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Page Two
THE WOLVERINE OBSERVER
April, 1958
Wolverine Observer Staff
1957-58
They’ll Blow Up Hell
By MARION A. ALBERT
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Feature Editor
Sports Writers
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
Circulation Manager .
Reporters
Advisors
Sallie E. Smart
W. F. Carmichael
Ellen Rhyne
Benjamin Geer
Robert White,
Robert Maycox
Curtis Jones
Bernice Crafton
Wayman Shiver
Marion Albert,
Patricia Jenkins, Elnora Simmons, Bobby Huff,
Robert White, Maxine Walter, Barbara Ramey,
Rufus Kilgore, W. Hixon and W. Windham
Dr. B. J. Farmer,
Miss V. Benton
Member Intercollegiate Press
In this complex society of ours,
we are confronted with many prob
lems, some of which include prob
lems of juvenile delinquency, per
sons plagued with mental diseases,
problems concerning economic con
ditions, and problems of crime.
Through research and study, we
have found that it is no longer
necessary to chain, beat, or jail
individuals who are afflicted with
these maladjustments, as was the
case many centuries ago. What
then, can you do to such individ
uals ? Is counseling doing any
good with respect to these prob
lems ? Must we re-employ the
crude forms of punishment?
IN MEMORIAM
t
If I were a poet, I would ask the goddess of poetry for the in
spiration, insight, rhyme, meter, beauty, and above all sincerity to
write a fine poem. I would want this poem to be the most meaning
ful in the world. It would be written in the true Brownite spirit—
sacred truth. If I were Alfred Lord Tennyson, I would write another
“In Memoriam,” but this time an elegy of our dear friend Carlton
Hopkins.
I am not a poet nor am I Alfred
Lord Tennyson, but I am a
“Brownite” and a friend of Carl
ton’s. It is with these cherished
thoughts that I write this edi
torial in commemoration of a true
“Brownite.”
It was April 1, 1958, when the
sound wave bearing unwanted
news hit our campus. The Brown
ite receiving station intercepted
the sounds which bore the words:
“A Brownite has crossed the bar
and joined the innumerable cara
van.”
Carlton Hopkins was a native of
Boston, Georgia. He was the
grandson of Mrs. Josie Bell Rich
ardson. He has a sister, Josie
Hopkins, who is a graduate
of Morris Brown College, and
a brother, Mitchell Hopkins, who
is now a senior at Morris Brown'
College.
Carlton came to Morris Brown
College in 1953 to further his edu
cation. He struggled and worked
his way through college for four
long years. He was very ambi
tious, friendly, active, cooperative
and considerate. During his life at
Morris Brown he took part in
such school activities as follows:
member of the Student council,
Assistant Secretary in the Dean’s
Office, a true fraternal brother
of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Associate Editor of the Brownite
Annual of 1956-1957, Managing
Editor of the Wolverine Observer,
Committee Chairman of the Senior
Class, and above all, from his
heart, he was a true, true Brown
ite. I cannot do justice to the
memory of Carlton Hopkins,
For I am but an earthly Muse,
And owning but a little art
To lull with song an aching heart,
And render human love his dues.
—Tennyson
You can’t count the times you
have sat in the classrooms and
noted the names and fraternity
symbols carved on the seats, or
the times you have seen the writ
ings and drawings on the walls in
the bathrooms.
Why do these individuals carve
on seats? Why do they write on
the walls ? Why do they throw
bottles ? Can it be because their
minds are idle, or because they
suffer from some type of nervous
tension, or is it because they just
don’t know any better because of
their home training? I was once
led to believe that the only way
certain types of people would not
prove destructible to property
would be to make everything out
of steel and bolt these things to
the floors. This way, these ob
jects could not be moved about to
satisfy the desires of particular
individuals.
For the most part, we have been
thinking that these acts were just
of a minor nature, or innocent
acts, and that there was no prob
lem at all. Therefore, we gave lit
tle or no concern to them.
Probably, it all started by writ
ing on the desks, then carving on
the desks, then it moved on to
cutting holes in upholstery. My
suggestion is that we find some
thing else fop these individuals to
do to “get their kicks” or very
soon they will be trying to “blow
up hell.”
“Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend,” is one
of the definitions. Prayer is the communion with heaven. It is a two-
way conversation between God and man. Prayer is coming in con
tact with the power of God.
The question has been asked, “Must we pray without ceasing?
Must we be constantly on our knees? Must our lips be forever re
peating some set of phrases of adoration and petition to God?”
A friend telling of his behavior
on the battle field when shells
were bursting all about him said;
“At such a time every thing you
do is prayer.”
A dear old lady explained how,
as she is awakened in the morning,
she says to God, “Awaken me to
my spiritual needs this morning.”
