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Page 2 THE SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT Tuesday, March 7, 1960 Spelman Spotlight Editor-in-chief Norma June Wilson Managing Editor Venecia Gardner Feature Editor Mary Miller Art Editor Johnny Price News Editor ..... Barbara Adams Business Manager Eva M. Lowe Staff Cecile Ganpatisgnh, Marian Watson, Marian Pitts, Patricia Smith, Blondell Dixon, Mary J. Crew, Mary Frances Watts, Jean Berrien, Lucille Brown, Eleanor Hines, Betty Durrah, Jackie Walker, Nellie Kelly, Beverly Pratt, Barbara Irvins, Eva Lowe. Faculty Advisor Mrs. Marjorie Spring Office — Packard Hall Phone — JAckson 4-3005 The Opinions expressed in the SPOTLIGHT are not necessarily those of the Editors or Staff. 1:~}rom ^Jhe Editor’d inkwell By Norma J. Wilson The honor roll here at Spelman College, I feel, does not represent the academic achievements of Spelman Students. The honor roll at present is composed of students who have maintained a B average with no grades below a B. This practice should be abolished. The honor roll I believe should include students who have earned a B average with no grade below a “C”. Now this is in practice as far as the freshman class is concerned, during their first semester. Why couldn’t it be extended? It is unfair to expect a student to devote herself with equal en thusiasm to all of her subjects. A student’s interest, most times, de termines how much she will study a particular subject. If a subject is a college requirement for graduation and a student isn’t interested in taking it, it is possible that her grade will not be an A or a B. There is nothing wrong with a “C”. It is a respectable grade. It is an average grade In some courses it is a good grade. There is no reason why grades cannot be averaged for the honor roll. An A should be able to balance a C. What happens to the student who makes four A’s and one C during a semester? Of course she is not on the honor roll! Is she any the less a “Student” than the one who has made five “B’s” that semester? I think not. Let us look at other schools around us. Do they have the same re quirements for being on the honor roll, or do they average grades for the honor roll? Would it be lowering our standards any to have an average system on our campus? The system of averaging grades only allows us to be human enough not to be equally good in all our subjects. The present Dean of Women’s list includes those students who have no grade below a “C” and who are good citizens on campus. The Dean’s list could very easily include students with higher aver ages than these whose names appear on the honor roll. This seems to be inconsistent. As a suggestion, the honor roll could include those students making from a 3.00 average to a 2.5 average. The dean’s list could include those students with averages between 2.49 and 2.00. I am not saying that this suggestion would even work but I feel strongly that some thing should be done about the honor roll. Do you know of any school with the same type of academic honor roll as the one existing on our campus? If so please notify me, for I know of no such schools. What do you as students think? Oops, my pen is dry again. / A Happy Marriage What do you think about the current trend of reading poetry to jazz? Scoffers at this phenomen on, such as Nat Hentoff, jazz crit ic of “Esquire” magazine, are mi nus one sympathizer in Dr. Rosey Poole — recent visiting Fulbright lecturer on our campus. Now-a-days a conversation on poetry leads naturally to jazz; and Dr. Poole, who “sleeps and wakes” to the Modern Jazz Quartette (to the utter dismay of her London charwoman), is no exception. She considers poetry plus jazz a “hap py marriage.” After all, similar marriages appear in the librettos of opera and in the German Lieder. Dr. Poole speaks very encour agingly to the very, very contem porary artist who, she feels, may have something important to say, which possibly comes out in “stut ters” but may well be the “nur sery stages” of a new art. She welcomes all new trends and ex periments in art, and we at Spel man welcome to our campus all such inspiring personalities who have patience with the artistic struggles of our generation. NOTE: Hear Langston Hughes read his own poetry to a jazz background by Charlie Min gus in the Spelman Library Listening Room. Mary Frances Watts Noble Thoughts And a man said, “Speak to us of Self-Knowledge”. And he answered, saying: Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights. But your ears thirst for the sound of yOur heart’s knowledge. You would know in words that which you have always known in thought. You would touch with your fing ers the naked body of your dreams. And it is well you should. The hidden well — spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea; And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes. But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure; And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sound ing line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless. Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.” Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.” For the soul walks upon all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals. The Prophet Olie College Qirl Upon looking through the SPOTLIGHT Files I happened across an article by David Boroff concerning an eastern girls’ college. I was interested in comparing the academic life of a girl in this particular eastern school with the academic life of a Spelman girl. The eastern college has an en rollment of 400 and a faculty of 70 teachers, and is situated on twenty-five acres of land. Dif ferences and similarities can easi ly be noted. The individual and her interests are the central focus of the educational process at the eastern school. Here at Spelman we find that our curriculum is the center of the educational process. “Each student formulates her own course in accordance with her interests,” says Mr. Boroff. Would that be practical at Spel man? I