Newspaper Page Text
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_j e f Norma June Wilson
Janaging Editor Venecia Gardner
Featured Editor Mary Miller
Art Editor —- Johnny Price
News Editor Barbara Adams
Busiri.ess Manager Eva M. Lowe
/taff Cecile Ganpat.sgnh, Marian Watson, Marian Pitts,
Ifatricia Smith, Blondell Dixon, Mary J. Crew, Mary Frances
Watts, Jean Berrien, Lucille Brown, Eleanor Hines, Betty Durrah,
jjackie Walker, Nellie Kelly, Beverly Pratt, Barbara Irvins,
Eva Lowe. \
Faculty Advisor Mrs. Marjorie Spring
Office — Packard Hall Phone — JAckson 4-3005
Illinois
Bloomington?
102 E. University
Dear Dr. Manley,
I suppose that you ar
upset with me for having
so long to write to you. A
I am very ashamed, but il
it was just laziness on my part.
The Opinions expressed in the SPOTLIGHT are not necessarily
those! of the Editors or' Staff
rJletterS Jrom Oi
f ur
anae
Students
North Central College
Naperville, Illinois
March 25, 1960
Dear Dr. Manley,
I must apologize for my ex
tended delay in writing to you.
I would have written earlier, but
I wanted to have something con
crete to say before writing to you.
1307 N. Main Street
Bloomington, Illinois
April 10, 1960
Dear Dr. Manley,
Words cannot express my ap
preciation for the student ex
change program. It has 1 profited
,.jjte—tremendously. It is in this
"letter tffat I, shall share my ex
periences with jdu.
Naperville is a (typical subur
ban city. It is ‘located about
twenty-eight (28) miles west of
Chicago. Its population is approx
imately 12,000. Naperville is the
oretically integrated. There is not
a single Negro family living in
Naperville; the realtors will not
sell or rent them houses. Since
there are no Negroes residing
here, Margie and I are sometimes
referred to as “pioneers” in the
area of race relations even though
there are nine (9) other Negroes
here at North Central College.
I am enjoying my stay at Illi
nois Wesleyan. I am having many
worth while experiences, both ac
ademically and socially. There is
such a friendly atmosphere here;
I am amazed at seeing so many
warm-hearted people. Eleanor
Tinnon and I are known by over
half of the students here. There
are thirteen Negro students here
among the 1200 student body.
Since there are not any per
manent Negro residents in Naper
ville, Margie and I have been in
vited to luncheons, programs, re
ceptions, etc. throughout the city,
and to speak on certain occasions
as a means of introducing us to
society and vice versa.
I am very happy to know that
an exchange program is taking
place between Spelman and Skid
more College. I know that such
an experience^ will be beneficial
and rewardinipPyir the students
of both schoolut
North 'Central College is a coed
college which has an enrollment
of approximately nine hundred
(900) students. All of the stu
dents have been very kind to us.
As a matter of fact, things are
much better than we anticipated.
About ninety percent (90'%) of
the students at North Central
College have not met or associat
ed with Negroes before. As a re
sult, Margie and 1 are constantly
engaged in deep, thought-provok
ing discussions relative to the Ne
gro and his position in the South.
We (Margie and I) have been ex
tremely cautious in all of our
deeds and actions because what
we do or think, all Negroes do
or think.” This stems from the
fact that they think of us (Ne
groes) as being “types.”
I have been keeping up wit^
the news about the sit-downs in
the South. I wasn’t exactly shock
ed when I first read about it, but
I suppose you can imagine how I
felt upon seeing the names of my
friends in the paper (my Mother
sent me a newspaper clipping).
Since then I have gotten as much
information as possible about the
issue. I wish I were there to join
you. We discussed the matter in
my Sociology class. All of the
students seemed to feel quite
sympathetic toward all of the
students involved 1 ; they feel that
the approach will work.
rds to Mrs.
,nd student
I send my best
Manley, the fac,
body.
Sincerely 1 yours,
Floris Barnett
I suppose it is too late to te
you about our arrival here and
our early experiences. I must say
though that we have certainly
become adjusted to this new situ
ation. I hardly think of myself
as an exchange student any long
er. I feel as though I have been
here for quite some time. The
friendliness and hospitality of the
faculty and the student body
somewhat resembles that of Spel
man. So you can see I haven’t
had any problems.