Then when she dresses, she prays,
“Lord clothe me with the robe of
Thy righteousness today.” As she
eats her breakfast she asks, “dear
Lord, please feed me with the
Bread of life,” Then, when she
washes the dishes, her request is,
“Dear Lord, wash me and make
me clean.” When she sweeps the
floor, she asks God to sweep sins
out of her life and make her heart
a fit place for the Holy Spirit to
abide.
The point illustrated in her ex
perience is that we should be so
intimate with Jesus that it will
be easy to practice His presence in
our lives and never allow our
selves to go beyond the reach of
His influence.
A sainted old man dying on his
bed of pain said to a friend, “Keep
prayer up to date, for when you
are as sick as I am, you won’t feel
like praying.”
One of the early Christians
wrote, “The empty vessel is by
prayer carried to the full foun
tain.” Prayer is the connecting
link with heaven. Prayer is the
password of the humble heart as
it comes in contact with the
Majesty of heaven.
Some people feel that they can
not pray because they do not know
how to talk with God. They do not
know what to say. But one does
not need a prayer book to talk
with our heavenly Father. Sup
pose some friend should come to
you and begin to read out of a
book instead of telling you direct
ly what is in his heart. You would
probably say, “Put down that book
and tell me. I want to know what
you think—not what some book
says.” Prayer is heart to heart
talk with God. It consists of a
conversation of divine love. If a
young man should try to court his
lady by looking in a book and
reading every sentence he speaks
to her, how long would that court
ship last? Or if they should get
married, how long do you think
that marriage would last if he had
to read every thing he says from
out of a book? Love is not ap
proached that way. Jesus said:
“But when ye pray, use not
vain repititions, as the heathens
do: for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto
them. For your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of be
fore ye ask him.” (Matt. 6:7, 8).
God knows all about us before
we come to Him. We do not need
to repeat over and over our wants
to Him.
“O Lord, thou hast searched me,
and known me. Thou understand-
est my thought afar off. Thou
Compassest my path and my lying
down, and art acquainted with all
my ways. For there is not a word
on my tongue, but lo, O Lord,
Thou knowest it altogether.”-—•
Psalm 139:1-4.
God listens to our hearts rather
than our lips when we pray. The
words that we speak are insignifi
cant in comparision with the feel
ings of our innermost selves.
“For the Lord seeth not as man
seeth; for man looketh on the out
ward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart.”—I Samuel,
16:7.
Ben’s Pen
Ad in Springfield Bulletin—
Wanted. A secretary—-Who looks
like a girl—thinks like a man—
acts like a lady—and works like
a dog.
Seen in a French antique shop
in New York: English and French
spoken—Cash understood.
Sign in a Fort Worth, Texas
T. V. repair shop: “Do it yourself,
then bring it to us.
Co-ed on her way to political
rally: “I’m going with an open
mind, a complete lack of prejudice,
and a cool rational approach to
listen to what I’m convinced is
pure rubbish.”
Bad officials are elected by
good citizens who do not vote.
One of the disturbing things
about world news is that we know
we are going to have to read it in
the newspapers after we hear it
over the radio before we see it on
television.
Sign on the door of a gift shop:
“Please open before Christmas.”
Sign on a closed New Jersey
service station: We undersold
everyone.
A young minister’s prayer: O
Lord, forgive us for being so sen
sitive about the things that do not
matter and so insensitive to the
things that do.
A University of Washington
student has solved his problem of
getting to class from one of the
university’s far-flung parking lots.
A passerby saw him park his car,
get out, open the door of the
trunk, take out a bicycle, and
pedal off into the direction of the
upper campus.
—Banjamin Geer
Is “Creative Altruism” The
Answer For World Peace?
Each day as we read our newspapers we learn about some kind of
crisis. It might be a crisis in education, religion, science, or even hu
man relations. And when we have finished reading of one we say to
ourselves, “Surely this must be the last one.” Let me caution you be
fore you form that opinion. As long as we have a progressive society
we are going to be faced with some kind of acute problems.
According to Dr. Pitirim Soro- j
kin in his lectures at Gammon ' >0;l! 'ds of states like Georgia,
Theological Seminary, however,
we are now faced with the great
est tragedy of our history. He
forecasts a total destruction of
Western cultures because of our
conflicting values. He contends,
however, that we can be saved
through creative altruism. This
means that man must let the
energies of love and truth domi
nate his activities. Some of us say
that this can be done and yet
others say that this is a proposi
tion for an “ideal state.” Can crea
tive altruism work between cul
tures where men are constantly
cutting each other’s throats ?
Where prejudice and ignorance
have been the foundation for many
institutions and societies? Where
groups are in conflict as to what
is best for their welfare? Where
man has adopted the “dog-eat-
dog” or “do-unto-others-before-
they-do-unto-you” philosophy ?
