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Page 4 The Wolverine Observer December 8,1983 Homecoming of 1983... Food For Thought by Camilla P. Clay it I Homecoming Week at Morris Brown was more than fun and games this year. Much food for thought was provided at three scheduled activities: "The Family Hour," "Survival of Black Colleges" forum, and the "Com munity Awareness" seminar. All three of these activities were poorly attended, but gave many challenges for the few who did come. FAMILY HOUR Held on Tuesday, November 8 at 11 a.m. in Viola Hill Auditorium, the "Family Hour” was an attempt to bring all branches of the college family together. Initially, Pres. Threatt's idea, the "Hour" provided for dialogue between ad ministrators, student leaders, and faculty and students in the audience. Preliminary remarks were made by student leaders and various administration members. Each had their own definition of what it means to be a family. Threatt defined pride and strength as two major traits of a family. Dr. Bernard Smith, Vice Presi dent for Planning, Research, and Development said that his office served the college family best by "providing you with the resources with which to run the institution.” According to Smith, the job of any administrator is, "To create, maintain, and enhance the at mosphere in which learners learn." S.C.A. president F. Carl Walton admonished the college family to think of problems as learning experiences and never to lose our family spirit. Above all, Walton said, never get dis couraged. College queen Sonya Hudson spoke of the Homecoming spirit as a special feeling, which she wished could remain year-round at Morris Brown. Realizing that a family also teaches us, acting Vice President for Fiscal Affairs Edluie Walker cited some qualities which our family should teach us: sharing, concern, and compassion; love and respect of others and one’s self; teacher and student respon sibility and unity and values. Wrapping up the platform remarks, Vice President for Stu dent Affairs Magnoria Smothers reflected that the Brownite spirit refreshes memories and thoughts of good times, as well as reminds us that Homecoming is a time for rebuilding and rededication. Many in the audience seemed to agree that this type of program should be repeated throughout the coming year, with various themes. Almost all were concerned with the poor publicity that this program had received. As one observer put it, "We are too small a college family to have a communication problem." COMMUNITY AWARENESS FORUM Hosted by the sophomore class in Cunningham Auditorium on Tuesday night, the forum featured the Rev. Henry Ficklin. Ficklin is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Macon, Ga. as well as the presi dent of the Macon SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). A Macon city councilman and a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Ficklin has long been involved in civic works. Expressing concern over America's movement to get rid of black elected officials, Ficklin stated that blacks still have not learned their history lesson. "We are still fighting for the same rights our foreparents died for,” he said. Warning that those who refuse to learn from history often repeat it, the speaker tells how whites continue to control us because we willingly play the “divide and conquer" game. "We are our own worst enemies. Some of us get a degree and forget from whence we came. We start to look down on uneducated folks, but we forget that Grandma had more sense by accident than some of us have on purpose," Ficklin said. According to Ficklin, Homecomings should remind us to come back to the basic ideals on which blacks have traditional ly survived and thrived. Ficklin exhorted, "During Homecom ing, don't just party. Come home to a struggling state of mind. We must always remember the struggle never ends, it is eter nal.” He advised the sophomore class not to become bogged down in apathy and self-interest. As a class, he told them to make up their minds to not only help themselves, but to help those who might not make it into college. Ficklin told his audience that God had blessed them, they should want to help their fellow black men and women - regardless of social station. As Ficklin sat down, he was given a standing ovation. SURVIVAL OF BLACK COLLEGES On Thursday, November 10 at 11 a.m. in Viola Hill, Dr. Willie Richardson, chairman of the Social Science Division was the keynote presenter at this seminar, which was hosted by the junior class. Richardson, a Morehouse graduate with a Ph.D. in Business Administration, has taught in the business department at Morris Brown since 1966. Taking his main points from an article by Paul DuBois entitled, "7 Major Symptoms of Impen ding Disaster for Black Colleges,” Richardson outlined the following problems facing historically black institutions: •Reduction of grants and loans — because of the great dependence on federal funds, cuts in those funds could have significant survival implications on our colleges. •Direct aid to black colleges will increase in 1983 at a rate less than the rate of inflation — in other words, the money black schools receive in 1983 will not buy as many goods and services as in 1982.