There are approximately twelve
hundred students here of which
about fourteen are Negroes, in
cluding Floris and me. However,
there is very little racial preju
dice or problems on the campus.
You actually forget about color.
There has been quite an uproar
this year (about the Greek organ
izations though. Many of the stu
dents are quite disturbed about the
“white” clauses written, in their
charters. Quite a few of them re
fuse to join them for that rea
son. The problem comes from the
alumnae and not the students.
I understand that there was a
little disturbance, before we came,
about our staying in the sorority
houses, and as a result we ended
up in dormitories. We haven ; t bad
any serious problems though. In
fact we have been making history.
We ate at a sorority house for two
weeks (twice daily), spent the
night and attended a serenade in
another and went to an annual
sorority dance. That was the first
time that Negroes had had any
contact with the sororities at all.
The dance was given by the Al
pha Omicron Pi sorority of which
Jackie is a member. It is, I think,
the moat liberal group on campus.
As far as classes are concerned,
I have found that most of them
ate more complicated than the
ones at ISpelman. I think that they
present a bigger challenge
though. I can actually say that I
have done more studying here
than I have ever done in my life.
I do not know how my grades will
be, I do know, however, that
I have accomplished a great deal.
I really missed being at Spel
man when I read about the mass
sit-ins 'by the students in the A. U.
system. I really wished that I
had been there so that I could
have participated in them. I also
felt a little sad when I received
letters from the girls in the glee
club While they were on tour.
However, I raised my head and
Don't holUr , TYUyj /«•. ft. Vn / /
told myself that maybe I would
get a chance next year. I was pro
bably rationalizing though.
In spite of everything, though,
I have certainly gained a lot from
this experience. I hope that next
year a larger number of students
will be able to participate in the
exchange program. By the way,
my counselor is Dr. Clark Bouw-
mian, head of the sociology depart
ment. He is really a wonderful
person. In fact he is a lot like Dr.
Zinn, as far as personality is con
cerned. He is also admired, like
Dr. Zinn, by ttyte whole student
body.
I shall write again soon, and I
will not have quite so much to
say. Please give my warmest re
gards to Mrs. Manley and the
Spelman family.
Sincerely yours,
Eleanor Tinnon
satisfaction. This is due tOjMhd"
strict rules and regulat^^f, plus
; A Jo
Letters To
The Editor
Miss Vogue:
The recent problem treated in
the Spelman Spolight concerning
the relationship between More
house and Spelman is one wor
thy of consideration.
The question was asked. What
has happened between Morehouse
and Spelman? And you cited four
factors — Clark, Grady Memorial,
A. U., and Morris Brown. I should
like to ask what has existed be
tween Spelman and Morehouse
in the past. I have never observed
anything but frustration and dis-
tbe sophisticated atti \Ade that
most Spelman ladies asy.^me.
It is true that Spelman rtoas had
a few activities; 'however^, it is
also true that they are gukrded
by the faculty,' just as the A^rny,
Navy, and 'Air Force guard tljie
United States. This is one reasor
why Spelman is slowly leaving'
the picture. And if matters don’t
change, Spelman women will be
left out completely.
Maybe the Spelman ladies
aren’t mature enough to carry
on social activities without close
supervision by the faculty. The
students at the other schools 'do,
and with success. Most students
know What will happen if they
get out of place.
I think that Spelman should
come down from her high tower
that is as false and unrealistic
as democracy in Georgia. If you
don’t believe this, get the Mon
day morning’s gossip column on
April 4, 1960, and read the after
vacation report.
»**
J
it
The students at North Central
College are more or less govern
ed by their student government
association. They make and abide
by their dormitory rules, etc. The
organizations seem to function
well, and the students have “free
dom of speech” in their news
paper.
In comparing the “educational
set-up” of North Central College
with that of Spelman, I find) that
the educational 'standards are ap
proximately the same. I have also
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As the holiday period rolls
around, most of the young; ladies
at Spelman are anxious to go
home—why? For no other reason
than to be “themselves” for a
few days. So the well-worn path
Will grow wider and wider, and
the (distance between the other
schools will be lessened, while
Spelman and Morehouse grow
farther and farther apart.
L. J. Harrison
Morehouse College