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VOLUME 30 MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, ATLANTA, GA„ DECEMBER, 1959 NUMBER 2 11,000 Fans Turn Out For Turkey Day Classic Fullback Winfred Benson (33) goes 6 yards for Morris Brown’s third touchdown, after taking a handoff from quarterback John Davis. THE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES SOME PROBLEMS OF NEGRO EDUCATION The terms “potential” and “opportunity” are interdependent. On the one hand, the use which is made of an opportunity depends upon the development of ability. But, on the other hand, the development of specialized abilities must wait upon opportunity. MORRIS BROWN OBSERVES AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK Morris Brown College joined hundreds of other institutions in ob serving American Education Week, November 9-13. The theme for the week was “Praise and Appraise Your Schools”. The series of programs for —■ American Education Week at Mor As long as the Negro commu nity maintained the position that there was no possibility of one of its members obtaining employment as an engineer, neither Negro edu cational institutions nor Negro parents could sensibly encourage the younger generation to go through the long and arduous pro gram of engineering. The development of Negro po tential depends on the expansion of economic opportunity in a still deeper sense. For the Negro popu lation to be able to compete on an equal basis for professional, sci entific, managerial, skilled, and other desirable jobs will require a revolution in all levels of Negro education, and beyond this, in the values and aspirations, the living conditions, and the community en vironments of large groups in the Negro population. All of this, in turn, depends in large part on the opportunities of Negroes to earn larger incomes. If the education of Southern Ne gro males were brought up to the level of Southern white males, the actual number of high school grad uates in the region would be tripled, from about 11,000 to 32,- 000. If the education of Northern Negroes were brought up to that of whites in the North, the num ber of Negro high school graduates in the North would be nearly doubled, from almost 14,000 to al most 25,000. Thus, if the differ ences between the races with re spect to high school graduation were eliminated within each region, there would be 32,000 high school graduates in addition to the 25,000 who actually graduated. If the edu cational disadvantages of the South were also eliminated—that is, if all Negroes were brought up in the level of Northern whites— then the total number of Negro graduates would be increased by another 11,000, to nearly 68,000. Of crucial significance in the educational process is the quality of the teacher. In terms of formal educational qualifications, Negro teachers in many parts of the South are at least as well-prepared as white teachers. This is so, in part, because the Negro college graduate has few other profes sional employment opportunities. On the average, however, Negro teachers are much less able than white teachers'in spite of the fact that they have about the same amount of formal preparation. Like other young Negroes, those preparing to teach are usually handicapped by poor schools and deprived backgrounds. A recent study by Arthur L. Benson of the Educational Testing Service an alyzed the abilities of prospective white and Negro teachers in states with segregated schools. Test scores of white and Negro fresh men in Southern teacher-training institutions and liberal arts col leges in which a large number of the freshmen were planning to teach were compared with the test scores of freshmen in the country as a whole. The average scores of the white freshmen in the Southern schools were exceeded by 65 per cent of the freshmen throughout the country. The average future Negro teacher in the South ranked below 95 per cent of the freshmen in the whole country. (Continued on Page 2) NAACP BEGINS ACTIVE YEAR The Morris Brown College Chap ter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple is functioning with much suc cess, after organizing for the 1959- 60 year. These officers were elect ed: James Foster, president; Eu gene Bryant, vice president; Mar garet Simmons, secretary; Joann Phillips, treasurer; Freda Fisher, parliamentarian; Bennie Wright, reporter. During the latter part of No vember, two representatives at tended the State Conference meet ing in Augusta, Ga. The represent atives, Frank Armstrong and Ben nie Wright, made an interesting report to the group at a regular meeting. The chapter is now making plans for their first assembly program of the year. You are cordially invited to be come a member of this organiza tion. John Sanders—New Assistant At G.T.E.A. Mr. John Dewitt Sanders, a 1956 Morris Brown graduate, has been