Dr. Sorokin cited the case of the
Montgomery boycott and the ac
tions of Dr. King and his follow
ers as an indication of creative
altruism in action, but I ask you,
had this incident occurred in
Georgia in a very similar manner
would creative altruism have been
the answer or would it have re
sulted in bloodshed?
If I were to assume that crea
tive altruism can work in estab
lishing international peace, where
would we start? Would Dr. Soro
kin suggest that we implement
this doctrine in our elementary
schools and let it grow with the
new generation? If we did this I
wonder how willing the education
Florida, South Carolina, and Mis
sissippi would be to let a teacher
stand in the classrooms and drill
into the students that “you must
love that little black boy going
down the street. Love him and let
him know you love him. Talk with
him. Play with him. Invite him to
your concerts, your dances, your
parties.” It might work, but I
wonder.
Or would Dr. Sorokin suggest
that a Jew or a Negro approach
a southern segregationist and tell
him the truth—tell him that he is
his equal? Tell the segregationist
that even his laws and statutes
are full of bias and prejudice? Tell
him that he should learn the sig
nificance of man’s relation to
man ? I wonder if it will work.
And how would Dr. Sorokin
suggest that these Western cul
tures come together? Would he
suggest that we call a UN con
ference and declare that we are
going to disarm, and that in the
future we will love and trust each
other? Or would he suggest that
each culture “smuggle” a repre
sentative into these respective na
tions and “preach the word of
love.” If they did this, I wonder
if they would get back to their
country alive or be convicted as
spies. I wonder.
Some of us say that this idea
of an inevitable destruction of
Western culture is a fallacy, but
then when we think of the pos
sibility of a nuclear explosion—I
WONDER. Will creative altruism
be the answer for international
peace ?
Same Old Story
In America, where the open
class system prevails, one wonders
why succesful men always give the
hard-luck story in referring to
their past. If these men confront
ed so many obstacles in reaching
their present status, then why
does America advocate the open
class system?
If you should read one of these
men’s autobiographies you will
conclude that the caste system
exists in America. The writer had
to confront so many difficulties
that one imagines he must have
been superhuman to overcome
them. Well, what the writer real
ly is doing is giving the same old
“hard luck” story. His purpose is
very obvious—the “hard luck”
story will make people appreciate
him more; the more people ap
preciate him, the more popular he
becomes. His popularity is due
more to his past than to his capa
bilities.
American students hear the Abe
Lincoln story so much that they
become discouraged instead of en
couraged. Students are sympathe
tic with “poor Abe” and give up
the idea of trying to achieve what
ever they set forth to pursue be
cause they can’t take it like “poor
Abe” did.
Teachers give the “same old
story” about having only one suit
of clothing which they had to wash
every night in order to inspire stu
dents. But the story is so old and
stale that it barely enters one ear
and passes out of the other.
American students no longer ap
preciate the same old story of
“hard luck” and would be grateful
if someone came up with a new
story.
MAID’S EYE VIEW
A maid being interviewed ex--
plained that she left her last posi
tion because she couldn’t stand the
way the master and mistress were
always quarreling. “That must
have been unpleasant,” remarked
the prospective employer. “Yes,
sir,” the girl declared, “they was
at it all the time. When it wasn’t
me and him, it was me and her!”
(The Reader’s Digest)
Roving Reporter
By PATRICIA JENKINS
Question: Why are most of our
campus organizations dominated
by the same few students?
Answer: Because they are the only
ones smart enough to do any
thing. There are too many dis
interested persons who sit back
and let others take the lead.
Three cheers for the Leaders!!
Mary Belcher Morris
Answer: Because everyone is look
ing for a scapegoat. Therefore,
the students (who do not par
ticipate), feel these students can
handle affairs better than they.
Sylvia Carter
Answer: Partly because of the
friendship gained by the ruling
students on the campus. Some
of the students do not seem to
have minds of their own when it
comes to making decisions. They
roll along on whatever their
friend or some other person sug
gests. By doing so, it is not best
for the school nor the organi
zation, because sometimes some
of the ideas that are kept hid
den may be the ones that would
help our institution prosper.
Ernest Coleman
Answer: Because the rest of them
lack interest.
Mary Kelley
Answer: I do not know enough
about the organizations and no
one has tried to interest us in
the organizations. This is my
first year.
Ruby Jefferson
CLASSIFIED CLASSICS
Fi-om the Abilene, Texas, Re
porter-News: “$10 reward for
south side apartment. Large
enough to keep young wife from
going home to mother. Small
enough to keep mother from com
ing here.”
(The Reader’s Digest)
From a Vermont Development
Commission advertisement of a
local farm for sale: “If purchased
before the next heavy windstorm
a barn is included.”
(The Reader’s Digest)