and autocracy, of failure and success. Herein the forces of honesty, truth, loyalty, honor, merit and all the oppo site qualities must be contended with—even as outside the college walls. Herein, one may rise by his efforts or fall because of his sloth. A million other problems are present that give the lie to the old-timers who conceived of graduation as “going out into life.’’ Doubtless, most Negro students are extremely intimate with life long be fore commencement day. Graduation speakers used to delight in hypnotizing young hopefuls of the class of into a feeling of ex cessive self-assurance and sufficiency. An ailing old world awaited patiently the day of June when a class would rush forth to cure it of its divers diseases. How inane is such an idea today. It is an ignorant grad uate, indeed, that has this notion, and such an institu tion that turns out people with the “world wanting to be conquered” conception is most assuredly sending them “out into life”, and into a painful reality and hideous truth as well. Modern industry and business are flooded with men with degrees, and have jew places in these years of depression to assimulate older and more experienced men. This year again thousands of young men will face disappointment and disillusionment in the realization that there are almost no jobs open, no channels of occu pational absorption for graduates with only the bache lor degrees. How does the Negro graduate fit into these hectic and soul-crushing conditions that prevail? The answer is that he is a very bad fit, or, rather, he doesn’t. Notwithstand ing the truth that the same questions which agitate him are likewise agitating the white graduate, he is a victim because of his race, traditionally persecuted and despised, and henceforth the one to suffer more in the depression. But he cannot blame his people altogether for his pre dicament. The fault lies not altogether in his stars, nor in the fact that he is an underling, but, to a great ex tent, in himself—in his own weakness, lack of thought, his laissez-faire outlook on everything in general. This indolence of our Negro intelligentsia which is on the same plane as the proverbial care-free, happy-go- lucky native of our lower brethren, in spite of the false culture and easy sophistication which it displays, is traceable in its first stages in college. Negro students are amazingly lax and even cowardly when there is need for action. They whine about injustices, they “beef” noisily in “bull” session, attacking everybody, panning the ad ministration, and present wordy solutions to every prob lem imaginable. Yet, they are often silent and indiffer ent when some important issue is at hand, calling for constructive thought and direct attack. Recently, on this campus there was an example of student indifference that will throw light on attitudes, generally. The verdict of death passed on Heywood Pat terson, first of the boys tried in the celebrated “Scotts- boro Case”, sent a thrill of shame and dismay through all of America, decent Amer>n Resolutions were passed in condemnation, petitions r 1 telegrams of protest poured into the court of the Alabama town and into the office of the President of the 1 ed States. On that day this writer did not hear a single group discussing the trial or its outcome; a terrible " ’d deliberate miscarriage of justice. There was a quesi'on in his mind whether many even knew that the case vns being tried. Such an event, so fraught with significance for our group, seeminrly, would have incited spo ’eous and eager discussion, possibly a meeting or a "-um, One telegram from the orient bodv would h taken a stand, ineffectual be. Yet. on the very mo - fraternities were engagin ’’ us on record as having s it might have aopeared to ' of the sentence, the campus In a heated and crooked poli tical battle to control the various offices and positions of the several student A college is primaril partment, be it class, ch; ment or sports, it grows portion to student inte factors are extremely in can successfully govern i sideration of them. But i, its students. Whatever de- >el, library, student govern- ! progresses largely in pro- 1 cooperation. These two ant and no administration hape anything without con- ■ c fa 'tors are negligible, if there is no positive force of student opinion then there are no grounds for con 1 or is there development of either institution or individual. How can graduates ... oetter their home com munities when they have contributed nothing in their college community? Many subject themselves to their daily tasks assiduously a .J when teachers award them high grades, usually inaccurately and often erringly, they pat themselves on the bacK and glow in the warmtli of self-satisfaction. Yet, if required to give a single origin al idea, a single intelligent reaction our friend oi the “dean’s list” often is found to be sadly deficient. And all he can possibly offer when he finishes his education is his degree, his honors, his worldly-wise air,sans ideas, sans initiative, sans originality, sans enthusiasm, suns ev erything. Naturally the Negro graduate in many instanc es is a perfect flunk-out in this exacting world, which, unfortunately in the final analysis, doesn’t care a hoot for scholastic honors and fraternity pins. Dad: “Son, do you know that when Wilson was your age he was at the head of his class?” Son: “Yes, sir; and when he was your age he was President of the United States.” All Modern “Will you marry me, dearest?” “Certainly. Companionate, trial, 0r fight-to-a-finish?”