recently hired by the Georgia Teachers and Education Associa tion. Mr. Sanders is assistant to the executive secretary and field work er for the Association. John is a graduate of Holsey- Cobb Institute, Cordele, Ga., and he is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The average girl would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think. ris Brown College is one of the outstanding features of the year’s program. Dr. Ann Cochran is chair man of the Education Week Com mittee. It is because of her efforts that this series has been highly successful for a number of years. The speakers for the week were Dr. Frank Cunningham, President of Morris Brown College; Mrs. Narvie Harris, Supervisor, DeKalb County; Mr. George Edwards, Jr., Principal, Conyers, Georgia; and Dr. L. D. Graves, Professor, At lanta University. Other participants were mem bers of the faculty of the Educa tion Division and student teachers. use Makes Drastic Changes In Campus Frats Los Angeles, Calif.—(I.P.)—As a result of the tragic death of Kappa Sig pledge Richard T. Swanson, several radical and im portant changes will take place in the social organization on the cam pus of the University of Southern California, according to Dr. Wil liam H. McGrath, assistant dean of students—men. Dr. McGrath said that the fra ternities are initiating a better system of Greek row control con cerning rushing, pledging, initia tion and student decorum in gen eral. A third aspect of “a better row control,” will be a program of extended counseling which will involve all new students. “This will include a series of compulsory classes by deans, vice-presidents, and top professors of the univer sity,” Dr. McGrath said. “It is hoped that these courses will bring wisdom and youth closer together,” he said. These courses will acquaint the student with the realities of college life. They will touch upon social and psychological pressures, the philosophy of life and cultural upgrading. “We hope to have students act in accordance with the best that has been thought said and done in the university,” Dr. McGrath ex plained. “The big emphasis will be upon ACTION.” Idaho Board OK's Reorganization Pocatello, Idaho — (LP.) — Re sponsibilities of chairmen of divi sions in the College of liberal Arts at Idaho State College have been approved by the State Board of Education. The College of Liberal Arts has been reorganized into six divisions. Faculty of each division, except Military Science, elects its chairman. The reorganization divided the College of Liberal Arts into divi sions of Applied Arts and Sciences, Biological Science, Humanities, Physical Science, Social Science and Military Science. Observer Editor Speaker for F.T.A. Our editor, Mr. Wayman Shiver, was recently the guest speaker for the Mamie Dye Club of the Future Teachers of America. The affair took place at Oglethorpe County Training School in Lexington, Ga., on November 13, 1959. The spon sor was Mrs. L. J. Jones. The text of Mr. Shiver’s speech was on the theme for American Education Week, “Praise and Ap praise Your Schools.” After the program, Mr. Shiver and other guests were entertained by the faculty at the teachers’ cottage. He was accompanied by Earnest Coleman, state treasurer, and Joseph Willis, a Clark College stu dent and Student N.E.A. member. Davis Receives Recognition In Anthology The National Poetry Association has announced that “The View,” by George I. C. Davis, has been ac cepted for publication in the An nual Anthology of College Poetry. The Anthology is a compilation of the finest poetry written by the college men and women of America, representing every section of the country. Selections were made from thousands of poems submitted. The Association congratulates the stu dent on this honor. The Wolverine Observer Staff salutes Mr. Davis for bis signifi cant achievement. Brownite Lands State Job Dr. Claude Purcell, State School Superintendent, announced the ap pointment of Mr. Robert Threatt as consultant in Secondary Edu cation for the State of Georgia. Mr. Threatt, a graduate of Mor ris Brown College and Atlanta Uni versity, is a promising young man who has taken leading roles in sev eral state-wide organizations; moreover, he has received many outstanding awards for excellence in a variety of activities. He began teaching in 1949 and has worked at Spencer Junior High School since 1953. Among other positions held by Mr. Threatt are: President of Muscogee County Teachers Association since 1956, Treasurer Class Room Teachers Department of GTEA, President of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (Alpha Phi Sigma Chapter), Presi dent of the Morris Brown Club in Columbus, Ga., and commissioner of Boy Scouts of America, Musco gee Division. Mr. Threatt was selected System Teacher of the Year in 1956; he was chosen “Man of the Year” in Columbus in 1957.