think not. I feel that it would not be advisable for a freshman student to be permitted to select her own courses. In the first year, if in no other, an in experienced student needs guid ance. Would you really like to be “turned loose” to select your own subjects, right from the word go? Although the young women at the Eastern College are allowed this freedom, they are taking courses which strangely enough resemble some of our basic col lege requirements. Here is a shock for you — they do not receive grades at this college. Personally, I would like to see this in more of the schools. Grades are relative. They cannot measure a student’s true worth. Someone might want to know what criteria companies would then use to employ college graduates, and graduate schools to select students. Well, the reliable standardized tests could be used; most students cram the night before an exam anyway. What do they know two weeks from the exam, or for that matter, the day following the exam? If a student wants to learn, she will learn without wanting a grade. If a grade is the end in sight, then the means to that end is wasted. One student at this eastern college had this to say, “There are no standards here, no grades. At first it threw me. Then I real ized it was standard.” student wh] ing in edui fed educa having anj^i; wilders nDF ,s jbi I hli 1 t| n - r myself. I was the he is the type of is really participat- !tion; not just being The idea of not .type of standard be- I can understand wherein grades would not be suf ficient for a standard, but I do think that some type of standard is necessary. Where does a grad uate of such a school fit into the competitive society? How does she know where she stands in a world such as ours? In their junior year, these east ern college students, “define” (Continued on page 4) Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, I wish to congratulate you and the members of your staff for the production of the first issues of Spelman Spotlight. I under stand that it is the first regula tion paper that Spelman has pro duced in ten years. Considering this, the significance of what you’ve done becomes quite ob vious. I was very much impressed by the paper, and I hope that the future proves favorable to the progressive refinement of later issues. Jeff D. Nesbitt Morehouse College Poetry As A Guiding Force It is good to hear a poet speak about his own poetry. Only he can tell you what he would like done with his work. Robert Frost, on January 29, at Agnes Scott College, gave us his opinion on the use of poetry with these words: “You can read a poem, memorize a poem, print it, inter pret it, or even make footnotes to it, but do you know what I’d like you to do with my poems? I’d like you to take texts from them—as you would from the Bible.” The idea first struck me as being rather presumptuous on the authority of the poet. However, as Frost proceeded by reading several of his poems, I saw that excerpts from good poetry could very well be used as texts. Take for example the following two de finitions of home from Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man.” Warren, the husband, says, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” His wife dissents with, “I should have called it something you somehow haven’t to deserve.” In only three lines perhaps the most important thought of the whole poem has been expressed. For Warren the home is a place where duty is paramount, but for his wife home is a gift given to one in spite of his unworthiness. The difference in the way they lived is illustrat ed by the way each treated the hired man. Applying this text to ourselves and choosing the best view, we might be able to say with Robert Frost in his poem “The Road Not Taken:” “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the dif ference.” Perhaps we ought to take the advice of an 85 year-old man, who as a poet, would recommend to us the use of poetry to guide us in our lives. Mary Miller The Critic H two good dancers compose a dance group, then the Benning ton College Dancers are a suc cess. But if the Bennington Col lege Dance group is to become a troupe of six good dancers, I would suggest that they get a good start by beginning with sim ple things such as walking and disciplined practice. It is unfor tunate to say, but without the grace of Miss Julie Arena and Miss Shannon Theobald, the Benning ton College dance group performs no better than our girls after a nihe-weeks course in body mech anics. Without a doubt, our dance group shows more skill and grace than this famed troupe. It is the opinion of The Critic that a diet and dance studies program would improve the members of the troupe. The maj ority of this troupe resembles fat igued clogs in the rain. In their favor we must cite the well choreographed “EL Grite (The Cry) and “In Flight,” not to neglect the incomparable par ody of Tom, Dick, or Harry. If Miss Sholder even decides to re tire from dancing, I would recom mend that she appear on the stage as a pantominist. Contrary to The Critic, in the opinion of many the Bennington College Dance Group was “ter rific”. Each to his own. Success Of Co-Recreation In the month of January, the Spelman students started the suc cessful trend of co-recreation, for the 1959-60 school year. The ac tivities were held in Read Hall. During the early half of the ev ening the students participated m basketball, volleyball, badminton, and bowling. Also there were rec ords played for those who pre ferred dancing. At 8:30 during the latter half of the evening, the swimming pool was opened. The observers that crowded the bleachers, in the swimming areas, had the pleasure of observing the beginners swim class, the physical education ma jors, and members of the More house swim team. On February 19, the Spelman students planned another evening of co-recreation. But due to the Morehouse Glee Club concert, it was cancelled and postponed, the Spelman students are still looking forward to many more wonderful evenings of co-recreation. Nellie J. Kelly